All copyright stuff is in Chapter 1

The 3 Shadows, Episode 3 - Miles' Tail

Chapter 1 - Earth's End

The 3 Shadows stare at Gerald's new machine. G-003 Earth stands tall and strong and was harder to fight than G-002 Venus. Unlike last time they weren't in a base, they were in Metro City. Innocent lives were at stake, but this was nothing new. The Fight against G-001 Mercury was one that took place in a City also.

Miles fired his Sticky Mud at the feet of Earth, but it just shook it off. The last time they fought a machine like this they stuck it to the floor on its back. Obviously the same techniques wouldn't work. Nethertheless Joz and Shadow still tried to knock the behemoth down. Its massive green arms took little effort in striking them down to the ground. They managed to get up and followed Miles into a back Alley.

"These things just keep getting tougher", said Shadow.

"First stronger unpenetrable armour now Miles Mud is ineffective", said Joz.

"But I bet if we can get it on its back we'll be able to stop it again. Any ideas Miles?" asked Shadow. There was an uncomfortable silence as Joz and Shadow looked at Miles for Salvation.

"Sorry guys, I can't think of anything", said Miles sadly.

"Well we'll just have to keep fighting until you do", said Shadow. Joz nodded and the three headed off into the street, Miles a little reluctant.

Perhaps my other guns modes my have some effect. There's some glass up there perhaps I could blind him. Thought miles switching his shooter mode to paintball. He fired several paintballs at the cockpit where Gerald was sitting. Somehow the Shadow's knew he hadn't died when he fell off the high cliff, even before Earth began attacking. Gerald laugh could be heard from his cockpit as the paint smoothered his view. Jets of water blasted the paint off the glass.

"Aw man! The Paintballs and the Mud are ineffective against him. I doubt the bullet mode will do anything either", said Miles.

"Miles forget about trying to destroy Earth, Just draw it away from the buildings and the people", said Joz. Miles Nodded and proceeded to annoy Gerald using his bullet mode.

"You little runt", said Gerald using Earth to kick Miles away. Miles was knocked into a building and fell to the floor. Shadow saved him using Chaos control but he was unconscious. He left his to rest down an alley.

"Poor Miles, you did your best but it wasn't good enough", said Shadow, "You just rest here while we think of something".

Shadow looked back towards Earth and noticed a rather thick cable nearby, holding up a structure. It'll have to come down, but then so does Earth.

"Joz hand me over your sword", said Shadow.

"You got a plan? OK, but take good care of it", said Joz handing his sword over while guarding from Earth's punches with his Armour Shield.

Shadow Chaos Controlled to the Cable and used The Annemuir to cut it. He then Chaos controlled back to the ground and ran around Earth's legs, trapping them between the cables.

"If Miles Mud won't do it, this will", said Shadow, "Let's bring this sucker down!"

"Heh Heh, great! You're going down Gerald", said Joz jumping and kicking Earth. It was knocked back a bit and Shadow started attacking it also. Soon Earth was on the ground.

"Shadow, my sword", shouted Joz. Shadow nodded and gave the Annemuir back to Joz.

Joz ran to the glass cockpit and smashed his sword into it. Gerald looked surprised and upset that they had found a way to beat Earth.

"No! How did you know?" asked Gerald.

"We didn't, but we had to try something", said Joz, "Now if you want to live I suggest you stand back".

Joz lifted his sword up high and smashed it into the console. G-003 Earth powered down and lay on the ground. A lifeless metal shell, which Joz and Shadow stood on. Joz searched the dark cockpit for Gerald but he had already made his escape somehow.

"Damn it he got away again", said Joz.

"Well we saved Metro City, that's all that matter for now", said Shadow, "Let's go home".

Shadow picked up Miles and the 3 headed back home to Joz's Mansion.

Chapter 2 - Miles doubt

Miles woke up in his room. No sign of the fight against Earth, was it all a dream? Of course not, the guys must've beaten Earth without me. Shadow appeared outside the door.

"Good you're up", said Shadow.

"What happened?" asked Miles a little confused.

"Don't worry we took down Earth without you, thanks to my brilliant plan", said Shadow proudly.

"So you're saying you didn't need me", said Miles, slightly sadder now, "I let you down"

"Don't be silly. It wasn't all that long ago Joz felt the same way. We each have our bad days", said Shadow.

