"Let me go," Cosmo half sobbed, half demanded as her feet ran wildly in mid-air, struggling to throw off Void's iron grip on the back of her neck. The Maginaire did not respond as he carried her and the barely- conscious Tails towards the circular stone altar that, so high above them, the dully-glowing amber gem that was the Precious Stone was revolving slowly.
As Void floated up the stone steps, he threw Cosmo bodily from him, and with a cry of pain, she skidded across the ground, scraping her exposed skin and banging her head painfully against the hard surface. Little spots of light erupted before her eyes, and, breathing shallowly, Cosmo forced herself onto her trembling hands and knees, looking up at Void with a mixture of fear and defiance, knowing that, unless she used the gift of extreme intelligence she as a Seedrian possessed, she was never going to see Sonic, Amy and Knuckles ever again.
"Now," Void whispered his voice deadly quiet as he hovered over her, still holding Tails by the scruff of the neck. "Tell me, where are Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose heading next?"
Como did not answer him; she couldn't for the life of her. She was staring in transfixed horror at Tails, who she was seeing clearly for the first time since they had been captured. One moment, she had been kissing him, experiencing the first taste of true happiness she had since she had left her home planet, then Void had appeared, cackling insanely, and he tried to attack her, but Tails had defended her, earning himself a broken leg for his troubles. Then, Void had bound them together, and used Tails' blood to write a message to Sonic and the others.
The fox's face was bruised and battered, there was a cut under his left eye, his arms and legs were bleeding, bright scarlet that contrasted with his blackened, soot-covered fur. His broken leg was dangling limply beneath him, hanging at a strange ankle, and his breathing came in short, rattling gasps, his bright blue eyes clenched shut...
"He's going to look a lot worse if you don't answer me," Void hissed, his voice like shards of ice. "I'll ask you again; where are Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose headed next?"
Cosmo's eyes snapped back into focus, and though her entire form was quivering with fright, she stared up at Void with hard eyes, and in a cold, disdainful voice, she snarled, "Go to hell."
She knew in an instant that she had made a big mistake; Void's amethyst-sapphire eyes flashed ominously, and the next thing she knew, Tails was flat on his back, writhing and twisting, his hands curled into claws as he screamed in pain, rolling around, tears pouring from his eyes, his back arching and limbs thrashing as he endured mortal agony-
Cosmo could not endure it; the sight of Tails being tortured because of her was something that caused her as much agony as that that he was surely enduring-
"STOP IT!" she screamed, leaping to her feet, her eyes huge as she gazed at Tails' thrashing, screaming form. "LEAVE HIM ALONE, I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW, JUST STOP!"
Tails' went limp, his whole body heaving as he took huge, rattling gasps of breath, and as Cosmo ran to his side, Void's bone-chilling laughter echoed throughout the stone temple. "You see?" the Maginaire crowed, in his cold, yet child-like voice. "Love is for weak fools such as yourselves, and while you stupid mortals allow yourselves to succumb to it, you cannot hope to defeat Goddess Illumina!"
Cosmo was unable to tune out his words as she bent over Tails, her trembling hands on either side of his face, her lips parted in horror as she gazed in horror into his half-lidded blue eyes. She was shaking so violently her form appeared blurred, and in a weak, choked voice, she murmured, "Tails, oh Tails, I'm so sorry!"
"That's enough!" Void snarled harshly, and a cry of pain escaped her lips as he seized her by the hair and dragged her away from Tails, throwing her into the middle of the altar. He hovered over her, his clenched fists glowing with twin halos of fire as he glared down at her. "This is your last chance," he told her, still in his terrifyingly ice-like whisper. "Tell me where those accursed hedgehogs are headed, or watch your little friends die the hard way!"
Cosmo stared up at him, her bright blue eyes as round as the moon, and panic clawed at her heart; why did the most significant dilemma she had ever been faced with have to come when she was under such impossible amounts of pressure? She knew that the fate of the universe was held in the response she gave Void, that if she lied to him, or if she refused to answer, that Sonic and Amy would be safe for the time being, but she was certain that the price of her lie would come in the form of a slow, tortuous death for Tails, and then, most likely, her own drawn-out demise. On the other hand, she could save Tails' life, the most significant one in existence in her heart's perspective, but in doing so, she would sell out the only two people who had a chance of defeating Illumina, something her brain knew was intolerable, unthinkable.
"C-Cosmo," Tails choked out from the edge of the altar, and her mind snapped back into focus as she looked at her splayed friend. He was struggling to raise his head, his vast blue eyes bright with tears of pain, and in a slow, slurred voice, he gasped out, "D-don't tell him a-anything, C-Cosm – ARGH!"
