Previously...

"You are alone, Shadow!"

Shadow gritted his teeth. He was. And it had always sufficed.

The black hedgehog had to bite back a scream as another blast of dark lightning seared his shoulder, Black Doom's laugh ringing in his ear.

"I told you, wars are won with armies!" Black Doom bellowed. "But you never were a leader, were you, Shadow?! You never had what it took to be a king! A sick, lonely freak you were, with only a wretched slave for company – and that is why your rebellion will fail!" The voice of the alien king thundered across the howls of the storm and the crackling of his dark lightning, "People would not follow you even if you had the last torch in a world of darkness!"

It shouldn't have hurt so much.

Logically, Shadow knew that Black Doom was talking about the other Shadow – but that didn't mean his words weren't just as true. Shadow knew he was a freak, never as comfortable with people like Sonic was. But because he had always been able to trust in his own strength, it had never been a reason to despair.

Only now it seemed that this failing would also lead to his death.

Sonic wouldn't be able to help him this time. The blue hedgehog was on the other side of the battlefield and would never be able to make it- even if it was the same situation as the last time. A lance of black death, hurtling towards him, and he hadn't been able to leap in time, his energy too low and his muscles screaming in pain too loudly to save himself.

His last thought before the lance would hit was a last, desperate plea to anyone who was listening that Sonic was faring far better in his fights than he.

Chapter 56: Knightfall

"Don't you dare to hurt the Prince!"

The voice was light, and shrill, and seemed to belong to a child or a woman, but there was nothing weak or feminine about the way the blade cut through Black Doom's magic like a sword through a body. Shadow's red eyes were almost as wide as the alien king's when the black lance meant to end him was intercepted, sliced in two to fizzle out powerlessly, and the daughter of the chief of the echidnas dropped down in front of him, her chaos-charged blades glowing in her hands.

"Lara-Su?" Shadow croaked, still a bit disbelieving as he tried to regain his composure, more so as her brother also dropped from the air and stood between him and Black Doom. Knuckles nodded at him.

"Sonic asked her to help you," the son of the guardian said. "I fear I may not know as much of Chaos magic as you do, but I came along to aid you both."

"Black Doom! I heard your words and I challenge them!" Lara-Su's voice cut across them again, the younger echidna now facing the dark king and sounding a lot like Sonic had earlier in her straight-out defiance and righteous indignation. "Prince Shadow certainly does not fight alone! I fight with him!"

Knuckles stepped forward as well. "And the tribe of echidnas stands at his side."

There was one part of Shadow that had the distinct urge to ask whether there was a dwarf around to offer him his axe as well, but a bigger part of him couldn't, mostly because his mouth at once felt much too dry. Fortunately, Black Doom seemed to have no such trouble.

"What, assistance?!" the alien king spat the words. "Even with three of you, you will not stand a chance! It simply ensures you won't die alone, Shadow!" he sneered, but those seconds had been all it took for the Ultimate Lifeform to recover from the utter surprise that was someone else – well, someone other than Sonic, at any rate – someone else endangering his life for him.

He knew Sonic had changed him, influenced the way others saw them when he was around, but he had never realized how much.

Shadow shook his head and strode forward, planting himself securely in between Knuckles and Lara-Su, feeling confident enough again to smirk right back at his 'father'.

"You will kill us all three? Is that so?" he asked, briefly glancing to where brother and sister were flanking him. And maybe it was only exhaustion, adrenaline and stress playing tricks on his overtaxed senses but...

Just for a moment, Shadow couldn't help but almost see not two echidnas, but instead a fleet-footed bat and a warlord's robot creation gone rogue at his side. And even if Shadow knew they actually weren't, it didn't matter because it still meant that the fastest Lifeform in existence had just received the allegiance from one ally who could lift herself in the air and dive down deadly, and another one who could destroy mountains...

Somewhere fanfares sounded, perhaps signalling the arrival of yet another army that could be Aleena's, but Shadow wouldn't have needed those to feel like luck had finally changed.

The Ultimate Lifeform looked straight up at Black Doom, eyes blazing even brighter than before.

"There are many who said that before facing Team Dark."

xxx

"Well, that was some impressive swordsmanship, I grant you that," Scourge purred. Then his lips parted into a mocking smile, revealing sharp teeth as he did so. "Too bad it didn't seem to help you much in the end, did it, blue...?" he asked, and this time, Sonic had to force himself not to react as he could feel the other's breath ghosting across his face. He couldn't even swallow properly, because that would have driven the blade pressed against his jugular only deeper into his skin, perhaps even already drawing blood. And the green hedgehog, easily straddling him and holding his wrists captive with his free hand, one knee driven painfully down onto Sonic's right thigh, the other between them, forcing blue legs apart, seemed to be perfectly aware of that.

