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(Start of Act 3)
After they got the ship eventually fixed up, they were soon cruising through space once again. After everything that had happened previously, they were hoping to catch a deserved, much-needed break. However, what they didn't know was that something was going to happen: something that would not only allow Grace to unlock her full potential, but would also change the war forever…
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It all started one day when the Blue Typhoon was cruising through the vast quietness of space. Everyone was on the ship doing their own thing. Wallflower was resting in her room; she'd gotten a fever and was advised to get some rest. Chris and Tails were on the bridge alone. At one point, Chris stretched. "Hey Tails," he asked, "don't you think it's time we took a break?"
"Well…" answered Tails, "there seems to be a problem with the security system and I wanna find out why. But you can go."
Chris wasn't sure. "Don't you want help?" he asked.
"Nah, I can handle it myself," said Tails. "Hopefully we'll all have plenty of time to rest up. Since there aren't any Metarex around, things should stay pretty quiet."
"I sure hope you're right, Tails," said Chris as he left.
"Me too," Tails agreed.
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As Chris stretched and yawned while heading to his room, he was unaware of a dark figure zipping past him. Once Chris was out of sight, the figure walked down the hall, eyeing the doors until it stopped at one of them– specifically, the door to Cosmo's room. Said Seedrian was sleeping soundly after her training class; it'd been pretty exhausting. The figure opened the door and headed inside, its shadow casting itself over her. There was no mistaking on who that shadow belonged to…
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"Okay, that should work," said Tails after he was done. "Now I'll restart the system."
He pressed a button. Suddenly, an alarm went off, bathing the ship in a red glow and startling, rousing, and getting the attention of everyone. "Red alert! Red alert!" Tails exclaimed over the intercom. "We have an intruder on board the ship!"
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Having been woken up by the alarm, Cosmo looked up to see Shadow standing over her as the red glow stopped. If looks could kill, then his red eyes were looking like they were glaring daggers at her. "You traitor!" he said.
Cosmo starred in shock and terror. Just then, Chris appeared in the doorway and turned on the lights. "Cosmo!" he called.
However, he was shocked to see Shadow in there. "Shadow? What are you doing?" he asked.
Shadow just threw a Chaos Spear at Chris, but Sonic immediately arrived and tackled him out of the way in time. Shadow continued to proceed towards Cosmo, but a battered Sonic stopped him. "Hold it, Shadow!" he said. "... Mind tellin' me what this is all about?"
Shadow bore down on Sonic, the two clashing in the hall. Neither were able to get the upper hand in the grudge match. "Sonic!" called Tails, ruining into the hall. "What's going on?"
"Hurry, little bro!" said Sonic without talking his eyes off the fight. "Grab Cosmo and run!"
He leapt back and ran towards Shadow, but the Ultimate Lifeform rebounded across the ceiling and into Sonic from behind, sending him rocketing down the hall. Despite his concern for his older brother, Tails knew that Sonic was counting on him. Cosmo approached the doorway, fear in her eyes. "Cosmo, what happened?" asked Tails.
"I don't know," Cosmo replied. "I woke up… Shadow was there… He said something strange to me…"
Seeing Shadow emerge from the smoke, Tails quickly typed in a lockdown code, grabbed Cosmo's hand, and ran down the hall as a door closed behind them. Unfortunately, it was no obstacle for Shadow, who just easily broke through the door and walked after the fleeing pair. Sonic and Chris were left injured on the floor when Creecha and Rainbow showed up. One look at each other was all that they needed. Creecha picked up Chris while Rainbow got Sonic, and the two ran off to the medbay.
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Meanwhile, Knuckles was running down the hall. "Sonic, can you hear me?" he spoke into his communicator. "What's going on?"
"Sonic and Chris got hurt in a fight with Shadow!" replied Cream, who was in the medbay with Amy keeping an eye on them.
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"They'll be okay, but it'll take some time for them to recover."
"Why were they fighting?" asked Knuckles.
"It's really confusing," answered Cream.
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"For some reason, Shadow was trying to attack Cosmo!"
"So he is our enemy!" said Knuckles, already wanting to punch Shadow into next week.
Amy cut in front of Cream. "Don't even think about going after Shadow right now!" she said. "Find Tails and Cosmo and make sure they're safe! That's an order!"
Hearing that Tails was also in danger, Knuckles hurried on. "I know what I'm doing!" he replied, feeling his protective brotherly instinct take over him. "Nobody, not even my brother Tails, will be safe on this ship 'til we stop Shadow!"
