Chapter Seventeen: The Battle of Central City

*Central City: With Rouge the Bat, Shade the Echidna, Sonic the Hedgehog, and other Mobians*

Rouge and the others soon arrived in the center of Central City (no lame pun intended). When they arrived, they were little surprised; Gamma Company had set up their main fortification in an area that could be led to on foot via two roads, as opposed to being in a three-way or four-way intersection. The walls were made of thin metal walls for the first line of defense, deployable ground-shields from the Black Arms, and then the classic sandbag routine. The wall was fairly high, so they’d have a chance against aerial attacks. They also had a huge view in both of those directions.
A couple dozen laser and missile-turrets (capable of being controlled and shot by a single person) surrounded the defense’s barriers. Several Black Arms Elites and about a dozen Shadow Androids milled around as well. Speaking to Colonel Maximus (who was promoted from the rank of major after the battle of Sapphire Bay) was Silver, Blaze, and Knuckles. Cream milled about with her Chao Cheese, looking outlandishly cheerful in light of the upcoming battle.
Knuckles still boasted the black scar on his head from where Hades’ blade had burned him, and subconsciously touched it often. Blaze and Silver suddenly stopped their conversation to see Rouge, Sonic, Tails, Shade, and Amy arriving. They, along with Knuckles and Cream, leapt over the barricades G.U.N. and the Black Arms had provided and ran towards them. Rouge quickly parked the motorcycle, and dismounted. Tails, and Amy got off the jeep and greeted their friends along with Sonic. Meanwhile, two G.U.N. soldiers and a Black Alien got in the jeep, and drove off to join a couple other patrolling jeeps. Shade only stood nearby the Mobians, his arms folded.
Rouge only nodded and briefly smiled at Silver, Blaze, and Knuckles in greeting, and patted Cream absent-mindedly on the head. She was worried about Shadow, obviously, but was constantly reminding herself of Shadow’s powers, and the new weapon he had that could tear that shit-spawn of a foe to pieces. Still, Rouge wouldn’t be satisfied until her beloved was in her arms again. Sighing, she approached colonel Maximus.
“Hey… what’s the situation?” Rouge asked, trying not to sound worried about the said situation.
“Ah, glad you’re back Agent Rouge” Maximus replied, and then suddenly frowned, looking around. “Um… where’s Agent Shadow?” he asked.
Rouge swallowed a lump in her throat, cleared it, and replied; “The Lost Ones were in hot pursuit… Shadow attacked the closest one. The others momentarily stopped their pursuit, but I’m positive they chased after us, leaving only one to deal with Shadow.” Rouge wasn’t as positive as she sounded, but she had felt the Lost Ones approaching even after Shadow had attacked Xar, so there was merit, but also causes to worry.
Maximus nodded. “I hope he’s okay…” he said softly. “Damn good soldier, and we could use his help right now. Still, I’m sure he’ll be here shortly. Until then… well, our situation is well in hand for now. The Commander tells me the airplane fighters and bombers will be here in about fifteen minutes, which, as you know, are to break the blockade Black Fist says Mephiles will use to surround the city, and to help deal with the Lost Ones.”
Rouge nodded, and turned around to face Shade, who still stood outside the circle of Mobians, his arms folded and his face hard and stoic. Rouge smiled, strongly reminded of Shadow.
Rouge still hadn’t totally forgiven Shade the Echidna for the crimes he’d committed against them, but he had proved as loyal to them as he had been to Mephiles so far. And, though Rouge didn’t like to admit it, Shade was pretty attractive; his young, powerful ruby-eyes, his bad-ass demeanor, his determination, and his coolness and overall aura of power.
Still… how can you trust a traitor, even if he betrays an evil cause for a good one? It makes one’s loyalty seem fickle and fair-weathered. But then, that wouldn’t explain why Shade turned against Mephiles right when the dark one was about to finally triumph onboard the starship Ovator had built.
Slowly, Rouge approached Shade, waving at him to get his attention. Shade snapped to look up at her, and Rouge smirked and winked in reply.
“So… what’s it like, being on our side?” Rouge asked casually.
