Author's Notes: Do you even need a preamble for this one? The chapter's title says it all. Espio VS Shadow, finally after all this time. To make up for the hiatus I made the fight extra long, you're welcome XD
Here's a list of songs I was thinking of when creating this chapter, feel free to listen as you read for maximum emersion:
Are You Brave? - Sonic Gems Collection
NiGHTS And Reala - Nights Journey of Dreams
Crazy Robo - Sonic Adventure
DJ K Washi Theme (Iceferno Remix) - Streets of Rage 4
Without further ado, enjoy! C;
How did it come to this?
Shadow couldn't help but ask himself that question as he traded blows with a man he once considered his friend at blinding speeds. One of the few people in this world that he could give that cherished title to.
He knew when he got this assignment from his superiors that it would turn ugly, but he never wanted to believe things would deteriorate this far. Perhaps it was his ego that deluded him into thinking Espio wouldn't dare challenge him in this way, but in his defense, Espio had never been one to seek out conflict. Especially when it concerned his friends. Then again, that was assuming the Espio in Shadow's mind was in fact the real Espio, an assumption he unfortunately could no longer be certain of.
Shadow hadn't lied inside the Chaotix's home, he honestly didn't want to believe the charges against Espio were true. He was no fool, there were several aspects of this whole thing that didn't quite add up. But he had his orders and he took an oath when he became a GUN agent, not just to the peace keeping organization but to his partner and friend Rouge. He swore that he would honor the interests of the organization and wouldn't make trouble unless it fundamentally went against his values.
And though the order to bring in Espio came incredibly close to infringing on his principles, he had to admit that the charges lobbed against his mysterious friend had to be investigated and put to rest. And he trusted no one else to do that but his team.
Some, like Vector, might see it as counter-productive and even a deep betrayal, but it was the best course of action. The addresses of the Upper Echelon of the Guardian Unit of Nations were officially leaked, the detailed information fit too neatly into infamous open investigations to be ignored, Espio's past is one great mystery that no one had bothered unravelling. Of course the Upper Echelon would use their authority to get to the bottom of this, find some sort of explanation, it was inevitable. The orders were going to come regardless of who received them.
But with Team Dark carrying out the orders they would be able to give Espio the best treatment possible, the greatest benefit of the doubt possible, the best protection from the system possible. He truly did have the chameleon's best interests at heart. He earned as much after all the adventures and disasters he and the Chaotix had helped them through.
Especially during the Black Arms Invasion, when Shadow was at one of his lowest points in life, Espio was there for him. By his side, despite the world at large and the biological bane of his existence's horde of extraterrestrial demons standing against him. The Chaotix stayed in his corner, Espio stayed in his corner. Shadow would never forget that and fully intended to repay that kindness today by peacefully escorting him back to headquarters and squaring all this nonsense away.
Then Espio ruined it all by trying to run. And he made it even worse when he opened his mouth and let that obscene bile come out. Tainting the memory of Maria and the Professor with such flippant disrespect and outright malice... it was too much to bear.
Shadow couldn't let that stand, not for one second, how dare anyone speak that way about his family? How dare Espio, someone who knew how sacred Maria and the Professor were to him, deign to besmirch their character like that? With a sickening smirk on his face to top it all off!
No, Espio clearly wanted a fight, and by Gaia he'd done everything possible to earn it. Sinking to such depths of depravity just to get a rise out of Shadow, it made him sick... but mainly because it worked so easily. His blood was boiling, with no signs of simmering down.
As crimson eyes stared down the offending reptile standing against him, Shadow tightened his fists to mitigate the blinding fury bubbling beneath his skin. Espio had challenged the Ultimate Lifeform to a fight and Shadow was not about to disappoint him. He'd give him a fight, the quickest, most embarrassing one sided fight he'd ever seen.
Contrary to the vitriolic accusations Vector spewed at them, Shadow hadn't forgotten all that he'd been through with Espio. He valued his friendships, he took his commitments seriously, and he took absolutely no pleasure in inflicting pain on the people who mattered to him. However, Espio had pissed him off, which limited his options drastically as a peaceful resolution was no longer possible.
The only choice Shadow had now was to end this fight as quickly and painlessly as possible. A simple task for the Ultimate Lifeform; one teleport jump, a decisive chop to the base of the neck, and all of this would be over. The same went for the other members of Team Chaotix, he'd make short work of them and end this unfortunate conflict so he could cool off. Whatever's happening with Espio, if he somehow is guilty of those crimes, they'd sort it all out at HQ.
The familiar surge of Chaos Energy enveloped him and in the blink of an eye he was behind Espio, his hand raised and ready to send Espio into unconsciousness. With enough speed to catch a fly, Shadow chopped his target, ending the fight...
Or, so he thought.
Before he could process what was happening, Espio had dropped to his knees, dodging the decisive blow, and delivered one of his own. He shifted into a handstand and launched Shadow airborne with a powerful kick to his chin. Teeth clamped down on tongue unexpectedly, the taste of blood filled Shadow's mouth as he grunted in pained frustration.
How did—?
A blur flew directly at Shadow's face, he jerked his head back just in time, but quickly other blurs came into view as Shadow continued to rise in the air. His eyes darted around, studying the curious pellets surrounding him before one exploded into a cloud of yellow. Shadow teleported back to the ground, not interested in discovering what those smoke bombs contained.
This time from above. Hands clamped together before flinging on top of Espio's head, an axe handle strike. His brain will rattle around in his skull for a moment, the pain will be worse than a chop, but the result will be the same. The fight's over.
But again, he touched nothing but air, Espio's body weaved around him as an elbow slammed into Shadow's face. Crimson eyes shut tight as he tumbled backwards until he found his feet. How did he do that?
He needed to reassess. Something was happening; luck, coincidence, some hidden ability, whatever. Either way he was getting nowhere and this was quickly getting even more frustrating than before.
The hedgehog teleported again, this time making multiple jumps in an erratic pattern. Confuse him, be less predictable, overwhelm him with possibilities until he's paralyzed with uncertainty. Then he'll be ready to be knocked out. Finally.
