It was a bright and shiny day in Green Hill Zone. Sonic the Hedgehog was out on one of his usual runs just enjoying the day.
"Ah, this is the life." He said while running. "No monsters, no Eggman, no random baddie plotting to take over the world… Nope, nothing could ruin this day."
Sonic soon entered a forest that he didn't recognize at first; however, as he began to look around, he noticed that it did look somewhat familiar. He stopped and looked around. After bit of subconscious searching, his eyes soon fell on a small pool of water. As he approached the pool of water, he soon began to remember something. At first, he wasn't sure if it truly was what he thought it was. A minute later and it was confirmed, as a gold ring then sprung out of the water. He had been here before. He stopped in front of the ring that had sprouted out of the water and picked it up.
He had seen Pools of Rings before, but this particular pool brought back memories. Memories that he would rather not think about; however, after he started thinking, he remembered something else, something important. He then began to make his way back home, ring in hand, slowly at first but then instantly sprinting into a run.
About a few minutes later, he had arrived at the nanite city of New Mobotropolis, his home. He quickly made his way to the King Frederick Airbase where his little brother, Miles "Tails" Prower, was busy working on his biplane, the Tornado.
"Yo, Tails!" He said upon entering the hanger.
"Hey, Sonic!" Responded Tails. "What are you doing back so soon? I thought you'd be gone all day, knowing you."
"Yeah. Wasn't planning on showing up so soon, but… I found something."
"Really? What?"
Sonic pulled out the gold ring that he found and showed it to Tails.
"A… ring?"
"No, I found a Pool of Rings. A really small one." He said, slightly downcast.
"O-okay? What so interesting about-"
"It was that one, Tails."
As soon as Sonic said that, Tails' face went from surprised to sad.
"Oh, right. That one."
"You know what tomorrow is, right, buddy?"
"Huh…? OH MAN! I can't believe I forgot!"
"Oh, no worries man. If I hadn't come across that pool, I wouldn't have remembered either."
"Oh, Sonic! You're back!" Said a high voice.
"(sigh) Hi, Amy."
Running up behind him with a cheery smile on her face and her arms outstretched was none other than Amy Rose. Without warning, she jumped upon the blue blur from behind, wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him into a hug.
"Oo-o, whatcha got there?" She asked, noticing that Sonic was holding something, "I don't suppose it's a gift for your favorite pink hedgehog?"
"Nope, just a ring, Amy." Sonic responded plainly.
"Oh." She said deadpanned, releasing Sonic from her hug.
"It's from that pool, Amy." Said Tails. "You know, the one we told you about?"
"We don't suppose, that you remember what tomorrow is, do you?" Asked Sonic.
"Hm, of course. How could I forget?" She said downcast but smiling slightly. "Have you called him yet, Sonic?"
"Not yet, but let's get right on that."
About an hour later, in G.U.N. H.Q., outside Central City, Shadow the Hedgehog had just left the mess hall with a small box in his hands. While he walked, he soon ran into one of his teammates, Rouge the Bat.
"Hey, Shadow. Whatcha got there?" Said Rouge pointing to the decorative box in his hands.
"It's none of your concern." Said Shadow.
Rouge sniffed the air and noticed a familiar scent.
"Is that… chocolate?"
"Never mind that. Good. Day."
With that, Shadow left Rouge there and continued on his way. Rouge couldn't help but watch him leave with a look of suspicion.
Back in New Mobotropolis, Sonic was at his house packing his bag. He had packed a snack, his guitar, flowers. All that was left was to collect one more thing. He walked over to his bed and looked underneath. He was about to reach for something when suddenly…
KNOCK KNOCK
Sonic retracted his hand, got up, and walked over to the door. Behind it was his good friend Bunnie Rabbot D'Coolette, smiling.
"Heya, Sugar-hog. Whata' y'all up to?" She asked
"Just packing for my trip tomorrow. Why?"
"Well, ah jus' thought that... maybe you would'n mahnd if the rest of us tagged along?"
"… Is this coming from you or Sally? Because I distinctly remember her asking me the exact same thing last year."
"We're jus' curious. You, Amy, and Tails say yuh each hafta leave tomorrow, specifically. Why?"
"We all have our reasons for going where we're all going. I can't tell ya where the others are planning on going, no more than I can tell you where I'm going. It's a secret."
"(sigh) Ah was afraid y'all were gonna say that." She said in defeat. "Can't ya at least tell us why it's so important?"