Shade was silent a moment, his arms still crossed. “Admittedly… better” Shade finally answered. “I still have much trust to gain, but being on this side… somehow, I know its right. I’m fighting to defend, not to attack, and that alone holds a moral value to me. When I worked with Mephiles, there was always this little, irksome doubt that told me that what I was doing didn’t always sit right with me, but I shoved it to the back of my mind.”
Shade sighed, and closed his eyes. “I realize now, that, had I listened to my heart, Mephiles wouldn’t have controlled my mind. The heart, I now realize, determines who you are and what you believe. The mind can be persuaded by outside forces, but the heart is genuine and pure; it is what makes you what you are.”
Rouge smiled softly. “Well-spoken, Shade” she said. Shade looked at her and –almost, but not quite – cracked a smile.
“Thank you, Agent Rouge” Shade said awkwardly. “I’ll admit, it’s strange to be on your side after fighting you for so long… but I hope to win my place and your trust in this battle.”
Suddenly, a Black Arms soldier ran into the barricade, and confided with its superior in their native language. Then, the alien officer turned to face Maximus. “Sir, my scout reports that millions of Mephiles’ monsters have surrounded the city, and are equipped with anti-armor and anti-infantry weapons.”
“Mm. The plan is falling into place, and so far, the only flux is Shadow not being here. Well, he can get through the blockade; he’s been through worse” Maximus said, forcing an even look. “Alright men! Defensive positions, NOW! I want all vehicles to patrol around this immediate area! Heavy-weapon specialists and turret-men, watch the skies!”
All the soldiers leveled their guns, and took defensive positions, the turrets were manned, and then they waited. Tension rapidly grew, and a feeling of dread washed over them all. The younger soldiers (mostly humans, but also a few Black Aliens) all looked around nervously, but the veterans didn’t betray the fear they felt.
Suddenly, a black shape roared across the sky, and a moment later, Shade looked up and spoke so softly only Rouge and a few other nearby people heard; “Hades!”
“Hades?” Rouge asked. “Who’s that? Isn’t that a Greek god?”
Shade glanced over at Rouge with a serious expression. “He is Mephiles’ second-in-command of both the Lost Ones, and his entire army” he said gravely. “Mephiles has taught him some dark secrets that have enhanced his power.”
Rouge nodded, and looked up again just in time to see the dark blur in the sky – Hades, apparently- fly down towards them.
“Open fire!!” Maximus cried, and every single soldier complied, shooting all they had at the approaching Lost One. Shade also launched Chaos Spears, knowing they’d be more effective than all of the soldiers’ guns. But Hades easily dodged all of the attacks, and dove down towards them.
“He’s attempting an air-strike! Move! Retreat!” Shade yelled at everybody. “Fall back!!” Soon, everybody was scrambling out of the way, some managing to detach a few gun-turrets and run off with them. But Hades still flew down, and fired several missiles, which sent out huge, blossoming explosions of black flame, killing over two dozen aliens, humans and mechs. Sonic and Knuckles were knocked from their feet and sent crashing to the ground, and Amy had a cut on her arm from some shrapnel (which she had shielded Cream from).
When the smoke cleared, everybody stumbled upon their feet, trying to get reoriented. G.U.N. soldiers hastily ran about, trying to figure out how they could reestablish their position. Silver used his powers to lift some rubble off of a few soldiers, and salvaged a gun-turret as well.
Sonic coughed a little, and brushed himself off, quickly mirrored by Knuckles, and they scanned the sky for any trace of Hades. But the Lost One was nowhere to be seen.
“Cowardly bastard…” Knuckles muttered, tightening his hands into fists. Sonic nodded. “Bad guys like to run, get you to chase them, and then turn around and hit you when you’re charging at them and you least expect it” the blue hedgehog affirmed in disgust.
Suddenly, Colonel Maximus’s wrist communicator went off. “Air Squad Ab-243 Delta. This is G.U.N. frigate ‘Starspeed’, do you copy? Over.”
Maximus looked relieved. “Copy. This is Colonel Maximus of Gamma Company. Damn good to hear from you Zackary, sir.”
Vice-Admiral Zackary replied; “I know you hog party-favors Colonel; I didn’t want to be late. What’s your position? We’re at… 1.094 clicks southwest from Central City, over.”
“We’re approximately .24 clicks from the President’s house. Vice-Admiral, the Lost Ones have engaged us, but they are not defeated, repeat, the Lost Ones are still combat-efficient. Hold the capital ships for now sir, but go ahead and ready the fighters with Chaos-Powered missiles.”
