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"Love That Gives True Peace"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 9: "The Final Battle"

   As Knuckles ran north, he heard the thunder begin to crash violently above him, and the lightning streaks flash with even more ferocity.  He cringed as the storm bore down on him, but before he could begin to falter, he froze.  Up ahead he could see a dark wave streaking across the landscape, and he knew that this was indeed Olermere and his army racing to war…but…what about the four figures who ran just a few miles ahead of them?  “Hi—Hidama?” he whispered.  Taking a step forward and reaching out towards the figures, he continued, “My…my heavens…is it really you?”

   What Knuckles saw was indeed Hidama, the Brokenstar Twins, and Shadow racing for their lives towards Angel Island.  The mutant army was slowly over taking them, and with the five mile boundary from Angel Island so close, their hearts began to race; they knew a battle for life and death was soon to begin.

   But as Angel Island grew larger in the distance, Hidama saw a figure standing barely a mile ahead of him.  It was a red echidna, frozen in step, reaching out to him.  Hidama slowed his pace, coming to a stop, startling Shadow and the twins.  They stopped and ran back to him.  Aranelion and Elianaron pulled on Hidama, trying to get him to run, and Shadow cried, “Please Hidama!  Now is not the time to stop!  We must hurry!”

   Hidama slowly looked to Shadow and the twins and said, “It’s…there’s…my brother…”  He extended his arm to point in Knuckles’ direction.  He was as awe-struck as Knuckles.  Tears formed in his eyes, and tearing away from Aranelion and Elianaron, he cried out, “Knuckles!  I can’t believe it’s really you at long last!”  He raced with all the speed he could muster to meet Knuckles.

   Knuckles heard his brother’s cries, and at this point he knew this was indeed for real.  The last time he had seen Hidama his brother had been morphed into a killing machine, and later still he only saw Hidama free from that control in his dying moments.  With his brother so close, Knuckles could feel tears forming in his eyes too, and raced for Hidama, calling out to him, “It really is you Hidama!  Oh my…Hidama!”

   They raced with all the speed they could attain, and finally, on the point marking the five mile boundary from Angel Island, the two brothers met, flying into each other’s arms and embracing each other tightly as they wept out of sheer joy.

   Locked in a hug, both brothers wept heavily and hard; as Shadow and the Brokenstar Twins caught up with Hidama, they paused about fifteen feet away, in awe of the emotions coming from both of them at this moment.  After a minute or so, Knuckles, resting his head on Hidama’s shoulder, spoke, his voice shaky, “Oh…Hidama…I—I never thought I’d see you again…and not just after you escaped Feldmort…I mean, the night you were taken away.  I feel like my heart is ready to burst…I’m just so thankful you’re alive and back home after all these years…”

   Hidama took deep, staggered breaths to try and control his tears, to little success.  He managed a weak smile, hugging Knuckles tightly and replied, “I—I never thought I’d ever see Angel Island again…let alone be with the best brother in the world.  When I called for your soul to return, I thought I’d pass away…just to be here with you again…I’m paralyzed with happiness.”

   Shadow’s heart felt warm as he watched the brothers.  He whispered to himself, “At last Hinsei Hidama, son of the Guardian…I promised you I’d bring you safely home…and my heart overflows with happiness for you now that we have achieved that goal.”  Aranelion and Elianaron glanced at Shadow, and seeing that they were looking at him, he quickly frowned, and shouted to be heard over a howling gale that blew around them now.  “But this is no time to let our guard down!  The mutant army is almost here!”

   That last word of Shadow’s sentence was drowned by a loud crash of thunder and multi-limbed streaks of lightning flashing above them.  Knuckles and Hidama looked and saw the mutant army bearing down on them.  They still held on to each other, but Hidama looked at Knuckles and said, “Brother, now is not the time for celebration and sweet reunion.  First, we must fight.  We must protect our home, and finally bring closure to the deaths of our kindred, as well as the transgressions we’ve suffered as a result.  Fight with me Knuckles…let’s end this…together.”

   Knuckles looked at his brother; he felt this throat muscles tightening up on him, and he swallowed hard to try and loosen them up.  He nodded, and the brothers embraced each other tightly once more.  Knuckles pressed his face up tightly against Hidama’s chest and spoke, “Please Hidama, just promise me you’ll be alright until the end.  I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you don’t get taken away from me again.”

   Hidama smiled, resting his head against Knuckles, he whispered, “No Knuckles, I’m never leaving like that again.  You’re the best brother in the world, and you always will be.”

   Finally the brothers withdrew from each other, dispelling the last of their tears, and calling on all the strength and courage they could muster.  Hidama finally felt completely renewed and was ready to fight.  The look of determination returned to their faces, and they turned to face Shadow and the Brokenstar Twins, as well as the mutant army that was now closing in on them.

   Aranelion and Elianaron smiled, and Elianaron spoke for them saying, “Gosh Knuckles, it’s awesome to see you after all these years.  Gee, if Aranelion and I had known you were still alive we would have looked after you.”

   Knuckles managed a weak grin, and as the twins stood beside him and Knuckles, Shadow walked between the four of them and said, “I hate to break up happy reunions and strolls down ‘could’ve, would’ve, should’ve’ memory lane, but we’ve got a serious situation on our hands…and it’s only getting worse by the minute.”

   Once again a large clap of thunder followed Shadow’s statement, and a flash of lightning was now about the only source of light, as the light of the evening sun was now masked by the dark storm clouds, with night rapidly approaching.  This seemed to be the storm of the century; howling gales whipped around the group, and as the thunder rumbled ominously once more, a steady rain began to fall.

   The group of five turned to the mutant army; already they could see Olermere marching at the front of the brigade, a devilish grin on his face as the two echidna brothers came into view.  Hidama and Knuckles looked to each other, and took two steps ahead of the other three, standing side by side, Hidama’s cape whipping in the wind as the rain drenched them.

   Shadow stood behind them with Aranelion and Elianaron standing together beside him.  He put one hand on Hidama’s shoulder, the other on Knuckles’ and whispered, “Remember Hidama, magic is powerless against these foes.  You must rely on strength and physical prowess alone to win this fight.”

   Both Hidama and Knuckles turned to glance at Shadow, and Knuckles replied, “No, Hidama also has his brother to rely on, as I do.  We’ll get through this together…and we’ve always got you three behind us…right?”

   Shadow smiled a bit, and nodded.  Shadow said, “I’m ready to end this for good, as you are.”

   As Shadow stepped back, the Brokenstar Twins withdrew their weapons; Aranelion pointed Akrenar towards the sky and said, “You bet you have our support!  We’ll stand beside you forever Hidama, and you too Knuckles.  At last it’s time to avenge our father, and the echidnas forever!”

   Elianaron answered with a cheer, brandishing Tempest and Twilight.  Before the mutant army finished its march and the battle commence, they heard a familiar voice cry out to them.  “Waaaiiiitttt!!”

   Everyone turned to see Sonic and Tails finish their sprint from Angel Island.  Knuckles’ eyes widened and he said, “Sonic, Tails?  What on earth are you doing here?”

   Tails landed and panted to get his breath back, and Sonic bent over only a few moments to do the same, before looking at Knuckles with a grin and saying, “We couldn’t just sit around Knuckles.  We came to see if you needed our help in any way…or if somehow we could help Shadow or your brother, and when we got to Angel Island, Rouge sent us to help!  So yeah…here we are, and we’re ready to fight!  This whole thing with the mutants has gone far enough!”

   Tails, who was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt, pulled his hood over his head and replied, “You bet we are!  We’re gonna teach these mutants a lesson they won’t live to remember!”

   The arrival of Sonic and Tails somehow brought a deep well of courage, determination, and renewed enthusiasm to the hearts of everyone in the group.  Amazingly, despite the storm and lack of sunlight, Hidama’s eyes seemed to be sparkling from within.  He smiled and walked up to Sonic and Tails, saying, “It’s comforting to know my brother had such great, and caring friends as yourselves in my absence.  Now, let’s put an end to these mutants forever!”

   At last, there was no more speaking, and the thundering march stopped at last, with now only the thunder from the storm providing the fearful rumble.  They all turned to face their foe, seeing Shadow alone was already locked in a stare down with King Olermere.  His army, ten thousand strong, stood behind him, itching to kill, and taste blood.

   Hidama and Knuckles looked at each other once more, and then walked and stood right behind Shadow, side by side.  Knuckles looked at Hidama, and whispered, “I—I forgot to say this earlier, Hidama, and now I think…maybe I should.”

   As Aranelion and Elianaron stood beside Hidama, and Sonic and Tails stood next to Knuckles, Hidama looked to his brother and said, “What is it Knuckles?”

   Knuckles smiled, perhaps unlike he ever had after Hidama was taken away and his childhood lost forever, and whispered, “I meant to say, I’m lucky to have a brother like you…the best brother, in the whole, wide world.  And…I love you.”

   An extra burst of light came into Hidama’s eyes, and he felt almost like crying, for Knuckles’ words were almost the exactly the same as the ones he spoke the last evening they were together.  Though his tears remained at bay, he closed his eyes just to suppress any that tried to form, and he replied, in a whisper, “Same to you, brother, I love you too.”

