A/N: Another long delayed update. I give no excuses besides writing other stuff. Oh, and college/holidays. But you probably don't care. So on with it then.

I own nothing. I wish I did.

Shadow would generally say that he was not in a good mood. This was mainly because his next match was going to be a tag team match, but he didn't do teams very well. Most of the time he could barely put up with people he worked with if they didn't have common, unconflicting goals. Generally, this reduced to him working with Omega, or occasionally Rouge. With Sonic's gang only if world survival was at stake. And that was because he had a reputation to uphold.

Now though, he was being forced onto a team for this next match, a state of affairs he had only found out about today, the day of the match, when he had overheard Fox and Falco talking strategy in the cafeteria. Naturally, they thought that he was the greater threat, and were making plans on how they would take him out. And as much as he assumed that they would do that as a matter of fact, he knew that their egos would never let them stand working together in a free for all. Exiting, he quickly went off to find what poor soul he would be shackled to.

A quick check of the schedule gave him the answer. It was Meta Knight, another new contender who was as much shrouded in mystery as he was, wrapped in a cloak with a mask, spouting words of wisdom when needed and generally being silent otherwise if not directly asked a question. Shadow didn't know how much this would be a problem for him, but he didn't need his help. So, he didn't go seeking him out, like another might have. Instead, he did his daily routine, working out in the gym, meditating, and making sure his gun was in ready condition for the battle to come.

Finally, it was time to get ready to fight. Shadow walked to the preparation area, where Fox, Falco, and Meta Knight were. He ignored the chattering of the fox and bird, slipping on his dash rings and holstering his gun. Glancing over, he caught Meta Knight looking at him, with some unknown purpose, as if he was trying to understand the one he was fighting with. Shadow didn't blame him, but had his own questions about the mysterious warriors, most of which would be answered in combat.

This fight would be really interesting, a battle of gunslingers, with Shadow, Fox, and Falco all packing guns to blast away at each other with. Shadow knew the other two had laser weapons, but he was confident his skills would prove superior.

"Alright, let's do it," said Fox, giving Falco a high five as they stepped onto the teleportation pads to enter the arena.

Shadow followed them, sparing enough time to give Meta Knight some advice. "Stay out of my way. We may be on a team, but we aren't friends. Got it?":

Meta Knight didn't respond, but the narrowing of his eyes behind the mask indicated that he got the message. Shadow nodded. Good. He didn't need his 'team mate' getting in his way during the fight. And wasting his energy and time. He could get this done much faster by himself.

Ready to begin, he stepped into the teleporter, and vanished in a flash of light.

Shadow appeared on the teleport pad in the arena, which was once again surrounded by cheering fans. Shadow paid them no attention, as much as they may have yelled for his, and scanned the battlefield. He recognized it as Hyrule, that once place that Link and that other Princess were from. It was a fairly large stage, as they went, with room to run around and use ranged attacks to good effect as well. It would be interesting to see how it went.

Master Hand started the announcements. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER EXCITIING MATCHUP. TODAY, WE HAVE AN EXCITING TEAM MATCH. ON ONE SIDE, YOU KNOW THEM, YOU LOVE THEM, TEAM STAR FOX!"

Falco grinned as he twirled his blaster, while Fox shot the crowd something of a salute before turning his attention back to the battlefield, causing an additional roar from the crowd.

"AND THEIR OPPONENTS, TWO RISING STARS IN THEIR FIRST TEAM MATCH TOGETHER, THE MYSTERIOUS META KNIGHT AND THE DARK SHADOW!"

Neither of them really showed off like their opponents had, choosing instead to focus on the match ahead and winning the fight ahead. Meta Knight usually refrained from displays of emotion, and Shadow just didn't plain care.

Master Hand began the match. "READY? GO!"

The second the match began, all four raced forward, and the battle was joined. Laser bolts flew across the terrain as Fox and Falco began firing in tandem, one laying down fire while the other advanced. Shadow returned fire as he moved, his bullets crisscrossing with lasers in the sky. Meta Knight bounded across the landscape, gracefully landing before leaping back into the sky, his cloak wrapped around him.

Shadow hit the ground in a slide, dodging a fusillade of laser blasts that flew through where his head had been a second before. He fired a few shots to keep their attention, then leapt up into a Spin Dash as Meta Knight landed between Fox and Falco, flourishing his cape before leaping at the bird, sword drawn. He batted aside the gun and unleashed a fury of slashes, his sword striking and slashing as it worked to break through Falco's guard, drawing red blood from cuts as it went. Fox whirled around and brought his gun to aim on the dark warrior, but before he could fire he lurched forward as the spinning Shadow impacted against his back.

Shadow landed in a crouch and stood back up as Fox got back to his feet and turned to face the black hedgehog. Meta Knight and Falco were left to fight alone as the two stared each other down. Shadow curled his gloved hands into fists as Fox got in a fighting stance. Fox did a "Come at me" motion to Shadow, who obliged.

