A/N: I have a special shoutout to my friend, The Sensational SpiderDom321, for helping me draft the first part of this chapter. I recommend checking him out as he has his own Sonic Forces rewrite along with a couple other projects on his profile!

Alongside him, I would also like to thank cyberkiller125, SharpDragonKlaw, Squidzi Galaxi, Infinite's Ruby, Tiger of Darkness, Oderus, Dayman, and Golden Eye for reviewing since the last chapter was posted.

Also, thank you to SharpDragonKlaw, TheSelonder, and all the other users who favorited and/or followed Revengeful Resistance since its publication.

With that being said, let's get right back to the story!

*NOTE: I re-edited this chapter to add some extra narration. Also, thank you for over 15,000 views!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Sonic, especially not the design of the one for the movie. I mean, my God, I still need to bleach my fucking eyes after being exposed to those pictures.

Chapter 25: Disorientation

Location: Red Gate City

He didn't know what happened or how it happened. As soon as he woke up, he couldn't find anyone in the Resistance's headquarters. Knuckles wasn't there. Neither was Amy. The Wolf brothers were absent. Everyone was nowhere to be found. His first thought in mind was that Eggman had something to do with it. He could've overslept and missed out on the daily plans, but he highly doubted it.

Now, he found himself at the top of a hill in Red Gate City. Overlooking the sight of the Death Egg Sentinels made him grit his teeth in anger and clench his fists with fury. Eggman had continued to besiege the outer limits of town. Since no one was available nor capable of taking down the large robots, he had no choice. He got into a running start and sped down the hill.

Blue streaks trailed behind as he avoided several lasers when the robots spotted him. While taking care of the Egg Pawns in his path, he jumped and dodged several pieces of rubble from the destruction of the nearby, crumbling buildings. He stopped at one point after he nearly got hit. Scowling, he resumed running down the street up until he saw another large rock come his way. Even if he ducked below or ran off to the side, he knew he wasn't going to avoid it.

Then, something helped him. To his left, he looked over to see a yellow and white blur. When the figure fully revealed himself, the blue individual was shocked yet grateful to see him again.

"Tails..." he whispered.

The fox smiled with an open mouth after he destroyed the rock that nearly hit his friend. He followed up with a wink before joining the Blue Blur.

He stopped to offer a brotherly fist bump. "Buddy, I can't believe you're here."

"Well, you better believe it," Tails chuckled. "That's because I'm going to help you. Even heroes need some assistance."

Ignoring any lack of sense, Sonic gave a thumbs-up and winked back at the twin-tailed kitsune. "I would love that, especially with you right next to me!"

The Inseparable Duo traveled side by side – the hedgehog going down the road, and the fox flying in midair. They went towards the Death Egg Robots who charged more lasers. But both were too fast to stop them; or in Sonic's case, the robots were too slow.

Then, Sonic saw a light at the end of the tunnel. In the distance, he found the rest of the Revengeful Resistance battling a large wave of enemies. Knuckles noticed his friends and directed them to take down the Death Egg Robots, but not without a little bit of help. As Sonic and Tails ran, Savage and Raff joined them at their side. The hedgehog smirked as they got extra help. Soon after, the four had split up into two teams; Sonic and Savage were one pair while the other comprised of Raff and Tails.

The teenage wolf grabbed onto Sonic's hand as he launched his hook onto a Sentinel. As they swung in the air, the robots aimed at them. However, they couldn't lock onto the targets as they kept swaying. As the trio of Sentinels got in close proximity, Savage released Sonic, letting him fly in the air before he went into a blue circle. His speed and power were impactful to burst into one of the robots, causing it to fall into pieces.

Meanwhile, Tails held Raff by the hands as they circled over the other two Death Egg Robots. Waiting for the right time, they stared at one another before nodding. Tails let Raff go, and they transformed into their ball forms as they spin dashed into the eyes. Savage also participated by crashing into their cores. The quartet of brothers maintained this process with the remaining Sentinels until they were all vanquished. A cliché moment ensued when they landed with their backs facing the explosions (because cool guys don't look back at them).