The rest of his sentence was drowned out by his own ear splitting roar of pain as Void whipped around and, in a thunderous voice, screeched, "SILENCE!" and sent a jagged, crackling lightning bolt of coal black energy streaking at Tails. The fox screamed a long, drawn out cry of agony, his back arching to breaking point, and it was this that prompted Cosmo to burst into speech.
"I have no idea where they're headed," she sobbed, desperate for some sort of understanding, for mercy from Void. "But we've already been to three places, to a huge jungle, and then to this massive purple train speeding across the desert, and we were just at a beach, a beautiful beach with rolling white sand and an azure sky-"
"Silence," Void hissed, though a malicious smile played about his cruel lips. Cosmo immediately cut off her babbling, her lips pressed tight together, fearing for Tails' life. Void's slanting eyes glinted in pure evil as he glared down at her, and with a sharp flick of his wrist, Cosmo was slammed forcefully against Tails, and the two of them were bound together by thick black ropes.
"Lumina," Void called to the room at large, and Cosmo's teary eyes widened as, in a burst of furling white smoke, another Maginaire appeared before them.
Lumina Flowlight was still a bright pink, delicate looking fairy-like creature, but the kind eyes, smiling mouth and hopeful glow that she had cast off before had all vanished, replaced by a cruel slash of a smile, hard, uncaring eyes and a malicious air. If the Maginaire recognized her, she gave no notice, but she gazed at Cosmo with cold unfeelingness before turning to Void and spoke in a soft murmur.
"What is it, Void?"
"Cosmo here has been ever so kind to tell us where our Mobian friends are headed next," Void informed his sister, and her crystalline blue eyes flashed excitedly. "You can be sure that they'll have wanted to head somewhere hot and dry after their encounter with the deadly waves of Emerald Coast, so I assume they're at Fire Bird right now. Ambush them in Fourth Dimension Space, and bring them back here."
Lumina nodded, showing her understanding, and made to turn on the spot, but Void stopped her, catching her arm tightly with one hand. As she gazed at him questioningly, he breathed, "If they put up a fight, do not attempt to retaliate; no doubt Amy Rose has gained a good understanding of her powers by now, and Illumina will not take too kindly to your injury."
"I understand, Void," Lumina responded, a slight snap in her voice at being treated like an incapable servant, and she completed her twist in mid air, vanishing in a puff of white smoke.
As Void turned back to face her, Cosmo's attempts to get free increased by tenfold, the tight black ropes cutting into her skin as she writhed against Tails, leaning away from the Maginaire's malicious smile.
"You promised not to hurt Tails if I told you where they were!" Cosmo shouted, her eyes sparkling with terrified tears. Void cocked his head in mock consideration, and he tapped his chin with a thin finger.
"Did I say that?" he asked, raising one eyebrow as if he were confused. And then an evil smile lit his face, an icy laugh in his voice as he crowed, "I lied!"
He reached out towards her, and Cosmo screamed in utmost terror, realizing that the Maginaire had never intended to let them live long enough to be reunited with the others.
"Can't you guys go any faster?" Sonic shouted, as another booming explosion occurred behind them, a fiery glow emanating towards him, hot wind clawing at his back, singing his fur. He glared up at the ever shrinking forms of Knuckles and Amy, the latter in the lead, who were inching their way up the brass ladder fixed to the ruby side of the exploding ship.
"C'mon, Amy, you gotta hurry up!" he heard Knuckles shout, not bothering to keep the frustration from his voice. As another explosion occurred behind them, Sonic swore violently, a curse that mingled with Amy's terrified scream, and he turned in spite of himself to see what had befallen the ship.
Chaos reigned, it was as simple as that; the metal casing that imprisoned the gargantuan flaming bird that propelled the ship forwards was rapidly bursting into flame, and the heat of the infernos made his eyes water; thick clouds of choking smoke billowed up skywards, oil-fuelled explosions occurred every few seconds, the uproarious wind sending tongues of flame lashing out towards him, and even as he watched, one of the wooden wings protruding from the side of the main body fell away with an ear-splitting CRACK!
"SONIC, COME ON!" came Knuckles' shout, almost whipped away by the sound of a particularly booming burst of flame. Sonic did not need to be told twice; he jumped into a mid-air spin and hurled himself up the ladder, taking the rungs four at a time, more running than climbing, and with a cackle of supernova proportions, a massive, mushroom-shaped cloud of flame rose up behind him, the force of the explosion causing him to fly the remaining distance between him and the towering top of the ship.
