Prologue - Two Months Before the Initial Attack
A/N: Because I couldn't add this to the summary, this is a canon rewrite/novelization of Sonic Forces. The game needed some fleshing out and I liked it enough to panstakingly spend three months rewriting cutscenes and dialogue and basically tinkering with the plot some and adding context where its needed, mostly from the tie in comics. There are OCs in this fic and one OC/Canon ship, please do not make a fuss about them I am not interested in hearing the common OC complaints plus the shipping is minimal anyway. If that's still enough to turn you off, then thank you for your interest and I apologize that this isn't what you were looking for. This is also rated the way it is because there's a decent amount of cursing as well as some graphic depictions of violence in here along with alcohol usage. If you would like the full list of tags and such you can PM me and I will provide them for you.
Deep in the mechanical machination of the, once again partially rebuilt, Egg Carrier stood one Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. Before the bad doctor, was a container holding an ominous looking gemstone, one he dubbed the Phantom Ruby. Like a gift from the gods it had appeared to him, showing him his once glorious Eggmanland in all its glory. However just as soon as it appeared it was gone and it was then he figured out the Ruby had the power to augment reality and create elaborate, almost real illusions. Long gone were the plans of harnessing the power of the Chaos Emeralds, spiteful rocks that they were, for with this Phantom Ruby he would finally wipe that troublesome hedgehog and his friends right off the face of Mobius and pave the way for the Eggman Empire with their carcasses. Of course he needed a failsafe or two just to ensure his victory. Thus he was experimenting with various prototypes of the Ruby. While they weren't nearly as powerful as the real deal, they would serve his plan well in time. He was just in the midsts of testing another prototype when the alarms around his currently grounded battleship began going off.
"Damn that blue pest, no doubt here to attempt foiling my plans again." He muttered as he brought up one of the holo-screen feeds focused on the front. He expected to see Sonic, or at the very least that traitor Shadow, speeding towards his ship however he was surprised to see neither and instead a band of black and white furred Jackals brandishing swords and led by a very curious looking one with Heterochromia and a scar across his one blue eye charging his way. For what he had no clue but it was rather fatefully perfect timing as he snatched up the current and near perfect prototype of the Phantom Ruby and ascended towards the Egg Carrier's deck. "Halt! Who dares disturb the great Dr. Eggman?!" He crowed as he stared down the now stopped squad. Their leader stepped forward, pointing a red bladed energy sword at him, no doubt cobbled together from the pieces of machinery littered around the planet from various battles with Sonic and his annoying friends.
"I am Zero, leader of the Jackal Mercenary Squad!" He announced, voice deep and gruff. Had Eggman been a common Mobian he may have even felt intimidated. "Hand over all your technology and we may let you live!" The doctor laughed, hard enough to cause tears and smirked.
"You're as stupid as you look if you think you can get in here!" He gloated. "But please, I implore you to try, I could use the amusement!" Zero growled, pointing his sword at the Egg Carrier.
"Raid the base! All of that Eggman tech is sure to get us a fat bounty! And don't drop a single thing!" He ordered his squad, the team resuming their charge. Eggman grinned, raising the Phantom Ruby in his hand and causing a red tinted shockwave to knock the Jackal Squad and Zero back. As they struggled to regain their footing a fleet of Egg Pawns descended from seemingly nowhere and began to attack. Zero growled as Eggman raucously and callously laughed on the deck. "Stand your ground and take out those mechs, men! I'll deal with that fat bastard myself." He charged forward, jumping over and slashing into Egg Pawns as he made his way towards Eggman. He ascended the partially repaired carrier, dodging gunfire and mech attacks left and right. Finally, he reached the top, the late afternoon sunlight glinting off the doctor's glasses as he swung his blade. Eggman brought up a hand to defend himself, the one holding the prototype, and another shockwave fanned out as the Jackal's blade came in contact with the gem. Around the two of them a red, flame ripped war torn world bloomed into view. Buildings destroyed, bodies and blood of those that dared oppose them littering the ground, and in control of it all the two of them. The Egg Pawns disappeared and the fighting stopped as the Jackal Squad looked on in confusion. Eggman and Zero looked at each other, and in that very instance the doctor realized he had his failsafe.
