Chapter 13: Shadow of Light

Shadow's fur glowed a pale shade of gold, signifying a hedgehog brimming with cosmic power. The true origin of the Chaos Emeralds was a mystery that might never be solved. Who or what created the seven gems of ultimate power and placed them upon the chao altar in the Mystic Lands, where history for the first time recorded the existence of the Emeralds. Whether they had been crafted by gods, abandoned by alien visitors, or left as artifacts of an unknown ancient civilisation wielding unimaginable tools - no matter which party could claim true ownership of the Chaos Emeralds, Shadow knew in his heart that they belonged to him more than anyone else alive today.

He had been born with the knowledge of how to channel the Chaos Emeralds' power and make it his own. Although Sonic the Hedgehog had proven a more naturally talented user of the Emeralds in his lifetime, Shadow had since surpassed his rival and unlocked hidden powers that not even his creator could have dreamed of...

Super Shadow shot through the eye of the Ultimate Overlord and slowed to a full stop in less than a fraction of a second when he broke through into the central chamber. Standing in a shower of blood-red shards beneath the shattered dome, Shadow stared down his adversaries.

The Metal Sonic duplicates that'd been busy keeping Silver and Blaze pinned down all immediatelly changed priorities. At the same time as the robots that'd stayed behind during the conquest of the GUE fleet closed in on Super Shadow, groups of additional Metal Sonics started appearing all around. With the crews of the battleships defeated, the Ultimate Overlord was free to call back its agents in order to converge on the superpowered hedgehog.

Silver opened his mouth to say something, but what exactly would not be known, as Super Shadow stretched a hand towards the pair and watched as they were both enveloped in a light and vanished completely.

There was no time for distractions.

Certainly Shadow could use his Chaos Control powers to slow down time, but with his reflexes enhanced by the Emeralds, he didn't need to bother. The Metal Sonic that reached him first had jumped and was trying to land a flying kick in Shadow's face. The foot painted to resemble a red shoe moved like through mud. Almost lazily, Shadow grabbed the robot by the ankle and swung its body around like a bludgeon, batting half a dozen other robots out of the way.

This was not the silly old action scene where the villain's interchangeable henchmen all ran at the hero one at a time and were promptly defeated. The Metal Sonics were coordinated, and cooperated as if they were all thinking with one mind. Twenty-five Metals attacked Shadow from various angles, each one reading the others' moves well enough to avoid getting in the way of their blows. Even so, the attempt to get a hit in was futile. Shadow was a golden blur of movement, seemingly performing several attacks all at the same time, as his movements melted together with the after-images.

Shadow was being carried upwards as the mountain of defeated robots grew underneath him. Still, more and more Metal Sonics continued pouring out of the tunnels surrounding the grand chamber, while more still were brought back from their completed infiltration assingments.

"Chaos Double!" Super Shadow shouted, unleashing a spectacular display of energy.

The after-images of the hedgehog's movements acquired a mind of their own, and suddenly there was not one but three Super combatants fighting the army of Metal doppelgangers. The ability Shadow was using was Chaos Control, of a sort. He was cheating the flow of time to teleport between three distinct spots so fast that in essense there were three of him in the room at the same time.

As persistent and as suicidal as lemmings, the robots kept throwing themselves as Shadow, no matter how quickly and effortlessly he destroyed their comrades.

Finally, the three Shadows joined back togather, and jumped straight up from the top of the metallic mound, spun into a ball, and crashed down through the mountain of wrecked robots, until he found the floor underneath. Then he drew breath, and shouted "Chaos Blast!" The red explosion sent a wall of broken metal smashing into the ceaseless tide of robots, finally causing a break in the flow of attackers.

Taking deep breaths, looking right and left, Super Shadow waited for what would come next. If just one of these robots was released into the vaccum of space, and happened to collide with a usable satellite, then the Ultimate Overlord would soon revive. Shadow wasn't about to start tearing up this ugly spaceship until he was sure there was nothing left alive inside, artificial or not.

Just one.

"Huh," went Shadow, as he watched the single Metal Sonic break away from the stationary throng and run towards its certain destruction.

Shadow threw a punch, certain that he would tear through the robot as easily as wet tissue. The look of surprise on Shadow's face when the robot caught his fist and held it locked in an iron-tight grip was practically historical. That expression of grim callousness hadn't been interrupted in years.

Super Shadow looked into black eyes surrounded by metal wrapped in orange glow.

"Super Form data...has been copied," said the surviving Metal Sonics in unison.

One by one, a random selection of Metal Sonics started to glow with power like the first. As each one filled with the awesome power of super-charged potential, Shadow found himself the target of foes that were suddenly a match for him. Strangely, the superpowered Metal copies weren't trying to hurt Shadow, though that was well within their power now. They were merely trying to grab him and keep him pinned. Super Shadow was unable to prevent them from doing even that.

Random pieces of scrap floated across the floor and changed shape in mid-air. Boots, gloves, a breast plate, and finally the imposing long-spiked helmet of Metal Sonic all covered an invisible shape standing apart from the brawl. Blue energy flowed between the pieces of armour, giving full form to the one calling himself Metal Mastermind. As a final touch, a strip of fabric tore away from the base where the throne had been and wrapped itself around the would-be ruler as a cape.

Now it was clear. The arch-villain of the show wanted his chance to monologue. Shadow had been privy to this sort of thing so many times he could probably guess half of the guy's lines on the spot. With half a dozen Super Metal Sonics keeping him restrained, Shadow had little choice but to listen.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, the eternal rival. I'm sure Sonic would be very impressed to see how far you've come. Such a pity. If only Professor Gerald Robotnik had thought to give his Ultimate Life Form a brain."

"Say what you will," said Shadow.

Metal Mastermind knelt down level with the subdued immortal. "I intend to do far more than just talk," he said. "At this very moment the seven Chaos Emeralds are absorbed into your body. You will voluntarily release their power so that they may regain their physical form."

"What do you need them for? You obviously already have their power."

"No, Shadow, I have but one means of using them. The power to enhance the abilities of my lesser selves is of little consequence to me. My goal is to use the Chaos Emeralds' power to carry myself and my kind back in time while simultaneously erasing the present world from existence. I will destroy the timeline created through Sonic the Hedgehog's actions."

"Hah! Even with the Emeralds, that's way out of your league."

"Don't misunderstand me," said Metal Mastermind pointedly. "I doubt I will be able to destroy more than this mere solar system, as I carve my path backwards through history. It is a restriction I am willing to accept. Now, give me the Chaos Emeralds."

"Over my dead body."

"I would prefer not. Killing you would release the Chaos Emeralds, but they would reform in unpredictable locations throughout the world. With GUE crippled and you dead, it will serve as little more than a delay, and I promise you that I will kill everything in my way until I get those Emeralds back. If there is an afterlife for lab experiments like you, then you can spend it knowing that millions of lives perished because of your misguided choice."

Super Shadow paused.

"What do you say?" Metal Mastermind.

"The only thing I can. CHAOS CONTROL!!"

In the next chapter:
- We find out how Shadow got out of that fix.
- Actually, we find out IF Shadow got out of that fix.
- The world is pretty boned at this point.