PREVIOUSLY…


Finally, one of the children stirred. It was the strawberry-blond girl in the pink shirt and blouse. She slowly got up and observed her blurry surroundings thorough her hazel eyes.

When she finally focused, she saw about 15 or so animal-like creatures of different colors and species staring right at her. Her eyes shrunk as she screamed as scrambled backwards, grabbing onto her handgun out of instinct. "W-w-w-what the hell is this? A-animal people on two legs? And clothes?", she freaked.

Sally, in an attempt to calm her down slowly approached her, hands up in the air. "Miss, please, calm down. Just what happened here?"

"Holy crap, they talk.", she gawked in shock. "Wait until Junpei sees th-… wait a minute…"

She then looked around to see her friends lying unconscious either on their sides or facedown, all unconscious.

"Junpei…?", she squeaked, looking at the boy with the baseball hat.

Worried she looked to the girl with long red hair and the boy with short silver hair. "Mitsuru-senpai? Akihiko-senpai?"

Getting even more worried, she started looking at the girl with sea-green hair, followed by the girl with blonde hair, then the younger boy with light-brown hair and finally the small silver-white dog. "Fuuka? Aegis? Ken-kun? Koro-chan?"

"They're all unconscious.", Espio said as he carefully turned over the silver-haired boy face-up like he and Vector did the others. "They're all sleeping."

Yukari sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. Oh! Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Princess Sally. Sally Acorn.", Sally said as he extended her right hand.

Yukari smiled. "Yukari Takeba.", she said as the girls shook hands. 'Now where have I heard that name before…?', Yukari and Sally both thought at the same time.

"So, Miss Yukari, how did you guys end up out here, if I may ask…?", the green crocodile asked, comically pulling out a pen and pad of paper. The chameleon sighed. "You'll have to forgive Vector. He's a moron.", Espio said flatly, with a twist of amusement. "That was uncalled for, Espio!", Vector barked.

Yukari giggled. "Well, it was after school and we all gathered up at school to get ready to go to a friend's memorial, until…", she said as she began to trail off. "…A weird Shadow appeared and…", she said as her eyes widened, stood up, and saw the slow light in the sky.

"It's him!", she yelled in shock as she climbed out of the crater and ran towards the falling light.

To her, the light slowly died around the figure to reveal a young boy her age in a black school jacket with dark-blue hair draping over his right eye.

Tears began forming in Yukari's eyes as he ran. 'It's him! It's really him!'

Mighty, Ray, Bunnie, Amy, Charmy and Saffron – the ones who didn't dive into the crater – nodded to each other and began to run after her.

Yukari was running at full speed, tears flowing from her eyes. "MINATOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"


Chapter 2: Two 'Fools' In This World


Yukari Takeba couldn't believe her eyes. The scene laying before her was real, and yet some part of her could still not believe it.

Laying in a cratered ditch, hands crossed over his chest as if he were laying in an open casket, lay Minato Arisato himself.

The boy looked as if he were locked into a deep sleep.

"Minato!", Yukari yelped as she slid into the crater, Sally and a few other of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix soon after.

"Whoa!", Vector yelped. "Another human kid.. Hey, what's wrong with him?"

Yukari frantically patted her hands around his unconscious body, tears falling from her eyes in pure happiness. "It's him…! It's really him!...!", Yukari began, only to spurn a worried face.

"Who is he?", Sonic asked, as he was in fact the first to have arrived. Sally slowly walked over to Yukari. "Miss, is he… alright?"

"-gasp- He's not breathing!" "Oh, boy… I'll get Dr. Quack!", Sonic yelled as he ran off.

"Get 8 stretchers! There's 6 more unconscious in the other crater!", Sally yelled after the blue Mobian. ""Got it!"

"Minato…", Yukari whispered, tears in her eyes. "Don't die on us again…"

Unknown Location, Mobius, August 3, 3237, ?:? Hours

Regina Ferrum and Lacri were walking down a long, dark corridor. Lacri was walking in front of the Iron Queen.

"So where exactly are we heading?", Regina asked warily, tired from all of the walking.

"You shall see soon enough.", Lacri replied calmly. He still had the cross/handgun glued to his hand, pressed on his chest.

After another two minutes of walking they stood before a large set of dark-grey metal doors. Lacri approached the door and tapped it twice with his pointer knuckle.

The doors slowly opened inward, in which the twosome walked inside.

The inside of the room was dark and large vertically. About 20 or so figures stood atop ledges in the room, all various human sizes and bizarre outlines.

"So.", came a gruff, strong voice coming from a bizarrely tall man with what seemed to be a large tuft of hair jutting upwards from the right side of his face, his voice sound somewhat muffled. "She is the Empress candidate."

"Naaaaaaaaaani?", came a snide, young voice coming from a shadowed little boy with a strange standing hat. "She doesn't look strong! How can she possibly be a candidate for-"

"Enough!", came a mature, feminine voice, apparently wearing a large, elegant-looking dress and a large X-shaped ornament in her neck-length hair. "If our leader decided to choose her, then she obviously has the potential. Besides…", she trailed. A warm smile graced her face, unknowing to Regina. "…There's not that many women among us to begin with. I welcome her with open arms."

Regina was taken aback by the comment. Lacri smirked lightly. "So… when shall the 'awakening' begin…?"


New Mobotroplois, Mobius, August 3, 3237, 09:47 Hours


Yukari's expression did not change while in her joint hospital room with two other Mobians. One was a young golden retriever Mobian with golden-light brown fur and two freckles next to his left eye, and an old snow white owl Mobian. The golden retriever's right leg suspended in midair by a ceiling cast, and the old owl had head bandages.

Both were sleeping. Yukari, however, was not.

After Dr. Quack personally examined her, and turned out to be fine other than being roughed up some from the crash, she was asked to remain in the hospital room until one of the Freedom Fighters came for her to see the others.

Yukari was in deep thought. 'Just what the hell is going on…? First we were all coming together, then that weird Shadow showed up. To make it even weirder, I ended up getting us all transported to a world where walking, talking animals roam the land. Still…'

Yukari looked up, a weak smile on her face. 'Despite the circumstances, I got to see Minato again… But…'

Her expression saddened again. 'He wasn't even breathing. I hope they can help him… I feel so powerless…'

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, revealing it to be Doctor Quack and a tall purple walrus with green eyes and a strange blue uniform shirt with red trims and gold epaulettes, but no pants. His claws and toes were a deeper purple than his fur.