"But Joz's problem was only temporary," said Miles

"What's all this worrying for?" asked Shadow, "Get some rest and we'll see if we can track down Gerald again". Miles said nothing and just lay down putting his head back on his pillow. Shadow just left, leaving Miles alone to rest.

Shadow has his speed and his chaos manipulation. Joz has his sword skills and the wing upgrades. Me, I'm just a good shot and even that proved useless today. I can't keep up with the other Shadows, they have real abilities.

Later Joz entered Miles' room to find just a note lying on his bed. Joz quickly grabbed the note and began reading.

Joz/Shadow

I can't help but feel redundant after today's fight. I have nothing to offer the Shadows anymore. Gerald's armour is strong enough to withstand any of my bullet modes and today I couldn't think of anything at all to bring down Earth. I let you down and I don't know if it's a one-time thing or the start of a downward spiral. Please don't try to find me, I'd just slow you down the next time we fight Gerald.

Miles

Joz ran out of the room and found Shadow in the lounge.

"He's gone. You were right he felt useless and wouldn't you know it he's ran off", said Joz.

"Well I reckon we go after him don't ya think. He's at that age when his emotions rule his actions", said Shadow.

"Agreed. He's most likely gone back to green woods", said Joz.

"Exactly what I was thinking", said Shadow. The two left heading towards Green woods.

Meanwhile at Green woods, Miles was shooting his homemade targets, just like he did to train for the paintball championships.

I don't know why I left here. I was happy being a paintballer but for some reason I felt I had to help Shadow. In fact that's still true, I'm helping him by keeping out of his way. They always wanted me to go home, saying I was just a kid, and they were right. I'm no hero anymore; I'm just a kid.

Suddenly another one of Gerald's machines appeared from the mountains. "G-004 Mars" could be seen on the side of one of it's arms. It fired a missile and Miles immediately sprang into action. He shot the missile with his bullets but this just made it worse as it exploded, filling the nearby area with purple gas. Not again! I can't let Gerald beat me again! Miles fell to the floor unconscious, it was knock out gas. Mars picked up the fallen Miles and headed off towards the mountains again.

Much later after the dust settled Shadow and Joz arrived at Miles' old home.

"MILES!!" shouted Shadow and Joz after one another. Soon an adult fox came from the house.

"Shadow?" asked the old fox

"Yep, you Miles' father?" asked Shadow

"Yes. I think Miles may be in trouble. He was out here letting off steam not to long ago when after a loud bang some purple gas appeared. The rest of my family started to drop to the floor, I guess I must have too", said Miles' father.

"Knock out gas? Oh no! This is much more serious that we originally thought. I bet Gerald has him now", said Joz

"Don't worry Mr. Prower, we'll get him back", said Shadow.

Now If only I knew how.

Chapter 3 - Gerald's secret plan

Miles awoke, finding himself in one of Gerald dark damp prison cells. Oh great what else is going to go wrong for me today? Gerald soon entered the prison and stood in front of Miles' cell.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you returned home so I planted small cameras nearby", said Gerald.

"Why me?" asked Miles.

"Not so much you specifically, I need one of the Shadows and it's either Joz's highly secure mansion or your small cottage home. Which would you choose?" said Gerald.

"I see. Doesn't matter anyway, they're the heroes. I'm just a tagalong really", said Miles.

"Well seeing as I was expecting this I have had a plan I've been waiting to put into action", said Gerald.

"I guess this is where you reveal your plan for your own self-esteem. Classic villian behaviour", said Miles.

"It doesn't matter if you know or not, there's nothing you can do about it. You see I've been researching mind control and furthering my knowledge of genetics. I've developed a way of using Chaos energy to mutate people, and guess what you're going to be my test subject for both my mutation ray and my mind control crown", said Gerald.

"How's this going to help you then?" asked Miles.

"Simple, I plan to pit you against the other shadows. A mutated version of you should beat them pretty easily", replied Gerald, "And when I have them too there will be very little standing in my way".

Suddenly Gas appeared from the walls of Miles' cell. He fell unconscious yet again. When he woke up he found himself chained to the table staring at a giant ray gun. Miles started struggling; after all he didn't want to be a mutated monster.

"Stop struggling, there's no way you're going to escape", said Gerald pulling down a lever, "I can't say whether it will hurt or not seeing as you're my first test subject". Miles started screaming as the ray gun fired a beam. It lasted a couple of minutes and it did hurt, a lot! Miles lay there crying out in pain, not knowing exactly what Gerald had done to him. Would this mutation be a curse or a blessing in disguise.

