NOTE: Thanks to the folks who pointed out to me that I repeatedly swapped Shadow's gender throughout this chapter. This was an unintentional mistake on my part. In this fic, Shadow's pronouns are she/her, but my dumb brain keeps on referring to her as he/him.
I edited this chapter to fix as many of the mistakes as possible. When I inevitably refer to Shadow again as he/him, know that this was unintentional, and I apologize in advance.
Anyway, on with the chapter!
Chapter 41: …A Jewel Containing the Ultimate Power
"No way…" Sonic peered over at the ebony hedgehog, his pupils shaking as he processed the sight of this new foe.
Shadow slowly emerged from the flames of the wreckage, tossing the green Chaos Emerald in her hand as a smirk grew across her face.
"Now I see what's goin' on!" Sonic pointed an accusatory finger toward her. "The military has mistaken me for the likes of you!"
"So it seems," Shadow replied as she ran a gloved hand through her quills. "It seems introductions are in order." Putting the gem into her leather jacket pocket, she zipped forward using her hover shoes, stopping suddenly within feet of Sonic's face. "My name is Shadow the Hedgehog, and I am the Ultimate Lifeform."
"Ultimate Lifeform, huh?" Sonic casually walked around the ebony hedgehog to study this new challenger. "Well, I've gotta hand it to ya, Shads, you're pretty fast, and I dare say a lil' cute."
"Flattery won't save you," Shadow replied as she crossed her arms.
"Save me from what?" Sonic smirked. "Your self-imposed title of Ultimate Lifeform doesn't really mean much when nobody's heard of ya."
"Is that so?" The ebony hedgehog peered up at the sky. "I guess it really has been fifty years."
"Well, if you're really as powerful as you claim," Sonic replied as he bent one leg behind his back and grabbed his foot, "why don't we race?"
"A race?"
"Yeah, a race." Sonic smirked as he switched legs. "The Ultimate Lifeform versus the Fastest Thing Alive. Got what it takes?"
"Let's get one thing straight." Shadow pulled the gem from her vest, gripping it with her palm as it glistened brightly. In the blink of an eye, Shadow's other fist was firmly pressed against his stomach, making him fly back, colliding into the metallic side of an abandoned school bus. Shadow materialized before him once more. "I've got nothing to prove to you or anyone." Sonic fell from the side of the bus, but before he could land on the pavement, the ebony hedgehog swiftly kneed him in the face, sending him flying up. She completed the combo by teleporting above, cupping her hands and slamming him back to the ground below like a volleyball.
"My mission is to fulfill her wish," Shadow continued. "The military took her away from me, and anyone who gets in the way of my objective will be put down."
"Shadow…" The blue hedgehog pulled himself up, wiping blood from his lips. "What the hell are you talkin' about?" He peered down at the Chaos Emerald in her palm. "You're performing Chaos Control, aren't ya? That's how you're teleportin' like that?"
"Hmph…" Shadow grabbed Sonic by the neck, pulling him up. "It looks like you're smarter than you look." Shadow smirked before punching him in the gut once more as she kept her grip around the blue hedgehog's neck. The blow caused Sonic to spit up blood. "My mission is simple: eliminate you and track down the Chaos Emeralds. By accomplishing these objectives, I will finally fulfill my vengeance. It's what she would've wanted after all."
"Who put you up to this?" Sonic grabbed Shadow's arm, trying to pull himself free. "Was it Eggman? It was you who helped him escape Prison Island, wasn't it?"
"It sounds like you two have a storied history," Shadow replied as she punched Sonic's gut once more.
"H-harder." Sonic smirked as a small trickle of blood dripped down his lips.
"As you wish?" It was Shadow's turn to smirk as she tightened the grip around his neck and delivered another punch. "Hard enough for you?"
"Not quite," Sonic replied with a chuckle. "Your Chaos Control trick may allow you to teleport, but it doesn't substitute good ol' fashion strength or speed." The blue hedgehog entered spherical form, his spin forcing Shadow to pull her arm back. Sonic bounced in place before returning to his feet. "One sec…" He ran toward a nearby vending machine, pulling a crisp $5 bill from his quills, exchanging it for a Gatorade.
"Are you mocking me?" Shadow grinded her teeth as the blue hedgehog returned, downing the blueberry flavored beverage.
"Not at all," Sonic replied as he threw the empty bottle into the nearby recycling bin. "I'm jus' statin' the facts. You do pack quite a punch when I'm left unguarded, but without the power of the Chaos Emerald, you're no match against me." Sonic slowly approached Shadow, flicking her nose with his finger. "You'd just be another slowmo."
