Chapter 3: Enter the Hedgehog (All Hail Shadow)
"You're a long way from home, Eggman?" Sonic said with a confident smirk as he stood impatiently with the Furious Five and their injured ally. "Got tired of me kicking your wide, jiggly butt?"
"I will take this valley, Hedgehog!" Robotnik growled angrily as he glared at the short blue hero. "And it will not matter how fast you are; even you cannot defeat a force of this size alone."
"Sound pretty sure of yourself, Eggman," Sonic noted, crossing his arms, "Why are you sweating so much, then?"
"I'm just excited that I can kill two birds with one stone," Robotnik chuckled darkly. "Nice of you to run into a death trap…"
"We'll see about that…" Sonic laughed before looking up in the air past Robotnik and his army.
"SONIC!" The Five, Sonic, and Robotnik looked up to see the Tornado flying toward them with Princess Sally hanging halfway out of the back hatch holding a golden ring.
Sally tossed the ring like a Frisbee, and Sonic leapt through the air and caught it with ease.
"Oh, no…" Robotnik gasped, taking several steps backwards before quickly climbing up into his hover-egg. "FALL BACK!!"
"Too late, Eggy, Light Speed time!" Sonic said, ducking down and spinning in place as his rapidly moving quills began to glow a white-blue before he vanished. A moment later, a trail of destruction and explosion tore through the ranks of the SWAT Bots.
The Tornado landed just behind the battle-weary Furious Five as the hatch opened and Tails leapt from the cockpit. "Chaotix! Freedom Fighters! MOVE OUT!" Sally bellowed as she leapt to the ground and pointed to the battle line.
"You heard the lady guys," Knuckles said, stepping out and punching his fist into his palm. "Let's bust some heads!"
"Huh, reinforcements…" Tigress gave a small nod. "It's about time for a cocky comment, Panda. Panda? Po? Po!" Tigress' eyes widened when she notice Po's head down and the only thing keeping him off the ground was her own grasp. "Open your eyes, Po!"
"Just… need to rest a second… just a little nap…" Po mumbled, barely opening his now dull green eyes.
"You have injured?" Sally asked, running up to the group who were focusing on keeping a protective perimeter around Po. She tenderly touched the gaping wound on his chest, which earned a hiss from the panda. "This is pretty deep… do you have medical attendance close?"
"I can help him, but we have to get back to the Jade Palace." Mantis said, jumping to the princess' shoulder.
"That's the plan, then, but we have stop this group first," Sally said, glancing to the SWATbots, her eyes darting around the battlefield while her mind formulated possible plans.
"Perfect," she said as she snapped her fingers. "Tails! Knuckles, SONIC!" she called out. Tails and Knuckles quickly broke off from their fights and ran to her. Just before they arrived, Sonic came to a screeching halt before them.
"You rang?" Sonic smirked.
"Which way is this Jade Palace?" Sally asked, glancing to the Five, and received an answer from Monkey. "Alright, we're headed that way. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, execute the Hurricane Smasher maneuver."
"This many bots, Sally, it'll cause a big explosion, you better get out of the way fast," Tails asked as he did a quick estimate of the SWATbots.
"Big explosion, sweet! Let's do it!" Sonic nodded quickly.
"Sonic! Remember to…" Tails started, but Sonic had already disappeared in a burst of speed. "He never listens…"
"Chaotix, Freedom Fighters, cover the Furious Five and their friend and help them on the Tornado!" Sally barked orders, while at the same time dodging a SWATbot's attack. "Mighty! Help the tiger with the panda!" Sally called out to an Armadillo who was currently lifting a SWATbot and breaking it in half.
"You called, Your Highness?" Mighty replied as he ran to the group. "Alright, I get the picture. I got him, ma'am," the armadillo said, reaching for Po.
"He's really actually heavier than he…" Crane started to explain, but fell silent when the smaller Armadillo heaved the heavyweight Dragon Warrior with one arm before throwing him over into a fireman's carry.
"Got him, let's move!" Mighty barked to Sally and the Furious Five.
"Impressive…" Crane blinked, watching Mighty carry Po with ease toward the shuttle-like plane.