Gerald held a thin metal crown in his hand as he walked over to the chained up Miles. He placed the crown on his head after much effort; Miles wasn't going to go down without some sort of a fight. As soon as the crown was placed on his head Miles stopped struggling.

"Who is your master?" asked Gerald.

"You are Gerald Robotnik", replied Miles.

"Excellent it worked", said Gerald. He pressed a button and the chains that had held Miles to the table were removed. Miles stood for the first time as a mutant. Everything was the same apart from one major difference. He now had another tail.

"That it? After searching for days for a Chaos emerald to get the mutation ray up and running this is the only thing it did? One extra tail?" said Gerald moaning. Miles walked about stumbling a little as he adjusted for the extra tail.

"Are you disappointed master?" asked Miles.

"A little, I can't see any benefit from you having another Tail", replied Gerald, "Wait a minute, try spinning them around like a fan". Miles proceeded to do so as Gerald sat on a chair.

"Aim it at me", said Gerald, "At least I have a new air conditioning system".

Gerald turned on a nearby television. During the program they were watching a helicopter appeared. It was then that he realised the potential of this new tail.

"Miles, try to fly using your tails as rotor blades. Just like that helicopter", said Gerald. Miles proceeded to do so and found that using them this way he could fly.

"Excellent. That mutation paid off after all. Now go and find Shadow and Joz, Take them out one at a time and bring them to me", Said Gerald.

"As you wish Master", said Miles leaving the room.

Chapter 4 - Shadow vs Shadow

Shadow and Joz stood on top of the mountains. There was absolutely no sign of Miles or his kidnapper. Although a huge metallic building could be seen way off into the distance. They were pretty sure Gerald was the one who kidnapped Miles and it was the only thing close to a lead.

"Do you think he's there then?" asked Joz, "It does look like a Gerald base".

"Well it's all we got to go on", said Shadow, "Let's go"

Just then some sticky Mud bombs hit Joz's feet sticking him to the ground. Several more shots were fired and Joz was stuck.

"Miles? What do you think you are doing?" asked Joz. Miles appeared next to Shadow and took his green emerald.

"Let's see what you can do without your Emerald Shadow", said Miles running off.

"Hey, give that back", said Shadow running after him. Shadow was faster than Miles so quickly caught up with him. Miles fired some mud, sticking Shadow to the ground temporarily as he ran off towards Gerald's Base.

"I don't know what's gotten into you but if you don't give me my Emerald back soon you'll regret it", said Shadow Shaking free of the Mud.

Miles led Shadow inside Gerald's base and into a special arena made just for them to fight in. The only way in was now blocked and the only way out was Chaos control unless the door re-opened. Shadow stood still inside the dark room.

"Miles, come out and explain your actions", said Shadow angrily. Miles appeared from the darkness shooting more mud at Shadow's feet.

"Quiet, you fell for our trap", said Miles, "First I'll take you down then Joz. Let's see how strong you are without a Chaos emerald". Shadow looked at Miles and two things caught his attention, His second Tail and a metal crown on his forehead.

"Miles, what happened?" asked Shadow.

"Gerald made me stronger", replied Miles, "Let me show you exactly what I can do".

Miles flew over to Shadow and pulled him out of his mud as he flew higher and higher. Shadow was still in shock but then realised the only thing keeping him from falling back down was Miles. They were really high now and Miles let go followed by a whack of his tail. Shadow was falling headfirst to the ground quickly. Shadow smashed into the ground, right next to where Gerald was standing. Gerald placed a crown on Shadow's head.

"Shadow, who is your master?" asked Gerald

"You are Gerald Robotnik", replied Shadow.

"Excellent, both of you take down Joz now so I can give him his crown", said Gerald.

"Understood", said both of them at the same time. Miles handed Shadow over his chaos emerald. The two left to room and spotted Joz exploring a corridor. Shadow used Chaos control and punched Joz in the stomach.

"Not you too Shadow. What's going on?" asked Joz. He quickly noticed the crown on his head and looked over to Miles.

"Those weird crowns. They're controlling your minds aren't they?" asked Joz.

"Silence. It doesn't matter anymore, you too will fall and you'll be under Gerald's control too", said Miles, Shooting bullets at Joz.

Joz reflected each of the bullets and struck his sword at Miles. Miles flew above him.

"What the?" said Joz. He then noticed Miles' second Tail.

"Holy crap! Where did that came from?" asked Joz.