   But now, the tears of love, joy, and happiness had to be placed aside, for the mutant king decided now was the time to end it all forever.

   “Shadow…you nasty little pest, why do you help these two?  Truly, should you opt to swear your allegiance to the new master race, you’d be given a high seat of power, surpassed by only Shoban and I.  Why help these filthy and deceitful creatures?”

   Shadow growled low, crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and bowed his head.  He opened his eyes only a bit to look at his remaining chaos emerald, the red one.  He smiled a little, and again thought of Rouge, knowing she was alright, and this comforting him, he concealed his chaos emerald, closed his eyes, and allowed rage that he stored deep in his heart since he first met Hidama flood freely.

   He growled, looked up at Olermere and shouted, “You!  You think I am the foolish one!  You think Hinsei and Knuckles, their entire race!  You think then to be the filthy ones!  My God, you are in so much error, that if your error was a rain storm it would be enough to drown the world fifty times over!  No Olermere!  It is you who is the filthy and foolish one!  It is your despicable legion of mutants that are the filthy race, and now, if it is world domination and bloodshed you seek, then you’re gonna have to fight for it!”

   Shadow then let out a ferocious scream, one that none of the group had heard him utter before.  Sonic cringed, and glanced at Knuckles and Tails, whispering, “Ouch, sounds like Shadow just let out a lot of rage…rage that’s festered silently in his heart over a long time.  This should be one heck of a battle.”

   The echidna paid little attention to Sonic, looking instead with his brother at Olermere alone.  Hidama stepped a pace ahead of Shadow, glared at Olermere and said, “Your brother provided me with years of endless torture; he killed my father, and almost separated me from my brother forever.  Now, I intend to bring an end to this never-ending nightmare tonight!  So, Olermere, are you ready to fight?”

   As Knuckles stepped ahead of Shadow and beside Hidama, Olermere cackled low, and then wildly as another thunder clap rolled through the sky.  Again, he shouted, “Fools!  Seems we have no choice but to resolve our matters in spilled blood and the smell of death!  But one thing I can assure you, I…will not lose tonight!!” His voice boomed loudly as he uttered the last four words.  It came in time perfectly with another frightful clap of thunder, and burst of lightning streaks that flew across the sky and struck the earth around them.

   Shadow whispered to Hidama and Knuckles, “Lord Olermere is perhaps the strongest being to walk this earth, except for the echidna that exiled him and his brother…the first truly “doomed” guardian…your distant ancestor.”

   Hidama gasped, as he was bestowed the title, “doomed guardian” upon his birth, and until all this happened, never understood why.  Hidama looked at Olermere and said, “It’s all this hatred…all this lust for the Master Emerald, choking out all comprehension of the need for compassion and forgiveness.”  He closed his eyes, and thought, “Maybe all Olermere needs is to be forgiven…maybe all he needs is a little compassion in his misery…that had it been extended to them both so long ago…maybe…maybe our family would still be alive today…”

   But before Hidama could finish his thought, the mutants began to blow their trumpets wildly and shrilly; as Sonic, Tails, and the Brokenstar twins cringed and covered their ears, Shadow finished his thought, saying, “Knuckles!  Hidama!  Don’t worry so much with the small fry soldiers, for the rest of us can take then out easily!”

   Knuckles and Hidama looked at each other and nodded, then Shadow turned to them and said, “Be careful…please…seek out the captain, Captain Shoban, for once he is out of commission the legions will become scattered and weak.”

   Hidama nodded and said, “You be careful too Shadow, now let’s do this.”

   The hedgehog nodded, and not waiting a moment longer, Shadow let out a cry, then ran for Lord Olermere, yet instead of striking the mutant king, Shadow wielded his chaos emerald and disappeared from view.  Sonic grinned and said, “Let’s get this party started!”  Sonic then ripped into a spindash, gaining a large amount of speed then letting himself fly.  He roared through Olermere, knocking him to the ground, then tore through the first lines of mutant soldiers, killing many of them instantly from the force of the impact.  Tails followed Sonic using his own rapid spin to take out another batch.

   Just then, Shadow reappeared towards the center of the mass and started to attack.  While Lord Olermere was still on his back, Aranelion held Akrenar out before him and charged into the mutant army crying a war cry, with Elianaron wielding Tempest and Twilight and charging after his brother in the same fashion.

   Then, before Knuckles and Hidama could follow, Shoban appeared out of nowhere and struck Hidama in the back with a blow from his brass knuckles.  As Hidama fell to his knees, Knuckles whipped around and without a second of hesitation, he punched Shoban square in the jaw with his huge fist, driving his knuckle claws deep into Shoban, causing him to bleed profusely.  Knuckles was angry now, pumped with adrenaline and ready to battle.  He turned to see if Hidama was alright but before he could speak, Hidama had risen to his feet.

   “I’m alright,” he said as he smiled reassuringly at Knuckles.  He continued, “It’s gonna take a lot more than that to stop us, right?”  Knuckles nodded, and Hidama said, “Then let’s do this!”  The two brothers lunged for Captain Shoban, and the fight was on.  The rain began to pour heavily, the sun set behind the storm clouds, and eventually, the only light came from the deadly streaks of lightning that struck the ground all around the fray.

   And so the minutes turned into hours…and as the night and battle progressed the storm only worsened.  Angel Island rocked gently in the winds, and as the storm intensified, Rouge looked out with worried eyes across the plains, where she could see the chaos coming from the battle.  She sighed heavily, and pulled the sheers together over the windows, gazing at the green chaos emerald and whispering, “Please Shadow, be careful.  Oh please let this be over soon.”

   She was awakened from her concern for Shadow and the others by a cry from Amy.  Her labor had started, by this point, about five hours ago, and she was pretty quiet for the past two…after uttering another cry three hours ago, and now again she felt another labor pain.  Rouge hurried back to Amy’s bedroom and up to the side of the bed.  She knelt down beside it and took Amy’s hand, and asked, “Oh Amy, please, are you alright?  You’ve just got to try and hang in there…it—it won’t be much longer I’m sure.”

   Amy was breathing rather heavily and her breathing itself was slightly labored.  She looked at Rouge and said, “You’re right…it won’t be much longer…and I’m worried Knuckles might not have enough time to get back before then.”

   Rouge was taken aback; she looked around, unsure of what to say.  After a few moments she said, “Don’t think that way Amy…They’re gonna be alright.  Shadow’s going to see them through, and he’ll be back in plenty of time.  Knuckles will be back soon, and if I have to, I’ll go out there and get him myself.”

   A lone tear fell from Amy’s eyes, and a weak smile was on her face.  She looked to Rouge and said, “Oh Rouge…I—I just don’t know.  Hidama needs him to win this fight…and the last thing I’d want would be to take him from where he’s needed.”

   “But…but Amy, you need him…really badly it seems.” Rouge said.  But at this point, Amy was done talking for the time being, at least to Rouge.  She had her eyes closed, as if trying to sleep as it grew later at night, and Rouge didn’t try to disturb her.  She let go of Amy’s hand gently, and sat in an arm chair that sat near the bed, getting as comfortable as possible, and trying to rest her eyes.

   Unknown to her, Amy was staring at the wall away from Rouge, tears streaming from her eyes.  She felt her baby stir within her, and her heart ached.  She whispered, “Oh…Kn—Knuck—kles, please…win this battle please, but…I really need you…and soon.  I don’t know how much time there’s left to spare.”  She fell silent, and cried a bit longer before drifting into a very light sleep, only able to pray that everything would be alright.

   After a good three hours had passed, any progress that was made in the fight was only now beginning to have any bit of significance.  The small group of them, Sonic, Tails, Aranelion and Elianaron, plus Shadow, focused most of their time with the ten thousand soldiers, while Hidama and Knuckles fought with Shoban.

   They had taken out about two thousand or so soldiers at this point, and as Shadow recoiled from another attack, he was struck violently from behind by a thug of a soldier. He cried out in pain, and grabbed his arm, which now began to bleed profusely as it had been broken by the blow of the soldier’s spear.

   Sonic was nearby, and as another loud crash of thunder boomed, he was the only one who heard Shadow’s cries of pain.  Sonic growled and curled into a spindash, shouting, “You leave Shadow alone you wretch!  So help me I’ll kill you!”  He launched his attack and it plowed right through the mutant thug, hitting him dead on, and literally blowing him into pieces upon impact.

   He landed roughly after the attack, and was a bit shaken and dizzy.  Yet he felt an arm help him to his feet, and turned to see Shadow steadying him.  Shadow said, “Thanks for that, Sonic.  I was in danger big time back there, and that was an impressive display of strength.”

   Sonic shook his head and said, “Ugh, and a nasty one…that dude’s guts are everywhere.  Ick…anyway, are you alright Shadow?  How’s your arm?”

   “Never mind my arm right now Sonic!  We have bigger trouble; where’s King Olermere?” Shadow cried.