"Behind you!" a feminine voice called, and Crane turned just in time to see a female mountain cat flying kick a SWATbot back, before taking its head off with a roundhouse kick. "You ok… Xin?" she asked, surprised when she realized who she rescued.
"Mei Ling?" Crane blanched as he stared into the eyes of his old friend.
"You're really Master Crane?" Mei Ling's eyes widened and brightened with excitement and pride. "Reunion can wait, Master; let's get to safety before the fireworks start."
"What's he doing?" Viper asked as Tigress and Monkey helped Mighty and Sally load Po into the Tornado. They turned and watched a blue blur running circles around the army of SWATbots, the speed causing a small tornado to form around the robots, with the pressure pushing them all together tighter and tighter as Sonic closed the circle closer and closer.
"We have to hurry," Sally said as they began to file into the Tornado. She watched as Tails took flight with his twin tails spinning like helicopter rotors and lifting himself and Knuckles high above the Hedgehog-made storm. "Be careful, Sonic…" She whispered before she flipped up to the cockpit and started the Tornado's engines.
"THIS ISN'T OVER, HEDGEHOG!" Robotnik called out before taking flight in his Egg-mobile, abandoning his army. "It has only just begun!!"
Meanwhile, inside the air pocket, the army of SWATbots was forced together so tightly that their metallic armor began to crack and break as they were pushed against each other.
"You ready?" Tails asked Knuckles as they flew above the faltering SWATbots.
"Send me flying, Kid," Knuckles glanced up at the young fox as Tails spun him around before sending him flying up in the air. "SPECIAL DELIVERY!" Knuckles called out as he focused his energy downward through his jagged knuckles, falling toward the pressurized air bubble and entrapped SWATbots.
As the Tornado and Eggmobile flew in opposite directions, a massive explosion created a small mushroom cloud, leaving only scraps where an army once stood.
---
Robotnik growled to himself as the Eggmobile disassembled into a control chair while rising up a tube inside the Egg-Carrier before it came to a stop at in the control room. "The Hedgehog arrived as expected, Sir," Snively stated, "Quicker than anticipated…"
"An annoyance, but not a big alteration to the plan," the warlord said, his glowing red eyes focusing on the monitors around him and his nephew. "What disturbs me most is Tai Lung's absence and this unknown factor. That tub of lard almost defeated my most advanced Metal Sonic model."
"Shall I have Dimitri summon the Dark Egg Legion for the second wave, Sir?" Snively asked from his place at the controls.
"No, it's time for the new Robians to earn their keep." Robotnik smiled evilly. "The Furious Five are known to be ruthless warriors. Let's see if they're ruthless enough to fight their own people…"
---
"Everyone's going to be ok!" Cream said with a smile as she and Master Shifu tried to calm the villagers who were as making their way to the safety of the Jade Palace. "Master Panda and the Furious Five will save us, you'll see!"
"Something's coming…" Shifu said, glancing in the direction in which the battle should have been taking place. "Cream! Prepare yourself!"
They both took fighting stances as a large aircraft circled the Palace before coming to a landing in the courtyard. The Tornado wings folded up, and Princess Sally leapt from the cockpit as the rear hatch lowered into a gangplank. "Master Shifu! Hurry!" Viper called, slithering out as Monkey, Tigress, and Mighty carried the injured, unconscious Po followed by the Crane, Mantis and the Chaotix.
"Master!" Cream cried out as she ran to her master's side. "Is he ok?"
"He will be if I have anything to say about it; c'mon, Viper," Mantis said as he and Master Viper scurried toward the Palace. "This way, guys." He said, and the three carrying the Panda followed with Cream close behind.
"Crane?" Shifu asked, his brow knitted in worry.
"We broke into teams of two to take on the robots," Crane informed. "Tigress teamed up with Po; then, she came back to help us while Po took on the leader."
"She left him?" Shifu's eyes widened for a moment before narrowing.
"I don't know the details; it was a little nuts out there. If these guys hadn't shown up, we would have likely been in worse shape than Po is now." Crane shook his head.
"General Shifu? It's great to see you again," Sally said as she approached the short Grand Master. "I'm not sure if you remember me. I am Princess Sally Acorn, Commander of the Freedom Fighters of New Mobotropolis."