Sonic the Hedgehog was starting to classify this situation as A Bit Not Good. He scowled up at his captor.

"You won because I got distracted."

"Really gonna go for that excuse, pet?" Scourge gave him a disparaging, sly smile. "I'd say I won because I'm simply better."

Sonic glared at him. It had been a weak protest on his part, he knew that himself, but he had had to say something, because the alternative was that he would have to stop and think and consider how horribly he'd messed this up.

Even if Scourge was doing his best to drive it home anyway.

"Hmm, you seem a lot more...pliant than the last time. Has your body learned its place, I wonder?" the green hedgehog purred above him, bending his face a bit lower to Sonic's, his knee between blue thighs nudging forward while he let the tip of his sword travel down from the hollow of the collared hedgehog's throat over his belly and abdomen. Sonic wanted to buck so badly, throw off the nightmare mirror image kneeling above him and touching him so possessively it made him sick. But apart from still having his hands immobilized, he was too acutely aware of the point of Scourge's sword pressing into him just below his navel, the green arm holding it raised and drawn back, letting the hero of Mobius know he could be driven into and impaled at a moment's notice if he gave Scourge enough reason to.

"If I didn't know better, I'd almost say..." A feral grin spread across Scourge's face again, bright blue eyes lighting up with wicked glee. "You have been touched, haven't you? Since I last saw you. When you were chained in the dungeons, your master had his way with you." The green hedgehog's tone seemed to become ever more amused at the obvious anger flashing in his captive's eyes at the choice of his words.

"I can feel it in every little way you react now, babe," Scourge whispered in Sonic's ear, deliberately bringing their bodies even closer together, able to feel every single muscle in the collared hedgehog's body tensing up, his captive trying to squirm away from the touch despite being hopelessly pinned down. "Your body does know what's asked of it now. What it's for. And you can't help but give it," he murmured appreciatively, like an owner finally pleased with his pet.

Sonic could feel heat in his cheeks rising against his will, humiliation coupled with unwanted stimulation from body heat so close and, in a twisted way, the danger of the sword pressing into his side actually adding to the intensity of the sensations, all of it letting his body react in a way he desperately didn't want it to.

"Oh yeah." Scourge's voice was now all but dripping smugness as if he intended to drown his captive in it. With every..." and here Scourge almost purred, "...little..." he shifted even closer, "push."

And he ground his hips straight against Sonic's with every word.

"Get. Off." Sonic's tone was so sharp, it could have rivalled the blade threatening to cut his skin.

Scourge just grinned more brightly. "I intend to."

When the blue hedgehog's absolute death glare only intensified, the general briefly let see a pout.

"Aw, c'mon. Don't be a sore loser," he admonished, looking mock put-out, before he continued. "Well. See, I say don't be sore, but actually-"

"Okay, if you're trying to kill me instead of just royally getting on my nerves, bub, you're doing a real cock-up of a job here," Sonic cut across Scourge's smug monologue and was briefly satisfied to see a flash of annoyance in those sharp blue eyes. He in no way wanted to goad Scourge into actually killing him, but he couldn't fight back physically at the moment, and he was damned to hell if that would mean that he'd just whimper, lie back and take it. If only things weren't looking increasingly worse...

"Kill you?" Scourge asked. "Oh no, no way, babe." The green hedgehog smiled at him, irritation gone again, but it was the grin of a shark. "I'm not going to kill you. Just..."

And then Sonic gasped before he could stop himself, because suddenly, the sword that had been pressed into his body was abruptly and ungently raked downwards, adding a few light cuts over his hip bone and thigh, until it came to rest exactly inside the hollow of his slightly bent left knee, pressing into the sinew standing taut underneath the fur. Now sure of his captive audience's attention, the green hedgehog gave him again a grin from a nightmare.

"Probably just cut those tendons in your legs."

Sonic stared at him.

"No." It was hoarse, it was raw and it was out before he could do anything about it. Scourge reacted by increasing the pressure he exerted by straddling Sonic's thighs, pressing the leg slightly more painfully into the blade.

"Better believe it," he said. "Last one 'standing', not so much, blue..."

Even more sharply than the sword, Sonic recognized the feeling of true fear now piercing his insides. It was ice threatening to freeze up his muscles, vices attempting to crush his lungs, and a voice screaming inside his head that no, not the legs, anything but, please, no, don't – and Sonic had to reign it in forcefully, because even in his panic he could see how Scourge relished the horror that must have shown on his face, and for a moment it took all he had to force it back down and not go to pieces.