"Miss… Takeba, was it?", Doctor Quack read the name on his clipboard. "Yes?", Yukari asked.

The walrus walked over to her and helped her out of bed. "Oh, thank you… uh…"

"I'm Rotor Walrus. A good friend of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix you saw earlier. Nice to meet you.", he said jollily, a warm smile on his tusk-rimmed face.

Yukari smiled. "Likewise." As they shook hands, Rotor quickly grabbed his lower back and yelped. "Ack!"

Yukari gasped. "Is something wrong?" "Nah, just my back. After the attack on our old city a few weeks ago, my back has not been the sa-"

Yukari gasped again. "Your city was attacked?"

Doctor Quack and Rotor quickly shushed her. "Miss Takeba, please!", Doctor Quack whispered loudly. "I don't think I need to tell you that this is a hospital. Please keep your voice down."

"Oops. Sorry.", Yukari flustered, her hand over her mouth. "It's alright. My back's better anyway.", Rotor smiled.

"But what do you mean by… old city?" "Well…", Rotor began.

"Ahem.", Doctor Quack coughed impatiently. "I'd love to let my patients have a rousing conversation once in a while, but some of your friends are awake and would like to see you."

Yukari's expression lightened. She hastily followed the two to a large room down the hall.

To her surprise, she saw the same Mobians from before observing some of the S.E.E.S. members.

"So you're awake, guys." Yukari sighed happily. She noticed that the Freedom Fighters mostly had interest in Koromaru.

"He's just like Muttski!", Tails yipped as Koromaru barked and licked his furry cheek.

Knuckles and Akihiko were rambling on about being strong, mostly by how Akihiko acted like a tough guy upon waking up.

Junpei, Ken, Fuuka and Aegis were asleep. Mitsuru stirring caught Bunnie's and Amy's attention. "Why, hello there, sugar! You feelin' better?", Bunnie asked soothingly to the redheaded noble.

"I… Oh, my…", Mitsuru stammered. Amy cocked her head. "You alright?"

Mitsuru replied by uttering ceaseless inaudible rambling. Akihiko instantly got out of bed and lightly shook her. "Hey. HEY! Mitsuru, calm down!"

Mitsuru, finally snapping back to reality, looked a little calmer upon seeing him. "Akihiko! I… I… where are we…?"

He shrugged. "Search me." This surprised most of the Mobians in the group.

"To make matters worse, we seem to have been flung to another universe of some kind. One where the world is apparently populated by anthromorphs."

"Anthromorphs…?", Fuuka instantly shot up, a dreamily excited look on her face, especially after taking in her surroundings. "Real, living, breathing, existing anthromorphs! Just like in science fiction movies! Wait… I'm not dreaming, am I?", the seaweed-bluenette girl questioned as she proceeded to squeezing her cheek. "Yeowch!", she pouted. "Guess not… tee hee~!"

Akihiko paled with a 'Eeeeergh' kind of face.

Antoine, the pantsless coyote stepped forward. "You do not know where you are, for true?", his voice full of concern in his thick French accent.

"Wait… are there no humans on this planet?", Fuuka asked, her expression turning flat upon hearing Junpei's suddenly amped-up snoring. Ken's face, while still unconscious, twisted in disgust. He started thrashing a bit. Tails was the first to notice. "Oh…well-", Sally began.

"Oh! Looks like his guy's gonna wake up! I got 'im!", the Tails chirped, sitting next to Ken. Koromaru barked once and hopped onto Ken's bed.

Sally and Sonic exchanged worried looks sweatdropped a bit. "Uh, Tails, I don't think that's such a good idea... Tails?.", Sonic said nervously.

"Oh, he's waking up!", Tails said. Ken began stirring, slowly opening his eyes. "Mmmmff… where am I?" he said as his hair ruffled and he rubbed his eyes. "Ugh… did someone get the number of that Shadow last night…?"

Instantly, the humans froze and the Mobians expressed confused faces.

Akihiko put a hand to his chin. "Come to think of it—Ow!", he began before Mitsuru quickly elbowed him in the arm. Her expression clearly read 'Shut your hole!'. Akihiko quickly shut himself up.

"Come to think of what?", Sonic asked inquisitively, having zoomed to in front of the two Gekkoukan now-graduates in a millisecond, a 'I wanna know your secret' kind of look on his face.

If any moment could apply to both Mitsuru and Akihiko going 'God DAMN IT!' and 'HOLY SHIT!' at the same time, now would have qualified.

Ken quickly noticed that Koromaru was yipping happily and licking his face. "Oh! Koro-chan!", he giggled.

"Awww, he's such a sweet dog!", Tails chirped. "Yeah, he i—wait a minute.", Ken quickly registered. He obviously didn't recognize the voice. He slowly creaked his head to the left, and his jaw dropped to the bed in shock.

Sitting a foot from him was, in his opinion, one of the most respected videogame sidekicks of all time.

"Hoooly cra-AAAAACK!", Ken shouted before falling off the side of his bed, landing on his rear end. The sudden moment of the fall caused Tails to quickly stand up and lean over the bed, trip over the ledge, fall across the bed and colliding heads with Ken.

Both immediately clutched their heads and yelled "OOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!", rubbing their bumps vigorously.

"Watch where you're landing, Tails-san!" "I'm sorry! I'm sor—Wait a minute…", Tails trailed. The Mobians found it incredibly suspicious that Ken knew the little fox's name upon waking up.

"Uh,… how exactly did you know his name…?", Julie-Su trailed. "Huh?", Ken replied before blinking twice. His eyes then shrunk to the size of peas before jumping up and screaming.

"H-Holy crap! I've been sent to the world of a video game!"

Mitsuru, Akihiko, Yukari and Fuuka froze in place. The Mobians looked like they all heard the most groundbreaking discovery of man – or Mobian – kind.

The room was filled with an eerie silence, broken only be Koromaru's panting and Junpei's loud snoring. Vector, Espio and Knuckles looked irately at the baseball cap-wearing Gekkoukan now-senior.

"Will somebody please wake him up?", Knuckles asked dangerously.

Mitsuru sighed. "Knowing Iori, that isn't an easy task." "Or is it?", Akihiko smirked.