"Afraid not. Sorry, and tell Sal sorry for me too, okay?"
"(sigh) Kay."
"Great, see ya around."
"See ya, Sugar-hog." She said as he closed the door.
With that, she made her way back to the castle where Princess Sally Acorn and Rotor Walrus were waiting.
"Well, anything?" Asked Sally as soon as Bunnie returned.
"That boy's locked up tighter than a box o' snakes. Got nuthin' outa him."
"(sigh) Same with the other two. I don't get it. They all leave on the same day, but don't tell us where they're going."
"Maybe we should let it go, Sally." Suggested Rotor. "It's probably something personal. So personal, that they'd even not talk about it in the city at all, since Nicole doesn't seem to know anything either."
"Really, Nicole? Nothing?"
Instantly, Nicole the A.I. appeared in her hologram form before the others.
"I'm afraid not." She said upon appearing. "Whenever they speak of their trips, they never mention where they're going or what they're doing, and nothing in their homes reveals anything. The best I can tell you is that they each have a box under their beds, but they are not made of nanites and something is preventing my nanites from looking inside of them."
"Whatever it is that they don't want us to know, it must be really important to them that they keep it secret."
The next morning, the three heroes were saying their goodbyes but at different times of day. First Amy Rose, early in the morning. She left on foot heading North. Second was Tails, at noon. He flew off in his bi-plane heading South West. Finally, it was Sonic's turn. It was currently late in the afternoon, but he was still saying goodbye.
"I don't understand what could be so important that you can't even tell us where you're going." Said Sally, after giving a goodbye hug to her ex.
"Sorry, Sal. It's-"
"Personal. I know, but still."
"Maybe one of these days. Just... not now." Sonic looked out to the western wall that separated New Mobotropolis from the outside world, and took in a deep breath. "Well, better get to it. Don't wanna be late. Ha! What am I saying? See ya when I get back, guys."
He faced all of his friends and gave them his signature smile and thumbs up. Then he ran off, over the wall and straight forward, leaving his friends still wondering where the three of them have been going for the past three years that they knew them.
Sonic was running for about a couple hundred miles before turning around and running full speed do North East. He ran nonstop. Whenever he was thirsty or hungry, he would reach into his bag and pull out food or drink while running. He kept on running until he reached a beautiful valley, filled with green grass, flowers, and in the center, a circular stone platform of some sort, covered in strange markings.
After reaching the platform, he stopped at the base of the five steps that lead to the top and sat down on the first step. He reached into his bag and pulled out his guitar. He closed his eyes and started playing a solemn tune (Worth a chance, acoustic guitar version) whispering "Happy Birthday". He soon heard the sound of footsteps and looked to see someone approaching.
"I was wondering when you'd get here."
Meanwhile, outside of New Mobotropolis, an army was on the march, but this was not just any army. This was an army made entirely out of crystalized Eggman robots. Deceased Metal Sonics, swat-bots, egg-pawns, etc. and the two at the very front looking over at their goal were the evil Ixis wizard, Ixis Naugus, holding a large magic wand that resembled a demonic claw with the purple chaos emerald at the top. Alongside him was his apprentice, the devoted Geoffrey St. John.
"Rest well tonight, my apprentice, come tomorrow, this city shall be mine."
The next day started out like any other. Children were playing outside, men and women were working at their jobs, and watching over it all was the city's creator and protector, Nicole. Granted, there were still those who were somewhat afraid of her after the Iron Dominion debacle; fortunately, with the help of her friends, she was coping. She then remembered something.
"That's right, Sonic and the others will be back at any moment."
With that, she instantly moved her hologram form from her current location to the city entrance, ready to greet her friends. However, when she used her nanites to look out to the distance, trying to see her friends, she had caught sight of something that was truly troubling. An army made entirely out of crystal, marching toward the city. Leading the charge were Ixis Naugus and Geoffrey St. John.
They hadn't seen Geoffrey since he shot Sonic in the back during their last trip to the Special Zone. The fact that he seemed to have joined forces with the conniving wizard only made things more troubling. Without delay, she left to inform the Freedom Fighters and the Counsel of Acorn of the situation.
Naugus and his army had just arrived before the gates of the city, ready to take it by force.
