AP: Alright people, we're getting to the end of the story. I'm soooooooooooooo sorry it took so long for this chapter!
Shadow: I'm about to be in the fight of my life and I can't wait to get there!
AP: Good because that's what's gonna happen. I'm not entirely sure how this chapter is going to go, it'll be a write as it comes thing. Shadow darling, please do the disclaimer.
Shadow: Angelic Puppy does not own me or any Sonic the Hedgehog character. She does, however, own Karo and his alien race.
AP: Please Enjoy!
I watched Lirias fly away. I felt a nudge at my leg and I looked down to see Karo.
"Daddy say you be my guar…gaurbiman…?"
I chuckled, "the word is guardian. Perhaps your father knows more than I do." I said as I pat the little dragon on the head.
"Anybody for some bowling?" Knuckles asked.
"Hmmph, are we gonna need bumpers?" I asked as I watched the creatures outside retreat.
"I think that depends on the kind of bowling balls we're going to use." Sonic said.
"You boys and your metaphors, why can't you three just talk like normal people?" Mari said.
My ears twitched in irritation, but I said nothing. Karo nudged me and chirped like a baby dinosaur. I looked down at him and raised an eyebrow in question.
"Daddy say it Clarostra right?" Karo asked.
"Yes, he did. Why do you ask?" I responded.
"I hear. He coming for you."
My eyes widened when he said that. That humongous dragon was coming? For me, no less? It was then that we all heard that ear-splitting roar. I heard everyone else groaning in pain at the sound. In my peripheral vision, I could see them covering their ears. The soldiers outside on the ground were panicking, but all I really noticed was Clarostra's roar that was filled with fierce rage.
I felt vibrations in the floor and I could see the giant dragon walking towards the hospital.
"That thing's coming here?" Sonic said as he got up to stand next to me.
"Well, I hope you guys are ready to fight, because he is." I said quietly.
"Who's ready to go Hyper?" Knuckles asked.
I turned to face him and I gazed at everyone. I sighed and picked up a Chaos Emerald. The energy from it pulsed through me and made my head swim. It had been a long time since I had held one and the power was intoxicating. It was different though. The Emeralds all seemed to be glowing differently somehow.
"They're different." I finally said.
"Hmmph, I'm no slowpoke. You are holding a Super Emerald. You and Sonic are so easily distracted I could've gone Hyper by now and you would just be noticing. I'm a guardian, a pro." Knuckles said smugly.
"Sonic, why don't you try going Hyper? Now's a better time than ever, what with Godzilla coming for us." Knuckles said.
I watched Sonic and his face changed from panic to concentration. I hoped he wouldn't ask to have them handed to him. Sonic was often physically affected by the presence of the Emeralds, but it was all in my head when it came down to it. I had direct access to chaos, unlike everyone else who had to use the Emeralds to access chaos. The intense power surge from the Emeralds often made me as crazy as a dragon who found itself a nice hoard of treasure.
Sonic looked at me seriously. He knew better than everyone else that I might react badly. The logical part of my mind said 'no problem, give him the Emerald.' The part of my mind that was instinctive and filled with chaos, the part that largely took control when I was Super, would want to keep such a powerful thing. After all, if there were more power then it would be easier to fend off threats.
Sonic walked over, although we all froze at another roar from Clarostra. Soldiers could be heard outside, fighting and panicking. I handed Sonic the Emerald, feeling the muscles in my arm twitch as I did so. He basically did the same thing when he was going Super, which was to close his eyes and concentrate. The Emeralds did what they usually did, started glowing and floating.
The Emeralds blasted a bright flash of lights that momentarily blinded everyone and Sonic was floating before us. He was glowing and changing color to match the colors of the Emeralds. Knuckles shoved me towards the Emeralds.
"We've no time to waste. Start glowing, I'll join ya it seems like fun." Knuckles said sarcastically.
The Emeralds started to glow again as Knuckles and I powered up. The power that I felt was unlike anything I had ever felt. I was glowing silvery-white as I felt the energy coursing through me. I felt as though electricity was pouring into my veins while I floated there.
I stared around at everyone, my family. Even Eggman was family to some degree. At that point, my brain was moving faster than my body. All of them are in danger. They all need my protection. Then a thought passed through my mind, quick as lightning, something that Lirias had said to me. "You don't belong here. You shine like a star. The normal ones glow, but you shine with brilliance."