"Akihiko? What are you…?", Mitsuru started as she slowly placed her feet on the floor and quickly put on her shoes.

Akihiko deviously leaned to Junpei's elevated ear level, a small, evil, open-mouth smirk on his face.

"Junpei…', he whispered slightly loud. 'Mitsuru, Yukari, Fuuka and Aegis are all in bikinis~.'

Junpei immediately rose up and shouted "SEX ON THE BEACH!" loudly.

Everyone awake in the room looked totally horrified. Mitsuru gained a demonic face and slugged both Akihiko and Junpei in the face. The force of the punches knocked them over the other side of the bed, letting out a "GAHUAAAAAH!" as they crashed.

"My patients!", Dr. Quack screeched. Mitsuru immediately cast her demonic gaze upon the one-eyed duck, causing him to shrink in his webbed feet.

She marched over to the two boys, who were grabbing each other's arms and shook with fearful looks.

"How could you say something so… so… degrading? Of all the things you could have possibly said, you had to say something that humiliating? We're stranded on another world and all you can think about is breasts?", she hissed darkly.

The fact that her breasts bounced as she yelled didn't help, as a blush crept over Akihiko's and Junpei's shocked faces.

"Uh… Mitsuru? Your… er…", Akihiko stammered. Realizing what he eluded to, she immediately kneed his in the face, knocking him into the wall with a "GUAHAAAGH!"

She then cast her gaze upon the shocked Junpei, who immediately jumped back into his bed and rocked back-and-forth in a fetal position.

The Mobians, Yukari, Ken and Fuuka stared at Mitsuru with gawking expressions, who simply tossed her hair and regain composure. "Now then… now that my 'execution' has been fulfilled…"

'Execution?', all Mobians thought at the same time.

"… Could we finally get down to business as to what is going on here?", she smiled lightly.

"Perhaps I could be of service.", came a rather mystical voice.

Everyone turned their heads to see a tall Mobian brown fox with white muzzle fur and blue eyes wearing a dark blue robe covering his ears and top-of-head. His muzzle fur gave it the appearance of a small beard and wore an orange-and-white orb necklace. His arms were crossed via his arms in the other arm's sleeve.

Next to him was a fox with equal height and a blue eye – his left covered by an eyepatch – with almond fur and a tuft of dark-reddish-brown hair from the back of his head, between his foxy ears and curled upwards on his forehead like a trail of foam. He wore a similar coat to that of Antoine – a blue coat with red trims and gold epaulettes. He wore red knee-high platform boots. He had large brown eyebrows which furrowed slightly. He had a long curved sword attached to his left hip, held by a tan sheath.

Tails got up and gasped. "Uncle Merlin! Dad!"

Yukari blinked. 'There's a resemblance? Huh…'

Tails tackled the robed fox – Merlin Prower – after having not seen him in a long time, and his headfur was ruffled by his father, Amadeus. Both smiled.

"So these young children are the ones who descended from the sky?", Merlin asked, intrigued.

"Yes, Merlin.", Dr. Quack said, his eye on his clipboard. "6 humans, 1 dog and one cyborg girl had been admitted."

"!", Sonic gaped as he eyed the sleeping Aegis dangerously. Not realizing what was going on, Fuuka got out of her bed and examined her blond friend. "Ever since she became more human, I haven't been able to tell if she's dead or alive anymore. It's still hard to believe she can live even when her synaptic circuits no longer receive power. And to think… it was all thanks to Metis… and him…"

The other members of S.E.E.S. changed to depressed looks. Yukari snapped out of it in shock. Wait and minute… you said six humans, right? Then that means I'm not dreaming! That really was Minato!", she asked loudly.

The other S.E.E.S. members, even Koromaru, looked shocked. "So that's his name.", the duck doctor said as he scribbled on his clipboard. "The boy's really lucky. He was barely breathing when he got here. Come to think of it, he was in the second crater, away from all of you. It was Miss Yukari and Sonic here who found him."

Ken, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Fuuka and Koromaru shot up.

"…!", Fuuka gasped. Misturu and Akihiko were stunned. Junpei mouth hung. "Seriously..?" Ken stood up, his body trembling with shock. Koromaru stopped panting, a gaping look on his face.

Mitsuru proceeded to grab Dr. Quack by the scruff of his lab coat. "Where is he?"

Dr. Quack was barely able to say "You can't see him now…! He's in critical condition…!"

Mitsuru let go as soon as she realized that she had been strangling the poor duck. "I'm… sorry…" It was evident to the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix that this 'Minato' kid was important to them.

"Why don't we take this from the top?", Sally inquired. "I'm Princess Sally Acorn, leader of the Freedom Fighters and Princess of the Republic of Acorn."


Unknown Location, Mobius, August 3, 3237, ?:? Hours


Minato's eyes slowly opened, trying to adjust to the soft lights and fast-feeling atmosphere, as if he were in a moving room.

A soft piano tune was playing. Recognizing the one-of-a-kind tune, he knew exactly where he was.

Sitting in a large cushioned chair sat a short old man with a bald head, thinning white sideburns, a black suit, and an unmistakably large and long pointed nose.

To his left stood a tall young woman with short and bowl-cut bleach-blond hair, a blue one-piece dress with four yellow orbs surrounded by dark-blue rings serving as buttons, blue gloves, boots and small hat perched on her head. Her eyes were a piercing yellow.

The old man opened his eyes to reveal them to be small black dots, with major black lines around his circular eyes. His hands were crossed, sheltered under his long nose.

"Are you awake?", he asked in a perplexing voice.

"Igor… Elizabeth…", Minato whispered. He had trouble adjusting to the dim lights of the Velvet Room. The fact that the room was like a never-ending upward elevator ride didn't help at all.

"What… happened…?", Minato trailed. He realized that it was very hard to actually speak reason, like a weight pulling down his lungs.

"Yes! That is precisely what we wanted to discuss with you, my dear boy!", Igor jeered, raising his arms. "You see… after your battle with the Appriser, Nyx's servant, you used a great deal of your innate power, my boy. You had used the power of the Wild Card splendidly, might I add. However…", he trailed sadly.

"? '…However…?'", Minato asked, ridging a brow. Elizabeth stepped forward, a strange mix of sad and relief on her face. "You used up your soul's power to form the Great Seal, from which Nyx – the Bringer of Death – had been sealed away. However by doing so… you died.", she trailed before small tears formed in the Velvet Room servant's pale yellow eyes.

