//------------------------------// // City: Sunset Heights (Vs Shadow) // Story: Sonic Forces: Resistance is Magic // by MetalJrock //------------------------------// Tails, Spike, Classic Sonic and Rouge all grouped around the silent E-123 Omega, who was placed in a small lab. Tails examined the deactivated robot in the base. "I'm glad you guys found him. I... Wasn't exactly able to fix him up without my equipment and couldn't bring him along after I left. Any idea on what happened to him?" "He was on a mission in Green Hill a day before the takeover. Most likely he was put down by Infinite." Rouge said. "Hm. Now that I have some good equipment around, I should be able to fix him back up at least." Tails agreed. Classic Sonic scratched his head. He didn't remember seeing this robot the last time he was in this world. Curious, he gestured to Tails, who responded, "Oh yeah, you didn't meet Omega last time. Don't worry, he may have been designed by Eggman, but he hates him just as much as we do." "Wait, he was designed by Eggman?" Spike asked. "I wouldn't worry about him turning traitor, lizard. He has it out for the doctor and that's not changing anytime soon. It makes sense considering he locked Omega away for so long." Rouge assured the dragon, "I found him when... Well, that's kind of a long story in itself." Close by, Modern Sonic, Rainbow Dash and Twilight decided to overwatch the Resistance's final defense in the city back on South Island. Based on what they're hearing, it wasn't looking too good. Their forces were being taken out one by one. "What the heck is going on in the city? The Resistance is getting trashed out there!" Rainbow Dash wondered. Knuckles said, "That's what we're trying to find out, Rainbow." "If you can be quiet for a minute, we can figure that out." Amy scolded the pegasus. "Jeez, fine." Then their communicators went off, "Hmph. You better be getting this message." said a cold voice. Sonic put a hand to his ear, "Yeah, we hear you Shadow. What do you want now?" "Yeah! You got some nerve calling after picking a fight with Rouge and me!" Rainbow added. "This better be you realizing you've been acting like an idiot these past few months." Sonic quipped. Shadow huffed, "I'm not the idiot around here. Listen, Faker. It's about time we settled things once and for all. Meet me on South Island." Sonic smirked, "Alright, Shadow. It's on now!" "Sonic, are you sure you should be heading out there? Shadow looks to be equal to you." Twilight wondered. The blue hero shrugged, "True, but Shadow and I fought countless times before and most of them usually involve me beating him to a pulp by the end. He wants to handle things mano a mano, so I'm gonna play by his rules." "But this time could be different! What if it's a trap! What if Infinite's there? What if--?" Twilight stammered on worriedly while holding her now sore head. Sonic raised his hands, "Whoa, chill Twi. Shadow's not one to back down from a challenge when he gives one. I've known him long enough to figure that out. I'd rather be the one to take him down." "Alright, but you might want to bring some backup to hold back the Death Egg Robots and Badniks." Knuckles suggested. The hedgehog put his hands behind his head, "Yeah, I can do that. So long as none of them show up to fight Shadow of course. That's my thing... I'll ask Silver, Vector, Charmy, Rarity and Pinkie to tag along." he decided. "You can't possibly think that I'll sit back while you get to fight Shadow by yourself. I got a bone to pick with him too!" Rainbow spat. "That's exactly what will happen, Dash." Sonic scolded, "...Look. If I need backup, I'll call for you. Alright?" "...Fine." grumbled Dash. "What about Tails? Wouldn't you like him to come along?" Amy suggested. Sonic shrugged, "As much as I want him and me fighting together like old times, I kinda want to give him a break after everything that's happened. That and..." he glanced over to his old friend conversing with Classic Sonic and Spike as he was rebuilding Omega, "He seems to be enjoying the company." "Well, alright then. Get prepped to head out in a few minutes. I'll let everyone else know about this." Knuckles said. Twilight bit her lip and felt an empty feeling in her gut. She had a hunch that something was going to go wrong at any point. Sonic going alone to face once of the villains was a risky move. This was one of the reasons she had been so... relunctant to go on missions lately. Maybe that will change, but at the very least she needed to figure out how to clear her head. So, she walked over to Tails, Spike, and Classic Sonic and tapped the displaced hedgehog's shoulders. "Tails?" she quietly asked. "Can I ask you for a favor?" "Yeah, sure." Tails said. "Twilight? Are you okay?" Spike asked his friend. "I am, Spike. Just a little concerned with this whole war is all. I'm doing a little better now though." Twilight said. "That's good to hear. Do you need us