Chapter Sixteen: Equalization

*G.U.N. Headquarters: Meeting room*

The Commander, Black Fist, and a hologram of Eggman (who was still confining himself to his flagship) were all gathered here. The Commander was in an awful distress due to the loss of Angel Island yesterday. He had called Black Fist and Dr. Eggman there to discuss their next move.
“Now that Mephiles has room to build his armies, he will soon be mobilizing his for his attack on Guardkaku” the Commander spoke. “I’m convinced that Angel Island wouldn’t have fallen had the Lost Ones not decimated our forces as badly as they did.”
“Perhaps, but Mephiles would have arrived himself eventually, and if by some miracle you had managed to stop him, then his army would’ve eventually overrun your position. You shouldn’t have left any forces on Angel Island to begin with since we’re gathering at your fortress now” Black Fist pointed out.
“Ah, such a perfect vision, hindsight” Eggman’s hologram spoke with sarcasm. The Commander nodded, shooting an angry glance at Black Fist. “I doubt I could’ve convinced Knuckles the Echidna to leave the island otherwise, anyway” he pointed out. “Besides, it gave Shade the Echidna a chance to prove that he truly wishes to fight for us. I’m not turning a blind eye on him, but we can count him as an asset now.”
Black Fist nodded. “But, your main point is that we have to put our plan to eliminate the Lost Ones into play now?” he said. “As you already pointed out, they caused most of your casualties at Angel Island.”
The Commander nodded. “Yes. That is precisely why I called you here. Now, Black Fist, you know more about our enemies than we do. What would you suggest?”
“I’m glad you asked” Black Fist said with a ghost of a smile. “Me and my generals have long prepared for this moment, and have studied the history of the battles against Mephiles’ forces (when he first invaded our homeworld) quite thoroughly.” With that, Black Fist began to slowly pace around the conference room. “Now, tell me, is there a central place that Mephiles would want to invade? A place he could easily surround with his armies?”
“Long have I studied the defenses of Central City” Eggman’s hologram replied. “It is easy to surround and cut off – if you can get to it at all – but tactical warfare would be abandoned and difficult for large armies once entrenched between the skyscrapers.”
The Commander nodded with a frown, knowing damn well the reason Dr. Eggman had studied Central City so thoroughly. “I agree with Eggman on that” he told Black Fist. “Why do you ask?”
Black Fist openly smirked this time. “Whenever Mephiles attacked a major city on our homeworld, he always used the same strategy, and by then, we had not the numbers to stop this strategy. Always, he would gather a million or so of his monsters, and completely cut off all hopes of escape. But they wouldn’t send the monsters themselves in; the monsters would only be there to prevent escape or to prevent reinforcements or rescue from coming. Instead, Mephiles would send the Lost Ones – and sometimes come himself – and they would use their awful powers to cause mass destruction and wipe out the population on their own. Now, as to my strategy…” With the Commander’s help, Black Fist summoned a 3-D image of Central City on the table. “We shall gather the Mobians in the middle of the city, and entrench themselves with defenses,” here, Black Fist indicated the middle of the image. “Mephiles will no doubt use the same strategy he has always used to take down cities, and will be drawn to this one with the promise of destroying many humans and his worst enemies. However, the Lost One Izar has perished according to Shadow, so Mephiles will have to account for his loss. If we evacuate the city under radio silence, Mephiles will arrive only to see his most feared enemies well-defended and ready for him. We would send Shadow and most of the other Mobians to attack Mephiles, and provoke him into following them into Central City. Their superior speed should allow the Mobians to outrun the Lost Ones.”
“I have no doubt that Mephiles will take the bait,” the Commander said after a moment, “but your plan has a few flaws. First off, it would be difficult for Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, and the others to break past the blockade, especially if they do defeat the Lost Ones. What of that?”
“I would recommend that, while the Lost Ones are engaged in combat, you send in about eighteen or twenty of your fighter-planes to air-strike the blockade and  create an opening” Black Fist replied. “Once the Mobians defeat the Lost Ones, you can send in a few of your dropships to come down and pick them up, since the danger of an aerial attack will likely be gone. But keep the fighters around as long as possible, so as to escort your pick-up ships. Oh, and if you can,” Black Fist said, his eyes brightening with an idea, “See if you can equip your fighters with weapons capable of harming the Lost Ones.”
“I cannot replicate Chaos Energy” the Commander said, “unless Shadow powers the weapon, or we have a Chaos Emerald. And we do have some, but I wouldn’t risk them to power up a couple of my fighters.”
“I believe I can help with this” Dr. Eggman interrupted. “If your promise not to study the technology, I should be able to upgrade a dozen or so of your fighters with artificial Chaos-Energy by tomorrow.”
The Commander sighed, irritated at Eggman’s desire to keep a few advantages over G.U.N. in spite of the danger that had created their fragile alliance. But he nodded, and agreed. “Now… that brings up another flaw in your plan, Black Fist” the Commander said. “I know all of the Mobians we are sending in are competent, but shall they be on their own?”
Black Fist shook his head. “No, but we should only send in the most competent of soldiers to assist them; otherwise they’d just get in the way” the Black Alien replied.
“I’I'll send in Gamma Company” the Commander said. “About a hundred or so of them have seen at least two real battles, and that company requires more hard-core training to be a part of. They’ve worked with Mobians before, as well.”
“I can spare about twenty Shadow Androids to assist you as well” Dr. Eggman added. “Their laser-cannons are powered by artificial Chaos Energy anyway. Oh, and I should be able to upgrade Gamma Company’s weaponry with Chaos as well, Commander.”
“I’ll send a platoon of hand-picked Elite Soldiers and a team of Black Arm giants as well” Black Fist put in. “I already possess weapons capable of harming the Lost Ones.”
The Commander nodded, now thinking Black Fist’s plan had a solid chance. “Just one last thing, Black Fist” the Commander said. “What if Mephiles joins in the attack?”
Black Fist thought for a moment, and sighed. “If he does, our forces will have to take the utmost precautions. But, if the Dark One does led the attack, we’ll have a chance to end the war right then and there.”
The Commander nodded, and spent a few moments in thought. Then, he nodded. “Very well. I’ll alert Team Dark, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shade, Silver, and Blaze of this mission. Meeting adjourned.”