   After Sonic rubbed some blood and dirt from his face, his eyes widened in fear, for he couldn’t see the mutant king anywhere.  He cried out, “Tails!  Fly up!  Where did Olermere go!?”

   A good twenty feet away, Tails barely heard Sonic’s cries.  He looked and saw Shadow and Sonic were already forced to resume fighting, Shadow with a broken arm, and the fight only a little closer to ending than it was when it began.  Tails tried to take off and hover, but a mutant spear stabbed at his back, catching on his sweatshirt and dragging him back down.

   The fox cried out in pain and frustration, whipping his tails so he spun around before landing.  Still airborne, he thrust his legs around the mutant’s neck, using them to choke the soldier.  When the soldier finally dropped to the ground, dead, Tails fell to his knees, panting heavily.  He touched his back where the spear hit him, and when he looked again at his hand he saw his glove was stained with blood, and his ripped sweatshirt soaking it up.

   He cringed from pain, but said, “Sonic told me to look for Olermere, and look for him I will.  It’ll take more than a mutant’s spear to get me down!”  With that, Tails struggled to become airborne, and after a few moments, he was flying once more.  He looked all around the battle; he saw Aranelion and Elianaron fighting together, taking out mutants in large numbers at impressive speeds, the blades of their weapons singing as they struck their foes.  He saw Sonic and Shadow fighting tooth and nail as a large group surrounded them, and finally, his eyes fell on Hidama and Knuckles, who were struggling with Captain Shoban, but Olermere was nowhere to be seen…but…wait…

   The fox squinted his eyes as the rain pelted him, but in the shadows, a streak of lightning flashed to reveal Olermere using the cover of darkness to try and sneak off to Angel Island.  As the thunder crashed again, Tails flew towards Hidama and Knuckles and screamed, “Knuckles!  Hidama!  Behind you!  Olermere’s trying to get to Angel Island!”

   The echidnas flung Shoban to the ground once more, and whipped around to see Tails pointing towards Angel Island.  The lightning flashed wildly, a streak hitting the ground only a mile away from them, but as it did so, it illuminated Olermere once more, who turned to look at them, cackling wildly.  Their eyes widened, and as they turned to deal with Shoban they saw Tails knocked out of the sky by another mutant spear.

   “Tails!  Oh…my, my God, Tails!” Knuckles cried!  Before he could breathe another breath, he heard another cry, that of his brother, Hidama.  He whipped around and saw Shoban wielding a small knife, and aiming it at Hidama’s neck.  Hidama was holding Shoban at bay with one hand, and trying to turn away the knife with his other hand, but he was steadily losing his ground.  Knuckles cried out, “Hidama…no!!”

   Hidama glanced at his brother, and shouted, “No…I won’t, die today!”  His cries rang out like the roar of a hurricane, and he summoned as much strength as he could muster and then some, and lunged forward at Shoban.  With some newfound power, power that rested in his heart and awoke at his concern for Knuckles, he rapidly punched and kicked at Shoban than the mutant captain could handle.  He was quickly bloodied, bruised, and beaten, the tables turned for Hidama all too quickly.

   As Shoban fell to the ground, Hidama grabbed the knife from him, and said, “This is for my mother, who I witnessed being slain with a knife much like this, wielded by a mutant captain much like you.  Time to die, so go burn in hell for eternity!”  Hidama did not hesitate, and raised the knife in the air, and drove it into Shoban’s chest with frightening speed and power, the anger at the memory of his mother’s death fueling his rage like gasoline to a fire.

   Shoban’s cries as he died caused everyone to freeze.  Shadow and Sonic immediately looked in the direction of Hidama, and saw him standing up over a now dead Shoban.  The mutant captain wasn’t moving, and the knife he tried to kill Hidama with, was now sticking out of his chest, much like Hidama remembered his mother after she died.

   Olermere too now stopped and saw his captain dead.  The mutant king cried out in misery at seeing his captain dead, and now thundered to Shoban’s side.  Shadow cried for Knuckles and Hidama to move away, and Knuckles had to grab Hidama and pull him away before Olermere got to Shoban’s side.  The mutant army fell silent, and as Knuckles and Hidama stood a few feet away, Knuckles noticed his brother was crying.

   “Hidama, don’t tell me you feel sympathy for that loathsome creature,” he asked.

   Hidama looked at him, and though he cried for a different reason, he was starting to pity Olermere and the mutants, deep in his heart, and though they had no choice but to fight or die, he was beginning to wonder again if maybe forgiveness and kindness might be the answer.  He shook his head and whispered, “No Knuckles…I wasn’t going to say this…but mother…you know she was stabbed to death much like that…and, it just kinda chokes me up to remember it…seeing her die…that’s all.”

   The two brothers looked at each other and tried to smile, but their thoughts were broken by Olermere, who now loomed over them.  He paced towards them slowly, backing them close to a grove of trees, and now within two miles of Angel Island.  Shadow went pale; he said, “They…they can’t do it alone.”

   Sonic looked to Shadow, holding on to Shadow’s broken arm and said, “No way Shads, you’re hurt!  You’ll get killed if you try to fight him!”

   Shadow glared at Sonic and said, “No!  I mean, they will be killed if they don’t strike him together!  They have the same power of the very ancestor who banished Olermere and Feldmort, but it’s only when their strength is combined that they have any hope of defeating him!  I have to tell them that!”

   The two hedgehogs locked eyes, then looked back to Olermere and the brothers, who were now almost completely backed to the edge of a nearby forest.  Olermere growled menacingly, grunting and breathing heavily.  He said, “You…how DARE you!  How dare you kill my captain!  I’ll…I’ll have your bodies broken and crushed into a million pieces and your hearts ripped out and fed to snakes!  You two miserable brothers have been around long enough!  It’s time to eradicate you two for good and put an end to the dammed echidna race forever!  Prepare to die!”

   Knuckles clenched his fists and stood ready to fight, but Hidama was temporarily lost in thought.  He thought, “It’s not even about the Master Emerald anymore is it?  He merely wants the echidna race exterminated…all because my ancestors couldn’t extend a little care and forgiveness in his time of need as they did to everyone else in every instance.  Was it  really…our own lust for the Master Emerald that lead to the damming and exile of our own kin?  Did my ancestors really turn Feldmort and Olermere away because they felt the Master Emerald, not themselves, were threatened?  He only wants to kill me and Knuckles now…because he too is seeking revenge.  This is insane…if Knuckles and I kill him, we’ll be…no better than our own ancestors who started this mess.  But…if we don’t fight we die…oh what do we do?”

   “Hidama!  Look out!  Get out of the way quickly!” Knuckles cried.  Hidama was awoken from his thoughts as Olermere lunged for him with his brass knuckles.  Hidama jumped out of the way, and ran to Knuckles’ side.  Before the two could begin to discuss a plan of attack, Olermere whipped around and struck Knuckles head on, knocking him to the ground and creating a hole in the earth around him from the impact.

   It was now that Hidama lost all thoughts of any mercy whatsoever.  Whatever his ancestors exiled Olermere for, Hidama was fighting to protect his brother, and that made everything different now.  He growled low and shouted, “You keep away from my brother you fiend!  Damn you!”  Hidama ran with frightening speed and jumped on Olermere, who was now trying to take out Knuckles.  Once he got on Olermere’s back, he started kicking and punching him wildly, but the wounds his knuckle-claws created were no worse than pin-pricks to the mutant king.

   As the thunder crashed and lightning flashed, the rain pouring in torrents and the wind howling like a gale, the mutant soldiers went back to attacking the remaining five.  Shadow’s arm was hurting him badly, and he knew that the other four couldn’t take this battle much longer.  He knew if his magic could hurt them, the battle would be over by now.  Finally, his pain drove his rage off the meter, and he screamed out, “Enough of this!  It’s time to end this!”

   Sonic ran up to him, crying, “I can’t find Tails!  Where is he?”  Then, the cries of Aranelion being wounded and Elianaron trying his best to fend off the attack rang clear.  Not getting an answer from Shadow, Sonic ran to try and find his friend.

   Shadow was beginning to lose himself.  The pain from his arm, combined with his frustration and anger were fueling rage in his heart that burned more fiercely than that of Olermere’s.  Despite having a broken arm and several wounds in other places, he growled low, and again shouted, in timed and exaggerated screams, “Enough…of…this!!”

   Again the mutant soldiers froze, and all eyes fell on Shadow.  He was wielding his chaos emerald, and as he began to glow with a dark light around him, the Brokenstar twins gazed at him with wonder.  Elianaron was balancing his brother on his shoulders, and said, “Wow…but, wait, I thought Shadow said magic won’t hurt them.”

   Aranelion shook his head, cringed a bit, and then said, “He’s not using magic.  He’s going to use the power of the chaos emerald through his intensifying rage to increase his physical power ten-fold!  It’s almost like Feldmort was doing to Hidama…this is gonna be quite terrifying.  We better be careful, because while it increases his power so much, it’s also pretty hard for him to control.”