"If you must know it was Gerald", said Miles as Shadow Chaos controlled into his arms. Miles then threw Shadow at Joz, who had begun spinning. Miles fired some mud aswell, which made sure Joz couldn't get out of the way.

Shadow smashed into Joz who couldn't defend in time and Joz fell to the floor. Gerald had entered the room and as Joz tried to get up Gerald placed a crown on his head too.

"Who is you master Joz?" asked Gerald

"You are Gerald Robotnik", replied Joz.

"Yes! My plan worked perfectly. With you three under my command nothing can stop me getting my revenge on GUN", said Gerald before laughing maniacally.

Now it's time to put the final stage of my secret plan into action.

Chapter 5 - The world has lost its heroes.

When Gerald started attacking people, the whole world felt scared. Then the 3 Shadows came and did the superhero thing, making the people feel safe again. However this was about to change, for the worse.

The Paintball championships had started. A huge stadium was filled with people expecting to see Miles Prower. He is the favourite to win and he is one of the 3 new heroes. Miles walks into the arena and a huge cheer fills the stadium.

"This is incredible. We thought the Champion wouldn't show this year due to being a part of the 3 Shadows. Miles "Sharpshot" Prower has entered the arena to a massive cheer, carrying his signature home made wrist shooters", said a commentator over the tannoy system.

"Sharpshot?" asked Joz

"Why don't you go by that name usually?" asked Shadow.

"I hate it. Anyway we have a job to do", replied Miles. He ran into the commentator's box and stole the microphone.

"Citizen's of Capitol City and indeed the world. Circumstances have changed, but we still do not wish to harm anyone. So if you all give yourselves up and become Gerald Robotnik's slaves no-one will be hurt. All hail Gerald Robotnik", said Miles over the tannoy.

Shadow and Joz walked out, onto the center field of the arena.

"Please report to either one of my fellow shadows to sign up to Gerald's slavery program", said Miles. No one moved. Cries of "is this a joke" and "what on Earth is going on?" could be heard.

"Perhaps you need a little incentive", said Miles, "Shadow!"

Shadow grabbed hold of his emerald and warped around the stadium, picking out random people. He warped them to Joz who held his sword as if to kill these innocent people.

"We are not joking. Surrender youself or meet the same fate as these poor people", said Miles. Luckily for the innocent people GUN's soldiers came and opened fire at Joz. Joz deflected all their bullets using his sword and moved closer towards them. He cut the guns in half when he was close enough. The soldiers ran away scared as Joz put his sword away and walked back to the innocents.

"This is your last chance surrender to us or face us. It's your choice", said Miles. The people began running off in a panic. Some hiding down the many corridors of the buildings. Some just gave up and moved towards Shadow and Joz.

"I see some people have some sense. You cannot beat us, and to those running away, we'll get you soon enough", said Miles.

That was the event that changed the people views. They were scared again as the world fell to Gerald's Dark desires. Banks were robbed, people were used as slaves and cities surrendered. GUN tried there best to hold back Gerald's advances but the 3 Shadows and G-004 Mars were too strong for them.

Amongst all this anguish however there was a shining light. Nobody had been killed by the 3 Shadows. The slaves either went willingly or were forced, but refusing Gerald's demands killed no one. The world may have lost their heroes but they hadn’t become killers.

But GUN hadn't given up. They had noticed the crowns even though the public didn't. They thought that perhaps Gerald was controlling the Shadows with them. All they needed to do was get to the crowns and, with the 3 Shadows back to their usual self, perhaps restore order to the world. The problem was how to do this. Perhaps free them one at a time, but who first?

Chapter 6 - Shining white light

A white rabbit hides in the darkness of a back alley. Beside the Rabbit is the GUN general. The Rabbit was female and wearing a tight black suit.

"So do you know your objective Diamond?" asked the General.

"Of course. Take out the 3 Shadows one by one, making sure I remove the metal crowns. I have to keep them alive and manage to take them out before another becomes suspicious", Said the Rabbit.

"We suggest taking out Miles first. We reckon he'll be the easiest to beat, but do not underestimate him. Each of them is a top class fighter", said the General.

"Don't worry, the Deadly Gems have never failed and I don't intend to be the first", said Diamond.

"Speaking of which, where are the other gems?" asked the General

"Emerald, Ruby and Sapphire are all busy training at GASH Headquarters. If this doesn't work we're preparing our own plan to take them out", replied Diamond, "We're aware of the strengths of the 3 Shadows and each of us want to take on Joz for the title of Master hunter"

"So why aren't you training with them?" asked the General.