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Meanwhile, Grace was running down the hall to Wallflower's room, having gotten the news. I hate to disturb her, she thought to herself, especially with that fever she has, but this is serious.
Eventually arriving there, she pounded on the door. "Aunt Wallflower!" she said. "Wake up! It's an emergency!"
Having been startled awake by the alarm earlier, Wallflower was now more annoyed than ever. "What now?" she grumbled, covering her head with a pillow. "I'm trying to get some rest here."
"Sorry," said Grace, "but Cosmo's in trouble! She's being hunted down by Shadow for some reason and–!"
"Cosmo's in trouble?!" exclaimed Wallflower, interrupting her. "I'm on my way!"
She had wanted to rest from her fever, but the instant she heard about Cosmo's predicament, she immediately perked up. Completely forgetting about her fever, she jumped out of bed, burst through the door, and ran down the hallway. Grace starred in startelement at a Wallflower-shaped hole in the door her aunt left. Eh, she thought with a shrug. I can get Aunt Twilight and Aunt AJ to fix it later.
With that, she hurried down the hall after her.
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Up ahead, Shadow broke down another door, scanning the hall before pulling out his circular device– the one given to him by Leon. "Accessing the ship's internal sensors," it said. "Two heat signals detected. Stand by for visuals."
He saw Tails' and Cosmo's heat signatures as the fox worked on a computer in another hall. "What are you doing, Tails?" asked Cosmo.
"If Shadow has access to our computer," Tails explained, "he could use the internal scanners to track us. I have to block him from accessing the data."
With one button, Tails shut down the heat source search. "That should do it," he said.
Shadow's screen went black. "I think it worked," said Tails.
Shadow tried another option on his device. "Bypass code 6-Delta-3," it said.
The surveillance camera turned on Tails and Cosmo. The two were surprised. "No way! He got through!" Tails exclaimed.
Shadow skated down the hall as Tails and Cosmo broke into a run, the security doors closing behind them. "Hurry, Cosmo!" Tails urged, his grip on Cosmo's hand tightening.
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Shadow was surprised at what he saw next. The surveillance screens were empty. No one was to be seen. Suddenly, Knuckles punched through the wall. "Hey Shadow!" he challenged. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"
Shadow just smirked.
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Meanwhile, Tails and Cosmo were now crawling through the air ducts. Cosmo was shaken up about what was happening. She was a kid, after all. "Why is Shadow against me?" she asked.
"Maybe Eggman sent him to get you," Tails suggested. "It's even possible that Shadow's working for the Metarex."
Cosmo stopped in surprise. "The Metarex?!" she exclaimed.
"Anyway, it doesn't matter who gave him the order," said Tails. "Shadow isn't gonna give up until he finishes what he started. But I don't want you to worry, Cosmo. I promise everything will be okay. Because if Shadow tries to hurt you…" Here, Tails paused and turned around, a protective look in his eyes, "... he'll have to get past me first!"
"Thank you…" said Cosmo, her own eyes shimmering.
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In the corridor, Shadow rained Chaos Spears at Knuckles as the Echidna ran towards him. Knuckles tried to land a punch on Shadow, but he teleported behind him and Chaos Speared a pipe, creating a mist that blinded Knuckles. This was Shadow's opportunity to escape. "Hey! Come back here!" called Knuckles.
However, there was another figure behind him. Looking behind him, Knuckles was shocked to see that it was none other than Rouge. "Are all redheads as temperamental as you?" she teased.
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Upon arriving at the hangar, Tails and Cosmo crept towards the X-Tornado, climbing up the ladder into it. "You'll be safe once we get away on the X-Tornado," Tails promised as he typed his identity into the touchscreen. "Prepare for takeoff! Hold on, Cosmo!"
The catapult system was engaged. "Everything will be okay," Tails reassured.
Suddenly, an explosion ensued in front of them. Shadow emerged from the smoke. "Hand over that girl now," he demanded. "I don't want to fight you, Tails, but I will if I have to."
Tails glared at him. "Cosmo never did anything to harm you!" he objected. "Why are you after her anyway?"
"I'm not going to tell you," answered Shadow before adding darkly, "Now move aside or you'll be sorry."
"Forget it, Shadow!" said Tails bravely. "I won't let you hurt Cosmo!"
"... I'm warning you," said Shadow.