Espio fidgeted with his hands a bit before Shadow stopped the feints and went for the knockout. A backhand blow to his right cheek, Espio went reeling, that ought to—disappeared.
He disappeared. What in the—?
A hand grabbed his outstretched arm, grab shifts to twist, twist turns to throw. Launching him skyward. So then why did he feel something touching his back—? A full nelson, complete with legs wrapping around his, locking them in place. Wait, who is—?
"You really thought this would be easy, didn't you?" Espio whispered through gritted teeth.
Espio? But how did he—? Frantic eyes darted down to the ground, where Espio stood, flailing his hands again. What in the world—?!
"For someone older than dirt, that was brazenly naive of you" Espio continued, as the other Espio suddenly backflipped into the air. "Konoha Gakure!" he called out. The hell does that me—?
A tidal wind blew all around them, the smoke clouds from the earlier bombs wafted around the funnel, coloring the small tornado trapping them in sickening yellow. This was his plan. Use smoke bombs, filled with knockout gas presumably, and create a tornado to surround him with it, ensuring he'd breathe in enough to pass out. Everything was just bait for this trap.
Clever. But not enough.
Shadow let out a low grunt as pure Chaos Energy emanated from his core out in a devastating bubble of concussive force, blasting away the 2nd Espio, the tornado and especially the knockout gas. All of it dissipating as quickly as it formed, including—to his mild surprise, the 2nd Espio. Like a mirage, he just faded into the atmosphere.
Mirage. That's what that was.
Shadow was aware that Espio's invisibility was far more than a simple chameleon's natural ability to camouflage with their environment, as it applied to his clothes and weaponry as well. Not to mention the speed at which he could move and maintain that camouflage was impossible for a normal chameleon. No, it had to be some power over light rays, a power not at all unique to Espio, but one he held greater mastery over than anyone else Shadow knew.
A kunai nearly stabbed through his hand, bringing him back to reality as several more whizzed towards him. Shadow twisted and flipped around, dodging the assault. No time to think, no time to find answers, no time to formulate a real strategy. Exactly what Espio wanted.
"Am I supposed to be impressed with that little display?" the chameleon in question taunted, before fading into transparency. "Because I'm afraid you continue to underwhelm..." he finished, giving away his location. Fool.
Shadow pulled out his Emerald and blasted towards the sound of Espio's voice, shouting "Chaos Control!"
Time itself obeyed his command and halted in its tracks, so Shadow couldn't possibly miss this next attack. He boosted through where Espio was... only to be met with air. What in the world? How did he miss?
Shadow swiped all around the area, trying to make contact with something. But again, nothing but stagnant air greeted him. His hold on the flow of time loosened as it always did, the strain was considerable keeping things in place, but he resumed the normal flow as the world around him regained its natural color. Now, where was—?
A sudden weight slammed down on his head, sending him to the ground face first. Espio stood on top of him. He jumped. Before he could stop time, Espio jumped. High enough so Shadow couldn't touch him. Once again, clever.
"This is the Ultimate Lifeform? Please..." Shadow swiped at Espio, to no avail. "Gerald had no idea what he was doing when he made you, did he?" Espio said backing away while Shadow pursued. A fire burning in his eyes.
"Chaos Con—hngh!" he grunted as he dodged the several shuriken Espio just threw. Espio was right behind them to pummel Shadow. The venom continued to spew forth.
"Just threw a bunch of crap into a test tube and hoped for the best" he said, a crooked smile on his face. The nerve of this boy...
"Chaos Con—traah!!" Shadow tried but Espio managed to grab his cheeks and halt his words.
"And instead of the best," Shadow smacked his hand away, "all he got was you". The hedgehog growled, heat rising into his temples.
"Chaos—gah!" Espio's tail whacked the side of his knee, Shadow kneeled for a fleeting second.
"A mistake" the ninja spat just before Shadow spun into a ball and shot himself at Espio, finally sending the chameleon reeling.
He pressed his advantage, finally calling out "Chaos Control!", then in the distorted space, pummeled him with Homing Attack after Homing Attack. But as soon as he resumed time, Espio broke apart into iridescent pieces and faded away. Another illusion clone! He wasted time and energy on a clone!
The sound of a blade whizzing through the air was his only warning as he reached his hand out and caught an invisible wrist mere inches from his face. Shadow flung his transparent foe over his head onto the ground, the shock forced Espio back visible, his grip remained strong as he planted his foot on the reptile's throat.
"A mindless pawn for any madman with half a brain to manipulate into doing whatever depravity they can think of" Espio continued as if he wasn't pinned down and effectively beaten. Was this one real? Or just another illusion clone? Why couldn't he tell?
A quick pull from Espio's tail threw Shadow off-balance and granted the leverage the ninja needed to escape. Damn it, he is slippery! No wonder Rouge couldn't hold him.
Shadow "pocketed" his Emerald before doing several teleport jumps and Spin Dashing into Espio's abdomen, uncurling to deliver that axe handle blow to his skull, hopefully knocking him out and shutting him up. The maneuver was successful, but the result was a disappointment. Espio remained conscious and surprisingly unshaken by the attacks. So this one was real. Great.
The ninja rose back to his feet and glared down Shadow. "Having trouble keeping up?" he spat blood to his side, "How pathetic..." he scoffed, lip curled in disgust.
"Shut your damn mouth!" Shadow shot back without even thinking. His fur stood on end with the amount of Chaos Energy surging through him. A crackle in the air around them.
"Make me, abomination" Espio said in a gravely tone, as the blades mounted on his cuffs made themselves known and several illusion clones solidified around him.
The ninjas got into a serious fighting stance, his wrist blades in clear view, convincing Shadow that this had gone on far enough. He had been holding back out of respect for what Espio was to him, and he still refused to use the full extent of his considerable power on his... troubled ally. No matter how angry he became, he would show restraint. But the kid gloves were officially off now. Time to put Espio down.