to help at least?" Spike wondered as he pointed to himself and Classic Sonic. Twilight pondered for a moment, then said, "I don't think so." The team arrived in the burning city on South Island. Vector was the first to speak among the group, "Alright, crew! The mission is simple. We clean up the remaining few robots in the city while Sonic goes searchin' for Shadow!" he reminded them. "My goodness! This city looks horrible! How long has this gone on for?!" Rarity screamed at the sight of constant destruction thanks to the Death Egg Robots and Badniks terrorizing the city. "It's been like this for a while, Rarity. It's a miracle it's still intact." Sonic admitted, "But it won't be looking like this within the next few days. Cover for me!" he zipped away to find his rival. A loud stomp shook the ground, and the group looked up. Towering over them was another Death Egg Robot. "Let's smash this one up too!" Charmy cheered. "T-T-That's a Death Egg Robot?!" Rarity gasped. "How are we supposed to be rid of that?!" Pinkie Pie giggled as she revealed her Party Cannon, placing Charmy in there, and pulling the string, allowing the bee to bash his way through the torso of the metal being. "Like that!" the party pony said. "Well, I think the rest of us have to resort to less... cartoony methods obviously." Silver dismissed. "Oh." Pinkie replied. "Takin' down these giant tin cans won't be much of an issue, Rarity. We just gotta break through 'em and aim for the heads. Call it a detective's intuition." Vector assured while cracking his knuckles. "Or common sense." Silver muttered as he opened his palm. Rarity raised a brow, as she took a small step back from the giant bot. She watched as the silver hedgehog pushed the bot back, covering its legs in a green aura. The unicorn used her magic to levitate her crocodile ally into the air. Vector curled into a ball as he was thrown directly towards the robot's eyes, causing it to short-circuit and fall at last. As he fell, Charmy flew up and grabbed him, putting him down back where he started. "Nice one! I didn't know you ponies could do that!" he complimented. "Why thank you." Rarity replied, wiping the sweat off her head. "That was so cool!" Charmy cheered. "Now we just have to keep that going for a while longer." "W-What?" Silver hovered in his spot and grabbed a piece of debris from a destroyed building. With a shove, he threw it at the next robot, distracting it for a moment. Pinkie Pie hopped on the body of the deactivated robot and leaped, her hoof gripped by Charmy, who was flying. "Hey, giant mean robot!" she called out. A second later, the party pony threw a pie at the robot's face, causing its head to turn in confusion. "Ha! That never gets old!" she laughed. Silver went higher and pushed the robot downwards with his powers, causing to fall on its back. Vector curled into a ball again and dashed through its entire body with ease, coming out of the top of its head a moment later. The silver hedgehog got back on the floor, a little weary from pushing the robot. He then did the same to another robot a few feet over, dropping that one without any help. "My word. I didn't think your powers were that strong, Silver." Rarity said to the time-traveler. Silver panted, "It just takes a lot out of me though. That's the last time I'll be doing that for a while." Vector pointed at the robots coming for them. "We'll give ya some time to recharge Silver!" Pinkie grabbed Rarity and aimed her horn at the oncoming Badniks. The pink pony pulled on the unicorn's tail, causing Rarity to shoot magic at the Motobugs, Coconuts and Slicers charging after them. Once they were destroyed, Rarity dusted herself off and adjusted her curly tail, "Must you do that, Pinkie?" "It worked against the Changelings didn't it?" Pinkie retorted. Rarity narrowed her eyes at her friend's antics, not choosing to respond for the moment. "You have to teach me how to do that." Charmy said to Pinkie. "Uh, I'd rather we not do that, Charmy." Vector said. "But you did that with me and Espio before." Charmy responded. "That was different!" Vector sighed. "We were on a very specific case!" "As a sleuth myself, I do not know what kind of case requires... That." Rarity replied. "Ah forget it, let's just--" Vector A flash of white appeared out of nowhere and roundhouse kicked Vector in the head, throwing him aside. A black hedgehog landed on a knee, his fist on the floor. "I must admit, I'm disappointed. None of you are what I consider a challenge." "Shadow!" Silver shouted. "So, you're the ruffian Rainbow Dash and Rouge spoke about." Rarity realized. The Ultimate Life-Form scowled, "And you're nothing more than another equine to stomp on." "What?!" Silver extended an arm and tried to entrap Shadow in his aura, "That's enough out of you!" he was straining to hold him, still worn out from trashing the Death Egg Robot from moments ago. Vector stumbled back to the black