Chapter 18 - Checkmate

Ekyt charged ahead, aiming to finish the fight himself. He navigated through Robotnik and Shadow’s defenses, easily outpacing them. There was Shadow and the fat man himself. Ekyt sped up and slammed into the two of them. Robotnik hit the wall hard, while Shadow turned around in the air. “You! I should have known only a human would be foolish enough to face me!” Ekyt didn’t answer. His face was grim with concentration, as he attacked. The two dueled; in a way, it was a vulgar dance of sorts. Ekyt snap-kicked Shadow in the stomach just as Shadow landed a hard punch to the side of the face. Ekyt ducked under it and aimed for Shadow’s stomach; Shadow dodged backward a swung a leg around toward Ekyt’s head. Ekyt leaned back and rolled forward, his arm coming up just as Shadow’s was coming down. Their elbows cracked together, forcing both participants to roll away.



S: I see you’ve been training. But where are your backups?

E:What are you getting at?

S:You always have someone to bail you out. We’ve fought hundreds of times, and that’s always been the case.

E:Really? And I suppose you don’t count robotic minions as backup?

S: Shadow sneered. I never cared about honor. I only care about getting the job done. And right now, you are in the way of that!

Shadow surged forward. Ekyt put up his hands in defense and swept to the side.

The huge chamber they were dueling in was an old church. Broken stained-glass windows leaked in light. The rest of the room was dark. The pews that had once sat families were destroyed and splintered, their dark wood forming daggers. A blood-red carpet decorated the floor, and banners, once extolling virtues, now extolled Shadow.

Shadow landed a savate kick to Ekyt face, and followed up immediately with a bone-cracking slash to Ekyt’s stomach. Blood rained freely from Ekyt’s nose. He was on one knee, catching his breath. I couldn’t do it. Are they right? I’m worthless…With that, Shadow grabbed Ekyt by his coat lapels, and held him up against a beam.

Did you really think you could do it? Did you honestly believe I would just go away? You proved a worth opponent, I’m not above conceding that. But did you really, truly believe that you, a human, could defeat an ultimate life form.

…

You and those pathetic freedom fighters. Ha! Belmont couldn’t finish of Dracula, and you couldn’t finish me.
…

Speechless? I’ll make you a deal. You become my servant. And Lien-Da’s. You give your life to my empire, and I spare your life.

Could he be right? It’s not like I haven’t thought I’ve been playing for the wrong side. They don’t appreciate me…No! That can’t be right!

I’ll even let that dog that you call your wife come with you. Eventually, all your loser friends will be dead, or roboticized, or agree to my cause! You can’t hope to win!

Ekyt was enraged by the threat, and his hands found Shadow’s throat. “Go to hell Shadow. I’ll never bow to you. I’d rather die than forsake my cause!” The two were in a stalemate, before Shadow displayed his true strength. He threw Ekyt into the balcony. He landed hard. He got up slowly. Shadow chaos-controlled behind him; grabbed him around the neck and waist, and threw him into the giant bell that hung in the rafters. It rang, and it felt to Ekyt as thought it rang inside his head. In a haze, he grabbed the rope and climbed down, aware that a fall from that height would kill him.

Shadow followed with chaos control again, and he follwed up even more viciously. Using chaos control, he threw Ekyt into the seats. The splinters pierced his flesh with daggers. Shadow smiled. He raised his hand. “Chaos Spear!” Ekyt was now stabbed from both sides. Shadow raised his hand for the final blow, when the window EXPLODED!

A plane, old and bearing the old Freedom Fighter Crest, divebombed Shadow, dropping off two of it’s passengers. Kyle and Tracey (Shadowthe_Hedgehog) landed side by side. Kyle started toward Shadow while Tracey pulled Ekyt off the spikes.

Shadow laughed. “You expect to defeat me? After I crushed your leader?” Kyle smiled wickedly. “No way Unc. I don’t need to beat you. I just need some good aim.” Kyle fired a chaos blast at the ceiling. The power ate away at the beam, which crashed down on Shadow. A chaos emerald flew from his hand. Kyle scooped it up. “Thanks. See you at the Christmas party.” The plane took off, leaving a barely-concious Shadow to wonder what just happened.

Ekyt was fine, just in a lot of pain, and a little dizzy from the blood loss. Sally called him to her chambers, where he had to debrief. “What came over you?” she asked, shaking her head. “I’ve been made fun of, bullied, I haven’t been excepted. I had to do something.” “You nearly got yourself killed!” she exclaimed. Ekyt was depressed, more than before, and answered with a flat “Happens all the time.” Sally shook her head. “You’re one of the most loyal Freedom Fighters we have. I don’t want to lose your abilities in a fruitless fight! We’re not ready to take on Shadow!” Sally was being kind, but Ekyt heard something else, and he spoke up. “So, you didn’t think I could do it either?” Sally looked taken aback. “No! But if you, Sonic, and Knuckles couldn’t finish Shadow, why would you think you could on your own?” Ekyt bowed silently and left, furious with himself for being an idiot.

He walked slowly back toward the floating island, not sure he wanted to go that way. It was no longer the vibrant paradise it had been. It was now charred with flames of war.

Ekyt felt the scar on his leg. To him, it was a memory of his ineptitude. The fight would go on, and Ekyt knew he’d be back in it. But for now, he needed to regroup mentally and physically.

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