As the three foxes close in on the sight of the explosion they see people scrambling to get away from whatever is going on. And sure enough when they land on the cracked concrete below, Tails' worst fears are realised.

Standing in a crater, both of them battered and bruised, are Sonic and Shadow... Sonic looks like he's doing worse, in no small part thanks to Shadow's more polished fighting style. Seeing Sonic injured the way he was made Tails livid, the fox squeezes his fists, seeing him in that condition flipped the switch... The side of himself he was hoping to not have to bring back again, the vengeful guardian.

"Nine" Tails says with no emotion in his voice.

When Nine hears how empty Tails' voice is he turns to him and gulps.

"Take Mangey and hide... Now" Tails says.

"Okay" He responds.

Nine takes Mangey's hand and the two run into a record store across the street, peering through yhe windows as they watch Tails slide his bag from off his shoulder and open it. Inside is a case, in said case are the seven chaos emeralds.

"What are those..." Nine says as he watches from the store window.

The emerald slowly lift from out of their spots in the case and they surround him spinning around him swiftly, there's a flash of light bright enough to catch Sonic and Shadow's attention and when it does get their attention Shadow looks his way to see a glowing golden furred Tails with piercing red eyes, the aura he radiates stings like the sun.

When Sonic sees Tails standing there a week smirk crawls across his face, "Congrats dude, you kicked the hornets nest"

Shadow growls as he glares Tails down.

"Looks like the first ass whooping I gave you didn't get the point across" Tails says pointing at Shadow.

"I won't let you get away with this any longer! I'll drag your ass into the dirt if it's the last thing I do!" Shadow shouts.

"...I guess this fight will be your last then" Tails says, grinning like a psychopath.

He lauches himself at Shadow and pushes him back a significant distance, taking the opertunity to also see if Sonic was okay.

"Are you okay?" Tails asks, putting his hand on his face.

"I'm good, don't sweat it" Sonic responds.

Tails laughs and kisses him on the mouth briefly, "You got enough energy to fight with me?"

"You know I won't back down from a good fight!" Sonic responds.

Sonic and Tails stand together ready to take on Shadow. Seeing Sonic standing with Tails made Shadow even more irrate, he was going to see to it that this sick hold Tails had on Sonic would end, his resolve to destroy him grows stronger.

They stare eachother down. A clever fox and a protective hero versus the revenge driven unstoppable force, who would come out on top, would Tails and Sonic be able to defeat Shadow.

"Remember that combo we used back when Eggman created that huge robot that was cutting down trees?" Sonic asks.

"Mhm" Tails responds.

"Let's open up with that"

"This is why I love you"

Sonic chuckles and turns back to Shadow, suddenly he takes off running towards Shadow who's bracing for Sonic. But instead of going straight towards Shadow Sonic bounces off a brick wall, off a car and slams into Shadow's back, Tails jumps forwards and throws his fist at him, it collides with Shadow's jaw and he's thrown into a spin.

Shadow jumps to his feet and charges Tails, Sonic intercepts him by spin dashing into him, Shadow stumbles a bit but manages to deflect Sonic off of him, Tails uses the opertunity of him recovering from Sonic's attack and slams into Shadow throwing him back across the ground, the fox flies at Shadow and prepares to smash him into the ground.

Shadow catches Tails' hands and the two struggle as Tails uses his might to force Shadow down, Shadow meeting him back with just as much power. Their struggle is so immense it's making the ground beneath them crumble.

"When Sonic finds out what you've done-"

Tails giggles at Shadow and stares directly into his eyes, "He won't find out... He never will"

"I'd you love him so much, tell him, tell him what you've done" Shadow growls.

"Ya know Shadow, I can't always be truthful... After all truths can bring just as much pain as lies" Tails responds grinning at him with his sharp carnivorous teeth.

Shadow sees Sonic coming towards him and clenches Tails' hands, swinging the fox around so he can collateral him into Sonic, the two fly a distance before coming to rest near a wrecked car.

"Tch" Tails goes, annoyed by Shadow's decision to go for that move.

"Ah, my head" Sonic grumbles.

Tails, still aggravated, flies at Shadow and slams him into a lorry, throwing him threw it and into a bakery window. Tails lifts the vehicle and tosses it away so he can get to Shadow. Shadow jumps at Tails and throws a few blows at the fox's face... Until Tails catches his hands and gives him a devilish grin.