"Is that right?" Shadow grinned as she put her Chaos Emerald away once more before running her palm through her ebony quills. Well, sorry Doctor, but this guy's really tickin' me off. Cocky and arrogant, just like the boys Maria warned me about." She raised her fists and entered a fighting stance.
"Nah, I'm not that bad," Sonic replied. "Besides, I have a girlfriend, so I have no intention of stealin' your heart. Unless…would Amy be interested in poly?" The blue hedgehog thought about this for a few moments. "Actually, scratch that. I know she'd be against the idea…but then again…" Sonic peered off into the distance once more as he scratched his chin. "Maybe one look at Shadsy over here would convince her?"
"Seriously?" Shadow was not amused. "Are you like this with all the girls you meet?"
"Nope, jus' the ones who can keep up," Sonic replied as he approached the abandoned intersection. "Now if you wanna keep throwin' me 'round like a ragdoll with your Chaos Emerald power-up, be my guest, but if you're really the Ultimate Lifeform, you'd have no problem beating me in a race."
"You know what? Fine!" She approached the makeshift starting line. "Your last moments will be ones of defeat and humiliation. Are you ready to meet your maker?"
"Sure thing…faker!" Sonic grinned.
Hehe, it worked! It looks like she's more gullible than she let on. I knew exactly what to say to get under her fur, and if I can exhaust her in a race, I can defeat her and snag that Chaos Emerald from her too!
The blue hedgehog chuckled under his breath as he started the countdown.
"Three…two…one…GOOOO!"
Sonic and Shadow were off, the blue hedgehog making swift strides as Shadow ran by his side.
"So what are those things anyway?" Sonic asked while pointing at Shadow's enhanced sneakers. "Some kind of roller skates?"
"They're air shoes!" Shadow angrily replied. "This high-tech equipment was designed by my creator, a brilliant scientist, but his dreams, his life, and his granddaughter, my sister, were all taken away in a flash."
"Woah, easy there, buddy," Sonic replied. "I didn't ask for your entire life story." The blue hedgehog peered forward, focusing his attention on a rail separating the road from the sidewalk. "I bet you and your air shoes can't do this!" The blue hedgehog jumped up, grinding on the entire length of the rail before jumping off at the last second to complete the trick.
"Hah, child's play." Following the blue hedgehog's lead, Shadow jumped onto the rail, grinding with his sneakers and landing back on the street below, soon traversing by Sonic's side once more.
"Impressive." Sonic nodded while clapping. "Let's say we take the kiddie wheels off now, eh?" He pointed forward where a bus was stalled. "Follow my lead." Speeding forward, the blue hedgehog jumped over the bus, grabbing hold of the stop light over the road and using its metallic rod to rotate around a few times before using his momentum to launch himself high in the air, landing on top of a gas station.
"Tshh, this is what you call a challenge?" With a smirk, Shadow emulated Sonic's actions, jumping over the bus and using the stop light to propel herself on top of the gas station.
"Very nice," Sonic replied with a nod, giving the ebony hedgehog a thumbs up, earning him a grumble from his new rival. "Let's see how you try this on for size!" Sonic ran up the tall office building next to the gas station like a blue rocket making its way into the stratosphere.
Shadow emulated the blue hedgehog's third challenge, running up the building and aligning herself in tandem with Sonic moments later until they both simultaneously reached the roof of the building.
"I've gotta say," Sonic said, giving the ebony hedgehog a thumbs up, "I'm pretty impressed. It's not everyday folks can keep up with me."
"It was hardly a challenge," Shadow replied as she ran her hands through her quills once more. "Now let's finish this." She transferred the emerald to her quills and removed her leather vest, leaving a dark undershirt matching her ebony fur.
"Ayooooo, whatcha doin' there, Shadsy? This is a family friendly fanfic!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Has anyone ever said you talk too much?" Shadow bent her knees and raised her arms.
"Repeatedly," Sonic replied with a smirk, entering a similar battle stance. "It seems you're gonna make this a fair fight at least. Not gonna go cheap on me again with the Chaos Emerald?"
"For your defeat to be humiliating, I will destroy you with my base abilities. You are no match for the Ultimate Lifeform."
"If that's what you think…" The blue hedgehog furrowed his brow. "…Then bring it!"
Shadow was the first to launch her attack; propelling herself using her air shoes, she charged her arm back and tightened her fist, but just as her attack was about to land, Sonic swiftly dodged, retaliating with a swift knee to her belly, sending her flying back. Instead of landing on her back, however, she entered into a spindash, accelerating forward as soon as her spherical form made contact with the roof's surface.
