"But," Shadow continued, "it's still true. We do have a duty. Both of us. And now we have all the more incentive to accomplish it. You know what that means?"

    --- --- --- --- ---





    *BOOM*

    An explosive sound echoed across the battlefield. Shadow jumped out of the dust pillar that was formed and slid across the ground that he landed. He raised his Shadow Rifle in front of him and shot at the dust. Ryuko emerged and flew to the side before the projectile could hit her. Weaving her way through several more shots, she flew up in the air and rose her blade. She around for flair, then aimed at Shadow, blazing down towards him and ready for attack. Shadow raised his Samurai Blade at just the right angle, and when Ryuko attacked the Scissor Blade stopped dead in its tracks. The impact formed a small shockwave between the two blades.

    Gritting her teeth, Ryuko let the rockets on her dress blaze and shot forward. The weapons grinded against each other, and sparks flew as both combatants swung. They both used the rockets on their feet to spin back around and swing again, sparking both weapons again before meeting again in a vertical clash. Ryuko saw an opening and attempted a stab with her second scissor blade, but Shadow saw her movement and reacted, shooting her in the arm.

    Ryuko flinched, her arm weakening in that moment. Sensing the opportunity, Shadow pushed Ryuko's weapon back and made her stumble away. He jumped and activated the rocket on his right shoe, spinning a kick into Ryuko's face and pushing her back even further. As Shadow jumped again, though, Senketsu was ready, and pulled Ryuko back before the hedgehog could slash down on her.

    Grinding back into a firm stance, Ryuko panted as she tried to catch her breath. She hovered a hand over her arm and was about to pull out the projectile, but stopped herself. She remembered what happened last time, and knew that this would do no good. She simply waited, and overtime it disappeared.

    "You're gonna want to be careful, Ryuko," advised Senketsu, "That gun is actually a threat."

    Ryuko scoffed as her wound quickly stitched back together. "Yeah. Wanna tell me something I don't know?"

    "Okay," Senketsu deadpanned, "He's behind you."

    At that, Ryuko blinked. Looking up, she id indeed notice that Shadow was gone from his spot. Luckily, she remembered this trick.

    "Oh, fucking..." she thought, before she turned once again and defended from a strike from Shadow's blade. They pushed off of each other, and Ryuko swung at Shadow with her right hand blade, causing him to teleport away again. Ryuko held her left blade vertically, prepared to block another strike from Shadow. With that done, she stuck her right blade into the ground, pushed off of it, and kicked behind her, the foot meeting Shadow's face.

    Shadow was forced to stumble back, and when Ryuko jumped at him he barely had time to swing down and deflect her blade away. Shadow used that opening to shoot at Ryuko, but the girl jumped over the attack and flipped behind Shadow. The Ultimate life Form was forced to block a Scissor Blade strike with a ring on his wrist. Shadow did a low sweep kick which Ryuko jumped over, following up with a sword swing that Ryuko blocked in midair, knocking her away and forcing her to slide into a landing. Both fighters swung a sword beam at one another, creating a shockwave when they collided and forming a noticeable cloud of dust.

    Shadow used his jet shoes to jump high in the air, rapidly blasting at Ryuko with the opening given. Ryuko flew straight towards Shadow, maneuvering through the projectiles with one only grazing a spike on her shoulder. rising above Shadow, she swung her Scissor Blades in an X formation, forcing Shadow to block the attack with great difficulty. Using her advantageous position, Ryuko swung down and forced Shadow into an awkward position. She used this to slash at Shadow's side, sending him flying away.

    Shadow's body grinded along the ground, tumbling and skipping along before crashing into a wall. Fighting through the pain he was now feeling, he rose his gun... Only to find that it wasn't all there. More specifically, it had been cut in half. Shadow was confused for a moment, until he recalled the moment when Ryuko slashed at his side.

    "Dammit!" Looking up to see Ryuko blasting towards him again, Shadow tossed the destroyed weapon away and pulled a machine gun from hammerspace, firing at Ryuko in desperation. Naturally, it did nothing as Ryuko kept flying forward. Ryuko neared Shadow and slashed down on him, and the hedgehog jumped back enough to avoid the slash, but not enough to save another gun. She smiled again, spinning around to deliver a side kick which knocked Shadow a few feet away. Shadow seemed persistent in his method and pulled out another pistol, once again firing at Ryuko. The bullets still bounced off of her body harmlessly.

