Shadow: The Origin Of A Legend

Chapter 17

Clashing head-on with the blue hedgehog, I swiftly lash out a kick, only to have it collide with his similarly outstretched foot. Annoyed, I spring backwards, landing in a crouched position, one palm grazing the ground, serving as a ballast. I look up, locking eyes with Sonic, who had stumbled back himself (less elegantly, of course), and we both bound forward, our steps perfectly matching each other. My eyes flick down to his right hand, sensing energy gathering in that arm, and I feint to my left. He pivots, throwing an uppercut, and I leap backwards with ease, slinging my own punch to his unprotected ribcage. He wheezes, folding over as the air rapidly exits his lungs, and I follow up with an open-palm knifehand strike to the back of his head. He tips, unsteady, and I finish it off by leaping on top of his falling form, using him as a launching pad. He lands facedown on the ground with a satisfying crunch as I rocket straight upwards. Rouge, now directly in front of me, is currently sparring with the red echidna, deftly dodging his punches and throwing rapid kicks of her own; she looks to be capable of handling him on her own, easily. I twirl midair, beginning to fall, to see Omega struggling with the now-flying fox, firing recklessly and missing every single shot. Landing hard on the hedgehog's back, I spring again, aiming for the fox; spinning midair, I gather momentum for another strike while evading Omega's shots. Once close, I prepare for my final spin, in which I will unleash a kick with enough power to knock the kitsune down onto the ground--unfortunately, before I can preform my attack, I receive a startlingly cold wrench to the face, delivered by the rather angry-looking fox. My head whirls in the opposite direction from my body and a spray of blood issues from the now torn inside of my cheek, gushing out my mouth as I plummet rapidly. I hit the ground with a resounding whud, tumbling head over heels across the rocky pavement. Scrambling to my feet, I cough and wipe the blood off my chin, just in time to catch Sonic's foot with my face. Falling again, I groan as my head hits the pavement, stars swirling in my vision.

"Heh, would've thought you'd be made of sterner stuff!" The hedgehog sneers, though he stands out of my reach. Such ridiculous posturing...

I get up, slowly, beginning to think. I know he's right-handed now, and I know that he's arrogant enough to do something stupid like just stand there while I recover. Anger flashes through me. If he thinks I'm weak enough that he doesn't have to take this fight seriously, he has another thing coming to him!

I glare at him, not replying, and then dash forward at top speed, running straight for him. He smirks, preparing to fight me head-on again, but this time I won't let him predict my moves. I feint first left, then right, and Sonic hesitates, confused. A smile flashes across my own face as I skid past him, my tail scraping against the floor when I twist, and before he can turn around I sweep his feet out from underneath him with a well-aimed swipe of my left hand. As he falls, I spin, hop up and slam my right elbow down onto the center of his back, knocking the wind out of him again. This time, I use my full body weight, pinning him to the ground, and I hammer a few more punches into his head, knocking him out. A small part of me regrets that last step, but we're fighting to win, and there's no such thing as gently winning a fight. Leaping up, I whirl around just in time to see Omega fling the small orange fox very far away, at least a block down the street from whence we came. Turning the other direction, I catch a glimpse of Rouge drop-kicking the red echidna, rendering him unconscious before he can even react. She drops elegantly to the ground and takes a bow, eliciting a chuckle from me. "Nice," I call over to her.

"Indeed." Omega booms from behind me, his thudding footsteps indicating his approach. Rouge, too, walks over to me, and I glance down at Sonic's limp and slightly battered form guiltily. For whatever reason, I don't feel too particularly well about hurting him, even though he was being an absolute jerk. "Where to now?" The bulky robot asks of Rouge.