"I feel that I should remind you, sir, that this is a bad idea." Said Geoffrey. "Taking the crown by force would only-"
"Silence, apprentice!" Exclaimed Naugus. "These people must see that I am not a being to be trifled with. I am the great Ixis Naugus, and I shall show these fools just what I am capable of. This city is nothing more than useless electronics. Once I rid it of the useless A.I. as well as the Freedom Fighters, everything else shall fall into place."
Soon, the Freedom Fighters had arrived on the scene to confront the evil wizard, followed by an army of Royal Guardsman.
"Ixis Naugus, how are you here?" Asked Sally.
"I assume you are referring to my current condition. Well, you have my apprentice, as well as the annoying quickster to thank for that. The emerald that was so generously given to me was most appreciated. And after my apprentice had informed me of all that had transpired here, I took it upon myself to raise up this army to aid me in taking back the city that rightfully belongs to me."
Once he finished with his announcement, he noticed something odd.
"Wait, where is the quickster?"
Sonic, Amy, and Tails were still gone on their trip. They were scheduled to return home by then but they were still gone. They either were running late or they ran into their own problems. The bottom line was…
"They aren't here." Said Sally.
At first, Naugus looked surprised, but his expression soon shifted as he began to laugh at the fact that the greatest threat to him was not around.
"He's not here?!" He asked while laughing. "The fool chose the day to leave his home poorly! Now nothing shall stand in my way!"
"That isn't true, Naugus!" Nicole stated, projecting her hologram beside Sally. "We are here. Even without Sonic, we will stop you here and now."
"Ahhh, there you are! The pesky little A.I. running the city's nanites. My apprentice also informed me of you. How you once turned on your 'friends' and turned the city against the people."
"No…"
Nicole didn't need to see or hear any more. Using the nanites from the city's outer wall, Nicole entrapped Naugus and Geoffrey. Naugus was caught by the waist, and Geoffrey was trapped in some kind of glass bubble with air holes.
"I only turn it against threats like you. Please do not resist any further."
Does this seem familiar? See StH #223
"Please," With a wave of his wand Naugus reduced the trap around his waist to crystal that shattered instantly. "such artificial means cannot stand against my crystalline magic. You hold no sway over me!"
"Nanites or not, well can still beat you." Stated Sally "Bunnie, Antoine, focus your attacks on the robots. With Geoffrey captured, he's no longer a-"
"Sally!" Exclaimed Nicole.
"—threat?"
At that moment, they watched as Geoffrey's body instantly turned to smoke and escaped through the air holes. His body then took its original form upon him arriving on the ground.
"I do not enjoy doing that…" He said while stretching.
Everyone, except for Naugus, was shocked to see this.
"… An Ixis…" Said Sally. "You're an… Since when are you an Ixis Wizard?!"
"Hah! Did you not hear me when I called him my "apprentice"?" Stated Naugus. "I've trained him since he was but a child. Now, enough talk. I've come here to take back what rightfully belongs to me!"
Naugus then raised his wand skyward, and the purple gem atop it glowed bright.
"Now, my forces, attack the city and crush any and all who stand in your way! This day, the city falls to Ix-!"
KRACK KA-BOOM
Naugus couldn't finish his order because he was interrupted by the sound of an explosion from behind him. Turning around, he saw more explosions erupting from his crystal army. The reason; missiles. The cause; a blue biplane flying overhead, firing missiles upon them.
"Tails!" Exclaimed Sally, happy to see him.
"Fie! The quickster's sidekick! Attention, my army, strike down that-!"
PIKO-SMASH
PIKO-CRUSH
PIKO-CRASH
"Wha?!" Once again, he was interrupted by sounds of destruction.
In the distance, there was the sight of mostly crushed crystalized robots being flung through the air, and above the heads of robots still on the ground was the partial sight a something red, gold, and big.
"Amy!" Exclaimed Sally, once again happy to see another friend.
"Grrr…" Responded Naugus.
After much smashing and crushing, Amy finally made it to the front lines with her friends.
"Sorry for being late." Said Amy.
"Don't worry, Amy." Said Sally. "You and Tails are right on time."
"GAHHHHH! Enough of this! ATTACK!" Shouted Naugus.
The crystalized robots immediately began their attack, either firing other crystals at their enemies or using hand weapons and charging head on.
"SOLDIERS, TO ARMS! LET'S SHOW THIS FREAK SHOW AND THIS TRAITOR WHAT THE ROYAL GUARD IS MADE OF!" Shouted the Royal Guard captain.
The soldiers started rushing past the Freedom Fighters to meet the crystalized threat.