*Shadow and Rouge’s house; Night Babylon. 9:00 PM*

At this time, Shadow and Rouge were spending time with Luna in the living room. Shadow held Luna in his arms, smiling down at his beautiful daughter. He and Rouge were squeezing precious seconds into their time with Luna, what with the battle against the Lost Ones looming over them tomorrow; G.U.N. had contacted them with the mission details via encrypted e-mail about a half-hour ago. Suddenly, Luna tugged on Shadow's bracelet, as if trying to remove it, making Shadow smirk.
"Heh; inherited your mom's greed, eh?" he asked with a chuckle, kissing Luna on the head.
Rouge glared at Shadow playfully, and lightly punched his shoulder, and said; “Oh c’mon. I’m not as greedy as I used to be” she pointed out with a smirk. Rouge then took Luna in her arms, and nuzzled up to her husband’s chest-fur, making Luna coo softly.
Shadow nodded, and sighed. "It's just not fair, Rouge..." he muttered. "I mean, right after we defeated Eggman, too; we're in another war, and we're fortunate if we get to spend two days with our own daughter." Shadow sighed again, watching Luna coo and bite a nearby throw-pillow.
Rouge glanced at Shadow, and nodded, sighing as well in frustration.
“I know what you mean, Shad” Rouge said, “But just think; when this all over, we’ll have all the time in the world to spend with Luna and raise her as a family. We’ll watch her grow up in peace” she added reassuringly, kissing Shadow on the cheek.
Shadow nodded, and smiled as Luna triumphantly lifted the throw pillow. "Yeah... I just wish we-" He was cut off as Luna smacked the pillow right into Shadow's face. Then the baby hedge-bat burst out laughing at her surprised father.
Rouge also burst into laughing along with her daughter at this, and pulled the pillow from Luna’s hands.
“Heh, she showed you up, Shadow” Rouge chuckled, then held the pillow up from Luna who was desperately trying to reach it. Then, surprisingly, Luna made her little wings flap, and she hovered into the air, and snatched the pillow back.
Shadow's eyes widened along with Rouge's, watching their daughter with pride. "Oh my God... did Luna just...?" Shadow asked, looking at Rouge in disbelief.
Rouge glanced back at Shadow, her disbelief mirroring his. Then, with a tear of pride rolling down her face, she picked her daughter up and cuddled her, making Luna coo and nuzzle her mother’s cheek.
“It’s just not fair, Shadow” Rouge said softly, her ears drooping a little. “Why can’t we just spend every day with her like this?”
Shadow smiled softly, a tear of happiness creeping down his face as well. "I know, Rouge..." Shadow said, and gathered his family near him. "But I promise, we will have peace, and someday, we'll live with each other without interruption. I swear it" he said solemnly.
Rouge sighed in content, and rested her head on Shadow’s shoulder. Then she moved Luna so that she sat between her mother and father.
“I know, Shadow” Rouge said softly. She smiled at her husband. “You always keep your promises.” Rouge kissed Shadow’s cheek, who returned it to Rouge’s forehead. “I love you two more than anything in this whole wide world” Rouge whispered, and kissed Luna’s head one more time.
Shadow smiled, and put his arm around his family. He’d never been so happy in his life, and for the moment, the darkness of tomorrow was forgotten.

