Hello all! Onto the next chapter.

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Peace and War

Chapter 3: A Hero's Demise

One and a Half Months Later...

Tails surveyed the damage, taking some readings with his specially made scanner. His young heart fell as he saw families struggling to evacuate, some with children as young as he was. He wondered briefly about his own biological family, and how they would have reacted to such a disaster...

"Who knows. I'd probably get left behind. Not like I was... " He paused, looking at his fluffy twin tails and smiled sadly. "... normal."

Shaking the dark thoughts that threatened to overtake his mind, he steeled himself and went back to work. Carefully navigating the city, he kept his scanners on, looking for any Egg Pawns that would try and attack him. Since a few days ago, they had been growing in number, and a lot of innocent mobians had lost their lives, homes and loved ones. Tails needed to know why!

He kicked a rock over. He knew they needed Sonic- not just his closest friends, but every single person who lived in this small city. They looked to him for hope, for salvation. And Tails had to wonder, is that why Sonic was always finding someplace to go? To get a break from all the hero work? Frankly, could he blame him? Being a hero for every single being on Earth- and sometimes, outside of their planet- could be pretty stressful.

Sure, Sonic WAS a hero, and as such, was always in the limelight, but that wasn't why he was the hero to his close friends. Every single one of them had been helped in some way, in a way that was just... Sonic. Tail didn't know how to put it.

Sonic cared for justice. He had a huge heard and believed everyone deserved a second chance. But he also had a special place for those who he called a 'family'. They leaned on each other, learned about each other, and it was that reason why they fought each time a force threatened they home.

Tail smiled slightly as he recalled the very first day he met Sonic. He'd been bullied all his life because of his twin tails. It made his first five years very lonely and he was often sad and angry and confused.

Until the day a certain blue hedgehog found his way on his little island. Tails had watched with awe at the speedy blur, amazed but horribly shy and scared. What if he thought he was a freak too? He couldn't take anymore rejection.

"Hey kid, ya wanna come with me?"

Those words... they had changed his life. He'd always been by his side since, despite the fact he was still just a young boy. He was intelligent and very crafty with tools, which saved Sonic on several occasions. Until now, life had been exciting, fun, happy. Until now... he was free to be by Sonic and help him however he could.

Now... it was impending war. He was horrified, if he were honest. Even with Sonic here, Eggman was so powerful, far more than he'd ever seen before... but with what?! How was doing all this damaged in such a short time?

"I have to find out! Everyone is depending on me! Sonic is depending on me!" Tails told himself. He kept on searching, hoping Knuckles had better luck locating people who wanted to be part of the war efforts. They needed all they help they could get right now.


Knuckles slammed his fist on the monitor of their makeshift underground base. The last Resistance base, the main location that kept watch over the citizens who lived in the bustling city, had been destroyed by Eggman's first 'test' wave of Egg Pawns. It made the echidna pissed just thinking about it.

The surprise attack wiped out the base, but thankfully no one was hurt. Knuckles was able to save his friends- Silver, who had returned from his future for a reason he still had yet to find out, Amy, who had simply been out looking for her Sonic when the first set of tremors happened, and the Chaotix Agency, who simply needed a reason to leave their own tiny home base. They were supposed to link up with Knuckles, who left Angel Island to check on things below.

The dreadlocked fighter wished he could say he knew that this-the damaged city and Eggman's attack-was going to happen. Silver apparently didn't know it, either, as his time frame seemed to be normal. No one had known about the attack... which is what made things so much harder.

It took some time for Knuckles to establish the base they had now, and with Tails' help, they had been able to get what they needed to monitor the scene from below. Knuckles knew that wouldn't be enough. They needed to find Eggman and find out what this whole test thing was for. Everyone was out looking for survivors, and for now, Knuckles counted the lucky stars the casualty numbers hadn't gone up since early this morning.

"Hey, Knuckles! Can you read me?"

Knuckles looked up, and saw Vector and Charmy on his screen. He had assigned them to locate more survivors in the western portion of the city, since it had taken some of the heavier damage. Wondering what was going on, he responded.

"Yeah, Vector. I can see ya. What's happening out there?"

