Fanfiction and the character Unlimited is property of Josh Kovatch, 2008.
Unlimited: The Next Universe
Chapter 6: The Day of Reckoning
Just two more days of peace remained before the battle would commence. Unlimited watched over the earth, occasionally returning to Chris's house to spend some time with the Sonic team.
Unlimited knew that this kind of thing would happen.
Since I removed Infinite from my body, I knew that I would be forever chained to this responsibility.
Unlimited would spend most of his remaining days near Chris's house, but he would remain alone. 2 days before, he was on the roof of the house, looking up into the sky, wondering how he could defeat Infinite, knowing that the last time he had fought him, he might've weakened his evil twin.
As he was lost in thought, Sonic came up on the roof and said, "Hey!"
Unlimited looked down and him and gave a small smile, saying, "Hey..."
Sonic knew Unlimited was in a tough place with this battle, and he said, "You know, I was thinking. What if we helped you fight this Infinite guy? Even if you still had to leave, you could always come back."
Unlimited closed his eyes, still smiling, and said, "Thanks for your offer, but I can't let you fight him."
Sonic then asked, "But why not? You said we could've beaten you when we fought. If this guy's got the same power, we should be able to easily win!"
Unlimited however, looked at him, and Sonic realized he didn't know enough about Unlimited, who said, "I have to level with you Sonic. I wasn't using my full strength that day. If I had been, I'm pretty sure I could've beaten you and your friends fairly easily."
"Really?! Then why did you stop so soon?" Sonic asked, baffled.
"I couldn't hurt a group of people who only wanted to do good, so I made it up to stop the fight," Unlimited explained.
Sonic looked at him with understanding, but seemed still a little confused, and Unlimited continued, "I can't let you fight Infinite. I might have been willing to give up so I wouldn't hurt you, but Infinite will stop at nothing to destroy you all. He will hold nothing back. It's too dangerous for all of you to get involved."
But then, another voice sounded, "We've been through a lot of danger."
The two on the roof looked over to see that Amy had also come up, apparently to look for Sonic but now wanted to put in her words.
"Sonic and the rest of us have been through the worst dangers you can think of. This guy you're talking about might be powerful, but if we all joined forces, I know we could win together," Amy said, care in her voice.
Unlimited smiled, and Amy walked up next to Sonic, the two of them looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and Amy said, "Sonic has always been ready to put himself in harm's way for his friends, including me."
Sonic smiled and took Amy's hand, at which she smiled brightly, and she continued, "And if he can do that for us, then we can do that for you!"
Unlimited smiled, and closed his eyes again, saying, "Thank you. You are truly great friends."
Amy came up to Unlimited, who opened his eyes as he sensed her approach. She then stopped and held out her hand, saying, "So, is it a deal?"
Unlimited smiled, and took her hand, saying, "I accept it."
Amy smiled, and she said, "We'll do everything we can to win this fight! You can count on us!"
Sonic then came up next to Amy and said, "For sure! We're behind you to the very end!"
Unlimited nodded, grateful for their kind words, and then said, "Thank you."
He turned and took a few steps and said, "The battle isn't for another 2 days. Enjoy your time together here."
Unlimited turned back to look at the two hedgehogs again, who were holding hands and smiling, and Sonic gave him a thumbs up. Unlimited, smirking, returned it, and then turned and flew up and away from them.
As the two watched from the roof, Sonic said, "You really know how to convince people Amy."
"Well, I tried so hard when I was trying to get you to love me, so I got a lot of practice," Amy said, her face shining.
Sonic turned to her as she giggled, and when she looked back into his eyes, he took her in his arms as they laid down on the roof, just holding each other for now.
They laid there for a few minutes, feeling the warmth from the other, and then, Amy said, "Sonic, did you have a dream where you were in a field of flowers with me last night?"
Sonic's eyes widened and he smiled as he said, "Yeah, I did!"
Amy looked at him in amazement, saying, "So we did have the same dream!"
The two sat up and gazed at each other, and Amy asked, just like in the dream, "So you really think we'll make it?"
Sonic brought a hand up to Amy's face and caressed it, at which she crooned softly, as he said, "You said it yourself Amy. With all of us together, we'll win this battle easily and we'll all be together in the end."
"Oh, Sonic, you're so caring," Amy said, her voice once again lofty, and Sonic told her, "Not as much as you."