Minato looked shocked. "I what?", he yelled and stood from his harp-shaped chair, only to cringe and fall on the floor in agony, moaning loudly. Elizabeth gasped and ran over to him, checking him.

"It appears that in your spiritual – and physical – resuscitation, your mind and body are probably weak from the stress of adjusting to living once more.", Igor pondered.

"I can –grrrr- see that, thank you…", Minato groaned, surprising both Igor and Elizabeth with a sentence longer than usual.

"What? I talk, don't I? EEEEEERGH!", Minato yelped as he cringed more towards a fetal position.

"Perhaps some rest will be able to do you some good. Your friends are nearby, my boy. They will be watching over you soon. Also, a word of advice…", Igor said.

"…Huh?", Minato asked, trying to sit off the rather comfortable carpet. Seriously, it felt like fine silk on his flesh.

"You are in a home away from home. Be careful of this new world. And be on the lookout for another with your potential. They are closer to you than you think."

And with that, Minato blacked out.


New Mobotroplois, Mobius, August 3, 3237, 10:03 Hours


Minato woke up in a rather strange hospital room. He could tell because even with the high tech equipment and surprisingly lavish tiling and carpeting, he could tell the smell.

The same sickening sanitation smell from when he was sent to the hospital that fateful night his parents died during the Dark Hour, ten years before.

Feeling weak, he tried to roll over to the right, only to cringe in pain again. Apparently, Igor wasn't kidding when he said he would be in for a world of hurt.

He looked out the window to see a relatively beautiful village setting painted with greenery and surrounded by the inner edge of what appeared to be some sort of giant high-tech wall and barrier.

"What the…?", Minato managed to whisper. His head suddenly jerked to the right as he heard a knock on the door leading possibly to the hallway. "Yes…?", he asked weakly, but strong enough to be heard.

The door slid open, and Minato's eyes shrunk in shock.

There stood a 4 ½ foot young boy with a mop messy short black hair and a slight part on the left in a long-sleeve pajama top and pajama pants, both with thick stripes of black and white, giving off the impression of prison clothes. He was also barefoot.

Opening his eyes slowly, they revealed to be a sickeningly bright blue. A small mole was on the bottom outer corner of his left eye. He had an innocently wide grin on his face. An all-too familiar smile on an all-too familiar face.

Minato's face hardened.

"Pharos."


New Mobotropolis, Mobius, August 3, 3237, 10:03 Hours


The collective group of Freedom Fighters and S.E.E.S members shared a unanimous expression of disbelief.

"So… let me get this straight…", Mitsuru stammered while playing with her hair. "You mean to say that it's been roughly 10000 years since mankind was nearly extinct from an alien bomb, causing animal-kind to evolve into these… 'Mobo-Sapiens', making you all the dominant species of the planet… and are now fighting an all-out war against a group of tyrants... particularly this 'Eggman' character?"

"Yes that's right.", Sally replied. "And you're saying you fought an all-out war against the yearning of man to die and these creatures called 'Shadows' using a natural Shadow-like entity called 'Personas' with your guns you call 'Evokers'?"

"That about sums it all up.", Akihiko answered. Espio looked at Junpei, who all this time looked nervous. "Something on your mind,… Junpei, was it?"

Junpei looked startled for a minute before stammering nervously.

Julie-Su stepped forward. "That kid Ken said something about a video game, and you look like you're hiding something about it. Care to spill the beans?", the pink –and-purple echidna asked dangerously, her eyes in a piercing glare.

"W-well y'see…", Junpei started nervously, after which inhaling deeply. "The company SEGA, which created the Sonic the Hedgehog games in Japan, had an American comic book made in the United States following roughly the exact same story we just heard. ...Um,… you don't think…?", he trailed and scratched his peach fuzzed-chin, causing the Mobians to arch eyebrows.

It was Ken who killed the moment. "So you're saying we've been thrust into the universe of an American comic book based off of Sonic the Hedgehog."

Fuuka, Mitsuru, Aegis and Koromaru blinked twice. Mitsuru mouth gaped slightly, an indescribable noise escaping her mouth. The surrounding Mobians looked at Junpei in shock.

Akihiko, however, looked mentally disturbed. "Junpei…" "Y-yeah?", the baseball hat-wearing teen replied.

"Had it not been for the insane shit we had experienced in the last year coupled with what's happening right now, I'd say you're completely insane.", he said, lines forming on the sides of the boxer's eyes as they bugged out and he bent forward. Junpei looked stunned.

"But… in retrospect of what's actually happening… I'm willing to think that that's a distinct possibility.", he said, a slight shiver in his voice.

"I always wanted to experience what an American comic book was like. I just… never expected it to be like this.", Aegis said slowly.

"A-Aegis! When did you wake up?", Fuuka gasped. "I've been using Minato's method of 'listening with your eyes closed'. I'm quite surprised that it actually works.", the blonde mechanical maiden replied. "O-oh…"

"Whoawhoawhoa HOLD UP.", Sonic exasperated, his hands shoving back and forth to emphasize his disbelief. "Are you saying we're fictional characters in some book? You don't honestly expect us to belie–"

Suddenly, out of thin air, NICOLE materialized. Having done so stunned the members of S.E.E.S., causing Juinpei and Fuuka to shriek lightly and hug each other, only to look flustered and blush while letting go and looking in other directions.

"Hello, everyone. It's nice to see such friendly-looking faces finally up and out of bed."

"Relax. It's only my sentient computer program, NICOLE. She just does that often, since she can appear anywhere she wants in the city at any time." Sally then turned to her and said "It's nice to know you've recovered so quickly from last night."

"Wh-wh-wh-what? She just… POOF, shows up?", Junpei gawked. Typical face, knowing him.

Fuuka and Aegis, however, looked fascinated by NICOLE.

"A computer program which can physically manifest itself in a physical form of core consciousness at will?", Fuuka beamed, stars – quite literally – in her eyes. "We've only seen this future for ten minutes and already I'm loving it all!"

Aegis walked over to computer-generated Mobian lynx. "Hello fellow machination. My name is Aegis, an automated anti-Shadow extermination unit. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Oh, I see", the latter replied. "You're a cyborg with extremely Overlander - I'm sorry, human-like qualities. You'll have to forgive me, seeing that I'm really the program of a handheld computer.", NICOLE giggled nervously, scratching the back of her head with her left hand while shaking Aegis' hand with her right.