    Ryuko was starting to get annoyed with this charade. "The hell are you trying to do?" She proceeded to leap above Shadow, both of her swords raised to smash into the ground. "You should know that bullets won't work on me!" The jets on Shadow's shoes activated and he flew back, avoiding becoming paste in the ground. Ryuko looked up again, only to feel bullets bouncing off of her skin again.

    "Ryuko, be on your guard," alerted Senketsu, "He might be trying to psych you out."

    Ryuko couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "How would he? He's not throwing any of those yellow things at me. Besides, he doesn't have a gun that can hurt me."

    Ryuko activated her rockets and hovered in midair again, pointing her swords forward and aiming at Shadow, who was now kneeled down... for some reason. Ryuko got a little suspicious at that, but followed her battle instincts and shot forward...

    ... And found her body slammed into the front of a tank barrel. The entire top half of a tank was being held by Shadow in that moment. The hedgehog couldn't help but dawn the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.

    "How about this gun?"

    *BLAM*

    The tank shell hit Ryuko's body at point blank full force. She was sent flying back, sliding across the ground before bumping into an uproot, bouncing and rolling away. Eventually, she flipped in the air and stuck a Scisor Blade into the ground, landing on her feet and sliding into a comfortable position. However, she was given no room to breath as Shadow teleported behind her, roundhouse kicking her into another building wall. Her instincts kicked in then as she crossed her blades in front of her, defending against Shadow's Samurai Blade. The impact of the strike was still enough to smash her through a wall, forcing them into a blade lock inside to building.

    Through gritted teeth, Ryuko had the chance to get this thought out; "Dick move, pinhead."

    Shadow smiled at that. "I know. You proud?"

    The hedgehog pulled back his left hand, and Ryuko noticed the other blade being held in it: a purple sword with curves in several areas and an opening near the guard. Shadow thrust the Black Sword forward and forced Ryuko to flip over him. Shadow turned around and slashed at Ryuko, who blocked the Black Sword with her left hand Scissor Blade. They continued to swing at each other with both weapons until they were nothing but blurs of movement, the streaks of their slashes tearing apart the room they were in.

    So caught up was Ryuko in this mentality that she didn't have time to react when Shadow teleported behind her and kicked her in the back. Ryuko skid away from her opponent a few feet before hopping in the air and spinning around, firing an energy slash from her blade. Shadow teleported passed and reappeared in front of Ryuko, delivering an X-shaped slash to her torso. The force pushed Ryuko out of the window of the building, which unfortunately happened to be on a very steep incline. Ryuko lodged her right hand Scissor Blade into the wall to keep from plummeting down.

    Swinging from her blade handle, Ryuko vaulted upward to meet Shadow, who had just jumped out the window to swing down at her. Both fighters brushed blades before passing each other. Glancing over her shoulder, Ryuko saw Shadow activated his jet shoes to keep himself in the air. She grit her teeth, knowing that she had to get the high ground, and had her rockets go full throttle to the sky. Shadow smiled playfully and chased after her.

    Shadow was chasing her into the sky, but was caught off guard when Ryuko turned around and spun around in a ball formation, proceeding to charge down at him. He was hit, and sent spinning out of control in the air. As Ryuko came back around to him, he took advantage of his spinning position to activate his Homing Attack, clashing into her and having them drill into one another like two buzzsaws. They slashed through each other again and again, creating spark showers with each collision. Eventually, they clashed as two wheels of death, proceeding to rocket higher up into the sky in a spin-lock.

    As the two fighters climbed higher into the sky, Shadow put just the greater amount of force into his attack, spinning through Ryuko and momentarily stunning her. He used this chance to turn back around, aiming to slash her again with a Homing Attack.

    However, Ryuko was prepared this time. Gripping her right hand blade tightly, she spun around and swung upward, catching Shadow's attack. The swing sent Shadow out of his ball formation and awkwardly flailing in midair. Ryuko had the rockets on her dress go full throttle, blasting off into the sky. Shadow eventually recovered from his position, hurriedly chasing after his opponent through the cloud barrier.

    *stop music*

    Shadow found himself hovering in the clear blue sky above the clouds. He held his weapons to his sides and looked around. Ryuko was nowhere to be found. She must've hidden herself here... Which rose several questions in Shadow's brain about how one could hide themselves in a place like this, but whatever. He clenched his fist, not letting his guard down. She could strike at any moment from any area.

