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Description
"Brotherly Love"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 6: "Choices too Important for Failure"

    “The nerve of that guy…sometimes I wonder what side Shadow is truly on.  No wait, that’s right; he’s only doing what benefits him the most…I should have known there was a catch to all this.  All he wanted in return was for me to help him break out these prisoners…and he puts them above Amy’s safety.  The nerve…ugh,” Knuckles said to himself.  The echidna was heading to the main gate of the fortress, his sheer frustration and anger from the past few days becoming too much for him to ignore.  Inside his heart, he knew that Shadow meant well and all along had good intentions, but he couldn’t stop himself from saving Amy, nor could he force himself to go and find Shadow to apologize.

    Knuckles finally stopped when the shadow cast by the fortress walls fell over him.  He stared up at the castle walls, their ominous appearance alone warning any intruder who dared enter or defy them to stay away.  Knuckles’ expression melted from one of wonder and awe, to sheer anger and defiance.  He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and screamed, “How dare you!  You’ll release Amy and my brother now!  I don’t care!  You will give them up, and even so, I will kill you!”

    The echidna, his adrenaline pumping and his anger making his blood run hot and boil, took off for the ramp that led up to the fortress gate, fists clenched and extended, ready to take out anything and anyone who dared get in his way.

    Up in the tower, Lord Feldmort cackled at the echidnas cries.  He turned to Amy, who had been placed in a cage by the possessed Tails, and said, “Isn’t this lovely Miss Amy?  You’ll get to meet the famous fallen guardian, and brother to Knuckles, Hinsei Hidama.  Then you'll get the pleasure to watching them slay each other right before your eyes!  Hinsei shall make us whole again, and then join the rest of those traitors in the burning afterlife they deserve, and we shall be the master race.”

    Amy had held back her tears, and shouted at him, “You’re wrong Feldmort!  Knuckles and Shadow are gonna free Hidama and Tails…and rescue us all.  Just wait and see!”

    Lord Feldmort laughed with even more pleasure, and replied, “Oh are they?  I’m so scared.  Mwahaha!  Dear Amy, at this moment Shadow marches in one direction and your dear Knuckles in another.  Those two are so full of it that they can’t even work together to reach a common goal!  And now you expect me to believe that Knuckles can actually defend against, let alone rescue, his brother?  That’s so rich!”  Lord Feldmort doubled over in laughter, only stopping when one of the fortress guards entered the room.

    “Master Feldmort, the echidna is about to enter the fortress, do you recommend resistance against him?” the guard asked.

    Feldmort looked and said, “Are you kidding me?  You want me to run him down?  No, my dear idiot, I don’t want him to waste any energy.  I want him to be at his absolute peak in power for the battle with…his dear brother.”  Adjusting his robe so it fit better on him, he pointed to Amy and said, “Take her, in her cage, down to the arena, and place her next to my throne.  I want her to have a front row seat for the battle royale!   While you’re at it, chain up the fox in the arena as well, prepare Hidama for battle…and…” he started, turning to glare at Amy, “Prepare for the arrival of the Master Emerald.  Mwahaha!”

    Amy felt numb, for she now knew that Sonic too had been ensnared, and even worse, the Master Emerald was now in the hands of the enemy.  As two mutant guards lifted her cage to take her to the arena, tears began to fall from her eyes, and she shouted, “Knuckles, no!  Don’t come here without Shadow to help you!   NO!”

    This response from Amy made Feldmort laugh even harder with glee.  "This is so rich!  Ah hah!   Let that echidna through unchallenged; he’ll get to battle all he wishes to.  All residents of the fortress make way to the arena, where we shall finally be made whole at last and punish, humiliate and destroy the last survivors of our enemy!”

    Things indeed looked pretty grim at this point.  Even now, Zelias’ army marched swiftly to the fortress, with Sonic and the Master Emerald in their possession.  Zelias could already hear Feldmort’s cries of pleasure, even as the army marched over the land where Amy was captured, Shadow’s blood running into the Silent River ever slowly.  Zelias ordered Sonic to the head of the army; the hedgehog’s eyes still glowed red, and he remained silent as he carried the massive gem with ease.  It now glimmered like a beacon, foreboding the final defeat of the echidna clan, should neither Hidama or Knuckles come out of the battle alive.

    It at this point, with the approach of the army, the fox boy Jacob, recently freed by Shadow who easily took out the guards, cried, “Shadow, the army, they’re back!”

