ARAAT3: The Forbidden Experiment

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A Rose And A Thorn 3: The Forbidden Experiment

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: The Easter Eggs you missed are-

Froggy: Shut up! Shut up! You’ll spoil it! They missed Midnight being mentioned again, and that stuff with Sonic, so they can go on missing them! Now, it’s the Final Chapter-

Harley: At least, before the Epilogue/Prologue-

Froggy: And thus you encounter… The Final Battle. Sometimes known as the Ninja Fight Scene. Everything comes to its inevitably highly explosive conclusion, and happy endings can go fuck themselves.

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Chapter Nineteen: The Final Battle

Espio carefully walked across the muddy ground beneath him as he and Amy made their way to the entrance of Eggman's old base. The chameleon couldn't wait to get inside and away from the stench of decay, whatever it was of.

Amy was the first to mention it, "What is that... horrible smell?" she asked, "It smells like... like a butcher's shop?"

"Something like that. Personally, I'd rather not stick around to find out,” said the chameleon, giving the ground a kick. One of the base entrances was in sight now, and the ninja kept focused on it, walking ahead.

"Hello?" a young female voice called out, "Hello, is anybody there?"

Espio stopped in his tracks and looked around for the source of the voice. "Hello! Where are you?" he called in return, wondering who it could be.

"I... I'm not sure! I was blindfolded and I'm in a cage or something!" the young woman's voice called out again, "Oh, please, please help me..."

"Rouge!" Amy said suddenly, "It's Rouge!"

"Rouge! Its Espio and Amy!" the chameleon called out, "Hang on! We're coming to help!" The chameleon and the hedgehog took off running in the direction of the bat's voice.

"And I hurt and I'm all wet and sticky and I miss Sonic..." Rouge continued. They had to rely on her talking; it was the only way to locate her; that and the awful smell that was getting stronger.

"Amy, do you see her anywhere?" Espio asked her, glancing around the area, trying to locate the cage Rouge mentioned. Considering how the smell was making his eyes water, it was difficult to see anything.

Amy concentrated, "This way, I think," she led Espio right.

They arrived eventually at a small cell. The smell was so thick it could have been cut with a knife, and it was coming from Rouge. There was blood in a pool underneath her and she was crying, "... and my stomach hurts..."

Espio wasted no time, taking out one of his shurikens and slicing the lock off of the cell. Throwing the door open, the chameleon stepped inside and kneeled down, resting his hands on Rouge's shoulders. "Rouge, what did he do to you?"

"H-he took my Emerald..." Rouge shivered, "And he h-hit me... in the stomach... real hard…"

The chameleon frowned as he reached down and gently ran his fingers across her belly, trying to determine how badly she was wounded. He couldn't understand why she was bleeding so much, but once he looked down a little further, it became painfully clear to him. Espio quickly turned away, looking ill.

"Oh, oh Rouge," Amy hurried forward, "Oh, we've got to get you to a hospital!"

"What's the point?" Rouge asked miserably, "It's already dead."

"Well we still have to get you to a hospital," Amy coaxed her, "Come on, Sonic and Shadow and Knuckles and Tails and Team Chaotix are here on this island and we all want to bring you home, so come on."

Rouge stood slowly. Her dressing gown was soaked in blood, "He hit me," she said quietly, "He hit me and he laughed..."

Espio forced the contents of his stomach to stay down as he stood up, "Amy's right. We need to get you out of here, Rouge. Ashura is not going to get away with this, I promise you." It was still Espio's voice, but now it had a steel edge to it.

Rouge was right; by now the baby probably was dead, and it was all Ashura's fault. Amy found herself getting angry about it, which surprised her as she removed Rouge's blindfold, "Let's just concentrate on getting Rouge to a safe place," she spoke up.

Rouge, who was normally so vibrant and full of life, just nodded, "I shouldn't have let him take the emerald so easy," Amy handed her a handkerchief and she blew her nose on it, "But I didn't want to hurt the baby by fighting... then he did anyway... and... and at least I don't have to tell Sonic... only I might have to... I don't know what to do!" Rouge blew her nose again.