Clawing himself upright, Sonic saw Knuckles and Amy standing in the middle of the charred wooden platform, backs pressed together, terror etched on every line of Amy's face, calculating fury upon Knuckles' as his dark purple eyes flickered about for an escape route.
Sonic ran over to join them, and not a moment too soon; a shuddering rumble of earthquake proportions occurred, causing all three of them to lose their balance and collapse onto the blackened wooden platform, and with a titanic, metallic groan, Sonic felt the rest of the ship break away from the platform they were on, the burning glow of the flames growing fainter, though the noise of the still-frequent explosions did not.
Sonic forced himself upright, pulling Amy up with him, and they stood with their backs pressed together, all of them breathing hard as they faced the incredible heat of their flaming surroundings. The cackling flames were closing in on them from all but one side, random columns of flame were erupting from the charred blackened floor, his eyes burning up from the intensity of the heat, and a plan, undaunted by the immense pressure that was bearing down upon them, sprung into his mind; catching Amy up in his arms, he sprinted towards the last flame-free side of the destroyed platform, shouting, "KNUCKLES, JUMP!"
He flung himself into open air, Knuckles right behind him, just as an explosion of supernova proportions sounded from behind them, popping his ear drums, the force of the explosion shunting them forwards like a flaming hand, and they were falling blindly through thick white clouds, the perusing flames drying his fur faster than the moisture of the clouds could wet it.
Amy's screams were drowned out by the roaring of the destroyed Fire Bird, Knuckles was falling slightly faster than the two of them, their five Chaos Emeralds clutched tightly against his chest, and at long last, they broke free of the cloud cover, falling through the night time, star-strewn towards the city that stretched endlessly out below them, towering buildings reaching out to meet them, the lights from cars and streetlamps and windows twinkling like a million camera flashes, and a massive red trampoline stretched out beneath them, almost as if the inhabitants had been expecting Fire Bird to explode and force them to sky dive off of it-
Suddenly, the sweltering heat, the roar of speed induced winds, the city beneath them all vanished, lost in a flash of familiar pink light, and the world instantly rematerialized in the form of outer space.
Sonic drifted away from Amy, his eyes huge, ears pounding painfully with the dull ringing of the explosion, and they floated in silence in zero gravity, suspended in the endless expanse of sky that was Fourth Dimension Space, the final frontier. Clouds of multicoloured light hung all around, and there were random flashes of light as animal-shaped constellations, the stars that formed them joined by lines of bright white light, flashed into existence, then faded against the starry, velvety black sky...
"When we get back to Mobius," Knuckles said, shattering the silence with his gruff voice, "I'll personally make sure that Eggman never touches you again, Amy."
Amy laughed in amusement, and Sonic twisted around, torn away from the peaceful oblivion by the sound of it, and his eyes widened in wonder as he saw that the final Chaos Emerald, glowing a bright yellow, was floating inches from his face.
"Gotcha!" he hissed triumphantly, and he reached out, closing his hands around the warm gem, a smile spreading across his face.
"No," came a high, almost musical cry from all around them. "I've got you!"
All three of them flipped upright, their eyes narrowed as they stared about for the speaker, who materialized before them in a burst of white smoke. Lumina Flowlight's eyes were narrowed, sparkling with malice as she glared at them, the red, tear shaped jewel fixed to her chest glowing in reflection of her bloodlust.
"You!" Knuckles snarled, making an angry movement, but Sonic held him back. Lumina smiled, displaying glittering white teeth, and with a simpering laugh she said, "Me."
"What are you doing here?" Sonic demanded forcefully, and the Maginaire's crystalline blue eyes flickered to meet his. "Shouldn't you be off plotting," he let out an unimpressed snort. "World domination with your little dream world friends?"
Lumina's smile became a snarl, he beautiful face twisted with fury, and she raised one hand, palm facing him, lavender energy ballooning at her shoulders, obscuring her entire arm as she shouted, "HOW DARE YOU?"
With a noise like a laser beam being fired, a pillar of lavender energy streaked towards him, as fast as a streaking arrow, but Sonic was faster – as fast as light.
As Knuckles dove at a screaming Amy to knock her out of harm's way, unrestrained fury boiled up inside him faster than an erupting volcano, and in less than a hundredth of a second he was shaking with rage, a rage he had only matched once in his lifetime, an eternity ago back on Mobius, when Illumina had killed Amy. And as he glared at Lumina, her pixie-like face contorted with fury, time seemed to go in slow motion as he thought about the personality transformation she had underwent, changing from a gentle ally to a twisted minion of the corrupted Illumina, and it was this that drove him to unleashing his anger with a wordless shout, his limbs flying out behind him.