"Rank. I am the youngest of the gems", replied Diamond putting on a black mask the matched her outfit, "Now, I have a job to do".

"Good luck Diamond", said the General. Diamond used her ears to fly out and silently moved across the tops of the nearby buildings.

She reached Gerald's new base, the main one where he and the 3 Shadows lived. Ruling over enslaved people and installing fear into the hearts of everyone. The huge grey metallic building filled every acre of space visible, and she was still a great deal away. She climbed into a vent and proceeded to the vents above the main hall.

Inside the hall the 4 stood there talking. Shadow rested against a wall with his arms folded. Joz practiced his sword strikes and Miles paced up and down the hall. Gerald sat on a throne tapping the armrest in boredem.

"It's too quiet. Surely GUN has come up with a plan by now", said Gerald.

"Perhaps they've realised we are the best fighters and no one would stand a chance against us", said Miles.

"Or Perhaps they're waiting for the right moment to strike", said Joz.

"Pathetic humans! None of them have the power to bring anyone of us down", said Shadow. Meanwhile in the vents.

"General this is Diamond, proceed with the distraction as planned", said Diamond softly over a radio.

A few seconds later loud explosions could be heard.

"Intruders in the north, south, east and west wings", said a computer voice over the tannoy.

"Well it's about time", said Joz, "Some action at last"

"It's obviously a trap. Designed to split us up. Remember if one of you loses your crown you'll revert back to your goody-two-shoe selves", said Gerald.

"True, but we have no choice. We'll just have to be careful", said Miles.

"Right then, I'll take the South wing", said Shadow.

"I'll take the west wing", said Joz.

"I'll go north, all my research papears are there", said Gerald, "And whatever they're planning they'll want one of you three not me".

"Which leaves me with the East wing", said Miles.

The four broke up heading in the directions they said they would. Diamond followed Miles to the East wing. When Miles go there he saw a small pack of GUN robots.

"How did I know it was you? Well this shouldn't take long", said Miles shooting down the robots one by one. As Miles fought the robots Diamond prepared her move. She pulled out a taser and walked over to Miles silently.

"Pathetic! Is that the best you can do GUN?" asked Miles taking out the last robot.

"No, this is!" shouted Diamond shocking Miles with the taser. She removed the crown and destroyed it. She left through the vents in which she came in and returned to alley where the GUN general was. All the time carrying Miles on her shoulders.

"Excellent one down, two to go", said the General, "You're worth every penny of your hire fee".

"I told you, the deadly gems never fail", said Diamond, "So who's next".

"First we take him back and wake him up. He'll be useful in taking down the other two", said the General.

"Lead the way", said Diamond. And with that the three left for GUN's secret base.

Chapter 7 - Miles wakes up

Miles awoke in a strange bed. The room he had been sleeping in was rather plain and basic. It was rather cold and the only light came from a single bulb that had been on for quite some time. He scratched his forehead and realised then that the crown was gone. He was back to normal but the question of how went through his mind straight away.

The door to the room opened and the GUN general walked through with Diamond.

"Oh good you're awake", said the General.

"General? What the hell happened? First I was under Gerald's control, fighting a small army of GUN robots then I wake up here back to normal", said Miles, "And who is she?"

"This is Diamond the Rabbit. We hired her to free all 3 Shadows' minds one by one. She infiltrated Gerald's base and, while your party of 4 were split up, she took you out using the taser we gave her", said the General.

"And the crown?" asked Miles.

"Currently being adjusted so Gerald wont have control over you", said the General.

"You and I are going to take down the other two Shadows and free their minds aswell. For that we need you to return to the base with your crown to avoid suspicion", said Diamond.

"I see, but I reckon I can take out the other Shadows myself. Seeing as how they'll think I'm still one of them I can shoot Shadow's crown easily. Joz's though will be a lot harder, seeing as how he has his bullet reflect technique", said Miles.

"With Shadow at your side though it should be no problem right?" asked the General.

"Perhaps", replied Miles.

"Why don't you just tranquilize them?" asked Diamond, "Why are we making this difficult?"

"The darts material would probably be sensed by Joz, so it wouldn't work. And Shadow's too fast to hit with a dart. In fact I don't think a bullet would hit Shadow at all", said Miles.