"You will in time,” Espio assured her, nodding his head. Amy was right; getting Rouge out of there was their priority. He doubted he would be of any use in a fight against Ashura. He was not on the level of Sonic or Shadow or even Knuckles, despite all of his dedicated training. Still, there was Mirage to consider... The chameleon winced and turned his face away from the two women again. He didn't want to think of Mirage. Not right now. She had made her choice, and now he had to make one of his own.

"Something wrong, Espio?" Amy asked him, seeing his grimace.

"Asides from the obvious, you mean?" he asked dryly. The chameleon shook his head and faced her again. "No." He took hold of Rouge's arm gently and led her out of the foul-smelling cell.

"Well, what is the obvious?" Amy asked. Rouge smelt pretty awful herself, and she was spreading the smell, but at least she was outside the cell now, which had smelt mostly of rotting blood.

“What's been done to Rouge. Ashura. Mirage. That's the obvious,” he told her as they led Rouge away. "What's not so obvious is where we are and where we should go. I've never been here before. You didn't happen to hear anything useful, Rouge?"

"I was blindfolded," Rouge blew her nose again, "I've never been to this junkyard in my life!"

"We'll just have to explore and hope we get lucky,” the chameleon noted, "I'm sure Ashura has settled in the upper levels. Are you going to be alright moving around, Rouge?"

"I don't think I can get any worse," Rouge winced, clutching her sore stomach.

"That's the spirit. Hang in there, and this will be over soon,” Espio assured the bat. Choosing a direction, he led them down through the basement of Eggman's abandoned base, searching for some sort of way to the higher levels. An elevator, stairwell, latter, maintenance access, ventilation system...

Amy kept looking around, certain that Rouge couldn’t climb through a vent, and she wasn't sure that the bat would fare well on stairs either. Suddenly Rouge gave a soft cry, and stumbled, gasping and clutching her middle. This wouldn't do. Tough as she was, Rouge could barely stand, much less fight one of the ARK's most powerful experiments. They couldn't just leave her in the dark, filthy hellhole that was the base's underbelly.

Espio joined Amy in kneeling beside the bat. "You can do this,” he told the bat, "You can make it out of here. You just need to be strong a little while longer, that's all. Sonic is here, too, and he can't fight Ashura alone. He will need our help. Do you understand?"

Rouge grimaced in pain, and Amy looked up, "Esp, you go on. Find Sonic or Shadow or somebody... I'll stay here with Rouge and-" she was cut off by another cry of pain from the bat, and a horrible, wet sound. Suddenly there was something on the floor. Espio didn't want to look too closely at it; it was barely identifiable as a child. It was dead. Nothing could look like that and be alive. He couldn't even tell whether it would have been a boy or a girl.

Espio quickly turned away, eyes tightly closed and hands clamped around his mouth. The chameleon's body shuddered as he made a muffled gagging sound, fighting to keep from vomiting on the floor. Taking a breath, Espio quietly muttered a long series of curses and obscenities. True, raw hatred was not something he had really felt before, but Ashura was being a good instructor on the subject.

"Espio, you go on," Amy told him again, "I'll stay with Rouge."

Rouge nodded, "I wish Sonic was here," she said quietly.

"He's around somewhere," Amy told her.

Espio stood up, regaining his composure, "Yes. Yes, you stay here with her,” he said, not turning back to look at either of them, or the lump of flesh which may have been Rouge's child, had it been given a chance, "We'll return later. I promise." He calmly walked away to search for a way out, bottling up the hatred he felt.

"Good luck, Espio!" Amy called, and then returned to trying to calm Rouge, who was sobbing bitterly.

"I didn't think I wanted the baby..." Rouge sniffled, just loud enough for Espio to hear, "And then I... you know... got attached to it..."

Espio grimaced, wishing he could have gotten to her sooner. Another little bit more to get angry about. His calm had never before been tested so harshly. Finding an access ladder to the upper levels, the chameleon began to climb, dark thoughts also climbing to the front of his mind. Maybe, just maybe when he found Ashura, he could let his guarded emotions slip. Just a little bit.