We needed to lead the creatures away from the hospital; after all, we were like beacons. My brain was moving faster than my body was, however, and when my body realized it was supposed to be leaving, it did so with startling speed. I was shocked by how quickly I had moved, as was everyone else. Sonic and Knuckles joined me quickly as we flew over our enemies.
The creatures and G.U.N. soldiers all stopped to watch us fly overhead. Clarostra watched us the most intensely and he stomped after us. He was insanely fast for having to haul around such girth. I looked back at him while we flew, so I didn't hear Sonic talking at first.
"What was that Sonic?" I asked, not taking my eyes away from the pursuing aliens.
"I said we need a plan to kill that Godzilla monster!"
"I've got an idea! Let's knock the only remaining skyscraper on him." Knuckles said, pointing to a forty-story building.
That building was one of the few still standing among the wreckage of the city. How had that thing avoided destruction? I looked back to see Clarostra still storming after us, taking his time yet moving quickly. Contradictions are a favorite pastime of mine. The monstrous dragon's blood red eyes were fixed on me as if saying I want you.
Come and get me, I thought. Knuckles landed behind the building while Sonic and I waited for the beast. Some of the creatures were attacking Knuckles on the ground and more were heading for Sonic and me. This was going to be a difficult fight.
"Look out!" Sonic shouted, and I turned to see a flying creature rocketing towards me with jaws agape.
I flew out of the way, but ended up being scratched by another. They were trying to gain an advantage by attacking us all at once and it was working. Being Hyper made it rather difficult for them because we were healing faster than they could scratch and bite us, but that didn't stop it from being painful. I wondered how Knuckles was doing on the ground. That was the main thought that kept me from complaining, the idea of Knuckles trying to lift a building with those things clawing and biting him.
Clarostra's roar made both the flying ones and Sonic and I turn around for a moment. He was in the perfect spot to have a building fall on him and Sonic charged for the massive dragon. I concentrated energy into my palms, creating a glowing red ball of Chaos energy. Sonic was fast and was ramming Clarostra in the face with his Homing Attack. I threw the energy ball at Clarostra's face and it shaped itself into a large point as it flew.
My Chaos Lance attack hit Clarostra square in his forehead between his eyes. He stomped around and roared in pain, swinging his claws at Sonic who was still buzzing about his head like a bee. Sonic got caught by a wingtip and went flying into a group of the flying lizards. I charged over and the creatures scattered.
The sounds of the masonry of the skyscraper cracking could be heard now. Knuckles was starting to get the building to lift. We weren't the only ones who heard the breaking stone and bending steel. Clarostra turned to look at the building behind him, but Sonic zoomed over to start pounding at the dragon to hold his attention.
From where I was, I could see Knuckles. His fists were deep into the wall and he was trying to ignore the several lizards hanging off his spines who were trying to pull him away. I charged at the creatures with a yell and they froze and looked up just in time to see my fists. I punched one in the back and I felt its spine break. The poor creature screeched in pain before falling limp.
One of the others tried for my throat, but I had been holding a small ball of Chaos energy meant to be made into a Chaos Spear in my fist and I struck the lizard in the head. I could feel its skull crush as I cracked it across the head. A third came for me, but I backhanded it into a nearby, destroyed car. The fourth one turned tail and ran for its life, probably to get reinforcements.
"Knuckles could ya hurry up? I'm getting bum-rushed over here!" Sonic shouted from the other side of the building. A sound like acid splashing and then boiling something could be heard.
"I'm getting spit at too!" Sonic shouted with desperation in his voice.
Knuckles grunted with the effort of his task before answering.
"You wanna come over and do this? I'M TRYING TO LIFT A BUILDING! Leave me alone!" Knuckles shouted. I left Knuckles to his task as the building began to tip.
I heard another cracking sound and looked up to see where it was coming from. As a matter-of-fact, everyone looked to see where it was coming from. Anyone who has ever built a tower of blocks or Legos knows that when you try to lift it the top half falls before anything else. That was what was happening to the building.
The top half of the building came down and crashed on Clarostra's head. The dragon roared in pain, especially when Knuckles got the bottom half up. Knuckles had practically thrown the building into the air after the weight of the top twenty stories came down. The bottom half crashed into a mound of concrete and steel on top of Clarostra.
The dust settled quickly around the destruction. Everything was silent as we watched the huge pile of rubble. All that could be seen of the monstrous dragon was his wings and tail. The tail moved first and it swung like a crane into Knuckles, who was still on the ground. A crack like a bat hitting a baseball sounded as Knuckles went flying. He smashed into one of the few surviving small buildings and demolished it.