Scourge looked at him with an expression that said he knew exactly what the blue hedgehog had to be feeling and he relished every second of it.

"Look at your pretty eyes, babe, all wide and terrified there for a second..." Scourge drawled, leaning back and cocking his head to the side in what almost looked like a gesture of appreciation, before he abruptly bent down again, bringing his face close enough to Sonic's that he could feel the green hedgehog's breath on his face.

"You've lost, blue," he hissed. "Now yield."

The blade in the hollow of his knee hitched up, finally drawing blood. Sonic had to force himself not to gasp again, not to squeeze his eyes shut or to make any noise that would have given the other the satisfaction of knowing just how close he was to making Sonic fall apart. The green hedgehog was grinning. This was exactly what he'd wanted right from the beginning, Sonic was sure. And from every viewpoint he had lost this battle. Badly. And he was about to lose his legs, and everything else along with it, too. Just like back then, when Merlina had beat him down again and again, until he could barely stand...

Sonic took a breath.

"Never."

And it was said with such absolute conviction it didn't even need to be yelled.

Scourge snorted. "Figures you'd be as bull-headed as me about this. But then you should know as well as I do that you will, blue. Eventually. One way or another, at any rate..." he trailed off a little, and Sonic could feel himself stiffening again as the other's nuzzle wandered, brushing over his collarbone, his throat and resting there just a second too long, until Sonic felt like throwing up.

"Who knows, maybe I'll only cut one of your hamstrings. If you're...compliant."

Sonic took great care to stare straight at the sky, not trusting his face to remain calm otherwise.

"Get. Blunted."

Scourge tsked, uprighting himself again. "Wow, you're really not the best at realizing when you've lost, are ya?" he asked, cocking his head before shrugging. "Well, I gave you your chance. No one can say I wasn't extremely generous, all things considered." He gave Sonic another grin. "There aren't many who would keep a slave who can't even walk any more, for example."

He shifted his grip on the hilt of the sword lodged in the hollow of Sonic's knee, angling his arm in a way that would allow him to slash upwards with the greatest possible force. Below him, he could almost feel the collared hedgehog's heart rate speeding up, fear and fury mingling as desperately as powerlessly in emerald eyes.

"You can't defeat me, blue."

Scourge would have been lying to say he wasn't dragging this out for the sheer pleasure of it.

That powerful body beneath him, unable to escape, for him to mar irreparably...

The only thing missing for this to be perfect would be for him to simply *acknowledge* that he's the inferior one, dammit.

And then it was as if even that last dream was fulfilled when the blue hedgehog finally let out a pained gasp as the pressure on his tendon seemed to become too much for the moment, and looked at Scourge for the first time seemingly completely serious.

"No," he said, swallowing before looking down again, only whispering now as the fight was leaving his body, as if he was finally preparing himself for the inevitable. "Perhaps I really can't."

xxx

Chaos energy was a sword without a hilt, and it would spill your blood if you only made one wrong move.

Shadow had learned that early on, and in fact had been worried that Lara-Su trying to help him, no matter how...Shadow refused to use any word that even sounded remotely like 'heart-warming'...no matter how well-meaning her intention had been, would endanger her more than protect him.

But it seemed he had underestimated the youngest echidna in the Guardian line quite a bit.

"I will disembowel you like a sea cucumber!"

...even if her one-liners were, potentially, a tad eccentric.

"I shall grind your tribe to dust, echidna!" Black Doom was snarling, trying to aim at her, but at the moment was at a severe disadvantage. He could barely keep Shadow and his fast-paced attacks in view, not when he had to fortify his forcefield against the juggernaut-like attacks of Lara-Su's older brother who kept flinging boulders at his shield, or even just charging at it with his bare, spiked fists, raw power enough to split the earth.

And Lara-Su herself kept cutting his shield wide-open.

Watching her, Shadow almost consciously had to refrain from staring too much, reminding himself he needed all of his concentration just to stay alive. The echidna girl was whirling through the air with both of her daggers outstretched like jagged wingtips, their blades glowing green with crackling Chaos energy.

The Ultimate Lifeform had never seen Chaos used like this.

Employing the metal as a physical conductor and amplification...

Shadow had never been a fan of swords. To the hedgehog who had been created as a marvel of modern science they had seemed archaic, a relic that should long have been overtaken and made obsolete by research and progress, bullets and lasers far superior than a piece of steel on a stick...

Which means it only makes sense that Sonic should harbour an irrational fondness for them, of course, Shadow had thought with some internal sarcasm. The blue hedgehog loved their flashy style, the idea of chivalry and fairness in battle, the added dramatics when blades bit into each other, creating a (in Shadow's opinion) completely unnecessary staccato soundtrack to every battle...