    Plus he was now especially determined. "Steal my move and try to get away with it, will ya?" He said to himself. Little did he know that someone could hear him.

    "Yeah, pretty much."



    Shadow's eyes snapped into focus as he turned around to see Ryuko's streak out of the corner of his eye. His senses now on their highest alert, he heard a whoosh of air behind him. He spun around to enter a blade lock with Ryuko, their faces close enough to feel each other's breath. However, Ryuko had the high ground, and with her advantage she pushed Shadow away, forcing him to flail awkwardly in the air before smacking him down on the head, sending him falling back to the Earth.

    Ryuko soon chased after him, and the two were dueling in midair once more. They swung at each other twice with each blade, and Shadow once more went for an X-shaped slash. Ryuko flew up over him to avoid the slash and swung down on his head again, but Shadow wised up to the trick and teleported above her, kicking her down. Luckily, Ryuko maneuvered her legs just under her the slightly boost herself upward, reaching Shadow's height and grabbing his leg. With her position advantageous once more, she rose her arm above her and elbowed his chest hard enough to rocket him back down to Earth.

    Shadow had to shake his head to get rid of the haze that came with the ambush. Realizing how fast he was falling he flipped in midair till he was going feet first. He activated his jet shoes, attempting to slow his rapid descent. It was slowly working. Going full throttle, he fell slower and slower until he hit the roof of the building he started on, panting at the rush that experience gave him.

    His head back in the game, he looked back up to spot his opponent... And she was rushing towards the ground, her sword glowing red and pulled back.

    "Oh," Shadow thought, "Well, God da-"

    RULES OF NATURE!

    *CRASH*

    Shadow had to jump out of the way just in time for Ryuko to crash into the building. The force of the impact split the structure into multiple pieces, several of them somehow suspended in midair. What wasn't spared crumbled to the ground, cut or smashed to bits by the Scissor Blade. Nothing was left of the building in the wake of the human meteor!

    Ryuko looked up and pushed off a piece of suspended rubble, dashing towards Shadow. The hedgehog boosted upward above Ryuko's cross slash, spinning in midair and slamming down on her head with his blades. Ryuko quickly recovered and landed on a piece of falling debris, jumping to another piece before rocketing back up to Shadow and swinging again. He hovered to the right, away from the blade, and rose his guard as Ryuko spun back around and swung again. The impact created a shockwave so power it forced the remaining rubble to crumble even further!

    As Shadow put more effort into his attack, Ryuko cleverly slipped away from the blade lock and sent him reeling forward. She then boosted one leg and flipped upside down, kicking the rodent above her into another piece of rubble. The impact created a body-shaped crater in the suspended concrete, sticking Shadow in there.

    As Ryuko continued by dashing towards Shadow with her blade in a stabbing position, Shadow tightened his grip on his blades and pulled himself from the rubble, spinning into a ball afterwords. He bounced off the suspended concrete before Ryuko could make it there, but the girl couldn't stop her momentum and flew into it, sticking her Scissor Blade into the stone.Shadow, meanwhile, bounced off another large piece of concrete, into a third before homing back in on Ryuko. The Homing Attack drilled into her back and sent them both crashing through the giant concrete slab.

    Both fighter were soon rocketing down to Earth for a moment, but Ryuko snapped her eyes back into focus. She quickly ignited the rockets on her dress and made Shadow roll off of her, albeit painfully. With Shadow now moving past her, Ryuko swung her swords in a cross-slash, firing beams of energy from both. Shadow quickly stopped spinning and turned around in midair, throwing his hand forward and firing a Chaos Spear. The projectiles collided and froze, pushing against each other. However, with twice the power now behind the attacks, the blade beams ultimately overpowered the Chaos Spear and made their way towards Shadow, colliding with his body and sending him further towards the ground.

    Before Shadow could hit the ground, he snapped his eyes open and teleported behind Ryuko. She and Senketsu were not prepared and received a jet-powered roundhouse to the back. The attack sent them reeling a few yards, but Ryuko turned around and flick her arm forward, throwing a thread Shadow's direction. Shadow teleported just as it reached him, getting closer to Ryuko and grabbing the thread, pulling her forward unexpectedly. Ryuko was caught off guard...