Air shoes lit up beneath him, the low hum vibrated the grass as the force pushed him to the right. Sharp golden eyes followed, swift hands pulled out a dozen shuriken flinging them forward in one smooth motion. Shadow placed his hands beneath him as he bobbed and weaved through the swarm of projectiles. He gathered Chaos Energy into his fingertip and slowly took aim, like a pistol cradled in his hands. One Espio began to fade from sight again. Too slow.
"Chaos Bullet!" Shadow shot the energy rapidly from his finger, nailing every Espios' abdomen and launching them back. All but one broke apart into fractals of light.
A quick teleport put him in the real Espio's path, his fist slammed down on his opponent's face. The ground gave way forming a small crater beneath Espio's head, the crack of earth pulsating through his clenched fist. As soon as Shadow thought he could sigh in relief, scaly arms and legs wrapped around his arm up to his head.
But that blow should've—!
Suddenly he was face down in the grass, that familiar crack now reverberating through his skull as the ground gave way beneath him. The taste of dirt almost made him gag, blades of grass caught in his nostrils. A sharp, cold prick invaded his arm and was Espio still holding onto him!?
Shadow let out a strained shout as he lifted his Espio-bound arm and slammed it into the ground, the force broke the ninja's grip on his limb, freeing him. Shadow flipped back onto his feet and launched himself into the air, reeling his arm behind his head as he charged Chaos Energy into his palm. The light emanating from his hand grew more intense, bathing his body in a deep shadow. His ruby irises glowed, pinned on the struggling lizard beneath him.
"Chaaaaossss..." he called out, low and coarse as he prepared a Chaos Spear. Medium sized, powerful enough to keep the chameleon down for the count, but not strong enough to do permanent damage. No matter how badly Espio was begging for it.
The ninja in question flipped into the air before Shadow was done charging, flinging two massive shuriken his way. The charge he gathered would have to do.
"Spear!" his arm flung out launching a massive yellow blast at Espio, the shuriken flung helplessly off course in its wake.
Espio may be fast—considerably faster than what he remembered, in fact—but he couldn't escape the blast radius. Whether or not it knocked Espio out didn't matter, it would hurt him enough to enable Shadow to teleport to him and finally end this farce. He wouldn't be able to withstand much more damage after tanking this.
The energy exploded upon impact, bathing the landscape in a blinding flash of yellow for a few precious moments. Shadow thanked Espio inwardly for taking the fight this far away from the Chaotix's home, it would sustain minimal damage from their fight. One less thing he needn't feel guilty over, at least.
Espio's body flailed out from the smoke cloud, clearly worse for wear. Time to end this.
"Chaos Control!" Shadow called out as time screeched to a halt. He teleported in front of the stumbling chameleon and clenched his fists. He mentally reminded himself to hold back, use an appropriate measure of strength. But he couldn't help the satisfaction of pending catharsis from seeping into his heart.
He wouldn't enjoy this. But after every low down, sneaky, offensive thing Espio had done to prolong this battle... it would certainly feel right.
Fist collided with flesh, then elbow with temple, knee with chin, heel with cheek. In under a second, Shadow sent Espio flying across the yard before burrowing into the dirt. It was finally over—
A sharp pain cut into his back, spines suddenly buckled to cold steel. Shadow couldn't stop the groan of pain that came out in response. A swift spin with a backhanded blow knocked the offending party off-balance, but a surprise kick to his jaw immediately sent Shadow reeling. As his head rocked to the side, he noticed the Espio in the dirt dissipated, much to his mounting irritation.
"Sloppy. Very sloppy" the real(?) Espio shot back, not nearly as damaged as the Espio clone appeared. Damn it...
Shadow shook his head a bit to ward off the delirium.
What cut me? The wrist blade? Had to be. Did it draw blood?
A quick dab of his fingers and a warm wet sensation confirmed that suspicion. Judging by the amount, the cut wasn't too deep. I'm not the only one getting sloppy, now am I?
Shadow attempted to regain his composure, pull out his Emerald again, but Espio wouldn't have it. He pressed his advantage unleashing a virtual whirlwind of moves, peppering the hedgehog with a flurry of blows. Shadow blocked some, dodged others, managed a counter here and there. But all the while was subjected to the flaming darts Espio continuously spoke.
"You realize they'd be turning over in their graves, don't you? If they knew what you'd become. An agent of GUN is the last thing either of them would want you to be" Shadow grabbed his fist and chopped the side of his head.
"Silence!" he hissed, but Espio refused to obey.
"What were you thinking? Submitting to the one group that single handedly snatched Maria away from you and turned Gerald into a monster hellbent on destroying everything" a blade bit into his arm a bit as Shadow blocked a rising knee.
"Be quiet!" he barked, but Espio plowed forward.
"Were you really that desperate? For companions? For acceptance? Can't say I blame you. Who could ever accept an abomination like you? Save people that can use you like the weapon you are—"
"You know nothing about me!" he shouted as he clasped Espio's throat, his grip tightening to dangerous levels. Mind your strength, Shadow. Ease up. You don't want his head to—
POP!
"Oof!" Something shot out of Espio's mouth and hit him square in the face with the force of a fist. Just considerably smaller. And... wetter.
Before he could figure out just what hit him, Espio knocked Shadow's arms away, freeing him from the vice grip. A palm strike to the chest left Shadow stumbling back, gasping for air, before once again, Espio disappeared from sight and slipped out of reach. Shadow immediately felt surrounded.
"I understand your disloyalty towards me" Espio continued, "Towards our friends. People who haven't done a single thing to you. You weren't programmed with a sense of loyalty or honor"
"I've had... just about enough... of your baseless slander!" Shadow huffed out, twisting all around only to see multiple Espio clones materializing from thin air. Stopping time would be useless now.
"But as sickening and morally bankrupt as that is, what I can't believe is that you would betray the people who loved you the most. Made you into who you are"
"Don't you dare speak of them again!" the Espios continued to multiply. But where did everything else go? The house, the debris, the craters this battle made. It was all gone. Replaced by a growing swarm of Espios.
"You get them killed and then side with their murderers. I'm surprised you can live with yourself after doing something so abhorrent"
"You know nothing of my past! Do not delude yourself into thinking otherwise!"