Shadow flung out an arm to redirect one of Black Doom's attacks meant for Knuckles, foreign Chaos energy only bending to his will with effort. But it meant that once again, Lara-Su could use the opening, the echidna girl leaping upwards, using her dreadlocks for balance and tearing straight through Black Doom's forcefield with one gleaming dagger. She almost managed to get a swipe at his actual body inside before the bubble-like shield mended and closed and repulsed her again, forcing her to go into mid-air backflip to avoid being hit by one of the alien king's counterattacks.

"She's good," Shadow muttered with narrowed eyes, a commentary for Knuckles who was watching his sister's exploits with obviously mixed feelings, though it spoke volumes of his estimates of her abilities that he did not seem too troubled to watch her soar and duck and glide as she dodged Black Doom's retaliatory lightning for a few seconds. "Her technique is near flawless." Shadow said, paused, and then exhaled, frustration evident in his tone. "But she's not strong enough."

"That's what I feared," Knuckles replied, voice tense. Violet eyes flashed over to look at Shadow. "But you...?"

"My command over Chaos surpasses hers," the black hedgehog replied. "But I seem to be lacking the technique to apply my power..." one hand of his curled into a fist as he spoke. And he kept trying to ignore the other thing nagging at his mind, which had only gotten worse the longer this fight had lasted.

Why wasn't Sonic back yet?

"If only..." Shadow started to speak, to prepare himself for the next futile round, trying to ignore just one certain particular thought -

What if Scourge-?

And then Shadow broke off. Looked at Knuckles.

"Keep him busy for just a few minutes. I swear I'll be right back."

xxx

"No," Sonic said, and it was barely more than a whisper. The blue speedster wasn't even meeting his captor's eyes any more, having given up struggling against Scourge's hold. "Maybe I really can't win this."

"Ahhh, finally giving in?" Scourge exclaimed, not even bothering to hide the sheer glee on his face at those words. He released the wrists of the collared hedgehog to rest one proprietorial hand on his captive's chest, assured by his blade still threatening to cut the blue hedgehog's hamstrings in two that the slave would not dare to resist further. No. Scourge had proven his superiority enough. He tore off one of his gloves with his teeth and let his nails dig into the peach fur on his captive's chest, fingers kneading bruised muscle just for the effect of seeing the other trying to stifle a wince beneath him. He let his fingers ghost just a little bit to the side, then abruptly raking them through the fur over a particular spot that forced forth another sharp breath, and oh, even a faint rising of colour on the collared hedgehog's cheeks.

"That's right, have a taste of what will await you, babe..." Scourge couldn't have grinned broader if he'd tried. But it was only half as fun when the other wouldn't even look at him when he did it. Scourge grabbed Sonic's chin roughly, and turned the collared hedgehog's head forcefully upwards.

"Hey. Time to look things in the eye, blue, 'cause this is what you're going to see a whole lot more of for the rest of your pitiful-"

Scourge broke off with a slight frown, mostly, because somewhere, just below the repressed horror that was still visible on the other's face, the shame of submission and the delicious seething indignation at Scourge's complete disregard for what the blue hedgehog obviously wished was not done to his body, there was now also a certain...rising smugness?

"Hey," Scourge frowned. "You could look a bit more like a virgin about to be ravished, here."

Sonic levelled a stare at him that obviously questioned Scourge's sanity. "What? No."

"Whatever. The more you resist, the harder I'm gonna make this on you. Remember, you said it yourself, you lost," Scourge retorted, briefly squeezing something between fingers that let Sonic gasp and lose his focus to underline his point. When the blue hedgehog managed to find his voice again, though, he frustratingly sounded possibly even less terrified than before.

"No, I didn't."

"What?"

"I didn't say I lost," Sonic replied, earnestly. "I only said that maybe I really can't defeat you on your home turf, 'specially when I don't even have my own gear," he said, looking up at Scourge and somehow even managing to sound annoyed for a moment, before becoming serious again. "But then, I don't think I need to. Because..." and here he trailed off, and Scourge couldn't believe as he thought he saw even the first vestiges of a grin forming, and really, that couldn't be happening,

"Because what?" he snapped.

And Sonic looked at him with a smile that looked more smug than even the general had felt a moment ago.

"Because unlike you, I have a kick-ass partner."

And it was right then that Scourge thought he probably really should have been paying better attention to certain swishing noises, because next a black-spiked cannonball careened into his side so hard, the general was blasted off his captive to fly a good ten yards.

To be continued...