"I'm gonna enjoy killing you" Tails says.

"Not if I do first... Decieving little bastard" Shadow returns.

Tails headbutts him and Shadow flinches, then he spins him around and smashes him into the sidewalk, Shadow punches Tails in the chin and kicks him off of him, a hand grabs Shadow's leg and swings him across the street into a building... Sonic, who flies at Shadow only to be blocked by him and kicked backwards. Shadow falls from the crater in the wall and glares at Sonic as the blue hedgehog shouts loudly while running at him.

Shadow steps out of Sonic's path, but is grabbed by Tails and viciously jabbed in the gut, the fox grabs him by the neck and flies up high in the air, Shadow punches Tails in the face repeatedly but the fox doesn't flinch... As Tails flies Shadow higher and higher he spots a forest... The perfect place for their fight to continue without potentially endangering more humans.

He pushes Shadow downwards towards the wooded area... That is until Shadow finally breaks free and grabs hold of Tails' ear and punching him in the face as he spins around and tries to keep the fox from gaining an advantage over him, as they get closer Tails has enough of the constant attacks Shadow dishes him and bites Shadow's snout, punches him in the gut and swings him into a tree as they finally get to the forest, crashing like a meteorite from space, throwing debris and broken branches all over the place.

Shadow comes to rest near a boulder, Tails lands on the dirt and rolls a little before coming to a stop near a bush. The fox's head is pounding, he shouts, he may be in his super form but it didn't make getting seriously injured any less worse. He gets back to his feet and pushes his shoulder back into place.

Shadow pulls himself up alongside a tree, only to have a hand slam his head into it, again, and again, and again, and again... Tails throws his fist into his face and it throws him onto his side. Shadow scurries back up to his feet and watches as Tails breaks apart the tree he smashed his head in and lifts it up like a baseball bat, Shadow gets up and flies towards Tails as fast aa he can... The fox in a blur of golden light darts away from him, and swings the huge tree at him throwing him back down towards the Earth and tumbling across the ground.

Before Shadow can even react, Tails comes crashing down on top of him and stands over him while firing his piercing red eyes at him.

"Give up" Tails says.

Shadow chuckles as if it's a joke, "Not until you're dead"

Shadow unleashes a powerful wave of energy that throws Tails off of him, the fox stops himself from flying into a tree branch and sees Shadow getting close to him... Shadow grabs Tails by the throat and slams him down on the ground, Tails struggles to breathe as  Shadow clenches his hands on Tails' neck, he struggles and struggles to get free from Shadow's grip, but the ultimate lifefrom's grip is like steel.

"You were never gonna win this fight..." Shadow says.

Tails sees something blue approaching from behind Shadow and smirks, "I think you... Ngh... Forgot something-"

Sonic, in a small glowing ball of blue lightning, smashes into Shadow and sends him tumbling into a pond. Tails coughs and wheezes as his windpipe opens back up again.

"About time you came" Tails says with a weak smile.

Sonic squeezes him tightly, "I told him I wouldn't let him have his way with you"

Tails laughs weakly and nuzzles his face, they touch noses and then turn their attention back to Shadow, who emerges from the pond even more livid than he was previously.

"Let me have the emeralds" Sonic says.

Tails holds his hand and looks up into his eyes, "I have a better idea"

"And what's that?" Sonic asks.

Tails grabs hold of him and laughs as he pulls him in for a kiss, sweet and spicy compassion behind each and every lick. The feeling of lifting higher and higher. Shadow seeing them kiss, sees an opening and makes a move, flying at the two as fast as he can putting a massive amount of power into his attack.

As if it's magic, white smoke envelopes the two as Tails continues to kiss him. Shadow flies into the smoke cloud, for a moment theres nothing everything is still... A blinding flash of light follows, enough to nearly blind someone. Shadow flies backwards out of the cloud into a tree with enough force to bring it down.

The smoke finally clears and when it does... Both boys shine like trophies, Sonic looks down at himself and when he realises he was in his super form, he grins excitedly.

"Hell yeah, can't remember the last time I went super!" He shouts, then he begins to wonder why Tails kissed him if he could have just used the emeralds to grant him said form, "Why this kiss though?"

"Why not?" Tails responds, giggling excited.

Sonic laughs and hugs him, when they hear Shadow snarl and see him stand up from the mangled tree they look at each other and nod.

"Fine... I'll destroy both of you then" Shadow says.