    Shadow, still ticked with Knuckles, and unaware that they had Sonic and the Master Emerald with them, growled and said, “Not now Jacob.  Hurry!  You and Olivia help me free the remaining prisoners while I tie up these guards.  I can’t have them running loose should they awaken.”  He continued to tied the guards together, while Olivia ran freeing her friends and other prisoners.

    Jacob wouldn’t come away from the window.  He saw something glittering in the sun at the front of the army.  “But Shadow…I see something!  There’s something glimmering in the sun that they’re bringing…like, a big chaos emerald or something.”

    Shadow froze; it was now that his worst fears and suspicions were confirmed.  The nightmare he had had ever since he was imprisoned with Hidama was coming true.  The enemy now had Sonic, Tails, and the Master Emerald, as well as the true guardian, whom, once he came in contact with the Master Emerald, would be in control of its awesome powers.  He now knew why Feldmort had had Tails capture Amy; it was so he could use her as bait to induce Knuckles to fight, only to be slaughtered by Hidama.

    The hedgehog stood up and shouted, “Jacob!  Olivia!  That is the Master Emerald they have in their possession!  I fear Master Hidama and his brother Knuckles are in grave danger!”  Handing Jacob the other set of prison keys, he said, “I’m trusting you as friends of Hinsei Hidama, the fallen and broken guardian, to free the rest of the prisoners and lead them to safety.  You are the Guardian’s Captains, and I trust you’ll do this for him and his honor.”

    Jacob and Olivia looked with wonder at Shadow, their eyes lighting up at being called Hidama’s captains, which as the true guardian was the highest position after his.  They nodded and said, “You can trust us Shadow!  Please go save Hidama and his brother!”

    Shadow nodded, smiling warmly at the children to reassure them, before turning and racing off into the heart of the fortress.  His smile quickly melted away, and his heart began to burn with fear and displeasure.  He shouted to himself, “Shadow the Hedgehog, you’re a fool for leaving Knuckles alone.  You let your frustration, no doubt no less worse than his own, cloud your judgment and make all the choices.  Every choice from here on out is too important to fail.”  He put his head down, and said, “Time to kick it into overdrive.  They’re heading to the arena…”  His speed doubled, and he was lost to the eyes of the prisoners, heading deeper into the fortress.

    Both Knuckles and Shadow were making their way to the arena in the center of the massive fortress.  Shadow had been there before, and thus moved quicker, but unlike Knuckles, he had to fight off many attackers, and thus Knuckles would arrive there long before him.  At the same time, Zelias’ army made their way towards the fortress, Master Emerald in hand; ready to end this long struggle against the echidnas and the remaining two survivors.

    As the mutant army approached with the Master Emerald, Lord Feldmort himself went to retrieve Hidama, whom he had locked up in a small holding cell in anticipation of the battle.  Unknown to him, Hidama had been floating in and out of possession, and in these brief moments of freedom, he fought to remove the chip, though unsuccessful, as the chip would quickly repossess him.

    Lord Feldmort opened the door to his cell as the chip again took hold over his mind, stronger now with the controller near it, and said, “Come Hinsei, it’s time to see your brother again…like I promised.”

    Hidama rose up, poised to give a thrashing to whomever Feldmort bid to him to, even his own brother.  What made things worse, was when he did come in contact with the Master Emerald, its infinite and mind-blowing power at his command, his destruction would be made all the worse.  In his heart, he still had some control over his thoughts, and all he could hope, having no further control, was that somehow, his brother could reach out to him, and rescue himself at least, and maybe at last, they’d be reunited.  For now…that was the best he could hope for: That his brother would survive.

    Suddenly, a horn blast rang clear and loud, announcing that Zelias’ army was in the final stages of retrieving the Master Emerald.  Knuckles didn’t know what this meant, only pausing a moment on reflex, then continuing his trek to the arena.  Shadow stopped, almost worn down by all his attackers, and trying to catch his breath.  His heart sank, for he knew what that horn blast meant.  He stood up, blasting away more of Feldmort’s cronies, saying, “I have to hurry; Hidama will slaughter Knuckles…Knuckles cannot do it alone.”

    And as Shadow continued his race to help Knuckles, Amy, who had been brought to the arena, caught a glimpse of the fallen guardian, Hinsei Hidama.  At seeing his glowing, red eyes, she cried silently, and whispered, “Please, Knuckles…Shadow, be careful.  We’re all counting on you.  You two have to stay together, you need each other…please.”

    Together, or alone, the fate of all was in the hands of the only other living echidna, Knuckles, and Shadow.  It was coming down to the wire, and every decision made from here on, would determine who would live…and who would die, Shadow’s deepest fear and long-lived premonition realized.