"Pardon me, Miss… NICOLE, was it?", Mitsuru asked. "You claimed to have recently recovered from something. Were you by any chance involved with why the guards in this room were also injured?", a stern look in her eyes.

Merlin let out a slight hum. "This girl is sharp beyond her years." Amadeus eyed his brother oddly.

Sally frowned. "So you've figured it out that quickly, huh? I didn't even tell most of the others here, nor most of the kingdom of what happened last night."

Antoine, Bunnie, Amy, Tails and the Chaotix instantly looked at Sally. "Are you saying that the guard's and NICOLE's injuries had something to do with the alarm last night? It only lasted for about a minute, though. Odd, that.", Espio said flatly.

"You see… about that… the Iron Queen…", said slowly. The other Mobians, minus Sonic, Amadeus and Merlin tensed and looked full of suspense.

Sally gulped hard. "She… well… she busted out. There, I said it.", her eyes covered by the fold of her large blob of hair resting atop her head before sighing and looking ashamed.

The room was dead silent. The Chaotix looking fearfully at Espio, who paled considerably. Amy's breathing got faster. Bunnie trembled in her robotic legs. Antoine gripped her organic right arm tightly, a bead of sweat on his muzzle.

"W-what…?", Ray, yellow flying squirrel asked meekly, his voice full of fear. Mighty and Knuckles, however, were more vocal. "WHAAAAAT?"

"How did she even get out? That cell could hold Mammoth Mogul, for God's sake!", Vector yelled in an uproar. Dr. Quack quickly shushed them harshly, causing the three muscle-headed Chaotix members to rub their heads in embarrassment.

"This 'Iron Queen' woman… she was bad, wasn't she?", Yukari asked, seriousness in her voice.

Sonic grit his teeth. "One of the worst. Terrorized the Dragon Kingdom continent with her Iron Dominion and ruled with an iron fist… made it hell for Monkey Khan and the Dragon Kingdom Freedom Fighters… and even took over the Eggman Empire when Eggman… well…"

Sonic trailing off caused a wave of confused silence among his allies. "He… what?", Tails asked, afraid that he actually knew where this was going, considered what he seen when the Iron Dominion tried to re-capture the fat mad genius.

Sonic bit his lip. "At out final attack on the Eggamn Empire… when I broke his Egg Spider… he finally snapped and tried to kill me with his bare hands. And… it was all my fault. I pushed him off the deep end. Big time. I... I… I… I didn't mean to…", he stammered to say while begin to shake like a leaf.

The Freedom Fighters and Chaotix, along with S.E.E.S., looked in shock of the sight before them – Sonic the Hedgehog… remorseful. Shaken. Scared.

Now they learned Sonic's dreaded secret, a secret which plagued him for some time.

"A-Anyway…", Sally said, trying to change the subject. "The Iron Queen escaped. That's the short version. What most of everyone doesn't know is that she ultimately didn't do it alone… She was busted out from the outside.", she concluded darkly.

Mitsuru and the others could tell the seriousness of the statement.

"Someone… broke her out?", Knuckles gawked, his face in shock. "After all we've been through, she…?"

"I think what Knuckles is trying to ask is…", Julie-Su asked calmly, trying not to show her surprise. "Who was able to break her out? I mean, the route to the prison was guarded by several of the Kingdom's Elite Guard and patrol was headed by Geoffrey himself. I doubt it could have gone so smoothly for whoever had the gall to do this."

"Actually… NICOLE went to the prison the second the prison deactivated, and saw the face of the individual. But what disturbed me was…NICOLE?", Sally asked.

NICOLE's eyes sank and frowned. "The perpetrator was… a young human male. Not an Overlander… a full-fledged, five-fingered, actual human."

All the Mobians in the room gawked hard. S.E.E.S looked surprised considering what they learned about the fundamental difference between Overlanders and humans, and that Overlanders had xenophobia of Mobians, whereas humans did not – no wonder why some of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix were slightly on edge.

"A…human? Like the humans in Station Square?", Tails asked in surprise.

"That's not the worst of it, mates.", came a lone, thickly Australian-like accent.

Everyone turned to see Geoffrey St. John, suspending himself with crutches, followed by his wife Hershey the Cat, who was in uniform. He was not wearing his combat suit, but a simple hospital gown and heelless slippers. There was a large bracing cast on his left leg. "Geoffrey! How long have you been standing there?", Sally gasped.

"I saw the perp's face. Let me tell you – it was quite the sight.", he said, his eyes trailing to the members of S.E.E.S., looking at Yukari first and last. His cerulean eyes shrunk upon seeing the gun holstered on her right hip.

"-gasp- That gun!", he gasped as he quickly walked to Yukari and removed the Evoker from her holster. "H-Hey!", the strawberry-blond girl yelped. Junpei's brows furrowed. "Hey! Give that back!"

Geoffrey studied the gun furiously. His facial expression, which Yukari noticed, had a look of pure terror. "It's the same gun as last night!", he said, unconsciously dropping the gun.

The Mobians in the room looked surprised. "What?", Mitsuru rose her voice, much to the skunk's surprise. "Someone else has an Evoker?"

"So that's what they're called… 'Evokers'… wait, how did you mates get these things? And while you're at it, how did you even get here?"

"It's a long story.", Akihiko sighed.

Geoffrey's brows furrowed. "I got time."


New Mobotropolis, Mobius, August 3, 3237, 10:08 Hours


"Pharos.", Minato said flatly.

"Hello!", Pharos replied in his disturbingly cheerful disposition. "It's been a while, hasn't it?", he asked, never changing his smile.

" But… how? I thought… you…I…Nyx… How are you even-", Minato stuttered, having difficulty on how to ask such a simple question. After all, Pharos was also Ryoji Mochizuki, a former classmate, and was also in turn the Shadow that personified Arcana number XIII.

Death. The end of everything.

Pharos, Ryoji, Thanatos, Nyx.

All separate, yet one in the very same. So how was Pharos still even existent? The idea seemed to thrust the bluenette into a deeper pit of confusion.

