Ultimate F-ZERO: Chapter 89

    The Emperor of Evil, The Emperor of Brutality, The living Apocalypse himself: all of these were names that all of Black Shadow's enemies gave him. Of course, these meant nothing to him. Silverhawk knew that. He also knew that this was not the same Black Shadow from before. Yet, they knew each other. Very carefully, they slowly approached each other, but Black Shadow wore a grin on his face.

    "I see you're pleased with yourself, Mr. Genie."

    "Indeed. Tell me, do you know what kind of power I possess?"

    "Clearly not Black Shadow's."

    Black Shadow chuckled to himself. Of course, Silverhawk was referring to the Black Shadow who had been killed. "He was inferior, fool! I an the ULTIMATE being in existence! I am the Ultimate Black Shadow!"

    "Uh-huh."

    "I suppose I should explain what that means." In his pitch-black hands, the living monstrosity held out a container--an experimental object containing high power. "I had a scientist prepare this for me, so that I may use it in the Black Bull. However, it turns out that it needed only less than 1% of the material! You should see how overjoyed I was!"

    Silverhawk quickly held his hand over his gun.

    He applied some pressure to the container, but stopped himself. The once-corrupted man shook his head. It almost felt as if Black Shadow was holding back. There seemed to be something odd happening. Either that, or Black Shadow was challenging him somehow. Nevertheless, he lunged ahead, across the glowing floor, and landed a downward punch in the midst of the Ultimate Black Shadow.

    "I knew it." He replied.

    The Emperor swatted him with a swipe to the gut, sending Silverhawk flying across the room. He hit his head on some of the machines left behind. As he got himself up to his feet, Black Shadow was inching himself closer and closer. Silverhawk got himself up again, but pulled out a stick of bronze container. He inspected it, and found that this was almost alien technology. He did see that there was a way to activate it.

    "How did he get this stuff?" He asked himself out loud.

    "From another place in another plane." Ultimate Black Shadow answered. "Your world's Black Shadow is lesser than me. He was never strong enough to withstand any and all eventual attacks! However, I can right this wrong in YOUR world."

    "Hm...then, who's stopping you in YOUR world?"

    "Clever tongue, whelp."

    The fight continued as they exchanged a few blows at high speed. However, Silverhawk soon activated the object--finding out it was a laser sword--and took the fight to Ultimate Black Shadow. For a while, he even scored some valuable hits against him.

    "Very good, very good..." He said, brushing his face. Silverhawk didn't stop, and sought to punish him further. However, the evil nightmare gripped his attacking arm, and quickly forced a stiff punch to his chest. The forced hand continued moving forward, and eventually it went through him, leaving the victor's hand wet and soaked with blood. As Silverhawk fell, Black Shadow chuckled to himself, and fixed his gaze on the body. In the next second, fire rose up from the body, squeezing the last moments of life out of him.


    After watching the flames dance while eating his opposing body, the Emperor walked to the exit and said, "...Not good enough, though."

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    "Evasive action! Evasive action!" Jody screamed into her communication device, as incoming laser fire came from several of Black Shadow's own space fighters. Diamond Becky quickly began to meditate, drawing energy. However, she could not move. And, as she was seated in front of Mikayla, it would be hard for Mikayla to see what was happening.

    However, Mikayla was able to see part of the space they were in. There seemed to be pinkish hues in the current space, while showing small looking holes with white light. Whatever this was, she knew it was not a good sign. 

    Jody kept her eyes open, and occasionally gazed at the radar, sometimes finding blips missing. This meant that her comrades were getting hunted down. However, Jody was not going down without a fight, and it showed. Her laser fire was also sure to hit, as she was more than focused. In the same likeness, whenever Jody took a hit, she forced herself to keep flying. In her sight, was a tower that seemed to stand very tall. She also noticed some kind of landing bay, and without a doubt, she shot for a turbo boost.

    "Good move," Diamond Becky said, "I can sense Black Shadow's energy increasing in there."

    "We have a bomb or two hidden in the cannon. Once I'm good and ready, I'm going to take the shot, and we're going to end this!"

    

    In the crosshairs, Jody locked the tower, and scored a visual. She didn't even bother with formal firing protocol: she just pushed the button down hard.

    
    With a huge burst of force, a ball-like object was launched right on out, seeking its way home. As soon as it hit, the explosion that came was nothing short of inspiring. Jody and Mikayla sighed in relief, finally seeing an end to Black Shadow. 

    However, the tower was unscathed, as the smoke was unraveling. Not even so much as one square inch was impacted. 

    "Dang it!" Jody said, driving her fist onto her screen. She turned her head to her compatriots and said, "We're going in. Buckle in!" The fighter tucked in, and picked up some speed, and then it found a way in, thanks to very generous sliding doors.

    "Alright..." We're in, Mikayla said.

    "So, let's get going." Jody said.



    Once the three were out of the fighter, they found themselves in a sealed hallway. This led Jody to thinking that if the door opened, they'd be shot to space. However, this was only all the time she needed. Jody unlocked a bay in her fighter and handed the other women a machine gun and a rifle. Mikayla almost fell over, holding the gun, but did her best to keep it up.

    "Even if I had to use a gun, couldn't you give me something easier to use?"

    Jody wanted to keep moving, but even someone like Mikayla shouldn't be regarded as a liability. Jody simply handed her a handgun--the one Jody never parted with--and took the machine gun.
    
    "Can you handle that?" she asked.

    She shook her head.

    "Good."

    Very quickly, they got into their machines and raced down to find the Ultimate Black Shadow.