Amy turned Rouge away from the mess that had once been a possible baby, feeling very angry. She stifled the emotion. Rouge needed her to be calm and collected. Ashura would get what was coming to him for ending an innocent life soon enough. If she let herself, she'd get completely enraged.

Stepping away from the ladder, Espio silently made his way through the base, slipping from shadow to shadow, melting into the darkness as he was trained to do. The base seemed empty, its defences offline, most of the sections lacking power. Still, he took every precaution. He hadn't lived as long as he had by being careless. As he neared a stairwell that would presumably lead him to the top, he heard footsteps coming from it. Crouching beside the doorway, Espio listened and waited.

He could just about hear Tails' young, slightly higher voice, "We're bound to find Amy soon, Shadow," the kitsune was insisting, "She's looking for you too."

"Guys, it’s me, Espio,” the chameleon called out into the stairwell as he carefully stepped into it. Shadow automatically readied himself for an attack while Sonic just calmly stood his ground.

"Espio!" Tails cried out cheerfully, "Have you seen Ashura? Or some girl called Mirage?"

"Neither of them so far,” the chameleon said with a shake of his head. Pausing a moment, he asked, "You saw Mirage?"

"Yeah, we all did," Tails answered, "She made sure we met up."

"So she is helping us..." he said quietly, mostly to himself. Louder, he told them, "Amy and I found Rouge. Both of them are down in the basement now."

Both hedgehogs immediately said, "Is she alright?"

Waving a hand at them, the chameleon assured them, "They'll be fine. Worry about them later."

"So now we've got to find Ashura," Tails spoke up again. He looked worried all of a sudden, "Wherever he is..."

"The plan remains: keep going up,” said Shadow, aiming a finger upwards for emphasis. Espio nodded in agreement, as well as Sonic. Knuckles just continued to grumble to himself.

Tails' smaller hand linked with Knuckles'. It was as much for his comfort as for the echidna's. No matter how confident the others were, he still wasn't sure about what they'd be facing, and the lack of knowledge scared him. He'd have preferred to be in a mech, or in the open air. And he was worried about Amy and Rouge too - Espio hadn't said how they were doing.

Knuckles sighed and squeezed the younger boy's hand. "I'm fine,” he muttered, "I just can't believe we're trusting that Mirage so easily..." The group slowly made their way up the stairs, getting closer to the final confrontation with Ashura, hoping to end this threat once and for all.

"Well, she did kinda save our lives," Tails replied, "She wants us to win, I guess. She could get into a lot of trouble for helping us. So we HAVE to win."

"I still don't trust her,” said the echidna in his typically stubborn manner.

Sonic rolled his eyes, "Quiet it down back there. You want him to know we're coming?"

"He already knows,” Shadow responded darkly.

They exited the stairwell at the top, "Guys..." Tails squeaked as they looked at the door, "I keep getting the feeling we're not all gonna get out of here..."

"Not a chance. We're going to come through this fine!" said Sonic, looking behind him and giving his two-tailed friend a smile.

Tails opened his mouth, then closed it again. Then opened it again, "So, who goes in first?" he asked, looking at the door.

Shadow and Espio both stepped forward to take that honour. Turning towards the chameleon, Shadow said, "We'll both go in." Nodding and placing his hand against the door controls, Espio flipped the switch, and both of them leapt in as the steel door slid open.

Ashura was standing at a large plinth, on which rested the Master Emerald, his back to the small group. He surely knew they were there, but he didn't seem overly concerned by their presence, "So, you got here," he said calmly, his eyes on the Master Emerald.

"Surprised?" asked Shadow. As the heroes filed into the room, they automatically spread out in different directions, ready for battle. Knuckles clinched his fists, Sonic bounced on his heels, and Espio just silently stared at the green hedgehog.

"Not really," Ashura turned to face him, "Although I think I'd be disappointed if you failed."

"Aw, what are we doing just standing here? We can take him!" Sonic called out defiantly. Knuckles took it a step further, charging at the green hedgehog with his fists raised.

"No, wait!" Espio shouted, but it was too late to change the echidna's mind

"Stupid brat," Ashura gestured violently, and a Chaos Spear hit Knuckles in the chest.