"Looks like we'll have to do things the hard way. Two against two. I'll take on Joz, you can concentrate on Shadow", said Diamond.

"It's reckless, but it's our only chance", said Miles, "Let's do it"

"Ok! We'll take you back to the base as soon as possible", said the General.

Later they arrived outside Gerald's Palace base again. Diamond Jumped through the vents while Miles simply walked inside. For the time being they hadn't realised Miles was free from Gerald's control. He walked inside the main room just as Diamond reached the vents above to watch from.

"Miles! What happened to you?" asked Joz.

"Don't worry, GUN captured me but I escaped", said Miles.

"Did your crown get damaged?" asked Gerald.

"I don't think so", replied Miles. Miles had crept closer to Shadow. He turned to Shadow

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Shadow.

Miles quickly aimed his shooters and fired at Shadow's Crown. Joz had dashed over and reflected the bullet with his sword.

"They did get to you didn't they?" asked Shadow, "Well now you're going to pay". Joz held the annemuir at Miles' throat. Miles began to shake in fear.

"Joz, I'm your friend try to remember", said Miles.

"Finish him, now. We can't let him live he's a liability", said Gerald.

Suddenly Diamond jumped out of the vents and withdrew a sword from a holder strapped to her back. She struck at Joz who retaliated by smashing his own sword into hers. He then kicked her away, leaving her to slide across the floor.

"Well who do we have here?" asked Joz.

"I'm Diamond the Rabbit and I'm here to free your mind Master hunter", replied Diamond.

"Oh! Could you be one of those Deadly gems I've heard so much about. Well this might be interesting", said Joz

Diamond stood up holding her sword ready to fight Joz. Meanwhile Shadow had grabbed Miles from behind, holding Miles' arms behind Miles' back. Miles couldn't move.

"Forget about me friend?" asked Shadow. Miles flipped Shadow over and smashed him into the ground.

"No, I'm just getting started", said Miles aiming his shooters at Shadow.

"Live entertainment, how brilliant. Knock these two out, I'll create new crowns for them. They'll make excellent additions to our force", said Gerald.

"As you wish, Master", said Joz and Shadow at the same time.

Chapter 8 - Freed Shadows

Gerald watched on as Miles fought Shadow and Diamond fought Joz. Diamond was being pushed back by some of Joz's sword strikes. She had never fought an opponent so tough before.

"I underestimated you. You are pretty strong after all", said Diamond, "But one of the deadly gems will defeat you and take the title Master hunter from you. I'd prefer it to be me"

"Don't make me laugh. You can barely hit me", said Joz striking Diamond down to the floor.

Meanwhile Shadow had been warping all over the place. Using Chaos control and other Chaos manipulation techniques he was quite frankly beating Miles to a pulp.

"Revenge time for what you did to me earlier Miles. Last time I was weak, doing my best not to hurt you. But not this time", said Shadow kicking Miles into a wall. Miles smashed into the wall and fell to the floor. Miles got up and flew into the Sky using his tails. He aimed his shooters at Joz and began shooting.

"Now Diamond, while he's concentrating on reflecting the bullets!" shouted Miles.

"You sneaky little… Looks like I have again underestimated you", said Shadow, "But your efforts are futile"

Joz looked up and reflected Miles barage of bullets. He was helpless against Diamond's attack from behind. She jumped on him and removed the crown. She then sliced it in two. As the two pieces fell to the floor Gerald screamed, "No! This can't be happening".

At the same time Shadow had warped up to where Miles was and smashed him back down to the ground. Miles smashed into the ground beside Joz and Diamond. Joz squatted next to the unconscious Miles and rubbed his head gently.

"Don't worry buddy. You just rest now. You freed me, now only Shadow remains", said Joz.

"How should we fight Shadow then Joz?" asked Diamond.

"I hope you're good at taking a kick cause Shadow is the master of Chaos control. He'll warp to one of us soon and kick us from out of nowhere", said Joz, "Luckily I have an advantage".

Joz used the armour wing and waited. Then just as a green light suddenly appeared Joz smashed his armour wing into it. It was as if he knew where Shadow would appear. As Shadow smashed to the ground Diamond quickly went to him and removed his crown. Shadow got up and walked over to Joz just as Miles woke up.

"How did you know where I was going to appear Joz?" asked Shadow.

"I sensed your emerald. What I didn't know was whether you were coming for her or me. Luckily for her you chose me", replied Joz.

"What just happened?" asked Miles

"Don't worry buddy. Joz managed to free me after you freed him", said Shadow.

