"We got him!"
"Keep him down!"
"Don't let it get away!"
was heard all throughout the government base holding Robotnik. Emerl (Not Emile) lay down on the ground, sparking every now and then with dents in its metal plating. Rouge came up, seeing the broken robot in shambles.
"What do we do with it sir?" Rouge asked someone in a government suit, as he walked up and gave a dark smile.
.
It had been a few weeks since Shadow and crew were being spied on. During that time, Shadow had thrown out a few people unlucky enough to get caught. He broke ones nose in the process saying he'd be less lenient next time. He also was summoned to a military base, presumably to go over his actions when he walked in seeing Rouge and Knuckles.
"What's going on?" Shadow asked.
Knuckles shrugged. "You tell me, she certainly won't." he responded, nodding to Rouge who had a smug look on her face. Just then, the President came through.
"Now, I'm sure you have questions-" The President stated but Shadow...
"Get the GUN soldiers off Maria's lawn." Shadow cut him off. "I promise, the next one I find won't be walking away."
The President slightly flinched at that, but took a breath. "About why I called you here, I want you to meet-" He stated, his hand going towards the door to reveal a robot that had a humanoid appearance but a Mobian's height, black armor along it and a yellow head piece. "Gemerl!"
Shadow's eyes widened as he shot forward, attacking Gemerl. However, the Robot reacted and dodged, Shadow turning while forming up a Chaos Spear. Rouge stepped in front of him.
"Hold it Shadow!" Rouge yelled just before Shadow threw his spear.
"Rouge, what are you doing? Get out of the way!" Shadow demanded.
"This is ours now." Rouge stated, pointing to Gemerl. "This thing tried breaking Robotnik out of prison awhile back, but we stopped it and made it our robot. They want to use this offer to test Gemerl out."
"Offer?" Knuckles asked and the President explained they'd hold a tournament.
Shadow scowled. "So you want to test something that came from Robotnik in a tournament?"
The President nodded. "And the Grand Prize is..." He stated, pulling a small black rag from a box to reveal a red jewel. "A Chaos Emerald!"
Shadow's eyes widened. "We need those to get home, and here you are just handing them out as prizes?" He spat out. "You want to expose a Chaos Emerald to one of Robotnik's creations? I can't think of a plan more stupid than this!" Rouge put a hand on his shoulder, but Shadow shrugged it off. "I'll do this tournament, but know this. You are playing a very dangerous game with technology you don't know of. Do try and be smart about it." Shadow said as he walked away.
.
Maria sat at home, trying to flex her hand when her fingers started to move. She smiled a little bit, glad that she was getting movement back in her hand. It wasn't much, but she was healing. Faster than what doctors thought she would, to be exact. It didn't compare to a mobian, but she didn't care. She heard Ella call her for a brunch as she walked in the kitchen when she saw Shadow in the living room, walking alongside Tails.
"Shadow, whats wrong?" Tails asked.
Shadow sighed, motioning Tails to follow up stairs so no one else could hear. "I'm just worried, Tails. The government we fought for is starting to see us as a powerful threat, and they just rebuilt one of Robotniks mechs."
"I'm sure nothing bad will happen. That's probably why they wanted this tournament. If anything goes wrong, we'll be there to stop it." Tails explained.
"I hope you're right, Tails. I hope you're right." Shadow stated.
.
The day of the tournament had arrived, taking place in the "Diamond Stadium". Said tournament was a full roster, each wanting their hand at the Chaos Emerald. Maria wanted to join, but was unable due to her hand.
The first match started as the President himself came out, and his opponent was Sh-SHADOW!?
Shadow gave a small smirk, cracking his knuckles. "This thing might not have been such a bad idea." Shadow thought as he walked forward.
The President faltered, but steeled himself as the bell rang. He charged Shadow, throwing jabs and hook punches as Shadow simply moved out of the way. He then disappeared in a flash of blue. The President looked around then up as Shadow fell at him from the sky. Raising his hands to keep his head protected, he felt a soft object fall on him. Opening hs eyes, he saw a white towel on his head and Shadows arm raised in victory.
"Why'd you do that?" The President asked his new aid.
She simply shrugged, saying he had more power lunches than power punches. The President conceaded to her point, stepping off the ring. As he was leaving, he saw Shadow walking past him.
"Not bad. For an old human." Shadow stated before walking away.
Rouge came up and clapped a little bit. "Take that as a compliment." She suggested.
The next match started with Tails and a man named Hawk, an old friend that helped Knuckles get a Chaos Emerald months ago. Hawk threw a flurry of fists, but Tails kept his cool and defended himself with his...tails. Hawk raised his leg for a devastating axe kick, and Tails dodged it while jumping, slamming his tails into Hawks side and knocking them man over. Tails landed and felt something behind him, turning to see Hawk grabbing his tails. Miles smirked, spinning his tails and putting Hawk down and out in a dizzying defeat.