“Roger that Colonel. Have Mephiles and his force-?” Before Zackary could finish the sentence, Maximus screamed and disappeared in a fiery explosion. Soon, another explosion landed, almost killing a few G.U.N. soldiers and knocking a Shadow Android down. Rouge turned in the direction from which the missiles had come from…
She, and everybody else, saw a massive Lost One standing about two blocks away from them. It was almost three times as tall as a human, and five times as bulky. Its arms were covered with a wide assortment of blades, ranging from blades the size of Omega’s arm to ones about the size of a short-sword’s blade, to needle-thick and thick as an idiot’s head. It’s head was a bit flat on the top, but it boasted two long, straight horns and a slightly-longer, twisted horn, and the green, menacing eyes were blazing with hate.
It was Devabrawn, the battle-tank of the Lost Ones.
The huge Lost One casually kicked aside an abandoned car near its foot, and fired a rapid-burst of small blades, which punctured a few Black Aliens. The blades then shattered once they impaled, causing gruesome damage and killing all but one alien (who had only caught a blade in the arm, but would probably never have a normal bicep again).
A Black Arms elite, being ranked a major and charged with leading the G.U.N., Black Arms and Eggman forces upon Maximus’s death, stood up and took charge. “Everyone, take cover! Re-establish a position, now! Mobians, please, engage this monster! Try and take it down!”
Sonic gave his trademark thumbs-up. “No problem!” he said, and ran towards the Lost One. He was then followed by Knuckles, then Amy, then Omega, Rouge and Shade. Silver and Blaze, Tails and Cream began to run as well, but the Black Arms leader stopped them.
“I’m sorry, but at least one of you should stay here…” he said uncertainly. “We may get attacked by one of its brethren while you’re gone. As for you two…” the Black Alien indicated Tails and Cream, “The rabbit needs protection, and should stay here for now, and the fox can help with that.
Blaze and Silver looked at each other, and Silver sighed, squeezing Blaze’s hand.
“I’m not gonna be gone long. I’ll never truly leave you” he said sincerely. Blaze smiled briefly at him, and squeezed his hand back, nodding. With that, Silver flew off to join the fight.
Cream looked disappointed, but accepted the command with a nod, and watched the fight with anxiety along Tails.
Devabrawn was now targeting the blue hedgehog who was so defiantly charging at him, firing missile after missile at the blue hedgehog. Soon, Sonic rolled up into a ball, and bounced himself down on one of the missiles. The explosion (safely) knocked Sonic a little higher in the air, and he used the momentum to use a chain of Homing Attacks on Devabrawn’s missiles to get closer to the said Lost One.
Knuckles, meanwhile, had glided and finally landed on Devabrawn’s back, and punched the Lost One upside the head. Devabrawn growled and reached for the irritating echidna, but Knuckles dodged it.
“An itch you can’t scratch, huh pal?” Knuckles laughed, punching Devabrawn again. But this time, the Lost One snarled at the pain, and managed to grab Knuckles and fling him away.
Before Devabrawn could finish Knuckles, Omega arrived from behind the Lost One, and began firing with cannons that had been altered long ago to be capable of harming Mephiles and his kind. Devabrawn exchanged fire, which Omega dodged. While Devabrawn was distracted, Silver flew right over the Lost One, and dropped a destroyed metal-barricade on the Lost One’s head. Devabrawn snarled and fired up at Silver, but the psychic hedgehog stopped the Lost One’s barrage, and used his power to fire it right back at it. Devabrawn howled in pain and anger, falling onto his backside.
Just then, Sonic landed, and Amy was standing next to him. Together, Sonic slammed into the Lost One while Amy used her hammer. The combined force of their blows sent the Lost One flying about half of a block.
“Concentrate fire on that beast!” the Black Arms major yelled, and the G.U.N. soldiers, the Black Arms, and the Shadow Android fired upon Devabrawn. While the Lost One took the damage while struggling to stand, Rouge leapt up and jump-kicked the Lost One in the head while Shade the Echidna launched a Chaos Spear, hitting Devabrawn in the chest. The Lost One cried out, and crashed to the ground, and stopped moving, smoldering from the attack.
