And now, the second act in this dizzying play known as combat. As always, my thanks to all those who have donated their reviews to this piece. Let's continue, shall we?
Part Twenty-One: Tyranny's Fall
Meanwhile, the two feminine warriors continued their trek through the ship's framework, desperately seeking a way out. The rocking explosions and screeching collisions were slowing their progress quite a bit, until a much more massive detonation followed by an angry howl caught both of their attentions "Shadow!" Amy yelled in a mix of adrenaline and fear.
The shattering sounds of metal against force came closer and closer, finally erupting into their view as a mean spirited mass of ruby and spikes smashed through a sentry drone, coming to rest only an arm's reach away. The echidna looked no worse off than he had been in the morning's trials, though the slashes in his chest had been reopened.
"Knuckles!" both cried out, surprising the furious guardian quite thoroughly "GAAH!! Goddammit, Rouge! You gotta quit scaring me like that!" he replied as he bounded over to his ivory bat for a quick embrace. "Well, at least you two are safe. Where's ol Shads at?"
On that cue, the wall behind the trio exploded outward to reveal the blackened hedgehog, his body alive and flickering with an amber fire and eyes burning with fury. Still, she didn't mind much as Rose quickly found her way over the wreckage to wrap up her own savior in a bone-cracking hug despite the warm sickly feeling of his blood emanating from his snowcapped chest.
His squeeze was slower and more methodical, cradling her neck and back as softly as his energized form would allow. This time however, her loving touch slowed the chaotic vibrations of his core and cooled the flames from his quills and torso.
"You know, we really need to work on your entrance" the echidna commented.
Shadow gave a patented smirk "You're one to talk. But we'll worry about that later. Right now we need an exit. Rouge, can you glide?"
The ivory thief shook her head "Sorry hun, that lil twin of yours caught me off-guard. Even messed up my hair."
Yet another complication in an already hellish day. With only one member of a quartet truly flight-worthy and Shadow already feeling the over-exertion slowing his nerves too much for him to risk Chaos Control, there was only one gamble out "Echidna, sounds like we need a hole."
Knuckles grinned "My pleasure!" Focusing their brute strength on a singular point on the hull, the guardian and the hedgehog brought all the power and muscle they could to bear. It only took three rapid strikes to knock a significant hole in the cruiser's belly, which was growing alarmingly closer and closer to the hillsides they had passed earlier. Nodding to Knuckles, Shadow scooped Amy back into his arms and leapt out of the new exit and towards the soft grass of the valley, the ruby echidna close behind carrying Rouge in the same fashion. Behind them, the entirety of the warship seemed to swell before detonating into a second sun; the sheer force of the nova pitched them down towards the ground even faster than before.
It did not dawn on the ebony hedgehog why he hadn't chosen such an easy retreat sooner until the annoyingly familiar reflection of lightning and embers off of sharpened teeth and claw jogged his memory Oh, you've got to be fucking KIDDING me! The Raptors below him had noted their escape and rushed in to harvest the leftovers, and the dying fires of a lost ship above did not make for an appealing situation in the least. Fate, it seems, still had its hand to play for Shadow. Only this time, it was a tip of the hat to his fortune as the X-Tornado came racing in from the distance and swooped in low to scoop up the falling warriors.
Landing with a thud, it took everyone a few seconds to realize what had just transpired. Not to mention the sudden whooshing feeling of the wind and rain instead of a more unpleasant tearing sensation of blades versus skin. Looking upwards into the storm, Shadow's ruby orbs went a bit wide when he saw a gloved hand offered to his flower on a cobalt arm "Are you okay, Ames? Here, let me help you up…"
Suddenly no longer fatigued, Shadow leapt into his feet and closed the gap quickly to wrap Amy into a firm embrace, not so subtlety brushing the blue blur out of his way. "Nice to see you too Shadow" Sonic commented. No one else seemed to hear him.
All his attention was now focused on her, as hers was on him. Even as the Tornado circled the battlefield, which was itself encased inside an expansive thunderstorm, the one and only thing the two pairs of lovers could feel were the pounding hearts of their mates.
"I knew you'd come for me" Amy said, lyrical voice just low enough so only he could hear.
"Of course I would. No power in this life can keep you from me. Never doubt that."
"And I never did, not for a second. Oh, Shadow, I love you so much!" He could feel the tears finally breaching her eyes and staining his shoulder. Not that he minded, it was taking all his logical restraint to hold back the ones threatening to fall from his own closed crimson gaze. It had been a long time since his frozen heart had felt actual fear, though he would never admit it, save perhaps to the young blossom he now cradled "I love you too, Amy."