"I'm impressed. You thought up of a plan on the spot and carried it out so easily", said Diamond, "If it wasn't for you they might've never been freed". Miles smiled

"Well you helped, a lot actually", said Miles.

"Don't be so modest. You're better than you think you are you know. As a bad guy you were ruthless and cold. No-one could stop you", said Joz.

"Not to mention when you were under Gerald's control and even when you weren't you managed to take both of us out", said Shadow, "Wait a minute, Gerald! Where did he run off too?"

The four searched the room for any sign of Gerald. Meanwhile Gerald had reached the room where Mars lay. He jumped inside and activated the sleeping behemoth.

"Curse them! My best plan ruined. But don't think just cause the Shadows are free of my control that the fight is over. My Mars will destroy them while they're weak from fighting", said Gerald leaving the huge room.

Back in the room the four were still searching when another G-series machine burst through the wall.

"It doesn't matter if you're free you know. I'll just destroy you with Mars and then nothing will stop me", said Gerald.

"Bring it on Gerald. We’ve taken down a G-series before and we'll do it again", said Shadow, "Come guys, there's no time for games, we're back ready to kick some metal ass".

"Yeah!" shouted Joz and Miles following Shadow as he moved forward to attack Mars.

Chapter 9 - Mars Attacks

Once again Miles found his bullets reflect of Mars' Armour. Joz found his blade did nothing but scratch the armour, if he was lucky. And Shadow found no matter how hard he tried he couldn't dent the armour. They knew by now the trick to beating these machines was to smash the cockpit glass and destroy it from the inside, usually after tripping it over.

Joz ran over to the long curtains that sat behind Gerald's throne and cut them down. They were strong, hopefully strong enough to trip it up. He passed it to Shadow who ran to Miles. They grabbed the curtain and ran to the back of Mars. Joz kicked into Mars and it tripped over the curtain. Mars was down again and Joz ran straight to the cockpit window.

"This is getting too easy. How can the same tactics work a third time?" asked Joz smashing his sword into the window.

"They won't", said Gerald pressing a button. Mars suddenly got back up again. Joz quickly flew away from Mars.

"Oh great, he's found a way to flip these guys back on their feet again", said Joz, "Any ideas Miles".

"You fools. Mars may have been down but it wasn't out", said Gerald, "Feel the wrath of Mars"

"Guys lets regroup, follow me", shouted Shadow. Shadow led the other two to a nearby corridor.

"This is hopeless. How do we stop it now?" asked Joz.

"I don't know", said Miles.

Meanwhile Diamond ran down several corridors looking for Gerald's main control room. The door was locked but that was no problem for her. She grabbed her sword and cut the massive metal door in two. She climbed in and started tapping keys on a computer keyboard. After hacking into Gerald's mainframe she came across the self-destruct protocols for the palace base.

She smiled before grabbing her radio and using it to contact Miles.

"Miles, I'm in Gerald's main control room about to set off the self destruct sequence. How many minutes should I set it to?" asked Diamond. Back in the corridor, Miles grabbed his radio and jumping for joy.

"Alright Diamond! I though you had just left us to fight Mars alone", said Miles, "Don't worry about us, I already know how we're going to escape. Set the timer to whatever you need."

"Ok, five minutes should do it I reckon", said Diamond. She set the timer and headed towards the vents to leave the base.

"Do I need to explain this to you guys?" asked Miles.

"I don't think so. We wait out the clock and chaos control out of here at the last second", said Shadow.

"But do you think we can keep it busy for the full 5 minutes? That's an enternity in fight time", asked Joz.

"You forget, we're Shadows. We're the last hope for the people of Earth. We cannot fail, we won't fail", said Miles, "But just in case, Shadow you best hide in the corridor. If you're knocked unconscious we won't be able to use Chaos control"

"Understood! Go kick some butt guys", said Shadow smiling.

Joz and Miles ran out into the main room just as the Self-destruct sirens started.

"WARNING! SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. DETINATION IN 5 MINUTES", was the beginning of the computer warnings that told them just how long they had. These repeated like they normally do.

"How did that happen? No matter, first I'll destroy you 3 then I'll stop it", said Gerald, "Wait a minute where's Shadow?"