Description
"Brotherly Love"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 6: "Choices too Important for Failure"

    “The nerve of that guy…sometimes I wonder what side Shadow is truly on.  No wait, that’s right; he’s only doing what benefits him the most…I should have known there was a catch to all this.  All he wanted in return was for me to help him break out these prisoners…and he puts them above Amy’s safety.  The nerve…ugh,” Knuckles said to himself.  The echidna was heading to the main gate of the fortress, his sheer frustration and anger from the past few days becoming too much for him to ignore.  Inside his heart, he knew that Shadow meant well and all along had good intentions, but he couldn’t stop himself from saving Amy, nor could he force himself to go and find Shadow to apologize.

    Knuckles finally stopped when the shadow cast by the fortress walls fell over him.  He stared up at the castle walls, their ominous appearance alone warning any intruder who dared enter or defy them to stay away.  Knuckles’ expression melted from one of wonder and awe, to sheer anger and defiance.  He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and screamed, “How dare you!  You’ll release Amy and my brother now!  I don’t care!  You will give them up, and even so, I will kill you!”

    The echidna, his adrenaline pumping and his anger making his blood run hot and boil, took off for the ramp that led up to the fortress gate, fists clenched and extended, ready to take out anything and anyone who dared get in his way.

    Up in the tower, Lord Feldmort cackled at the echidnas cries.  He turned to Amy, who had been placed in a cage by the possessed Tails, and said, “Isn’t this lovely Miss Amy?  You’ll get to meet the famous fallen guardian, and brother to Knuckles, Hinsei Hidama.  Then you'll get the pleasure to watching them slay each other right before your eyes!  Hinsei shall make us whole again, and then join the rest of those traitors in the burning afterlife they deserve, and we shall be the master race.”

    Amy had held back her tears, and shouted at him, “You’re wrong Feldmort!  Knuckles and Shadow are gonna free Hidama and Tails…and rescue us all.  Just wait and see!”

    Lord Feldmort laughed with even more pleasure, and replied, “Oh are they?  I’m so scared.  Mwahaha!  Dear Amy, at this moment Shadow marches in one direction and your dear Knuckles in another.  Those two are so full of it that they can’t even work together to reach a common goal!  And now you expect me to believe that Knuckles can actually defend against, let alone rescue, his brother?  That’s so rich!”  Lord Feldmort doubled over in laughter, only stopping when one of the fortress guards entered the room.

    “Master Feldmort, the echidna is about to enter the fortress, do you recommend resistance against him?” the guard asked.

    Feldmort looked and said, “Are you kidding me?  You want me to run him down?  No, my dear idiot, I don’t want him to waste any energy.  I want him to be at his absolute peak in power for the battle with…his dear brother.”  Adjusting his robe so it fit better on him, he pointed to Amy and said, “Take her, in her cage, down to the arena, and place her next to my throne.  I want her to have a front row seat for the battle royale!   While you’re at it, chain up the fox in the arena as well, prepare Hidama for battle…and…” he started, turning to glare at Amy, “Prepare for the arrival of the Master Emerald.  Mwahaha!”

    Amy felt numb, for she now knew that Sonic too had been ensnared, and even worse, the Master Emerald was now in the hands of the enemy.  As two mutant guards lifted her cage to take her to the arena, tears began to fall from her eyes, and she shouted, “Knuckles, no!  Don’t come here without Shadow to help you!   NO!”

    This response from Amy made Feldmort laugh even harder with glee.  "This is so rich!  Ah hah!   Let that echidna through unchallenged; he’ll get to battle all he wishes to.  All residents of the fortress make way to the arena, where we shall finally be made whole at last and punish, humiliate and destroy the last survivors of our enemy!”

    Things indeed looked pretty grim at this point.  Even now, Zelias’ army marched swiftly to the fortress, with Sonic and the Master Emerald in their possession.  Zelias could already hear Feldmort’s cries of pleasure, even as the army marched over the land where Amy was captured, Shadow’s blood running into the Silent River ever slowly.  Zelias ordered Sonic to the head of the army; the hedgehog’s eyes still glowed red, and he remained silent as he carried the massive gem with ease.  It now glimmered like a beacon, foreboding the final defeat of the echidna clan, should neither Hidama or Knuckles come out of the battle alive.

    It at this point, with the approach of the army, the fox boy Jacob, recently freed by Shadow who easily took out the guards, cried, “Shadow, the army, they’re back!”