Cosmo cowered behind Tails' seat. "This is your last chance, Tails," warned Shadow. "Give up now or face the consequences."
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In the corridor, Knuckles and Rouge stared each other down. "Well? What are you here for?" asked Knuckles, wanting answers.
"Strain your brain and guess," replied Rouge.
Knuckles thought for a little bit. "Are you working with Shadow to help him attack Cosmo?" he asked.
"Bingo," replied Rouge teasingly. "You're not as dimwitted as you look."
"Why are you doing this?" asked Knuckles.
"I'm surprised you and your spaced-out crewmates haven't figured that out for yourselves," answered Rouge. "That girl Cosmo's a real plant… in more ways than one."
"I'm not kidding around, Rouge!" snapped Knuckles. "You and Shadow can communicate, can't you?"
Rouge nodded. "Does that make you feel jealous?" she asked.
"Call him now, or I'll knock that smirk off your face!" Knuckles demanded.
Rouge was frustrated. "No need to be pushy," she said as she pulled out her device and contacted Shadow.
"Shadow, come in. It's Rouge."
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But Shadow didn't reply. His radio was left on the ground in the hangar as he bore down on the X-Tornado. "Shadow, do you read me? … Come in, Shadow. Is something wrong?"
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"Shadow, why aren't you answering? … Shadow! … Shadow!"
There was no reply. "It's no use," she said to Knuckles. "He's not responding."
Knuckles' thoughts turned to Cosmo and his little brother. "I hope Tails and Cosmo are all right," he said.
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"Back off, Shadow," Tails warned him, "or I'll have to stop you myself!"
Shadow stopped. "Don't be a fool!" he said, smirking. "I'm too powerful!"
"Yeah?" Tails challenged. "Well, I got the X-Tornado!"
He converted it to X-Cyclone and moved forward, but Shadow Chaos Speared the left leg off, sending the vehicle falling onto its side, cracking the canopy. Luckily, Tails moved quickly; he picked up Cosmo into his arms and sped her away from the wreckage with his helicopter tails as the X-Cyclone propelled itself towards Shadow and exploded.
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In the hallway, Knuckles and Rouge heard a noise over the radio. "What was that?!" asked Knuckles.
"Something just blew up in the hangar!" said Rouge.
Knuckles immediately ran off. "I've gotta reach Tails and Cosmo before it's too late," he said.
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As the automatic sprinklers in the hangar turned on, Shadow left the wreckage, spotting an elevator shaft. With Cosmo in his arms, Tails was flying them up the shaft, which was guarded by infrared security lasers. Thankfully, Tails could see the lasers thanks to an infrared scope he was wearing. Shadow leapt up the shaft after them, accidentally touching a laser in the process. "Intruder alert," said the mainframe. "All stun lasers fire on target."
But even with security lasers firing at Shadow, he was still able to dodge them. Cosmo looked down to see him coming behind them. "Here he comes!" she said, scared.
"It's okay," said Tails in replied reassurance. "Just trust me."
Cosmo's eyes shone with fear while Tails' eyes shone with determination; no one was going to hurt his crush and get away with it. Behind them, Shadow destroyed the security lasers with Chaos Spears as he rebounded up the walls. Tails glanced at Cosmo before looking back up. "Almost there!" he said.
They entered a shaft in the ceiling. As they rolled to a stop, Tails mashed an emergency button. Shadow saw the door in the ceiling close and tried to hurry up there. But he ended up running right smack into the door and falling down to a pipe below, getting a small cut on his face in the process. "Come on, Cosmo!" said Tails as he grabbed Cosmo's hand. "This way!"
The two ran down the small corridor. But Shadow broke through the door and spin-dashed towards the petrified duo. Suddenly, just as it looked like it was the end, Knuckles showed up and stood in front of the kids, holding Shadow back. "It's Knuckles!" exclaimed Cosmo.
"Big bro!" cried Tails.
Knuckles looked at them. "Get outta here quick!" he warned, straining.
He felt Shadow start to push him back. "I've had enough of you, Shadow!" he exclaimed.
Using his brute strength, he threw Shadow through the ceiling. "Go! Now!" he said, turning to the kids.
Cosmo nodded and ran off while Tails gave Knuckles a quick but grateful hug, which Knuckles returned. "Be careful, Knuckles," he said, also giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying off after Cosmo.
Knuckles nodded and glared up at Shadow, who was emerging from the hole. "Trying to challenge me is a big mistake," he said, "and you are going to regret it."