"There's no way to make that right, Shadow. No penance to undo all the damage you've done. No one could ever atone after committing your sins"
"Be silent!" he shouted swiping at the air, hoping to hit something. End this insufferable drivel. But he phased through the nearest Espio clones. Like vapors they swirled around his hands. Not illusion clones, something else. Couldn't tell what with his head throbbing and like this.
"All you are is a vicious little creature pretending to be a real man!"
More and more, his vision was swimming in the chameleon, his venomous sneer plastered on each of their faces. Vision swimming. Limbs heavy. Breath ragged.
The air was thick.
Stifling.
Suffocating.
Yellow.
The gas!
"ARRGGH!" Shadow let loose a powerful Chaos Blast, ripping the layer of illusions off the landscape. Everything returned to what it was supposed to be, but his vision was hazier than ever. His movements more sluggish, his limbs heavier.
Another inane little trick from the lizard in an attempt to drug him further. The same lizard that was struggling back to his feet. Hiding among the illusions.
The hedgehog didn't hesitate to continue their battle, air shoes blasting him forward as wind whistled in his ears. He reeled his fist back and shot it forward at near-sonic speed and it connected. Or he thought it did, Espio managed to twist around his enraged attack like a feather dancing in the wind.
Shadow continued his assault, letting loose his fury more and more but frustratingly, Espio managed to remain unfazed and relatively undamaged despite his best efforts. Why? Why was it nearly impossible to get a solid hit on this guy? What's going on?!
"Wondering why you can't overpower me?" Espio chuckled, fueling the fire burning inside Shadow. How did he know what he was think—!? "You're clearly stronger, faster, more powerful than me. So why can't you seem to stop me?" Espio smirked as he batted Shadow's fist away.
"Tricks!" Shadow growled furiously. "You keep throwing up these pathetic little tricks! That's all you have!" he shouted, futility attempting to force Espio into submission.
"Only tricks?" Espio asked before jumping back while making several hand signs at blinding speed, crossing his arms in front of him, "Kamaitachi!" and swiftly flinging them forward.
A sharpened gale blasted past Shadow, ripping thin strips of fur from his body and drawing blood. All he could do was curl into himself and Spin Dash to the side before shooting himself at Espio like a cannonball. He managed to graze Espio. That was more than a little irritating.
"Was that a mere trick?" Espio asked coyly.
Shadow scoffed. "I'm still standing, aren't I?"
"Then was that Chaos Spear your little trick?" he pointed out. "Because here I stand" he motioned to himself, as if he was unscathed and unfettered. It infuriated Shadow.
But before he could move, Espio punched in his direction. Why? Shadow was clearly out of reach—
A small explosion of compressed air was his only warning before the wrist mounted blade shot out like a missile towards his face. Shadow narrowly dodged the projectile, watching it fly past in shock.
He can launch those?! How many projectiles does Espio have!? And what is that trailing behind it—a chain?
Shadow swiftly looked back at Espio, unprepared for the ninja's sudden closeness. Shadow instinctively jumped back and shot another Chaos Bullet at him. But Espio, smacked it away with his other wrist blade, a brief string of light trailed behind it.
"Besides, tricks only pose a problem for the simple minded" Espio continued, his first wrist blade returning to his cuff with a satisfying clack. "Aren't you supposed to be the Ultimate Lifeform, superior to me in every way? Can't you see through these pathetic little tricks?" he challenged as Shadow huffed out a breath.
Was he... getting tired? Couldn't be, they fought for mere minutes—
The gas. It was effecting him more than he thought it could. He'd be impressed if he wasn't so angry.
"Or are you just a mindless weapon, trying to soothe that fragile little ego of yours?" Espio said, bringing Shadow's attention back.
"There's nothing fragile about me" he bit back.
"Then why are you breathing so hard? Reaching your limit so quickly?" Espio smirked, a knowing look in his eye.
Shadow inhaled some of that gas and it was finally taking effect, sure. It didn't explain why he was this tired, his movements this sluggish, his vision this hazy. And this quickly? It made no sense, his physiology was far superior to that of a normal Mobian, he should be barely feeling the effects of that small bit of gas he'd inhaled.
Unless... Espio managed to drug him some other way...
"What did you do?" he demanded behind bared fangs. Shadow could feel the pounding of his heart in his ears. Getting him so worked up, all just to increase his heart rate, pump the toxins through his system even faster. That sneaky little...
"Aren't you supposed to see through my 'pathetic little tricks'?" Espio shot back, sauntering towards him like he'd already won. That smug worm, how dare he look down on the Ultimate Lifeform...
"I don't need to" Shadow replied, barely masking his anger with stoicism. "All I have to do is capture you" he got back into his fighting stance. He'd spent too much of this fight being led around by the nose. No more of that.
Espio did a few hand seals as he chuckled to himself. "Prepare to be disappointed" he finished before letting out a powerful shout.
"HAAAAH!" Espio blasted forward, enveloped in a whirlwind of air currents launching him to speeds rivaling Shadow's Boost ability. Wonderful, he has even more tricks up his sleeves. When would this aggravating game end?!
Shadow blasted forward, enveloped in a field of Chaos Energy, performing his own Boost to rise to Espio's challenge. Who has more raw power and speed? The answer was clear, but Shadow was never one to leave things to the imagination. Better to stamp out any wild notions inferior beings had, to put them firmly in their place. And this inferior being had overstepped his bounds 10 times over.
They clashed with thunderous results, a booming crash resounded across the landscape as the two went head to head. Literally. Shadow, despite his continued efforts to keep his power held back, was steadily increasing the pressure and loosening the restraints as the fight progressed. And still, Espio managed to keep up with him this whole time.
He had to admit, they were close to a match, with Shadow only barely out classing Espio in this current clash. Well, perhaps Espio was more than just a few pathetic tricks. It's too bad Shadow had no more respect left.
Shadow welled up more energy and pushed Espio back, burrowing through his layer of Wind energy to slam him backwards. All he had to do now was teleport to catch Espio, keep him off the ground, increase the pressure, really knock him around, and finally unleash a stronger Chaos Spear, twice as powerful as the last one. Then this would all be over.