    *SCHLING*

    ... And she couldn't be prepared for the Samurai Blade impaling her so suddenly. The girl coughed up some blood, and Shadow felt that he had won the fight there... But then Ryuko grit her teeth and grabbed the blade in her chest.

    And then Shadow mentally face palmed as he suddenly remembered who he was fighting.

    Ryuko kicked Shadow in the chest, releasing his grip from the blade and sending him reeling back. With minimal effort she pulled the blade from her chest, the Life Fibers quickly stitching her wound back together. Shadow snapped his eyes out of their haze, looking up only to have his face meet Ryuko's fist. The force of the blow sent him crashing down to the ground hitting it with such force that a large crater was formed along with a dust cloud. Shadow had also lost his grip on the black sword, which slid away from his reach when he landed.

    Shadow was once again in a haze, slowly propping himself up with his left arm and holding his right hand to his head. He held one eye open and shook his head. In that brief moment of respite he thought he was safe to let his guard down...

    *Clang*

    ... But then he saw his broken Samurai Blade, clattering to the ground in two pieces.

    "Oh... Okay."

    Shadow looked up, and Ryuko was charging down at him, her face in a fierce expression and her blade pointed down in a stabbing motion.Shadow barely had enough time to activate the jets on his shoes, flying back and grinding along the ground.

    *BOOM*

    Ryuko landed, impaling her sword into the ground. The impact created large cracks in the crater, forcing some rubble to be blasted into the air. Another dust cloud was created, this time eclipsing the height of the building surrounding them.

    *stop music*

    Shadow grinded along the ground for a few more moments before placing his hand behind him. The hand bumped into a rise in the ground, causing Shadow to stop and flip back to his feet in a crouch. The hedgehog panted heavily. His opponent was really upping her game. She was getting ferocious. She was even wising up to his teleportation. He would have to concentrate. Think outside the box. Think unorthodox. Think-

    As Shadow was thinking, out of the corner of his eye he saw a tank. I was destroyed - likely from Ryuko's previously unspecified rampage - but it was a tank all the same. As gears started to turn, he looked back at the dust cloud hiding his opponent. Then he pulled a green Chaos Emerald out from hammerspace, staring at it for a moment.

    He looked at the tank. Than at Ryuko, Than back at the Emerald. Back to the tank. Back to the Emerald. Back to Ryuko. Back to the tank. Back to Ryuko. Back to the tank. Back to the Emerald. Back to Ryuko. Back to the Emerald... And an imaginary light bulb formed over his head.

    Shadow dawned a devilish smirk. "Well... I am in Japan."

    --- --- --- --- ---

    Ryuko rose to her feet, raising her head to see Shadow out of the crater, crouched down and panting in exhaustion. Seeing this perfect opening, Ryuko finally decided that she had enough of this shit. She boosted high into the air, blasting her way out of the dust cloud. She set her sights on Shadow, crossing her blades in front of her and extending them both into Decapitation Mode. She was ready to finish this.

    Aiming her body like a missile, she shot forward towards the stationary hedgehog, her perfect target in her sight.

    But as she got closer, Senketsu saw something in Shadow's hand... a glowing green crystal.

    "Ryuko, WAIT!" warned Senketsu. But by that point it was too late.

    "CHAOS CONTROL! TOKI YO TOMARE!"



    --- --- --- --- ---

    Frozen.

    That's how everything was right now. That's how everything looked to Shadow. In the background, there were explosions and fighting, but it was all frozen in place. Any insect unfortunate enough to make it onto this battlefield stopped in mid flight, unable to go forward. Every dust particle that floated in the air stopped blowing in the wind, as did the wind that blew it. The raging girl, Ryuko Matoi, was stuck with that fierce expression on her face, prepared to cleave Shadow but never able to reach him to complete the task. Senketsu had her eye widened in shock, realization, and fear for his wearer.

    Yet at the center of it all, Shadow could move. He looked at his arm and clenched his fist. Going into this state always felt a bit bizarre, for some reason. Still, it did make him feel powerful. Whenever he was like this, he felt like he had the advantage over everyone. And now he was about to utilize this advantage to its fullest, while at the same time doing something he doesn't often do with it: Have fun.