Knickers didn't care. The safety of his little brother and Cosmo was his #1 priority. "I've always wanted to shadowbox!" he said.
"As you wish," replied Shadow.
He rebounded off the four surfaces of the hall towards Knuckles. Bracing himself, Knuckles was slammed backwards and landed on the floor. As Shadow was about to continue, he suddenly fell on his hands and knees. What had happened? "He actually gave it his all," said Rouge as she approached him. "He forced you to take off your limiters, Shadow." She sounded impressed by Knuckles' efforts.
And sure enough, his limiters were on the floor nearby. Shadow was slowly but surely able to stand himself up. "You're not giving up?" asked Rouge.
Shadow didn't say anything in reply. He just picked up his limiters and walked down the hall, putting them back on as he did so. Meanwhile, Tails and Cosmo ran through a door. "Ah! It's a dead end!" cried Tails. "We have to find another way out!"
Suddenly, the door exploded behind them. "Come on!" said Tails, the two quickly making a right.
But alas, they were forced to stop at a dead end. "Please hurry!" Cosmo pleaded. "Shadow will catch up with us soon!"
"Sooner than you think," Shadow replied from down the hall.
As they saw a shadow approaching them, Tails gritted his teeth, growling in annoyance. "I guess this is it," said Cosmo hopelessly.
Tails stood in front of Cosmo protectively, an arm in front of her. Meanwhile, his other hand was behind his back on a switch; having seen a control panel, he had luckily come up with an idea. But Cosmo didn't realize this yet. "Wait a second, Shadow," she said. "If you insist on getting rid of me, you should at least tell me the reason why."
"I do have a reason…" said Shadow as he arrived and stood in front of them, "... but I won't tell you what it is."
He slowly approached the two, not knowing that Tails had planned a trap for him. "There's no point in putting up a fight because you can't beat me," he said.
"You don't have to do this!" pleaded Cosmo.
But Shadow was insistent "You won't talk me out of getting rid of you, so don't try!" he said sternly.
"Stay back!" Tails snapped. "I won't let you near her!"
At that, he threw the switch, and a door closed between them. "Do you seriously believe a door can stop me?" asked Shadow, amused.
"Maybe you're not as strong as you think," Tails retorted with a smirk of his own as the door closed.
"This will be too easy," said Shadow.
He tried to Chaos Spear the door down, but to no effect. Suddenly, he felt an electric current run through him, and he felt the ground under him rising. He rose up into the barrel of the Sonic Driver itself; Tails had caused him to get himself trapped in the Sonic Power Cannon! "I'll spin free!" Shadow decided.
But as he spun into a ball, the Sonic Driver was activated. "Shadow fell right into my trap!" said Tails. "Activate Sonic Power Cannon now!!!"
He pulled another switch, and the Sonic Driver fired Shadow out into space. Now that the cat-and-mouse chase was over, Tails panted as the adrenaline wore off and turned to Cosmo. "We lucked out, Cosmo," he said. "Shadow started spinning at just the right time. You should be safe now."
Cosmo just nodded. "Let's go," said Tails, holding out his hand.
Cosmo took it in gratitude and, thankful for what he did, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Thank you, Tails," she said, kissing his cheek.
Tails blushed as he returned the embrace, happy that he could help.
Meanwhile, Knuckles woke up, finding himself still on the floor in the hall. "Tails!" he exclaimed.
"It's okay," said Creecha. "Tails said Shadow went to space."
Knuckles smiled. "Way to go, little buddy," he said, proud of his little brother.
Rouge and Sunset were nearby, having been tending to him. "Where's Shadow?" asked Rouge.
"He's gone now," said Knuckles. "Tails was able to use the Sonic Power Cannon to send Shadow on a long trip. And you're next…" He sat up at this. "... unless you tell me what's goin' on!"
"Whoa, Knuckles! Take it easy!" said Sunset, holding him back by the shoulder.
"Your foxy friend just made a huge mistake," said Rouge as she produced the device that Leon gave her. "Cosmo is the real enemy, not Shadow."
"What makes you say that?" asked Sunset. "There's no way in heck that Cosmo would hurt anyone; she's just a kid."
"You both underestimated me," said Rouge, going on to explain what had happened:
After seeing what had happened to Leon and the rest of the Canadian resistance, they had gone on to visit some other worlds. On every single one of them, they saw the same effects and deaths. "This world is dead," said Shadow. "The Metarex have been here."