"Way to go, guys!" Sonic gave them high-fives.

"That was great! We got rid of those Death Egg Sentinels!" Tails acknowledged.

"We would've been in huge trouble if it weren't for you. Thank Chaos you showed up at the right time!" Raff pointed out.

"I bet the others will be happy to hear about this," said Savage.

Feeling proud and accomplished, they headed back to their friends. Sonic led the way with the wolves and Tails following behind. They returned to Park Avenue where they last saw the Resistance.

Suddenly, the hedgehog immediately stopped as his shoes skidded. His eyes widened in shock and fear. The wolves paused their running as well when they looked forward, only to witness disaster in front of them.

The Resistance members – Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Amy, Blaze, Silver, Charmy, Vector, and Espio – were lying on the broken pavement. To make matters worse, they didn't appear unconscious. Blood stained their fur coats. Wounds and bruises covered their slain bodies. When they searched for pulses, they couldn't feel a thing. As for Omega, his metal body deteriorated from critical damage and rust. Anger overwhelmed Sonic to the point where he wanted to scream out loud. To his displeasure, his voice couldn't do it.

After a long period of silence, Raff was the first to speak. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know," Savage whispered before he noticed something odd. "Hey, I thought Tails was behind us?"

Sonic instantly went into panic mode as he looked around him. "Tails? Tails?! Where are you, bro?!"

"Guys, look!" Raff pointed in front of them.

Standing on higher ground were four familiar figures. Shadow, Metal Sonic, Zavok, and Chaos glared down at Sonic and the wolves. In the hedgehog's mind, he knew they were clones, especially Shadow. From what the real black hedgehog mentioned, they were only counterfeits of the real deal. And they can spawn in numerous counts. There was only one logical explanation. The clones came from the same source. And that was none other than...

"No... But how?"

Before Sonic could form coherent thoughts, Shadow grabbed something from behind and held it for the heroes to see.

It was Tails' body. Battered, bleeding, and unmoving. A broken wrench impaled his stomach. Shadow threw the dead kitsune in front of them. Sonic's brain defaulted back to the memory when he saw the clone of his best friend being killed in front of his eyes. The horrific scene replayed in his mind. Then, he finally realized.

He forgot about it at first, especially when he saw him save his life from a falling rock. Neither the Tails who got killed in Red Gate six months ago nor the Tails who fought alongside him against the Death Egg Robots were real. The actual Tails was alive. Except, he was someone else. Shadow was showing a fake to mess with his head.

Savage tapped his shoulder to get his attention. The teenage wolf pointed at another face. Above the enemies, the black, masked jackal floated in the stuffy air. The ominous red aura glowed as he locked his lonely yellow eye to the pair of green. As Sonic remained frozen and petrified, the jackal extended his arms out as tons of red cubes formed around him. With a quick motion, he shot them right at the heroes. (1)

Sonic was luckily fast enough to avoid them, but the wolves didn't have the same fate. He heard Savage and Raff scream in pain as the cubes stung their skin like they were caught ablaze. Their bodies spasmed convulsively until their bodies immediately went limp.

"Savage! Raff!"

Then, the duplicates of Tails and Sonic's enemies disappeared from glitches as the abhorrent sounds rang loudly. He poked his fingers in his ears, groaning from the loud noise. When it stopped, Sonic tried to recover, yet his legs couldn't stop shaking. Infinite quickly flew to him where he managed to tackle the hedgehog and wrap his hands around his neck. Sonic choked, small specks of saliva and blood spat out as he struggled within his grasp.

"T-Tails... D-Don't! I-I know y-you're... i-in there!" he tried to get into Infinite's head. "Tails, it's your... o-older brother, S-Sonic..."

No words were spoken from the jackal as he maintained his glower. Sonic felt his grip tighten, to which he laid a hand over his.