"Let's go Freedom Fighters! For our home!" Shouted Sally.
"Yeah!" Everyone shouted.
Antoine slashed, Amy smashed, Sally beat, Bunnie blasted, Tails fired, and Nicole had already activated the cities defenses. They were holding the enemy back, but they just kept coming.
"Apprentice, go and take of them for me." Ordered Naugus.
"Yes, sir." Geoffrey objectively agreed.
While Sally was busy destroying some old crystalized swat-bots, she didn't notice the puff of smoke that was quickly moving towards her, but Bunnie did.
"Sally, look out!" Warned Bunnie.
By the time Sally had turned around, Geoffrey was already about to engage her in close combat. That is, until he was knocked out of the sky by a big blue ball.
"Sonic!" Sally happily exclaimed.
"Sorry I'm late. I took a few wrong turns." He said before turning to face Geoffrey. "Hey there, traitor. So you stabbed, or in this case "shot", me in the back, and stole the emerald so that you could give it to this clown? Congratulations, stinky. You're officially a traitor now."
"Not true!" Geoffrey claimed as he threw a kick at Sonic, who just jumped out of the way easily. "My loyalty has always been to my king and country!"
"Funny, I doubt Elias would approve of you attacking our city with gruesome over there."
"I'm talking about the true king!"
"You're not making any sense!" Exclaimed Sally.
"Aren't I? Or do you just not want me to—?"
KRACK KA-BOOM
"—Dah!" Before Geoffrey could finish his sentence, Tails had blown up more crystalized soldiers who were directly behind him, startling him and making him lose his footing, causing him to fall over.
"You were saying, Skunky?" Said Sonic.
"Sonic, watch out!" Warned Sally before leaping around him to deliver a lethal kick to another crystalized soldier.
"Thanks for the save, Sal."
Watching his army not make any headway, Naugus had had enough. Raising his chaos emerald infused wand high into the air, he took aim. It might cost him a few of his forces, but that was just a small price to pay if it meant annihilating his greatest foe. Getting rid of the princess would be a charming bonus.
"My apprentice!" He called out to Geoffrey. "Stand clear!"
Hearing the call of his master, Geoffrey used his magic to turn into a smoke cloud. He then made his way through the battlefield to join his master's side.
"Now, let us see how well you can run on ice, quickster!" Naugus gave out a hardy laugh.
Ice magic suddenly shot out of the emerald on Naugus' wand. Before Sonic or Sally knew it, they were fighting on ice.
"W-what? W-whoa!"
"Uh-oh!"
Since they were both taken by surprise by this, it quite easy for the both of them to lose their footing and fall.
"Oof!" They both said.
"I know I've said 'I hate water.' a bunch of times, but ice is starting to make the list, too."
"Sonic look!" Sonic followed Sally's lead and saw that the crystalized soldiers that they were fighting were all falling as well.
"Guess they're not big fans of it, either."
Geoffrey was unsure of how this was supposed to help them.
"Sir, what exactly was the point of that?" He asked.
"Watch and learn, Geoffrey, my boy." Said Naugus.
Once again, he raised his wand high into the air. He kept it there and focused as much magic as he could summon, tapping deep into the magic within himself, focusing it all into the wand. Sonic and Sally were just now about to regain their footing on the ice, but they found it difficult to do so on their own, so they had to hold onto each other for support.
"Now, quickster, you and your precious princess shall perish!" Giving out an even hardier laugh than before, Naugus shot out his magic in the form of a giant ball of fire that only grew the further it reached.
"Sonic, we have to move!" Warned Sally.
"I can't, I have no traction!" Said Sonic.
Looking around them, they saw more crystalized soldiers. Some on the ice, more standing off of it. If Sonic were to attempt to throw her, she would no doubt fall into the clutches of the enemy. Sonic hadn't even noticed that Nicole was already sending her nanites out to assist them. As he looked Sally in the eyes, his mind flashed back to the most traumatic moment in his life. Sally then noticed Sonic wearing a look of sheer determination as he turned to face Naugus' attack. Nicole was mere nanoseconds away from protecting them, but the wall of nanites suddenly froze as soon as she suddenly picked up a sudden change in the directional wind currents, as well as… something going on with Sonic. Sonic held onto Sally with one arm and reached his other out, as if he wanted to touch Naugus' attack.
"Sonic?" Sally questioned.