Charmy, for once, was actually speechless... and Knuckles knew, deep in his gut, that something was wrong. Why was Charmy so quiet? "Hello? Vector? What's going on?!"

Vector took a deep breath and said in a low enough voice the stunned six year old bee couldn't hear, "Knuckles... Eggman's pawns wrecked this place. And... well, Charmy, he tried to save this kid and I guess her brother... and the damn thing shot them both in the head. Charmy's... well..."

Knuckles' eyes widened. He had seen his fair share of war since he himself was young, but to see something like that, and to be someone like Charmy... "Oh man... Charmy... Vector, how is he? Be honest with me."

Vector had collected Charmy by now and showed Knuckles what remained of the western portion of their city. Hundreds of innocent lives lost, because of that damn Eggman... Knuckles felt his hands ball up and anger build up. They were trying so damn hard, and this wasn't even the full scale plan of that nutcase doctor's?! People were dying! How was he supposed to stop this?!

"Knuckles... listen. There... damn. No one's left out here. So uh... I want to give em' a proper burial, ya know? At least let them rest a little. Charmy has to come back. He's scarred stiff and I don't think he's processin' this too well." Vector said remorsefully. Knuckles could see Charmy a but more clearly, and the kid was definitely shell shocked. Droplets of blood covered his goggles, vest and right hand. His eyes were wide and he didn't look like he was taking in any air.

"Charmy? Hey, you're gonna pass out like that. Come on and breathe, kid." Vector, thankfully, noticed that Charmy had frozen up and was trying to snap him out of it. Knuckles sighed heavily and ran his hand over his face. This REALLY sucked...

"I'm gonna check in with Tails. He was supposed to linked up with Sonic. Just... come on back, Vector. We'll talk about that... later."

Vector looked at the monitor and nodded once before the communication cut. As soon as that happened, he got an incoming call from Espio. He and Silver were en route to the northern section of the city, which hadn't been hit nearly as hard as most of the city.

"Hey, Knuckles- woah. What happened?" Silver's sharp eye caught the frustration that Knuckles wasn't exactly doing a good job hiding. "What's wrong, Knuckles? Did something happen?"

Knuckles wished he knew how to answer that. He just shook his head and waved it off. "I'll tell everyone later. How's everything going?"

Silver showed Knuckles the progress being made. A large group of people were being ushered out of their homes and into a waiting Resistance vehicle which would take them to a safe shelter. Espio was guiding them inside and issuing orders to keep it moving.

"Thank goodness there were few casualties. We found three people and we gave them proper burials. Now we're getting these folk out of here." Silver explained. He punched in a few things and sent it over to Knuckles.

"These are the names of the people who lost their lives. I figured it would be best to give it to you."

Knuckles glimpsed over the names and moved it to a folder that he would have Amy sort out later. "Thanks Silver. You two, good work out there. You saved a lot of lives."

Silver knew Knuckles was grateful, but the tone his friend used sounded a bit... distant. It would do no good to ask him more than twice- the last thing he needed was him snapping out on him. He gave Knuckles a small smile, but besides that, had no clue what to say to him.

"Me and Espio should be back in an hour or so."

Knuckles nodded, acknowledging he's heard him, and ended the communication. He didn't feel like checking on any more people, especially after the news Vector gave him, but he had one last call to make.

"Amy. It's Knuckles. Can you hear me?"

Amy was out getting a few supplies for the Resistance- mostly food to make sure they ate, and some cheap soap and cleaners. The five bunkers and the makeshift medical bay needed to be clean in case someone was hurt... although Knuckles prayed none of that actually happened.

"Yeah. What's wrong? You don't sound too happy. Any word from the others?" Amy asked as she carefully made her way out the rundown thrift shop, three bags in hand. She had put a long, raggy cloak on so no one would know she was affiliated with Sonic and the others.

"Yeah. Silver and Espio evacuated the north side, and Tails is still out waiting for Sonic and evacuating whoever he can. But Vector and Charmy..." At that, he trailed off. Amy froze.

"What? Vector and Charmy what, Knuckles?! What happened to them?!" she screeched.

"They lost them!"

Silence. Then: "W-What...? Who...?"

