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Shadow · 12-20-2008, 06:45 PM

Shadow was indeed so caught up in his own ferocious assault that he didn't realize what Sonic was doing until far too late. Only when Sonic finally launched himself, leaving a streak of deep blue in his wake, did Shadow realize his mistake. Under normal circumstances, had he been calmer, Shadow might have used Chaos Control to warp out of the way. The fact that he instead chose to blast Sonic with Chaos Spears despite their obvious lack of effect was testimate to just how pissed off Shadow was.

And so, mere seconds later, the blazing streak of blue collided with Shadow, slamming him into the ground with such force that the ground cracked. The remaining unfired Chaos Spears dissipated instantly, and Shadow was left on his back, in the depression his impact had caused, wincing in pain, unable to move. "D-Damn it..." Shadow gasped, the sheer pain making it difficult for him to speak. The combination of the brutally heavy blow and the resulting impact on the ground had completely knocked the wind out of him, not to mention the feeling like every bone in his upper body was broken, and the rest were on fire. "S-since when c-could you hit like t-that?" Shadow stammered, pushing himself up onto his feet through sheer force of will. "Damn... you never hit like that t-two years ago. I don't know whether to b-be impressed or even m-more p-pissed." Abruptly Shadow, who had until then successfully managed to stand up, fell forward onto his face. "D-damn..."

Sonic · 12-20-2008, 07:05 PM

Shadow didn't hit anything with his face as long as Sonic was there to catch him. The blue hero got Shadow's left arm over his shoulder and his right arm around the chaos-user's back in a bid to support him up. Actually, that didn't go so well. Sonic was pretty darn shaken up himself and the burn marks on his back from where the Chaos Spears had blasted his spines during the final attack was a testament to the danger of Shadow's power. His own legs wobbled a little but at least he didn't seem to be quite as ready to fall over even while holding up the fellow hedgehog.

"Sorry Shadow," Sonic said with a genuine tone. He knew the Ultimate Life-Form wasn't going to die from even his best attack, actually he'd probably recover any injuries sustained ten times faster than anyone else would, but Sonic was honestly hoping that the Chaos Spears would dilute more of his power before contact. Still, he decided to give credit where credit was due and admitted "You really backed me into a corner there with that last move. Guess I took things a bit far to get out."

That probably wasn't going to cheer Shadow up too much seeing as he hadn't shown much effort to avoid turning Sonic into a BBQ special on his end. Well at least he probably wasn't going to disappear without a word for a bit. Not after being drained of both chaos and physical energy. One might even say it was all part of the plan if Sonic was the type to make plans. Of course we all know that isn't really the case. Either way, maybe with their old dispute settled... the two could make a new beginning.

"Nothing serious I hope?"

Shadow · (This post was last modified: 12-22-2008 01:00 PM by Shadow.)

Shadow looked at Sonic with what could almost be shock when the Blue Blur caught him as he fell, but a second later the look was gone and Shadow's head sagged as he let his blue counterpart hold him up, providing some welcome relief to his aching body. "D-don't worry about it, nothing's broken if that's what you're asking. I'm just... just shaken up, is all." It was true, Shadow could tell nothing was broken because the pain was subsiding evenly, albeit very slowly, with no particular part hurting particularly more than any other. A sharp pain in one place would be a sign of a break, but so far Shadow felt nothing of the sort. Still hurts like hell, though, Shadow thought, wincing in pain.

"And there's no reason to be sorry. It's my own fault for letting my anger take over. I should have used Chaos Control, if it was anybody's fault I'm hurt it's mine, and the last thing I need is your pity." As if to emphasize his point, Shadow pushed Sonic away and tried once more to stand on his own now that the initial shock of the attack had faded. He immedietly stumbled and started to fall, but before Sonic could catch him again he went down on one knee to support himself. The Ultimate Life Form turned a cocky, if pained, smirk at the Blue Blur. "So, I'd say you won, except it looks like you're in no fit state to go on either. Does that make this another draw?" Shadow laughed fitfully. "All that effort, and still nothing is settled, eh?"

Sonic · 12-22-2008, 01:32 PM

"You really want me to finish kicking your butt?" the hero countered with a toothy grin, bringing up his arms in a fighter-like stance for a few rotations to show that he wasn't exactly immobile yet. "Seeing as all I need to do is roll it won't really matter how worn I am."