The mound of rubble started to lift in a stereotypically dramatic way. This was all starting to be like your average cartoon with a giant monster in it. Clarostra stood up, flinging the remains of the building everywhere with a stroke of his wingtips and a vicious roar. Sonic sped away to get Knuckles, but Clarostra caught Sonic with the tip of his tail, which cracked like a whip across his back. Sonic yelped as he smashed into the ground and Clarostra turned towards me.
I glared at the beast and he made as if to strike me with his tail, but instead he spat at me. I put my hands up to protect my face instinctively, because the attack was so sudden. The spit burned me like acid, the only thing keeping it from dissolving me like sugar in water being the Chaos energy of Hyper mode. I screamed in pain and flailed wildly to try to get it off, but the dragon struck me with his tail.
I went flying and-with no buildings to catch me- slammed into the ground. I rolled in the dirt and dust to try to neutralize the acidic spit. It worked, but I was now thoroughly covered in mud. I saw Sonic carrying Knuckles, who had been reduced to Super form. He must have still been dazed from being sent into a building. I could feel my own power starting to wane; Sonic must have been worn out too.
I watched them fly past the enraged dragon, who was flailing from anger and pain. Clarostra whipped his tail and sent concrete flying, right into Sonic and Knuckles. My friends didn't see it coming and they were buried underneath rubble in seconds. Clarostra stepped on the mound and pounded it into the ground.
While trying to kill us is like trying to stop a volcano from erupting, we're not invincible. I just hoped that Sonic was able to Chaos Control away, but the likelihood that he didn't made my heart sink. I could feel my blood run cold as the monster turned towards me. I was all alone against a beast I couldn't kill, who would kill the rest of my family. A familiar memory, that of Maria saying goodbye as the soldiers came in. The last thing I had seen was her smile as she pressed the button to send the escape pod into space.
I felt a tremendous anger well up inside me. Maria had died because I couldn't protect her. For a long time she was the only family I had. Now I had a new one and I couldn't protect them either, they were about to be murdered and eaten. I couldn't let this beast do that; it would haunt me in my grave. I couldn't let him take away my family; I couldn't let anyone do that to me again. What happened next surprised me though.
This entire time, since the initial invasion, I had only heard Lirias and Karo speak. I figured that they all could learn English, but I figured none of them could properly speak. Clarostra was the last of them I'd ever expect to speak, but he did just then.
"Black hedgehog. Yes, I know what you are; I am not confused as to what the many species of this planet are named. You have no allies left to fight with you, how will you win?" Clarostra's voice reminded me of the dragon from Dragonball Z that comes out of the Dragonballs and grants wishes.
I didn't respond to him, I simply glared. I could feel my rage at this creature growing. Every part of me ached, my muscles were tired and I still felt a dull burning where his acid spit had burned me. My best friends, as much as they annoyed me, were possibly dead and my family was still in grave danger. They were going to die if I failed and now he mocked me. As these thoughts rolled around my mind, my fury grew.
"You cannot fight me on your own. I can smell your despair you wretch. I have never found such fight, nor have I come across such a delightful mouthful. I should have eaten your friends instead of killing them; their blood soothes my toes." Clarostra said, letting out a dreadful laugh.
That set me off. My pain mixed with fury, the absolute rage I felt blinding me, or perhaps it was tears. Every memory I had flowed into my mind, each one making me angrier as I thought of my family. My mind imagined what it would look like inside the hospital, the only remaining building for several miles, as the creatures swarmed in. I could imagine all of their faces as they would be attacked and killed, each one more horrified at my death rather than their own.
I flew at him in my rage and slashed him across his nose with my claws. I hadn't even realized I had unsheathed them, but sure enough, they pierced through my gloves. I slashed at him repeatedly and he backed away trying to escape my fury, but I kept after him. Something slammed me in the side; Lirias had attacked me. Although his son was in my care, he had to defend his leader; I could not fault him for that.
I slapped him away and he went flying. The other creatures watched in horror as their general was swatted away as easily as a fly and their leader was having his face slashed away. They all panicked and made a mad dash for the houses and small buildings that still survived beyond the hospital. It was like watching rats trying to escape a cat through a pipe, they were so disorderly. Watching the wingless claw and climb over each other in their effort to escape was satisfying.