   Sonic too saw Shadow, and knew what was about to happen as he had seen what happened to Hidama in nearly the same situation.  He searched frantically for Tails.  But just then, Shadow gave out a bloodcurdling cry and struck like lightning at the mutants, zipping throughout the thousands of mutants still standing like an electrified atom.  As he hit the mutants, he destroyed a good one hundred with each blow, but again, his strike patterns were all left to chance, and Elianaron had to drag himself and Aranelion to safety as Shadow flew at the mutants around them.

   Again, Sonic was growing frantic trying to find Tails, and at last, he found his friend, wounded and breathing staggered breaths on the ground, lost among the bodies of mutants that had fallen.  Sonic was holding back tears, and tossed the dead bodies aside, pulling Tails into his arms.  “Oh no…Tails…hang in there buddy please…”  As he held Tails, he looked up, only to see Shadow’s attack heading right for them.  Sonic held Tails tightly and raced away, and seeing Elianaron waving for him, he took Tails and stood with the twins just beyond the battle.

   Elianaron looked and saw Tails, and said, “I know Sonic, Aranelion is badly injured too…don’t worry, once Shadow’s energy attack runs out they should all be dead, and then it’ll just take killing Olermere to end this.”  Sonic and Elianaron stood watching Shadow’s attack strike every mutant in sight, until at last, he killed the last group, and the attack wore off.

   They placed a now unconscious Aranelion and Tails next to each other within the line of nearby trees, and ran to help Shadow.  When they got to Shadow, he was holding his arm and cringing badly, more bloodied than before, and now his fur was singed from the heat of the energy of his rage-fueled attack.  He was clutching the chaos emerald close to his chest and murmuring, “Rouge…oh Rouge…I promised you I’d live…and I will.”

   Sonic knelt beside him and said, “What?  Oh…whatever…are you alright Shadow?  That was incredible!  You saved the day!”

   Elianaron stood beside them and said, “Not quite Sonic…I don’t think things are going too well for Hidama and Knuckles.  They’re in trouble!”

   Sonic helped Shadow rise to his feet.  Though exhausted all of Shadow’s concerned was placed on the lives of Hidama and Knuckles.  He shook his head, and murmured, “It’s no good; as long as they attack him one at a time…if they don’t attack him together…at the same time…if they don’t combine their power they’ll never win.  I must tell them.”

   As he tried to stagger away, Sonic grabbed hold of his good arm and cried, “Don’t Shadow!  You’re too badly injured to go over there!  Please don’t!  Let Elianaron and I go and tell them!”

   Shadow snapped his neck around and glared at Sonic.  He growled low and said, “Let go of my arm Sonic…now!”  When Sonic slowly released his grip on him, Shadow continued, in a low voice, “No…you two have someone you need to look after,” he said nodding at Tails and Aranelion.  He continued, “Those two…they’re who I need to look after…and until they come out of this alive and well, I must protect them as best I can.”

   Elianaron and Sonic looked at each other, and Elianaron, who knew how strongly Shadow felt about his position, nodded and smiled.  He said, “Go Shadow…they need you, and be careful.  We’ll be here to back you all up, okay?”  He started to pull on Sonic, and finally Sonic relented, and the two raced back to Tails and Aranelion.  Shadow nodded slowly and said, “Thank you Elianaron…you and your brother are the most deserving of all things good…and you and Tails as well, Sonic.  Except for…maybe,” he turned to look to Hidama and Knuckles, “Except for these two brothers, who deserve the good that their childhood wouldn’t let them have.”

   Shadow raced as fast as he could through the edge of the woods to get the message to Knuckles and Hidama.  As he got closer, he could see just how badly the battle was going.  Both brothers had numerous wounds, losing a considerable amount of blood all too fast, and were growing increasingly tired, while Olermere only suffered a few bruises and wounds that were no worse that pin pricks to him.

   What was wrong was, as Shadow said, was that the brothers were focusing on dividing their power and attacking separately.  One would attack and then the other would strike while Olermere was busy.  However things would quickly go awry as he’d immediately whip around to attack the other brother.  By the time Shadow got there, conditions were only deteriorating so far that they were almost beyond repair.

   Knuckles had rushed in to attack Olermere, but was quickly knocked back, this time with frightening power and consequences.  Knuckles flew with terrifying speed and force, crashing hard into an oak tree, right near where Shadow was walking, so close he could feel leaves falling off it as they hit him.  He ran to help Knuckles, but froze in horror as to what happened next.

   As Olermere knocked Knuckles back, Hidama rushed in for a sneak attack.  As Knuckles cried out in pain, his concentration was broken, causing him to cry out for Knuckles, and alerting the mutant king to his presence.  Before he could react, the mutant king lunged for Hidama, wrestling him into the ground and hitting him with combat skills even Hidama and Knuckles' father could not match.  Olermere was near to impossible to beat or defend against, and as Knuckles, now helped to his feet by Shadow, witnessed Hidama being flung to the ground, where he didn't move, it appeared for a fleeting moment that the echidnas were finally going to be beat.

   “Mwahaha!  Fools!  You may have beaten my cronies, even my dear brother Feldmort and his armies, but how dare you be foolish enough to think you can take me down!  Idiots!  Now it's time to finally kill you filthy brothers, and at last, vengeance will be mine!  The mutants will have finally destroyed you wretched echidnas forever!” Olermere, the mutant king, cried.

   He laughed viciously, and the lightning above them beginning to rage wildly as the streaks flashed across the sky, thunder crashed, and the rain poured, flying everywhere with the howling winds.  Knuckles began to weep, fearing the thought of losing his brother yet again, and perhaps permanently; he cried out to Olermere and shouted, “Quiet you!  Just shut up!  Get off your damn pedestal and earn your vengeance if you must have it!  I'll see you dead before I'll back down!”

   The mutant king glared at the echidna, as well as Shadow who stood beside him. Shadow whispered, “I cannot help you Knuckles; I’m injured far too badly, and this is yours and Hidama's battle.  However, I can tell you this: He is as skilled in the ways of combat you have come to know as the strongest of your ancestors, and that echidna was the one who banished the mutant race from your own kin; he was your direct ancestor, and thus that power flows through your veins, as well as Hidama's.  You two must work together to defeat him; attack together, not separate, or doom is the only outcome. Help each other; save yourselves, defeat your enemy for good, and let the souls of your loved ones be at rest at last.”

   Knuckles nodded slowly; he got up and ran to his brother's side. Hidama was breathing heavily, bleeding profusely, and still had not moved from where he was thrown down.  Knuckles knelt beside Hidama, feeling sick at the thought of losing Hidama in this way, and said, “Come on Hidama, just a bit more; You have to help me.  Please…for our family, our tribe…for…for…”

   Just then, Hidama raised his head, blood trickling between his eyes from a gash on his forehead and said, “For mother, and father, revenge…but most importantly…for each other.”  Knuckles looked at Hidama, and seeing the courage in Hidama's eyes Knuckles smiled, and Hidama returned it.  Extending his hand to Hidama, Knuckles helped his brother to his feet.  Though bloodied and bruised, as the lightning flashed overhead, the two turned to a now astonished Olermere, amazed that Hidama was even breathing, and stared him down.

   Hidama, his cape tattered, torn, and bloodstained, blowing in the howling gale, thrust his arm out, pointed at Olermere, narrowed his eyes and in an intense whisper, shouted, “It's time…," then, raising his voice to screaming, continued, "…to end this! Forever!”

   As Knuckles stood beside him and Shadow watched a few feet away, the lightning and thunder seemed to answer his proclamation in chorus and crashed and flashed wildly.  Shadow glanced to the east, where he knew the sun was fixing to rise in about an hour, and he whispered in prayer, “Please…may the souls of their fallen kindred see them through to the end…please, I pray you protect them.”

   The two brothers stood together ready to fight, ready to execute the final battle of this war, and they stood silent, waiting for Olermere to make his move.  At last, his voice quivering, he shouted, “If…if it’s a battle you want, it’s a battle you’ll get!  I’ll see you dead before the morning comes!”

   Knuckles grinned proudly, he whispered, “Don’t worry Hidama…he’s nothing without his flunkies to do his bidding.  He’ll go down in no time; this will be easy.”

   Hidama glanced at Knuckles, then returned his gaze to Olermere as the lightning illuminated his face once more.  To Hidama’s surprise, Olermere looked almost, devastated…on the verge of a breakdown and a flood of tears, and it wasn’t because he was losing the battle either.  Could it be that, Olermere was nursing a broken heart…an old wound returned to plague him as he was facing death from the very descendents of the echidna that started this nightmare?

   As much pain as he had endured, Hidama again realized that the acts of his ancestors weren’t any better than what Olermere was doing right now.  Of course the circumstances and transgressions involved were on opposite ends of the spectrum, but, Hidama didn’t know…he just felt like he was no better killing Olermere without pardoning him for his sins, than his ancestor was for banishing them over the Master Emerald in the first place.

   Yet as he and Knuckles stood together ready to battle, he was unsure of how exactly to extend forgiveness to this pitiful creature, and perhaps heal his wounds, as well as their own, and bring peace to everyone at last, before morning came...or someone died.