The blast of energy hurled Knuckles off his feet, sending the echidna flying across the room, skidding along the floor, and stopping suddenly as he hit the wall. Groaning, smoke curling up from his singed fur, he slumped to the ground weakly.

"MIRAGE!" Ashura bellowed. A hole appeared in a wall, and the half-feline walked through; she was grinding her teeth quietly, "Deal with them."

"I do not want to," the hedgecat said sulkily.

"Nor do you have to,” Espio said softly.

All eyes were suddenly on Mirage, "These people are my friends and my family-"

"I AM YOUR FAMILY YOU STUPID LITTLE WHORE!" Ashura bellowed.

"Family is about more than blood,” Shadow growled, taking a step towards the green hedgehog. Sonic stepped with him, slowly walking to the opposite side of Shadow, placing the green hedgehog between them

"Family is ALL about blood!" Ashura snarled.

"He's got a point," Tails pointed out, standing next to Knuckles. He caught Sonic and Shadow's accusing glances, "Well, he has."

Espio's gaze never moved from Ashura. "No, he hasn't,” said the chameleon, "And you will never call her a whore again."

"Why not?" Ashura asked, a nasty expression on his face, "She slept with you, didn't she?"

Espio noticed Shadow staring at him out of the corner of his eye, "And if she did?" he retorted.

"Enough,” Shadow growled, "No more stalling, Ashura. Let us end this."

"The two of you..." Ashura turned between them, "You dare... defy... ME?!" The word actually hurt, physically. It drove Tails, Espio Knuckles and Sonic to their knees, and Mirage and Shadow both flinched.

He could cause them to feel anything he wanted them too. How could they possibly fight someone with that kind of power? It couldn't be done! "No,” Shadow spoke with a grimace, "I don't believe that. You aren't all-powerful. You can't keep up your illusions forever. Not on all of us."

"You arrogant little BRAT!" Ashura snarled, "You will... do as... you are TOLD!"

Shadow watched Mirage sink to her knees, wailing, "No, daddy, no!" she shrieked like a child, tugging at her quills.

"Daddy?" asked Shadow, looking up at Ashura in surprise. Surely, she was just delusional from the pain...

"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Ashura sneered magnificently, “I am your father, Luke - I mean, Shadow.”

“Shut up with the clichés already!” Shadow snapped, “You’re not actually my biological father, are you?” he asked him, “I saw that movie. I’m not going to do that stupid ‘NOOOOOOOOOO’ thing.”

“Gerald had a friend,” Ashura said smugly, “Somebody whose DNA would make you immortal. But he wanted to make the legendary hero, and to do that he needed a hedgehog…”

“The mural in the Hidden Palace!” Knuckles shouted out.

“You’re a clever freak,” Ashura chuckled, “Yes, Gerald saw the mural. So I took on the form of a hedgehog and had my DNA mixed with yours, Shadow… and your DNA was used to make Mirage… so the pair of you are always close to my heart.”

“The form of a hedgehog?!” Tails said, “What does that mean?!”

"I am taking my payment," Ashura replied, ignoring Tails’ question, “Now, to the point. Will you rule this planet, and eventually this universe by my side, or will you die with the rest of these freaks?"

"I'll take the third option,” replied Shadow, "I'll end your pathetic, worthless life, dad, and we'll live on quite happily without you."

"I expected as much," Ashura turned to look at Mirage, who had finally succeeded in getting through the wall into the next room, "Now, do as you are told, girl, and suck those Chaos Emeralds DRY!"

Mirage whimpered with pain and nodded, even as the wall closed up behind her.

"No, Mirage!" Espio shouted, chasing after the hedgecat, but the wall closed before he could reach her.

"Go after her!" Sonic told the chameleon with a cocky grin as he stood once again, "We'll handle this creep!"

"She'll be dead in thirty seconds flat," Ashura grinned cheerfully, "And so will you."

Espio ran out the door to chase after Mirage. Sonic and Shadow approached Ashura from both sides. Glancing at each other, the two hedgehogs nodded and both launched an attack at their green foe, a Sonic Wind and a Chaos Spear, respectively.