I didn't watch them for very long; I had more pressing matters to attend to. Clarostra belched in my face when I looked back to start my barrage of attacks again. His breath nearly knocked me out it was so noxious. I choked and sputtered before vomiting. I puked over and over until my stomach was empty and my sides hurt. I felt sorry for anything on the ground since I was puking from the air.
"What will you do when I eat you if you react like that? Face it hedgehog, you cannot defeat me if you cannot even stand the stench of my breath! Your friends will settle my stomach nicely once I'm finished with you. The fox has a weaker glow than you and your allies, but he will be a treat indeed."
I curled into a ball as my stomach roiled in pain. Not Tails, I couldn't let him eat one person, but especially not Tails. I felt my strength grow with my anger and pain. Despair was trying to sneak its way in, but I fought it as hard as I could. I growled in pain and fury as a high-pitched, barely audible whine reached my ears. My inhibitor rings were shorting out. Good riddance, I wanted every ounce of power.
I could feel my power surge as the rings shut off, but Clarostra didn't think anything of it.
"Your power has increased ten-fold, so you still have some fight in you? Too bad you can't use that to save your friends. I will certainly tell your friends how valiant you were before I kill them."
I covered my ears, but I knew there was no way to keep his words out.
"Perhaps I'll just let my minions feast on their flesh while they still live. Tear them to pieces so that I can enjoy their dying screams."
That was the final straw; I couldn't control myself. I just lost it. I literally exploded.
"You…die…. I want you to DIE!" I shouted as I let loose every ounce of energy I had.
The blast would have normally been a Chaos Blast, but I put every ounce of rage, everything that I could possibly use to fuel it. Any memory that I could grasp, any emotion that floated by, good or bad I used it. I couldn't hear anything except my own scream of pain; the pain of losing my family. I never would have been able to manage such an attack if my inhibitor rings had been working, but that didn't occur to me then.
I completely let loose every possible ounce of energy I had, stopping just short of releasing the energy necessary to keep me alive. I probably would have used that too if I could, but my body instinctively stopped at that point. I gasped for breath, completely spent. I looked at myself, I was gray from dirt and dust, but I wasn't glowing. I closed my eyes and was unconscious before I had even started falling to the ground.
I was dreaming. I had to be, because the sky was bright and filled with clouds. There was green grass waving in the wind and Sonic and Amy's house in the center of it. I walked in, seeing Knuckles holding the couch in one hand. He was arguing with Sonic, who was holding a table, about where to put the furniture. I didn't ask, I just went past them to the steps. I went upstairs where I found Tails in his room. He had on a polo shirt that looked like it should belong on a referee.
"Tails, what on earth are you wearing?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh, hi Shadow! Knuckles and Sonic are about to have a wrestling match, I'm the referee!" Tails said happily.
"I don't wanna know." I said, slight exasperation ringing in my voice as I walked into the hallway.
"You wanna watch? It's really fun! We even have a special chair just for watching them! Rouge likes to bring the kitchen table into the livingroom so she can sit on it." Tails said, following me into the hall.
"I have to go somewhere Tails. I'll watch them next time though." I said my usual excuse to escape having to participate in whatever silly thing he was doing. It usually worked, especially since I often did have to go somewhere, although the part where I say I'll do something next time was always a lie if I could help it.
"You're just trying to get away from me! I'm not falling for that! Now you have to watch them with us!" Tails said with a defiant pout on his face.
I laughed at his expression. I couldn't fathom the minds of children sometimes. I was stronger, bigger and faster than he was, but now I had to watch the wrestling match. Kids were funny, frikking hilarious.
Tails decided he was going to throw a tantrum, he stomped his feet and flailed his arms at the same time. He closed his eyes and screamed.
"You must stay! You must stay! You must STAA-AAY!"
I was surprised by the force he put into it, and stopped laughing, though I was still snickering.
"Alright Squirt, I'll stay. Just to amuse you since you threw such an amusing tantrum." I said.
I followed the now happy Tails downstairs. Sonic and Knuckles had moved everything except the entertainment center. I wondered what they were going to do with that.
"You wanna see something cool?" Tails asked.
He pulled out a remote and pressed a button. The wall behind the entertainment center opened like sliding doors and the entire center moved into the cubbyhole. The wall closed as though it had never opened. I looked at Tails, who was cheesing at my stunned look. At this point, I was beyond any type of surprise with this kid.