Description
"Love That Gives True Peace"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 9: "The Final Battle"

   As Knuckles ran north, he heard the thunder begin to crash violently above him, and the lightning streaks flash with even more ferocity.  He cringed as the storm bore down on him, but before he could begin to falter, he froze.  Up ahead he could see a dark wave streaking across the landscape, and he knew that this was indeed Olermere and his army racing to war…but…what about the four figures who ran just a few miles ahead of them?  “Hi—Hidama?” he whispered.  Taking a step forward and reaching out towards the figures, he continued, “My…my heavens…is it really you?”

   What Knuckles saw was indeed Hidama, the Brokenstar Twins, and Shadow racing for their lives towards Angel Island.  The mutant army was slowly over taking them, and with the five mile boundary from Angel Island so close, their hearts began to race; they knew a battle for life and death was soon to begin.

   But as Angel Island grew larger in the distance, Hidama saw a figure standing barely a mile ahead of him.  It was a red echidna, frozen in step, reaching out to him.  Hidama slowed his pace, coming to a stop, startling Shadow and the twins.  They stopped and ran back to him.  Aranelion and Elianaron pulled on Hidama, trying to get him to run, and Shadow cried, “Please Hidama!  Now is not the time to stop!  We must hurry!”

   Hidama slowly looked to Shadow and the twins and said, “It’s…there’s…my brother…”  He extended his arm to point in Knuckles’ direction.  He was as awe-struck as Knuckles.  Tears formed in his eyes, and tearing away from Aranelion and Elianaron, he cried out, “Knuckles!  I can’t believe it’s really you at long last!”  He raced with all the speed he could muster to meet Knuckles.

   Knuckles heard his brother’s cries, and at this point he knew this was indeed for real.  The last time he had seen Hidama his brother had been morphed into a killing machine, and later still he only saw Hidama free from that control in his dying moments.  With his brother so close, Knuckles could feel tears forming in his eyes too, and raced for Hidama, calling out to him, “It really is you Hidama!  Oh my…Hidama!”

   They raced with all the speed they could attain, and finally, on the point marking the five mile boundary from Angel Island, the two brothers met, flying into each other’s arms and embracing each other tightly as they wept out of sheer joy.

   Locked in a hug, both brothers wept heavily and hard; as Shadow and the Brokenstar Twins caught up with Hidama, they paused about fifteen feet away, in awe of the emotions coming from both of them at this moment.  After a minute or so, Knuckles, resting his head on Hidama’s shoulder, spoke, his voice shaky, “Oh…Hidama…I—I never thought I’d see you again…and not just after you escaped Feldmort…I mean, the night you were taken away.  I feel like my heart is ready to burst…I’m just so thankful you’re alive and back home after all these years…”

   Hidama took deep, staggered breaths to try and control his tears, to little success.  He managed a weak smile, hugging Knuckles tightly and replied, “I—I never thought I’d ever see Angel Island again…let alone be with the best brother in the world.  When I called for your soul to return, I thought I’d pass away…just to be here with you again…I’m paralyzed with happiness.”

   Shadow’s heart felt warm as he watched the brothers.  He whispered to himself, “At last Hinsei Hidama, son of the Guardian…I promised you I’d bring you safely home…and my heart overflows with happiness for you now that we have achieved that goal.”  Aranelion and Elianaron glanced at Shadow, and seeing that they were looking at him, he quickly frowned, and shouted to be heard over a howling gale that blew around them now.  “But this is no time to let our guard down!  The mutant army is almost here!”

   That last word of Shadow’s sentence was drowned by a loud crash of thunder and multi-limbed streaks of lightning flashing above them.  Knuckles and Hidama looked and saw the mutant army bearing down on them.  They still held on to each other, but Hidama looked at Knuckles and said, “Brother, now is not the time for celebration and sweet reunion.  First, we must fight.  We must protect our home, and finally bring closure to the deaths of our kindred, as well as the transgressions we’ve suffered as a result.  Fight with me Knuckles…let’s end this…together.”

   Knuckles looked at his brother; he felt this throat muscles tightening up on him, and he swallowed hard to try and loosen them up.  He nodded, and the brothers embraced each other tightly once more.  Knuckles pressed his face up tightly against Hidama’s chest and spoke, “Please Hidama, just promise me you’ll be alright until the end.  I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you don’t get taken away from me again.”

   Hidama smiled, resting his head against Knuckles, he whispered, “No Knuckles, I’m never leaving like that again.  You’re the best brother in the world, and you always will be.”

   Finally the brothers withdrew from each other, dispelling the last of their tears, and calling on all the strength and courage they could muster.  Hidama finally felt completely renewed and was ready to fight.  The look of determination returned to their faces, and they turned to face Shadow and the Brokenstar Twins, as well as the mutant army that was now closing in on them.

   Aranelion and Elianaron smiled, and Elianaron spoke for them saying, “Gosh Knuckles, it’s awesome to see you after all these years.  Gee, if Aranelion and I had known you were still alive we would have looked after you.”

   Knuckles managed a weak grin, and as the twins stood beside him and Knuckles, Shadow walked between the four of them and said, “I hate to break up happy reunions and strolls down ‘could’ve, would’ve, should’ve’ memory lane, but we’ve got a serious situation on our hands…and it’s only getting worse by the minute.”

   Once again a large clap of thunder followed Shadow’s statement, and a flash of lightning was now about the only source of light, as the light of the evening sun was now masked by the dark storm clouds, with night rapidly approaching.  This seemed to be the storm of the century; howling gales whipped around the group, and as the thunder rumbled ominously once more, a steady rain began to fall.

   The group of five turned to the mutant army; already they could see Olermere marching at the front of the brigade, a devilish grin on his face as the two echidna brothers came into view.  Hidama and Knuckles looked to each other, and took two steps ahead of the other three, standing side by side, Hidama’s cape whipping in the wind as the rain drenched them.

   Shadow stood behind them with Aranelion and Elianaron standing together beside him.  He put one hand on Hidama’s shoulder, the other on Knuckles’ and whispered, “Remember Hidama, magic is powerless against these foes.  You must rely on strength and physical prowess alone to win this fight.”

   Both Hidama and Knuckles turned to glance at Shadow, and Knuckles replied, “No, Hidama also has his brother to rely on, as I do.  We’ll get through this together…and we’ve always got you three behind us…right?”

   Shadow smiled a bit, and nodded.  Shadow said, “I’m ready to end this for good, as you are.”

   As Shadow stepped back, the Brokenstar Twins withdrew their weapons; Aranelion pointed Akrenar towards the sky and said, “You bet you have our support!  We’ll stand beside you forever Hidama, and you too Knuckles.  At last it’s time to avenge our father, and the echidnas forever!”

   Elianaron answered with a cheer, brandishing Tempest and Twilight.  Before the mutant army finished its march and the battle commence, they heard a familiar voice cry out to them.  “Waaaiiiitttt!!”

   Everyone turned to see Sonic and Tails finish their sprint from Angel Island.  Knuckles’ eyes widened and he said, “Sonic, Tails?  What on earth are you doing here?”

   Tails landed and panted to get his breath back, and Sonic bent over only a few moments to do the same, before looking at Knuckles with a grin and saying, “We couldn’t just sit around Knuckles.  We came to see if you needed our help in any way…or if somehow we could help Shadow or your brother, and when we got to Angel Island, Rouge sent us to help!  So yeah…here we are, and we’re ready to fight!  This whole thing with the mutants has gone far enough!”

   Tails, who was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt, pulled his hood over his head and replied, “You bet we are!  We’re gonna teach these mutants a lesson they won’t live to remember!”

   The arrival of Sonic and Tails somehow brought a deep well of courage, determination, and renewed enthusiasm to the hearts of everyone in the group.  Amazingly, despite the storm and lack of sunlight, Hidama’s eyes seemed to be sparkling from within.  He smiled and walked up to Sonic and Tails, saying, “It’s comforting to know my brother had such great, and caring friends as yourselves in my absence.  Now, let’s put an end to these mutants forever!”

   At last, there was no more speaking, and the thundering march stopped at last, with now only the thunder from the storm providing the fearful rumble.  They all turned to face their foe, seeing Shadow alone was already locked in a stare down with King Olermere.  His army, ten thousand strong, stood behind him, itching to kill, and taste blood.

   Hidama and Knuckles looked at each other once more, and then walked and stood right behind Shadow, side by side.  Knuckles looked at Hidama, and whispered, “I—I forgot to say this earlier, Hidama, and now I think…maybe I should.”

   As Aranelion and Elianaron stood beside Hidama, and Sonic and Tails stood next to Knuckles, Hidama looked to his brother and said, “What is it Knuckles?”

   Knuckles smiled, perhaps unlike he ever had after Hidama was taken away and his childhood lost forever, and whispered, “I meant to say, I’m lucky to have a brother like you…the best brother, in the whole, wide world.  And…I love you.”

   An extra burst of light came into Hidama’s eyes, and he felt almost like crying, for Knuckles’ words were almost the exactly the same as the ones he spoke the last evening they were together.  Though his tears remained at bay, he closed his eyes just to suppress any that tried to form, and he replied, in a whisper, “Same to you, brother, I love you too.”

