Amy's chest heaved, her hammer raised behind her. Her eyes didn't leave Martin even as Tails scrambled out from beneath his corpse, tears flooding his eyes as he began to wail. Sonic hurried over to him, though he was growing dizzy, the entire back of his shirt dyed red from his wounds. Tails buried his face in Sonic's chest and hugged him tight, and Sonic did his best to hold him comfortingly, though he could feel him shaking against him as he cried.

He looked up at Amy, who had finally looked away from Martin, her eyes tearing up as she looked at Tails. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice breaking. "I'm so sorry."

A little ways away, Sonic heard Sonia hiss in pain and looked to see Shadow trying to heal her. "Sonia, are you alright?" he asked.

"She'll be fine, but I don't have time to heal the eye completely," Shadow said. "I'm… I'm sorry."

Sonia choked on a sob as the cut across her eye slowly knit itself back together, and when she opened her eye-lid, the eye beneath was cloudy. "I can't… I can't see out of it," she said.

Sonic's heart lurched in his chest, but before he could say anything, someone ran down the hall towards them. "No!" they cried behind him, and Sonic whipped his head around to see Infinite cradling Martin's lifeless form in his arms. His eyes settled on him, burning with seething hatred. "What have you done?!" the jackal screamed.

Sonic's blood froze as Infinite's screams rose in volume, darkness radiating from him like tendrils of smoke. Then, quick as lightning, he struck Sonic with the dark tendrils, slamming him and Tails into the wall. Sonic tried to shield Tails from the impact best he could, crying out as his injured back slammed hard into the wall, his head bouncing off of it. Tails's voice faded as the darkness swallowed him.

He woke in a dark space, his head pounding. The knife wound on his back bled slower, but still left him dizzy. He would die here, he realized, unless he could get out. But where was he? Sonic pushed himself to his feet, groaning with the effort, and tried to walk around. But no matter what direction he went in, the darkness went on forever, hours seeming to pass before the silence was finally broken.

Footsteps echoed in the emptiness, heeled boots scuffing against invisible stone. Sonic's quills rose and crossed as he turned to face the direction from which the sound came. "Sonic…" said Shadow's voice, barely a croak as he finally appeared. Panic flashed in Sonic's chest as blood ran down Shadow's face, chest and legs, injuries covering his body. Shadow limped towards him, his right leg dragging behind and twisted at an angle that made Sonic's stomach lurch. "I couldn't stop him," he said, falling into Sonic's arms.

"What—Shads, what happened?!" Sonic asked, gently lowering him to the ground. "Can't—can't you heal some of this? Why—?"

Too many…" Shadow said. "He was too fast for me, he…" Shadow choked, blood spraying across Sonic's chest as it was expelled from his lungs.

Sonic felt like he was going to be sick, panic roiling in his gut as tears streamed down his cheeks. "Come on, you have to try!" he pleaded. "Please, Shadow!"

"Sonic, I—"

"Please!" Sonic's voice broke. "Please, don't die! We're supposed to get your ship back, remember? And-and Amy! Amy needs you! A-a-and Tails and Tangle and Whisper! We need you!"

Shadow shut his eyes tight, tears escaping and trickling down his cheeks. "Rose is already gone," he whispered.

Sonic couldn't breathe, as if the words had punched him in the gut. "What?" he whispered, dreading Shadow's answer.

"He went after them. He… impaled her and Sonia both. And Tails… He hit him in the head. It was… quick. They're gone…" He coughed again, and looked up at Sonic, crimson eyes drifting closed. "I love…"

He slumped in Sonic's arms, his chest stilling, his last words echoing unfinished.

It was as if Sonic's heart had died with him.

Sonic couldn't even move, couldn't make a sound as he held Shadow in his arms. Tears streamed down his cheeks. His sister, Tails, his partners, and who knew who else now… had died because of him. If he'd let Sally come with him all those weeks ago, this never would have happened. Hell, if Mimic had drowned him like he was supposed to, at least Sonia would have a chance of still being alive. At least Amy and Shadow would be alive, still have their ship, still… be going in the wrong direction.