He pulls the limiters on his wrists off and unleashes a massive amountbof power in the form of a shockwave, one strong enough to make Sonic and Tails shield themselves, enough to violently shake the trees and rip a few from their roots.

"Bring it on Shadow! I'll protect Tails, and he'll protect me!" Sonic says, pointing at him.

"...Then you'll die protecting him, like a bug" Shadow responds.

Shadow flies towards them at breakneck speeds. Sonic and Tails meet him with the same amount of speed and power and when they collide... An explosion almost as big as a small island is created. It's so big, Nine and Mangey can see it from back over in London.

Mangey whimpers worried about Sonic and Tails' wellbeing, Nine squeezes his fists tightly.

"No"

Mangey looks up at him when he hears him say that.

"I'm not gonna sit on my ass and watch them suffer... Or worse..." Nine says.

Mangey whimpers nervously, Nine kneels down infront of him and puts his hands on his face.

"You don't have to fight... But I really love having Sonic and Tails in my life. I'm not going to let some lab rat take them away from me" Nine says, showing the concerned little Mangey how serious he was about pitching In to help them out.

Mangey puts his hand on Nine's shoulder and nods. Nine sighs and turns around so he can run off toward the woods, Mangey reluctantly follows along. He huffs and puffs as he gets closer and closer, he wants to do something, anything than just sitting back and watching them get destroyed, the thought of being alone again making it more unbearable.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails proved to be overwhelming for Shadow, even with his limiters off Shadow found himself struggling... And boy, was he struggling.

Shadow strikes Tails' arms, it throws him back a little but before he can do anything else, Sonic smashes into him and that attack sends him into the ground creating a massive crater and destroying the surrounding wildlife. Tails rips another tree from its foundation and throws it at Shadow, who doesn't waist any time with his recovery firing himself into the air like a cannon ball, destroying the tree in the process.

Pieces fly all over the place, Tails sheilds himself from the debris giving Shadow an opening to attack... Or so he thinks he has one, a no good smirk appear on the fox's face and he unleashes a devastating shockwave that Shadow just barely avoids, Sonic hits him like a truck and tosses him high in the air.

When Shadow recovers from that, Tails' fist collides with his stomach, and then Sonic comes in with a powerful strike. Neither one of them give him the chance to recompose himself, and they both come down on Shadow's back as he tumbles towards the ground yet again.

When they hit the ground, dirt, rocks and the like fly everywhere, it stains their fur, it's in their eyes... Sonic's fists flying at his face, Tails' crippling attacks, they were taking a toll on him, the two continue to kick and punch him around the dynamic duo. All he's gone through, Sonic's betrayal... The death of one of his friends... It was all a lot to bottle in, he didn't deserve this, he didn't deserve it at all.

His hands find themselves grabbing onto Sonic and Tails' necks, the two are struggling, struggling to get free from the fed up Shadow, and soon that proves to be more of an issue when Shadow suddenly takes off into the air, still with a death grip on their necks, he flies higher and higher until finally Tails unleashes a shockwave that finally separated him from him and Sonic... The fox doesn't give Shadow anytime to recover and starts playing keep it up with his fists, repeated punching Shadow again and again and again as they fly forward.

To Tails' surprise however, Shadow breaks thw chain of pain by grabbing hold of Tails' hand, and swinging him like a merry-go-round towards the ground. The fox crashes into a tree and grumbles. Sonic comes in and bulldozes Shadow, grabbing him by the quills on the back of his head and striking him, Shadow doesn't let the punishment last though and eventually headbutts Sonic hard enough to disorient him, taking the opportunity to slam Sonic into the ground and once Sonic's bruised body is on the ground he just goes ham, holding nothing back as he punches him repeatedly.

"Words can't even describe how hurt I feel by what you're doing" Shadow says.

"Maybe if you didn't threaten to kill him... Ngh, I'd be more inclined to listen to you" Sonic groans.

"When you see that Tails isn't who you think he is you better not come crying... Bastard"

"I won't, because I trust him!" Sonic shouts.

Sonic throws a punch at his jaw which throws him backwards, then like a bullet from out of a gun hits him like a football and smashes into a huge boulder... Shadow punches him off him and Sonic tumbles a bit before coming to rest near a drop near a motorway. Shadow is just about to hit Sonic again when suddenly Tails intercepts him and smashes him into the ground.