"Oh hey, you can do that too—" Sonic was launched back by the impact, but like Shadow, he spun into a ball and spindashed forward upon landing back on the roof's surface. The two proceeded to bounce around the roof like pinballs, colliding with each other for several seconds before both launching off the roof. As they fell, Sonic and Shadow exchanged rapid punches, dodging every blow, and just as they were about to land back on the street, they entered spherical form once more, bouncing a few times before coming to a rest within several yards of each other.
Sonic and Shadow wiped the sweat from their brows and breathed heavily.
"You're not…half bad…for a faker…" Sonic said.
"Hah, faker? I…am the Ultimate Lifeform. You're…not even good enough…to be my fake…"
Their banter was interrupted by the sight of a biplane directly above.
"Just in time," Sonic said as he stared up. "I wonder if he was able to talk to Rou—" He was interrupted by a fist to the face, sending the blue hedgehog flying back.
"For having so much combat experience," Shadow jeered as she launched Sonic through the window of a bank with another spindash, "you let your guard down too easily." She jumped on top of him and delivered a few punches to his face, but the bruised hedgehog simply laughed through the pain.
"What's so funny? Did I punch a screw loose?"
"Heh, your fly's undone," Sonic replied, a smirk across his lips as he pointed toward the ebony hedgehog's pants.
"Stupid hedgehog, you think I'd fall for such a trick?" Shadow replied as she swung her arm back, preparing to deliver a devastating blow.
"No, but you were dumb enough to fall for this," Sonic replied.
"What are you talking abou—" Shadow received a kick to the back of the head, launching her over Sonic's body and across the bank counter.
"Woah, way to go Tails!" Sonic gave his little bro a thumbs up.
"I learned from the best!" The orange fox extended out his arm. Sonic grabbed his hand, allowing himself to get pulled up. "At least now we know the source of the confusion."
"Yeah, I'll say," Sonic replied. "Well, we should get ready. I'm sure Shadow will be back any second now."
"Right you are."
"Wha—" Shadow materialized from thin air, performing a spinning kick to the back of the blue hedgehog's head, sending both him and Tails flying back.
"Owww, how'd she do that?" Tails asked as he rubbed his forehead.
"Chaos Control," Sonic replied as he pulled himself up. "She can teleport instantly using a Chaos Emerald."
"No way," Tails replied. "Where'd she even come from? She seems Mobian, but I've never seen her before."
"The way she talks about herself," Sonic replied as he bent his knees and raised his arms, watching as Shadow slowly approached the two, "it's as if she was created artificially."
"My creator, Dr. Gerald Robotnik, was slain by the pitiful humans of this world," Shadow replied as she pulled out the green Chaos Emerald, "and those who try preventing me from enacting my revenge will face death."
"Wait…a Robotnik!?" Tails exclaimed.
"Did I stutter?" Shadow approached the two brothers. "Now brace yourselves for my ulti—" The ebony hedgehog froze as she noticed her gem start to glow. "Hmmm…that can only mean one thing." She gripped the emerald in her palm and extended her arm out, using it like a compass. The gem glowed brighter once she faced Tails.
"I'll only ask once," Shadow began as she extended out her other arm, "give me the Chaos Emerald you're hoarding or else I will take it from you by force."
"I'll never give you the Chaos Emerald!" Tails protested.
"Heh, suit yourself…" Performing Chaos Control once more, the ebony hedgehog materialized behind the orange fox, reaching into his namesakes to pull out the yellow Chaos Emerald.
"Hey!" Tails blushed while whipping his namesakes toward Shadow, but she expertly dodged, appearing on his other side, blindsiding him fast enough to deliver a punch to his gut, bringing him to his knees.
"No, Tails!" Sonic approached his little brother, placing his gloved hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay lil' guy?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Tails replied as he pulled himself up.
The sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance, catching the attention of Shadow.
"As much as I'd love to finish you off," Shadow said, "I've gotta go find the remaining Chaos Emeralds. Chaos…CONTROL!"
And with that, the ebony hedgehog vanished, leaving an exhausted Sonic and Tails in the street, just in time for a set of squad cars to surround the two Mobians.
"I suppose you weren't able to get a hold of Rouge?" Sonic asked.
"No, unfortunately," Tails replied. The officers trained their guns on the two.
"Put your hands in the air!" Shouted one of the officers. "Come forward with your hands up."