Shadow and Amy never would have known about Kintobor's tyranny, never would have gotten to choose who to fight for. And Sonic would never have seen either of his siblings ever again. He may not see Sonia again, but Manic…

He set Shadow down gently, his heart heavy, and pressed a soft kiss to his too-cold forehead before forcing himself to his feet. He forced himself to walk, leaving Shadow's corpse behind. He had no idea where he was going. But if there was a chance of saving at least one of his siblings, he didn't have time to grieve.

Sonic walked for hours in one direction, his vision blurring, his head spinning, his knees threatening to buckle with every step. Thoughts of giving up, just curling up and closing his eyes, flickered like a candle flame in his mind. Warm, comfortable, safe.

He called the image of his brother guarding the front gates, unresponsive and not him; the image of Manic lying dead and bleeding just like Shadow, just like Sonia; the image of him smiling, carefree as he'd always been.

Sonic grit his teeth and forced himself to keep moving, holding onto those images.

"You're stubborn," croaked a voice, and Sonic whipped his head up to find Infinite standing just inches in front of him, eyes rimmed with red. The red stone in his coat pocket pulsed, emanating a low hum. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"What do you want?" Sonic growled, rage boiling in his blood, his entire face burning with it. "You've taken them all from me! What can you do now?!"

Infinite laughed, a broken humorless sound. "Oh, believe me, hedgehog," he said. "I can do so much worse." He reached forward and grabbed Sonic's chin, pulling him so close Sonic couldn't see anything but his eyes. "I have nothing left to lose," he whispered.

"Oh yeah?" Sonic croaked. "Well I have no idea what you saw in that guy. But hey, you got your vengeance, right? Amy killed him, and you killed her. But me? I haven't gotten mine yet!"

He swung clumsily at Infinite, who dodged swiftly out of the way, vanishing back into the darkness. Infinite's broken laughter echoed around him. "What a pathetic waste," he said.

Something slammed into Sonic's back and he fell to the floor, crying out in pain. A hand grabbed his quills and forced him up. He could feel Infinite's breath in his ear as he whispered, "Say hello to Martin for me."

"Tell him yourself!" Sonic growled, curling up in a ball and wrenching Infinite's arm out of its socket. Infinite howled in pain, clutching his arm as Sonic slammed into his chest. Something shattered, and Infinite's screams intensified as a white light swallowed the both of them. Sonic shut his eyes tight against the blinding glare.

When he opened them, he was back in the hall of the palace. There was a cacophony of noise around him, the complete opposite of the silence before. Red shards lay around his feet, and Infinite lay whimpering next to Martin's corpse.

"Come on, guys! Any time now!" Sonia shouted.

Sonic whipped his head around to look at his sister aiming her pistol at a wooden puppet that was rushing towards her. But she was alive.

He curled and rolled through the puppets, destroying all of them in the space of a second. Then he barreled into Sonia, tackling her in a hug. "Geez, Nic!" Sonia said. "I'm fine. What's gotten into—"

"It wasn't real," Sonic said, his voice breaking. "Thank Gaia, it wasn't real!"

"What wasn't real?" Sonia asked.

Sonic shook his head and pulled away. "Where are Amy and Shads? And Tails?" he asked quickly.

"Shadow and Amy are still passed out," Sonia said, pointing behind her. "Miles is over there with him. Infinite was so focused on you three that he ignored us."

Sonic turned to look and there they lay in the middle of the hallway, Tails kneeling down next to them. Relief flooded his chest as he scrambled towards them, wincing at the pain of the wounds on his back as he knelt down. Tears clouded his vision and he blinked them away, not caring that they fell as he reached out to touch Amy's shoulder, shaking it gently until her eyes fluttered open.

He bit back a sob as she blinked up at him, tears welling in her eyes. Amy reached up and clutched Sonic's shoulders, burying her face in his chest. "You're okay," she said, as much relief in her voice as Sonic felt at that moment.

Tails was shaking Shadow awake, though that proved to be a mistake when he immediately grabbed him by the throat, growling as he rolled over on top of the fox, pinning him underneath him.

"Shadow!" Sonic cried, and Shadow froze, slowly turning his head to look at him. Something melted in his gaze, and he looked down at Tails, his shoulders slumping as he released him with a quiet apology.