Tails keeps a hand on his face as he reaches into his belt and pulls out an elastiribbon... A red one, he flicks his wrist and it turns rectangular, sort of like a piece of paper, which he presses on Shadow's face, the red hot nanites burning at Shadow's face making him shout in pain, scream in agony as he tries to get Tails off of him. Struggle as he might Tails keeps a firm grip on his face as the red glowing fabric Sears his skin. There's nothing in Tails' eyes as he watches Shadow wriggle around like a worm.

Sonic feels somewhat terrified as he watches Tails, with no emotion in his eyes, continue to burn Shadow, holding him down like he was an animal. Eventually Tails feels like it's enough and takes the fabric off his face, flicking his wrist he turns it into a knife and stabs Shadow in the back with it.

Shadow eventually has enough and kicks Tails off of him the fox lands on his back and sits up immediately as Shadow with his scarred face stands up, he stands up panting and wincing in agony.

But just as it looked like it couldn't get any worse for him, he's hit by a beam of energy, continuously firing skin eating rays, Tails looks over to see Nine using his mechanical tails to fire said energy beam at him. The burning anger in his eyes makes Tails smile a grin of pride and relief. Nine unleashes the red ropes in his black glove and whips them around Shadow and he swings him threw the fence down onto the motorway, he lands on a cars windshield causing it to stop abruptly.

Nine lands on top of the car, like a spider, the claws digging into the the roof of the car. When Shadow sees Nine standing above him with his piercing eyes he gasps. Nine grabs Shadow by the leg and smashes him on the asphalt, then on another car, and then swings hik into a support column of an overhead bridge with enough force to compromise it. Shadow flings himself at Nine, seeing he's an enemy.

Nine uses his tails to fire an energy beam at Shadow and like a fighter plane getting shot down he veers off course towards the surrounding cars below and crashes into a lorries windshield.

Whatever Nine was using it was severely effecting Shadow's ability to fight. Shadow, now a wobbly mess gets back to his feet only to have a free knuckle sandwich handed out to him by Nine who then proceeds to hit him with yet another beam of this unusual energy, this time pinning him against the mangled lorry.

Tails and Sonic swoop over to see what's happening, Mangey comes in jumping over the barrier separating the inbound traffic from the outbound traffic. Shadow groans as he tries to muster the energy to fight, but he can't all he can do now is take Nine's fists and unyielding rage.

"Don't. Fuck. With. My... FAMILY!" Nine shouts, letting all his rage be known.

He slams his knee into Shadow's face which finally knocks Shadow out, he backs up and breathes heavily. Tails lands on the road and runs up to Nine, putting his hand on his shoulder. Tails can see tears flowing down Nine's eyes so he hugs him tightly, from there all he does is just cry and cry, letting it all out, Sonic joins in trying to comfort him too.

"Family huh?" Sonic says with a lazy smile.

"Mmm" Nine sobs.

"...You were worried about us?" Tails asks him.

"...Yes" Nine sobs.

"Nine..." Tails starts, then the fox decides to not say anything else, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Mangey joins in eventually wanting to show Nine some comfort too. Soon sirens can be heard as Nine continues to cry in Sonic and Tails' arms.

"Let's get out of here" Sonic says.

Tails nods, Sonic picks Mangey up and Tails carries a sniffling Nine in his arms, and they both fly off away from there.

The ultimate lifefrom's weak body starts to recover from Nine's barrage, when he opens his eyes he's seeing double... Something is approaching him, the click of heels, a slim body that stops Infront of him, when his vision steadies he finally sees who it is... A woman with skin as clean as a diamond, lucious brown hair tied in a bun.

"So you're Gerald's lab rat..." She says in an English accent.

Two armoured men approach from behind her and when Shadow realises what's going on it's too late.

"My name is Caitlyn... Caitlyn Robotnik... And where my brother failed, I will succeed" She says with an aloof smile.

"No... No... I won't let this happen again, you won't take m-"

She pulls out a stick and hits Shadow with it, electricity flows through Shadow's insides and shuts down his nervous system. And once again, he's out and once again in the hands of his captors.

"Throw him in the truck" Caitlyn orders.

The two armoured men pick Shadow up and drag him off into the light, whatever his fate was now... It was in the the hands of these people, these people who were going to use him again as a guinea pig, his chance to get his revenge now ultimately going down the drain... But will it be the last time we see Shadow again?