"Princess? You were shorter than I am the last time I saw you," Shifu gave a small smile. "Though I wish our reunion was under better circumstances."
"Agreed, General," She nodded, "I have to ask where is the Dragon Warrior. I expected Tai Lung on the front line."
"It is a long story, Your Highness…" Shifu gave shake of his head before glancing ahead to Po. "But the Dragon Warrior, the TRUE Dragon Warrior was on the front line. If you would excuse me, my student has need of me. Master Crane, help the Princess and her team settle in."
Sally watched Shifu and the rest of his students disappear in the palace in shock before glancing to Master Crane. "He's… the Dragon Warrior?"
"Yup," Crane gave a tight smile.
"But isn't he a little…" Sally started but drew off.
"Fat?" Crane finished for her.
"I was going to say fuzzy," Sally said with tight lips.
---
Shifu, Mantis, and Viper followed as they carried Po into his room and laid him carefully on his tatami mats, and as soon as Mighty, Monkey, and Tigress stepped back, Viper and Mantis jumped to work.
Monkey lead Mighty from the room wordlessly, but Tigress and Cream both remained as close as they could without being in the two masters' way.
"Master Tigress, a word in your room please," Shifu said in an icy tone.
"Master? Can it wait, I want to be here if he… they need anything," Tigress said softly, not taking her mind off the wounded Dragon Warrior.
"Now!" Shifu snapped, finally gaining Tigress' attention and causing Mantis and Viper to pause momentarily.
"Yes, Master," Tigress said after a moment and followed the red panda to her room across the hall. She entered and stood by her futon as Shifu entered and closed the sliding doors behind him.
"Be seated," Shifu growled, and Tigress did as told, bowing her head humbly.
"I'm tired, Tigress, so very tired," Shifu said with gritted teeth.
"Master?" Tigress glanced up to meet her Master's eyes.
"Don't get me wrong. I can understand your frustration and anger with him," Shifu said as he began pacing before her. "I, too, was angered and frustrated at Oogway choosing him to be the Dragon Warrior. Yet he has proven himself time and again. I have grown tired of your attitude, Tigress, tired of telling you this, so it will be the last time.
"Do you have any idea, any inkling how important Master Panda is to this valley, Tigress?" Shifu snarled, stomping a few steps closer to the tiger. "He is the symbol of hope for the people, and you selfishly left him to die today. Have you learned nothing in all these years of training?" her master snapped angrily, slapping his walking stick onto the floor in anger. "You left him alone, ALONE, in a fight against an army. You know better. Or I thought you did. If not for Po's success, I'd think I was at fault for poor training.
"Until I say otherwise, you are off the battlefield," Shifu stated angrily. "You will remain close-by, so I can better keep watch of you, so that Master Panda or any of the others won't be injured or possibly even killed until you can finally learn to get past yourself."
He turned and walked toward the door but paused to glance back over his shoulder at his downcast student. "You've disappointed me, Tigress. And I wonder if naming you a master was premature." He turned back and took a step outside the room. "I'll leave you to meditate on what you've done."
She sat there in shock for a moment before she rolled back onto her side and curled into herself, the tip of her tail tickling her face. "Po …" She whispered as she tightened her grip on herself. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Po…" she said as she began to softly cry for the first time since she was a small cub.
---
"There you are! I told you to stay close!" a mother pig called out as Crane approached her, leading a crying piglet.
"I'm sorry, mama…" the piglet cried. "I only wanted to see the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior…"
"Things are a little dangerous right now, Young One," Crane said to the child. "As soon as the crisis is over, I'll be sure to introduce you to Master Panda and the others, and I'm sure Master Panda would love for you to try his noodle soup. I can tell you from experience his secret ingredient soup is outstanding," he said with a wink.
"Really?" the child beamed.
"Really, now run along with mama," Crane patted his back as he ran to his mother, who took him back into the safety of the palace.
"You're still great with kids, Xin," Mei Ling said with a smile as she approached her old friend. "From what I heard about the Furious Five, I thought they were all cold, hardened warriors. I'm pleasantly surprised to learn that's wrong."