Ashura dodged the Chaos Spear, but the Sonic Wind was a much larger attack, and it knocked him into the wall. He straightened up, "You're both failures!" he snarled, and let loose a Roaming Chaos attack. If either of them came too close, they risked being hit by it.

Sonic, of course, risked it. The blue hedgehog dropped to the ground, curled into a ball, and charged at Ashura with his famous spin dash attack, tearing up the floor as he went.

~~~

Espio entered the adjoining room. It looked rather like a replica of the altar back on Angel Island, only it was the Chaos Emeralds carefully arranged rather than the Master Emerald. Mirage was curled up in the middle of it, and the Shard around her neck was glowing - no, she was glowing. Her fur had been slicked down and was taking on a green sheen, while her red highlights remained furry. Her eyes were tightly closed, tears were rolling down her cheeks, and her scream was at a pitch so high that it was actually silent.

"Mirage... Mirage, stop it!" said the chameleon as he stepped closer. The air around him felt charged, volatile, and harsh against his scaled skin.

"Espio... I CANNOT!" Mirage shrieked. “Oh, various gods it hurts... The Servers... they HURT!"

"You've got to stop!" he told her, "Don't you get it? The energy of the Chaos Emeralds is infinite! You can't drain that much energy! It'll kill you!"

"I... know..." Mirage whimpered, "It is like something is filling my lungs with ACID!"

"Come on, please. Pull away from them before its too late,” he begged her, "Don't make me do it myself." He had no doubt that touching her while she was absorbing that much power would have an effect similar to a fly landing on a bug zapper.

Mirage rolled onto her back. The Chaos Emeralds should be glowing, what with all being together, but they were rapidly losing colour, and fading. In a few moments time they would be completely drained, and Mirage would die, both at the same moment. The half-feline shuddered, feeling her body go into shock, “E… Espio… I am s-sorry…” she gasped, “I… c-cannot s-stop…”

Espio lowered his head, eyes closed, and whispered, "You betrayed me, Mirage. You left me behind, hurt and alone, when I wanted you to stay."

"It was not... my fault..." Mirage gritted her teeth, "I did not w-want you... to g-get hurt..."

"I know,” he said softly, "And the amazing thing is... I don't want you to get hurt, either. I still love you. And that's why it’s my turn to say I'm sorry. For this..." The chameleon did what he knew he had to do. Leaping at the hedgecat, Espio wrapped his arms around her and began to forcefully drag her out of the room, moaning in agony as the energies surrounding her began to flood into his body.

Mirage's body was by now going into spasms, and the Chaos Emeralds were little more than tinted glass. Blood started to trickle from her nose in a near-black stream, “Espio… st-stop… you will be hurt…” she moaned, trying to pull away from him. He could hear her thoughts again, and there was only one reading to be had from them; pain.

A loud, raw scream ripped its way free of the chameleon as it felt like his very nerves were set on fire by the power flowing into his scaled body. He refused to give up, refused to lie down, dragging Mirage away with every ounce of strength his body still held. Smoke began to curl up from his body, but he continued to move, pulling her out of the room, putting as much distance as he could between her and those accursed emeralds. Eventually, though, all the will power in the world could not get him to take one step more, and the chameleon slumped to the ground, twitching slightly.

But it was far enough. Mirage managed to focus on Espio, "No..." her claws dug into the floor as her body continued to drain the Chaos Emeralds, "No!" She stood up, "ESPIO!" Her voice grew stronger, and she faced the wall, pulling out the shruiken that Espio had given to her several days earlier. She threw it at the wall and it exploded, blasting debris all over the place. Sonic, Shadow and Ashura stopped trying to kill each other and looked up at her.

“Get back to the Chaos Emeralds!” Ashura ordered her.

"NO!” Mirage screamed, “THIS IS ALMOST ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! HOW DARE YOU USE ME?!" she shrieked at Ashura, "I AM 57 YEARS OLD AND I CAN LIVE MY OWN LIFE!!!" She ran through the wall, and leapt at him, claws outstretched.