"What do we do, Sonic?" Tails whispered.
"I…" Sonic exhaled deeply as he solidified his plan. He raised his arms up.
"I surrender, but don't arrest Tails. He didn't do anything wrong!"
"Sonic, what are you doing?" Tails asked.
"Just play along," he whispered in response.
"You know we can hear you, right?" The officer approached the two Mobians. "No use trying to plot your way out of this one. You're both heading to our maximum-security prison."
The officers proceeded to handcuff Sonic and Tails, leading them into two separate helicopters, where they were taken to Prison Island without further drama.
Having his parents around for once was a change of pace.
Gone were the days when his mom and dad were too busy making movies or running a large megacorporation to care for their son; since his arrest for terrorism charges, only getting out thanks to a sympathetic judge, Chris' parents were now fully vested in his life, taking a long leave of absence from work to stay home.
"Oop, looks like you landed on my Boardwalk!" Chris exclaimed, pointing at the mansion he established on his property. "Rent's ten thousand bucks!"
"Dang!" Nelson pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills from the inner pocket of his suit jacket, which he wore on his days off, and handed it to his son. "Just don't go spending it all in one place."
"Yeah, yeah," Chris replied as he meticulously counted the bills passed over the Monopoly: Wealthy Edition board. He noted that his dad gave him one extra $100. Hesitating, he slowly put the wad on his lap, allowing his greed to cloud his judgment, before rolling the dice. "Ah yeah, Pass Go and Collect $2,000!" Lindsey dolled out the cash, serving as the banker for the game, before taking her turn.
"Well that's not good!" Lindsey exclaimed once her (real) diamond ring landed on Pennsylvania Avenue. "Looks like I lose! I already mortgaged all my properties."
"One down," Chris declared as he collected the remains of his mother's assets, "and one to go."
Nelson rolled the dice, this time landing on Reading Railroad. Unfortunately for him, his son was also the railroad baron of the game.
"This is the end for me too!" Nelson declared as he gave his son his remaining cash.
"Yay, I win again!" Chris cheered, performing a happy dance on top of the coffee table where they played.
"Now now, Chris," Lindsey said as she watched Ella in the background containing her scream. "That's not really considerate to our staff who have to clean up your mess."
"I'm sorry," Chris replied awkwardly, these polite words still sounding jagged and unnatural to him.
"It's very much all right, sweetheart," Lindsey replied before kissing his forehead. She peered up at the clock above the mantelpiece. "Oh, would you look at the time! It's nearly past your bedtime."
"Ahhh maaaan." Chris snapped his fingers playfully.
"A growing young chap such as yourself needs plenty of rest!" Nelson encouraged, patting him on the shoulder. "If you're going to take over the family business one day, I'll need you to be ready on all fronts. Proper sleep allows for proper brain development after all, especially at your age!"
Saying his last goodnights, the young Thorndyke climbed the long spiral staircase up to his bedroom, where he plugged in his cell phone and crawled into bed.
The young boy couldn't sleep. He rolled and wrestled in his comforter only to find himself less and less tired.
"God damn it!" Chris threw his pillow across his room and rolled to his side, grabbing his smartphone. Opening his photos app, he scrolled through all his photos of Helen, looking through them to get his mind at ease, but the photos only reminded him of just how much she despised him and, in extension, how he internally despised himself.
"People are more than just money…and I'm sure if you try, you can make friends without taking out your wallet."
"You don't have to do this Chris. Please, don't work with Dr. Eggman! Imagine what harm he'll do if he gets ahold of the emeralds!"
"Nope! More like…simp. Cringe. Spoiled. Cope! Seethe! Mald! L + Ratio!"
"Real men don't harass women who reject them."
"You've been a jerk to all of us, and now look what you're doing; you're causing mayhem because of your fragile ego."
"I just don't understand you. You have everything you could possibly want, all the wealth in the world, so why are you like this?"
"You…you're a disgusting animal."
Ripping his phone from its charging cable, Chris threw it across the room, shattering its thin glass screen, before curling into a fetal position.
"What if…Helen's right? What if I…have been selfish? What if I am a sexist pig? An animal?" Tears started to well up in his eyes. Wiping them away, he stared at the open palms of his hands. "No, it can't be. I'm rich! I'm brilliant! I'm attractive! There's nothing wrong with me! No, it's the heroes who are wrong."
Chris pulled his comforter over his head, trying once again to fall asleep, but the nagging feeling of doubt and guilt only kept him awake.