They appeared around him, just like before, the seven Chaos Emeralds humming faintly as they circled him slowly, as if contemplating him before shooting in to him, red, green, yellow, cyan, white, purple and darkest blue, each one like an electric charge, transforming him molten gold for the second time in his life.
All this occurred in a fraction of a second, and in that fragment everything changed; Lumina's crystalline eyes widened with horror as they took in his transformation, and his unrestrained power flexed like a shield, causing Lumina's attack to rebound off of him and charge towards its owner, who screamed in fury as she was struck square in the face, blasted through the air with an explosion of sound, her scream trailing behind her as she rocketed away from them, rapidly becoming no more than a pink speck-
As Knuckles and Amy cheered their approval, there was a shrill, electronic ringing that caused the din to be silence at once. All three of them gazed about in anticipation, searching for some sort of technological terror to be bearing down upon them, but they realized that the source of the shrill beeping was coming from their wrists.
As one, Sonic, Amy and Knuckles flipped open their comlinks, and each let out a united gasp of, "Cosmo!"
For the Seedrian's pixelated face was staring up at them, her bright blue eyes over bright, and, in a weak attempt at a smile, she whispered, "Hello."
"Where's Tails?" Sonic demanded, and, to his horror, Cosmo's smile faltered, her tears spilling over her cheeks.
"Void's got him," she whispered, and he felt as though the blood in his veins was turning to ice. "I don't think he's killed him, because I think he's using him as bait to lure you to him...but this brings me to why I called. You've got to free Tails, you've got to, because together, you four will be able to defeat Illumina, I can feel it! Don't worry about me," she added, with a bitter smile, and as all three of them made noises of protest, she cut across them. "I'm not important, I'm out of the way, and you'll be risking your lives to-"
"No way!" cried Amy, tossing her head in fury.
"Absolutely not," Knuckles agreed, his voice dripping with vehemence.
"We risk our lives on a daily basis, Cosmo, and we're going to keep doing it." Sonic told her firmly, and Cosmo shook her head, opening her mouth to speak, but it promptly formed a perfect 'o' of horror as her head whipped around to stare at something in the blackness behind her.
"No!" she screamed her voice shrill with fright. "Get away from me, don't-"
There was a high, icy laugh, and then their comlinks went black, leaving no doubt in Sonic's mind who had just approached Cosmo. He was shaking with fury, and, as if Amy were a radio tuned into his emotions, she let out a wordless scream of rage, and they were blasted forcefully out of Fourth Dimension Space, the world, which was lost in a flash of pink light, reforming instantly into what was still open space, but without the flashing constellations. They were now standing outside a massive stone temple, its cylindrical form rising high up towards the heavens, ornate wooden doors concealing what was inside it.
More importantly, however, was the dazzlingly white glow that was pouring out from the flawless stone temple, slightly blinding, and Sonic was sure that whatever was causing it, it meant nothing good for them. He felt the last of his impossible strength leave him, and a burst of light exploded off of him, returning him to his normal dark blue.
"The Precious Stone!" Knuckles muttered with sudden comprehension, and Sonic felt his heart sinking as he realized the echidna was right. The Precious Stone had been a dull, faintly glowing amber last time he had seen it, something he was sure was linked with Illumina's weakened state, and the fact that it was glowing so pure, so bright must have meant that she was gaining power, power that was shared by her ruthless cronies.
"We're doomed," Amy moaned, sounding faint with terror.
"No, we're not," Knuckles said flatly, "We've got – Sonic, what happened to the Chaos Emeralds?"
Sonic spun around, looking down at the ground, and his breath caught sharply in his throat; the Chaos Emeralds were gone, something that was always a constant with them whenever they managed to unite them. Their disappearance marked days of tireless work, of bloodshed and terror, and now they were gone, as were the worlds they had taken refuge in. He felt his mouth go dry, and he looked up in horror, to see that Amy looked to be on the verge of hysteria, something he himself felt to be on the brink of it as well, but, to his intense surprise, Knuckles let out a bark of triumphant laughter, and he punched the air jubilantly.
"What?" Sonic demanded, hope sparking inside him, and Knuckles turned to stare at him gleefully, his mouth twisted into a smile.
"We're not doomed at all!" he crowed. "Sonic, don't you see, we wasted so much time travelling around Maginaryworld collecting all the Chaos Emeralds, when we could have gotten out of there the moment we landed!"
Sonic's face went blank, for he had no idea where Knuckles was going with this, but Amy, apparently understanding something, let out a loud gasp, her hands flying up to cover her mouth as she stared, wide-eyed, between him and Knuckles.