    Looking over to the destroyed tank, he quickly teleported towards it. He had to try with all his might to ignore the corpses of G.U.N. Soldiers that surrounded it. He quickly picked it up, tossing it slightly into the air and holding it with both hands from the underside. With that accomplished, he used teleported again with the tank in tow.

    ...

    ... For a moment, nothing more happened.

    ...

    ... Until a large shadow began to form above the frozen in time Ryuko. It grew bigger and bigger, and it became clear that something was gonna fall on her.

    Anyone who could look above would notice Shadow carrying a large tank, rocketing down towards Ryuko with it. Unable to resist the urge, he shouted:

    "IT'S A BATTLE TANK!!!"

    With a heavy *CRASH* the tank landed right on Ryuko, crushing her frozen form underneath. Shadow teleported on top of the tank with his head leaned down and his arms crossed over one another. Again unable to fight an urge, he tilted his head to the sky, brought his hands to his sides and shouted "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"

    And for the coup de grace, he gathered red Chaos energy into his fists, and with a series of rapid punches he began to wail on the tank beneath him.

    "MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!!!"

    After panting a moment t catch his breath, he gathered a large amount of energy into his fist, and punched the tank once more with a cry of "BUTO GURE OOOOO!!!" The final blow created a sizable dent in the tank.

    Shadow then teleported off of the tank. Now standing a good distance away, he activated Chaos Boost and began to glow red. He then summoned various red energy projectiles in his hands. "Checkmate! Chaos Lance!" He threw the projectiles in such a way that they were positioned to fire at the tanks area. He kept swinging his arms forward and back, throwing more and more Chaos Lances. Soon the tank was surrounded by floating red energy projectiles ready to pierce it, reducing it to oblivion.

    When Shadow was done with his little party, he turned away from the tank. He uttered one last phrase: "Soshite Toki wa Ugokidasu."

    And time resumed.

    *BOOOOOOOOM*

    --- --- --- --- ---

    So... much... pain...

    Along with confusion, that was what Ryuko Matoi was feeling. She found herself in the middle of a massive crater, laying on her chest and having lost her grip on her blades. She was covered in cuts and bruises from an assault that she wasn't even aware of. She used her right hand to try lifting herself up, and her left grabbed onto the Scissor Blade closest to her. As she stuck it into the ground to prop herself onto one knee, she stopped wondering where the pain came from. She wondered why it was still this severe. Shouldn't her healing ability have stopped it by now?

    On her body, Senketsu also had his eye half opened. "Ugh... Ryuko, are you all right?"

    "Yeah," she replied, "Yeah, I think I'm fine." Before continuing she slowly lifted herself to her feet and shook her head. "But shit... What hit us?"

    Senketsu fully opened his eye. "I'm not sure... But whatever it was, You've lost a lot of blood from it. And it seems to have disrupted the Life Fibers in both our systems. Best be especially cautious from here on in."

    Something he said in there caught her attention. "Wait... disrupted... the Life Fibers?"

    Ryuko looked down at her body, taking in all her injuries. Now she understood! The reason why she had felt the pain. Her healing factor should have stitched all the wounds together and dulled the pain... But it wasn't working. Whatever Shadow did to her... It had prevented her from healing.

    Suddenly feeling a rush of adrenaline, she quickly grabbed the second Scissor Blade on the ground at her side. With both her weapons in tow she ran up the crater to seek out her opponent. And lo and behold, when she got to the top, there was Shadow, standing confidently before her. As if taunting her, he was tossing and catching a Chaos Lance in the air like an object to be played with. He was completely unintimidated by the vicious glare that Ryuko was giving him.

    If anything, Ryuko was a little frightened.

    Shaking away her hesitation, Ryuko gave a hard glare towards Shadow. "What the hell just happened!?" she demanded. "What did you just do!?"

    Shadow could practically sense the worry coming off of her aura. It made him feel even more guilty. He closed his eyes and scoffed. "Something I don't do often enough. Something I think you deserved. I started taking this fight one-hundred percent seriously." He opened his eyes and sent his own unwavering glare towards his opponent. "I don't want this fight to continue. Surrender now and save both of us the pain."

    He made his Emerald visible, tossed it in midair and caught it in a taunting motion. "I've won this fight.



    That comment only served to make Ryuko angrier. "Like hell, you spiny bastard! I'm not even close to being done!" With that said, she charged in.

