Authoress' Note: Alright, boys and girls, I want everybody's lips buttoned about the plots for Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic Rivals because I intend to play through the games and be surprised along the way for once in my life. By the way, that also means I'll be buying a Sony PlayStation 3, a Nintendo Wii and a Sony PlayStation Portable. (listens to everyone's gasps; some die of shock) Yes, I know, it's quite unfathomable buying three consoles of the current generation but I aim to do just that so no complaints!

Chapter 20: Memorable

With blinding speed, the Chaos-Energy-enhanced Holy Hedgehog blasted right through Light's upper body, scattering half of its blue particles everywhere, only for them to immediately return and reform into its torso.

"I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you!"

Light (and its comrades) only looked at the yellow hedgehog in puzzlement as he turned around for another strike; not for the fact that there were nine Sonics but for the sheer amount of hatred in this Super Sonic's eyes. Light was not afraid at all, however; after all, it was incapable of dying or getting hurt (unless this Sonic decided to aim for its brain). But it was inquisitive as to why this hedgehog was attacking it and concerned for the hedgehog's mental wellbeing.

As he neared it, Light rapidly shrank into a featureless puddle which caused Fleetway Super Sonic to miss by a fraction of a millimetre. The other hedgehogs had, by now, emerged from behind their boulder and were running toward the Chaos Triad and the uncontainable hedgehog, determination written on their visages.

Shin Sonic jumped and curled into a buzz saw, heading straight for the empowered insectivore. But Fleetway Super Sonic merely swatted him away like a fly (he crashed into the other Sonics) as he flew at the puddle that was Light once again, still hell-bent on destroying it. He landed in it and started stamping like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

This had no effect on Light though. Still, it was dying of curiosity at this point; it had to find out what was making this insectivore so upset. But first, he had to be halted.

At a twin gesture from Angel and Devil, as many Chao as possible leapt onto Fleetway Super Sonic, pushing him into the air away from Light. Clinging to him mightily, they began to drain his energy. The golden Sonic roared upon realizing what was happening to him and commenced juddering but, it seemed that, for every Chao he shook off, two more jumped on to take its place. Soon it got to the point where nobody (except the innermost Chao, obviously) could see the hedgehog under the erratically flying, rainbow-coloured mass of minuscule bodies.

The Chao next flew off to let Fleetway Sonic fall to the ice on his back a few feet below him, blue yet again.

After a few seconds had gone by, the Holy Hedgehog lifted himself into a sitting position, rubbing his temple with his eyes closed. The other hedgehogs and fox came close to him guardedly, as did the Chaos Triad.

When Light was a measly foot away, Fleetway Sonic opened his eyes which, without delay, glared at the immortal being and he speedily stood up. By this point, though, AoStH Sonic and SatAM Sonic had gotten close enough and grabbed the angry hedgehog by the arms to avert him from assaulting Light all over again.

"Let me at him, let me at him!" he yelled, his feet melting a groove into the ice.

Light paused but for a moment then lifted its right hand and began to move it toward Fleetway Sonic's brow.

"What he's…?" started AoStH Sonic, a little apprehensive at its gesture.

"Don't worry;" assured Anime Sonic, recognizing the motion. "He's just going to play a little mind game."

Then Light's hand touched Fleetway Sonic's forehead.

Instantaneously, Fleetway Sonic's eyes closed and everything from Light's point of view gradually became whiter then the snow of the North Pole, eventually disappearing altogether.

Nearly as fast as it had all vanished, lines, colours and shapes came back. Yet it was altered as Light knew it would be.

The clear, cobalt sky had been swapped with an indigo-shaded one, the sun on the edge of the horizon. The surrounding tundra had been transfigured into a modern, deserted conurbation composed of metal and glass. And a new cast had replaced nearly everybody.

Time was frozen so Light could see everything on its own time for awhile. There was Fleetway Sonic, poised for battle, hardly changed from his present look, along with his world's Tails, looking exactly like his counterpart, hovering high above the vicinity.

A pink, female hedgehog wearing a red band in her spines, gloves, a grey blouse, violet pants and red and white shoes stood near Sonic, a look of anxiety on her features. Right next to her was a grey, male rabbit in a crimson, long-sleeved top, gloves, a pair of blue pants and shoes the colour of blood and snow, wielding a metal staff that widened suddenly at the ends. Placed behind the three was a pink, male pig dressed in a yellow shirt, cerulean pants, gloves and red and white shoes; he was holding a small, metal box in his right hand.