"All you've got to do is kiss Amy!" Knuckles laughed, and Sonic felt as though the air around him had just dropped twenty degrees. "They'll come flying back, and we'll be all set!"
Sonic was silent, stunned, his mind reeling. Knuckles' logic made so much sense, he was amazed he hadn't seen it before. But now that the answer was so clear before him, he wished it would retreat into its veiled hiding place. The thought of kissing Amy, when he was not consumed with rage – and more importantly, with her being conscious and Knuckles standing there – was terrifying, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to do it.
A wry, unhelpful voice in his head snickered, Does she scare you more than that maniacal goddess?
But the voice caused an explosion of images to occur inside his mind; the bloody message left by Void, Cosmo's terrified face as she plead with the darkness for her release, Tails' face, then Lumina's furious one as she spiralled through space, replaced instantly by Illumina's jubilant one as she stared out him from Eggman's massive screen back on Mobius.
There was no other way to summon the Chaos Emeralds, and unless he wanted Amy to drop dead so that he wouldn't have to face the daunting prospect with her conscious, he would have to grit his teeth and do it.
As his resolve solidified into a wavering mass of insubstantiality, he closed his eyes and commanded, "Come here, Amy."
He could hear her footsteps echoing off the jewelled stone platform as she approached him, her breath coming in excited bursts. He sensed that she had come to a halt before him, and his eyes slid open to see her staring at him, her dark green eyes sparkling. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he swallowed his pride and leaned forwards, his lips meeting hers, which were incredibly soft. Something incredibly like fire rose up inside of him, and the reluctance that had been consuming him quickly morphed into desire; he found himself holding onto Amy, and the only real thing in the world was her, the eagerness of her lips against his, the softness of her hair, the feeling of her body against his-
But then he was wrenched away from her by an irresistible force a hundred times stronger than he. The seven Chaos Emeralds were hovering around him once more, obscuring Amy from view with their blinding glow, and then, as one, they surged into him, not wasting time as they had before, as if sensing the desperateness of the situation. Once more, an explosion of raw force took place inside of him, and with a feral snarl, his arms flew out from his sides as a ring of bright white light exploded off of him, transforming him purest gold, an unstoppable bundle of fury that was directed at Lumina, Void and Illumina-
And then he caught sight of Amy, who seemed to have captured the beauty of the moon and moulded to suit her; glowing more brightly than she ever had before, her hair floated around her in a delicate breeze that had just picked up, her dark silver eyes glowing with happiness, and with wordless nods to each other, they turned and ran forwards, breaking through the heavy wooden doors as though it were no thicker than paper-
But the moment they burst through the wood, Sonic knew in an instant that it was the worst thing they could have done; the Temple of Light, which had been deceptively full of white from the outside, was consumed in pitch black, the light from the Precious Stone smothered in shadows. Skidding to a halt, Sonic gazed about himself, able to see only because of the molten gold glow he was casting illuminated the space a few feet before him. Amy had come to a stop some three yards ahead of him, turning slowly on the spot, radiating her mysterious silver glow, her hammer in hand, sharp eyes narrowed as they roved about the darkness.
However, there was nothing to see; all around them was oppressive blackness, and the silence that consumed them seemed too huge to be contained, bearing down upon them like some sort of invisible monster. Exchanging significant looks with Amy, Sonic opened his mouth to speak, but a low, agonized moan shattered the silence, sounding from behind him. With a gasp, Amy darted past him, and as Sonic whirled around, he saw that she had thrown herself onto the ground beside Tails, who was lying in a broken, bloody heap.
Sonic walked forwards in a kind of horrified, trance, gazing down at his friend with huge eyes; Tails was battered and bloody, there was no inch of exposed skin that was not either bruised or matted with scarlet liquid, one eyes was puffy and closed, blood was trickling out of the corner of his mouth, and one of his legs was sticking out from beneath him at an unnatural, gross angle.
Amy placed her trembling hands upon the fox's chest, and then, incredibly, silver sparks erupted from her fingertips, running along his form in a sparkling current, burying themselves into his countless wounds, concentrated so heavily upon his broken leg that it was obscured by a glowing cocoon of light. In less than half a minute, Amy had restored Tails to his pristine former self, and his eyes flew open, wide with panic that instantly morphed to wonder as he saw the silver Amy and golden Sonic leaning over him.
"What the-?" he muttered, pushing himself upright. Relief settled in upon Sonic, so powerful that he felt dizzy, and he pulled Tails to his feet, grinning broadly.
"Glad to see you're okay," he greeted, clapping him on the shoulder, while Amy gave the fox a brief hug.