Shadow and Sonic both watched, stunned, as the enraged hedgecat leapt at their foe.

Ashura shouted in rage as Mirage bowled him right over, trying to get a good stranglehold on his neck. If she'd been at full strength, she could have used Chaos Tempest on his organs and mopped the floor with his brains. As it was, she couldn't even manage a good Chaos Shield. Not that it mattered. She was far too angry to notice how weak she was.

Neither Sonic nor Shadow made a move, afraid of injuring Mirage if they did. All they could do was wait for an opening.

"Get OFF me, you little spitfire!" Ashura raged. A Chaos Spear hit Mirage in the chest, and she shrieked in pain, pulling away from him. A second, much more powerful Spear hit her straight in the face, and she was sent flying across the room and into a wall, where she slumped to the floor and lay quietly, face down, with a pool of dark blood collecting under her slowly.

Shadow bellowed in rage and charged at the green hedgehog, kicking him hard in the stomach. Sonic left the fight to Shadow and ran over to check the dark hedgehog’s sister, kneeling beside the fallen hedgecat and shaking her gently, “Mirage? Hey, can you hear me?"

The half-feline didn't answer for several seconds, "You have to... make him go Super..." she managed, and her small hand opened, showing the Master Emerald Shard.

Sonic glanced curiously down at the shard and plucked it from her hand. Meanwhile, Shadow was now grappling with Ashura, who had managed to get to his feet. The two hedgehogs snarled in each other's faces, strategy thrown away in favour of animal rage.

"You are nothing but a child, Shadow," Ashura sneered, "No matter what your biological clock tells you!"

"You know nothing about me. You know nothing about power,” the black and red hedgehog snarled. His crimson eyes burned like embers in a fire, his hatred for the creature he was fighting fuelling it, “I beat GUN’s drugs and I can beat you!”

"Faugh!" Ashura hurled a Chaos Spear at Shadow, "You are too sentimental, boy!"

Shadow didn't try to dodge it. He didn't need to. The wave of energy struck him and simply... bounced off as his fur began to glow red.

"So, you've discovered your other abilities," Ashura grinned, "Like father, like son, I suppose!" He began to laugh wickedly, "But it won't be enough!"

"You underestimate me,” Shadow sneered, "I am the Ultimate Lifeform! And I will bring death to all who oppose me!" Leaping into the air and curling up, the glow around him increased in intensity and exploded outward as he shouted, "Chaos Blast!"

The Chaos Blast hit not only Ashura, but absolutely everything else in the room. The good point was that it brought Knuckles back into consciousness.

Ashura growled, staggering visibly, "No, boy," he snarled, "YOU underestimate ME!" He jumped up onto the Master Emerald and started drawing energy from it, glowing silver, "You could have ruled the universe!" he shrieked, "But you chose instead to DIE!" The green hedgehog's spines had kinked up, and his eyes, once sky blue, were glowing gold. His quills were turning silver. A forcefield was building up around him as he leapt off the Emerald and hurled a bolt of energy at Shadow.

"Two can play at that game!" Shadow shouted, reaching behind him towards the crumbled wall. In floated the Chaos Emeralds, spinning swiftly around his body, their energy surging into him, turning his black fur to silver.

The main problem here was that since Mirage had only seconds ago sucked the Emeralds pretty much dry, Super Shadow lasted only a few seconds, before the Emeralds fell to the floor, "HAHAHAHAA!" Ashura laughed insanely, "Now you know why I used her!"

"Tempest... it..." Mirage whispered to Sonic. She didn't know if he'd be able to use Chaos Tempest, being better aligned to the Chaos Emeralds, but it was worth a try... anything was worth a try now.

Shadow swore viciously, looking down at the exhausted emeralds, his fur turning back to its normal colour. Now he was worried. In the biggest battles, he had been the one in a super form, not the other way around.

Sonic glanced down at the shard in his gloved hand. "I'll try,” he told Mirage, and faced his silver adversary, focusing on the powers of the shard in his hands. Knuckles had much more experience with the Master Emerald... Nothing was happening, and all he could do was watch helplessly as Shadow charged at Super Ashura. Maybe Tails was right… maybe they were going to die…

