Amy was forced up against his physique again as Shadow jet-propelled them through corridors away from the central region of the A.R.K. Getting over the initial stun of being bundled up within his grasp once more, her dismay changed to a coy smirk at him.
"If I didn't know any better I would think you liked toting me around everywhere." Giggling lightly as she shimmied deeper into his clutches.
Shadow smirked mutely as he drove on, watching her expressions more than their surroundings. 'Chichi little girl, you are so boastful. I give you a taste of my affections and you latch on like a harpy… my own little sharp-tongued shrew with the purity and grace of the most beautiful inamorata to ever exist.' Shadow's smirk teased up into a momentary half-grin. 'Though I doubt you will ever be charmed enough to hear my true feelings for your angelic rosy soul.'
His orbs were harnessed by the impending disturbance rapidly approaching, Shadow shifting his trained intellect to concentrate on the task at hand as even Amy felt some sense of apperception to the encroaching sounds of metal whirs and the crackling of electricity hidden behind the oversized alloy ingress.
An explosion of quills barreled through the expansive gateway, shattering the metal chassis of the hull and blasting shrapnel and plastic shards across the platform attached to the establishment where the real threat awaited. Shadow's figure rose from the plumes of smoldering ash and dust smelting to the bridge, the malevolent animosity in his expression visible as he seethed air through his teeth. Meanwhile, Amy emerged from the dust near him, sweeping her own weapon up from the cloudy haze surrounding them, preparing for battle and stepping away to clear room for the vindictive dark combatant's tirade.
Eggman watched their dramatic entrance, an amused chuckle shaking his portly frame. "Ah- ho, ho, Ho! Shadow! I must say I am surprised to see you here, and with Amy Rose no doubt! However will I hold up against the likes of you two working together in unison!"
The snarl on the deviant hedgehog's muzzle shifted, releasing a guttural rumble from his chest as he stalked up the balcony, shaking the foundation with a pounding smash of alloy heel striking galvanized steel with each step he took.
"Do not trifle with me doctor! I am not one who takes enjoyment in your pathetic attempts of humor." Shadow threatened as he neared the mad genius, observing the equipment the evildoer had surrounding him. Far out on the terrace, a large device resembling a gyroscope balanced, the design looking more reminiscent of the planet Saturn than any form of a ship aside from the personal escape pod designed in Eggman's self-image, where he squat within the middle of the machinery. Located just behind the power hungry malcontent were a set of conduits displaying within them all several Chaos Emeralds. The serrated-edged rims of the outer rings began to circle faster as Shadow moved in, Amy running up to join, and preventing the hedgehogs from entering.
"What will we do now?" Amy yelled to Shadow over the whir of the speeding metal bands passing before them. Shadow remained silent, looking back to see five of their archenemy's creations advancing towards them, preventing any attempts to reach the inner portion of the outcropping. Shadow's head jerked towards the onslaught, signaling to his female partner to assist in their takedown as he formulated a plan. Shoes blazed as he dodged past two of them to take on the three straggling bots, dashing into the last and exploding it hard against the hull.
"Amy, use the robots to our advantage!" Shadow called to her, slamming one into the rings and knocking the device off balance permanently from its explosion. Amy grinned snidely as she brought her hammer back to swing, hammering two into each of the halos and adding to the damage now throwing the machine into a reverberating grind that began to shake the whole expanse. Shadow's spin-dash struck one into the last undamaged band, knocking the android hard against it, and tipping the entire machine to its edge, much to Dr. Robotnik's dismay.
With one mechanized assailant left to use and the rings still spinning too sporadically for anything to get through to the real hazard, Shadow broke his skates next to Amy, evaluating the last of their options. Looking down to his petite accomplice, Shadow briefed her. "This strike has to count. I'm depending on you."
Amy's eyes stared wide after him as he sped up to the final robot engaging the heroes and struck it with a bolt of chaos, kicking it her way to allow her one last chance to break them through.
'He's depending on you Amy Rose, don't let him down.' The pink hedgehog rallied herself, taking a calming breathe before smashing the frivolous hammer against the frame of the android's chest.
Shadow rejoined her to stand by her side, both watching intensely as the mechanoid broke apart against the outermost ring, releasing its power packs from inside, impacting every band and causing minor explosions to quickly grind the whole gyrating contraption to a halt.
Amy squealed to Shadow, hugging him in a rapid embrace before jumping over the previously blocked space to take her victorious gloat to the infuriated miscreant within. Shadow looked after her as he stepped forth, an unseen smile in his expression while his eyes complimented her proficiency. 'It's amazing how much potential she has to offer when she believes in herself. If only the others knew.'
"You think you can best me, foolish girl?! You have yet to see my inventions true power!" Eggman badgered, slamming his fist hard against a trigger as the inner working of the machine charged with the power of Chaos around him. "I'll be seeing each of you in the past! And don't worry, I'll be sure to see to it that you never get in my way again, permanently!"
From the top of the machine, a ring of intense blue light circled down around him, sparking energy as it slowly closed in towards his compartment housed within the inner workings of the supposed time-traveling device.
"We can't let him win!" The spry heroine shrilled out, sprinting forward to try and reach the cab of the potential murderer before he transported while Shadow flared his skates to try to beat her inside to their adversary, when the beam connected with both their bodies midair as they launched forward, just within the edges of where Robotnik had prepared to strike.
Amy's screams pierced the emptiness surrounding them, covering Shadow's low howls of pain from the arching electrical shocks as their bodies drifted away from the base of the machine to circle in the sky where two vortex portals were quickly forming.
Amy's eyes teared as she pulled her lashes apart to search for her partner, eyelids still squinting in agony. Upon seeing his figure of dark black fur racing with static pulses nearby, she reached out in an attempt to grab his hand, Shadow returning the act with visibly agonizing strain as bolts of energy passed between their ever-distancing fingers. His face contorted painfully as he stretched his arm out one last time as hard as he could, putting all of his remaining effort into one final moment of contact before missing the tips of her glove by millimeters, a lone beam of the electric blue current arching between their fingertips. Shadow body went lax as he dropped his hand and sunk his head in defeat, giving into the force that was ripping him even further away from her.
"Shadow, I'm sorry I never realized before. I love you!" Amy screamed, pulled farther from him and thrust into the swirling portal behind her.
"Amy!" Shadow bellowed after sharply sucking a breath into his chest to call out to her as he was dragged elsewhere into his own violently static-charged torrent.
Robotnik bellowed in defeat as the couple disappeared in a brilliant flash and the sky began to clear above him, energy dispersing as the drone of the machine winded down to deadening silence. Eggman stared into the sky, a wayward expression on his face until his mustache contorted above his snarl and he stared at the panel below him, punching in keys to find the answers to what exactly happened to the two hedgehogs. His grimace increased as he read over the machines outputs and rationalized his conclusion, pounding his fist against the metal bracings.
"NO!"