Shadow forced Chaos Energy to the surface, folded the fabric of space in on itself, "jumped through" and surfaced where Espio would be... but Espio wasn't there.
How?! He couldn't have gone invisible in a nanoseco—!
Something yanked on his ankle. Something strong. So strong it pulled him through the air towards—
Espio?
A cold chill dug into Shadow's side with a sickening penetration sound, beneath his rib cage, just above his kidney. Crimson irises shrunk as he inhaled sharply. His mouth refused to close, the pain, blood slowly welled up in his mouth. Ribbons of red spilled from his entry wound, warming that cold steel lodged inside of him.
Stabbed.
This is what being stabbed felt like.
He'd almost forgotten. It'd been a while since he'd last felt the sensation.
Espio leaned in close to whisper into his ear.
"The problem with you, Shadow, is that you fail to realize all your powers and abilities, your status of Ultimate Lifeform, greatest creation of the ARK, self-appointed protector of the planet, everything that puffs up your pride..." His feet finally hit the ground again, stabilizing him. "It all makes you unbelievably predictable".
The ninja pulled the blade out from his side in one swift motion, even in his dazed state Shadow could tell he did it with finesse. Much greater finesse than necessary, not that he cared as he stumbled backwards, cradling his wound. His other hand clenched into a fist, while focusing his energies onto the wound, invigorating his cells to aid in the repair. He didn't intend a full recovery, just enough to stop the bleeding so he can finish up.
"For all your talk of hating my 'tricks', you could stand to come up with a few" the chameleon scoffed. "Give yourself a chance whenever you face someone that actually knows how to fight"
Shadow blinked a few times. "Come again?"
Espio paced around him as he continued. "Oh sure, you've beaten Sonic, an overpowered child looking for thrills, advanced robots and mechs piloted by scientists who know nothing of combat, gods and demons alike, undeniably powerful but largely mindless" he stopped behind Shadow.
"But you've never actually fought a skilled warrior before, have you?" he dropped, his voice low and gravelly. Shadow squinted back at him,
"Is that what you are? A warrior?" he grunted, turning to properly glare at Espio. "Last time I checked, warriors had honor, a code, lines they don't dare cross. Assassins, on the other hand..." he looked down at his wound, it was dry. "Well... there's no depth they won't sink to, now is there?" Shadow finished, rising back to his feet. Sluggish but no longer bleeding.
Wound must've been shallower than it initially appeared. Another sloppy move. Strange...
"So you do think I'm guilty" Espio replied. "As I thought"
"Not before I arrived. But now... you've done quite a bit to persuade me" Shadow shot back. It was true, he didn't want to believe it, but now... it's like he didn't have a choice in the matter.
"You never trusted me, admit it", Espio spat back. Shadow's eye twitched, his teeth clenched behind a tight frown.
"Believe what you want. I'm bringing you in" the hedgehog finished, lowering into his fighting stance.
"No. You won't" Espio managed to get out just before Shadow rushed in and clocked him in his smug face. Getting stabbed was the last straw, no more messing around.
"You want a skilled warrior? Fine" a flawless roundhouse kick knocked Espio to the ground with a satisfying thud. "I'll grant that wish" fist covered in Chaos Energy, drove into Espio's face.
It didn't have to connect for the damage to be dealt, that was the beauty of utilizing distorted space in combat. An option he was trying to avoid all this time, but once again, Espio had forced his hand. The type of damage these attacks did, it was internal and took weeks to recover from. A fate he didn't wish on his ally before this fight began. Now? He just wanted to end this fight with Espio still in one piece.
No matter how battered and bleeding that one piece would be.
The familiar sound of rippling Chaos Energy bending space and anything else unfortunate enough to be in range bellowed in his ears. Espio's grunts of pain were also a welcomed tune. The chameleon was shoved further into the ground, the craters they made earlier dwarfed by this new one.
Espio coughed gruffly as blood shot out of his mouth. Finally, a sign that he's taking some damage.
They've arrived at the conclusion of this petty feud, the victor obvious. But inevitable as it may be, it was an arduous road to get here. Something Shadow would have considered commendable if he wasn't drugged, damaged, and mad as hell. Right now, he just wanted this to be over.
He brought his hand up and flexed his fingers, as he summoned a truly alarming amount of energy underneath Espio.
"Chaos..." he called out as he touched his middle finger to his thumb. He closed his eyes for an instant, focusing that energy exactly where it needed to go before finally snapping his fingers.
"Magic!" he finished, summoning a dazzling rift in space beneath Espio, shooting him straight up. Several more snaps brought several more space rifts knocking the ninja around like a pinball against bumpers, higher and higher into the air.
"Not yet" he thought aloud before curling into a ball and charging Chaos Energy inside his core. He launched himself into the sky, straight at Espio. But before he collided, he teleported out of sight, jumping in space above Espio.
"Chaos Hammer!" he roared, slamming down on Espio and rocketing them both into the ground, a massive plume of debris rising behind him. Like someone had dropped a bomb on the unsuspecting plain.
Shadow stood atop Espio, his foot stamped down on his heaving chest holding him in place.
There.
Finally.
It's done.
"Is that..." Espio groaned out, sending a jolt of rage through Shadow, "the best you can do?" he finished, flashing a bloodstained grin. What is this reptile made of?!
"Stop posturing, it's over. You're coming with me" Shadow ordered, fed up with this whole act. If, indeed, it was an act, Shadow was still unclear as to where the Espio he knew ended and where this new Espio began.
"That's not going to happen, abomination" that same thing shot out of Espio's mouth, but this time he was fast enough to dodge—was that his tongue?! He hit him with his TONGUE before?! Revolting little vile scum—!
His feet were swept up from under him, a combination of legs and prehensile tail sent Shadow toppling over into the dirt yet again as Espio vanished from view. The massive cloud of dust he just caused turned against him in an instant. Shadow unleashed his 3rd Chaos Blast of the day, which was certainly wearing him down, but at least Espio's cover was gone. In fact, the dissipating dirt cloud washed over an invisible figure, covering him with a dusty coating.