Amy reached a hand out to Shadow, beckoning him over and biting her quivering lower lip. He came over and hugged her and Sonic tight, his breath hitching as he fought back tears.

A moment later, Shadow carefully pulled away, standing and moving over to where Infinite lay on the ground, clutching the arm Sonic had dislocated in the dream. Sonic wondered briefly how he'd managed to do that, but the thought was gone as Shadow stood over the cowering jackal, who whimpered as he drew nearer. "You disgust me," Shadow spat, barely contained fury rumbling in his voice.

Infinite said nothing, tears streaming down his face, and Shadow continued. "I shouldn't even bother talking to you. You're not worth any of our time. But I want you to know that if I ever see you again, I will show no mercy and you will be dead where you stand. And if you dare do anything to my crew or my partners…" He leaned down, his voice so low Sonic could barely hear him. "I'll make you wish you were never fucking born."

Infinite nodded and curled in on himself, sobbing. Shadow turned back to face Sonic and the others. "Come on," he said. "We're close."

"What about him?" asked Sonia, jerking a thumb at Infinite.

Shadow scoffed. "Don't bother. He's not a threat anymore."

She nodded, then followed Shadow as Tails came over, helping Sonic and Amy onto their feet. Sonic winced, remembering the wounds on his back, and Amy gestured for him to hold still while she looked at them, pulling the sticky wet fabric of his shirt away. She hummed a note, and though she had no spell ingredients, Sonic shivered as he felt the pain melt away.

The note faded, and Amy said, "You'll still need stitches, but the bleeding's stopped, and it shouldn't hurt again for a while." She came back in front of him, her expression grim as she summoned her hammer and followed Shadow.

Sonic looked down at Tails, who looked exhausted, his eyes red and puffy. "You alright?" Sonic asked softly.

Tails took a deep breath. "No," he said, his voice fragile. "He's…" He trailed off, his jaw clenched to keep his lip from quivering.

Sonic pulled him into a hug and stroked his back gently. "We gotta keep moving, bud," he whispered. "We can't stay here."

Tails nodded and pulled away, wiping his eyes. He went over and grabbed Tikal, hoisting her into the air as Sonic took off after the other three, staying close behind.

Finally, they came to the throne room, and for the first time Sonic laid eyes on the man who had imprisoned his siblings. The man who had ordered his parents and hundreds of others killed.

He was middle-aged, perhaps in his mid-to-late forties. He'd lost all his hair ages ago, it seemed, and his crown lay perfectly atop his brow, though Sonic's head ached just looking at the thing. Kintobor wore a pair of small dark spectacles that pinched the bridge of his beak-like nose, and he evidently ate so well that he practically bulged out of the throne he sat upon.

The king sighed as they approached. "Damn it," he growled. "Infinite was supposed to take care of all of you." But then he smiled. "No matter. He'd overstayed his welcome anyway."

Disgust curled Sonic's lip, and he rushed forward. But Shadow reached the king first, grabbing him by the lapels of his robes. "You slimy little liar!" Shadow spat, and for a moment Kintobor looked terrified. "You will pay for what you've done to this kingdom!"

Kintobor smiled, fear replacing itself with smug confidence. "Why hello, Shadow," he said. "What happened to you being out in the middle of the sea, servicing our kingdom?"

"I will not serve a tyrant," Shadow snarled, and Sonic watched Kintobor's eyes widen as he tightened his grip. "Nor will I serve the man who ordered the murder of my dearest friend. I will give you a choice—you can abdicate the throne peacefully, or I can kill you right where you sit."

Kintobor's mouth twisted into a nasty grin, and Sonic's quills rose. "I'll take neither, thank you," the king said, and he snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, soldiers appeared in the room, the space flooded in less than a second with bodies standing in neat rows, human and mobian alike. Sonic's breath caught when he recognized Manic a couple rows behind the front, his eyes still glassy as they stared ahead.

Shadow's jaw dropped at the sudden army. "How—"

"I've learned some tricks since you've been at sea," Kintobor said. "Anyone can be given great power if they pay the right price. You of all people should know that, Shadow."

At that moment, Sonic finally spoke up. "Let my brother go, Eggman!"