    When she got in close though, she slashed downward at Shadow... only for half of his body to disappear into a pocket of space. In her sudden confusion, Ryuko wasn't prepared for his fist to reappear and ram into her cheek. The attack was surprisingly strong, and sent Ryuko flying back a good distance. Before she could recover, Shadow teleported in front of her path, axe kicking her into the ground and forcing some rubble upward.

    In a rage, Ryuko was quick to recover. She placed her hand under her and spun her body, sweeping a kick under Shadow. Unfortunately she wasn't fast enough, and he teleported away again. She pushed up with her hand under her, standing up again and seeing Shadow a good distance away. Her eyes flaring in anger she swung her blade again and fired a blade beam. The attack should've hit him dead on...

    *snap*

    ... But with a mere snap of Shadow's fingers, the beam disappeared into space. It reappeared behind him again, proceeding to cut down it's path.

    Further taking advantage of his opponent's confusion, Shadow disappeared into a pocket of distorted space. Ryuko, thinking it to be another teleport trick, readied herself for another attack... But she wasn't prepared.

    She felt a fist hit the back of her head, and she swung behind her, but hit nothing. She felt a kick to the back of her leg which brought her down to one knee. She turned again and threw a rising cut, but only hit the wind. She felt a sudden blow to the stomach. Then to the back. Then a jet-infused kick to the face. Soon she found herself surrounded by blows that were coming from nowhere. She could do little to stop the attacks.

    Eventually, she had just had enough. Acting out of instinct she grabbed a leg that was about to hit her in the back.With all her might she pulled, bringing Shadow out of the space pocket. She once again rose her blade and tried to slash down at Shadow, but he was able to block the attack with the ring on his wrist... And in a move she wasn't predicting, he distorted the space around his fist, creating a painful flash of Chaos Energy.

    The attack sent Ryuko reeling away from Shadow, forcing her to close her eyes in pain. She left herself all too open. Shadow teleported in front of her and delivered an uppercut to her stomach, but he distorted space again to send her flying up. Pulling his leg back, he threw a kick to her back as she came back down, sending her flying. Shadow stopped her movement however with a snap of his fingers. The movement distorted the space above Ryuko and created another flash, crashing her into the ground.

    The attack sent her into a haze for a moment, but Ryuko rolled back into a kneeling position, proceeding to rocket forward towards Shadow. She got into a position to stab him again... and with a snap of his fingers, she was now behind him. Not allowing herself to be confused, she quickly halted and spun back around to swing with all her might, but she passed through Shadow's head as he once again vanished into a pocket of space. She recognized the trick, and rose her blade in defense.

    However, Shadow opted for a different approach. Reappearing extremely close to her, Shadow grabbed her by the arm and body, pulling her into the pocket of space.

    ...

    After a moment of silence among the battlefield, Ryuko could be seen thrown into the air from out of nowhere. As she fell back down Shadow followed her out. He clenched two fists and threw his arms to his sides, forming a field of distorted space around him and keeping Ryuko in the air. Shadow knew that she would recover quickly, so he acted fast. "CHAOS CONTROL!"

    *FLASH*

    When Ryuko opened her eyes, she was surrounded by a massive amount of Chaos Spears closing in on her. Gaining an insane boost in adrenaline, she grit her teeth and flipped her right hand blade into a reverse grip. The rockets on her back and her legs fired at their maximum, and Ryuko spun around furiously. The human tornado was seen deflecting every yellow energy projectile that came her way. Whether through her pinpoint ability to deflect the projectiles or her sheer durability, none were getting through her.

    What she didn't realize is that she wasn't as impervious as she thought.

    In fact, she was leaving herself wide open. Below her, Shadow aimed a gun at her. Not just any gun, though. It was entirely black, and it was shaped like a curve. At the top, it had an oval-ish head with a green line at the front. It looked like a bizarre device, but it was a very powerful weapon indeed. It was called... The Satellite Gun.

    It locked onto Ryuko, and Shadow pulled the trigger.

    Ryuko seemed to have gotten rid of the last of the projectiles.She stopped spinning around and panted heavily. She admitted to feeling a little dizzy, but there was no time for rest. Her eyes trained on Shadow aiming a gun at her. Seeing it as only another pointless endeavor on his part, she was about to rocket forward... but felt something.

    She glanced around her... She some kind of yellow energy beams raining down, but they did nothing to her. Still, she felt like they were...