hedgehog. However, Shadow broke free from Silver's grip and punched Vector once more, the crocodile blocking it with his arm. "Payback time!" Vector shouted, shoving the villain aside with his palm. The Ultimate Life-Form hissed. "Hey, Shadow! I thought you were cool! Why are you doing this now?!" Charmy called out to Shadow. "You thought he was cool? He's nothing more than a big fat meanie now!" Pinkie shouted. "I don't care about your opinions of me. I'm only here to do what I have to." Shadow stated nonchalantly. He moved forward and kicked Charmy with ease, moving towards Pinkie. Pinkie was about to move out of the way, but Shadow teleported and grabbed the party pony by the tail. "Hey! Let go!" she said as they ascended. "If you say so." Shadow said in a snarky tone. He spun around and threw Pinkie Pie down as hard as he could, denting the ground once she fell. He landed and looked at the pink mare groaning in pain. "Pinkie Pie!" Rarity ran to her friend. She looked down and tried to help Pinkie up, but was blindsided by the black hedgehog, who tackled her in the blink of an eye. The unicorn performed a quick spell and blasted Shadow with a small sphere of magic, making him let go. Rarity slid her hooves on the ground to adjust herself. Pinkie Pie got up and said, "Get away from Rarity...!" Shadow said, "Hmph. You're still standing. Seems I have to rectify that." he threw his arms back, yellow sparks emitting from his palms, "Chaos Spear!" "Ah!" Pinkie screamed, getting hit by the electric projectile. She fell facefirst on the floor. Shadow added onto this by kicking her aside in one swift motion, throwing her through a building. "What in Equestria was that?!" Rarity gasped. Shadow turned around and threw another Chaos Spear at Rarity, the unicorn blocking it with a force-field spell. The energy faded once it collided with her barrier. Once she dropped it, Rarity blinked and suddenly found Shadow standing directly in front of her. Before the black hedgehog could do anything, Charmy headbutted their adversary, causing him to grunt. He grabbed the bee by the throat and slammed him on the floor before throwing him aside. Before Charmy could stand back up, Shadow stomped on his back, making sure he was down for the count. "Charmy!" Vector shouted. He curled into a ball and smacked his enemy as hard as he could. "Don't ever lay a finger on him again!" Shadow was silent and tried to move again, but was trapped by Silver again. The time-traveler said, "It's no use. Take this!" he screamed, throwing Shadow into the air with a thrust of his arms. Rarity hit him with another beam of magic as he descended. However, Shadow managed to adjust himself and land on his feet. He teleported and punched Vector before vanishing again. "Where did he--?" Vector tried to question his opponent's whereabouts, but was pushed aside again. This time, Shadow added on by driving his foot directly onto Vector's head, knocking him out as well. Silver finally mustered enough energy to keep Shadow trapped again. The Ultimate Life-Form gritted his teeth. "Finish this, Rarity! I can only hold him down for so long!" Rarity shot a beam of magic at Shadow, grazing his body slightly. Then she raised her head and added on with another sphere of electricity, shocking her opponent for a moment. But before she could continue, Silver collapsed to a knee, still weary from using his powers, freeing Shadow from his grip. Rarity's eyes widened. "Oh dear..." she placed a barrier around herself right as Shadow's fist hit it, creating a small crack. The unicorn gulped at that. Silver charged after Shadow in a green blur. The silver hedgehog decked Shadow directly in the face. This distraction allowed Rarity to lower her guard for a moment as she lifted some leftover debris. It took all she could to lift a piece of the Death Egg Robot at Shadow. The black hedgehog scowled and jumped, Spin-Dashing right through the metal projectile and hitting Rarity with a Homing Attack. The unicorn was knocked on her back and tried to stand up, but Shadow pressed his foot on her stomach and kicked her down. "P-Please stop..." she muttered and tried to stand up once more, but Shadow ended their feud with a Chaos Spear one strong enough to break through the unicorn's barrier, causing her to fall over from her injuries. Silver tried to lift some more debris up and throw them at Shadow, but the black hedgehog managed to dodge and tear them apart. He snapped his fingers and shouted, "Chaos Control!" right as Silver tried charging after him again. Time seemed to slow down for Shadow, allowing him to run forward and roundhouse kick Silver directly in the back of the head, making him keel over once Shadow's ability faded. Silver raised a fist and tried to hold Shadow down again, but couldn't due to how tired he was. He panted heavily and closed his eyes. "Pathetic. All of you here, and you still couldn't defeat me." Shadow hissed. He punched