I heard a door shut from the kitchen, either the back door or the basement door, and Knuckles and Sonic came into the room carrying a wrestling mat. They paid me no mind, used to my presence in the house. Rouge came in the room; she was carrying Cream. Cream smiled and waved enthusiastically. Rouge fluttered her eyelids at me and gave a coy smile. Sometimes I wondered if she was trying to seduce me.
"Boys! Come get the chair, I can't carry this by myself!" I heard Amy shout from the back porch. I had never been out there I just knew it existed.
"Sorry Amy!" Sonic shouted and he ran back there.
"You staying for the match Shadow? Maybe even want to join?" Knuckles asked as he set up the mat. He hadn't even looked up at me, though I admit I've done the same type of thing to him.
"I'll watch and nothing more. That was Tails' deal in exchange for a lovely performance. I didn't know he could throw tantrums— and he's quite good too."
Everyone laughed at that. Just then, Sonic came in carrying a large chair. It was almost a loveseat it was so big. He placed it a good distance from the wrestling mat. I noticed that all the furniture was stacked up against the walls and anything breakable had been completely removed from the room. Amy must have had some things broken before.
I watched them wrestle for an hour. Tails was a pretty good referee, although he had trouble breaking them up when he wanted to. Once the match was over (it was a draw, like all of their fights) I went outside. The breeze was light and refreshingly cool. I saw my favorite tree, a weeping willow that was very tall and shadowed the corner of a pond. It was far off, but I didn't care.
I ran over to the tree and pushed the curtain of leaves away so I could get under the branches. I had always loved this tree; it made me feel like I had my own little world. The corner of the pond that was covered by the willow's branches could be seen from underneath the tree. I sat by the trunk and leaned against it. The sheltering boughs made me feel safely cut off from the world; unbeknownst to many I was as much of a nature person as Knuckles.
I closed my eyes, but I quickly opened them when the leaves rustled. Who was invading my private space? Whoever it was would get more than just an earful. My eyes went wide when I saw who it was. Now I knew I was dreaming, because Maria was standing before me. She smiled gently.
"May I join you?" She asked politely.
Maria and I stayed underneath the tree for a short while before she asked if we could go back "outside." We walked for a while, she stared at the sky the entire time.
"The sky is so pretty on Earth. Do you like Earth Shadow?" Maria said.
"Um, yeah, I guess." I muttered. I had barely heard her; I wasn't paying that much to what she was saying. I was too focused on her presence.
I stared at the sky, wondering why I no longer thought the sky was beautiful. Maria had never seen the sky before; in fact, she had never been to Earth. I stopped walking, staring at the perfect blue. There were no clouds, nothing around me except that perfect blue. It suddenly occurred to me that Maria's eyes were the same color as the sky.
"Shadow? Are you ok?" Maria asked. Her voice sounded very far away.
I didn't answer her, I simply stared at the sky. I could almost see past it, see the ARK in its orbit, and see the moon behind it. Suddenly I found myself staring at the ceiling of the ARK. I looked around, startled at the sudden change of scenery. The red alarm lights were going off, but there wasn't a noise to be heard.
"Shadow! They're coming for us!" Maria said, fear in her voice.
"I'll protect you." I said quietly.
"There's only one escape pod, you have to go!"
"I'm not leaving without you again. I can take the soldiers, I'll kill them all." I said, still calm.
"Shadow, you have to go and be with your family." Maria said. Her voice was no longer frightened, but calm and motherly.
"You are my family! I won't leave you again!" I said, desperate now. What kind of cruel evil was this?
"If you stay here you'll never see the others again. Not until they join us, one by one, in the afterlife."
My ears flattened in horror and I looked around for any way out. This was some horrible nightmare; surely, I wasn't in the presence of Death? Not yet crossing the threshold into Hades, but on some horrible ledge? Suddenly, all the sound returned, the sirens, the gunfire, and the shouts of the soldiers. Maria picked me up in an embrace; her body was cold as ice.
She practically threw me into the escape pod and pressed the button. Her eyes were no longer the kindly blue, but crimson with more fire than my own. She smiled gently, a smile that warmed and chilled at the same time.
"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog until we meet at my door again."
The pod dropped into space.
AP: Sorry again for taking so long with this chapter! I'll start working on chapter 7 immediately!
Shadow: What are you planning to do next? Hook me up with Mari?
AP: Stop giving out spoilers! After chapter 7 there might be an epilogue. I might make a sequel, so look out for that too!
Shadow: Thanks for hanging around for my torture!
AP: Oh Shadow, you've always been a tortured soul.