Tails smiled at him, still looking slightly confused, an expression that deepened as his eyes roved about the empty air beside Amy. "Where's Knuckles?" he asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. Sonic's eyes widened in horror, and he looked at Amy, blank with shock, to see that her face was a perfect portrait of utmost terror that reflected exactly how he felt. They stared at each other, neither able to believe that they had forgotten the echidna, nor able to comprehend how he had vanished, when a note of unrestrained laughter rent the air apart, followed by light flooding the temple.
Squinting in the sudden brightness, Sonic slipped into a half-crouch, standing cautiously in front of Amy, an act that was mirrored by Tails, and they all turned to glare at the place where the laughter was coming from. As his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he was met with the sight of a stone altar that was sitting about ten meters away from them, upon which Cosmo was forced into kneeling position, bound by thick black ropes, gagged by a filthy black cloth, and she was struggling to throw Lumina off of her, whose face had been wiped clean of blood and was contorted with fury as her enraged eyes flickered between Cosmo and their group. Void was hovering beside the wrestling pair, bringing his hands together in a slow applause that echoed throughout the silence of the Temple of Light.
"Bravo, Sonic," Void called, mocking impressment, though his wicked amethyst-sapphire eyes flashed maliciously, evidently wishing him a painful death. "You've managed to reach the Temple of Light at last, and you even managed to heal that worthless fox beside you!" he added at Amy, who snarled in response, drawing her hammer.
"Your services are no longer required, Amy Rose," Void continued, clearly overjoyed at what he was about to tell them. "For Cosmo here has volunteered to take your place! You see, she's just brimming with love for Miles Prower, something that will allow Goddess Illumina to gain a body at last!"
Sonic's heart was pounding loudly in his ears, pumping both fear and adrenaline through his veins; doing his best to keep the panic from his voice, he shouted, "Where's Knuckles?"
Void and Lumina exchanged brief, blank glances, and then Void hissed, "I have no idea what you're talking about, hedgehog. But I thought you'd be more worried about your predicament than the whereabouts of your imaginary friend.
He drifted over to where Cosmo was bound, and her attempts to throw off Lumina increased by tenfold as he drew closer to her, her furious screams muffled by her gag. Tails made to run forwards, his breath catching in his throat, but Sonic threw out an arm to stop him, cautioning, "Stop!"
"Listen to your friend, Miles Prower," Void called, and with a flick of his wrist, the bindings around Cosmo fell away. Before she could attempt to escape, however, the Maginaire had seized her by the hair and pulled her up into the air, a cruel smile twisting his lips as she gasped in pain at being suspended in mid-air by the hair. "I have an offering to make you, Sonic the Hedgehog," he boomed, his ringing voice echoing off the circular walls of the Temple. "I will let young Cosmo here go-" he shook the suspended Seedrian, and she gave a wail of agony at being handled like this. "- if you touch the Precious Stone. Refuse, and you can watch your little friend die before your eyes."
Cosmo's eyes widened in terror at the Maginaire's words, and she screamed, "NO! SONIC DON'T! FORGET M-" She cut herself off with a cry of pain as Lumina flew forwards and slapped her harshly across the face, clamping a hand over her mouth as she hissed, "Be quiet!"
Tails winced as the sound of the blow echoed throughout the temple, and both he and Amy turned to face Sonic, both of their eyes bright with panic as they stared imploringly at him.
"Don't listen to him!" Amy cried, shaking her head back and forth, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You can't seriously be considering it, Sonic!" Tails said wildly, grabbing his arm as he guessed Sonic's thoughts.
For the hedgehog knew that nothing good would come from touching the Precious Stone – why else would Void have used it to bargain for Cosmo's release? But as he stared unblinkingly into Void's slanting eyes, he knew that he didn't have a choice; he could not make Cosmo take the fall for his reluctance, and he had to trust that, if anything happened to him, Amy and Tails would be able to defeat Void and Lumina.
But he knew in his heart that, without him, they had very little chance of eliminating the two Maginaires, and, if they managed that, even less of a chance of defeating Illumina.
But what choice do I have?
Sonic took a deep, steadying breath, then his eyes flickered towards Amy, trying to tell her what was on his mind through his eyes. Amy's dark silver orbs widened, and she screamed, "NO! I WON'T LET YOU!" throwing herself against his chest, holding onto him with all her considerable strength, wetting his fur with her tears. Sonic turned with difficulty to look at Tails, whose bright blue eyes were huge, sparkling with tears as he gazed at Sonic in mute horror.
"Tails..." Sonic muttered, and with a gulp, the fox grabbed Amy and pried her off of his chest while whispering hoarsely, "Sonic...don't do this..."