The fire attack was just a second away from roasting the both of them. Nicole sent her nanites again, but before they could intervene…
"Tornado!"
… Everyone turned to Sonic and Sally, and were shocked to see a tornado appear out of nowhere. The tornado sucked in the fire as it continued to move forward from where Sonic and Sally stood.
"Gah!" Exclaimed Naugus as he saw the flaming tornado make its way toward him and his apprentice.
"Master!" Exclaimed Geoffrey.
They both quickly got out of the way and let the tornado pass. As it did so, they noticed that it began to get smaller and smaller before disappearing. Everyone stopped when they saw this, even the crystalized soldiers, but that was just because Naugus was so shocked that he had unintentionally made them. Everyone then turned to look at the only things standing where the tornado came from. One of those two, Sally, was just staring at Sonic. She wasn't sure what she had just witnessed, but when she did, her mind flashed back to when she saw something similar during her vacation days spent on Angel Island as a child.
"Sonic?"
Sonic turned to look at her, she looked so surprised. He turned to look at everyone else, they all looked so shocked, except for two others, Tails, who was circling overhead, and Amy. The both of them just stared at Sonic with looks of surprise mixed with worry. Sonic then lowered his head, sighed, and then lowered his hand. All of a sudden, the ice around him and Sally melted, and the crystal soldiers began to rise, but they just stood there, awaiting further orders.
"Sir?" Said Geoffrey.
"That… wasn't me…" Said Naugus, "but that was… but it couldn't have been… But if it was, then… that would make… the quickster… No… No-no! I refuse to believe that! He is not an Ixis wizard!"
Those last two words echoed loud throughout the battlefield. This only made most of everyone even more confused and worried.
"Soldiers! Destroy them! Destroy them all!"
The crystalized soldiers did as they were told. Antoine was taken completely off guard when a soldier jumped him from behind, crystallized claws at the ready to strike him down. Bunnie noticed this and was quick to act.
"Antoine!"
"Ahh!" Screamed Antoine.
Bunnie reacted by extending her arm and taking it out. Around Sonic and Sally, the soldiers were about to attack them all at once. Sonic reacted by running around Sally, taking them all out at once. Naugus saw this, which only infuriated him more.
KRACK KA-BOOM
The sound of Tails using the missiles fired from his biplane caught Naugus' attention. He then decided focus his anger on him. Using the wind, Naugus flew up into the sky to meet Tails' biplane.
"Whoa!" Tails said in surprise when he caught sight of Naugus flying in front of him.
"I shall sooth my anger by doing away with you!" Said Naugus.
With a wave of his wand, Naugus turned half of Tails' biplane into crystal, ruining its flight capabilities.
"Oh-no!" Exclaimed Tails as he tried desperately to get his plane to so much as glide; unfortunately, it's difficult to do so when the wings are made out of jagged crystal.
"Tails!" Sonic dashed forward full speed trying to think of a way to help him.
Tails tried to eject, but that too proved useless. Even the seatbelt was crystal. Tails tried to reach for something sharp to cut or chip his way free, but the surface was drawing closer by the second. Before Tails could do something else that popped into his mind, he soon realized that he had stopped falling. Sonic stopped and looked at what was ahead of him. It was a giant hand made of rock. Sonic turned around and saw Amy with one hand resting her hammer on her shoulder, and her other hand outstretched toward Tails' plane.
"No. No. NOOOO…!" Screamed Naugus while Sonic spin-dashed Tails out of his half-crystal plane. "Lies and trickery! That must be it! You can't be one of us! I refuse to believe it!"
The acorn forces were having a hard time focusing of fighting with everything that was going on. Amy saw this and knew that if something wasn't done, then it would surely cost them their lives. She then made her hammer disappear, threw her arms up, and then brought them back down while falling to her knees so that her fists would collide with the earth.
"Earthquake!" She shouted.
The next thing that anyone knew, a great earthquake happened. It was enough to throw everyone into the air, crystalized soldiers included. They all fell back down with great force. While the people were mostly fine, all of the crystal soldiers that were thrown up by the earthquake shattered as they hit the ground. Amy looked around and saw the crystal carnage that she had caused, until her eyes fell on a crystalized Metal Sonic arm attempting to drag itself across the ground. Her response to this was re-summoning her hammer and smashing it to shards. Geoffrey just… stared. It was all that he could do.
"W-what is going on here?" He asked silently before shouting. "What is happening?! How can they have Ixis magic?!"