"There you are!" Shadow yelled, without meaning to. He was just so unbelievably fed up with all of this nonsense.
He pulled his Emerald out once more, called out "Chaos Control!" to halt time in its tracks, then rushed the no longer transparent ninja. Intending to blast through him this time and oddly succeeding. But as soon as he'd released his hold on time, he realized it was yet another illusion clone. A paranoid swivel was all it took to notice several dozen more invisible figures getting blasted with dirt.
This just never ends!
Shadow called out "Chaos Control!" again and set out to get rid of all the clones.
Holding back was apparently the wrong call for this situation. Turns out Espio could take as much punishment as Sonic, perhaps even more. He'd never met someone so irritatingly tough before. And persistent. Unbelievably persistent, the boy refused to give up! An admirable quality when he was an ally, but an impossibly frustrating trait in an enemy.
...were they truly enemies now?
He ignored how his chest hollowed out for an instant and resumed his task. No time for that. Finish the mission.
Shadow finally reached the last illusion clone, his grasp on the flow of time tenuous and slipping with each passing blink. An axe kick split it in half, revealing that Espio had once again tricked him. The mass of clones weren't hiding the real Espio, they were just another distraction.
The vaguely familiar sound of compressed air blasting forth caught his attention, helping him narrowly avoid the rocketing wrist blade aimed for his head. Another scheme, another misdirection, another trick!
Shadow grabbed the trailing chain with his free hand.
"So many damn tricks!" he roared as he yanked the chain with all his might, pulling the unsuspecting Espio towards him.
No more games, no more holding back, no more mercy!
He still clutched his Emerald in the other hand and he was ready to put it to good use one last time.
"Chaos Con—guhh!" several sharp pricks stabbed into his face. What in the—? He pulled the foreign objects out of his forehead. Needles?! How many weapons did this bastar—?!
"Akuseru—!" Espio called out as he continued flying towards Shadow, preparing for some kind of counter. Shadow had no time to speak the words and stop time. He didn't even have time to "pocket" the Emerald. But he wasn't going to let Espio get another attack off. Shadow immediately curled into a ball and launched himself forward.
"—Kaiten!" whipping himself around at blinding speeds, turning himself into a virtual tornado of scales and metal, thanks to his wrist mounted blades.
Shadow's Homing Attack bounced off of the twirling Espio, doing absolutely no damage. He continued the Homing Attacks, aiming for several different spots on the twisting chameleon, hoping for a weak spot. No such luck.
By the time they touched back down to the ground, Shadow was spent. Between the drugs staggering his reaction time, his seething rage coloring everything red, the amount of energy he'd burned through in such a short amount of time. And as much as he hated to admit it, the damage Espio had been dealing him was adding up to be... considerable.
This didn't make sense. How was Espio giving him this difficult a fight? Really? Espio? As intimidating as he would be to the average person, he was no Sonic. Nor was he a Knuckles or a Rouge, individuals he wouldn't hesitate to admit were forces to be reckoned with, in his expert opinion.
Espio was not supposed to be this hard to put down, every physical encounter he had with the chameleon was nothing short of unremarkable. But as Shadow stopped to think, perhaps that was his intention.
This whole time, even when the fate of the world hung in the balance, Espio had been trying to keep a lid on his true potential. His real power. All in an effort to pull the wool over everyone else's eyes, to portray himself to the outside world as passably competent. Capable, on a good day. But otherwise, painfully unremarkable.
All the while, he hid a wealth of strength and cunning no one could dream he was capable of. He took everything Shadow threw at him, everything! And still, he stood here with barely a scratch or a bruise. Meanwhile, Shadow had to take a break and heal himself to continue at this pace, and even then he still sported several significant cuts and bruises. Annoying drugs throwing everything off...
It was disheartening; the longer this battle trudged on, the more evidence mounted against Espio. It was impossible to ignore now, no amount of faith in his former friend could dispel it. Espio was without a doubt deadly and dubious, with a past shrouded in mystery. Who's to say he wasn't an ex-assassin finally baring his long dormant fangs after his cover had suddenly been blown? It certainly felt like that was the case.
Shadow shook his head and groaned.
"Getting a little hard to keep your eyes open, is it?"
Shadow snapped his tired eyes to Espio who slowly began performing what appeared to be yoga stances, or more likely Tai Chi katas. How? How is he so calm? So full of stamina after all of this?
"Hardly. This is nothing", he lied, adorning his mask of stoicism. He could do another round of this, maybe 2, but after that he honestly wasn't sure. Damn drugs and tricks, wasted so much energy and stamina on a nobody like Espio. That's what he is, a little weak nothing, posturing to seem more powerful than he really was.
"I am the Ultimate Lifeform, you have no chance against me", he declared boldly.
Espio shook his head derisively as his limbs flowed delicately. "Didn't that mad scientist Gerald tell you, lies are unbecoming of an Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow?"
"You accuse me of lying?!" Shadow jabbed his finger at Espio. "Every word from your mouth is born of falsehoods! Fabricated in a juvenile attempt to upset me so I'd make a mistake in this asinine fight!" he shouted, veins throbbing beneath his matted fur.
"Wow, you pieced that together all by yourself? I'd be impressed if it didn't take you this long to figure it out" Espio taunted, gently spinning as his arms swirled around.
"I've known from the beginning! I just didn't feel the need to stoop to your pitiful level and throw childish insults!" Shadow barked back, his righteous fury flaring in full force.
"But now it's perfectly fine to stoop? Hypocrisy, thy name is—"
"Silence, you insufferable weak little creature! You're nothing, do you hear me? Nothing!" Shadow raged, unable to hold back anything any longer.
"And yet here I stand, a weak, pathetic, little nothing giving the 2nd most powerful hedgehog in the world the toughest fight he's ever had" Shadow snarled in response, words failing him. "Tell me, what exactly does that say about you, oh so ultimate one?" That tears it.
"I have had enough of these pitiful mind games! I'm not going to fall for anymore of your tricks!" Shadow roared, swiping the air between them violently. "I'll obliterate you off the face of the planet!" he threatened as energy coursed through him, his fur standing on end once more.
