Prologue - A Ravaged Timeline
Beta-182, the universe that was once home to Sonic and his friends, has been brought to ruin. Only a select few of its inhabitants remain. Among them are Thorn and his girlfriend Rayl, 2 hedgehogs who have fought tirelessly to save the world they love. Now, it has become apparent to both of them that their universe is beyond saving. Fire and ashes rain down across the plains while machines scout the land for stragglers, destroying anything in their sight. Deep underground in a hidden laboratory, their last stand begins.
"Rayl, if this doesn't work… please… know that I could never forget you."
"Thorn, you have to hurry. The entire universe is at stake. I should be the least of your worries right now. "
"Right. well, I suppose this is it..."
"Yes. I'm getting ready to fire up the reactor. Get inside."
Thorn turns to the enormous machine that they had spent the last seven years working on. With it, he could perform a dimensional leap, a technique proposed by Rayl, that could theoretically allow him to shatter the world barrier and travel to other universes. Hopefully, wherever he ends up will be safe than here. Thorn lets out a short, painful sigh as he walks in. The door shuts behind him.
"Rayl. can you hear me from in here?" says Thorn.
No response. She can't hear, in fact she isn't even looking his way. Rayl's sight is locked on to the machine's controls.
"You ready?" Rayl yells, knowing that Thorn can't hear her. She pulls a switch.
The machine begins to whir. Thorn can't help but quake in fear. Will the machine even work? They hadn't tested it, there was no time for that. He initially trusted Rayl's intellect enough to go through with this ridiculous plan in the first place, but the feeling of uncertainty is taking over.
"Rayl! Stop!" he shouts, eyes widening, "We can't do this!"
The whirring is getting louder with each passing second.
Thorn begins to scream, "Please! Get me out of here!"
He starts bashing on the walls of the machine, hoping to get her attention.
"Wha…" Rayl whispers to herself, noticing the noise. She looks up and through the machine's window, sees Thorn thrashing about.
"Oh no..."
Rayl snaps to her feet and begins to dash towards the door, but it's too late. The dimensional leap process has already begun, and the automatic lock activated. Thorn stops to look at her, shedding a single tear. He opens his mouth to say something, but falls to the ground before he can speak.
"Shit," Rayl yells frantically. She knows something must have gone terribly wrong.
Just then, a loud crash from behind grabs her attention. Knowing what is probably behind her, Rayl dives behind the wall of the lab's kitchen.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" utters a familiar voice.
"No, it can't be… It's not real," Rayl thinks.
There's no doubt in her mind that the voice is Ashera's, a hedgehog she and Thorn knew that had died over 2 years ago.
"Thorn? Rayl? Anyone? If you're in here, please… I don't think I can last much longer..."
The dimensional leap machine begins emitting a horrible screeching sound.
"How could this all have gone so wrong..." Rayl thinks. She begins to cry. All that she had went through with Thorn, these past seven years that they had been pouring everything they had into the machine, it was all for naught.
"Is that you, Rayl?" Ashera asks.
Rayl knows that her time is up. The hedgehog that's speaking isn't Ashera, it isn't even a hedgehog; It's one of the soul-stealing machines that brought this world to the brink of destruction. She comes out from behind the wall, deciding to accept her fate.
"Yes, it is me."
The being that stands before her now isn't anywhere near sentient, but a floating metal sphere, about 2 feet in diameter, with a single, giant red eye. Behind them, the dimensional leap machine roars. Rayl doesn't dare look back. The sphere's eye darkens to black as Rayl's eyes roll back into her head and she collapses to the floor. Her soul has been harvested. The sphere proceeds to check out the dimensional leap machine, noticing someone inside. It sees Thorn, but finds itself unable to tear the hedgehog's soul away.
"Thorn?" says the sphere, in Rayl's voice.
The dimensional leap machine lets out one last piercing cry, then disappears.