    Senketsu sensed it too, but realized much quicker where it came from. "RYUKO, ABOVE YOU!"

    Confused, Ryuko followed her partner's directions... And immediately widened her eyes in terror. Because above her, from the atmosphere directly above space... a blue beam of deadly energy was blasting down onto her.

    *BZOOOM*

    By the time Ryuko realize the danger of the attack, she could only raise her two blades in front of her. The beam connected, and it took all Ryuko had not to be overwhelmed. The durability of the blades was able to absorb the impact somewhat, but it couldn't stop a spark shower from being formed. Truthfully, her pure strength was the only thing preventing her from being blasted under.

    And it didn't stop there, either.

    Beneath the beam of energy, Shadow walked under Ryuko. He was no fool; he would not let Ryuko focus on one task at a time. He saw his perfect opening. Preparing himself for what he was about to unleash, he took a deep breath. He focused a large amount of red Chaos Energy into his hand, clenching it into a fist. Sparks flew and the fist continuously flashed. Shadow seemed to have difficulty controlling so much power in so little an area.

    As his eyes flashed red, he looked back up at Ryuko's form. With a determined glare he activated the jets on his shoes, going full throttle. As he blasted towards Ryuko he pulled his fist back, which now glowed with even more energy.

    "Chaos..."

    Ryuko could practically feel the energy radiating off of Shadow's fist. She didn't know what was coming, but she knew that it would hurt... and that she could do little to stop it.

    Sure enough, Shadow broke Ryuko's concentration when he punched her in the back. The energy fist prepared to release the enourmous amount of energy stored.

    "BLAST!"

    And the impact was made clear.



    The explosion may as well have created a miniature sun. It alighted every dark corner of Honnoji City, forcing everyone who resided on the island, including fighters, to stop and stare. The blast created a shockwave that could be felt throughout the entire island, blowing away rubble and creating ripples in the ocean. Thank God it was in a clear area, or anyone below would have been obliterated.

    While it still erupted, a fireball could be seen falling from the aftereffect towards the ground. A closer look would have identified it as Ryuko. Her eyes were closed in unconsciousness, and Senketsu shared her fate. In fact, pieces of Senketsu seemed to have been singed off. Neither could do anything to slow the descent. Their limp bodies were in for a rude awakening.

    *stop music*

    Before an impact could be made, however, Shadow teleported to the center of the crater where they would have landed. Holding his arms out, he recoiled to the ground slightly when her body landed in them. He was careful with her putting her down, laying her on her back with her head leaned to the side. As he got back up to his full height he briefly looked up to the sky. He took a casual step back and watched as the two scissor blades fell to the ground, lodging themselves in the ground in an X shape just above Ryuko's head.

    As Shadow stood above Ryuko's fainted form... He supposed that he had won. Funny. He sure as hell didn't feel like he had won anything. He said it before, but this was all his fault. His faction was in the wrong here. At the end of the day, he just pointlessly destroyed someone's home. He didn't want to be here nor did he have the right to be.

    ... Shadow chuckled. "So this is what a hollow victory feels like."

    Regardless, gathering the little loyalty he had left, he activated the communicator on his wrist. He began speaking, "Commander, the target is-"

    *thump*

    The sudden noise made Shadow blink, and he quickly looked up... and he was shocked. Ryuko had regained consciousness. Her body was now turned over, laying on her chest. She was attempting and failing to lift herself up. As her right arm pressed against the ground, her left grabbed onto one of the Scissor Blades at her side. She was gripping pretty tightly, and her hand was bleeding from the contact with the blade. Any tighter and she would have cut her hand off.

    Shadow could tell her struggle was futile. She was too banged up to even crawl away... But the look she gave him. With what ounce of strength she had left to spare, she looked up at Shadow with a glare. One not only ablaze with the unshakable will and determination that she always possessed... But one of hate. Hate for the military. Hate for her current weakness... Hate for him.

    That... hurt.

    Shadow finally noticed his communicator buzzing. "... -ow!? Shadow, do you copy!?"

    The Ultimate Life-Form was paralyzed for a moment... but he slowly brought the communicator to his lips. "The target is... Unable to retaliate, sir. I would really appreciate it if you-

    "GET UP, MATOI!!!"

    Both Ryuko and Shadow blinked. Interrupted by a sudden outburst from a voice that simply commanded attention, they turned their heads to a sight that could only be described as 'majestic.'