*Meanwhile, Emerald Town: Silver and Blaze’s house*

Silver looked out the window, thoughtful as he usually was. He sighed wistfully, wondering what tomorrow would bring. He was thinking, wondering; what if some of us don't make it? Silver glanced over at Blaze, and shuddered. He couldn't even imagine what that pain would be like...
Blaze glanced up from a book she was reading, though she really wasn't digesting any of the words, and gazed at Silver, thinking just about the same thing.
"It'll be okay, Silv. Even if one of our crew don't make it....even if you or I don't make it, at least we'll still be together spiritually" she said, standing and coming to sit next to him. Pulling him close to her, she nuzzled his chest and sighed. "I'll never really leave you, Silver...I promise. Don't worry" she murmured to him as she listened to his heart beat, wondering if she'd ever hear it again after tonight.
Silver nodded, smiling sadly. "Yes... I suppose for all his hatred and destructiveness, Mephiles cannot destroy our spirits or souls, can he?" he replied thoughtfully, and kissed Blaze's cheek. Then, he chuckled softly to himself. "Am I still the naive hedgehog you've known for so long?" he asked teasingly.
Blaze smiled and looked up into his eyes. "No Silv...you've matured a lot since we first met. In fact, I don't think you're the least bit naive now...well...maybe a little" she teased, then gently kissed his lips.
Silver gently returned the kiss, caressing Blaze's face and pulling her deeper into the kiss. Finally, he broke the gentle exchange, nuzzling Blaze's cheek as he withdrew. "I love you, Blaze..." Silver whispered.
Blaze smiled softly and nuzzled him again with a content sigh. "I love you too, Silver, and I always will, no matter what happens. Remember that, okay?" she said, then quickly wiped a tear from her eye so Silver wouldn't see.
Silver kissed Blaze's head one more time, and held her close. Silver felt warm cuddling Blaze. Was it her heat from her fire-powers, her fur, or her love for him? Perhaps all three, Silver decided, and fell asleep.
Blaze smiled as her lover fell asleep and cuddled closer, tucking her head under his chin and nuzzling his fluffy chest. "Good night, love..." she whispered and fell asleep in his arms, listening to his gentle breathing.