Sonic winked, and even though he knew that he was facing the possibility of death straight in the face, he would not allow fear to overcome him. "I've got to," he answered, his voice firm. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he concentrated on rising upwards, on flying towards the Precious Stone. As his feet left the ground, Amy collapsed into agonized sobs, each one causing his heart to throb painfully, and he refused to look at her, at Tails, focusing instead on the altar where Void was staring at him, his amethyst-sapphire eyes wide with anticipation as he followed his progress upwards, at Lumina, whose teeth were bared with the effort of restraining Cosmo, whose large blue eyes were streaming frustrated tears, her form writhing as she struggled to be free of Lumina's iron grip...
Sonic looked up at the blinding white stone above him, rotating unconcernedly, oblivious to the fact that contact with it may very well end his life. As he stared at it, Cosmo's words, spoken as if in another lifetime, rang through his mind.
Illumina believes that, in order to fulfill the prophecy, both you and Amy must die.
Was part of the Seedrian's ominous sentence about to come true? Would touching the Precious Stone kill him? Or would it merely cause him unendurable agony, incapacitating him temporarily, but not permanently? Would it end his transformation, or would it cause him to have a change of heart, just like Lumina, turning him against Tails and Amy and Knuckles and Cosmo, transforming him into the possessed self he had become back on Emerald Coast?
At long last, he came to a halt before the Precious Stone, its blinding glow captivating him as much as it repulsed him. As he stared at its perfectly smooth surface, he was seized by the sudden desire to attack it, to shatter it into a thousand pieces, but he mastered this urge, knowing that Void would not release Cosmo if he did so.
For a second stretched into an eternity, Sonic stared at the Stone, and he thought suddenly of Amy, of all they had been through together, of the kiss they had shared outside this wretched temple. He felt as though his entire life had led up to that moment of blissful oblivion with her, and he wondered, in a detached sort of way, if that memory was about to leave him forever. With an effort that felt as though it might kill him, Sonic reached a gloved hand forwards, shaking slightly, and his eyes slid shut, imagining that he was still outside the Temple of Light with Amy, that the warm glow that was consuming his outstretched hand was not caused by the gem before him, but by his friend's warm body crushing itself against his-
When his fingers were an inch from the smooth white surface, several things happened at once.
First, Knuckles, at long last, revealed himself, and with an enraged roar he flung himself at Sonic, knocking him away from the Precious Stone, shouting, "Are – you – insane?" At the same moment, Void, who had clearly never intended to keep his end of the deal, turned to Cosmo, who screamed in terror as Lumina released her, allowing Void to pounce upon her. Amy, meanwhile, let out an outraged scream of, "SONIC, NO!" and she flung her limbs out from her chest, causing an explosion of noise to burst off of her shaking body, and a transparent current of supernova-class fury sent Tails, Lumina, Void and Cosmo flying, all of them blasted apart and crashing into the stone walls with dull, sickening crunches.
As Sonic and Knuckles landed hard on their feet, Amy flung herself at him, sobbing uncontrollably as she cried, "Don't you ever do that to me again, Sonic the Hedgehog!"
Sonic thought she may have been hoping to crush the air from his lungs; disentangling himself from her, he said, "Sorry, about that Rosie, I-"
"COSMO!" Knuckles shouted, tearing the two out of their isolated bubble; Sonic whirled around, and his heart thudded to a halt; Void, undaunted by Amy's brutal attack upon him, had flung himself at Cosmo, who was screaming at the top of her lungs while the Maginaire drained her of energy, causing her to grow thinner and thinner, her screams becoming weaker and weaker-
"NO!" screamed Amy, and with a whirl of her dress, she vanished in a burst of pink light, reappearing instantly beside Cosmo and Void, and with a wordless shriek of rage, she pulled out her hammer and slammed it into Void with such force that the sound of the blow echoed throughout the temple. The Maginaire was propelled through the air, yowling in pain, trailing thick red blood, and he skidded across the ground to a resounding halt, stopping feet from where Sonic and Knuckles were standing. With an outraged roar, Sonic lunged and Void, but instead of falling on top of him, Void rolled out of the way, disappearing in a burst of onyx light.