"T-Tails... P-Please, snap out of it! I, urgh... wish I knew w-what happened. I sh-should've... s-saved you... B-But... I f-failed..."

'Infinite' listened very closely.

"I d-don't blame you f-for any of this... You were tr-transformed into a m-monster... Eggman did this to you... I don't c-care if I d-die with the rest of my... our fr-friends... Just please, c-come back to n-normal... I'm s-sorry, Tails... I'm sorry I was t-too slow to s-save you a-again..."

Sonic thought all hope was lost for him and his little bro. However, he didn't expect what occurred next. The jackal stopped strangling him and stepped away to give Sonic some needed space. Suddenly, Infinite started to shake. His hands felt numb, and his legs trembled awkwardly. Sonic, now standing up and wheezing for air, wasn't sure what was going on.

"This is my fault..." his face lowered to the ground.

Sonic blinked. His mouth was slightly open, confused at what he heard. "T-Tails?"

The jackal gazed back at the Blue Blur. "I did this. I destroyed everything. I caused the world to fall, I obliterated thousands of animals, and... I hurt you." He started shaking his head, gripping the edges of the mask tightly. "No... No... NO!"

"Tails?" Sonic was getting more concerned.

"I don't deserve your pity. I don't deserve you at all! Not after what I've done!"

"W-What?"

"There's no way in hell that I can be forgiven. Even if the others were still alive, they would never apologize to me. And you..." his index finger waved uncontrollably. "I ruined your life. I was the reason why you suffered in the Death Egg. I should've been stronger to fight back against Eggman when he caught me. I should've done something to keep you alive without making you lose your sanity." His head lowered down once more. "Maybe I should've been left alone on West Side to die as an orphan."

"Tails, don't say that!" his brotherly instincts kicked in. For some reason, he noticed that he was being pulled away from him. The city and all the lifeless animals faded away, leaving just the two of them.

"Sonic..." The hedgehog's heart skipped a beat. Even though Infinite's resonating voice spoke, he barely heard a glimpse of Tails' from within. "This is all my fault. None of this would happen if you didn't meet or save me in the first place. I'm pathetic, I'm useless, and... I'm nothing but a freak..." The possessed jackal started to dematerialize into the white expanse.

"Tails, wait!" Sonic yelled as he got further away. "Tails! TAILS!"

Soon after, Tails was gone, and his vision was blinded by a bright light.

Location: Resistance HQ

Sonic's eyes shot open as he quickly sat up from his bed. He started gasping for air. When he finally stopped panicking, he took a moment to realize where he was.

"God... What a horrible nightmare," Sonic placed a hand on his head. Looking at the clock beside him, it read 3:28 a.m. He heavily sighed, rubbing his right temple. He decided to head downstairs to get a glass of water.

But as for the nightmare, what he dreamt was something he hated to hear from his best friend. Although Infinite was his current identity, the face behind the mask was the same animal. And from memory, hearing him belittle himself only lowered the fox's self-esteem. Not only that, it hurt Sonic's heart.

Since he met Tails, Sonic spent his first few days to convince him that he was special in his own way. A few years later, he shaped him to become a sidekick, an equal hero no less. He helped boost the kid's confidence so he could prove that he can be capable of defending himself. Along the way, the twin-tailed kit also proved to be a reliable pilot, mechanic, and even a mentor – someone to be the voice of reason for Sonic and his friends whenever he thinks something bad could happen. He was never reckless, only careful and stealthy. In desperate measures, however, he was willing to accept change.

Tails had definitely proved so much in Sonic's eyes, albeit the fox always had his own doubts.

Sonic understood that no one is perfect, not even himself for obvious reasons. On the other hand, he wanted Tails to remain poised in his abilities. Sure, he had made several mistakes in the past, but Tails was just a kid. And he still is one. The only time Sonic despised his little brother was when he puts himself down. His negativity occasionally left him frustrated because he hardly gives himself any credit. He wished Tails could rebuild his self-confidence so he wouldn't act like this frequently.