The moment, despite the natural fury erupting around them, was perfect at last.
Which is why is had to come to an end.
No one had witnessed the mechanized crab's immersion from the water or its climb up the cliffside until it was too late. Bringing its single laser cannon to bear against the X-Tornado, the beam connected right at the slender neck of the fighter and snapped it in two. The rude force of the shot and resulting shift in speed threw everyone right back off their feet before the cackling energy from the Chaos Emerald detonated, sending everyone behind the cockpit soaring backwards towards the coastline and the poor twin-tailed pilot forward into the hillsides. Shadow landed in the grass with a thud, but on his feet thanks to his patented airshoes, which was more than the rest of the warriors could say. Sonic went face first into a mud puddle, Knuckles almost landing gracefully next to him before Rouge landed in his flailing arms and knocked him over. Of Tails, the group saw nothing.
Amy flew back the farthest thanks to her lithe frame, yet her foot never dashed against the ground. Instead her form was clamped tightly inside a hydraulic pincer. The Egg Crab's aim was flawless. "Shadow! Help!" she cried out, her voice piercing the rolling thunder.
Standing to meet the occasion, his ruby eyes went wide at the sight of his flower so clinched in an artificial grasp. Just as those horrid visions in his dreams had predicted. The contraption stood like a wall in front of him, armor plating clanking with every step it took and water steaming off the barrel of the cannon. Adding insult to the injury were the amber eyes of Epsilon staring lasers into his and the Raptors flanking the android. The entire board seemed to be set against them as Eggman's voice blared out from the walker "Ah, Shadow. So good of you to join us."
Shadow's fury threatened to explode like a dying star, even as his allies took their places at his side "You…you bastard…I'll DESTROY YOU!!" His howl was not what frightened the other warriors back a step, but the way his once ebony fur was again shining a clean fire. He wanted desperately now to rend the good doctor's skin from his overexaggerated bones, to hear his human throat scream for mercy before the midnight fury's hand crushed it.
Yet his first footsteps towards that goal personified the difficulty of the task as the Crab squeezed down tighter on Amy, causing her to wail in agony and negating Shadow's movement. "Tsk tsk, hedgehog. Such impatience. I would hate to do anything to endanger the family line."
It was those last two words that suddenly calmed his quills back into their normal posture as his logic started to reassert itself. What was it she was trying to say earlier?… "What the hell are you talking about, Doctor?"
"She didn't tell you yet?" His laughter sickened Shadow's stomach "Oh, how absolutely marvelous this is!" To prove his point, the Crab squeezed down on the young flower again, just to hear her cries and to watch the blood-patched hedgehog's fists clench. "Well Shadow, I'd be glad to tell you. And all you and your vermin brethren have to do is bow down at my feet."
"Not gonna happen, lardass!" Sonic replied first.
"Exactly! Now, put Amy down before I send you into orbit!" Knuckles added.
"My, such hostility! Perhaps I should…wait…what the hell is that?"
Shadow's own mind was furiously trying to put the puzzle together, yet even he had to acknowledge he only had half the pieces. And until the onyx warrior knew what it was he was waltzing into, how big a risk could he take? Suddenly, an answer echoed on the howling wind, the irregular flutter of a twin-tailed rotor. Spinning around, three jaws dropped as the rest regarded the half-dead kitsune with shock. Shadow's eyes also went wide, yet his were a symbol of relief, for Tails carried with him just the answer he was looking for.
The vibrant orange glow of the Emerald that once served as the heart of his prized X-Tornado.
Apparently Eggman was just as stunned as the rest; for his outrageous mustachios drooped the instant he caught sight of the jewel Impossible! The shot should have gone right through the cockpit! How the hell is that fox still alive?! "Epsilon, retrieve that emerald! Raptors, attack!"
Both sides of the chessboard collided like two opposite waves in the ocean in front of them. The android took off on its robbery attempt; only to receive a well earned Chaos Spear to the sternum from its living twin and a swift uppercutting kick from a steel-toed, yet fashionable, ivory boot. It made no sounds of dismay or agony as the target flew backwards past its master. The other two males locked onto the approaching Raptor flock and unloaded their own hell, using their own honed skills to send various pieces and parts of the mindless drones into the already crowded sky.