Sonic rolled to his feet and spun around, guessing what was happening by Knuckles' wordless shout of denial; Void had reappeared beside Lumina, who was shaking her head experimentally, struggling to get to her hands and knees, and he pulled her to her feet, leaning in so that his face was inches from hers, and Sonic knew that whatever he was about to do, it was nothing good-
With a sonic boom, Sonic flung himself forwards, his heart bursting into a death sprint as he sped towards the place where Lumina and Void were now intertwined, desperate to reach them, to wrench them apart-
But an explosion of noise burst off of the Maginaires in the form of a bubble of blood red light, obscuring Void and Lumina, the force of its sudden appearance blasting Sonic backwards through the air, and in less than a second, he had slammed into the stone wall opposite them with such force that the stone beneath him groaned in protest. He slid to the floor, his head threatening to burst from pain, spots of light erupting before his eyes, but with the Herculean strength that had given him the energy to make himself reach out in attempt to touch the Precious Stone, he forced himself to his feet, taking him a moment to realize that the howling roar of impossible winds was not, in fact, inside his head, but occurring on all sides of him, coming off the rapidly expanding bloody red bubble that had now obscured half of the Temple of Light, brushing the edge of the Precious Stone, which was pulsating like some kind of jewelled organ.
And then, a harsh, warped demonic voice, twisted with triumph and inhumane rage, sounded from the depths of the orb, screeching, "THE END APPROACHES, MOBIANS! I WILL PUNISH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, FAITHLESS FOOLS FOOLISH ENOUGH TO ATTEMPT TO DENY MY RISE TO POWER!"
Sonic staggered forwards, ignoring the pounding in his head, and he became aware that Amy was standing beside him, giving up attempting to beat her dress into submission, allowing it to fly up around her, exposing her frilly white undergarments, shielding her face in the crook of her arm. Beside her stood Cosmo, and though she was no longer thin and frail-looking, she looked incredibly weak, the pain in her bright blue eyes more pronounced than before. Tails was on his other side, his fur rippling, anxiety etched upon his face, and beside him stood Knuckles, his long hair flying out around him, his arms folded across his chest, muscles bulging, looking supremely unconcerned.
And then, quite abruptly, the bloody red orb vanished, an act that seemed to suck all the sound from the room, swarming into the center of the altar, where a horrific sight met their eyes.
Cosmo and Amy both gasped in revulsion as they saw that Lumina was lying splayed atop it, her head tilted back unnaturally far, her crystalline blue eyes transformed into unseeing orbs, her expression completely blank. Blood was leaking out of the corners of her eyes and mouth, trickling onto the stone beneath her, but mingling with the blood was a sparkling, plasmatic blue substance, thicker than smoke but not quite liquid, pouring out of her mouth and nose and rising up towards the Precious Stone, melting easily into the side and causing the gem to swell with the intake of it.
Beside Lumina, his entire body shaking with the effort of drawing in short, ragged breaths, was Void, hovering feet from the ground, clawing his way forwards on his hands and knees, his emerald haired head bowed, blood splattering the ground as he coughed weakly.
"Illumina," he rasped, his normally icy voice choked with fear, and he sounded much more child-like than usual. "W-why are you d-doing this?"
The goddess divine voice sounded from the Precious Stone, a soft murmur that was just as quiet as Void's, a deadly quiet mixture of stardust and sunlight. "You know why, Void," whispered Illumina, and Sonic could picture her beautiful face, twisted with malicious pleasure as she watched Void's suffering. "You and Lumina both make up part of me, and in order for me to gain a body, I must have your lives."
Void looked up, his whole form convulsing with strained breaths, and he struggled to raise his head. For a split second, his amethyst-sapphire eyes absent of their usual cruelty, replaced by what looked incredibly like pleading terror, and then he exploded in a flash of onyx light, revealing a cloud of the same plasmatic blue substance that had been leaking from Lumina, and it rose up towards the Precious Stone while Sonic, Amy, Tails, Knuckles and Cosmo stared at it in horrified silence. It melted into the bottom of the glowing gem, which seemed incapable of absorbing anymore; a pillar of purest white light shot down from it, connecting the bottom of it to the center of the altar.
As quickly as it had appeared, the pillar vanished, though Sonic would have traded everything he owned for it to still be there. Illumina stood in its place, her divine face glowing with happiness, her dark brown eyes sparkling with wonder as she examined the back of her pale hands, looked down at her flowing pink and white robes, running her hands through her flowing blonde hair.
And then her face lit up into a terrifying smile as she looked up, her eyes locking onto Sonic's, causing him to slip into a half crouch, willing the terror that was clawing at his heart to morph into adrenaline.
"Sonic the Hedgehog," she murmured, tilting her head to the side as she stared at their group in amusement. "My supposed...downfall."
And with an inhumane screech, she launched herself at him, her beautiful face leeched of all beauty by the fury that was etched upon her face. With a snarl, Sonic sprinted forwards to meet her, every thought wiped from his mind as he focused every ion of his concentration on attacking the goddess.
The final battle had begun.