“Regroup!” the Black Alien leader cried, and all of the Mobians gathered nearer the entrenchment, watching Devabrawn carefully. Most of them had remembered the Lost One Izar had exploded when he died, and were surprised that Devabrawn had not. Still, maybe he was a unique case…
But then, the blue sky darkened, and the air grew a little colder. Everybody felt a sense of dread wash over them. Shade, who had grown used to this sensation, was the only one not confused by it.
He knew what it meant.
Mephiles was here.
Nearby, Mephiles the Dark landed on the ground with the impact of a cannon ball. He surveyed the scene, holding the Sword of Chaos in his right hand. He growled to himself softly- almost a purr. Then, moving past a building and into an intersection, he spotted his enemies.
“It’s Mephiles, move out! Pull back!!” Shade cried, and he and the other Mobians ran back to G.U.N.’s newly-established position (all turrets were watching the sky intently). A G.U.N. jeep with a heavy-duty cannon mounted on it drove towards Mephiles, if only to draw him away from their allies. It fired a small missile encumbered with Chaos Energy, but Mephiles was only irritated by this. He aimed the Havoc Blade at the vehicle, and used its power to rapidly age the vehicle. Soon, the metal rusted, and the vehicle disintegrated with decay, dumping the passenger, gunner, and driver on the ground. They tried to stand up and fight, but they disappeared under a huge, devastating beam of white-hot energy that issued from the tip of the Sword of Chaos.
Mephiles glanced at Devabrawn’s prone form, and would’ve smiled but for the lack of lips and a mouth: the Lost Ones were not so easily killed, as those fools would soon find out.
Meanwhile, Shade had everybody gathered together, and they began planning and coordinating with the Black Arms leader.
“The human air-combat machines are en route, but if we don’t find and eliminate at least a few Lost Ones by then, they shall die” the Black Alien said grimly.
“I have an idea” Shade replied. “We should split into two teams. One could draw off the Lost Ones while the other stays here and helps you defend from any other Lost Ones. That way, once we’ve both eliminated a few, we can regroup and finish them more easily.”
“But what about Mephiles?” Blaze asked. “He’s easily the most powerful of them; I doubt any one of us could fight him alone.”
“He won’t fight us; he’s saving his strength for Shadow” Rouge answered darkly. “Mephiles is waiting for him. He’ll oversee the battle, but won’t take part in it but to fight Shadow.”
Shade nodded grimly. “That’s true” he said. “Mephiles isn’t a problem… not yet. But, as for the teams, a small yet efficient team would be sufficient to draw off three or four Lost Ones while the majority deals with the rest. I’ll travel with that team; they’ve labeled me a traitor, and will hunt me down without remorse.”
“I’ll go with you, then” Rouge said. “Mephiles hates me a lot; he’ll have no problem telling the Lost Ones to try and kick my ass. They’ll consider me easy prey, too… should be fun to see how that plays out” she added mischievously.
“I SHALL TRAVEL WITH AGENT ROUGE” Omega stated. “WE COOPERATE WELL IN BATTLE AND CAN EASILY COORDINATE THROUGH TEAMWORK.”
The Black Arms leader nodded, but still looked a little skeptical. “A good plan… but be careful, all three of you” he said. “The Lost Ones are-”
“Uh, sir?” one G.U.N. agent spoke up. “That… really fucking-huge Lost One is getting back up.”
Everyone turned to see Devabrawn slowly getting to his feet, and rearming his arsenal of blade weapons. His eyes glowed menacingly.
“Do these things ever freaking die?!” Sonic muttered, clenching his fists.
But the situation got even worse.
Suddenly, several other dark shapes appeared in the sky, and landed at the tops of multiple buildings surrounding the G.U.N. position. Nadrina, Sparxan, Consumar, Hurratore, and Hades all looked down at them. Soon, Mephiles flew up to stand next to Nadrina, holding the Sword of Chaos like a scepter.
“Oh no… there’s a… a lot of them” Amy said softly, hefting her hammer up.
The Black Arms leader turned to face Tails and Cream. “You two need to take shelter immediately” he said. “Go hide somewhere. Now.”
“But… I can fight!” Cream said indignantly. “Let me help!”
“Yeah, Tails is cool too! He’s a good fighter!” Sonic said, looking angrily at the Black Alien.