Together, Shadow and Rouge reached the wounded kitsune just as his natural helicopter sputtered out. Catching him delicately in her arms, the ivory bat focused more on the pup than she did the gemstone he carried. An odd instance in Shadow's eyes, but not one to dwell upon now. Still, before Tails' eyes dimmed shut, he offered the Emerald to Shadow "Here, … take it…save her…"
Accepting the final piece of the weapon he was designed to be, the midnight warrior gave his injured comrade a stern nod. "Done. Look after him, Rouge."
She nodded "Be careful, hun. Bring Amy back, ok?"
He smiled a mix of exhilaration and confidence as he raised the gem into the air above his quills. The very feeling of the Emerald's power surging into his core was invigorating indeed. And now, the playing field was level. "Chaos…CONTROL!"
The scene before his eyes was the exact opposite of what Eggman had imagined. How can this be happening?! I designed Epsilon to be perfect! Not some useless rag-doll! Even the Raptors aren't holding up! Indeed, the combined tenacity of Sonic's speed and Knuckles' strength was spreading screaming destruction throughout the field like butter on toast. Pot-shots from the Crab's cannon did nothing to deter their progress, and the repeated attempts to recall Epsilon to his side as a last defense had apparently failed.
And then, he appeared in the shining flash of Chaos Control, not a hair's length away from the insane human's mustache. Shadow the Hedgehog, ablaze with all the energies and abilities worthy of the ultimate life-form.
"Good evening, Doctor. I believe you have something that belongs to me. And now, I'd like it back…"
Unfortunately for Shadow, he had temporarily forgotten the most basic rule of combat: Whatever goes up… always comes down. And the one variable still adrift in the air still had a clawed hand to play.
Releasing the bracelets from its body as commanded by such a directive, Shadow Epsilon had finally shaken the cobwebs out of its logic circuits and had received its last order. No more need for samples of the like. Now there was only time for dismemberment. Channeling all available power from its cerulean heart into its speed, the loyal sentinel blasted towards the scene just as Shadow lifted its master out of the Crab by his throat. The human struggled and pleaded as best he could, but Shadow did not hear a word. His hand was pulsating with chaotic energy, beyond the traditional Spear, even farther than the thundering torpedo he had used against the first Raptor. No, this single assault was simple unrestrained fury fueled by a stone of unrivaled power.
The charcoal hedgehog threw the massive girth of the doctor out of his walker and into the air over the crashing waves. Only when he bought his energized fist forward to release the attack did his blood-red orbs catch the incoming blur that was Epsilon. Catching him in a speeding tackle, the android pulled Shadow back towards land and knocked the shining sunrise-splashed gemstone out of his gloved palm. Nevertheless, it was too late. Shadow had released the overpowered Chaos Attack, which emerged from his interrupted motions as a solid crescent blade. The blazing glory clipped off one of the doppelganger's legs and easily eviscerated the doctor's protective layer of blubber before cleanly segmenting the rest of him outwards into the unforgiving waves. Even the Egg Crab's thickened armor stood no chance against the hedgehog's wrath, as the mechanized seafood dish split evenly in two.
And then his gamble became a losing hand as the walker did the one thing he had not intended.
The entirety of the Egg Crab detonated in a massive fireball, unused ammunition, fluids and stored energy from two other Emeralds spilling fuel into the force. Shadow's eyes went wide in unrestrainable horror at the increasingly distant supernova that had consumed everything around it as the two ebony warriors crashed into a hillside, Epsilon again in the superior position, trying to rob his twin of life. His blood-splashed fur was on absolute end, eyes wide and on fire. Then he noticed the cracks in the android's chest plating, revealing its shining power source.
"If you're so intent on taking me to hell, then I'll see you there!" Shadow howled out. Tearing into the contraption's torso and completely ignoring the feeling of sharpened claws retaliating against his own shoulders and chest, he grabbed onto the now accessible emerald.
Sonic and Knuckles had only just finished with the drones as the thundering detonation marked the end of another one of Eggman's concoctions. Yet before the pair could make their way towards the ragged cliffs for conformation, a massive midnight bullet careened past them into the once lush slope. After that, only the command was heard before their own worlds were blinded white and fell silent…
"CHAOS… BLAST!"
Well, the deed is done. Eggman is dead and his army conquered. But what cost did the victors have to pay? Sat tuned to find out...
(And yes, I promise to cut down on cliffhangers on my next work, whichever one that is )
Lemme hear your thoughts, please.