"This looks like the world of the Metarex," said Rouge.
"This doesn't feel right," said Shadow. "Not to me."
"You don't have any memories left," said Rouge. "What world feels right to you, Shadow?"
"I don't know," Shadow replied. "It just is. But we'll find out where she is. We will."
Sunset shuddered as Rouge finished telling them. The thought of tree roots growing into living beings like humans almost made her throw up at the thought. "What does this have to do with killing Cosmo?" asked Knuckles.
"All the secrets lie in here, Knuckles," said Rouge, gesturing to the device. "If you and Sunset want to be on the right side, you should take a look."
The two looked at the device and each other.
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Meanwhile, Tails and Cosmo eventually returned to the bridge. "I'm sorry I'm causing you so much trouble," said Cosmo as they stood on the upper deck together.
"You don't have to apologize, Cosmo," said Tails. "You mean a lot to me."
A long pause occurred as they looked at each other before they then headed to their posts. Suddenly, Shadow Chaos Controlled in front of them with a white Chaos Emerald in hand, which immediately fell apart after usage. "This Emerald is a fake," he said in an annoyed tone, hoping that this was the last time that he or anyone else spotted a fake Chaos Emerald.
Tails was furious. "Let's settle this now!" he said as he ran forward.
But Shadow just punched him aside. "He's hurt!" cried Cosmo.
Shadow started towards Cosmo again. Tails got back up and leapt onto Shadow from behind, but the Ultimate Lifeform just threw him into the command chair's stairs. Tails collapsed, injured and dazed. "What have I done…?" said Cosmo, clearly blaming herself.
She gasped, her eyes shrinking as Shadow turned back to her. Soon, he had her at his mercy. "Let's get this over with," he said.
Just as Shadow was about to deliver the final blow, he felt something grab onto his leg. It was Tails, who had used the last of his energy to crawl over and do this. "Leave her alone…" he said, weakly. "If you don't, you'll be sorry!..."
Although he smirked at the fox, knowing that Tails wasn't able to do anything, Shadow's smile was also holding some admiration and respect for him; after all, it wasn't every day that one would come across an opponent who would protect his or her loved ones no matter how injured he or she was. He was about to return to his business when he suddenly had to dodge a green laser swung at him. It was Wallflower, who now stood in front of Cosmo, lightsabers in hand despite her fever. "That girl," said Shadow, pointing to Cosmo, "her life belongs to me."
Wallflower glared at him. "Well, if you wanna get to her," she said, activating her second lightsaber and getting into position, "you'll have to get through me!"
She swung her lightsabers at him again, causing him to dodge once more. This went on for a while, with Shadow even shooting at Wallflower a few times and Wallflower deflecting said shots. At first, Wallflower fared well, but as the fight went on, it was clear that her fever was steadily getting the better of her, yet she still pushed on. But her hits and swings were getting more and more sloppy. Shadow realized this, so instead of hitting her hard, he just dodged and waited until she finally collapsed, having almost passed out. "Wallflower!" exclaimed Cosmo, horrified.
Wallflower, who was on the brink of unconsciousness, just gave Cosmo a reassuring look before looking back up at Shadow, who approached her. Knowing that she needed to rest because of that fever, Shadow waved his hand a little, causing a little bit of Chaos energy to hit her forehead, sending her into a healing sleep. Then, he stood in front of Cosmo again, said girl shaking with fear. She tried to defend herself, but Shadow deflected every single one of them before finally, knowing that she was done for, Cosmo just braced herself for the end. "Just kill me, please," she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Leave everyone else out of it. It's my fault this all happened. Just take my life, and leave the others be."
"Gladly," Shadow replied as he stood back a few feet and, with a wave of his hand, shot a Chaos Spear at her.
Everything seemed to happen at once. Having managed to gather enough strength to stand up again, Tails was in time to see everything. Eyes wide and knowing what he had to do, he ran faster than he ever had before. He never wanted to break Cosmo's heart, but now, he was left with no other option. In his heart, he knew it was the only way. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" he yelled as he jumped in front of Cosmo, taking the deadly hit for her himself as it struck him right in the chest.
Cosmo was mortified at what she was seeing. Having expected to be dead, she was instead greeted with a shocking surprise: Tails sacrificing himself by jumping in front of her and taking the deadly blow meant for her. "TAILS!!!!" she screamed as she helplessly watched Tails tumble over the railing and fall to the floor.