Sonic knew that Tails was fine enough to handle things on his own. Of course, he didn't mind if he had to ask him for support. The thing is, he generally doesn't perceive or think about Tails' state of mind. It could be because the fox hated to express his personal feelings. Tails preferred to keep things secret to himself so that he wouldn't have his older brother worry too much. During those times, Sonic usually read his face like a book whenever he was lying about if he was okay or everything was alright. They'd talk it out until he started feeling better.

That was just part of the problem.

Whenever Tails was feeling upset, Sonic wanted to know why. And although he elaborates his reasoning, he felt like the fox's inner demons were lingering in his brain, haunting him to a terrible extent. Coming back full circle, he recalled what Tails mentioned in the nightmare.

Did he put himself in shame for not only killing innocent civilians but for not standing up for himself like he's done in the past? Did he say those things because he truly believed he was weak? Had he always thought about himself this way from the beginning, even back when he accepted him as his new family?

Then, as Sonic stopped in front of the headquarters' kitchen, a personal question popped up in his head.

"Did I not do a good job to help him? Is he still upset at himself for this?"

Sonic stopped thinking when he heard the doors open. He jumped and saw Knuckles emerge in front of him.

"Whoa! Sorry, Sonic. I didn't know you were there."

"It's not your fault, Knux. What are you doing up so late?"

"Just got some grape soda," he showed the bottle in his right hand. "I needed caffeine, and I wasn't a big fan of coffee."

"Why do you need caffeine?"

"I've been up all night to come up with a new battle plan. Just recently, Spot and Collar were contacting me about clearing up a couple more zones outside of Red Gate, but we still couldn't think of anything. And I was getting frustrated and parched, hence the drink. What about you?"

Sonic shrugged his shoulders, staring down at his feet. "I don't know. Felt like I needed a walk or something."

Knuckles frowned. "Still thinking about him, huh?"

Sighing, he told the truth. "Yeah. I kind of had a nightmare about him. But it wasn't exactly fatal on my part."

"What do you mean?"

Sonic took the next few minutes to explain what he remembered. Knuckles slouched after he took in everything he said.

"I can see why that sounds brutal."

Sonic sadly nodded. "Before I went to sleep, Savage was nice enough to quell my inner anger. But I'm still upset – both at Eggman and myself."

"It's obvious why you're pissed at him. But why at yourself?" he raised an eyebrow.

Sonic shook his head before he turned to face him. "I find it unbelievable that it took me this long to realize that Eggman kidnapped Tails to become his slave. And to think, it almost happened to him a couple of times before this war began. From what I saw in Red Gate after all the clones hurt me, I just thought he was truly gone. Now that I know that Tails is actually alive, I'm grateful for that. The problem is that I also know that he's in trouble. I have to find a way to rescue him. Not only that, I want him back to normal. I just don't know how with that Phantom Ruby in his body. In one way, it's like that thing is controlling him."

"Yeah, I can see where you're going from there."

"Urgh! I just can't fucking think straight anymore! And I just have this urge to beat the shit out of Eggman!" he curled his fists.

"To the point where you want him to learn a lesson or to murder him?"

When he opened his mouth, Sonic couldn't come up with an answer. Never had he ever thought about killing Eggman for good. Revenge was what Sonic craved, but does that automatically mean death was the optimal choice for retaliation?

Just because Dr. Eggman was an evil villain didn't mean that he was completely sadistic from the very beginning. Prior to the war, the worst he had done was abducting small animals to control his Badniks and robotizing any creatures he or his robots caught. At first, it seemed like it was just a game of cat and mouse where both of them spent countless times trying to dominate the other for many years. Sonic winded up winning every single match until Eggman exploited his most sinister plan. Assuming he had won one too many times, the doctor's mentality altered drastically where he was bound to end Sonic's life permanently. And he almost had the chance to do it. Sonic didn't take his rescue for granted. He may have felt indebted to his friends, but he could've died much earlier if Eggman didn't wait it out.