    Standing above the crater they were in with her back to the sunlight was an attractive girl with long black hair and the world's most intense eyebrows. Those alone seemed to hold her face in a permanent glare. Much like Ryuko, she wore a very revealing uniform. It exposed her entire stomach and most of her breasts, and she had two small skirts on each leg stocking. She wore massive shoulder pads with eyeballs on them, these ones spiked upwards. At Shadow's guess, she and Ryuko held similar power.

    Very much unlike Ryuko, she carried herself very regally. She clearly had a lot of pride, and she demanded authority from the atmosphere around her. Only the most rebellious of souls could prevent the urge to kneel before her.

    Shadow had heard of her before. Ryuko knew her personally as a comrade and a sister. Satsuki Kiryuin.

    And she didn't seem pleased with her sister's current performance.

    Her glare intensifying, she shouted down at her sister. "Is this the extent of your ability? Is this all you are capable of!? Is this all your resolve- Your love for your home gets you!?"

    Her provoking seemed to be working. Ryuko was putting more effort into standing up. "Sat... suki..."

    "You are not some cowering vermin! You are not the type to lie down and look up at your superior! You climb ever higher, reaching that height from which they look down at you! You get on that level and challenge them as you equal! Did you conquer everyone in my academy, my Elite Four, me, only to lose to the human-imitating rodent!?"

    That one actually kind of stung.

    Ryuko was slowly starting to get up. Her grip tightened on the blade she was gripping, causing even more blood to rush down her arm. It was as if Satsuki's words were pumping adrenaline into her system. "Dammit... You're so... annoying..."

    "You were never one to stay down! Why start now!? You are RYUKO MATOI!!! NOW GET UP!!!"

    Following Satsuki's lead were four odd figures. One a very muscular man, one a very thin man, one a very short woman, and one a man dressed like a samurai. They spoke to Ryuko with no less ferocity. "DON'T DEFY LADY SATSUKI! NOT LIKE THIS! GET UP, MATOI!!!"

    From another end of the crater, two practically naked men revealed themselves. One was fairly thin and had blue hair. The other a fairly well built man with a bandaged nose and a red mohawk. The blue haired man spoke "Is this really the time to stay down?! GET UP, RYUKO!!!"

    The other man continued "You're not the type to half-ass so late in the game! GET UP ALREADY!!!"

    Soon, the crater was surrounded by citizens of Honnoji. Every single one of them was joining in the chant. They were all supporting their ally in this war. They were all shouting at her, demanding that she keep fighting. That she stood and took her father's blades in hand, defending her home and family to the bitter end. That she stopped laying around and "GET UP!!!" 

    Ryuko struggled to maintain her footing, but she weakly stood up. Her comrades still stood around her, cheering her on. They chanted her name as if their lives depended on it. "MATOI! MATOI! MATOI!"

    Among them all was her best friend, Mako Mankanshoku. She was clenching her fists and giving a determined glare, while at the same time tearing up at the sight of her virtual sister in such a state!

    "I know you can do this, Ryuko! PLEASE! GET UP!!!"

    At this point, Ryuko was still weak in the legs. She gripped onto the two blades in front of her for support, panting heavily. Her ears were ringing slightly. The chanting of her supporters around her was slightly muffled as a result. But she was motivated. She would pull the swords out of the ground and continue fighting. She would defeat the Ultimate Life-Form for the sake of her family. All she needed was one final push...

    And as she glanced up for a moment, her eyes met Shadow's... and the hedgehog smiled.

    "Well, you heard them," he provoked, "Get up."

    That did it.

    Feeling the largest rush of adrenaline flow through her, she grit her teeth so hard that it seemed like one might break off of her mouth. She gripped the two Scissor Blades to the point of her knuckles whitening. She started breathing heavily, pumping herself up further and further. With each breath her aura grew stronger. It was as if a fire burned all around her, signifying her ever growing fighting spirit. When it reached its peak, Ryuko's eyes flared.

    With her newfound strength, Ryuko forced the two Scissor Blades out of the ground. She threw her arms to her sides and shouted towards the sky. "EVERYONE! PLEASE, LEND ME YOUR POWER!!!" 



    Heeding her call, most that surrounded the crater held their arms out to their sides. Everyone that had Life Fibers to spare gave them up to Ryuko.