"Yeah, well, we weren't always this nice," Crane said, rubbing the back of his head with his wing, "You can thank the Dragon Warrior for bringing us back down to Mobius," He said, adjusting his head.
"Even so, I always knew you'd be amazing, but wow…" Mei Ling gushed, her bright eyes dancing, "THE Master Crane. See, I told you that you could do it if you just never gave up?"
"I'm not that impressive…" he said, ducking his head, "I mean… we're just overhyped, you know? So, how about you? It's been years since I've seen you… you're a member of the Chaotix, right?"
"Actually I'm a member of the Freedom Fighters," Mei Lung said with a faint blush. "Not really that much of a difference anymore since we've joined forces. Really, the Chaotix follow the Guardian, Knuckles, while the Freedom Fighters follow Princess Sally and Sonic."
"Speaking of…" Mei Ling said, glancing to see Tails flying over the wall into the Jade Palace, carrying Knuckles.
---
"Status report, Nicole," Sally asked her handheld computer as she brushed her bangs from her eyes.
"With the exception of Julie-Su, there are no technorganic beings within sensor range, Sally," the computer replied. "I am detecting two chaos signatures near by but unable to determine the exact location."
"Chaos Emeralds?" Sally narrowed her eyes as she glanced up and around the courtyard of the Jade Palace.
"Negative, Sally. One is confirmed to be Shadow the Hedgehog, the other is unknown."
"Keep on that, Nicole," Sally instructed as she noticed Shifu coming toward her, "Hopefully, Shadow's on our side…" she said before closing Nicole and placing the handheld into her vest pocket. "How's the Dragon Warrior, General?"
"He's been patched up and resting now; he should be fine with some rest," Shifu said as he stood beside the princess.
Sally nodded and glanced up to see Monkey Viper and Mantis approaching. "I'm sorry it took us this long to get here; we might have been able to put up a better defense."
"Way I see it, you guys and the blue guy got here just in time," Mantis said, drying his washed pinchers. "Po's gonna be sore for a while but nothing he won't be able to kick back from."
"Sonic has a knack for showing up in the nick of time," Knuckles said as he held onto Tails' wrists as the two-tailed fox lowered them toward the group.
"Mission accomplished, Sally!" Tails said, dropping down beside Knuckles before giving a snap salute.
"Good job, guys," Sally returned the salute playfully to the youngest of the Freedom Fighters as Julie-Su and the Chaotix joined their leader. "Where's Sonic?"
"He went for a scout run to see what Eggman's got planned for us next," Knuckles said as he placed an arm around Julie-Su's shoulder in a quick hug.
Sally huffed in irritation, "Just once I'd like for him to be a team player…" she grumbled, shaking her head as a sonic boom sounded just outside the village.
"Hey, now," Sonic said as he spun over the entry arch of the palace gates to land in a crouch before them. "I am a team player, thank you very much. I like playing point man."
"Good knuckle-crunch, Rad Red," the speedster said as he knuckle-bumped Knuckles.
"Bah, we've caused bigger explosions before, True Blue," Knuckles snorted as Tigress walked out of the dormitories, tall and proud as ever.
Sonic eyed the five martial artists for a moment before yawning. "The Furious Five, huh?" He asked the group. "You dudes didn't seem too furious to me."
"Excuse me?" Mantis's antenna twitched as he hopped toward the Hedgehog.
"Just I always heard you guys were the big bad kung fu army stompers," Sonic shrugged, "Wasn't expecting for Eggman's Badniks to actually be that far out of your league is all."
"Listen, you blue motor mouth," Mantis growled, working his pinchers as he glared up at the speedster. "If you want to start something, I'll finish it right here right now."
"Wanna dance, bug boy?" Sonic growled back. "Let's go, then."
"Sonic! Stop antagonizing them," Sally said, stepping between them. "Don't mind him," the princess said apologetically.
"Humph," Sonic and Mantis both grunted at the same time.
"Sonic, what did you find out?" Sally asked, trying to keep Sonic from aggravating the Five any further.