The two hedgehogs smiled again as they hugged each other and kissed again, very softly brushing their lips with the other's, giggling a little against each other.
They stopped after a few moments and just cuddled there again, laying on the roof and looking into the bright blue sky.
Amy then said, "I'm never lonely now. All I have to do is look up into the sky and I see you in it."
Sonic smiled at her words, and he told her, "Whenever I'm running around, I try to find a rose so that I can hold it close, because I see you in it."
Amy hugged Sonic a little tighter and she said, "Did you think love would ever be so wonderful?"
Sonic tightened his hug too and said, "I thought it would be."
And the two of them just laid there together, looking into the sky and softly singing their song of love to each other.
The days passed quickly, and the Sonic team couldn't believe how fast they went. Finally, it was here. The third day since they had received the message.
Outside of Chris's house, Sonic and his friends had gathered. Knuckles and Rouge had arrived, but Shadow was nowhere to be found.
"That Shadow... Doesn't he know that you don't keep a lady waiting?" Rouge said.
Meanwhile, as the other Sonic team members stood by, Tails and Chuck were preparing the X-Tornado to fight, knowing that it wouldn't be an unfair advantage like with Unlimited.
Finally, the X-Tornado was ready, and Tails said, "Alright, now we're ready to go!"
But then the fox stopped, and he was looking at the four other fighters around him, excluding Unlimited.
"What's wrong, buddy?" Sonic asked.
"I just realized, there's only 3 open seats, and four of you guys," Tails told them.
Usually, Sonic would get on the outside of the plane, but Sonic said, "No problem, I'll take Amy and run to Great Plains."
Tails looked a little confused about why Sonic would do that, but Rouge put in, "Oh, want some time to smooch before the big fight, huh?"
Sonic scratched his head embarrassed as Amy yelled, "That's none of your business!"
"Easy, dear, I don't care. I think it's lovely," Rouge replied calmly.
Amy's eyes still reflected anger, but Sonic said, "We'd better get going, before Eggman goes berserk and attacks something!"
The team agreed, and Tails got in the plane in the front while Knuckles and Rouge got in the back.
When they were buckled in, Rouge said teasingly, "Hey, maybe we could have some time together before the fight, Knucky?"
Knuckles's eyes widened in frustration, saying loudly, "You're batty!"
Rouge then smiled deviously and said, "I know you want to, but I guess you're too afraid."
Knuckles yelled, "Don't get me started with that!"
As those two had their moment, Chris and Chuck, as well as the others staying at the house said their goodbyes to the fighters.
"We'll be back soon!" Tails told them as the hatch for the X-Tornado closed.
On the ground, Sonic looked to Amy and asked, "Ready Amy?"
"Yeah, let's go!" Amy replied wholeheartedly.
Sonic turned and Amy climbed on his back, holding on tight as Sonic began to run.
As Sonic and Amy took off, Tails started the X-Tornado and blasted off as well, taking the three in the plane into the sky over Sonic and Amy.
Finally, Unlimited watched after them, and finally, he rose into the sky and powered up, dropping two bracelets for now, and finally blasted away from Chris's house.
Unlimited stayed above the X-Tornado as it flew towards the Great Plains. Sonic and Amy below were zipping through the streets.
Amy felt the rush of Sonic's speed and was laughing, and said, "Sonic, I know why you love running so much!"
Sonic chuckled a little and said, "If there was something I could wish for you, it would be that you and I could run together as fast as I do. I really do wish we could."
Amy smiled brightly, her heart filling again, and she said, "That's sounds wonderful! But all I wish is to be with you!"
Sonic looked back at the smiling pink hedgehog, and he said, "Me too! I love you Amy!"
Amy told him softly in his ear, "I love you Sonic!"
The two kept going as the overhead allies kept flying towards the Great Plains, which they were now nearing.
After 15 minutes of flying, the three groups reached the Great Plains, which was about 50 miles from Station Square.
Sonic and Amy were the first to stop, and they looked around, wondering where Eggman's thousands of robots were.
"Weird, I thought he'd be here already," Sonic said.
Sonic then looked in a different direction and saw, standing with his back turned to Sonic about 100 feet away, Shadow.
"Hey, Shadow!" Sonic called out.
The black hedgehog didn't respond, of course, and Amy said, "He's in a good mood."