   But now, the tears of love, joy, and happiness had to be placed aside, for the mutant king decided now was the time to end it all forever.

   “Shadow…you nasty little pest, why do you help these two?  Truly, should you opt to swear your allegiance to the new master race, you’d be given a high seat of power, surpassed by only Shoban and I.  Why help these filthy and deceitful creatures?”

   Shadow growled low, crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and bowed his head.  He opened his eyes only a bit to look at his remaining chaos emerald, the red one.  He smiled a little, and again thought of Rouge, knowing she was alright, and this comforting him, he concealed his chaos emerald, closed his eyes, and allowed rage that he stored deep in his heart since he first met Hidama flood freely.

   He growled, looked up at Olermere and shouted, “You!  You think I am the foolish one!  You think Hinsei and Knuckles, their entire race!  You think then to be the filthy ones!  My God, you are in so much error, that if your error was a rain storm it would be enough to drown the world fifty times over!  No Olermere!  It is you who is the filthy and foolish one!  It is your despicable legion of mutants that are the filthy race, and now, if it is world domination and bloodshed you seek, then you’re gonna have to fight for it!”

   Shadow then let out a ferocious scream, one that none of the group had heard him utter before.  Sonic cringed, and glanced at Knuckles and Tails, whispering, “Ouch, sounds like Shadow just let out a lot of rage…rage that’s festered silently in his heart over a long time.  This should be one heck of a battle.”

   The echidna paid little attention to Sonic, looking instead with his brother at Olermere alone.  Hidama stepped a pace ahead of Shadow, glared at Olermere and said, “Your brother provided me with years of endless torture; he killed my father, and almost separated me from my brother forever.  Now, I intend to bring an end to this never-ending nightmare tonight!  So, Olermere, are you ready to fight?”

   As Knuckles stepped ahead of Shadow and beside Hidama, Olermere cackled low, and then wildly as another thunder clap rolled through the sky.  Again, he shouted, “Fools!  Seems we have no choice but to resolve our matters in spilled blood and the smell of death!  But one thing I can assure you, I…will not lose tonight!!” His voice boomed loudly as he uttered the last four words.  It came in time perfectly with another frightful clap of thunder, and burst of lightning streaks that flew across the sky and struck the earth around them.

   Shadow whispered to Hidama and Knuckles, “Lord Olermere is perhaps the strongest being to walk this earth, except for the echidna that exiled him and his brother…the first truly “doomed” guardian…your distant ancestor.”

   Hidama gasped, as he was bestowed the title, “doomed guardian” upon his birth, and until all this happened, never understood why.  Hidama looked at Olermere and said, “It’s all this hatred…all this lust for the Master Emerald, choking out all comprehension of the need for compassion and forgiveness.”  He closed his eyes, and thought, “Maybe all Olermere needs is to be forgiven…maybe all he needs is a little compassion in his misery…that had it been extended to them both so long ago…maybe…maybe our family would still be alive today…”

   But before Hidama could finish his thought, the mutants began to blow their trumpets wildly and shrilly; as Sonic, Tails, and the Brokenstar twins cringed and covered their ears, Shadow finished his thought, saying, “Knuckles!  Hidama!  Don’t worry so much with the small fry soldiers, for the rest of us can take then out easily!”

   Knuckles and Hidama looked at each other and nodded, then Shadow turned to them and said, “Be careful…please…seek out the captain, Captain Shoban, for once he is out of commission the legions will become scattered and weak.”

   Hidama nodded and said, “You be careful too Shadow, now let’s do this.”

   The hedgehog nodded, and not waiting a moment longer, Shadow let out a cry, then ran for Lord Olermere, yet instead of striking the mutant king, Shadow wielded his chaos emerald and disappeared from view.  Sonic grinned and said, “Let’s get this party started!”  Sonic then ripped into a spindash, gaining a large amount of speed then letting himself fly.  He roared through Olermere, knocking him to the ground, then tore through the first lines of mutant soldiers, killing many of them instantly from the force of the impact.  Tails followed Sonic using his own rapid spin to take out another batch.

   Just then, Shadow reappeared towards the center of the mass and started to attack.  While Lord Olermere was still on his back, Aranelion held Akrenar out before him and charged into the mutant army crying a war cry, with Elianaron wielding Tempest and Twilight and charging after his brother in the same fashion.

   Then, before Knuckles and Hidama could follow, Shoban appeared out of nowhere and struck Hidama in the back with a blow from his brass knuckles.  As Hidama fell to his knees, Knuckles whipped around and without a second of hesitation, he punched Shoban square in the jaw with his huge fist, driving his knuckle claws deep into Shoban, causing him to bleed profusely.  Knuckles was angry now, pumped with adrenaline and ready to battle.  He turned to see if Hidama was alright but before he could speak, Hidama had risen to his feet.

   “I’m alright,” he said as he smiled reassuringly at Knuckles.  He continued, “It’s gonna take a lot more than that to stop us, right?”  Knuckles nodded, and Hidama said, “Then let’s do this!”  The two brothers lunged for Captain Shoban, and the fight was on.  The rain began to pour heavily, the sun set behind the storm clouds, and eventually, the only light came from the deadly streaks of lightning that struck the ground all around the fray.

   And so the minutes turned into hours…and as the night and battle progressed the storm only worsened.  Angel Island rocked gently in the winds, and as the storm intensified, Rouge looked out with worried eyes across the plains, where she could see the chaos coming from the battle.  She sighed heavily, and pulled the sheers together over the windows, gazing at the green chaos emerald and whispering, “Please Shadow, be careful.  Oh please let this be over soon.”

   She was awakened from her concern for Shadow and the others by a cry from Amy.  Her labor had started, by this point, about five hours ago, and she was pretty quiet for the past two…after uttering another cry three hours ago, and now again she felt another labor pain.  Rouge hurried back to Amy’s bedroom and up to the side of the bed.  She knelt down beside it and took Amy’s hand, and asked, “Oh Amy, please, are you alright?  You’ve just got to try and hang in there…it—it won’t be much longer I’m sure.”

   Amy was breathing rather heavily and her breathing itself was slightly labored.  She looked at Rouge and said, “You’re right…it won’t be much longer…and I’m worried Knuckles might not have enough time to get back before then.”

   Rouge was taken aback; she looked around, unsure of what to say.  After a few moments she said, “Don’t think that way Amy…They’re gonna be alright.  Shadow’s going to see them through, and he’ll be back in plenty of time.  Knuckles will be back soon, and if I have to, I’ll go out there and get him myself.”

   A lone tear fell from Amy’s eyes, and a weak smile was on her face.  She looked to Rouge and said, “Oh Rouge…I—I just don’t know.  Hidama needs him to win this fight…and the last thing I’d want would be to take him from where he’s needed.”

   “But…but Amy, you need him…really badly it seems.” Rouge said.  But at this point, Amy was done talking for the time being, at least to Rouge.  She had her eyes closed, as if trying to sleep as it grew later at night, and Rouge didn’t try to disturb her.  She let go of Amy’s hand gently, and sat in an arm chair that sat near the bed, getting as comfortable as possible, and trying to rest her eyes.

   Unknown to her, Amy was staring at the wall away from Rouge, tears streaming from her eyes.  She felt her baby stir within her, and her heart ached.  She whispered, “Oh…Kn—Knuck—kles, please…win this battle please, but…I really need you…and soon.  I don’t know how much time there’s left to spare.”  She fell silent, and cried a bit longer before drifting into a very light sleep, only able to pray that everything would be alright.

   After a good three hours had passed, any progress that was made in the fight was only now beginning to have any bit of significance.  The small group of them, Sonic, Tails, Aranelion and Elianaron, plus Shadow, focused most of their time with the ten thousand soldiers, while Hidama and Knuckles fought with Shoban.

   They had taken out about two thousand or so soldiers at this point, and as Shadow recoiled from another attack, he was struck violently from behind by a thug of a soldier. He cried out in pain, and grabbed his arm, which now began to bleed profusely as it had been broken by the blow of the soldier’s spear.

   Sonic was nearby, and as another loud crash of thunder boomed, he was the only one who heard Shadow’s cries of pain.  Sonic growled and curled into a spindash, shouting, “You leave Shadow alone you wretch!  So help me I’ll kill you!”  He launched his attack and it plowed right through the mutant thug, hitting him dead on, and literally blowing him into pieces upon impact.

   He landed roughly after the attack, and was a bit shaken and dizzy.  Yet he felt an arm help him to his feet, and turned to see Shadow steadying him.  Shadow said, “Thanks for that, Sonic.  I was in danger big time back there, and that was an impressive display of strength.”

   Sonic shook his head and said, “Ugh, and a nasty one…that dude’s guts are everywhere.  Ick…anyway, are you alright Shadow?  How’s your arm?”

   “Never mind my arm right now Sonic!  We have bigger trouble; where’s King Olermere?” Shadow cried.