"Robuttnik's prepping another wave to rush the valley. This time, it looks like he's using the new Robians…" Sonic said gravely, and Sally and the Chaotix all looked unsettled.
"More robots?" Crane narrowed his eyes as he and Mei Ling joined them. "Let us have a crack at 'em. I definitely want a rematch."
"Sure, go ahead and tear 'em up," Sonic waved with a smirk. "That is, IF you don't mind beating up your own neighbors or family members."
"What?" Shifu asked as the Five looked up in alarm.
"When Robotnik takes prisoners, he puts them in a machine he calls a Roboticizer. It turns anything organic into a controllable robot. They're all fully conscious and aware of what they're doing but they have no control of what they're doing."
"Gods…" Tigress breathed with a shake of her head.
"We get those remaining here out of harm's way, that's what we do…" Po said from behind Shifu and the Five, anticipating Tigress's question.
"Panda! What do you think you're doing?" Tigress growled as she moved to his side. "You're hurt; you should be in bed."
"Crisis going on, Tigress, no time for resting," Po shook his head with a look of determination. "'Sides, tis but a flesh wound," He said, slapping his bandaged chest and flinching at the contact.
"Idiot…" Tigress growled, placing a hand on his back and another on his arm to help steady him.
"Master Panda's right, though. If he can make prisoners into soldiers, we need to get the villagers as far away as possible," Shifu nodded before turning to the Princess. "Any aid your people can give to our evacuation would be greatly appreciated."
Sally nodded and pulled out her handheld. "Nicole, connect me with my brother."
A moment later, a hologram of a tall, redheaded fox in a blue uniform and crown appeared. "Hello, Sally, how goes the recon?" King Elias asked with a smile.
"Not so well…" Sally smiled tightly before explaining the situation to her brother.
"I see…" Elias scratched his chin. "Tails, can you deroboticize the valley citizens?"
"It wouldn't be that hard as long as the control device is shut off or destroyed," Tails spoke up from Sonic and Knuckles' sides. "But even if we had Sonic use the Emeralds, it would be difficult to find it. Knowing Eggman, he's got it in the central-most part of his Egg-carrier."
"Then, an evacuation would be the best course… but…" Elias bit his lower lip before continuing. "Hamlin took majority of the Hovership fleet for a relief effort to the earthquake in Downunda."
"Do we have any ships left?" Sally asked hopefully.
"We have four grounded for repairs and refurbishing," Elias nodded, "I'll cancel the refurbishing for now and get Sir Charles, Sir Jules, and Rotor to help get the ships skyworthy and have them to you as soon as we can. Do you want me to send the rest of the Freedom Fighters for support?"
"No, I don't want to leave New Mobotropolis too vulnerable," Sally shook her head, "Get those ships to us, the sooner the better. Thank you, Brother."
"Will do, Sis," Elias glanced to the hedgehog. "Sonic… Keep her safe." He said, and Sonic wordlessly gave a thumbs-up and a wink.
"We need to start getting better defenses, preferably metallic," Sally stated, closing down Nicole. "Just in case the Robians get here before the Hoverships. Sonic, think you can retrieve the Chaos Emeralds? Robotnik's acting really serious on this one, so we might have get super serious back."
"No promises, but I'll get on it, Sal," Sonic nodded before disappearing in a burst of speed.
"Think your flying ship can get me up north?" Po asked, interrupting Sally train of thought.
"Huh? The Tornado?" Sally asked, glancing from the plane back to the Dragon Warrior. "Sure, I guess, but should you be traveling so much with that wound?" She asked, and the Five nodded in agreement.
"I need to get to New Chor Ghom," Po stated, and Shifu and the Five jumped in shock.
"WHAT?" Shifu snapped at the Panda.
"Hopefully, this Robotnik guy hasn't gotten there yet. Tai Lung deserves more than to be a sitting duck chained up in a prison cell ripe for Robotnik's picking," Po stated with a firm nod. "Besides, he was bad enough the last time… I don't want to think what he'd be like as a robot…"
"Panda, he wants you dead more than anything," Tigress hissed, "And you're barely able to stand on your own, right now. He'll KILL you…"
"No, he won't." Po shook his head and glanced to Shifu. "He wants to beat me first THEN kill me. He won't attack me when I'm not at one hundred percent. He wants to prove he's better than me, not take a handed victory."