Sonic let the showing off end there and started to walk up to Shadow's side casually, resting the back so his glove at his hips and looking off down at the lake again.

"But I'm surprised, Shadow. Some of your attacks left craters that would have turned me into mush, but others were more like stiff shocks." Having said that he turned down to the fellow hedgehog with interest. Shadow's inconsistent power may have lucked Sonic into a win, but for him that didn't exactly feel like it settled anything. "Are you sure you've been feeling OK since you woke up?"

Shadow · 12-22-2008, 02:34 PM

"I've been fine, thank you very much," Shadow said, somewhat testily. With the dissipation of his pain came the return of his attitude, and it didn't help his mood to know that he'd just been beaten by his archrival. "But you're right about one thing. My Chaos Spears are supposed to be more consistant than that, especially with a Chaos Emerald." His thoughts flashed back for a moment to his battle with Sarath's concubine, the wolf Lefina. "And... there was one person, one of those damn aliens two weeks ago, who could control my attacks and predict my movements. I know I had better control than that..."

Shadow shook his head and stood up tall once more, the previoulsy searing pain now a mere dull throb. "But... it was nothing, I'm sure. I am the Ultimate Life Form, I was just off from being asleep two years. And I only lost to you because I let my anger get the better of me. It won't happen the next time." The black hedgehog crossed his arms and turned away (with a wince at the movement), looking almost like he was pouting.

Sonic · 12-22-2008, 02:54 PM

"Yeah, yeah," Sonic said without looking back, shaking his head in an amused fashion. "Well hey, look on the bright side? At least you showed that alien you're more than just flashy sparks right?"

The blue blur's thumbs up and confident look were about to be severely disappointed.

Shadow · 12-23-2008, 04:32 AM

Shadow clenched his fists, but he responeded quite cooly. "No, I didn't. She beat me," the black hedgehog said. "And somehow she sapped the power out of the Chaos Emerald. I wasn't on that ship to stop Sarath, at least, that wasn't the real reason. I was there to get revenge on that damned wolf-woman and take back the power she stole. And I never even got a chance for that." Shadow grimaced, upset with himself that he was revealing such weakness to his rival speedster.

Sonic · 12-23-2008, 05:29 AM

...

"You lost!?"

Sonic's wide eyes closed long enough for him to shake his head. The idea of someone else beating Shadow before he did almost felt like a challenge to his own skill. And Sonic was never one to pass up a challenge.

"And they got the power of a Chaos Emerald too? Oh man. If those guys do show up again maybe you should just let me take care of it," he continued, sounding like a disappointed rival. "Apparently you've almost forgotten that the Ultimate Life-Form isn't just a living battery of Chaos Energy." Sonic smiled confidently again and crossed his arms, looking over with high hopes. He didn't really mean to insult Shadow, not after showing those kind of anger-management issues, he was just trying to make him remember how strong the black speedster was two years ago, before his long nap. "He's also a hedgehog."

Shadow · 12-24-2008, 05:08 PM

"Hmph, I dunno, I thought I did pretty well at being a hedgehog in our fight. At least, for the bits that I wasn't in a rage." The black hedgehog smirked, but the occasional crackle of red energy gave away the anger at Sonic's comments that seethed just beneath the surface of his calm exterior. Who cares if he'd won their fight? It had been a fluke! He had no right to talk to him like that! 'If those guys do show up again maybe you should just let me take care of it.' Pah! I aught to show him just how fast I can recover...

But, refusing to let his anger get the best of him again, Shadow pushed his thoughts down and the odd crackling of energy ceased. "I lost both battles, with the wolf-woman and with you, because I got too angry. That's all I need to work on." Shadow shook his head and turned back to Sonic. Though, he may have a point. Perhaps I have been relying too much on my Chaos Control. The black hedgehog grimaced for a moment at the thought that Sonic could be right, then shook his head again.

Sonic · 12-25-2008, 02:37 AM

"You sure never lost your temper like that before. For someone out to end the world you were one of the most cool-headed guys I ever traded body blows with," Sonic admitted with some concern. Maybe part of him wondered before if it really was Shadow who had returned or some sort of fake or copy... but nobody else could use Chaos Energy like that. A sure sign of the real McCoy.

Suddenly, looking over at the black hedgehog, Sonic remembered something and snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah. Hey Shadow, you're missing of your bracelets right? I picked it up in space after you fell."

Sonic figured his rival would probably want to get his fashion-statements symmetrical again.