"When you formed the Great Seal to lock Nyx away, you gave up your life force to uphold it. Now that you've come back from the grave, I suppose I was freed as well.", he said beamingly, walking slightly around the room to explore it. "So this is a hospital room. It's… much different from your room. -gasp- Oh, wow! You can see a good portion of this city from here! Is this the top floor?"

"Pharos...? Pharos! Focus!", Minato barked, then clutched his head in pain. Apparently raising his voice would also hurt like a mother.

Innocently, Pharos gasped. "Oops. Sorry. I guess after being locked away for over 10,000 years I forgot what is what like on the outside." "Wh-what? 10,000?"

Minato noticed the boy's smile turned to a frown. "I'm afraid I don't have much time to explain things… but I must tell you something."

"?", Minato blinked.

"I'm afraid I've been... captured. Captured by these strange people. People who wish to harness the power of Death." His eyes were sorrowful. "I am talking to you on borrowed time, so I must be quick."

Minato, slowly leaned closer. Pharos sat on the side of Minato's bed, twiddling his thumbs. "These people have the same power as you and your friends – the power of Persona."

This caught Minato's attention.

"One of them had attacked this city last night, rescuing a woman they had in custody with the same potential, unknown to the woman in question. She was really bad news – a full-fledged dictator. She was rescued by who I call 'the scarred, one-eyed priest'; I'm afraid don't know his name, so I can't help you there."

"Go on…", Minato trailed.

"Their wish is to bring an end to the newly dominant race of animal people on this world, using my – Nyx's – power. They have many numbers, at least 1 for every Arcana. Even…"

"Even…?", Minato asked cautiously.

"Even the Fool… and their boss, the World." This struck a chord in the bluenette.

"Y-You're kidding, right?" Pharos did not answer him.

"Minato, there are two more things I can tell you, so listen carefully. These animal people… Mobians… have traces of human DNA… human essence… and some are capable of attaining Persona. Find the one with powers like yours. All I know is that he's blue and is some kind of rodent."

'A blue rodent? …Why do I have bad feeling about this…?', Minato thought to himself. "And the second?"

"'He who is a god of Judgment can undo the Death of the Pope'. I'm not entirely sure what it means, though, but do give some thought. It might mean something in the future."

"Where'd you hear that?", Minato asked warily. "Just… intuition.", Pharos said before smiling again. "It was nice seeing you it lasted, but I'm afraid… this is goodbye."

Pharos began to fade. "Pharos… Pharos, wait!", Minato yelled, only to wince in more pain.

"Goodbye… my friend… Oh, and check your coat pocket…", and with that, he completely vanished.

"Pharos! Pha—GAH!", Minato yelled as he tried to stand up, but fell out of bed in a large thud.

New Mobotropolis, Mobius, August 3, 3237, 10:12 Hours

"What was that?", Ken asked out loud all of a sudden during explaining everything to Geoffrey.

"Pharos! Pharos, wait!"

"That voice…! Is that…?", Akihiko gasped.

"Pharos! Pha–GAH!", then a loud thud was heard.

"-gasp- Minato!", Yukari shrieked before running out the room and turning a sharp right down the long hall.

"We should follow her.", Mitsuru said. The other members of S.E.E.S. nodded and followed suit, including Koromaru.

"W-wait! You all just recovered! Oooooohhh, why can't my patients just lie down for once?", Dr. Quack whined before Sonic followed the doctor.

Yukari slid the door to the room open, tears forming in her eyes. "Minato!"

Minato slowly stood up, albeit a few kinks in the process, and turned in surprise. "Yukari…!"

The strawberry-blond girl's tears came flowing out as he ran to hug the bluenette and sobbed.

"*sob* You're here! You're really, really…! *sob*", Yukari bawled. Mitsuru and the others all gave smiles. Aegis was crying steady tears, looking like she was going to bawl as yell.

"Uh… Yukari…?", Minato asked slowly. "*sob* Y-yes…?"

"You're… kinda… hugging too hard…", Minato squeezed, sounding like he was going to pass out.

Yukari gasped and let go, blushing hard in embarrassment. Minato chuckled heartily, then scrunched his face as he sat on his bed.

"-gasp- Are you alright?", Yukari asked, placing her hands on the resurrected boy's shoulders. "Y-yeah. Just… in a lot of pain."

Dr. Quack walked into the room. "A lot of pain, how?"

Minato didn't look behind him as he answered "Like being hit by 4 or 5 trucks in a row kind of pain. …Wait a minute."

Minato slowly turned his head, his eyes shrinking to see a bipedal talking yellow duck with an eyepatch, lab coat and stethoscope.

"…No. Fucking. Way.", the boy with half of his face covered by hair gawked. Ken and Koromaru looked at Minato in utter surprise. Mitsuru, Fuuka and Akihiko blinked twice. Aegis placed a hand on her mouth.

"Well.", the duck doctor blinked. "That's a new one."

"Have I finally lost it, or is there a walking, talking duck literally three feet from me? Depending on where this is going, I can go either way."

"Well, aren't you Mr. Sunshine? How about you were barely stable and on the verge on dying after being spat out by quantum vortex, huh? A 'thank you' would be nice, on account of me bringing you here!", cried Sonic. "Sonic!", Dr. Quack chided.

Minato looked towards Sonic. "Wait a minute…", he droned. 'Blue rodent… No way…!'

Minato's jaw dropped. "You're Sonic the Hedgehog, aren't you?", Minato asked just below yelling as he shot up, only to fall back down on the bed and grunt loudly in pain.

Sonic eyes shrunk slightly. "If you're not from this world, then how do you know my name?", Sonic asked cautiously.

"Because he's part of our group, that's why.", Yukari commented.

"Oh, so you're Minato. Huh. From what I heard, I imagined you were… uh…"

"What? Taller? Stronger? More masculine haircut?", Minato retorted, annoyed. Sonic chuckled nervously.

"Well, anyway, it's nice to meet you, Minato. Your friends spoke highly of you to all of us. When you're better, I'll treat you to Uncle Chuck's Diner, and his famous Chili Dogs, if ya want!", Sonic smiled and both blue males shook hands.

Minato's eyes shrunk slightly as everyone heard a loud rumbling from the bluenette's stomach. Said bluenette blushed. "Yeah. That'd be great, actually."

Junpei laughed. "Samn ol' big-gutted Minato! You really are something, dude!"