"Master Panda's right," Shifu nodded, "Master Monkey and one of Princess Sally's best fighters will accompany Po to the prison. That is, if you can spare one, Your Highness…" he paused for Sally's nodded response. "I just hope you know what you're doing, Panda…"
"Hey, never know… Maybe I can aim him toward Robotnik. I doubt his robots will be able to stop him, and he'll definitely distract them." Po smiled.
"Master, I'd…" Tigress started, still holding onto the panda's arm.
"You may not," Shifu said in a dismissive tone. "Remember our conversation earlier, Master Tigress?"
"Yes, Master…" Tigress nodded, "Watch yourself, Panda, you beat him once, but he's still dangerous…"
"Didn't know you cared, Tigress," Po winked playfully, earning a scowl from the tiger.
"Tails, do you care to fly them where they need to go?" Sally asked the twin-tailed fox, who saluted excitedly then sped toward the cockpit of the plane. "Julie-Su, you stick with the Panda. If things get hairy, you can contact me through Nicole, and I'll send reinforcements by Sonic."
"You got it, Sally," Julie-Su nodded and checked her plasma gun before running toward the jet.
"I've got him, Tigress," Monkey said as he came up to Po's side.
Tigress nodded and slid behind Po's back where he couldn't see to whisper to Monkey. "If Tai Lung flexes a whisker, get Po out of there…"
"Don't worry," Monkey whispered back, "We're just going to cut a known psychopath Kung Fu Master loose, what's the worst that could happen?"
The remaining group watched as the Tornado took off and flew north, unaware of a set of dark red eyes watching carefully from the rooftop of the Palace. The dark-furred Hedgehog narrowed his eyes before glancing toward the fading aircraft. "Chaos… Cont-" and in a flash he was gone.
"Alright, Guys, let's get to… Knuckles, where'd Rouge go?" Sally blinked as she looked around.
Knuckles frowned and glanced to Shifu. "Do you have any treasure here?"
---
"I grew up with a group called the Dark Legion…" Julie-Sue said, rubbing her arms as she followed Monkey and Po through the dark corridors of New Chor Ghom prison. "Even with that, this place makes my skin crawl…"
"A not-nice place for a not-nice person," Monkey pointed out as he walked on all fours beside the slightly limping Dragon Warrior.
"He's not that bad," Po said softly, "He just wanted something so bad and pushed himself too hard for it… We've all been there." Po stopped at a large metal wall. "And here we are… Monkey, would you please…" Po said as he and Monkey grabbed two handles on either side of the wall.
"One and two and…" He counted before they pulled the handles at the same time, which caused the several feet-thick wall to rise, revealing a one-armed snow leopard with over a hundred chains tied tightly to his body and connecting to every wall, the floor, and ceiling of the cell.
"You're early, Panda…" Tai Lung opened his cold, angry eyes. "And Shifu didn't come this month?"
Tai Lung then cut his eyes to Po's simian companion. "Master Monkey, how's your chest doing?"
"Much better now, thank you for asking," Monkey said awkwardly.
He finally settled on the female half-cybernetic echidna. "Aw, did you get a girlfriend, Panda? Bring her to meet your old pal? She's rather small; better watch sleeping with him. If he rolls over in his sleep, it'd be a very nasty way to go…"
"He's trying to get a rise out of you, Julie-Su, don't listen to him," Po said to the former Dark Legionnaire. "I know you're not evil, Tai Lung, and the sooner you agree with me, the sooner we can get you out of this place."
"Ah, here we go again. Oh, I've gone astray, but that doesn't mean it's too late, right?" Tai Lung said with mock excitement. "I just have to backtrack to the fork, take the good road, and then everything will be sunshine and candy. Give me a break! You'd think you and Shifu would come up with some new material for a change…"
"Doesn't mean that isn't true," Julie-Su spoke up heatedly. "It's never too late to turn back."
"Look, Little Ms. Metal Locks, you're what, eighteen years old, nineteen tops?" Tai Lung snarled. "Come back when you're old enough to understand what you're talking about."