    Shadow, still ticked with Knuckles, and unaware that they had Sonic and the Master Emerald with them, growled and said, “Not now Jacob.  Hurry!  You and Olivia help me free the remaining prisoners while I tie up these guards.  I can’t have them running loose should they awaken.”  He continued to tied the guards together, while Olivia ran freeing her friends and other prisoners.

    Jacob wouldn’t come away from the window.  He saw something glittering in the sun at the front of the army.  “But Shadow…I see something!  There’s something glimmering in the sun that they’re bringing…like, a big chaos emerald or something.”

    Shadow froze; it was now that his worst fears and suspicions were confirmed.  The nightmare he had had ever since he was imprisoned with Hidama was coming true.  The enemy now had Sonic, Tails, and the Master Emerald, as well as the true guardian, whom, once he came in contact with the Master Emerald, would be in control of its awesome powers.  He now knew why Feldmort had had Tails capture Amy; it was so he could use her as bait to induce Knuckles to fight, only to be slaughtered by Hidama.

    The hedgehog stood up and shouted, “Jacob!  Olivia!  That is the Master Emerald they have in their possession!  I fear Master Hidama and his brother Knuckles are in grave danger!”  Handing Jacob the other set of prison keys, he said, “I’m trusting you as friends of Hinsei Hidama, the fallen and broken guardian, to free the rest of the prisoners and lead them to safety.  You are the Guardian’s Captains, and I trust you’ll do this for him and his honor.”

    Jacob and Olivia looked with wonder at Shadow, their eyes lighting up at being called Hidama’s captains, which as the true guardian was the highest position after his.  They nodded and said, “You can trust us Shadow!  Please go save Hidama and his brother!”

    Shadow nodded, smiling warmly at the children to reassure them, before turning and racing off into the heart of the fortress.  His smile quickly melted away, and his heart began to burn with fear and displeasure.  He shouted to himself, “Shadow the Hedgehog, you’re a fool for leaving Knuckles alone.  You let your frustration, no doubt no less worse than his own, cloud your judgment and make all the choices.  Every choice from here on out is too important to fail.”  He put his head down, and said, “Time to kick it into overdrive.  They’re heading to the arena…”  His speed doubled, and he was lost to the eyes of the prisoners, heading deeper into the fortress.

    Both Knuckles and Shadow were making their way to the arena in the center of the massive fortress.  Shadow had been there before, and thus moved quicker, but unlike Knuckles, he had to fight off many attackers, and thus Knuckles would arrive there long before him.  At the same time, Zelias’ army made their way towards the fortress, Master Emerald in hand; ready to end this long struggle against the echidnas and the remaining two survivors.

    As the mutant army approached with the Master Emerald, Lord Feldmort himself went to retrieve Hidama, whom he had locked up in a small holding cell in anticipation of the battle.  Unknown to him, Hidama had been floating in and out of possession, and in these brief moments of freedom, he fought to remove the chip, though unsuccessful, as the chip would quickly repossess him.

    Lord Feldmort opened the door to his cell as the chip again took hold over his mind, stronger now with the controller near it, and said, “Come Hinsei, it’s time to see your brother again…like I promised.”

    Hidama rose up, poised to give a thrashing to whomever Feldmort bid to him to, even his own brother.  What made things worse, was when he did come in contact with the Master Emerald, its infinite and mind-blowing power at his command, his destruction would be made all the worse.  In his heart, he still had some control over his thoughts, and all he could hope, having no further control, was that somehow, his brother could reach out to him, and rescue himself at least, and maybe at last, they’d be reunited.  For now…that was the best he could hope for: That his brother would survive.

    Suddenly, a horn blast rang clear and loud, announcing that Zelias’ army was in the final stages of retrieving the Master Emerald.  Knuckles didn’t know what this meant, only pausing a moment on reflex, then continuing his trek to the arena.  Shadow stopped, almost worn down by all his attackers, and trying to catch his breath.  His heart sank, for he knew what that horn blast meant.  He stood up, blasting away more of Feldmort’s cronies, saying, “I have to hurry; Hidama will slaughter Knuckles…Knuckles cannot do it alone.”

    And as Shadow continued his race to help Knuckles, Amy, who had been brought to the arena, caught a glimpse of the fallen guardian, Hinsei Hidama.  At seeing his glowing, red eyes, she cried silently, and whispered, “Please, Knuckles…Shadow, be careful.  We’re all counting on you.  You two have to stay together, you need each other…please.”

    Together, or alone, the fate of all was in the hands of the only other living echidna, Knuckles, and Shadow.  It was coming down to the wire, and every decision made from here on, would determine who would live…and who would die, Shadow’s deepest fear and long-lived premonition realized.