To reiterate, with the current situation stuck in Sonic's head, the determining factor was whether or not he wanted to draw blood against Eggman until he perishes, regardless if the death was slow and painful or fast and somewhat agonizing. Is it really worth killing Eggman if the price was to become like him in terms of ending a life, even if he was his lifelong enemy?

"Sonic..." Knuckles reached out to him. The hedgehog's temper simmered down before he turned to the commander. "Listen, I want Tails back as much as you do, believe me or not. I'm one of his friends, too. I may not hang out with the kid as much as you do for plenty of reasons, but that doesn't mean I want him to suffer under Eggman's control. And I'm confident everyone else feels the same way. I know for a fact that Amy has that feeling in her gut."

The Blue Blur remained silent, glancing at the echidna with a neutral look.

"You're not alone in this, Sonic. We all want Eggman to pay for all the shit he did to us and Mobius. My only concern is if we really want to kill him; it's not just you. It's a bit extreme, yes, but it could be something to consider knowing how far he had gone off the deep end. To be clear, I'm not 100% on board with homicide because what good would that do? It's not going to bring all those poor Mobians back to life. On the other hand, it means we don't have to deal with Egghead anymore."

A long groan escaped Sonic's lips. "I still can't think properly. I honestly don't know what to do."

"Let's just push all of this aside. Besides, we need to actually conquer Eggman and his empire before we can even determine his future. And maybe we can find a way to get Tails back."

"Yeah. I really hope so."

"I gotta get back to the computer room. I don't think I can afford to sleep if I don't have a tactic ready by sunrise."

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Knux. You may not be the brightest one out of the group, but you always get over those hurdles somehow."

Knuckles stared at him funnily. "I don't know if I supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult."

"Eh, let's just say it's both."

The echidna scoffed, but he couldn't help but smirk a little. In turn, the hedgehog did the same. "Come on, Sonic. Go get some rest. I'm sure you'll get through the night."

"I will soon. I just want to get some water before I head back to my room."

"No problem. Night, Sonic."

"G'night, Knuckles," he replied before he watched him walk away. Sonic sighed before he got a cup and returned to his dorm. As he set it down on his bedside table, he laid on the mattress, staring at the ceiling as it barely gleamed in red from the fires outside his window. Shaking his head, Sonic knew that he and his friends had a long way to go to turn things around. Obviously, it was not going to be a simple task to accomplish.

END OF CHAPTER

I wish I completed this earlier, but I had some BS assignments due the day I got back from spring break. And both were tedious and time-consuming to finish. Needless to say, I couldn't continue either of my stories until I got that out of the way. And I was way too unmotivated by the time I was done, so it took me longer than I expected to get this out.

Secondly, I initially planned to start Operation Big Wave in the second half of this chapter. But after drawing up the nightmare at the start, the direction of this scene made me decide to save it for the following upload. So, I apologize for adding in some filler stuff.

I'll see you guys next time in Ch. 26 where Knuckles leads the Revengeful Resistance to Metropolis as they deploy an ambush on Eggman's base. Until then, please let me know how this went, and add this story to your follows/favorites lists to catch up on future updates. This is TGN, signing off.

Post-Chapter Notes:

(1): You might recognize that I included some moments from the trailers of the game. Of course, I put my own twist into this by excluding Classic Sonic and inserting Tails, Savage, and cameos of the Resistance. Like I did in Ch. 22, I highlighted the Shadow clone's name in bold to distinguish him from the real one.

One other thing I should note that I had to ask my friend, The Sensational SpiderDom321, if I possibly copied some context from his old iteration "Sonic and the Secret Strikers" (now revived and named "Sonic Heroes: The Atom Bomb") because he wrote a revised scene similar to the trailers as well. I just didn't want you to think that I potentially plagiarized his previous work, but I wanted to make sure with his approval. Again, please check him and his stories out!