“I know the fox can fight, but the rabbit… not so much. Please, there is no time to argue” the Black Alien said. “The rabbit will need the fox’s protection, and their youth makes them all the more important. Go! NOW!”
“Fine…” Tails muttered, and then exchanged a thumbs-up with Sonic. “Good luck Sonic!”
“You too pal!” Sonic replied. Knuckles smiled and nodded at Tails, and Amy rushed forth to hug Cream, telling her to be careful. And with that, Tails led Cream and her Chao to a building about two blocks away, and took her downstairs.
“Shade? You ready to move?” Rouge asked the black-and-crimson echidna. Shade nodded, and Omega and Rouge followed up behind him, and ran right in the middle of the street that contained the buildings on which most of the Lost Ones were perched on.
Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Silver, and Blaze took defensive positions within G.U.N.’s position, and prepared for the battle.
“Hey, Amy?” Sonic asked softly.
“Yes Sonic?” Amy replied, looking at her husband.
Sonic tightly grasped Amy’s hand, and their eyes met. “Whatever happens, just remember… I’m really glad you never gave up on me” he said with a warm smile.
Amy smiled back, and swiftly kissed him.
Silver, meanwhile, took a deep breath and faced Blaze. “Ready to help me save the world again?” he asked with a smirk.
“Always have been, always will be” Blaze replied with a smirk of her own. “Your battles, whether in the past, present, or future, are my battles.”
Suddenly, Mephiles raised the Havoc Blade high in the air, and cried out in a voice that carried loudly to the ears of both ally and enemy:
“LOST ONES: ATTACK!!”
And the Battle for Central City began.

As G.U.N. began to fire upon Devabrawn, Shade’s team began to run like hell. Omega turned back and fired homing-missiles back at the Lost One, which had a greater effect on Devabrawn than any of G.U.N.’s weaponry, even the missile-turrets. The other Lost Ones, meanwhile, were diving down and attacking Shade, Rouge, and Omega.
On the bright side, Shade’s plan was working well… better than he’d hoped.
Which wasn’t entirely a good thing.
In fact, Devabrawn seemed to be the only Lost One not interested in the three of them: Nadrina flew down and sprayed a wave of acid at them, and had been forced to give up only when Rouge had flown up, kicked her in the face, and then stuck a bomb to the female Lost One, giving the three of them time to gain some distance. But then, Sparxan had leapt down right in front of them, and had unleashed a surge of energy that had knocked Omega on his backside. Then the Lost One had leapt and attempted to skewer Shade on a blade-arm, but the echidna had rolled to dodge it, and then fired a Chaos Spear right into the Lost One’s back. Then they kept running. But Hurratore and Nadrina soon resumed the chase.
Finally, just as Sonic and Knuckles were about to break cover and attack Devabrawn, Consumar blended into the shadow one skyscraper cast, literally becoming invisible. Then he leapt out and attacked them taking the blue hedgehog and crimson echidna completely by surprise. The two of them then charged Consumar, but the Lost One had fed off the blood of several fallen Black Arms and humans recently, and their blood now ran as powerful fuel inside him. Consumar easily met Knuckles’ strength, and kicked the echidna aside and, even with his power, had trouble blocking Sonic’s lightning-quick attacks. But Consumar eventually blasted the blue hedgehog down with a surge of energy, and would’ve impaled Sonic had Silver not picked Sonic and Knuckles up and bringing them to safety with his psychic powers while Blaze hurled a huge fireball at Consumar, knocking him down. But the Lost One quickly got back on his feet, and got up to aid Devabrawn again.
But even the darkest of moments yield to the light of renewed hope.
A loud noise was heard, and everyone turned to look and saw dozens of Mephiles’ monsters flying through the air, and a few more running away. The cause of their plight was revealed afterwards.
A huge, golden wave of energy was plowing the monsters down, destroying dozens at a time. Several more tried to attack it from behind, but they too were destroyed once they neared it. Then, the golden power disappeared, and a cheer was raised when they saw who it was.
It was Shadow the Hedgehog, holding the dagger Dark Burner in his hands.
One of Mephiles’ flying creatures tried to flee, but Shadow leapt up, grabbed it, and slammed it down on the top of one of the buildings. Then, Shadow spotted the one he looked forward to killing the most: Mephiles.