Tai Lung's eyes widened when just below his chin, a large hole was blown out of the floor and hot smoke filled his nostrils. "You know how many innocent people this gun of mine's killed?" Julie-Su asked coldly, the hand blaster still trained on Tai Lung's face. "Me neither. I lost count. Sure it's easy to ignore that guilt in the back of your mind from all the lives you've taken or ruined. But it helps you sleep at night knowing you're doing something to make up for it. Life gets a whole lot more meaningful when you start actually doing the right thing instead of sulking in a hole in the wall." She lifted her blaster, staring at the smoke coming from the twin barrels. "You can keep doing what you were doing and wind up back here or worse, or you can use your skills to make up for what you've done. Your call, though."
"Finish it, Julie-Su," Po said with a frown, causing an unfamiliar panic to rise up in the leopard.
Tai Lung closed his eyes as he heard the blaster fire rapidly. After several moments, he reopened his eyes and was shocked to find himself uninjured but all his chains blasted loose. "What?"
"You're free to go; I'm pardoning you, right now. One of the awesome perks of being the Dragon Warrior…" Po said, favoring his chest.
Tai Lung looked somewhat timid as he studied the severed chains, Po, Monkey, and Julie-Su. "We got bigger problems right now, and if you ever decide to help us, we'll more than welcome the help. If you want a rematch…" Po flashed a smile. "At least give me time to get the stitches out of my chest, a'ight?"
A moment later, Tai Lung roared at Po before running out of the cell on toward the exit without even looking back. "I hope you know what you're doing, Po…" Monkey said with a shake of the head.
"Yeah… me, too…" Po gulped.
---
Tai Lung ran for some time, unsure how long he was actually going, but he finally stopped on the peak of a mountain overlooking the prison from which he had been freed… freed by his most hated enemy. It didn't make sense to him. "Why did you do that, Panda?" Tai Lung growled out, flexing his remaining fist, remembering the pain Po inflicted with the Wuxi Finger Hold, which took his hand and arm and a large part of his shoulder. The same pampered, spoiled 'Dragon Warrior' Panda who accompanied his backstabbing former master on a monthly basis trying to 'rehabilitate' him.
Was this another test? "What are you up to, Shifu?" Tai Lung snarled with narrowed eyes.
"It is not Shifu you should be worried about," a voice behind Tai Lung spoke softly, almost growling in the shadows. "You are always first defeated by yourself before you are beaten by anyone else."
Tai Lung spun on his heel and snarled at his intruder, which, he discovered, was a rather short, black hedgehog with red highlights on his spiked quills and white fur on his chest. He had hard, almost glowing red eyes, and a cold, emotionless expression on his face. "So, you are the much debated Tai Lung, Master of the One Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu."
"And you must be… dead!" Tai Lung snapped before diving toward the Hedgehog.
The black hedgehog watched passively as the larger leopard barreled toward him. "CHAAAOOS…" He chanted as Tai Lung lunged toward him and met nothing but stony earth.
"What?" Tai Lung growled, looking around for his opponent.
"CONTROL!" Shifu's former student heard from directly above him before two red shoes stomped the top of his head back to the ground before leaping off to stand a short distance away.
"You are skilled, but you lack discipline," the Hedgehog stated, watching as the Leopard climbed back to his feet.
"Who are you?" Tai Lung snarled.
"I am Shadow the Hedgehog. Now…" Shadow said, motioning with his fingers for him to 'bring it'. "Show me what you can do."
To Be Continued…
Next chapter: Tai Lung vs. Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge vs. Cream, and Noodle Soup vs. Chili Dogs.
A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this out, work and writer's block are not good friends of mine. But, for everyone who has been clammering for Shadow, if the bit in the end wasn't enough, the next chapter should make you happy. And for those who still haven't figured it out, this is a crossover with the Archie Comics version of Sonic the Hedgehog with some refs from the games. And if you haven't already, check out the fic that really inspired me to try my hand at the Kung Fu Panda fandom, Luna Goldsun's classic in the making "Memoirs of a Master." Hands down, it is one of the best reads on the site. That is all. Don't forget to drop a review! Cowboy Up!