Even Shadow was surprised at what had happened. But before he could make another strike at Cosmo, Grace landed in front of Shadow, eyeing him angrily. "Sticks! You, Uncle Bob, Uncle Larry, and Junior get Cosmo and Tails to safety somewhere on the bridge!" she said. "I'll handle this!"
"Just be careful!" Sticks warned as she got Tails while Junior got Cosmo.
Finding a safe spot, they hid there. Cosmo immediately went to Tails, who was lying motionless on the ground. Tears filled her eyes as she touched his shoulder. "Tails? Tails, please wake up," she pleaded, gently shaking him.
But Tails still didn't move. It looked like he was dead. Now feeling more guilt than ever before, Cosmo buried her face into her hands and sobbed brokenly. Sticks silently went over to her. "I'm sorry, Cosmo," she said.
Cosmo just looked at her before crying again. Sticks didn't hesitate to hug her, which Cosmo returned, burying her face into Sticks' shoulder. The boys just stayed silent, but one could tell that they were just as saddened, especially Junior, who didn't bother to hide his tears. Bob just wordlessly hugged him to his side while Larry just rubbed his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Grace and Shadow were fighting furiously. Well, Shadow was. Grace was doing more of evasive maneuvering by dodging any of Shadow's shots aimed at her. When she tried to shoot thorns and dew at him, he ended up deflecting them. Same with her vines. Eventually, she was back on the upper deck and getting into an arm lock with Shadow, the hedgehog easily getting the best of her despite her efforts. "If you give up now, you'll have a chance to live," he said. "You're no match for me."
Grace just pushed back at him. "I don't care," she said. "Cosmo never did anything wrong to you, and yet, here you are, chasing her around as if she were a war criminal. All she did was help us throughout the war, and you think she's an outright villain. I'd rather die defending her than let her die by your hand."
"So be it," said Shadow, pushing even harder and causing her to almost bend backward over the railing.
Grace was clearly losing, but she refused to give up. Despite Shadow outclassing her power-wise, she kept on going. But it was clear that she was getting tired. Just when it looked like it was over for her, a voice called to her: "Use your heart."
Confused, Grace looked around Shadow to see… a certain someone standing there. Her eyes widened as she recognized Him, the person she heard and read so much about over the years: Jesus, the Son of God. She didn't say anything, but the look of awe and reverence on her face said everything. She felt Him touching her head and something stirring from within her. As He vanished from sight, she breathed deeply and closed her eyes, remembering what Elsa had told her once: "At first, for years, I was scared of using my powers because of what I accidentally did to my sister Anna years ago. But after she risked her life to save mine, I learned from that day on that love was more powerful than fear. I've been more confident in using my powers ever since– all thanks to love."
Continuing to focus, her mind went back to when it all started: from her birth, to her family being killed, to her being adopted by the Christian Guard– everything, both good and bad, that had happened to her her entire life. All those memories came flooding back to her in a gentle wave. Accompanying them was a lullaby that her bio mother would always sing to her when she was younger:
🎶The battle is not ours
We look to God above
For He will guide safely through
And guard us with His love
So do not be afraid
We need not run and hide
For there is nothing we can't face
When God is on our side🎶
Suddenly, her necklace began glowing as she began embracing her power. Shadow took notice of this and tore it off, but it didn't work. You don't get magical powers just because you put on a cross necklace. Grace opened her eyes to see herself surrounded by magic and her powers amplifying to the max. Getting herself straightened out from her bent position, she smiled happily. "Sweet!" she said.
A white light came out of her, causing the hideaways to take cover and shoving Shadow into the command chair's stairs. As the light died down, Shadow recovered himself to see Grace's form. But now, she looked different. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I've been asking myself the same question for years," Grace answered.
"People have always called me a freak for years because of my outward appearance. But over the years, I've learned that it's not who you are on the outside that matters– it's who you are on the inside."
As she said this, the light completely died down, revealing Grace's true form– a young butterfly fairy-like creature with a rose red-colored dress and shoes, roses in her now-sparkling hair, and what looked like water loops swirled around her. As Shadow and the hideaways looked at her in shock and amazement, a voice spoke from above: "This is My child, a waterbending garden fairy. And I'm so proud of her."
Grace was surprised. "Whoa! A waterbending garden fairy?!" she said. "That's… that's amazing! That finally explains why I've had fairy wings since the day I was born!"