And Mephiles looked right back.
“Mephiles” Shadow said darkly, igniting Dark Burner’s ultimate power and feeling himself grow stronger as well.
“Shadow” Mephiles growled, tightening his grip on the Sword of Chaos. Then, he leapt off the building he was standing on, and blasted off like a jet in Shadow’s direction.
Shadow gritted his teeth, ran forward, and threw himself at Mephiles’ form, seizing the dark one’s arms. Mephiles punched Shadow in the face, which was returned by Shadow trying to slash Mephiles, but in all the confusion, only succeeded in bashing him across the face with the hilt. Mephiles tried to slash at Shadow in retaliation, but Shadow parried it, and kicked Mephiles off of him, and fired a Chaos Spear at his opponent as they fell. Mephiles’ body melted itself into a slim blob-like form long enough to dodge the Chaos Energy, and then plunged into the ground while Shadow broke his fall with the fire from his shoes. When Mephiles hit the ground, it was like a mockery of a raindrop hitting a stone. The liquidly ooze soon reoriented itself, and Mephiles stood but a few meters away from Shadow. The dark being stole a glance at Dark Burner’s blade of scarlet and gold fire.
“Ah… I see you have awakened that weapon’s true power” Mephiles stated coolly. He shrugged. “It may… delay your death for some time, but nothing more. Had you discovered its power while we were on the Aero Fortress, perhaps you would’ve triumphed, but not now, not when I wield the Sword of Chaos!”
“It is not the weapon that matters” Shadow retorted, anticipating any move Mephiles might make. “It is the wielder, and the power that they put behind the weapon.”
“True, but even the Ultimate Life Form cannot stand against my power!” Mephiles snarled. “I wield the fury of hell! My fist is punishment, my fires are the horrors of sin, my lies are truth, and to be touched by my blade is to be condemned! Your Chaos Powers, even amplified by your sword, cannot hope to top the power of the Lost Ones!”
Shadow smirked at Mephiles, a look that resembled – but only resembled - pity on his face. “You don’t understand, and you probably never will” the ebony hedgehog said. “You fight for an empty cause: to rule over a universe filled with nothing but chaos and everlasting destruction. I fight for those I love: Rouge, my family, and for Maria and the promise I made to her! You’ll never understand the power of the heart, Mephiles, because yours is corrupted and blackened to the point that it is not even a heart anymore!”
Mephiles’ eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. “You’re right; I will not understand why you fight for humans! They’re a corrupt race, and they deserve to be destroyed! You of all people should know that, you fool! And if you stand with them, then you can die with them all!!” And with that, Mephiles’ hand spat out a huge length of black ooze, which seized Shadow and threw him an entire block away. Then, Mephiles pointed the Sword of Chaos at Shadow, and prepared to fire a blast of energy.
But Shadow leapt to his feet again, and rushed towards Mephiles, firing a Chaos Spear as he went. Mephiles dodged this energy, and before Shadow could reengage him, Mephiles blasted Shadow with a surge of energy, which crashed the ebony hedgehog into a nearby building.
Groaning, Shadow fell to his knees, but bared his teeth, and continued the fight.

*Central City: With Shade, Rouge, and Omega*

At this time, the three Mobians were not having much luck with their plan.
Oh certainly, they were drawing them off well enough, but the Lost Ones constantly forced them to retreat before they could do more than put a boo-boo on one of them. Nadrina always sprayed the area with so much acid and noxious gas that the group would be fleeing before the poison killed them (for Omega it wasn’t such a big deal, but he couldn’t leave his two allies to stand for themselves). Sparxan was always flying down with a multi-tongued whip weapon, which spun around so fast it actually cut a car in two as he passed over them, barely missing their heads. Occasionally, the Lost One would torment them with scenarios and horrible nightmares to try and stop them in their tracks, but Shade and Rouge were able to fight through it by keeping their goals in mind and knowing that it was a trick (Omega was completely unaffected).
Hurratore was always heard before seen; a huge howl of wind would always signal his arrival, and torrents of energy capable of rending one apart always tore through the buildings in an attempt to slay them. Shade had Chaos-Controlled Rouge and Omega away from it countless times now, and once Rouge had cleverly thrown a bomb into Hurratore’s torrents, and when the bomb was ripped apart, it exploded and knocked Hurratore down and let them escape.