"The south side of the city... no one survived and Charmy... he watched two children die in front of him. He's scarred... and Vector is trying to hold it together. I told them to just come back for now. I don't think those two are fit to go out for a bit, but I'm worried about Charmy. He's just a kid..." Knuckles trailed off for the second time. Amy kept walking, unsure of what to say. Her heart went out to the poor kid- how would she have reacted if she were in his shoes?

"Is he...?"

Knuckles sighed heavily. "He's... ugh, I dunno. Charmy's gonna be out of this for a little while. It's for the best."

"Yeah..." She was lost in thoughts. Even with Sonic fighting with them, did they really stand a chance? This wasn't the usual stupid nonsense that would be funny any other day- Eggman was serious. And to lose two young children... Amy felt tears roll down her cheeks, and she struggled with her thoughts.

What would she have done? Would she have been terrified, like those innocents were?

"Eggman will pay for this. I swear it. He'll pay for everyone he's hurt..." Knuckles swore. Amy felt the same- Eggman was taking away so many young lives, so many families broken, people wondering why this had to happen...

Amy didn't mention it to anyone, but she'd found it harder and harder to even go out and buy supplies. It was just heartbreaking... seeing the same people she's once been neighbors with, seeing them with their children and loved ones, and just like that... gone. And this was supposed to be just the beginning?

Knuckles was right- Eggman will pay. One way or another.

"... I'm on my way back. Could you see about Sonic? I haven't heard from him. I hope he's okay..." Amy requested, which made Knuckles smirk a little. It was so clear to see she had a one track mind sometimes... it was something so normal... and by the stars did he miss the normal around here these days...

"Okay. See you in a few."


Sonic the Hedgehog ran through Green Hill- or rather, what was actually left of Green Hill. It was so sandy, the blue blur thought 'Sand Hill' would be more fitting. He growled in annoyance as he got more sand in his shoes, and had to stop to shake it all out. It was getting to be quite the pain, but even more so given the state of his favorite hangout spot.

"Damn, Eggman... just had to go and ruin things, didn't ya?!" Sonic complained to no one in particular. He let out a huff before remembering he had to hurry to assist the Resistance defense. Knuckles had ordered them to defend Green Hill, but it seemed that wasn't working out to well.

"What kinda defense did you employ, Knuckles?" Sonic shook his head as he neared the site. The defense wasn't exactly raggedy, but they definitely had their share of battles. Most of them were carrying weapons Sonic hadn't seen before.

"Hmm... looks like things are under control here. Even though there isn't much Green Hill left... maybe I should-"

"Sonic! Come in, Sonic!"

Sonic jumped in shock- he forgot about his communicator in his ear. "Sheesh! Tails I hear ya! What is it?"

"Where are you?!" Sonic's eyes narrowed- why did the kid sound so panicky? Not like he didn't any other time, but this time he was really going crazy over there!

"At the Resistance defense spot to help them out. What's-"

Tails cut him off once again. "It's Eggman's forces! He's swarming the city in one massive assault and we need you here, and NOW!" Tails screamed as a blast sounded right near his location; Sonic heard it all and stood up.

"Tails, hold on. I'm not far from the city; I'll be there in a few!" Sonic abruptly ended the call and looked to the leader of the Resistance Defense.

"Listen, the city needs me. I gotta go. You guys good out here?" He asked the captain. The captain, a short, grey bear wearing Army gear, saluted Sonic and said, "Yes sir! We have things handles here, per Commander Knuckles' instructions!"

'"Commander?" Wow Knuckles... real full of yourself as usual, man.' Sonic thought to himself before he nodded and dashed off. He pressed the call button on his ear piece.

"Knuck, it's Sonic. Listen, Tails said something about Eggman's robos overtaking the city. I don't know what's happening, but I think he needs me. I'm going there now." Sonic dodged falling sand debris and jumped over a sand waterfall, running at top speed to reach the threshold of the city limits.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll talk to you when I get there."


Tails wondered if there was any time left for him.

Eggman floated over him and a small group of captive mobians who had been unable to escape. Tails could see a way to get them out, but it would be deadly, as the fat man was literally right in front of him. He sent out almost five waves of pawns, all who had a strange glow coming from their faces. Tails staggered back, his arms spread out as he tried to defend the innocents behind him.