She jumped up and flew around the bridge. "This is awesome!" she hollered as she flew around, water flying around her as she cheered and laughed. "Woohoo! Best! Day! Ever!"
Snapping back into action, Shadow jumped off the rail and threw Chaos Energy at her. "Grace! Heads up!" Sticks called.
Seeing this, luckily, Grace dodged it with ease by flying in a loop as Shadow threw more energy at her. "Water shield!" said Grace, protecting one to block it.
"Icicle thorns!" she added, protecting thorns covered in ice and throwing them at Shadow, who was forced to dodge them.
The whole time, she was smiling. "Thank you, God," she said, looking out the window up at the heavens. "Thanks to You and the friends and family you've given me, I've finally unlocked my full potential!"
"But you don't have your necklace!" said Shadow. "You should be powerless!"
"Our power doesn't come from our necklaces, Shadow," said Grace. "It's when we show who we are on the inside that it comes alive like this."
Angered, Shadow threw even more energy at her, trying to land a hit, but Grace was too smart for him. She slid all around the bridge on ice ramps like her aunts Ariel and Elsa before her, dodging every single one of them. She even managed to get a few good hits on Shadow. Eventually, she finally hid under the bridge to catch her breath. She figured that now was time to trap Shadow. But how? Looking around, she spotted several water bottles that her aunt Rainbow had packed earlier. Getting an idea, she created a thick vine and headed back up. Shadow was looking for her when he heard a whistle. Looking upwards, that's when he saw her. "There you are, you little sneaker," he said as he headed up the stairs.
After a tense staredown, Grace made the first move, throwing several water whips at Shadow, causing him to move out of the way– right into her trap. As soon as Shadow was about to strike at her, Grace quickly raised up her hands, and with a *SHOOOOM!* was able to freeze them both in a thick layer of ice. Having not expected this, Shadow didn't know how he was going to get out; he couldn't move. But Grace knew; having taken a deep breath beforehand, she now breathed through her nose, allowing herself to move as she tied up Shadow's wrists with the thick vine. Tying the vine onto a spot in the floor, Grace first shoved her hands down, causing the ice to melt around them. Gasping and coughing as they caught their breath, Grace was able to finish the job. "I'm surprised you didn't take my life," said Shadow.
"Well, unlike you," said Grace, taking back her cross necklace, "I'm not a murderer or an assassin. Besides, since you're an Ultimate Lifeform, I highly doubt you can die. I know that you were trying to kill Cosmo, but just because I beat you doesn't mean I should behave otherwise. Two wrongs don't make a right."
Noticing the chain was snapped, Grace created a new one by conjuring up a skinny but strong vine, threaded it through a hole on one side of the cross, and tied it on her neck. "I don't know what your reasoning was for trying to take Cosmo's life," she said, "but we'll find out. Regardless of whether you tell us or not."
With that, she finally headed over to where her friends were hiding. They were all still crying, with Cosmo still crying onto Sticks' shoulder. Kneeling down next to Tails, she stroked his face tenderly until she suddenly paused. Placing two fingers in the side of his neck, her eyes widened before placing her hand onto his chest. Sure enough, she could still feel his heartbeat. "He's alive," she whispered.
This made the others look up. "What?" said Cosmo in disbelief.
"Tails," said Grace. "He's still alive somehow. He must've blocked his chest somehow when he took that hit for you, Cosmo."
Hoping this was true, Cosmo got ready to heal him, her hands glowing green. Grace was ready as well. "Thank you, Tails, for saving my little sister," she said to the motionless fox. "Now it's time for us both to return the favor."
With dew and rose petals surrounding him, the two soon got his injuries taken care of. At first, nothing happened. Cosmo was about ready to give up hope again when a glow briefly surrounded Tails before disappearing. A faint groan was heard as the fox finally came to. Cosmo gasped in surprise and relief as she took the fox into her arms, smiling. Upon seeing that Cosmo was safe, a faint smile crossed Tails' face. Happy that Tails was alive, Cosmo hugged him close as he went limp again. Everyone else was happy that Tails was alive too; they'd been really concerned since they saw the whole thing.
As they came out of their hideout, with Grace carrying a tired Tails, Knuckles and Sunset arrived. After they were told what had happened, Sunset threw Wallflower over her shoulder and gave Grace a proud look before heading off to Wallflower's room. "I'm so proud of you, Grace," she said beforehand. "I always knew that one day, you'd unlock your full potential."