But the Lost Ones were relentless: they did not have flesh-and-blood bodies, and while they could feel pain, they did not feel exhaustion. They never tired, and as long as Mephiles lived, they would serve him.
“Shade! I… just *pant* got word from *gasp* Sonic! Shadow’s *pant* here!” Rouge gasped as they ran on.
“Really?!” Shade said, not sure what to make of this news. Obviously, it was a huge help; while wielding Dark Burner, Shadow was the most powerful of any of them. Plus, his survival meant that the Lost One Xar was dead. On the other hand…
If Mephiles defeated Shadow, then the Dark One himself would join the fight, and they would all die.
Suddenly, they looked up to see Hades descending upon them. The Lost One crashed to the ground, making an explosion of dark fire as he did. Rouge rolled to one side to dodge the flames, and found a gun that a G.U.N. soldier had dropped; one of the ones capable of harming the Lost Ones, if only slightly.
“Damn it!” Shade cursed as he got up after the explosion knocked him down, but as soon as he did, Hades blasted him back down with a surge of energy. Omega started to fire at the Lost One, but Hades sent a black fireball that blasted the E-123 model down, temporarily overloading Omega’s heat-sensors and blinding him for a bit, but then he switched to audio-receptors, and quickly sprayed Hades with his own Chaos-sparked flamethrower.
Rouge rushed the Lost One from the back. Hades – while still firing at Shade and Omega with one arm – drew one of his fiery blades and slashed at Rouge, who quickly ducked under it, and then backflipped, kicking Hades in the process and making the Lost One lose his balance, allowing Omega and Shade to both get a good hit in.
But then, Nadrina spotted the fight, and flew down, spraying acid like a hideous rain their way.
“Omega, Shade; fire Chaos at that bitch!” Rouge shouted. Shade turned and fired a Chaos Spear, and then quickly drew his claws and engaged Hades in close-combat. Omega fired one of his main rocket-missiles, and then unloaded a whole clip of smaller missiles around his wrist.
While Nadrina was hit by several of these attacks, she snarled when she saw Rouge flying rapidly towards her. Nadrina drew her blade and slashed at the ivory bat, but Rouge grabbed Nadrina’s arm, and flung her away. And, while Nadrina’s body still glowed from the heat of Shade’s Chaos attacks and Omega’s missiles, Rouge did her famous Screw-Attack kick, which tore right through the Lost One’s softened body.
Nadrina’s body was literally cut in half.
The Lost One made a soft wheezing noise, and then fell to the ground, and her remains exploded.
When Hades saw this, he roared at Shade, and increased the speed of his attack to superhuman-like. Eventually, he wore down Shade’s defenses enough to find an opening and kick the echidna in the chest. Before Omega could help, Hades leapt back in the air, and blasted at jet-speed at Omega. The impact smashed Omega so bad the mech had a whole arm torn off, and was smashed into a nearby building.
“Omega!!” Rouge cried, landing and running towards her mechanical friend. “You alright?”
“ER… ERROR; LEFT ARM-CANNON WEAPONS NOT FOUND IN INVENTORY. UPDATE: DESTROY INFURIATING L-LOST *Crackle* LOST ONE” Omega stated fuzzily, as if waking up from unconsciousness.
Rouge smirked: even losing a limb didn’t dampen Omega’s resolution.
Shade groaned, and walked over to them. “Is he alright?” the echidna asked.
Rouge nodded. “He lost his arm, but it’s repairable, and he can still fight, but only from a fixed, defensible position. I’m going to take him back to the G.U.N. soldiers.”
“But what about the Lost Ones?” Shade asked, a little distraught at the idea of his plan failing.
“We killed one, and I’m willing to bet the others are more concerned with Shadow now” Rouge asked. “Mephiles just wants to land the killing blow on him; he doesn’t mind a little help. And I know for sure that at least one other is helping that huge one-”
“That’d be Devabrawn” Shade confirmed.
“Whatever. But they need help; if we just keep running around, we won’t be any good. I’ll take Omega back to help the others and to try and get him repaired.”
“What about me?” Shade asked.
Rouge looked at Shade so fiercely she might as well have glared. “You’re going to go save my husband’s ass” she said. “And for your sake you better go now"