Silver in the face and threw him aside, waiting for Sonic to arrive and see what he's done. Sonic leaped off the balcony he was standing on. Still no sign of Shadow, he realized. He grabbed a zipline, placing him into a small plaza area. In the distance he could see the Death Egg Robots tearing things apart. He continued on his path, spotting a line of Egg Pawns in his path. "Really? This is the only defense Egghead's got left? This is just sad now!" he laughed. The hedgehog boosted through the robots and found more Wisps, who offered to spare him their energy to keep going. He waved to the friendly aliens before running around another loop. He put a finger to his ear and spoke, "Yo, guys. How are things on your end?" "Sonic, help..." Pinkie groaned through the communicator. "Pinkie? What's wrong?" Sonic asked. "It-It's Shadow... Too tired to keep fighting..." Silver grumbled. Sonic leaped off a spring and grinded on a rail, going around another building and landing on the sidewalk. He bounced off a spring and used his Homing Attack to chain an attack on a couple Bubbles Badniks floating in the air. Once he was done that, he hopped off another spring and grabbed a vertical zipline, swiftly yanking him upwards. He spotted the black hedgehog waiting for him across the tile street. With ease, Sonic ran down to confront his rival. And the sight wasn't one to behold and admire. "Hmph. It's about time you showed up slowpoke." Shadow huffed, turning away from the unconscious bodies of Sonic's allies. The hero's eyes widened at the sight of his friends beaten by his former ally. "Shadow! What have you done?!" Sonic asked in anger. Shadow didn't say a word and instead charged after him. Shadow elbowed Sonic and launched him through a couple buildings. Sonic shook the cobwebs out of his head and glared at the black hedgehog who attacked him. Sonic slowly stood up and swung a fist at Shadow. "Urgh. Come on, Shadow. What's your beef? Why are you doing this?!" "You know what this is about, Faker. I'm here to fulfill the vengeance I promised so long ago." Shadow stated. "Shadow, dude. We've been over this before. You're not a bad guy anymore! This isn't what Maria would've wanted!" Sonic pleaded to his rival. "This is exactly what she wanted! For me to avenge her death! All this time I was playing hero, and Infinite made me realize that it was all a lie! I saw the truth at last, and nothing is gonna change this. It's time I fulfilled my destiny." Shadow growled at his rival. "I told the doctor to eliminate you that day, and he didn't listen. I guess I have to do the dirty work myself." Sonic sighed, "Well, if it's down to this, then I'm sorry, Shadow. Sorry that you've become such a moron while I was gone." Shadow shouted and lunged a fist at Sonic. The blue blur moved his body to the side and responded with a kick to Shadow's muzzle, knocking him back slightly. The Ultimate Life-Form hissed and reared his arm back while saying, "Chaos Spear!" Suddenly, a yellow electric projectile shot out of Shadow's hand and towards his rival. "Whoa!" yelped Sonic as he leaped back away from it at a moment's haste. "So we're using our skills now, huh? Alright, guess I have to show off too!" Sonic charged a Spin-Dash and jumped back, shooting out a powerful blue gust of wind at Shadow, forcing him to counter with another Chaos Spear, nullifying it. "Guess you're better at handling my Sonic Wind than I remember." With his hover shoes, Shadow boosted towards Sonic once more. Sonic smirked and boosted as well. Once the two hedgehogs collided, they launched into the air. Shadow curled into a ball and used his Homing Attack, hitting Sonic directly in the chin. The blue hero reeled his aching head back in response. Sonic then performed a bicycle kick on Shadow, getting a good hit on him. The two zipped around and clashed their feet together in an attempt to kick each other, nothing happening as a result. The two brought themselves back to ground level. Sonic curled into a ball and charged a Spin-Dash, but strangely enough, orbs of light began to surround him. Seeing what he had planned, Shadow mirrored his rival's actions. Once they were done, they got into running stances. "Ready!" Sonic said. "Feel my power!" Shadow said. The two vanished in swift blurs once they used their Light-Speed Attacks, sparks emitting everytime their ball forms collided with one another. Sonic bounced and punched Shadow, getting an elbow to the muzzle as a response. With that, the hedgehog performed a spin-kick on his rival right as he charged a Chaos Spear. Once the energy faded, Sonic and Shadow finally began moving at normal time once more. The blue hero jumped off the wall of a building and performed a Homing Kick, then when he landed, did a handstand to adjust himself. "So, Shadow. Backing down anytime soon?" "I don't plan to." Shadow said. He then started to skate towards Sonic, driving his elbow directly onto