*Emerald Town: Miles “Tails” Prowers’ house: 9:12 PM*

Tails the Fox was making some tune-ups on the Tornado in his garage in preparation for tomorrow’s battle. The young Mobian was unusually nervous about tomorrow’s battle. Whenever he knew he and Sonic were about to fight an enemy, he was usually no more than a bit skittish. But they weren’t going up against mindless Eggman robots; they were going against Mephiles in his prime, and only so they could eliminate the Lost Ones and make a future battle easier.
Just as Tails was finishing upgrading the engine so it could cover more distance and require less fuel, and after he had made sure all weapons were working properly, he heard a knock at the door of the living room.
“Coming!” Tails shouted, and ran to the door, wiping off the oil on his hands with a rag as he went to the door. He opened it, and Cream the Rabbit stood there, smiling shyly. Her Chao companion, Cheese, was with her too, of course.
“Cream! Hi!” Tails said happily. “How’re you doing? What’s up?”
Cream smiled sweetly up at Tails, her hands clasped in front of her. "I was just coming by to visit you before the big battle tomorrow, but if you're too busy...." she said, glancing down at the rag in his hand.
Tails shook his head. “Nah, I’m done. Come on in!” he said. Cream walked in, and he shut the door behind her. “So, want some hot chocolate or something?”
Cream nodded and followed behind Tails, glancing around his workshop. "Are you nervous about tomorrow Tails?" she asked, looking concerned.
Tails hesitated a moment, and he nodded. “Yes… the Lost Ones and Mephiles are probably the toughest enemy we’ve faced. But we have good on our side, and we’ve been through a lot. Evil, on the other hand, turns in on itself. We’ll do fine.” Tails heated up some hot chocolate for Cream, and offered her a seat. “So, why’d you come by? Something up?” Tails asked.
Cream's smile wavered for a second and she shrugged. "Well I kind of wanted to ask you something" she said quietly. "But I know you'll probably say no..." she told him, looking at the floor.
“Go ahead and ask” Tails said with a reassuring smile, and Cheese also nuzzled his rabbit-friend’s shoulder in encouragement.
Cream hesitated, then sighed. "Well, I want to help out tomorrow and I know I'm not great at fighting, but every little helping hand would be useful, right?" she said, glancing back up at him.
Tails’ eyes widened. “What…?” he asked, suddenly concerned. “Um… well…” Tails was about to object, but he suddenly remembered all the times Cream had helped them defeat Eggman, despite her age. With her little Chao companion, they were a surprisingly-good fighting duo, even though Tails knew Shadow would laugh at that statement. Cream was just a little older than himself, after all.
“Well… it’s really not up to me, but it should be okay” Tails replied hesitantly. “Just don’t go into the direct fight; stay with someone like Sonic or Amy all the time, promise?”
Beaming, Cream hugged Tails and nodded. "Okay, I promise I will! Thank you!" she told him excitedly. "I felt like I should be with my friends during all of this and hoped you would agree" she said.
Tails chuckled and returned the young rabbit’s embrace. “Yeah, no problem Cream” he said. “Still, like I said, we should check with somebody else first. I’m certainly not in charge of this mission.”
Cream nodded. “All the same, thanks Tails!” she said sweetly, with Cheese nodding emphatically next to her.
“Oh!!” exclaimed Tails, snapping his fingers. “I just remembered; I built you something! Stay right here, and don’t move, okay?” And with that, Tails ran off into the house, Cream covering her eyes and grinning in curiosity.
Finally, Tails returned, and Cream heard Cheese exclaiming excitedly. “Chao-Chao! Chao!!”
“Okay Cream; open your eyes!” Tails said, and when she did, she squealed; Tails was holding a replica of a marigold, only it seemed to be made of crystal. It was perfectly crafted, and incredibly beautiful.
“I carved it out of glass, only I put an energy field inside it to make it able to withstand more trauma before breaking” Tails explained. “It’s actually an alarm clock, but not your average kind; instead of a shrill alarm, it send soothing waves to your brain when you want to wake up, and it makes you fully alert, no sleepiness or anything! It works perfectly; I’ve tried it several times myself!”
“Oh Tails, thanks so much!!” Cream squealed, and tightly hugged the young fox. “I love it! It’s so perfect! You’re so sweet!”
Tails blushed a little at this praise as he hugged Cream back. “Well, alright; you better be getting home; we got a heck of a day tomorrow” he said. Cream nodded, and turned to leave.
“Thanks again Tails! You’re the best friend anyone could ask for!” Cream said with a sweet smile, cradling her new gift. Cheese flew over and briefly hugged Tails’ shoulder. “Bye Tails! Goodnight!”
“Goodnight Cream!” Tails called, and the young rabbit left, gently shutting the door behind her. Tails smiled to himself for awhile, stood thinking, and decided to clean up and go to bed.

*Angel Island: The next Day…*

What was once an island of renown and beauty and sanctuary, was now a twisted nightmare from the jaws of hell:
Angel Island wouldn’t be recognized at this moment by anybody, not even its guardian, Knuckles; what was beautiful on the island was now either destroyed, or horribly disfigured.
Once Mephiles had fired his dark energy at the last Temple of the Third Great Civilization, the power of the Sword of Chaos had amplified it, and transformed the temple into a jet-black stone fortress with a large, ten-story black tower rising from the ground, with the appearance of a skeletal hand clutching at the air from the dirt that buried the corpse.
The Lost Ones had then set to work, establishing walls along the borders of Angel Island (which they expanded by summoning dark clouds of solid energy to accommodate the countless monsters that was Mephiles’ army). Then, they had destroyed the trees, bushes, and even ripped the soil from the ground and made tunnels to further accommodate the armies. The structures they didn’t destroy they reshaped to their liking, turning white and gray stone to black, twisted stone. The only structure which the Lost Ones had little effect on was the altar of the Master Emerald. But the Lost Ones still managed to destroy parts of it, and blacken several of the steps with fire. As a final touch, the Lost Ones created the dark clouds of energy to form a large bridge to connect Mystic Ruins to Angel Island, which even further accommodated the troops.
In Mephiles’ plan, the entire Earth would look like this when he was done with it, and then give it to the Lost Ones to do as they pleased. Then, he would ravage the rest of space and time and finally have full dominion.