   After Sonic rubbed some blood and dirt from his face, his eyes widened in fear, for he couldn’t see the mutant king anywhere.  He cried out, “Tails!  Fly up!  Where did Olermere go!?”

   A good twenty feet away, Tails barely heard Sonic’s cries.  He looked and saw Shadow and Sonic were already forced to resume fighting, Shadow with a broken arm, and the fight only a little closer to ending than it was when it began.  Tails tried to take off and hover, but a mutant spear stabbed at his back, catching on his sweatshirt and dragging him back down.

   The fox cried out in pain and frustration, whipping his tails so he spun around before landing.  Still airborne, he thrust his legs around the mutant’s neck, using them to choke the soldier.  When the soldier finally dropped to the ground, dead, Tails fell to his knees, panting heavily.  He touched his back where the spear hit him, and when he looked again at his hand he saw his glove was stained with blood, and his ripped sweatshirt soaking it up.

   He cringed from pain, but said, “Sonic told me to look for Olermere, and look for him I will.  It’ll take more than a mutant’s spear to get me down!”  With that, Tails struggled to become airborne, and after a few moments, he was flying once more.  He looked all around the battle; he saw Aranelion and Elianaron fighting together, taking out mutants in large numbers at impressive speeds, the blades of their weapons singing as they struck their foes.  He saw Sonic and Shadow fighting tooth and nail as a large group surrounded them, and finally, his eyes fell on Hidama and Knuckles, who were struggling with Captain Shoban, but Olermere was nowhere to be seen…but…wait…

   The fox squinted his eyes as the rain pelted him, but in the shadows, a streak of lightning flashed to reveal Olermere using the cover of darkness to try and sneak off to Angel Island.  As the thunder crashed again, Tails flew towards Hidama and Knuckles and screamed, “Knuckles!  Hidama!  Behind you!  Olermere’s trying to get to Angel Island!”

   The echidnas flung Shoban to the ground once more, and whipped around to see Tails pointing towards Angel Island.  The lightning flashed wildly, a streak hitting the ground only a mile away from them, but as it did so, it illuminated Olermere once more, who turned to look at them, cackling wildly.  Their eyes widened, and as they turned to deal with Shoban they saw Tails knocked out of the sky by another mutant spear.

   “Tails!  Oh…my, my God, Tails!” Knuckles cried!  Before he could breathe another breath, he heard another cry, that of his brother, Hidama.  He whipped around and saw Shoban wielding a small knife, and aiming it at Hidama’s neck.  Hidama was holding Shoban at bay with one hand, and trying to turn away the knife with his other hand, but he was steadily losing his ground.  Knuckles cried out, “Hidama…no!!”

   Hidama glanced at his brother, and shouted, “No…I won’t, die today!”  His cries rang out like the roar of a hurricane, and he summoned as much strength as he could muster and then some, and lunged forward at Shoban.  With some newfound power, power that rested in his heart and awoke at his concern for Knuckles, he rapidly punched and kicked at Shoban than the mutant captain could handle.  He was quickly bloodied, bruised, and beaten, the tables turned for Hidama all too quickly.

   As Shoban fell to the ground, Hidama grabbed the knife from him, and said, “This is for my mother, who I witnessed being slain with a knife much like this, wielded by a mutant captain much like you.  Time to die, so go burn in hell for eternity!”  Hidama did not hesitate, and raised the knife in the air, and drove it into Shoban’s chest with frightening speed and power, the anger at the memory of his mother’s death fueling his rage like gasoline to a fire.

   Shoban’s cries as he died caused everyone to freeze.  Shadow and Sonic immediately looked in the direction of Hidama, and saw him standing up over a now dead Shoban.  The mutant captain wasn’t moving, and the knife he tried to kill Hidama with, was now sticking out of his chest, much like Hidama remembered his mother after she died.

   Olermere too now stopped and saw his captain dead.  The mutant king cried out in misery at seeing his captain dead, and now thundered to Shoban’s side.  Shadow cried for Knuckles and Hidama to move away, and Knuckles had to grab Hidama and pull him away before Olermere got to Shoban’s side.  The mutant army fell silent, and as Knuckles and Hidama stood a few feet away, Knuckles noticed his brother was crying.

   “Hidama, don’t tell me you feel sympathy for that loathsome creature,” he asked.

   Hidama looked at him, and though he cried for a different reason, he was starting to pity Olermere and the mutants, deep in his heart, and though they had no choice but to fight or die, he was beginning to wonder again if maybe forgiveness and kindness might be the answer.  He shook his head and whispered, “No Knuckles…I wasn’t going to say this…but mother…you know she was stabbed to death much like that…and, it just kinda chokes me up to remember it…seeing her die…that’s all.”

   The two brothers looked at each other and tried to smile, but their thoughts were broken by Olermere, who now loomed over them.  He paced towards them slowly, backing them close to a grove of trees, and now within two miles of Angel Island.  Shadow went pale; he said, “They…they can’t do it alone.”

   Sonic looked to Shadow, holding on to Shadow’s broken arm and said, “No way Shads, you’re hurt!  You’ll get killed if you try to fight him!”

   Shadow glared at Sonic and said, “No!  I mean, they will be killed if they don’t strike him together!  They have the same power of the very ancestor who banished Olermere and Feldmort, but it’s only when their strength is combined that they have any hope of defeating him!  I have to tell them that!”

   The two hedgehogs locked eyes, then looked back to Olermere and the brothers, who were now almost completely backed to the edge of a nearby forest.  Olermere growled menacingly, grunting and breathing heavily.  He said, “You…how DARE you!  How dare you kill my captain!  I’ll…I’ll have your bodies broken and crushed into a million pieces and your hearts ripped out and fed to snakes!  You two miserable brothers have been around long enough!  It’s time to eradicate you two for good and put an end to the dammed echidna race forever!  Prepare to die!”

   Knuckles clenched his fists and stood ready to fight, but Hidama was temporarily lost in thought.  He thought, “It’s not even about the Master Emerald anymore is it?  He merely wants the echidna race exterminated…all because my ancestors couldn’t extend a little care and forgiveness in his time of need as they did to everyone else in every instance.  Was it  really…our own lust for the Master Emerald that lead to the damming and exile of our own kin?  Did my ancestors really turn Feldmort and Olermere away because they felt the Master Emerald, not themselves, were threatened?  He only wants to kill me and Knuckles now…because he too is seeking revenge.  This is insane…if Knuckles and I kill him, we’ll be…no better than our own ancestors who started this mess.  But…if we don’t fight we die…oh what do we do?”

   “Hidama!  Look out!  Get out of the way quickly!” Knuckles cried.  Hidama was awoken from his thoughts as Olermere lunged for him with his brass knuckles.  Hidama jumped out of the way, and ran to Knuckles’ side.  Before the two could begin to discuss a plan of attack, Olermere whipped around and struck Knuckles head on, knocking him to the ground and creating a hole in the earth around him from the impact.

   It was now that Hidama lost all thoughts of any mercy whatsoever.  Whatever his ancestors exiled Olermere for, Hidama was fighting to protect his brother, and that made everything different now.  He growled low and shouted, “You keep away from my brother you fiend!  Damn you!”  Hidama ran with frightening speed and jumped on Olermere, who was now trying to take out Knuckles.  Once he got on Olermere’s back, he started kicking and punching him wildly, but the wounds his knuckle-claws created were no worse than pin-pricks to the mutant king.

   As the thunder crashed and lightning flashed, the rain pouring in torrents and the wind howling like a gale, the mutant soldiers went back to attacking the remaining five.  Shadow’s arm was hurting him badly, and he knew that the other four couldn’t take this battle much longer.  He knew if his magic could hurt them, the battle would be over by now.  Finally, his pain drove his rage off the meter, and he screamed out, “Enough of this!  It’s time to end this!”

   Sonic ran up to him, crying, “I can’t find Tails!  Where is he?”  Then, the cries of Aranelion being wounded and Elianaron trying his best to fend off the attack rang clear.  Not getting an answer from Shadow, Sonic ran to try and find his friend.

   Shadow was beginning to lose himself.  The pain from his arm, combined with his frustration and anger were fueling rage in his heart that burned more fiercely than that of Olermere’s.  Despite having a broken arm and several wounds in other places, he growled low, and again shouted, in timed and exaggerated screams, “Enough…of…this!!”

   Again the mutant soldiers froze, and all eyes fell on Shadow.  He was wielding his chaos emerald, and as he began to glow with a dark light around him, the Brokenstar twins gazed at him with wonder.  Elianaron was balancing his brother on his shoulders, and said, “Wow…but, wait, I thought Shadow said magic won’t hurt them.”

   Aranelion shook his head, cringed a bit, and then said, “He’s not using magic.  He’s going to use the power of the chaos emerald through his intensifying rage to increase his physical power ten-fold!  It’s almost like Feldmort was doing to Hidama…this is gonna be quite terrifying.  We better be careful, because while it increases his power so much, it’s also pretty hard for him to control.”

