"So, what do you guys think...?"

Orbot examined himself in the mirror.

Gone was his clearly robot form, now replaced with a sleek design that looked fully organic mobian ferret in appearance.

Weapons laid under the surface, so many different gadgets he'd forgotten some of the things she'd said he could do.

"...It's a little odd, to be honest... It'll take some getting used to." He adjusted the glasses she'd given him, "These are just decorative, right?"

"They have sensors built into them, but if you're asking if you don't really need them to see, then no, you don't."

"This is so cool...!" Cubot spun around in front of his own mirror with a grin, his form resembling a mouse.

"Well you don't have much time to admire your new looks. You've got mission training in the morning."

Orbot's ears pricked, "Mission?"

"Training?" Cubot asked.

"You didn't really think I'd give you new bodies then let you leave without giving me something in return, did you?"

The lynx smirked, "You two have been initiated into a highly confidential government agency. We work under the radar alongside GUN, to work on specialized cases that they can't send an ordinary agent in to deal with."

"We're secret agents?" Cubot grinned, "Sweet! What's our first mission!?"

"That'll be explained once you're deemed ready." She shook their hands, "You call me Memory. Welcome to ICONS, Ore and Cue..."

Ore grinned, "It's nice to be here, Memory..."

"H-Hold on, Willow!" The skunk lifted her skirt up as she chased after her little Leplin friend. She'd shown up in a panic, and was now trying to lead Mairead through the boggy landscape. "A'm comin', Lassie...!"

"Chee Chee!"

"You know ah cannae understand ye when ye're talkin' like that, Willow. Ye sure are freaked by somethin'." She hopped over a log, "Now, what's going on?"

"Chee Che!"

Mairead looked where Willow was pointing, and gasped. "Ah see...! Fly back to the hollow and warn the others! We're bringin' back a visitor..." She rushed over to the body lying half-way out of the water, feeling for a pulse. "He's alive... Barely."

"Chee?"

"Ah hope so, but we need to get him somewhere safe and warm. Now hurry."

Willow flew off into the mist, and Mairead carefully picked the shape up in her arms. "Thank ye, spirits... Ye brought him here to friends...He'll be safe here."

She stroked his quills as he gave a soft whimper. "Don't ye worry, hero... Ye're among friends."

The first thing Sonic felt was the cold.

He shivered as he lifted his head from the ground, finding himself only surrounded by darkness. The ground under him felt like sand, and as he focused, he began to make out shapes. Ruins in the distance, a faint light in the sky that allowed him to see the water lapping against the sand a few feet from him, clouds passing over the light...

None of it seemed really real. Everything was tinted purple and it just felt like an illusion...But he was here, so he might as well take a look around. His entire body ached as he pulled himself up onto his feet, walking further up the shore. It was incredibly quiet, his footsteps crunching in the sand being just about the only sound.

"Hello...?" He called, searching for any signs of life.

He saw a flash of color from within the ruins, zooming in and out of view, but the glow always remaining visible against the darkness. "I-I come in peace!" He hollered.

The glow, which had been white at first, shifted to a pale yellow color, and as Sonic reached the wall it hid behind, they poked their heads up.

Glowing and looking like they'd swam in glitter, they resembled his super form. They looked back at Sonic, before the pale yellow flared into a bright gold and the sparkles increased. "It's you!"

Sonic smirked as they flew around him, a trail of sparkles following them. "Yeah, I'm Sonic...And you are?"

"Me? Oh, well..."

Their glow changed turned pink at the edges, "...I'm Sandy."

"You look more 'glittery' to me."

Sandy giggled, "You saved us, you know...Me and Wolfie have been hiding from those two for as long as we can remember."

"Those two... Wait,"

Sonic pulled the hovering being down, "...You mean Rings and Dark?"

Sandy nodded, "...I'm made of positive Chaos energy, they were negative Chaos and Ring energy...And Wolfie's-"

They were interrupted by a third being jumping up and knocking Sonic over into the sand. Sonic chuckled as they licked his face. "S-Stop stop!" Sonic giggled, pushing the giant dog out of his face and using his free hand to wipe slobber away from his eyes. "...You must be the Dark Gaia energy... So I didn't get rid of all of the personalities in my head."

"Well, no... But Wolfie and I won't hurt you! I mean...I'm healing you at the moment."

Sonic looked around the scene he was in. "So...This is my...my subconscious?"

"Yeah..." Sandy's glow changed to dark blue, "...It's kinda sad-looking right now."

Sonic smirked, "Well, I haven't been thinking good thoughts lately... But maybe we can fix that while I'm here."

Sandy's glow flashed back to gold, tinged with blue. "That's the spirit! Come on, I'll show you around!"

Sonic smirked, but it faded as he looked back to the ocean. How long had he been lying there since he'd stopped Eggman...?

And how long would it be before he saw his own world again?

Prison Island.

Once the greatest prison for all felons, it was now a smouldering husk of a landmass, remnants of an attack years ago that shattered the island's reputation and usefulness.

The sky above it was cloudy, a light shower of rain coming down on the burned remains of the prison.

In the few years that had passed, wildlife had flourished, and now birds and squirrels built nests and stashes of nuts in the cracked walls.

But deep down, in a bunker below the surface, a computer stood unharmed by the explosions caused by Eggman's retrieval of a certain black-and-red hedgehog.

Suddenly the screens of the computer flashed on, images of news stories flying by. Headlines like Eggman's Reign of Tyranny Over and Sonic the Hedgehog Missing after Epic Final Battle came and went, then the screens turned green, glowing ominously in the darkness as a deep, electronic voice vibrated the walls.

Project Kintobor: Phase One complete... Initiating Phase Two...

A/N: And here we are at the end of Battle For Home! It was one of my earliest fanfictions, so you may have noticed it was a little... unpolished. I hope to remedy that in future installments.

Speaking of which, as you might guess by the cliffhanger, this isn't the end of the story. I have more to tell, in due time... Sonic and the rest of the heroes will return in Book 2: Project Kintobor, which will be starting up here probably this fall.

Until then, Adios!