*Angel Island: With Mephiles, near center of the island*

Mephiles the Dark now observed as his glorious army swarmed what was once enemy territory, leaning on the Sword of Chaos like a royal scepter. Soon, Mephiles would be mobilizing his armies en masse to crush the gathered forces of his united enemies at Guardkaku. According to reports, the humans would barely have time to complete the evacuation of the civilians before Mephiles attacked. They would catch the enemy just as he was pulling his trousers up, so to speak. Mephiles would be leaving about five-hundred thousand of his monsters here with one of his brethren, just in case – by some miracle – the Mobians, humans, Eggman, and the Black Arms managed to defeat him. Between one Lost One and a massive number of monsters, they could maintain their existence and still be a formidable force. But if all the monsters died, and only one Lost One was left, they wouldn’t have sufficient power to maintain physical form, and they would be destroyed. The same thing applied to the monsters; if Mephiles and all the Lost Ones died (or left the planet), the monsters would die within minutes.
Suddenly, Mephiles saw one of his brethren flying towards him from a distance. As it approached, Mephiles recognized the shape of his faithful second-in-command, Hades. Mephiles turned to face his brother as Hades landed with an impact barely a meter away from him.
“Ah, good to see you, my brother” Mephiles greeted in his silky, cool voice. “Is all in readiness?”
“It is, my master” Hades said, bowing to one knee. “The troops are assembling into units. Our numbers are far above the numbers of our enemies, and our war machines shall punch through the few advantages they have over us.”
“Good” Mephiles replied, nodding. “However, as I said, I would prefer to keep Bane here with a sizeable number of our soldiers, just in case by some ill fortune we fall. There are a few positions the humans and their allies have secured on the path to their fortress, however, and we will need to punch through them. I’d recommend striking Central City first, to lower their morale.”
“Ah, about that, master; we’ve received word that Central City’s military personnel has left. Only the President, his guards, and the few ships that guard his house and his escape ship remain, along with the civilians” Hades said with a hint of malevolent enjoyment in his crackly voice. “If we strike soon, we can reach them before they’ve evacuated!”
But suddenly, they were interrupted as the hill they were standing on suddenly shook with an explosion of energy to the left, making Mephiles stumble and almost fall, and knocking Hades over completely. Mephiles snarled, and looked at the direction from where the energy came from. He briefly commanded Hades to gather the other Lost Ones, and then flew over to the source of the attack. The dark being saw several figures fleeing, and he pursued them. Mephiles went over to the border of Angel Island, and towards the nearby inland, and finally identified his attackers.
What he saw absolutely infuriated him.
Shadow the Hedgehog, Shade the Echidna, and Sonic the Hedgehog all stood there, looking up at him with amused smirks (except for Shade). With them was Miles Tails Prower, driving a jeep that also seated Amy Rose and a G.U.N. soldier manning a large machine gun on the back of the jeep. Rouge the Bat was there as well, mounted on a motorcycle.
With a chuckle, Shadow flipped Mephiles off, and then ran off. Shade, Sonic, and Tails’ jeep sped off after them.
Mephiles considered chasing after them, but thought better of it, and returned to Angel Island. When he got there, Hades had already assembled the Lost Ones. Mephiles approached them, and they bowed and listened to their master.
“Brothers and sister, we now have a chance to remove the greatest of our foes in one swift stroke! Shadow and several other Mobians – including Shade, the Prince of Traitors – have fled towards Central City. If we hurry, we can destroy them. I shall stay here with Bane, and organize an army to surround and cut off the city so they cannot escape. Hades? Lead the rest of our brethren to victory; I shall be along shortly.”
Hades nodded, and flew off with an explosion at his feet. The other Lost Ones took off immediately after him. Then, they flew with all speed in pursuit of the Mobians.
The next, major contest to decide the fate of the universe was about to begin.
*With Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, Amy, Shade, and Tails: En route to Central City*