Ken and Akihiko giggled lightly.

The golden moment was unfortunately shattered when the city alarm sounded.

"ATTENTION ALL CIVILIANS! PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR HOMES IMMEADIATELY! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

"Wh-what the hell's that?", Junpei gawked in surprise. "It's an alarm, idiot.", Akihiko replied deadpan among the noise.

"It think what Junpei-san is trying to say is 'why is the alarm sounding?', Akihiko-san.", Ken interjected.

Sally ran into the doorway. "Sonic! An intruder has been detected at the entrance to the city! One human male's already incapacitated an entire squad of the Secret Service! Tails and the others are heading there now!"

"Oh boy. Geoffrey's gonna be real sore about this.", Sonic chided, his eyes narrowing and ears drooped.

"We also got positive ID that it's the same man from before. The same one who harmed Geoffrey and escaped with the Iron Queen. But don't tell him that.", Sally said.

"Hey hey hey! There's a fight? Hey, I'm handy right now; I only need my fists.", Akihiko commented.

"As much as I appreciate the help, you're all injured guests. This has nothing to do with you gu-", Sally began.

"I beg to differ, with all due respect, Your Highness.", Mitsuru retorted. "My family's group was directly involved in the creation of all Evokers and all subsequent events forthwith. Therefore, yes. It does have to do with us. Everyone, we're going.", Mitsuru commanded.

Everyone nodded, but Mitsuru walked up to Minato and said "Except you, Arisato. You need your bed-rest. Badly, it seems."

"But, Mitsuru-senpai! I-!", Minato began before Mitsuru's glare intensified enough to make the bluenette sweat bullets. "Arisato, you're staying here.", she the redhead said slowly. "That is of course you want to be executed."

Minato, and subsequently Sonic, gulped. "Y-yes, ma'am…", the bluenette choked.

Mitsuru nodded. Everyone, save Dr. Quack and Minato, ran out of the room.

Dr. Quack turned to his bedridden patient. "Does she always do that…?" "You have no idea… Say, doctor?" "Yes...?", Dr. Quack asked carefully.

"I have a favor to ask."


New Mobotropolis, Mobius, August 3, 3237, 10:20 Hours


Several armed guards of the Secret Service stood or crouched painfully in total shock.

The male priest reported to have infiltrated the city limits this moment had not only been confirmed to be the perp from last night – the same one to have broken the Iron Queen out of prison – but was also fighting on par with Hershey St. John, Geoffrey's cat-Mobian wife, and was not even breaking his posture.

"Wouldja look at that human. He's fighting on equal footing with Ms. Hershey.", a tall bulldog in a similar combat suit to Geoffrey and Hershey whispered loudly.

"Look again, Pug.", a burly beige beaver Mobian chided. "That human ain't even usin' his arms. He still got that cross-thing in his left hand on his chest, and his right to his side. All he's doin' is fancy footwork."

"But he kicked us all down hard when he made that look. If Hershey's not careful-"

"Are you implying that Ms. Hershry'll lose? C'mon!", the beaver retorted. "But still…"

Hershey was absolutely angry. Not only had this young man injured now 13 men extensively, one being her husband, but he was dodging each and every one of the black-and-white cat's attacks as if nothing were there.

Finally showing signs of impatience, Hershey screamed and threw a very fast kick, only for the male priest to block its path with his left wrist, the hand loosely holding the cross, now visibly revealing its true form as an Evoker.

"!", Hershey gasped, as she saw the brunette cut lawn-and-towel haircut priest open his un-patched eye to reveal a soulless, dull milk chocolate brown, his mouth twisting in disappointment. The long purple rosary necklace shuffled slightly.

"Is that honestly the best you can do?", he asked flatly. "And you call yourself a special agent. How… disgraceful. I bet you can't even claw your way out of a stupid jam without your precious hubby around." His facial expression oozed disappointment.

"Shut up!", Hershey yelled as she attempted to claw at his face, only for her to be launched up from a kick to her chin, the young man's leg being held at a seemingly impossible angle towards his head.

The force of the kick launched Hershey a few feet in the air, in which the priest spun and roundhouse-kicked her clear in the chest, causing her to fly back about 10 feet.

Upon her rough landing, Hershey spat out a gob of blood, the scarlet liquid staining her ivory muzzle fur.

"I grow tired of this game. I believe it's about time I finished you all off.", he said flatly. He rose the cross in his hand to his chest and closed his eye.

"O Father in heaven, he who has granted life unto this world, please allow these children of Your being safe passage to the heavens.", he prayed solemnly.

After praying, he began to walk towards Hershey slowly, much to the cat's fear.

"I don't think so!", came a loud voice. Instinctively, the boy spun around and kicked where a certain Spin-Dashing hedgehog was violently trying to knock him down with one push.

Sadly, it failed, as the boy's foot alone held the surprised hedgehog in place. "N—no way!", he cried.

"Yes, Sonic the Hedgehog. Way.", he replied as he spun and kicked the blue Mobian to the left like a soccer ball, crying "GUAAAGH!" in the process.

"Sonic!", cried a mélange of voices. The Freedom Fighters and Chaotix all amassed about 20 yards away, with most of S.E.E.S. behind them.

"W-whoa! Talk about a freaky appearance.", Junpei gaped.

"H-he deflected Sonic's Spin Dash with ease!", Tails gasped. "That's not possible!"

"Freedom Fighters! Chaotix! Move in!", Sally yelled. The Mobian teams scrambled to surround the priest. His face twisted into a slight smirk.

"Perhaps, as a whole, you may provide an adequate challenge.", he chided. He then darted with surprising speed for Vector and headbutted the crocodile in the skull, much to their surprise.

Grabbing the falling croc by the wrist, he spun and threw him at Mighty and Julie-Su, who were knocked down by the sheer strength of the throw. Enraged, Knuckles yelled out and charged at the boy, fists raised.

The male sighed and gracefully side-stepped the red echidna and kicked him in the back of the skull face-first into the dirt. "Next.", he said, bored.

Instinctively, he jumped about 4 feet into the air and back-flipped, dodging and catching both of Espio's shuriken. Before landing, he threw them at Bunnie and Antione, stabbing both of them in Bunnie's arm cannon and Antoine's right wrist bone, which caused him to drop his curved saber and fall back in pain.