Espio completed the final spin of his Tai Chi movements, coiling his open hands right beneath his shoulders. He hunched over, ready to spring forward. "You'll have to catch me first"
"Hahaha!" he laughed bitterly. "Catch you? I'm the fastest creature alive!"
"Sonic would beg to differ"
"You aren't Sonic! You won't escape me!"
"Only one way to know for sure" Espio smirked, as if he was still in control.
In the blink of an eye, Espio lunged forward at top speed and Shadow teleported out of sight.
Shadow reappeared a few yards behind Espio, both hands at his sides clutching a pulsating orb of Chaos Energy in each.
"I told you, I won't fall for anymore of your tricks!" Shadow roared, before jabbing his hands forward. "Farewell!" the 2 orbs flew from his hands at shocking speeds.
Espio jumped as high as he possibly could, escaping the ominous energy balls. He whipped his head around to face Shadow, but didn't throw any projectiles, not even his wrist mounted blades came flying at him. Just as he thought.
That little technique Espio was charging up had to come with a significant drawback. No attack requiring that much build up would have much in the way of adaptability. It was a straight forward, close quarters attack. And judging by how committed Espio was to using it, the move was probably his most powerful one yet. Shadow wasn't about to find out how powerful.
Plus, since Espio had yet to turn invisible again, it stood to reason that he couldn't go invisible while in the middle of the technique. Suggesting that all his other techniques were unavailable to him, which means no more illusion clones, no more projectiles, no other Wind attacks.
Espio had finally come down to his last trick and Shadow had figured it out.
This time it's over! This all ends!
For the first time since this battle started, Shadow smirked. He flung his arms around and the energy orbs obeyed his wordless commands, redirecting to pursue their target. Espio, ever the slippery acrobat, managed to gracefully maneuver his way around the energy spheres. How he managed to know they would home in on him, Shadow assumed he would never find out. But it didn't matter.
Go ahead and struggle all you want, it's useless, Shadow thought confidently as his arms kept up with Espio's dodging. They'll pursue you until you're caught, lock you in a fold in space itself and that immense pressure will quickly break your limbs. Pity it had to come to this, but you brought it on yourself.
The chameleon landed safely on the ground, only to continue his acrobatic display of dodging the Roaming Chaos technique. Espio finally looked overwhelmed, spinning and twisting frantically, barely slipping past the dangerous orbs. With each passing second, they came closer and closer.
Shadow noticed during this whole performance that Espio's hands remained in the same position they've been in since he completed charging his technique. He couldn't hold back a dark chuckle.
"It's no use! You're never going to touch me with that useless technique of yours!"
Espio rose to his feet after the most narrow triple backflip dodge yet, Shadow separated the two orbs intentionally before bringing one down on Espio. He obviously dodged it, as predicted, but Shadow intentionally held one back to put in Espio's path. Impossible to dodge now. Get ready for a world of pain, lizard—
A massive blast of wind blew out of Espio's hand, rocketing him away from the 2nd Roaming Chaos, completely taking Shadow by surprise. Espio flew like a rocket, straight into the clouds, the Sun blinding Shadow for a second. The torrent of wind released a massive cloud of debris in its wake, even though Shadow was easily 20 yards away, he was overcome with the aftereffects of its impact on the landscape.
What a powerful blast of air! He was right to keep his distance and avoid it.
The blinding light of the Sun flickered brighter before Shadow sent his Roaming Chaos towards it. Since he couldn't use his projectiles, namely smoke bombs, Espio was using the Sun as cover instead. A desperate final trick. Clever as always, but futile—
"Arigato yo, Shadow-kun..." Shadow's eyes shot wide open.
Thank you, Shadow...
No...
He spun around to see what he knew couldn't be possible.
That couldn't be Espio behind him. There was no way, no possible way, for him to be here.
But against all logic, there he was, crouched down and lunging towards Shadow. He didn't even have time to formulate a question before he felt Espio's palm slam into his stomach. A powerful force expanded against him.
"Fukikaeshi!" was the last word he heard before he was thrust backwards, a violent torrent of wind flinging his body every which way, ripping through him in ways very few attacks ever had. The billowing ringing in his ears was all consuming and aggressive, his own screams of pain were snuffed out by the high pressure currents. It was damn near indescribable how disorienting and painful it was to be subjected to the devastating technique.
Through gritted teeth and considerable effort, Shadow finally summoned enough energy to teleport, to gain a reprieve from the onslaught that was Espio's fearsome wind attack. He managed to "jump" several meters below the condensed wind funnel blowing him away, and from there his air shoes softened his fall.
Though the landing was much rougher than he hoped, plopping him onto his hands and knees as he gasped deep breaths of air. Fingers dug into the grass covered ground beneath him, an inferno raging in his chest. Blood and sweat dripped from his slightly shivering form.
This made no sense. How could this be happening to him? How could he be in this shameful state from a fight with Espio? Espio! Someone so far beneath him he couldn't even come up with an accurate metaphor to describe it! This was not happening! It couldn't be!
Shadow was the Ultimate Lifeform! Master of Chaos Control! The most powerful hedgehog in the world! He has beaten gods and primordial cosmic beings! How could he be bested in combat, even for a moment, by a mere mortal with a few knives, parlor tricks and literal air?! It's impossible! Espio was nothing but a weak, spineless, worm...! He was... he was nothing!
"You... are... nothing!" Shadow took out his Emerald for what he vowed would be the final time today and screamed, "Chaos Control!" before he forced the wheel of time to stop in its tracks once more. He'd go back to the battlefield, find Espio, rip his arms out of their sockets himself, and drag him by the throat to a GUN holding cell. He was so beyond done with all this crap, Espio is as good as finished!
Only... nothing changed.
Time hadn't slowed down at all, much less stopped.
Why was nothing behaving as it should in this damn fight!?
He looked at the Emerald clutched in his hand to—wait.
This isn't the Chaos Emerald. What IS this thing—?
Blinding light and vicious sound burst forth from the object in his hand, searing his eyes into squeezing shut as a devastatingly loud bang deafened him.