"Haven't you worked it out yet professor?" asked Miles. Gerald filled with rage and shock at the same time. His only option was to escape and let his base explode. If he left Mars and stopped the self-destruct he'd be vulnerable to the Shadows. If he stayed to fight he had to destroy them and stop the self-destruct in 5 minutes, otherwise he'll be in the explosion and Shadow will probably chaos control them out in the nick of time.

"Curse you Shadows. You may have won this round but I'll get my revenge soon enough", said Gerald, "until we meet again my friends"

Mars began to fly away, Shadow quickly warped to Mars and warped himself and Mars back to the ground. Miles covered it in Mud.

"Oh no you don't. It's in our best interests to keep Mars in the explosion", said Shadow before running back into the corridor. Gerald had to fight, Miles and Joz had to keep it busy until the clock ran out, and Shadow had to stay conscious.

4 Minutes remained until the base blew up.

Chapter 10 - The timer runs out

Gerald started to panic. He saw no way of getting out of this mess. He had to knock out Joz and Miles, which hopefully will allow him to draw out Shadow. Wait a minute, I could just take out Shadow. Gerald smashed the walls preventing him getting into the corridor where Shadow was hiding.

"I found you Shadow", said Gerald, "Get a load of this".

Gerald pressed a button and Mars fired loads of missiles at Shadow. They hit into Shadow and exploded.

"No! Shadow!" Shouted Miles running to inspect the damage.

"Miles wait…" said Joz. Miles reached the corridor to find nothing but Mars preparing an attack. It lifted its huge fist and smashed it straight down from above Miles. Joz, using the jet wing, picked up Miles and escaped in the nick of time.

"Have you fogotten Shadow's signature move?" asked Joz. Miles who had been crying suddenly smiled.

"Duh! How could I forget?" said Miles smacking his forehead. Joz brought them back to the centre of the main hall. They began laughing as Mars entered the main room again.

"Why are you laughing? I just killed Shadow. Your plan failed", said Gerald angrily.

"We're laughing at how pathetic your Mars is", said Joz, "Now bring it on!"

"With pleasure", said Gerald, "I'll teach you to laugh at my machines".

A couple of minutes passed with Joz and Miles avoiding all of Mars' attacks. 1 minutes remained and Gerald head almost burst with rage. He then remembered without Shadow in the way he could escape the palace.

"Well it's been fun, but you have only a minute to escape my palace", said Gerald, "So long". Mars headed for the ceiling again but just as it was about to reach it, it suddenly warped back to the ground again.

"But this, this is impossible. Shadow's dead. How did I end up back here?" asked Gerald in confusion. He tried again and found himself on the ground again. 30 second remained and he tried again but still he was brought to the ground.

15 seconds on the clock and Shadow appeared and stood in between Joz and Miles. Joz and Miles placed a hand each on his shoulders as Shadow grabbed his emerald.

"Ready guys?" asked Shadow.

"Ready!" both said at once.

"Well it's been fun Gerald but it's time to go", said Shadow.

3 seconds remained and Gerald looked in horror as the 3 Shadows warped out of his palace. He pressed buttons wildly to try and escape but he could just reach the roof as the timer reached zero.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Screamed Gerald as his beloved palace began to explode.

Meanwhile, at a safe distance the 3 Shadows appeared from Chaos control. The horizion blazed with the numerous large explosions of the Palace self-destruct. They watched it for a while then turned round to see Diamond waiting for them.

"Nice work, I'm somewhat impressed", said Diamond.

"Hey you weren't bad yourself. We could use someone like you", said Miles.

"What? Become a Shadow? Ha! This was really just a test, to see if you were indeed as strong as you reputation implies", said Diamond, "I'm a Deadly Gem and I always will be. Oh and Don't worry, you'll see the others and me pretty soon. For now just enjoy your victory"

Diamond flew off leaving the 3 Shadows a little confused. After a while they just turned to the fire lighting up the night sky.

"Do you think he survived?" asked Miles.

"We thought he died last time but he came back", said Joz.

"Just like in the Comics. No matter what happens the bad guy always comes back", said Miles. Joz groaned then laughed.

"I hope the world doesn't judge us to harshly on how we behaved", said Miles.

"Don't worry we'll tell them the truth soon enough. I reckon we should head back home though and get a well deserved rest", said Joz.

"Yeah especially you. If Diamond is right you have a great deal of fighting coming up", said Shadow, "I hope you can handle the Deadly gems"

"Don't worry, they don't call me Master hunter for nothing you know", said Joz. With that the 3 got up and headed back to Joz's mansion. A little worried of what lay ahead of them.

THE END.