   Sonic too saw Shadow, and knew what was about to happen as he had seen what happened to Hidama in nearly the same situation.  He searched frantically for Tails.  But just then, Shadow gave out a bloodcurdling cry and struck like lightning at the mutants, zipping throughout the thousands of mutants still standing like an electrified atom.  As he hit the mutants, he destroyed a good one hundred with each blow, but again, his strike patterns were all left to chance, and Elianaron had to drag himself and Aranelion to safety as Shadow flew at the mutants around them.

   Again, Sonic was growing frantic trying to find Tails, and at last, he found his friend, wounded and breathing staggered breaths on the ground, lost among the bodies of mutants that had fallen.  Sonic was holding back tears, and tossed the dead bodies aside, pulling Tails into his arms.  “Oh no…Tails…hang in there buddy please…”  As he held Tails, he looked up, only to see Shadow’s attack heading right for them.  Sonic held Tails tightly and raced away, and seeing Elianaron waving for him, he took Tails and stood with the twins just beyond the battle.

   Elianaron looked and saw Tails, and said, “I know Sonic, Aranelion is badly injured too…don’t worry, once Shadow’s energy attack runs out they should all be dead, and then it’ll just take killing Olermere to end this.”  Sonic and Elianaron stood watching Shadow’s attack strike every mutant in sight, until at last, he killed the last group, and the attack wore off.

   They placed a now unconscious Aranelion and Tails next to each other within the line of nearby trees, and ran to help Shadow.  When they got to Shadow, he was holding his arm and cringing badly, more bloodied than before, and now his fur was singed from the heat of the energy of his rage-fueled attack.  He was clutching the chaos emerald close to his chest and murmuring, “Rouge…oh Rouge…I promised you I’d live…and I will.”

   Sonic knelt beside him and said, “What?  Oh…whatever…are you alright Shadow?  That was incredible!  You saved the day!”

   Elianaron stood beside them and said, “Not quite Sonic…I don’t think things are going too well for Hidama and Knuckles.  They’re in trouble!”

   Sonic helped Shadow rise to his feet.  Though exhausted all of Shadow’s concerned was placed on the lives of Hidama and Knuckles.  He shook his head, and murmured, “It’s no good; as long as they attack him one at a time…if they don’t attack him together…at the same time…if they don’t combine their power they’ll never win.  I must tell them.”

   As he tried to stagger away, Sonic grabbed hold of his good arm and cried, “Don’t Shadow!  You’re too badly injured to go over there!  Please don’t!  Let Elianaron and I go and tell them!”

   Shadow snapped his neck around and glared at Sonic.  He growled low and said, “Let go of my arm Sonic…now!”  When Sonic slowly released his grip on him, Shadow continued, in a low voice, “No…you two have someone you need to look after,” he said nodding at Tails and Aranelion.  He continued, “Those two…they’re who I need to look after…and until they come out of this alive and well, I must protect them as best I can.”

   Elianaron and Sonic looked at each other, and Elianaron, who knew how strongly Shadow felt about his position, nodded and smiled.  He said, “Go Shadow…they need you, and be careful.  We’ll be here to back you all up, okay?”  He started to pull on Sonic, and finally Sonic relented, and the two raced back to Tails and Aranelion.  Shadow nodded slowly and said, “Thank you Elianaron…you and your brother are the most deserving of all things good…and you and Tails as well, Sonic.  Except for…maybe,” he turned to look to Hidama and Knuckles, “Except for these two brothers, who deserve the good that their childhood wouldn’t let them have.”

   Shadow raced as fast as he could through the edge of the woods to get the message to Knuckles and Hidama.  As he got closer, he could see just how badly the battle was going.  Both brothers had numerous wounds, losing a considerable amount of blood all too fast, and were growing increasingly tired, while Olermere only suffered a few bruises and wounds that were no worse that pin pricks to him.

   What was wrong was, as Shadow said, was that the brothers were focusing on dividing their power and attacking separately.  One would attack and then the other would strike while Olermere was busy.  However things would quickly go awry as he’d immediately whip around to attack the other brother.  By the time Shadow got there, conditions were only deteriorating so far that they were almost beyond repair.

   Knuckles had rushed in to attack Olermere, but was quickly knocked back, this time with frightening power and consequences.  Knuckles flew with terrifying speed and force, crashing hard into an oak tree, right near where Shadow was walking, so close he could feel leaves falling off it as they hit him.  He ran to help Knuckles, but froze in horror as to what happened next.

   As Olermere knocked Knuckles back, Hidama rushed in for a sneak attack.  As Knuckles cried out in pain, his concentration was broken, causing him to cry out for Knuckles, and alerting the mutant king to his presence.  Before he could react, the mutant king lunged for Hidama, wrestling him into the ground and hitting him with combat skills even Hidama and Knuckles' father could not match.  Olermere was near to impossible to beat or defend against, and as Knuckles, now helped to his feet by Shadow, witnessed Hidama being flung to the ground, where he didn't move, it appeared for a fleeting moment that the echidnas were finally going to be beat.

   “Mwahaha!  Fools!  You may have beaten my cronies, even my dear brother Feldmort and his armies, but how dare you be foolish enough to think you can take me down!  Idiots!  Now it's time to finally kill you filthy brothers, and at last, vengeance will be mine!  The mutants will have finally destroyed you wretched echidnas forever!” Olermere, the mutant king, cried.

   He laughed viciously, and the lightning above them beginning to rage wildly as the streaks flashed across the sky, thunder crashed, and the rain poured, flying everywhere with the howling winds.  Knuckles began to weep, fearing the thought of losing his brother yet again, and perhaps permanently; he cried out to Olermere and shouted, “Quiet you!  Just shut up!  Get off your damn pedestal and earn your vengeance if you must have it!  I'll see you dead before I'll back down!”

   The mutant king glared at the echidna, as well as Shadow who stood beside him. Shadow whispered, “I cannot help you Knuckles; I’m injured far too badly, and this is yours and Hidama's battle.  However, I can tell you this: He is as skilled in the ways of combat you have come to know as the strongest of your ancestors, and that echidna was the one who banished the mutant race from your own kin; he was your direct ancestor, and thus that power flows through your veins, as well as Hidama's.  You two must work together to defeat him; attack together, not separate, or doom is the only outcome. Help each other; save yourselves, defeat your enemy for good, and let the souls of your loved ones be at rest at last.”

   Knuckles nodded slowly; he got up and ran to his brother's side. Hidama was breathing heavily, bleeding profusely, and still had not moved from where he was thrown down.  Knuckles knelt beside Hidama, feeling sick at the thought of losing Hidama in this way, and said, “Come on Hidama, just a bit more; You have to help me.  Please…for our family, our tribe…for…for…”

   Just then, Hidama raised his head, blood trickling between his eyes from a gash on his forehead and said, “For mother, and father, revenge…but most importantly…for each other.”  Knuckles looked at Hidama, and seeing the courage in Hidama's eyes Knuckles smiled, and Hidama returned it.  Extending his hand to Hidama, Knuckles helped his brother to his feet.  Though bloodied and bruised, as the lightning flashed overhead, the two turned to a now astonished Olermere, amazed that Hidama was even breathing, and stared him down.

   Hidama, his cape tattered, torn, and bloodstained, blowing in the howling gale, thrust his arm out, pointed at Olermere, narrowed his eyes and in an intense whisper, shouted, “It's time…," then, raising his voice to screaming, continued, "…to end this! Forever!”

   As Knuckles stood beside him and Shadow watched a few feet away, the lightning and thunder seemed to answer his proclamation in chorus and crashed and flashed wildly.  Shadow glanced to the east, where he knew the sun was fixing to rise in about an hour, and he whispered in prayer, “Please…may the souls of their fallen kindred see them through to the end…please, I pray you protect them.”

   The two brothers stood together ready to fight, ready to execute the final battle of this war, and they stood silent, waiting for Olermere to make his move.  At last, his voice quivering, he shouted, “If…if it’s a battle you want, it’s a battle you’ll get!  I’ll see you dead before the morning comes!”

   Knuckles grinned proudly, he whispered, “Don’t worry Hidama…he’s nothing without his flunkies to do his bidding.  He’ll go down in no time; this will be easy.”

   Hidama glanced at Knuckles, then returned his gaze to Olermere as the lightning illuminated his face once more.  To Hidama’s surprise, Olermere looked almost, devastated…on the verge of a breakdown and a flood of tears, and it wasn’t because he was losing the battle either.  Could it be that, Olermere was nursing a broken heart…an old wound returned to plague him as he was facing death from the very descendents of the echidna that started this nightmare?

   As much pain as he had endured, Hidama again realized that the acts of his ancestors weren’t any better than what Olermere was doing right now.  Of course the circumstances and transgressions involved were on opposite ends of the spectrum, but, Hidama didn’t know…he just felt like he was no better killing Olermere without pardoning him for his sins, than his ancestor was for banishing them over the Master Emerald in the first place.

   Yet as he and Knuckles stood together ready to battle, he was unsure of how exactly to extend forgiveness to this pitiful creature, and perhaps heal his wounds, as well as their own, and bring peace to everyone at last, before morning came...or someone died.