Shadow was now riding on the same motorcycle Rouge was, his arms wrapped around her waist. They drove next to the jeep with Tails, Amy, and the G.U.N. soldier manning the gun with Sonic just ahead of them. Shadow wasn’t sure if the Lost Ones had taken the bait, but he had a feeling they were being followed, and he knew Mephiles had no reason to not go after them; Mephiles’ anger often blinded him to the subtle, possible dangers he faced.
The freeway on which they were on was lightly occupied; only a few G.U.N. jeeps drove down the road, escorting minivans and other vehicles to Guardkaku as the evacuation was being finished. Suddenly, however, the sky darkened behind them, enough for Shadow’s peripheral vision to notice and make him look behind them…
The Lost Ones were following them in a “v” formation, like hideous dragons mocking the natural order of pacifist geese. They left the sky dark for several moments in their wake.
“Shit…” Shadow muttered. “Rouge, can’t you speed this thing up?!”
“It’s already full-speed, Shad!” Rouge shouted back through the roaring wind of their velocity. “Besides, if I could go any faster, I’d probably crash!”
Shadow sighed, and noticed that though the Lost Ones were far behind them, they were slowing gaining. Shadow knew they’d likely reach Central City before the Lost Ones and still have time to spare, but he couldn’t shake a feeling of apprehension at the chase.
Hades, meanwhile, watched the Mobians in amusement, pondering their foolish move. Why had Shadow simply struck out at Mephiles for seemingly no other reason than to provoke him? Hades suddenly realized they were likely running right into a trap…
But then, how could they refuse? And how could the Mobians possibly know that Mephiles would be bringing millions – yet merely a fraction of his army – to reinforce them? Shadow the Hedgehog and Shade the Echidna were the only enemies alive who posed a threat to Mephiles, and they now had a perfect chance to eliminate them, using a classic, infallible, by-the-book strategy to eliminate them once and for all. They were no match for the Lost Ones when they were united all together; the battle in the Ancient Temple had proven that. So, Hades continued to fly casually, ignoring the fact that Shade the Echidna had helped in the said battle.
Suddenly, however, Xar chose that moment to break formation, and flew down at a much faster pace towards Shadow’s group.
“Fool!! Get back in formation!” Hades shouted. “We must wait for them to reach the city!!” But Xar paid no attention; oh yes, he intended to go to the city, but only after wiping out Shadow single-handedly, and ridding Mephiles of his strongest opponent. Xar had dreamed of this, and imagined himself gaining a boost of power (and respect) from Mephiles as a reward, and then retaking his place as second-in-command.
Shadow heard a noise behind him, and only saw a black van and a bus behind them, nothing out of the ordinary. But had he looked longer, he would’ve seen the black van accelerate dramatically, closing in on them. Had Shadow looked then, he would’ve seen the driver had bright, devilish eyes.
But Shadow only turned around again when the black van suddenly began to transform, melting and molding itself into a black/dark-purple bipedal figure. Then, Xar roared and ran towards Shadow and the group.
“Rouge! Slow down a moment; I need to get off!!” Shadow shouted at his wife. Rouge looked around at him like he was crazy. “What?! Why?!” she shouted.
“One of the Lost Ones; he’s closing in on us fast!” Shadow shouted. “Just slow down, and I’ll take him; keep going and draw the rest off, I’ll be right behind you!”
Rouge hesitated, and then lightly pressed on the brakes. When they’d decelerated a few miles, Shadow leapt off, using the flames from his fire skates to cushion his landing. But he barely had time to recover; Xar smashed into the bus with such ferocity it was smashed in two. Xar then manipulated the two flaming chunks of the vehicle, and threw them at Shadow, who barely jumped over them. As soon as Xar passed the bus’s remains, he leapt at Shadow and tackled the hedgehog with such momentum he carried the ebony hedgehog off of the road and onto another road below them that was part of the freeway. They tumbled, and Xar smashed Shadow across the face. Shadow grunted, but in one motion, he drew Dark Burner and slashed it across Xar’s face, and kicked the Lost One off of the road. Shadow warped down to meet the Lost One on the ground.
“You cannot defeat one of the Lost Ones on your own, fool!” Xar snarled, and lashed out with his power, tearing a hunk of concrete from the road, and flung it at Shadow, who warped behind a pillar to dodge it. Shadow summoned Chaos Energy to Dark Burner, and the blade burst forth into invincible flame and power, sending new reserves of stamina and strength through Shadow.
Suddenly, Xar lashed out with a blade at Shadow, who easily hacked the blade –and the arm it was attached to – with Dark Burner’s power. Xar cried out in surprise and fear as Shadow slashed Dark Burner across the Lost One’s body, leaving a huge, sizzling scar. Then, Shadow kicked Xar to the ground, and plunged Dark Burner’s fiery blade deep into Xar’s body. After Shadow drew back and awaited a moment, Xar’s body shriveled up, and exploded. Shadow smirked in satisfaction, and sheathed his favorite weapon. Then, he warped back onto the road, and ran as fast as he could to Central City.
One devil-spawn down, several billion easy ones and eight hard ones to go. It was time to take care of them all.