If he were honest... he was terrified out of his mind.

"Sonic... please hurry..." Tails muttered as Eggman laughed madly above him.

"So this is all who stands to stop me? A bunch of cowering weaklings and that damn hedgehog's lackey? HA!" Eggman seemed a bit... manic. But from what? What was happening?

"I'll make sure Sonic sees what I will do to you..." A gun glowed with a laser and was aimed for Tails' skull. Tails felt his heart stop as fear gripped him, and he froze. Was this really it? Was he gonna die like this?

"S-Sonic... please..."

As Eggman fired the near fatal shot, a blue blur swooped in and carried him away to a large rock to hide behind. Tails didn't even realize his eyes had been shut until he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey buddy? You alright?"

Blue eyes snapped open and looked up at his savior. He thought he was dreaming at first and quickly pressed his hand to his forehead. Sonic chuckled and set him down, glancing over at the small crowd of people whom Eggman still had trapped.

"S-Sonic... yeah, I... oh god, I thought I..." Tails didn't know how to word his racing thoughts. He just looked at his big brother and said in a shaky voice, "Thanks. T-That... was too close, though."

Sonic winked at him and ruffled his head. "You know me, buddy. Kinda how I roll. Let's go help them out."

Sonic rolled into a ball and used his Spin Dash to stun Eggman. Tails realized what he was doing and shook the last of his shock off, running back to the rock to guide the small, frightened group of survivors out of the area. He ushered them through a small passageway that would lead them to a safety shelter to link up with other survivors.

As Tails evacuated, Sonic faced his long time foe with a confident, cocky smirk and said, "Alright Eggman. Let's actually finish this. I got other things to do."

Eggman just grinned and pressed a button at the same time Sonic attacked using his Spin Dash. Sonic didn't notice anything strange, other than Eggman not gloating like he normally did.

'Something's not right. Eggman's too calm... too quiet. What is he up to- oof!'

Something connected with his stomach and sent his flying into the nearby wall. Hitting his back hard, Sonic fell to the ground, but was able to get up and come face to face with-

"Shadow?! That was you?! But why?!" Sonic didn't notice the off color of his rival's eyes, but he did notice a few more familiar faces.

A large red, black and green creature suddenly materialized in front of Sonic, red eyes gleaming with anger and hatred for the blue hedgehog. Sonic's eyes widened in shock. "No way... Zavok... but I-"

He had no time to finish that thought, as Zavok decided to swing on him. A large fist flew threw the air and nearly smashed Sonic's head into the wall. The hedgehog barely managed to dodge the fist before 'Shadow' decided to attack with another kick. It was then Sonic noticed that both Zavok and Shadow seemed WAY more powerful than what he knew. But how was Zavok even alive?! And why was Shadow working with Eggman again?!

As Sonic struggled to get to his feet, he was hit from behind and sent flying into Zavok, who punched him so hard he coughed up blood and flew into the wall again, causing rocks to fall on the ground before him. Sonic wasn't sure he could get up, but he forced his legs to work. Who had hit him now?

Now Sonic knew he was seeing things as he saw a brief glance of shiny metal pieces. "N-No way... Metal? But I scrapped you...! Arugh..." Sonic struggled to his feet and looked over his shoulder. Tails was staring at his busted brother with horror etched on his face.

"S-Sonic... oh god..." Tails didn't really know what he could do. He'd always depended on Sonic to save the day- and him. But he was being defeated, and by enemies he knew had long since died! How was this possible?

Then he remembered his scanner. He looked around for it, knowing he dropped it somewhere near there when Sonic rescued him. As he did, the hedgehog steeled himself and decided to go for the source.

"Eggman... take this!" Sonic yelled, pouring all his remaining energy into his strongest Spin Dash. Locking on Eggman, he launched himself in the air- and was stopped abruptly and painfully by something that grabbed him and slammed him into the broken wall- hard enough to finally shake the foundation and bury Sonic in the rocks.

"SONIC!" Tails was freaking out, but thankfully, he located his scanner a few feet from the evacuee location. The screen was broken but it still turned on.

