Chapter 18

As the implications of Link's words sank in, Shadow's mind blasted into overdrive. He knew that he wasn't exactly powerless against Doom, but he had just drained himself against Dark Link, and the more he thought about it, the more hopeless the situation seemed.

His thoughts hadn't gotten far before he realized that Link and Samus were glaring hard at him. "What?" he snarled.

Link's reply was equally sharp. "You've been lying to us Shadow."

Shadow glared daggers into Link's indomitable gaze. "You have no proof of that statement."

Samus's glare was as hard as Link's, of not more so. "You told us that you had a connection with the Chaos Emeralds, but you said nothing about being able to draw their power at will. We've been going on and on about finding the Emeralds for nothing. Why didn't you tell us?"

Shadow opened his fanged mouth to retort and then shut it as he realized that he himself didn't know why he hadn't told them. At the same time, why hadn't they called it out sooner? It was obvious that they had known...so why hadn't they said anything? Shadow's thoughts were mirrored in Link's and Samus's expressions of confusion.

The answer came crashing down on all three of them even as Midna stirred feebly on the ground.

Dark Link had been manipulating them from the beginning. He was why they had overlooked multiple crucial facts pertaining to how to defeat Black Doom. He was the reason they had chosen the Twilight Realm first. He had known Midna would be jealous of Link's love for Samus and used it to control her and attempt to kill Samus and leave Link despairing, making him an easy target for Dark Link to take over and kill Shadow, Midna, AND himself. The contingency plan had been to attack Midna mentally and provoke Link into fighting him, and he had known that Samus would attack and that Shadow would finish him off using Chaos energy, a ploy that would immediately alert Black Doom to their location. From the very beginning they had been walking, inadvertently, into a trap of their own.

There was nothing else for it. They had to run. They were in no condition to fight Black Doom, and every moment they wasted brought Black Doom closer.

Shadow broke the silence. "We have to run. Now. Black Doom is on his way."

Link looked at him. "How do you know?"

Shadow could feel that part of him attached to Black Doom practically boiling. "I can feel when he's near. A side-effect of having been made with his blood."

Link knew Shadow was telling the truth and Samus was already ahead of them when Link picked up Midna's unconscious form and took off after her, Shadow close behind. Link opened the Twilight portal and When Shadow had caught up, he threw himself in, with Samus and Shadow following close behind.

Moments later they were outside the SSB Facility. The place was unrecognizable. The front doors had been torn from their hinges and signs of a colossal battle were everywhere. Sections of the roof were ripped off and debris littered the ground for miles in every direction. The medical area, fortunately, was undamaged. Link, Shadow, and Samus rushed in the now-destroyed facility.

In the medical area, Link laid Midna on one of the medical beds and hooked her up to an IV and vital monitors. Samus sank into the nearest chair, exhausted. Shadow remained standing, looking morbidly grim. Link discarded his shield and sat down next to Samus and held her hand.

"Hello? Is someone there?" a familiar voice called out. Link stared at Samus wide-eyed. He knew the voice.

Link got up and dashed to the door and opened it. It was Solid Snake, looking haggard and tired. Link supported the exhausted espionage and helped him to a chair. Samus, alerted to the presence of a survivor, got up and helped Snake sit.

"Snake! What the hell happened?" Link asked.

Snake shook his head. "The Black Arms. They caught us all off guard. None of us were prepared for the assault."

Shadow stepped in. "When did they attack?"

"Two days ago," Snake replied, "They came out of nowhere. A lot of us managed to retaliate, and Megaman, R.O.B., Falco, Fox, and Wolf all fought like hell. The others were unprepared and immediately taken prisoner. Megaman fought the hardest, especially after Wii Trainer got taken. It was unbelievable. He took out nearly a fourth of the Black Arms force by himself, but he was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. I'd never seen anything like it."

"Do you know where they were taken?" Samus asked.

Snake shook his head. "If I did, I'd have gone after them, but after Megaman was taken, there was nothing I could do but feign death, which wasn't hard considering I was pinned by the containment area doors, which were blasted off their hinges when the Black Arms soldiers released all the Polygon figures and Wire Frames. They've been running rampant ever since, reeking havoc everywhere they go. I've been trying to track them, but there are too many to focus on one at a time. by the time I'd have found one, the others would have already done who knows what."

Link was horrified. Shadow looked more grim than ever. "So now what?"

Link replied. "Now we need to recover, replenish our strength. Our only hope now is to attack Black Doom directly." He turned to Shadow. "It's high time you told us everything about your Chaos powers."

Shadow nodded. "With Dark Link at the helm, I couldn't have. My connection with the Chaos Emeralds allows me to draw on their power at will, but my limiter rings limit the amount I can take in, and it takes up to 24 hours for me to replenish what I lose."

"Why can't you remove them?" Samus asked.

"Because the amount of power that flows through my body without them limiting it may strengthen me beyond any limits, but the damage it does to my body is catastrophic. If I remove my limiters for too long, the amount of power going through me will eventually kill me."

Link now understood why Shadow was so feared. "So how much power can you draw on with the limiters on?"

"Enough to take Black Doom at his peak. But it'd have to be a quick fight because with the limiters, I can't replenish my power in combat."

"Do you have to remove all four?" Snake asked.

"No, but I've never tried only removing one or two."

Link thought for a moment and looked at the room at large. "It's our only hope. We have to attack Black Doom directly if we're going to attack him at all. The sooner the better."

Snake nodded. "When do we move out?"

"Tomorrow."

THE END IS NEAR!

Lol'in. In all seriousness, the final battle will soon commence! Who will be victorious? Who will the final combatants be?

Find out in Chapter 19, the beginning of the end!

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