Light perceived that they were all looking at the same thing so it turned around and saw…itself. Of course, it was not really itself but another version. And quite a different-looking one to boot. This one sported four long fingers on each hand and had claws protruding from its six toes. Light could see teeth lining its visible mouth. It was also gaunter then the good member of the Chaos Triad and twice as tall.

In nosiness, Light walked closer to its alternate self to get a better look and…

…it hit it. An emotion that Light had never felt before yet was overwhelming nonetheless. It was difficult to describe this foreign sensation; it felt like it needed to get away from the other creature as fast as possible yet Light's violently shaking body refused to obey its brain's commands.

A few more seconds of this crushing agony and Light finally stepped back, the alien feeling disappearing as he did so.

Light decided that it was done looking around and started time, everything moving vaguely though suddenly at once.

The pig was the first to talk. "All set, Sonic. The problem is, we need the creature to stand there!" He pointed towards a large, metallic disc on the ground beside him.

"No problem," replied Fleetway Sonic assertively. "Leave it to me!"

He looked around and his eyes settled on a metallic wagon with eight wheels. "A super-speed spin should be enough to pick up this petrol tanker…" He whipped up a blue tornado by running in a circle around the vehicle. The wind picked it up and carried it over to the menace.

"Hrr?" the monster uttered, puzzled by the object coming toward it.

Buh-Whoom!

The force of the detonation threw shrapnel everywhere, prompting Sonic's friends to duck. From the smoke, however, Light saw its other form emerge unscathed and amble toward the disk in the direction of the Freedom Fighters.

"That got his attention!" spoke Fleetway Sonic. "Get ready, Porker; here he comes!"

As the fiend stepped onto the disk, Porker began pushing a round bump on the contraption he was holding. But nothing happened.

The pink hedgehog anxiously called out, "Come on, Porker! What are you waiting for?"

"The equipment's not working, Amy!" stated Porker. "Something's wrong!"

"Look! That cable isn't connected!" Fleetway Tails shouted, pointing at two ropes that had tiny bolts of lightning coming out of their ends. They were both near Light's alternate version (which legs had appeared to become transfixed to the disc).

"Right," replied Fleetway Sonic. "I'll take care of it!"

"But Sonic, remember the creature's strange power?" reminded Fleetway Tails. "It creates unbearable fear in anyone who gets too close!"

Fear… So that was what that emotion it felt was. It heard it was an emotion that mortals felt when they were faced with unknown, large and unattractive objects; where the body would quake, the heart (or hearts) would beat faster and an urge to fly from the danger would arise.

"I've got to try, Tails…" Sonic insisted, bending on the ground, his body quivering. "We may never get another chance this good!"

But he didn't budge any closer. Almost like Light's, Fleetway Sonic's trembling and sweating body rejected his mind's orders even as his hand attempted to reach out to the cables.

"Let me try, Sonic…" suggested Johnny, walking up beside the kneeling hedgehog and now shivering just as bad. "I really think I can do this!"

He crouched on the ground and, with a tremendous amount of effort, put his hands on the ends of the sparking ropes and affixed them to each other.

"He did it!" Sonic spoke in wonder, his eyes wide.

Unfortunately, the abomination had become aware of Johnny.

As he saw the beast's fist move toward him, he only had time to say, in a sparsely perceptible murmur, "Oh n-no…!"

Thwak!

With a sound that echoed throughout the whole city, the being hit the rabbit forcibly, sending him soaring off.

"Now, Porker!" Fleetway Sonic directed. "Whatever it is that you're going to do, do it now!"

And the pig pushed the nub.

Fzzzaakkkk!

Accompanying what sounded like a thunder strike, the abomination exploded, sending parts of its body everywhere. Judging by the jubilant faces of Fleetway Sonic and his friends, they seemed to think that they had won but Light knew better. It knew it would come back; Light wondered if it already had.

"I knew I could do it!" exclaimed Porker excitedly. "I've been studying Chaos Energy for months! All I had to do was…"

"Explanations later, buddy!" Sonic interjected though he was grinning too. "Right now, the important thing is we won! …Hey, where's Johnny? The kid did good. Even I'm impressed this time!"

The Holy Hedgehog looked about him and saw his friend lying on the ground several feet away. Amy and Tails had run towards him to see if he was alright.