his chest. Sonic was pushed back slightly and growled in pain. Sonic then retaliated by using his Sonic Wind technique again, sending Shadow backwards a few feet. The black hedgehog teleported and uppercutted Sonic in the face, adding onto his attack with a drop-kick. The blue hedgehog landed on the floor and said, "Heh... Got anymore tricks? Cause I can keep going." Sonic stood up and ran after his rival to counterattack. Crossing his arms, Shadow chose not to respond and instead growled, pushing Sonic back with a powerful red aura. Sonic's eyes widened once he realized what Shadow was doing. "Oh crud..." he gulped. Sonic realized Shadow was about to cover them all with his Chaos Blast, a powerful Chaos-based attack. He was ready to stop this and boosted forward. "Shadow! Have you lost your mind?!" "Chaos..." Before Shadow could finish or Sonic could attack him, something, or someone, smacked the black hedgehog in the back of the head, causing him to stop and the red aura started to fade. "Who dares?!" Sonic smirked at the sight of his old friend uncurling and landing on a knee next to him. "Nice of you to drop in, Tails. What brings you to this little party?" "Twilight suggested I come here for backup. I'm not sure why that is though." Tails replied. "Really? That's odd. I thought it was Amy. Well, it doesn't matter since you're here anyway. You wanna help me?" Sonic asked Tails, who eagerly nodded. "Of course!" Tails replied proudly. "You're correct in that it doesn't matter, Faker. Because I'll be sure to destroy you both. You and the fox-boy." Shadow remarked. Sonic pointed at his rival, "Not gonna happen, dude. I can normally thrash you by myself, but with Tails by my side? Yeah, you're toast!" he glanced over to Tails, "Let's show him how it's done!" The fox activated his arm cannon, "With pleasure!" Tails shot at Shadow, the black hedgehog nullfying the energy sphere with a Chaos Spear. The fox ran forward and spun his namesakes around, smacking Shadow. Tails leaped back as Sonic hit Shadow with a Spin-Dash before adding on with a spin-kick to his muzzle. Shadow hissed out, "You're going to regret that." "I'm thinking... Nah." Sonic quipped. He punched Shadow directly in the face, "That's for my friends!" Tails charged his Energy Ball Blaster again and aimed it at his enemy, shooting Shadow in the chest, "That's for turning traitor!" Sonic backflip-kicked Shadow while he was in midair, his foot being driven directly onto his rival's chin, "And that's for kicking our butts that day! Yeah, I'm holding a grudge! Deal with it!" Tails retaliated by shooting him before adding on with a Spin-Jump attack. The flying fox then gripped Sonic's hands. Shadow was slammed hard on the surface, creating a small crater on where he landed. "What--?" Tails began to spin around with Sonic in his grip, the two of them becoming blurs. The fox then threw Sonic down as he curled into a ball, bouncing off the stunned Shadow. The Ultimate Life-Form sneered at the act and jumped up. "That all you got?" "Nope!" The duo finished off the battle with a Rolling Combo, ramming into Shadow and incapacitating him for good. Sonic and Tails both glared at Shadow's unconscious form, some cubes showing up but fading at last, "Uh, this is weird. Normally they just kinda fade away by now." "You noticed that too? It's weird how Shadow isn't though." Tails pointed out. The two heard a growl, and found Shadow waking up, holding his sore head, "What happened?" Sonic folded his arms, "Yeah, sure. You know what you did, Shadow." "I could do without the snark, Faker." Shadow growled. "The last thing I remember, I saw Infinite..." Tails raised a brow, "Infinite? What are you talking about? Do you not remember?" Shadow huffed at the fox, "No, I don't. Now can one of you fill me in?" "Okay, I'll play along. You showed up six months ago, kicked my butt and then helped Eggman take over the world. That clear it up?" Sonic told his rival. "For your information, I don't remember any of that." Tails raised a finger, "Wait, but you said you remember Infinite?" Shadow nodded, "I did. He did something to me." "Like what?" "Infinite detained me six months ago and told me about that atrange object on his chest. He bragged that it can manipulate reality along with one's perception of it. He must've altered my own perception of reality to turn against you all." Shadow revealed. "But every other one of Eggman's elite we faced vanished except you. Why?" Tails realized. Shadow folded his arms, "Those were fakes. As I said, Infinite could manipulate reality too. The ones that vanished aren't real, but are just like the real thing in almost everyway." "I think it'd be best if you explained this back at HQ so everyone knows what’s going on." Tails suggested. "But we should get the others first." Sonic said, looking at his unconscious friends, glaring at his counterpart. Shadow closed his eyes in disappointment at himself.