Their hands clashed as they began hand to hand combat, both spinning around and leaping into the air as they sought an advantage over one another, Shadow using his speed while Fox used his superior reach to keep Shadow from getting in close. Grunts issued forth as they each landed their own hits, Shadow kicking Fox upside the head in a leap, and Fox battered Shadow with a flurry of kicks which the hedgehog could not completely block.

Still, neither of them backed off as they landed hits on each other. And, as he grimaced, Shadow had to admit that it was becoming a closer run thing than he would like. If it came down to a bashing contest, he'd probably lose. Quickly, he backflipped before using a short burst of chaos control to grab an energy sword. Fox's eyes slightly widened as Shadow reappeared in front of him, brandishing the weapon.

"So, that's how you want to play," said Fox. He smirked. "Alright."

Shadow didn't bother responding, but dashed forward with sword prepared to strike. He was about to strike when Fox did a spin kick, only this was added to by the boosters on his feet, throwing Shadow back until he slammed into the ground, the sword flying out of his hand. With a grimace, the Hedgehog got to his feet, fists curled in anger. The fox would pay for that.

He rolled up into a Spin Dash, aiming at Fox, who prepared to dodge. Only to his surprise, Shadow vanished as he used Chaos Control, before a Spin Kick of Shadows own slammed into the back of his head. This sent him stumbling forward, and Shadow landed easily before pulling out his gun again.

Fox recovered, and turned around to see Shadow with his gun out. He pulled out his own weapon and aimed, before his hand brushed over a dial on his belt, and he suddenly sped up, moving to get behind Shadow. Shadow saw it coming though and used his own Chaos Control, and fox worked to get behind that, leading to a series of leaps that took them across the stage as they angled to get behind one another. To soon though, they ran out of space to move backwards in their attempts.

Fox ended up behind shadow and planted his gun on the back of Shadows head. "Looks like I win,' he said matter of factly.

"As if," harrumphed Shadow before he Chaos Controlled above Fox and slammed down with his jet shoes, Fox stumbled forward as Shadow impacted on his head, and upon landing, Shadow aimed and fired. The bolt slammed into Fox's back and exploded, catapulting him across the stage and into the abyss, a flash of light signaling his departure.

That done with, Shadow turned to Meta Knight and Falco, who were still going at it. A quick intervention, a bit of of hand to hand combat and a rifle shot later, and Falco had been trounced by the two warriors.

"AND THE WINNER IS...SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG AND META KNIGHT," announced Master Hand as he ended the match. Meta Knight sheathed his sword and shadow holstered his rifle before they were teleported back to the preparation room.

Arriving back, Shadow could see Fox and Falco almost done storing their gear. "Next time man, next time," said Falco with certainty, to which Shadow just smirked.

"Good fight though," commented Fox with a grin. "Can't wait to do it again."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Can't wait to get beat again? Well, it's your life."

"Hah, don't think you'll get so lucky again."

Shadow paused for a second before replying. "That wasn't luck. It was skill. The skill that's going to win me this pointless tournament so I can get back to better things."

Fox would have gone on had Falco not distracted him, and they both lef the preparation room en route to the cafeteria. Shadow went back to storing his stuff, none the more caring than before. Glancing over, he did catch Meta Knight looking at him, not being subtle about it as before. "What," he asked angrily.

Meta Knight shook his head. "Such anger. Why is it? I wonder if you even know."

"Of course I know," replied Shadow rapidly. "I want to be the best, and I don't have time for you fools."

"Such anger from you. You want to be the best, to prove to yourself that you are the strongest, so that what happened on the Ark will not happen again. But you also are cold, abrasive. You drive people away form you, so that the attachments which led to your pain will not happen again, and you cannot be hurt that way again. Interesting."

Shadow rounded on Meta Knight, fists clenched. "I don't need you to analyze my life. I know who I am, and what I want to be. I am Shadow, the Ultimate Life form, and I don't need you, or anyone else to judge me on that. I will be the strongest, and that is all there is to it."

Meta Knight didn't back down. "You may tell yourself that, but there will come a time when what you believe is put to the test. You will face yourself, and I pray you approve of what you see."

Shadow, anger diminishing, backed off. "So, my turn for a question. Why the mask? What are you hiding from?"

He could have sworn the warrior grinned at him behind the metal mask. "I am a warrior. A warrior wears a mask to protect his face. There is no meaning behind it." Meta Knight began exiting the room, but stopped to glance back at shadow. "Goodbye Shadow." With that, he departed.

Shadow watched the doorway where Meta Knight had left for a second afterwards, more out of shock than anything. Then, with a shrug, he turned back, finished storing his gear, and headed into the mansion. He wouldn't concern himself with what Meta Knight had said. He didn't get it. Nobody got it. So, who were they to judge him. He'd just beat them all and move on. Philosophy wasn't his thing, and he was content with who he was.

And so, he walked, confident in step, and certain of the future.