Several more fights came and went, with some poor soul had the displeasure of ticking off Amy and she won by a knockout...literally. Thus ending the first round.
Fans gathered around their heroes to get autographs and the such. Shadow avoided the crowd, heading to his trailer when Maria followed him in.
The two sat in silence, an uneasy tension forming when Shadow asked what was wrong.
"Hm? Oh, nothing." Maria stated, looking at her hand. "I just wish I could do more."
"You've done plenty. I'm actually glad you're not a part of this tournament." Shadow stated. "I can't seem to keep you from getting in fights that are over your head."
"I handled myself pretty well with Metal Shadow." Maria explained proudly.
"Was it worth it?" Shadow asked. Maria looked at him confused. "You barely came out of that fight alive. And at what cost? Maria, I won't be around forever. I'm asking you to start choosing your fights wisely." Maria gave a small nod. "That said, thank you. Again." Shadow said that last part a little muttered and Maria smiled and chuckled a little. Looking at the time and seeing the second round was about to begin.
Knuckles was up against a muscular martial artist, the man charging Knuckles. However, Knuckles overpowered the martial artist with ease, tossing him out of the ring.
The match after had Mr. Tanaka vs Agent Topaz. But the match...didn't go as expected. Tanaka walked up with Topaz ready to fight. However, when Tanaka gave the woman jewelry she absolutely melted. Even Rouge was extremely confused. Maria acted like she puked a little in her mouth.
It was then Ella vs. Gemerl, with Gemerl taking the win easily. After wards was a real fight between Rouge and Tails.
Rouge charged after Tails as he dodged back, taking off towards the sky. Tails landed a few hits on Rouge as she decided he wasn't that bad. Rouge landed with her back towards the edge of the ring. "You know kid, you're not half bad." Tails hesitated, then launched himself forward as Rouge dodged, planting a kiss on Tails's cheek as he dropped off the ring stunned. He looked up to see Rouge wink at him before walking away.
The next match started, pitting Amy vs. Shadow.
Amy ran forward with her hammer raised up. "I'm going to pound some humor into you."
Shadow ran forward. "Don't make me laugh." He stated as Amy swung her hammer and Shadow dodged to the side. Amy kept swinging as Shadow taunted her, hitting the hammer away with a Chaos Spear and hitting Amy with a spin dash. "So, give up yet?" Shadow asked.
"I never give up Shadow!" Amy yelled back at him, summoning another hammer as Shadow burst forward, shoulder ramming her away. She looked up to see Shadow with her hammer as he slammed it down next to her, suggesting she tap out again. This time, Amy listened.
The tournament was getting close to the big finale, and everyone could feel it. The next round opened with Mr. Tanaka fighting Gemerl. Tanaka threw a punch but Gemerl blocked and did a turn kick, knocking the wind out of Tanaka as Gemerl won the match.
Shadow was up next, seeing his opponent was Rouge. They charged at each other, Rouge taking to the sky as Shadow followed suit. However, when Rouge looked down Shadow was gone. She looked around, then flt a sudden weight on her back. "You know, I'm really starting to hate that teleport thing you do." She stated, spinning around quickly and knocking Shadow off her back. As Shadow fell, he landed on the stadium floor and launched a volley of Chaos Needles with Rouge flying around them in a fancy fashion. She came down, kicking Shadow on the head. As she tried to fly away, Shadow grabbed her leg and slammed her down. She got up, turning to see Shadow with a fist raised. "You wouldn't hit a lady now would you?" She asked. Shadow thought for a split second, then threw his punch and knocking Rouge out cold.
"You're no "lady". And...that was for Tails." Shadow stated, walking away.
The semi-finals had started, Gemerl outclassing its opponent as Knuckles squared off with Shadow.
"Always wanted a rematch." Knuckles stated as he got into a deadlock with Shadow.
"Sorry to disappoint, but that Emerald is mine." Shadow stated, breaking off a slamming Knuckles with a spin dash and sending him back. Knuckles got back up, keeping his eye on Shadow and threw a punch, slamming Shadow in the chest and sending his opponent back. Shadow looked back up, forming Chaos Needles and sending them Knuckle's way. Knuckles moved away as Shadow jumped at him, bringing his leg down for a kick. Knuckles moved to the side grabbing the leg and tossed Shadow out of the ring. But Shadow refused to go out like that. He flashed blue and appeared back on stage...right in front of Knuckle's fist being planted into his face knocking him back out the ring and into the dirt below.
Shadow looked up with Knuckles having his hand raised. "Saw it coming pal." Knuckles stated, getting ready for the final fight with Gemerl