Kintobor's smirk faded, replaced in an instant with an irate glare as he turned to look at Sonic. "You dare insult your king?" he demanded. But then his eyes widened, and his smile returned. "Ah," he said. "So you're that little blue rat that Tikal was talking about. I was hoping we'd never meet, but…"

He snapped his fingers again and the whole room erupted in motion, everyone converging on Sonic, who panicked and backed away, hitting a wall. Even with Amy's healing, he wasn't sure how he would fare against a crowd of hundreds.

Sonic's heart sank as Manic pushed his way to the front, drawing the sword at his belt. He dodged every blow he could from the army, but it wasn't enough. They were on top of him in seconds, more cuts joining the ones on his back, which had already been reopened. He could just make out Tails flying out of the room, several people following him, and tried to push through the crowd to reach him to no avail.

He tried to curl and ram into the soldiers, but he was so tired, so slow, that it did nothing. Tears stung his cheeks as they trickled from his eyes. Manic stood before him, raising his sword above his head. Sonic shut his eyes tight, bracing for the final blow.

A feral cry echoed from the center of the room, and suddenly soldiers were knocked off their feet, red energy exploding through the room. Manic stumbled, and in that moment he cried out as a bullet lodged itself in his sword arm, forcing him to drop the weapon. He fell to the floor, his face twisted in agony.

A hand grasped Sonic's, and Sonia pulled him to his feet, wincing at the sight of his injuries. "We gotta get you to Amy," she said, pulling him along, keeping to the edges of the room. Every step burned as if his entire body was on fire.

"Manic—" Sonic started.

"I know," Sonia said, her voice sharp. "I'm gonna put a bullet in Kintobor's brain myself. But I'm not losing either of my brothers again." She squeezed his hand painfully as they approached Amy, who was surrounded by fallen soldiers, her hammer spinning so fast she almost looked like a top.

If Sonic hadn't been in so much pain, he would have marveled at her warrior grace.

"Amy!" Sonia called. "Sonic's in pretty bad shape! I'll hold them off while you take care of him!"

"I can't!" Amy shouted, narrowly dodging an enemy blade before slamming her mallet into their head. "There's too many of them!" Her face fell when she saw Sonic. "Oh, Gaia," she said.

In that moment of distraction, a bullet pierced through her chest, and her eyes bulged as she fell to the ground.

Sonic couldn't for the life of him remember what happened after that. All he remembered was red, though whether it was from his wounds or the enemies' or even Shadow's magic, he couldn't be sure. All he remembered was rage.

The next thing Sonic knew, bodies lay around him, and his hands were around Kintobor's throat. He growled at the tyrant, who gasped as he put pressure against his windpipe. "Enough! Take off the damn spell!" Sonic demanded. "Now!"

"How… dare you…" Kintobor choked. "You don't… know who you're… dealing with…"

Sonic slammed him against the back of the throne, knocking his crown off his head and onto the stone floor. "Bullshit!" he spat. "End it now, or I'll end you!"

"My… crown…!"

Sonic glanced at the crown, he noticed a jewel in the center with a pulsing glow. "Shadow!" he called. "The crown!"

He watched as Shadow scanned the room, which had suddenly gone still, then narrowed his eyes at the crown on the floor. He raised his arm, a spear of red forming in his palm, then hurled it at the object. With a sound like a huge pane of glass shattering, the jewels and the crown were reduced to shards and scraps of gold.

Suddenly, movement resumed, but it was tired, confused movement. Murmurs echoed in the room, voices asking what they were doing here, where they were, how did they get these injuries. He saw Tails hovering above the crowd, panting as he continued to carry Tikal, and he watched him drop a few feet as he slumped with relief.

Sonic saw Manic stumbling through the crowd, clutching his shoulder, his brown eyes finally lit up from the inside. Their eyes met across the room, and Sonic loosened his grip on Kintobor's throat.

Kintobor shoved Sonic off of him and scrambled out of the throne, running through the castle like a hunted animal. Some of the less wounded people chased after him, but Sonic no longer cared. His eyes met Manic's across the room, and he grinned, rushing forward to meet him in a painful bear hug.