"Of course, I'm not too happy with the guy…" he joked as he joined them. "After all, I'm supposed to be the hero around here…"

"Sonic…" interrupted Amy quietly and Light could just make out the glistening beads of water leaking from beneath her closed eyelids as she lifted her head before she wiped them away.

"He's okay, right?" asked Sonic in alarm. "He's just a little shaken up, that's all…" But Light noticed tears in his eyes even as he denied what had just transpired.

"He's dead, Sonic…" Amy sobbed. "Johnny's dead."

The last thing Light saw as everything faded to white a second time was Sonic's head hung in guilt – he thought it was all his fault.

Fleetway Sonic's eyes flickered open, wondering whether he had fallen asleep or not, and he saw Light's hand withdraw. Instantly, he growled and began wearing a hole into the ground again as his attempts to attack Light were held back by SatAM Sonic and AoStH Sonic.

"Let me at that murderer!"

"'Murderer?'" repeated SEGA Sonic. "Look, I know he drowned hundreds of people but, if he's anything like my world's Chaos, he'll be changed now and he…"

"…killed one of my friends!"

The other two (and the rest, except Shin Sonic) were so surprised, they nearly let go of him. "What?"

Fleetway Sonic stopped running and inhaled deeply through his nostrils before continuing. "It was weeks ago. Robotnik had unleashed Chaos on Mobius. We were fighting him and, a friend of mine, Porker Lewis, came up with a machine to destroy the monster. But a cable got unplugged and I went to reattach it but…Chaos created agonizing terror in anyone who got too close…so Johnny Lightfoot did it instead but…Chaos noticed him…and struck him…hard." Another lungful of air through his nose.

Now this was completely different. When Chaos had flooded Station Square in their worlds, they had mourned, if only a little bit, for the people that had died. But Chaos had never actually slain someone, let alone a buddy, with his own claws.

Light only stared at Fleetway Sonic for a couple of seconds. Then, remembering seeing others do this whenever their companions were miserable, it reached out its hand once more and placed it, not on the hedgehog's forehead, but on his shoulder. Fleetway Sonic looked up momentarily at Light in slight surprise then turned his head away, unwilling to regard or forgive the one whom he saw as his pal's killer, yet understanding that Light somehow felt a sort of pity for him.

"So, let me guess; these guys are the friends you were talking about that are going to help us fight again Robo-Robuttnik?" enquired SU Sonic, looking interestedly at all three members of the Chaos Triad.

"Yep, he was!" inserted Tails. "We were enemies at first but now we get along just fine!"

"Which ones used…?" began SatAM Sonic, staring first at Angel then Devil.

"And how exactly are they going to help us fight Robo-Eggman?" interrupted SEGA Sonic. "…Are there twenty-one Chaos Emeralds in this world?"

"What kind of question is that?" demanded Anime Sonic, quite annoyed. "Nobody knows the exact number of Chaos Emeralds because they keep getting created, found and destroyed all the time!"

A few of the other Sonics were baffled by this statement. There was quietness for several seconds before Sonic X spoke up. "…You mean Chaos Emeralds can be made…just like ordinary gems?"

Anime Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Has anyone ever told you your universes are weird? Anyway…well? Are you going to help?" he asked the Chaos Triad.

The three beings regarded each other then shrunk into blue, pink and red puddles. They commenced conversing with each other using voices that sounded like bursting bubbles.

A small amount of minutes later, Archie Sonic smiled as the immortals rose up. "They've agreed."

Fleetway Sonic mumbled, "Humph," while the other Sonics and Tails stared at him. "You can understand him?"

"Yeah," Archie Sonic replied. "Don't you remember me telling you about the device in my ear that lets understand any language?"

"Wow! Can I see?" queried Anime Tails, beaming. "I want to know how it works!"

Archie Sonic smirked upon being reminded of his Tails. "Sorry, bro; it's literally grown attached to my brain."

"Awwww…"

"Bloop bloop."

Archie Sonic turned around to gaze at the Chaos Triad, who were puddles yet again. "Hmm, you talking to me?"

Many more bloops.

Archie Sonic nodded, though a little confused. "Okay."

He looked at Shin Sonic. "They said they want you to continue tracking down this, um, gigantic bird. Is that the same one we saw in the last dimension?"

"Yeah," responded Shin Sonic. "I don't know why but they and the Chao seem to fear it a lot."

"After seeing what it can do, I'm not surprised," answered SatAM Sonic.