Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Alliance for Ages ❯ Phoenix vs. Dragon ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 12

Phoenix vs. Dragon

Sonic stood outside of the base, staring at the creation they had so painstakingly built. I wonder if it'll hold up under a full-scale assault, he thought. Oh, well. I can't be here all the time. Sonic turned and looked into the distance, to the imposing mountain that was his destination. It was known only as Shadow Hill, a rocky mass containing no valuable resources of any kind. It only had one thing - lots and lots of caves. A perfect home for Shadow, really. As he was thinking about this, he noticed that the mountain looked darker than he remembered, like there actually was a dark shadow hanging over it. Sonic fingered the hilt of his blade to make sure he had it and sped off toward the rocky cliffs ahead.

It didn't take long for him to run into trouble. As he was just entering the Grey Swamp, he was ambushed by a pair of large, winged serpents that circled him menacingly. They dove to try to sting him with their fangs, but, of course, Sonic was too fast for them. He flitted out of the way, drawing his sword and preparing to attack. Then, noticing that their prey had teeth, the serpents flew higher, out of Sonic's jumping range, and began spitting balls of poison. Sonic wondered if he would have to summon the Phoenix again in order to beat them. Just then, though, the Pheonix planted an idea in his head, that Sonic could focus the power of the Pheonix into his hand and launch it like a buster shot. It seemed like a good idea and Sonic gave it a try. Holding his hand up toward the serpents, Sonic began drawing energy from the sword in his other hand. As it moved, he felt the power flow through him, reverberating like a drum. Still running in circles, he unknowingly said two words that didn't really make too much sense. "Pulsar Phoenix!" As he said this, a large, fiery blast erupted from the outstretched hand, passing between the two creatures and driving them off very quickly, one with a flaming tail. "Not bad," Sonic said, running a hand down the hilt. "Not bad at all." He sheathed it again and continued on.

Reaching the foot of the dark mountain, Sonic looked up to see the odd, dark cloud hovering over it. This must be his doing. "Shadow? Are you up there? I'm coming to find you." Then, to his surprise, there came an answer.

"You should heed the warning of those more powerful than you," Shadow called down from his perch at the protruding entrance of a low cave. "I will have to destroy you if you come up here, you know. It's in my job description. I got stuck with an evil spirit-weapon, so I can't help it."

"Evil won't always win, you know. If I can defeat you, will you come with us?" Sonic drew his sword. "Because I will beat you, you know. I defeated you once, and I will do it again. Even if I will be facing a friend."

Shadow laughed audibly. "So righteous. That's your weakness, Sonic. You fight to stop evil from consuming this world, but are you so stupid as to believe that you can permanently remove it? It will always come back and, little by little, it will decimate the planet. Then, your entire existence will have been for naught."

"That's that damn axe talking, not you, Shadow. I know you better than that. You are not really evil. Only the Dragon is. Are you saying that it is more powerful than you? I know it's not, Shadow, because I've battled you before. I know how much inner strength you really possess. Only you can defeat it's influence. Me fighting you would only cause unneccessary damage to both of us. Now come down here and give it up."

Shadow did not answer. He merely turned and dragged his body back into the cave, as the Black Dragon commanded him. Sonic could tell by how his eyes looked. They were filled with anguish, pleading that Sonic end it for him. I guess I will, he thought. Sonic dashed up the edge of the steep rock face, slaloming upward to avoid large boulders. He reached the cave opening with little difficulty and stopped just before entering. The cloud had darkened. And suddenly, Sonic realized. It's consuming him. The dragon is taking over his mind and body more and more every minute. I have to stop it. Sonic rushed in with no more delay, squinting in the near non-existent light of the cave. Then, he was suddenly in a massive chamber with elaborate marble columns from floor to ceiling. There were torches all along the walls, lighting the room quite brightly. He continued looking around and found where Shadow stood, in front of an equally elaborate statue of a dragon's head. "FOOL," a voice boomed into the chamber. "YOU DARE DEFY ME!? I am the Black Dragon, the very embodiment of Death and Destruction. Those who oppose me always DIE!" Then, as if under the spell of the dragon statue, Shadow charged forward, the same pleading expression in his eyes.

Sonic pushed the sword into a defensive position in front of him, causing Shadow to pull his own axe and make a swipe. Sonic cleanly dodged it and made his own strike, catching the axe blade on the side and forcing them into a pushing contest. Sonic could feel himself begin to perspire. He decided to try his new skill to win this match. He pushed out his left hand, giving Shadow some ground, and began to charge the Pulsar Phoenix. Shadow noticed his trump and flipped backward, just as Sonic fired. "Pulsar Phoenix!" he screamed, hoping that it would strike home. Unfortunately Shadow was faster than the Serpent-birds, jumping to avoid it and jumping off a wall to redirect himself back toward Sonic, bringing his blade down at the same time. At first Sonic thought he had missed, but he then realized that Shadow was sending himself into a spin in mid-air… and was hanging there. Shadow abruptly stopped spinning and held out the axe. "Shadow Dragon!" he yelled and Sonic watched as a shadowy blast erupted from the axe blade. The manuever caught Sonic off-guard and he was forced to roll out of the way, catching a small portion of the onslaught in his back. He shook himself to disperse the lingering pain and blocked quickly against Shadow's next strike. Then, Sonic heard the odd voice in his head that he had decided was the Phoenix's. It told him to let go of the sword. Sonic did so, remembering that it had been yet to lead him the wrong way. He pushed his hardest and knocked Shadow back to the other side of the chamber, then placed the sword in mid-air in front of him and watched as it began spinning again. Shadow was charging again, axe in both hands, flung behind him to prepare for his next attack. The sword was transforming again, the flaming wings sprouted and the body quickly followed. By this time Shadow was uncomfortably close, preparing to knock the floating sword from the air.

Then, the sword finished its change. Instead of going to stop Shadow, though, it went toward the statue, which spoke again. "Ahhh… So you are the Phoenix Edge weilder. I've waited for this moment, my old nemesis." The statue then began to change, too. It began generating a black aura around itself, turning into its own spirit form. It finished just as the Phoenix reached it and dodged to the side, avoiding it cleanly. Sonic then noticed that the axe was no longer in Shadow's hands, but that he was as limp as a doll, his spirit had been totally sapped by the dragon when he took the weapon from Shadow. The two spirits fought viciously, one striking, one parrying, then switching roles, again and again. Finally, the Phoenix backed up and fired what looked like a large Pulsar Phoenix attack from its mouth. The dragon parried with its own Shadow Dragon blast and they both charged through the energy cloud, colliding and sending both away, carreening into the walls. Sonic had to duck to avoid being hit by the dragon. They continued going at it for several minutes and Sonic just looked on hopelessly.

Then, Shadow spoke to him. "…Sonic?" He looked up weakly and smiled. "I'm free. Your forcing the dragon to leave me did it. Thank you." Shadow fell unconcious again. Abruptly, Sonic heard a shrill scream and he looked up to see the dragon on its back and the Phoenix preparing to deliver the final blow, firing again and again into it with the Pulsar Phoenix. Satisfied with its job, the Phoenix folded its wings and changed back to the blade. It flew back to Sonic's hand and he plucked it from the air. As he turned to leave, he also caught a glipse of something else. The dragon's body had dissappeared and the axe lay at his feet. He grabbed it also, took Shadow up over his shoulder and left. Shadow's got some `splaining to do when he comes to, Sonic thought to himself.