The stranger revealed himself as Mephiles. He claimed to be a 'humble scavenger', hoping to find and secure any history of the old world.
The hermit hedgehog lead his fellow survivors into an abandoned science facility. It was oddly intact, with little to no signs of flaming beasts. Even more strange was the functional machinery, since any source of electricity has long been eradicated.
Mephiles speaks, "To fix this present timeline, you need to change the past."
"But, that's impossible." Silver replied in despair.
"With my help, you can, because I have the power to travel through time!"
"No way!" Blaze silently agreed. If this guy can time travel, why not fix the problem already?
"In order to change the past, you must eliminate the individual who had awakened Iblis. …The Iblis Trigger."
The young hedgehog ponders this information. "If I eliminate that guy, will our world be saved?"
The older-looking hedgehog didn't answer. Instead he mumbled, "The Day of Disaster… Here are my records of this event. This was when Iblis was freed and his flames were released into the world."
He inputs a few buttons on a nearby computer. Within seconds the monitor was filled with dozens of images. The kids were surprised with the glimpses of the old world. If only that living inferno wasn't around…
"And you have this person to blame." Mephiles pulls out a black crystal and holds it within Silver's reach. The psychic looks at the mysterious gem and slowly grabs it.
Suddenly, his sight is covered in flames. It was a vision of some sorts. Among the flames was a imposing figure. The figure was the same species as Silver, with fur the opposite color of the surrounding fire.
"I see it!" exclaims Silver. "So. That blue hedgehog's the Iblis Trigger?"
Blaze walked closer and peered the crystal. She saw nothing. "Blue hedgehog…" she said in a slight interest.
Mephiles was given back his gem. "Now that you know you're enemy, I'll send you back in time to the point the Iblis Trigger was alive."
With a wave of his hands, the stranger conjured up an orb between Silver and Blaze. They flailed about as darkness took hold of them. When the orb vanished, so did both the kids.
The monitor suddenly alerted a signal. Iblis has already resurrected itself.
Mephiles cracks his knuckles. "Perhaps now that I found allies, I will finally gain what I desire…"
Meanwhile, the Sonic Heroes and the G.U.N. agents made their way to their destination. They didn't find much.
"This cave is full of nothing!" shouts Knuckles. "Are you sure were in the right place?"
"Absolutely" Tails said in uncertainty as he checks his device. "We are practically standing right on the signal."
Rouge thought out loud, "standing on it… or underneath it?" She flew in the air to see her surroundings, and lo and behold a sparkling gem was floating right above the heroes. "I found a Chaos Emerald!"
Shadow sensed the energy from the emerald. It wasn't a real Chaos Emerald, as the energy emitting from was rather weak. But just then he felt another sensation, one that was overflowing with chaotic power. They were not alone.
When he saw the bat girl reach out for the sparkling object, the black blur screams, "DON'T TOUCH IT!"
Alas, it was too late. As soon as the bat girl placed her hand on the gem the trap was set off. It exploded with a bright light, leaving nothing more than a few sparkles. Rouge fell to the ground but was otherwise unharmed by the explosion. However, the noise it created lured in an unwelcoming sight.
I.B.L.I.S. 9.9.
The thing before the heroes appeared to be some sort of giant magma worm. And technically it was… but it was much more. It was Iblis.
Tails, Rouge and Knuckles flew away as the monster destroyed the ground they once stood on. But Sonic and Shadow had no choice but to leap on the rocky platforms floating over the lava. Now the only option left was to fight.
"I'll take care of this" Shadow said to the other hedgehog. Before Sonic could complain, the black blur was already ahead.
Shadow shot spears of Chaos energy at the monster. Iblis wiggle about and tossed a dozen rocks. Any of the rocks that didn't collide with the chaos spears nearly sent Shadow plunging into the lava.
"This isn't working" the hedgehog growled. "I need some way to draw it in."
At the corner of his eye he noticed another emerald. Well, it looked more like a lump of coal than an emerald, but it emitted the same wave of energy as the last one. The hedgehog went over and hit it.
Iblis was drawn to the glowing stone. Plunging itself to the source of light, its mass was more than enough to break the stone apart. Shadow took the opportunity to strike. Iblis roared in pain and sent its assaulter flying.
Sonic considered the predicament of the other hedgehog as the time to step in. The flailing of the fire creature caused the stalactites up above to fall into the lava. The blue blur used these as stepping stones to reach another floating gem.
Fortunately, Iblis didn't learn from last time. When the jewel was shattered, Sonic his foe in the face. And like before, Iblis sent his assaulter sky high. The blue hedgehog landed on the other side of the cavern next to the black hedgehog.
"I think this guy is going to get serious" Sonic said grimly before smiling gleefully. "Wanna finish it with me?"
"Of course" replies Shadow.
Iblis had enough of this. It charged forward, plowing through stone as if it were paper. The hedgehogs curled up into balls and shot themselves into Iblis.
Sonic and Shadow barely remember what happened next. All they know is that they won the fight, they ended up outside the cave, and now a wormhole is right in front of them.
"Um, sorry about abandoning you guys back there" said Knuckles as he walked by with Rouge and Tails. "But whatever you just did gave us a way back home."
"Come on, Sonic" shouts Tails. "The princess still needs to be rescued!"
The Sonic Heroes were the first to go in the wormhole. Next up was Rouge the bat. Finally, just as the portal was about to close itself, it was Shadow's turn.
That is, if he didn't notice Mephiles appearing behind him.
Does anyone actually want to read this?