I don't own Sonic or Sega.

19. All Hail Shadow

Shadow stood in the ring for a second. He looked around at the screaming fans, and it hit him. He just won the MWF Royal Rumble. The fans started chanting.

"BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW! BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW!"

He smiled. He looked up at a poster on the ceiling and saw what it read; MWF No Way Out.

"BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW! BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW!"

"SHUT UP!" he screamed into the Microphone. The crowd loved it, and they obeyed him.

"In 17 days, there will be no… way… out!" the crowd roared and began chanting again.

"BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW! BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW!"

Cult of Personality by Living Colour

Laoch burst out of the curtain, and got heavily booed. He also got chants.

"BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW! BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW!"

To the pleasure of the crowd, Laoch did a low bow to Shadow.

"All… hail… Shadow!" Laoch said. The crowd roared.

"Obviously, you want a match at No Way Out. Who do you want your opponent to be?" Shadow was about to say something, but Laoch cut him off.

"No, you can't pick Knuckles, because a certain somebody already wants him." The crowd roared again, knowing who was going to be facing Knuckles at No Way Out.

Shadow pressed his lips to the microphone.

"You."

The crowd exploded. Laoch smiled.

"Really? Well, the battle of the ultimate lifeforms should be an entertaining one, don't you think? What type of match do you want to have?" Shadow answered immediately.

"Hell in a Cell!" the crowd was going crazy.

"Hell in a Cell! This is awesome!" said Jerry.

"The battle of the ultimate life forms? This is ridiculous!" Michael got up and Jerry was shaking his head.

"May I have your attention please?" the crowd booed.

"You want our attention? Fine, go ahead."

"This is absolutely ridiculous! It just shows how arrogant you are and ruthless you are! You don't have a beef with him, so why do you pick him? It's for arrogance! And the same for you, Laoch, you had no right to accept his challenge, you're just a stupid GM!" He stood there for a moment before it kicked in what he just said.

"Shadow?" asked Laoch.

"Yes?" asked Shadow, smiling.

"Let's kick his ass." The crowd cheered. They closed in on him and before he knew it, Shadow had his hands bind and Laoch was kicking him in the stomach. He dropped to floor.

Laoch turned to leave but Shadow tapped him on the shoulder. When Laoch turned around, Shadow blasted him with his signature spinning kick to the skull. He walked up the ramp, but turned around at the last second. He pressed the mic to his lips.

"ALL…HAIL…SHADOW!" the crowd roared and he threw the microphone down, exiting through the curtain.

The Medical Center, 10:30 PM

The whole gang rushed to the room, waiting to see what Ryko looked like. Sadie was sitting down next to his bed.

"Is he okay?" asked Sally.

"No! He isn't! That damn Echidna better be here right now and better give an apology!"

"An apology?" asked an entering Knuckles.

"I was doing my job."

"You sure did the job on him!"

"Sadie, cal dow." said an awakening Ryko.

"Hez righ. I knew the ris."

"The what?"

"The risk."

"Yea, but… but…"

"Listen Sadie. I came here to beat the crap outta someone and I did. That's the bottom line because Knuckles said so."

"Oh yea, that quote fits you perfectly. Stone cold." she stormed out of the room.

"Waz up wif er?" asked Ryko.

Shadow and Laoch entered the room, Laoch holding his head.

"You got a nice kick."

"I know."

"What happened while I was gone?" asked Laoch.

"Sadie's pissed, Ryko sounds like a three year old and Knuckles is acting like a complete jackass." summed up Espio.

"Excellent. I'll go talk to Sadie."

Sadie was sitting on a steel chair backstage. He pulled up another one and sat right next to her.

"It wasn't his fault. If it was anybody's, it was mine. I brung him here-"

"YEA YOU DID! YOU ALSO BRUNG FOURTEEN OTHER PEOPLE HERE WHO THE SAME THING COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO-"

"Sadie, shut up and listen to me. It isn't the end of the world, he'll get better. He'll be a little dazed, but think about this. When has Ryko ever given up? On anything?"

Sadie thought about Ship-Trap, her rescue, and his helping of the Freedom Fighters."

"Maybe I'm being a little uptight-"

"Yea, that's fits you perfectly. Stone cold." said Laoch.

"Okay, maybe a medium amount of-"

"YEA YOU DID! YOU ALSO BRUNG FOURTEEN OTHER PEOPLE HERE WHO THE SAME THING COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO-" mimicked Laoch.

"Oh, fine. Thanks."

"Welcome."

"Hey, what happened with Antoine and Bunnie? Was Antoine mad at her?"

"No, she was concerned. She didn't want him to compete."

"Why not?"

"He was attacked yesterday. And today, he was found lying on the ground with a fire extinguisher about 2 feet away from him."

"Really?"

"Yea. He got back up, though. Oh well." His watched beeped.

"We have more time… Espio! Antoine!" they both came.

"Go to that ring and beat the living crap outta each other for the people's entertainment. Now!" they ran to the ring.

"Alright. Well, thanks Laoch. I'll go back in there."

"Again, it's cool. "He walked out the building. Sadie went back to the others.

"Sorry 'bout that."

"No problem. Sadie, you don't mind if I talk to you in private, do you?"

"Uh… no."

"Good." she yanked her out of the room.

"Ryko won't be better for a while and we need someone now."

"You want me to help you?" asked Sadie.

"Yes, it's-" Laoch walked back in.

"Oh yea, I forgot to tell you. You two will be going to No Way Out, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, these two girls called earlier wanting to face you."

"What were their names?"

"Uh, I think one said her name was Fiona and the other's ended with 'Da'"