It's impossible the clone really did find a way to surpass the super form. How?! How did he find such power?! Hmmph… not like I need it, I'll find my own way to surpass my limits and shatter the barrier. I have to, to keep my promise to Maria. But the clone really did break the barrier of what we thought possible, first that strange silver haired form with the rainbow aura, and now this Ascended version of the super form. And that move, that blast he used, what kind of an attack was that?

"Mr. Shadow?" A voice calls as I open my eyes and look down the tree.

"Yes?" I grunt as Cream dressed in athletic wear as she holds something in her hands nervously.

"I want you to train me!" She shouts nervously.

"What for?" I sigh, finally looking down at her.

"For the tournament in a few days," she says as excitement replaces her shyness and she holds out a poster towards me

"Hmph… go train with tails or Knuckles, or maybe even that Silver idiot if he's still around," I say, folding my arms and leaning my head against the trunk of the tree.

"Well I would ask Mr. Speedy but he's still sleeping," she says as I grunt.

"Of course he is but why me?" I ask with a sigh.

"Because you're one of the best fighters I know," she says as I give in and stand up on the branch.

"Very well, this may prove interesting," I say, flipping off the branch and onto the ground. She squeals with excitement as I walk past her and take a fighting stance. She drops the flier and looks at me with surprise. I look her dead in the eyes saying, "alright show me what you can do young one."

She screams and charges at me as she throws a punch. I catch it with ease and maneuver around her. She grunts as she hits the ground as I stand saying, "you need to work on your form and technique, now get up and go again."

She gets up and charges again, leaping into the air and slamming her foot down. I dodge moving out of the way as her foot makes contact with the ground sending pieces of grass and dirt flying. I smirk as she follows with a punch. I dodge and counter with a punch to her stomach. She groans as she holds her stomach and backs away a few feet. My smirk fades as I grunt, "you need to work on your endurance. That's all for today"

She stops and looks at me with a determined look on her face before walking away. I sigh and rocket off as the damaged terrain flies past me. I fly off to a small patch of open field as Knuckles leans on a small rock legged in the middle. He smiles as I skid to a halt and he straightens himself. He smirks as he gestures to the open land, "so you want to spar with me?"

"I thought I had made it clear, yes," I say, folding my arms, "you're the only one strong enough to handle me going all out."

"Really? I'd be flattered if I didn't feel so insulted," he says pounding his gigantic fists together and getting into a fighting stance.

"Shut up echidna," I say readying into a fighting stance as a red aura surrounds me and bursts. I make the first move rushing in and swinging my leg around for a kick. Knuckles block it as his feet dig into the ground. I put more force behind it as he lowers his hand and I spin around landing a few feet in front of him. He throws punch as I dodge and counter with a blow to his chest.

"Good hit," he says as he skids back a few feet.

"No talk only fight," I say rushing him with a flurry of attacks. He dodges the last of my attacks and counters with a punch. I dodge and slam my foot down on his head.

"Ok I'm out of energy, can we continue tomorrow," he says, holding his head as he gasps for air.

"Fine we shall resume tomorrow afternoon," I say walking away.

The training continues for the rest of the week until the day of the tournament. People crowd a small, open arena as it roars to life. Cream smiles in awe as she says goodbye to Vanilla, Vector, and Amy. I sigh as Rouge and Omega walk up from behind me. Rouge looks me up and down as she laughs, "well if it isn't Shadow the Hedgehog finally making an appearance."

"This is nothing, I only want to use these weaklings as fodder for my training," I say looking off towards the fighting platform.

"Well he'll be rooting for ya," she says pointing to Omega, "but I got my eyes on another handsome devil." She eyes Knuckles as he leans on a wall just inside the tunnel.

"Very well," I grunt, walking away from them and towards Amy.

"Shadow."

"Pink one," I say as she gives me a look of anger.

"What do you want?" She says her face is reddening.

"I wanted to see how the clone was doing," I say as my anger rises.

"He's fine, still asleep, but he has a bad fever, and his name is Speedy," she snarls.

"Why do you care what he's called?"

"Because he's a person!" She shouts her face even more red than usual with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"Fine," I say, walking away and taking a seat in the waiting area. The area is filled with the tournament fighters all of which are familiar faces: Tangle, Whisper, Knuckles, Cream, Espio, Tails, and that bunny from Spiral hill I was told about. I sigh and sit patiently. The announcer shouts into a mic, "THE FIRST ROUND MATCHES ARE AS LISTED:

CREAM VS TAILS

KNUCKLES VS BOOSTER

WHISPER VS TANGLE

AND FINALLY…

ESPIO VS SHADOW!"

The crowd roars with excitement as I scoff, "so I'm facing the purple one… fine."

"Mr. Shadow, over here!" Cream shouts waving furiously as I sigh and walk over to the little group.

"What?" I scoff entering the circle of people including: Tails, Knuckles, Whisper, and of course Cream.

"We just wanted to know how the training went," Tails says, analyzing a small tablet as he looks into the numbers.

"The rest of us are wondering what are your thoughts on the matches?" Knuckles asks, looking at Tails oddly as he shakes a head.

"I think they're all worthless. We all know I'll win and that you four will ultimately lose."

"Someone sounds a little over confident," Tangle says, a smile widely spread across her face as she leans forward.

"It's not confidence if it's true I am the Ultimate Life form and you are not, therefore you shall lose," I say as the smile fades and Knuckles' brow furrows.

"Hey we can beat you, you're not so strong now, and we've all been training!" Knuckles shouts, shaking his fist angrily.

"Believe what you may," I scoff, walking away as the crowd cheers loudly and the tournament begins.