"How indeed?" Naugus said through gritted teeth. "How?!"
As more crystalized soldiers charged into battle, the only ones responding to this were Sonic, Amy, and Tails. Sonic spin-dashed, Amy piko-smashed, and Tails tail-spun them all to shards. Naugus had had enough, he charged head first, encasing the emerald end of his wand in crystal, turning it into a crystal spear. Tails caught sight of this and charged to warn his big brother.
"Sonic, watch out!" Shouted Tails.
Sonic turned around just in time to see and dodge Naugus' attack. But Naugus wasn't finished, for he continued to try and strike Sonic down.
"How can you do this?!" He shouted. "You are not Ixis wizards, so how are you doing this?!"
As soon as Naugus had thrown another strike, Sonic grabbed ahold of the wand.
"None… of your… beeswax!" Said Sonic while struggling to force Naugus back.
"I can understand your need to keep the truth form us, but what about them?" Geoffrey said as he approached them.
Hearing Geoffrey's words, Sonic, Amy, and even Tails looked around them. With most of the crystal foes dealt with, they could clearly see everyone's faces. They were filled with worry mixed with confusion, and maybe even some… fear. Geoffrey saw that everyone was distracted by this, and readied a bolt to shoot at Sonic, just like the night he betrayed him in the Special Zone. Tails turned to look at Sonic but instead saw Geoffrey taking aim at him. Geoffrey saw Tails looking at him, and tried to fire his bolt before he could warn everyone.
"SONIC, WATCH OUT!" Tails shouted in fear for his brother's safety, throwing his arm out.
The next thing that happened was the bolt making contact and piercing something. Its head was poking out of the other side of a crystal wall, mere inches away from Sonic's head. Everyone stared at the wall in shock, sans for Amy and Sonic, who only looked on in worry, and then to Tails.
"T-Tails?!" Questioned Sally in shock.
"I-I'm… sorry… I… I was just…"
"Zut alor!" Exclaimed Antoine.
"What in tarnation?" Exclaimed Bunnie.
"Wait! Just listen! We can explain everything later!" Exclaimed Tails, hoping they would understand.
"I demand it…" Naugus opened his mouth so that Sonic could see the orange light coming from the back of his throat. "NOOOOOOWWWWW!"
As Naugus said that last word, fire erupted from his mouth. Sonic was able to duck at the last minute and dash away. Unfortunately, the tips of his spines were now charcoal black and smoking.
"Answer me, Quickster, now!" Demanded Naugus, pointing an accusing finger at him and his friends. "How did you acquire this power?! Tell me! I demand to know! You are not even Ixis wizards!"
"No, he's not!" Came a deep voice from beside Naugus.
Everyone turned and saw Shadow the Hedgehog standing before them, holding a crystalized Metal Sonic Trooper head.
"He's only a fool, who after all this time, has finally managed to break an unbreakable vow." Said Shadow, crushing the head into shards upon saying the word "break".
Shadow approached them with an angered expression on his face.
"Sh-Shadow." Tails quietly said.
"Not another word, Tails."
"You. The one who resembles the quickster." Said Naugus. "I have no quarrel with you. Leave or else I will—"
"No." Shadow interrupted Naugus. "You leave. What I have to say doesn't concern you, Naugus."
"Bah, I demand answers and I demand them—"
"You are the last of a practically extinct order. Do not make me make it truly extinct."
"How dare you! I am Ixis Naugus, Master of the Elements and Supreme Power over the Ixis Magicks! With my chaos emerald wand in hand, not even the self-proclaimed Ultimate Lifeform can match me, and I'll prove it!"
Naugus then raised his wand high and readied a spell.
"I'll show you what a Supreme Ixis Wizard is capable of!"
POW
Before Naugus could do anything else, Shadow threw a quick, and rather strong punch at Naugus' gut, knocking the wind out of him. It was enough to throw him a few feet away.
"Master!" Exclaimed Geoffrey before making his way over to him.
By the time he got there, Naugus was clutching his gut, groaning in pain.
"Hmph, pathetic." Shadow's words caught Naugus' attention. "You call yourself a 'Supreme Ixis Wizard', but you've barely scratched the surface of your power. You are nothing more than a pitiful excuse for a sorcerer."
Naugus gritted his teeth at this.
"And by the way, my team is currently cleaning up the rest of your forces over that hill."
Naugus looked surprised to hear this.
"H-how?"
"Hm?"
"How did you—?"