Then, from overhead, the jet engine of the X-Tornado roared and hummed as it hovered over the two hedgehogs. The back hatch opened and Knuckles and Rouge got out.
Finally, making Shadow turn around for the first time, Unlimited came down from the sky and landed on the ground next to all of the other fighters already there.
The ones already there regarded him, but Shadow then walked up to the group, looking at Unlimited, and said, "I am ready to fight alongside you, Unlimited."
"You know, Shadow, we're right here," Rouge said.
Shadow paid no heed to her, but Unlimited had only nodded briefly before his eyes snapped in another direction, making him turn towards the direction he was looking.
"Are they here?" Sonic asked.
Unlimited stared out towards the vast plains ahead of him, and he said, "Eggman has been here."
They looked out at the plains again, wondering if he was right, and sure enough, there was Eggman, standing on the other side of the field, looking directly at them.
"What's he doing?" Knuckles asked, puzzled why Eggman was all alone out here.
Unlimited then rose up into the air again, saying, "I'll go greet him."
Unlimited flew towards Eggman at moderate speed, covering the expanse of the fields in a short amount of time.
He reached the doctor, who was looking at Unlimited warily.
"So, you decided to show up? I must say, that's very brave of you," Eggman snorted.
Unlimited said nothing, but only continued to stare daggers at Eggman, who seemed a little irked by this.
Eggman then said, "I'm waiting for Mecha Sonic to arrive, at which point, the battle will begin."
Unlimited smirked, however, and Eggman looked at him curiously, saying, "What are you smiling about?"
Unlimited simply looked up into the sky, and Eggman followed his eyes. From the other side of the field, the Sonic team saw them do this and did the same.
There, up in the sky above them all, Mecha Sonic was already floating.
"Here we go," Sonic said, getting ready for the fight to begin.
Eggman stared up at the robot, who now descended once he was discovered, and landed away from Eggman and Unlimited, making them the same distance apart.
"Well, I'm surprised that you haven't tried to destroy me yet," Mecha Sonic sneered.
"I plan to fight fairly, but I recommend you prepare to fight now," Unlimited told them.
"I won't until this other fighter you know shows up!" Mecha Sonic barked.
"He's not around, yet, so you'd do well to power up now!" Unlimited said, suddenly turning and flying back towards the Sonic team.
Eggman and Mecha Sonic both looked worried, but Eggman then pushed a button on his watch, and suddenly the ground began to shake.
As Unlimited returned to the Sonic team, he said, "Get ready."
They all nodded, and Tails rose into the air above them, getting ready to fight from the skies.
Then, from across the battlefield, the Sonic team saw Eggman's robots sprout from the ground in lines, filling the horizon with hundreds of robots of all types: ones with guns, swords, axes, some really big to crush opponents, others with spikes covering their body.
The Sonic team looked at these robots warily, but got ready to fight with all of their might.
"Let him use all those robots," Amy said, summoning her hammer to her, "We have friendship on our side!"
They agreed silently with her, and Unlimited smirked at Eggman, who seemed a little scared now.
But then, Mecha Sonic began to chuckle, and he said, "Your puny robots will be nothing compared to all of them, Eggman. But I, on the other hand, will have all the power I need."
At that moment, the robot threw his arms out to the sides, and to him, he summoned the Chaos Emeralds.
"He's got the Chaos Emeralds," Knuckles said nervously.
The others looked a little scared as the robot began to bring out the power of the emeralds.
"Now! I will show you runts the meaning of fear! And I will destroy ALL OF YOU!!" Mecha Sonic yelled, suddenly glowing brightly as the robot began to absorb the power of the emeralds.
Then, the robot yelled, "AhhhhAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
At that moment, the ground shook violently, nearly knocking down the fighters on the ground, and Mecha Sonic blasted into a fiery aura that began to sear the ground around him. The energy in the robot's body skyrocketed, as Unlimited noted.
Slowly, the robot's exterior changed. His body began to grow longer points on his head and back, and his arms suddenly expanded. Then, his torso and legs expanded a bit, and the robot's energy was growing faster than before.
From across the field, the Sonic team watched the terrifying transformation.
Amy drew close to Sonic, who put an arm around her comfortingly.
The others watched Mecha Sonic change with fear and apprehension, and Unlimited's serious face did not falter.