"Zero was it, I have a proposition for you." He said with a menacing grin. "One I think you'll like very much."
Zero's squad aimlessly stood guard outside one of the doctor's numerous facilities while said doctor tinkered away inside on some sort of secret plan and their leader had gone to scope the perimeter again. It had been a month since Zero and Eggman came to some sort of agreement and they became the man's personal security detail. Most of the squad didn't agree, something about the doctor's track record of losses making them concerned they were going to become just another casualty of his carelessness however Zero reassured them that things would be fine, better than fine at that. Still, it was annoyingly tedious to just be waiting around all the time. They were starting to feel rusty and most of the squad had gotten complacent in just lazing around all day long with no action. The doctor paid them a decent salary and the job thus far was laughably easy. After an hour and a half of nothing the Jackals were about to switch with the night watch team when the current guard on duty got an SOS from the doctor saying that a black furred hedgehog named Shadow was approaching their position at an alarmingly fast rate and that they must protect the facility at all costs. From the west end, Zero returned to the sounds of screaming and battle and raced back to find his squad being utterly annihilated by a single black hedgehog. He had seen this hedgehog before; the doctor referred to him as Shadow, a traitor who once upon a time worked with him only to betray him in the end despite being a creation of the doctor's own grandfather fifty odd years ago. He was warned that Shadow was to be stopped at all costs and at the time Zero laughed at the thought of a single hedgehog taking his elite team out even though Eggman told him Shadow was built for combat but now he was seeing it with his own two eyes.
This hedgehog wasn't just fast either, he was warping reality to move faster than the speed of time itself. Zero could barely keep track of him as he drew his sword and joined the fight. However it was a futile effort as Shadow cut his troops down with blistering speed and well placed spears of golden energy that Zero couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around how he was producing them. It wasn't long before the Jackal Squad was completely wiped out and the base having been infiltrated. Zero looked on at his fallen comrades in shock. Just an hour ago they had been unstoppable, invincible, only to be crushed by a single hedgehog who was gone as quickly as he had arrived. He was going to make that Hedgehog pay. He followed him through the forest, trying to stay as close yet hidden as possible until Shadow suddenly came to a stop. He was only half listening to Eggman taunting him about his useless squad and how he needed to clean up their mess when he spotted the black hedgehog hiding behind something. He growled and charged at Shadow just to be soundly beaten back within an inch of his life in the time it took him to blink.
"Worthless. Don't show your pathetic face around me again." The black hedgehog sneered before running off. Zero growled, clenching his fists hard enough that his claws were drawing blood from his palms. He got to his feet, trembling a bit with fear and rage. "I-I'm shaking? Me? Me, afraid?" He muttered to himself, getting to his feet. "Pathetic? Me? He's calling me weak. No, I am not weak. I...I'm not. I'm not weak. I. AM. NOT. WEAK!" Zero growled fiercely, roaring loudly at the heavens. He returned to the base a changed creature, one as cold and unfeeling as the many mechs created by Eggman and promising the doctor he would deal with Shadow again himself and make him pay. Eggman scoffed at the very notion.
"Your good for nothing squad couldn't handle him together, what makes you think you can on your own?" He asked.
"You're still looking for a vessel for your Phantom Ruby correct?" He asked, voice disconnected and chilling. "Use me. With the Ruby's power I will destroy him and everything he holds dear. I will be reborn as THE Ultimate Life Form. He does not stand a chance." After extensive weeks worth of testing and retesting and testing again, they had done it. Zero was fully integrated with the Phantom Ruby and its powers. "No. No longer Zero." He said to himself as he looked in the mirror after donning his new helmet. "My name, is Infinite."