Shadow did not respond, all that he did was turn and walk towards Sonic.
"Grrr… Let us go, apprentice."
"Right-o, sir." Said Geoffrey as he helped his master to his feet.
"Wait!" Called Sally.
Nicole was able to shake out of her shocked state and remember what was happening; unfortunately, it was too late. As soon as Naugus touched the wall's shadow, he and Geoffrey both vanished into it. As Sally saw this, she was then reminded of something from when she was a child.
"He… got away, Sally." Said Nicole. "I-I… I'm sorry… I was…"
"It… It's alright Nicole."
With the villains gone, everyone was finally free to look at the ones who caught their attention the most. Shadow approached Sonic.
"Shadow, let me explain…" Sonic began. "It-It was Sally. If I didn't, she would've-!"
Shadow raised a hand, and as shocking as it was to believe, that alone managed to silence him. The next thing that happened caught everyone off guard. Shadow raised his hand to the side of his own face and in one swift motion…
SMACK
… smacked Sonic's. The smacking sound echoed throughout the area. For a whole minute, everything was silent.
"Look what you've done." Said Shadow after a whole minute. "After all these years—"
"It wasn't his fault, Shadow!" Called Amy.
"If Sonic didn't do something," said Tails, "then he and Sally would've—"
"That alone, doesn't make it right." Said Shadow.
Again, everything was silent for a single minute.
"Doesn't it?" Asked Tails.
Shadow only glared at him.
"It also didn't give you two the right to break it as well."
Tails and Amy then lowered their heads shamefully.
"Don't blame them, Shadow." Said Sonic. "It was my fault."
For a second or two, Shadow stared at Sonic with a look of angered disappointment.
"Yes, it is." Shadow agreed.
"Shadow, it's Rouge." Rouge's voice spoke to Shadow via the mini earpiece in his right ear.
Shadow turned his head and pressed a button on the earpiece before speaking into it.
"Report, Rouge."
"We're all done here. Every last one of them, nothing but piles of shiny worthless crystals. And I believe me when I say 'worthless'. I checked."
"Understood. On my way back."
"Um… Shadow? Why did we need to come here, aga—?"
Shadow took the earpiece out of his ear before walking away.
"Wait, Shadow…!" Sonic called. "Shadow, wait…! Shadow…!"
Shadow just kept walking.
"TENEBRIS!"
This made Shadow stop as well as made Sally once again go wide-eyed.
"I'm sorry, okay?! But I couldn't just let her die! Isn't that what Mom would've wanted?!"
In the length of three whole seconds, Shadow turned to glare at Sonic, vanished in a flash of green light, and reappeared before Sonic to grab him by the neck, hoisting him up off of the ground.
"How…DARE YOU ATTEMPT TO USE MOTHER AS A SCAPEGOAT!"
"I'm, sorry… but I…"
"YOU WHAT, VENTUS?!"
"Stop it, Tenebris!" Shouted Amy. "You know it's true! Momma wouldn't want us to just let a friend die! You of all people should know that much, given your experiences."
Shadow's eyes widened from hearing this. He dropped Sonic, and turned to Amy.
"First he brings up Mother, now you dare bring up Maria?"
"Shadow… Tenebris…" Amy didn't continue speaking until a whole three seconds after. "What would you have done if you were here to see him fall?"
Amy nudged her head to gesture to Tails.
"…"
Shadow couldn't think of a retort. Instead, he just turned and walked away again.
"Please try to understand, Tenebris."
"Forget it, Ames" Said Sonic, recovering from Shadow's assault on his throat. "Let him leave. That's all he ever does."
As Shadow walked toward the horizon, he caught sight of his teammates making their way towards him.
"Shadow, what the heck?!" Complained Rouge. "I was trying to talk to you, but you didn't respond back!"
"I took out my earpiece."
"I thought something happened to you!"
"I'm fine."
"Why are the Acorn Royal Guard arresting Sonic?" Asked Omega.
"What?!" Exclaimed Shadow.
Turning around, he could clearly see the large uniformed bears taking Sonic into custody.
"Oh, no."
"I don't think it's just Sonic." Said Rouge.
It was then that Shadow noticed the bears also arresting Tails and Amy.
"Oh, no… no-no-no!"
Once everyone was inside the city walls, Shadow held the side of his head in worry as the gates shut behind them.
"Shadow?" Questioned Rouge.
"Ventus, look what you've gotten them all into."