Eggman, who was near Mecha Sonic, was also clearly in fear of the former minion of his. Even if he was fighting on his side for now, Eggman knew that he would easily turn on him if they won, and that would not be good.
Then, Eggman, in his floating pod, was pushed back by a sudden gust of wind when Mecha Sonic suddenly flashed blindingly white, and the Sonic team saw this and covered their eyes.
Unlimited, however, stared into the light, unfazed by the display. He felt Mecha Sonic's energy reach a frightening level, something the other Sonic team members would never be able to stop.
Finally, the light began to die out, and the Sonic team uncovered their eyes to look at the newly transformed Mecha Sonic.
Standing 8 inches taller than before, his body was bulkier than it was and his scanner-like eye in his head now glowed menacingly dark red. His body was also surrounded by a ferocious red aura, and the metal on his body shone, as if polished.
Sonic and the others looked at the threatening form of Mecha Sonic in front of them, and none of them could believe what they were seeing.
"Sonic, I'm scared..." Amy told him softly from beside him.
"Don't worry Amy..." Sonic reassured, although he was also staring on in fear.
"I've never seen such power," Knuckles said, almost speechless.
But then, to surprise everyone there, Unlimited did something stunning.
He began to laugh.
Mecha Sonic, with his new, incredible power, heard him do this and yelled, "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!"
Eggman looked on, realizing that the chances of him and Mecha Sonic winning might now have dropped to little.
Unlimited looked at Mecha Sonic, smiling with hidden knowledge, and said to Mecha Sonic, "You kept saying you were going to show me fear. Well, I don't see it."
Mecha Sonic said in irritation, "What are you saying?"
Unlimited raised his arms to his sides and said, "It's time to show you the meaning of real power... of unlimited power!"
At that moment, the Sonic team and the two on the other side of the field saw Unlimited release all five of his bracelets and raise one of his hands.
With a snap of his fingers, Unlimited's hand began to emit light, which flew at the ground and at his forehead. When they both hit, they began to shine with bright light, until they formed infinity symbols on both of his targets.
Mecha Sonic looked on indifferently, wondering what kind of useless trick Unlimited had pulled. Then, Unlimited smirked once more, before suddenly, the dust around him kicked up and swirled around him fast.
At that moment, he was surrounded by his white aura, showing that he was slowly charging up.
The Sonic team watched the fighter get ready to fight, and Rouge said, "What's that boy doing?"
Sonic said, "He's releasing his full power, going one step at a time!"
The Sonic team watched in awe of the teen, and waited for him to reach-
In that instant, Unlimited's white aura dissolved into his blue one, which widened it around himself.
Then, quickly, the blue aura was replaced by a red one, which rose up from his feet and slithered up his body to his head.
Mecha Sonic watched this now with nervousness. Eggman was also become frightened by the true power Unlimited might have.
The Sonic team just continued to watched, having seen Unlimited's auras change like this, and then, the teen pushed on into the next level, making his body glow momentarily and suddenly flash to reveal his gold aura.
Finally, Unlimited looked up towards the two villains from across the battlefield, and said, "Now, prepare to see the power unlike any you've ever seen before!!"
It was then, with a sudden field of electricity flying up and down his body that Unlimited, by shattering his gold aura, finally blasted into his final and most ominous black aura, making the infinity symbol on his forehead glow.
Then, Unlimited yelled out and the energy from his body expanded and shot into the sky as a massive black column of energy, extending for miles into the atmosphere.
Mecha Sonic watched in sudden anxiety, seeing that Unlimited's strength was far greater than his demonstration from the other day.
Eggman, from behind Mecha Sonic, said in horror, "His energy output... I can't even measure it!"
"WHAT?!" Mecha Sonic yelled at the doctor in shock.
The robot and doctor looked back at Unlimited, who let his energy return to the earth, and now just floated in front of the Sonic team, who all looked ready to battle for the safety of the planet.
"Now, the battle begins," Unlimited said.
With the two sides ready to fight, the Sonic team and Unlimited face off against Eggman and Mecha Sonic in the biggest battle Sonic and friends had ever experienced.
Preview for next chapter: Organic Vs. Artificial: Unlimited and Sonic team find themselves evenly matched against Mecha Sonic and Eggman's robots. The battle grows intense, and each attack brings each side more fear of who will win. And where is Infinite? Find out in the next installment of Unlimited: The Next Universe!