Knuckles was more proud of Tails, who was laying in Grace's arms. Kneeling down in front of him, he stroked his head. "Way to go, little buddy," he said. "I always knew you had it in you."
Tails just stirred in Grace's embrace, leaning into his hand. Smiling, Knuckles took him into his own arms, cradling him close. "I'm so proud of you, little brother," he said. "So proud."
All Tails did was cuddle close to his oldest brother's chest and purr before becoming still, finally out cold from exhaustion. Knuckles softly cooed at him as he left the bridge with his precious cargo. "Get some rest, Tails," he said as he left. "You deserve it."
Grace smiled before looking down at Cosmo. "You okay, sis?" she asked.
Cosmo just shook her head as she hugged her leg, not trusting herself to say anything. Grace understood regardless and, kneeling down to her level, hugged her back, glad that she was safe. "Don't worry, Cosmo," she said. "I promise– we won't let anything happen to you."
Sticks smiled. "True," she said. "Still, Grace, what ya did out there was amazing. I highly doubt I could be that skilled."
"Thanks," said Grace, "but I can't take all the credit for it. My family taught me everything I know."
Junior winked at her, proud of his little sister. Bob laughed as he wiped his forehead. "Well," he said, "either way, I'm glad that's over."
Suddenly, as soon as he said that, a loud crack was heard. Confused, Bob looked at Larry and Junior. "Did either of you two say something?" he asked.
"Not until now," said Junior while Larry just shook his head. "Why?"
His answer came in the form of another cracking sound. Sticks was the first to notice. "Uh, guys?" she said, pointing upwards. "We got trouble."
Sure enough, everyone could now see a huge crack starting to form on a giant canopy above them. "Oh…" started Bob.
"Dear…" finished Larry.
Grace immediately realized what was going to happen. "Everyone take cover!" she exclaimed. "The canopy's gonna break!"
As soon as she said that, a hole was blasted in the canopy. As glass rained down around them, a black blur sped in, destroyed Tails' console at his command chair, and sped back out as various objects got sucked into space. Everyone hung onto the railing. "What the heck's goin' on?!" Sticks exclaimed.
"Space vacuum!" answered Grace. "Everyone, hang on tight! Otherwise, we'll get sucked up into space!"
No one argued with her. This was serious. Only two people lost their grip, but were luckily saved. Junior was the first one, losing his grip before, thankfully, Bob and Larry saved him by grabbing onto a wrist each. "Thanks, guys!" he said.
Cosmo held onto the railing for dear life. Her grip also slipped, but Grace managed to grab onto her in time. Luckily for everyone, a safety mechanism activated and shot four blobs of protective webbing at the hole, sealing it and stopping the suction. At this, everyone fell onto the floor. "Is everyone okay?" asked Grace.
"We're good. Could do without that space vacuum though," said Junior as Bob and Larry pulled him back up onto the bridge. "Not like things could get any worse, right?"
At that, a shadow was cast over them. Everyone looked up in time to see the biggest battleship they've ever seen park itself beside the Typhoon– Dark Oak's battleship. "The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?" said Junior, irritated.
"At times like this?" Sticks snarked. "Ya probably make it so easy."
………………………………………………………………………
"Well done, Cosmo," said Dark Oak, "or should I say, White Seed.
………………………………………………………………………
"You have now completed your mission."
Cosmo was shocked, a sense of fear and dread washing over her. White Seed… Mission… she thought. What mission?... What is he talking about?...
A flashback answered it all for her…
………………………………………………………………………
Cosmo cowered as the Scarship overshadowed her. One of its missiles struck the bridge of the ship. As Cosmo ran down the hall, an explosion rocked the side of the ship near her. "It's too late…" she said fearfully. "The Metarex are coming…"
A red-eyed Metarex turned towards her. "If you want to survive," Dark Oak could be heard saying, "then listen to me. Pay close attention."
"Don't… Don't listen…" Cosmo whimpered as a red glow bathed itself over her.
………………………………………………………………………
Suddenly, everything came rushing back to her like a tidal wave. As Cosmo's eyes trembled, she now remembered what Dark Oak had said: "From now on, you will report everything to me. Your eyes will be my eyes. Your ears will be my ears. You will be the ultimate spy. Your codename will be White Seed."
At that, her amulet glowed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" screamed Cosmo as she fell to her knees.
While this was happening, both ships were bathed in an intensely bright glow before vanishing.
To be continued…
ns 15.158.61.12da2