"Gahh, this is ridiculous!" Chris pulled himself out of his bed and approached the full-sized fridge on the other side of his room. Opening the freezer, he pulled out a large tub of mint ice cream. Grabbing a used spoon from his dresser, he approached his bed, but when he sat down, he found an unknown figure approaching him from the window. This caused him to yelp in fright, dropping the ice cream all over his carpeted floor.
"Wh-who the hell are you? Some…black female Sonic?"
"Ha, hardly," she replied as she grabbed Chris' phone from the floor and cycled through his photos. "That's a lot of pictures. Given how she talks about you, I hardly think you took these with her permission."
"Shut up!" Chris protested as he balled his hands into fists. "How would you even know anyway?"
"You were literally just complaining about what she thinks of you." Shadow threw the phone over her shoulder and approached the young boy.
"Just what are you after anyway?" He sidestepped away from his bed, but he tripped over his spilled container of ice cream, his back colliding with his tall bookshelf full of priceless artifacts stolen from around the world. "If it's a date you're after, I already have my heart set on Helen."
"Ewww, yuck. Just…no." Shadow made a hurling sound in the back of his throat. "God no." She shook her head for several seconds before focusing her attention back on her target. "You are to come with me."
"Why would I do that?"
"I won't bother explaining when the Doctor will pontificate upon your arrival."
"Ah, so you're working for him now? How much is he paying you?" Chris started speaking faster and more frantic as the ebony hedgehog stepped closer to her. "I'll double your pay, no…triple! No, I'll give you millions of dollars to turn on Eggman! That backstabber deserves to be punished!"
"You don't understand, boy." Shadow grabbed Chris' shirt collar. "I wasn't hired. No, I'm the Ultimate Lifeform." She threw Chris across the room, causing him to roll against the wall, a potted plant crashing over his head from the windowsill. "I have my own mission, and the Doctor is only a means to an end."
"HELP! I'M BEING ATTA—" Chris' voice was muffled by the palm of Shadow's gloved hands. She pulled the green Chaos Emerald from her leather vest pocket with her other hand.
"Chaos…CONTROL!"
In a flash, Chris and Shadow were no longer in his bedroom. Blinking wildly, and wiping his eyes, the young boy peered around to find himself in a totally different environment: a large, metallic control center.
"Wh-where am I?" He pulled himself up and approached a set of large glass paneling separating the control center from the deck.
"Why, you are a guest on the Egg Carrier of course!"
Spinning around, Chris peered up at the mustachioed evil doctor, a wide smirk across his face.
"You!" Chris balled his hands into fists once more. "What do you want? Why'd you have your Sonic doppelgänger kidnap me?"
"Shadow is superior to that blue rodent in every possible way," Eggman corrected, "but alas, your ignorance is the least of my concerns." Eggman turned his attention to Shadow, simply giving her a nod. Shadow returned it with her own before grabbing Chris' arm.
"Hey, let me go!" Chris protested. Of course, Shadow did not obey his order, instead taking him along as she followed Eggman down a long hallway, eventually finding themselves at a metallic sliding door. Leading him in, the young boy gasped at the sight of a large tube big enough for a fully grown adult human.
"Let's get one thing straight," Eggman jeered as Shadow shoved Chris inside, making sure to lock the door. "I've never liked you. You are a spoiled rotten brat who thinks he can just have everything handed to him on a gold platter! And what's worse…you're well beyond any normal, healthy level of evil." Eggman approached Chris, whose palms were on the glass. "Your end isn't simply to rule. No…you're just unhinged. You give evil villains such as myself a bad name, and your terribly executed terrorist stunt months ago got me thrown in jail while you were let off easy!" The evil doctor stepped away, approaching a big red lever. "I can sincerely say that working with you was the worst experience I've ever had in my life, and for that I will repay you in kind."
"Wh-what are you gonna do to me?" Chris slammed his fists on the glass, but it would not shatter.
"To put it simply, you are going to be my…test dummy."
"What do you mea—" Chris screamed as soon as Eggman flipped the switch; the young boy's entire body glowed violently, as if he were struck by a prolonged lightning bolt. Through the agonizing pain, Chris peered down to find his pants and legs transform into metallic limbs. His legs were soon paralyzed as the metallic infection grew to his belly, followed by his torso.
"Congratulations," Robotnik approached Chris as his face grew a slick metal plating, "you are now officially the property of the Eggman Empire."
Eggman's bellowing laughter filled the room as the boy formerly known as Christopher Thorndyke stood stoically in his glass prison, awaiting his first order as the evil doctor's mechanical slave.