"Sonic! Can you hear me?!" Tails called out. A hand poked out and pushed debris off of him. Sonic was getting confused as he tried to keep himself upright and focused. A slimy thing wiggled to his right and when he looked at it, Sonic honestly felt the first taste of fear go through him. He was... going to die? Like this?

"Chaos... but how...?" Sonic mumbled as he fell to one knee. "Tails... Tails!"

"Sonic, just hang on! I'm calling Knuckles and trying to-"

Eggman, who had been watching the one sided fight with amusement, snapped his fingers. "Sonic, Sonic... that was nothing compared to what my ultimate creation can do. Why not say hello to it, hmm?"

Sonic looked up and saw a black and white masked creature floating down almost godly. As his feet touched the ground, it swiftly connected with Sonic's jaw and he was once again sent into the four enemies of Sonic's past.

The next few moments were a blur, as Sonic was kicked and punched around like a rag doll. The hedgehog was slowly losing his strength and will to fight as he struggled to wrap his mind over what was happening.

'What... is happening... I-I can't beat them! How is this even possible?!'

Eggman grinned evilly at the sight of his pain in the ass nemesis finally getting what he was long due for. "Nice... " he muttered to himself.

Tails tried to scan the mysterious creature to figure out someway to learn more about the moves and strengths of it, but his scanner was either very broken or was truly unable to scan anything about the foe.

"No way... this guy is insane fast! Sonic can't keep up with him!"

Sonic felt he still had a shot to at least take out the strange newcomer and used his Spin Dash on him, but he dodged it so quickly, Sonic didn't know what had occurred. The next thing he felt was a sharp pain to his head as the newcomer's foot connected cleanly with it. Sonic felt sick and dizzy as he found himself momentarily blinded from the attack.

"T-Tails... what's..." Sonic didn't recognize his own voice, nor that nasty copper taste that crept up his throat. He sounded terrible.

Tails had finally lost his composure by this point, and scrambled to contact his friends. "Knuckles! Please send help! Sonic, he's... I don't know what's going on, but he needs help!" The fox was sobbing almost hysterically as he tried to explain what was happening and staring helplessly at his brother being held captive.

Knuckles could hear the pained grunts from Sonic, Tails' sobbing and hyperventilating, and Eggman in the background, but felt powerless as he was unable to leave the base unattended. "Tails! Listen, I can't get to you just yet! Eggman's damn bots are attacking the north side of the city and Green Hill! What's going on?!"

Someone intercepted the call, making it a three way. "Listen. Kid, Knuckles. Can you two hear me?"

"Shadow...? But, how?"

Shadow was en route to Sonic's location, unbeknownst to the others. Tails was frozen to the spot as Eggman ordered Chaos to capture the very weakened Sonic. Sonic was unable to break free from Chaos' ensnare, and struggled to understand who these creatures were.

"Patience, Sonic the Hedgehog. You'll see soon enough." And Chaos began to put the squeeze on his captive, earning a pained- filled scream that resonated in the ears of a brother who would never forget this day.

"N-No... Sonic... SONIC!"

Eggman noticed the trembling fox hiding behind the large boulder, and chuckled in sheer amusement. "How does it feel to lose the one you care about right in front of you, hmmm? And the best part..."

Sonic had finally stopped screaming, and was limp in Chaos' arms. Blood dripped from the many wounds he'd sustained and his head hung loosely to his chest. Turning towards his master with his prize in grasp, Eggman snapped his fingers towards Tails. Zavok and Shadow approached him, malice so strong Tails could feel it.

"... is that you were too weak to stop me. Farewell."

Shadow arrived just as the 'Shadow' working with Eggman and Zavok punched Tails simultaneously, effectively knocking him out and sending him flying to Shadow's feet. The doctor laughed as he and his henchman flew off, Sonic in tow. The ebony hedgehog checked on the fox, and was actually slightly surprised to see he was still alive.

"Knuckles. Sonic's been captured and Tails is not doing too well. Send me the coordinates to your base. I need to bring this kid back before he's killed... and I have to tell you something about the doctor's little 'project.'"

He then looked up in the direction that Eggman went, then finally surveyed all the blood and damage done. Eggman meant business. The world as Shadow knew it was about to be turned upside down.


And complete! Wow, what a chapter.

Please let me know what you all think!

Until next chapter!