Once the priest landed, he darted for Espio, slid towards the chameleon like he was home plate, hooked his leg around Espio's neck and forced him into the ground. A loud thud was heard.

"That's it! I'm not standing around while these guys get creamed!", Akihiko yelled as he charged, fists raised, at the pale-brunette. The long tassel of hair covering the right of his face flickered as he spun towards Akihiko, who began unleashing a flurry of powerful punches. The priest instinctively threw the cross into his mouth and bit down on it, allotting him the ability to block the silverette's blows with both hands.

Even though he didn't show it, Akihiko was both shocked and impressed for the lanky priest to blocking his blows with relative ease.

The enemy quickly spun around and struck Akihiko's left temple with a swift spin kick, taking the boxer out of the fight.

"Whereas your punches are clearly superior, this isn't a boxing match. Therefore, I am free to use my legs… Akihiko Sanada.". the black robed male chided as he looked over his shoulder, the camera view capturing the light in his left eye.

Everyone, even those who were down, were shocked. "H-how do you know my name?", Akihiko gasped.

The male sighed. "I know quite well the existence of S.E.E.S.' entire membership – even little 'Koro-chan' - is in New Mobotropois's protective care. Sadly…", he trailed before his expression changed to a cold, angered gaze.

"None of you are who I'm looking for. Therefore, I'll ask you this only once: '…Where the hell is Minato Arisato'?"

Every member of S.E.E.S' eyes shrunk at what they saw.

As a small wind was exiting the priest's personal space from his feet and created a looming breeze, a white burst of soft flame erupted from about 2 feet from the crown of his head, forming a rectangular image of a card with themes of black-and-blue, with a bi-colored mask of black and white in its center. The card's scale was about nine inches wide by sixteen inches long.

"What the-?", Knuckles yelled as he unearthed himself.

"Is this guy a magician? Ooh! Do a magic trick!", Charmy bellowed, only for Saffron to shush him.

"I got a bad feelin' 'bout this...", Bunnie whispered.

Sonic looked at the blown-up image and clutched his head in head, his right eye closed tightly. 'Wh-what is this feeling…? It's like that face is shaking every fiber of my being!'

Ken's eyes shrunk and he pointed as he gasped. "-gasp- It's flipping!"

Slowly the image flipped, revealing the illustration of a blue-and-white-rimmed tarot card. It illustration showed panes of navy blues and purples, with its center showing a yellow five-pointed full-bodied star with a man's illustrated face. The star had an upside-down star under it, encircled by a yellow circle – all of which had a black trim. Several smaller stars were scattered around the image.

What caught Mitsuru's attention was the Roman numeral in on the bottom-center of the card.

XVII.

"Is this boy…?", she gaped.

"So you can see it. Guess you're not as weak as I imagined.", the priest grinned. He then stiffened his posture, resuming his pose of the Evoker to his chest.

"My name is Lacri of the Organization. I am represented by Arcana number 17…The Star.", the priest, Lacri, stated.

"But that's Impossible! A Shadow's Arcana only goes as far up the Arcana as Death! Number 13! How is that even possible?", Fuuka gasped.

The card shattered like glass and vanished. "Didn't you know? A Persona has always been capable of attaining any Arcana under the spectrum; your 'field leader' knows that the most, does he not?"

Yukari's eyes shrunk. "His power…!", she gasped. Lacri's mouth stretched to a small smaile. "Finally, someone gets it."

Aegis readied her finger turrets, despite her not being in her white combat suit. She began to unleash serious firepower after shouting "Stay away from Minato!", only for the priest to sigh and perform something that frightened everyone at the scene, especially Sonic, who still seemed to have a migraine of some sort.

Lacri dove forward and kicked the ground at his feet, allowing him to dash in such a way that he was side-dodging the bullets in a fashion reminiscent to Sonic running. After dodging 10 seconds of a few seconds and several rounds worth of robot girl projectiles, he stopped mere inches from Aegis, his whiteless brown eye meeting Aegis' double-toned blue orbs, which shrunk.

Lacri reared back head and headbutted the mechanical maiden and grabbed her in mid-fall, raising her by her neck.

"If you won't tell me where he is… then perhaps I shall eliminate toy all here, and search for him on foot. But something tells me… he'll come without fail."

"Wh-what makes you say that…?", Aegis gasped; even though she could not be choked to death, Lacri's hand was dangerously close to the Papillion Heart in the back of her neck; her core being - heart, soul, personality, power, and everything in between. Without it, she'd certainly die.

"Because if he doesn't… well, my friends in high places will just have to wipe this city off the map now, won't they?", he remarked coldly.

"STOP!", roared a voice.

Everyone able turned to see the bluenette Minato standing in a fighting stance… or at least the best fighting stance a crutch under his left arm could allow. His Evoker was in his right hand, instinctively pointed at his head.

Before anyone could move, Lacri threw Aegis like a fastball at Mitsuru and Fuuka, knocking them down hard.

Only Ken, Koromaru, Yukari, Junpei, Sally, Amy, Tails, Charmy, Safforn and Ray remained able.

The problem was that Koromaru was useless without a knife, Ken without a spear, Yukari without a bow and arrow or Junpei without a two-handed sword.

Amy and Tails had the best chance of landing a hit, but it could very well cost them. The bees and Ray, along with Sally, were out of the question.

In total powerlessness, everyone watched as Lacri slapped the Evoker out of Minato's hand and grabbed the bluenette's skull; the Evoker landed a foot from Sonic after a bounce or two. Sonic stared at the gun in awe.

'Go on…~', a serene boyish voice said softly in the hedgehog's head.

"Soon we will have it… Thanatos' power!", Lacri grinned excitedly. A violent aura erupted from both Minato and Lacri, causing Minato to start screaming in pain. The remaining group was horrified by the fact that they couldn't get any closer to help the injured Persona-user.

Sonic slowly stood up, the Evoker pressed to his right temple. "Let him go!"

Lacri's torture seemed to slow slightly as he turned to the hedgehog, a surprised look in his eye. "Impossible… he couldn't…!"

Sonic's eyes slowly opened, looking slightly dull, and a closed-lip grin stretching on his face. "Per…so…"

His eyes widened in size. "…Na!" Sonic pulled the trigger.

All that was heard was the sound of shattered glass, and a deafening roar.


Next Time: awake, Th3 BEAST, arise, Th3 JESTER


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