Shadow dodged to the side, sliding on his jet shoes, and he leapt into a spin attack. The two collided in midair. He soon realised that he didn't have a hope against a Super form. Super Ashura was invincible and godlike, and if he could even stay alive until the other Hedgehog powered down it would be an amazing feat. Super Ashura was pretty much playing with him, "It's a shame about your girlfriend," he cackled, "But your brat looks as if he could be very promising!"

"Leave them out of this!" Shadow yelled, knowing that his chances of survival, much less victory, were too slim to lay hopes on.

Suddenly, a strained voice called out, "Hey, Ashura." Knuckles, who had risen to a kneeling position, was grinning at the silver hedgehog. Dangling from his hand was the necklace with the emerald shard; Sonic stood at his side. "I bet you didn't see this coming, you bitch! CHAOS TEMPEST!!!"

Suddenly, the Master Emerald resting behind Super Ashura was gone, and Ashura was drained. That was all the time the heroes needed. Sonic leapt over Shadow's head and hurled a burst of wind at their foe, who was weakened by his sudden disconnection from the source of his power. The wind knocked him backwards... right into the spot the emerald was a second before.

Ashura growled, "You think that can stop me?!" he raged at Knuckles, "I'll kill you either way!" Even as he charged up another Chaos Spear, the Master Emerald returned. There was a moment of confusion as two things tried to occupy the same place at once, and then there was the Master Emerald, alone.

Shadow stood there, staring at the Master Emerald. "What the hell just happened?" he asked.

Tails stood shakily next to Knuckles, and walked over to the Master Emerald. He knocked on it gently, "Hello?" he called, "Anybody in there?"

Ashura's scream of rage confirmed their suspicions. The hedgehog had become part of the Master Emerald, just as Tikal and Chaos had before him.

Shadow chuckled softly and then louder and louder as he walked over to the Master Emerald and leaned against it. "Cosy in there, daddy? I don't know... looks a little cramped to me,” he taunted.

I ORDER you to release me, boy!!! Ashura raged.

"I'll think about it,” was Shadow's reply as he looked at his hands, "I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you, though."

LET ME OUT NOW!!! Ashura screamed at the room, OR I'LL CRUSH YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS INTO DUST!!!

Tails couldn't help but snigger, "While you're inside a rock?" he asked, "Good work, Knuckles."

Knuckles stood up and smiled, obviously satisfied with his work, "Yeah, well, I'm sick of letting the quill-heads get all the glory."

They couldn't help but look over at Sonic, who was looking down at Mirage. She hadn't moved since she'd told him to use the Chaos Tempest.

Shadow rushed over to his sister's side, kneeling beside her, "Mirage? Mirage!" he called out. Reaching down, he pressed his fingers against her throat, checking for a pulse.

Mirage opened her mouth, and blood came out, "I am... so sorry..." she managed to whisper.

Shadow carefully rolled her onto her back. He flinched away when he saw the damage done. The Chaos Spear had hit her full in the face, and seared her eyes blind, "Oh, Mirage..."

"Are... we dead yet..." Mirage coughed, "It is... all black..."

Shadow shook his head even though she could no longer see it. She never would see it again, "You're alive,” he told her, his words strained, "You did it. You're free of him forever."

Knuckles bent over Mirage. His mouth opened and closed a few times, “She said it was all darkness,” he said finally.

Mirage reached up. She patted Shadow’s face carefully, and then tugged gently on Knuckles’ dreads, and then to their amazement, smiled, "I am... so proud of you all..." she whispered. Then she passed out from the pain.

~~~

Froggy: So, it was Knuckles who saved them all, eh? Not Mirage, Sonic, Shadow, or Espio - although they all pitched in. And Ashura is Shadow’s other daddy!

Harley: Say “NOOOOOOO!!!!” to Star Wars clichés.

Froggy: Still, we had you, eh? Nobody even said “What, is this Ashura guy not an experiment?” If they did, we’re not trawling through 97 reviews to find out.

Harley: That was the last Chapter! Is it the end? Hell no! Next week - the Epilogue! And Chapter One of ARAAT4. I’ve been advertising it for some weeks in a banner of mine.