Flash grenade.
When did Espio swap out a flash grenade for his Emerald? How did he swap it out for his Emerald? Shadow would answer those questions if he could think about anything other than the intense pain completely neutralizing his senses, stunning him in place.
God...DAMN, that was bright! Like his irises were being pierced with searing hot needles. And that ringing. That awful, awful, ringing in his ears. It held back every conscious thought. Save one.
The chameleon assumed he would be incapacitated for several minutes to be sure, but Shadow didn't need his senses or his Emerald to capture Espio. He didn't have to be the one to personally bring him in, he just needed a member of his team to do it. As much as he hated not being able to hold his weight when it came to their assignments, time was of the essence.
"ROUGE!" he bellowed before coughing. His throat had yet to recover from this ordeal. "ROUGE!" he called again, powering through the scratchiness in his throat.
"ESPIO! FIND ESPIO!" he ordered, grabbing his throbbing head. "HURRY! HE'S ON THE MOVE!"
Unfortunately he was no longer capable of pursing Espio himself. The ninja had successfully rendered his senses useless for an extended period of time, systematically whittled down his stamina and reserves of energy, not to mention his composure, and the damage he sustained had become more than considerable. Shadow gathered himself as best he could, focused his low reserves of energy and channeled them into aiding his healing.
Espio knew how to play him, as much as he loathed to admit it; he chose to fight Shadow specifically because of the various tactics, mind games, and tricks he had at the ready. Preplanned, if Shadow's hunch was correct. Because there was no way any of that was spur of the moment improvisation. Espio was clever, but not that clever. No one was that clever.
But all this time, Espio had been plotting ways to bring about his friend's downfall, memorized and prepared schemes all in an effort to hurt and incapacitate him. It was enough to drive Shadow mad.
Espio really was hiding his true self this whole time, those claims on the scrolls probably were true, he was indeed a deadly, dubious assassin. One that's killed a slew of people already, no doubt. As much as Shadow loathed to admit it, Espio had proven himself a dangerous threat beyond all expectations.
And if Rouge couldn't locate him here and now... then he would be free to wreck havoc on anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in his path...
Author's Notes: Alright, that was our first fight. Hopefully it was worth the wait! And the Shadow fans reading this won't go crazy about him losing. I'll just go over a few details that I intentionally didn't elaborate on in the chapter.
First things first, Shadow's power level. I had to nerf him a little bit. His teleportation and time stop abilities were given limits because they don't really have consistent limits in the game canon, that I could see anyway. So in this story, Shadow can only use Time Stop Chaos Control by saying "Chaos Control" and having an Emerald in his possession. He also can't use energy blasts of any kind while time is stopped, he can teleport while in stopped time but that decreases the duration of stopped time.
His Teleportation Chaos Control has a cooldown relative to the distance he travels, 1ft = 0.1sec, 10ft = 1sec, 100ft = 10sec. This doesn't come into play too much in this particular fight, but going forward, this is the nerf for all teleportation abilities. Might not seem like much of a cooldown time, but remember just how fast these characters are and you'll see that 1 second is a decent amount of time to be without teleportation.
I changed the ability of Roaming Chaos, instead of being mobile mines that just kinda explode when someone touches them, I changed it to being manually controlled rifts in space that can trap and crush anything caught in it. I wanted a move that was more of a last resort detainment move than the original Roaming Chaos so that's why I changed it. Seemed to fit the fight better.
Now onto Espio, he got a buff. Firstly he can do a lot with the Illusion/Confusion abilities, from Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. (Which, by the way, his "Confusion" abilities were called "Illusion" before an update. I'm sticking with "illusion" because it just fits better) Think about the Naruto series various Clone jutsu and that's sort of what Espio is working with. Plus invisibility and various weapons, with the right training and mindset, he is a force to be reckoned with.
Next are his Wind abilities, again they got a buff. I borrowed Kamaitachi from the Shinobi series, which this whole fic is an homage to, by the way. His Leaf Swirl (Konoha Gakure) is much stronger, same for his version of Blowback (Fukikaeshi) compared to Charmy's. If you noticed, he can divide it into 2 attacks, one for each hand. The Fukikaeshi he hit Shadow with was at half strength because it was one handed. Imagine how much more powerful it would be with both hands w
The knockout gas and drug-tipped weapons were the only way Espio could stand a chance in this fight. Without them and Shadow intentionally holding back for the vast majority of this fight, he would have immediately been defeated. But the idea was Espio is taking all factors into consideration and using every possible advantage he has to constantly shift the fight in his favor. Psychological warfare, distractions and misdirections, various battle tactics, fighting techniques, secret moves, etc.
As Espio says in the chapter, Shadow has never really fought a trained warrior like Espio before. He has fought Sonic, who is far from traditionally trained or experienced. He has fought Black Doom and Mephiles, who are not warriors, but a super powerful space tyrant and the "mind" portion of a primordial being, respectfully. He has fought Silver and Tails, who—again—are far from traditionally trained or experienced. Though, he has fought Knuckles before (in Heroes & the Rivals series), it's safe to assume Espio wasn't aware of their encounters.
And most importantly, he's fought Espio before, both in Heroes and Rivals 2. But the point of this fight was to demonstrate the vast change from Game canon Espio and my Espio. Neatly explained as Espio hiding his true abilities and skill level and contingency plans from everyone else, so that if need be, he can one day take them down. (If you got Batman vibes from that, good, that was the idea.) We will explore this aspect of Espio's character in later chapters, so don't worry, this idea will be explained and supported.
As for his insane level of durability and stamina that Shadow constantly harps on, Espio is canonically one of the toughest characters in the series. He can withstand Sonic's Homing Attacks indefinitely in Generations, and as a frame of reference this is the same Sonic who can beat Perfect Chaos without any Emeralds. Espio can take everything that Sonic dishes out and keep going. That's an advantage I needed to give him here, otherwise—once again—he's toast.
All other notes I have for this chapter will be in the Important Information doc. That's all for now, hope you enjoyed that fight, I worked really hard on it! Let's get ready for the next battle, next time! Charmy VS Rouge! See ya then