The battle intensified as Sonic and his metal doppelganger duked it out along the train tracks. Sonic and Metal blasted back and forth at each other, colliding several times in an attempt to take each other out. After one collision, Sonic skidded across the ground, gritting his teeth before charging a spin dash and bolting right at Metal. Metal quickly raised an energy shield to block the attack before sending out an energy pulse that knocked Sonic back. Metal reacted quick and rocketed forward, grabbing hold of Sonic and charging him towards the cannon wall. Thinking fast, Sonic kicked Metal in the face, causing him to flip around and collide with the canyon wall just as they reached it. Sonic took this chance to leap off towards the ground, causing Metal to pursue.
"You can't win, Sonic!" the robotic replica taunted. "I'm stronger, faster, smarter, better than you!"
"You also talk a lot more than I do," Sonic retorted.
Sonic then came to a stop and charged back at Metal, prompting Metal to jet over him, avoiding his attack.
"Dr. Robotnik allowed me to keep my life force data on you for when we fought again. I'll know every move you make before you even think of it."
"Is that so?" Sonic replied.
Metal then surged energy before charging right at Sonic. Sonic just gave a cocky smirk before stepping out of the way and grabbing Metal by the leg. He then spun around at super speed before tossing him into a rock, cratering it. Metal slowly picked himself up, staring Sonic down with malicious intent. The two rivals instantly charged at each other. A massive gust of wind shot out as the two collided, charging against each other as they attempted to gain an edge over one another.
"Knowing my moves doesn't make you dangerous," Sonic commented. "It makes you predictable. I'll know every move you make cause I know it's what I would do! Strange, isn't it?"
The two continued struggling against each other before shooting upwards, Sonic thinking fast and kicking Metal away before shooting towards him in a homing attack. Metal easily batted him away, allowing Sonic to land on the ground hard. Before the fight could resume, his watch started beeping.
"Not a good time, guys," Sonic responded.
"Yeah, well make time," Knuckles replied. "Chaos Control just dropped a castle right onto the train tracks. Tails and Keith are there, but they'll need help."
"I'm on my way!" Sonic replied before jetting off.
Metal saw Sonic taking off, instantly taking off after him.
…
Onboard the train, Tails and Keith were making sure everyone had gotten to the back of the train, the fox flying back through the train in order to make sure no one was left behind.
"Alright everyone, keep moving," Keith instructed as people rushed past him. "Don't worry, everything is going to be alright."
"Just keep moving, please," Chuck added, helping Keith out.
"That looks like everyone," Tails reported, flying back to the others. "But I can't find Cream or Elise anywhere."
"They are really good at hiding," Keith admitted before activating his comm. "Cream, can you hear me?"
"Yes. We're still hiding, but I don't wanna say where."
"That's fine, but the time for hiding is over. We need you and Elise to make your way to the back of the train.
"Okay. We're on our way."
…
In another part of the train, Cream and Elise made their way out of their hiding place, with Cream taking hold of her hand as Elise kept her head down and her hood up.
"If they're having us come out of hiding, something must have happened," the Queen mused. "Please be careful, Cream. I have a bad feeling about this."
"I will be," Cream assured her, squeezing her hand. "I promise."
The two quickly took off towards the back of the train, hoping to get back to the others soon. Just then, the roof of the car exploded, causing the two to cover their faces. As they opened their eyes, they looked up to see Eggatha lowering down in her Egg Mobile towards them.
"End of the line," she boasted.
"Stay behind me, Your Highness," Cream insisted, facing Eggatha bravely as she put herself in front of the Queen.
"Looks like it's Wabbit Season," Eggatha remarked, firing a laser from her Egg Mobile.
Elise ran for cover as Cream flew up out of the way. She darted towards Eggatha while grabbing hold of Cheese, who rolled up into a ball. She chucked the Chao forward, causing him to collide with the Egg Mobile hard, making it shake in the air. Eggatha stabilized herself, scowling.
"Alright you little brat. Time for a Time-Out!"
She continued firing at Cream, causing the young Mobian to dodge and weave between the blasts before reaching the Egg Mobile and grabbing control of the console.
"Hey! Cut it out!"
"No!" Cream declared. "I won't let you hurt my friends!"
The two wrestled for the controls, causing the Egg Mobile to fly all around the car.
"I said knock it off!" Eggatha yelled, grabbing Cream by the ear and slamming it into a wall. Cream cried out as one of her ears bent wrong and she collapsed, tears in her eyes. Elise quickly ran over to help her as Eggatha prepared to fire again. Enraged by what she did to his friend, Cheese charged at Eggatha, rolling into a ball and smashing hard into her control console, causing her to fly out of control. Angry beeps echoed off the console now that several buttons and switches were smashed, rendering it inoperable. It finally crashed through the wall, tumbling on the ground as it landed, completely wrecked. Eggatha held her head in pain as the train continued barreling forward. Eggatha slammed her fists on the console in frustration.
…
With Keith and Tails, they continued waiting for Cream and Elise to make their way back, but found no sign of them.
"Where are they?" Keith asked. "We're gonna run out of track."
"Not sure," Tails admitted, activating his comm watch. "Cream, where are you?"
"Still on the train…" Cream replied, clearly in pain. "That mean Eggatha attacked us… she made me hurt my ear."
"Oh no…" Keith dreaded.
"Keith, you go ahead and sever the car," Tails instructed. "I'm gonna go back for them."
"Alright, but hurry."
Tails nodded before spinning his tails, taking off at high speed as Keith ran up to the coupling. He formed an energy saw and used it to cut through the coupling, disconnecting the car with the rest of the train. Slowly, the car he was standing on drifted away from the engine, and he couldn't help but be worried. Chuck, Vanilla, and Dr. Birnbaum quickly got to work helping people off the train as Knuckles' group ran up.
"Hey, you guys okay?!" Kat called out as they approached.
"We are," Chuck answered, "but Cream and the Queen are still on the train. Tails went ahead to help them."
"And I just called Sonic," Knuckles added. "He should be along any-"
Just then, a blue blur shot past them.
"Second," Knuckles finished.
"Well, at least we don't have to worry anymore," Vanilla said, her voice full of relief. "When Sonic's around, everything always works out.'
"I can believe that," Blaze concurred. "Come on, Silver let's-" just as she turned to her friend, he was seemingly gone. "Silver?"
…
Silver meanwhile was streaking across the sky, hoping to reach Elise in time. While he wasn't deadset on killing Sonic, he couldn't take the chance he'd cause the end of the world by accident. One thing was for sure, when all was said and done, he would have to confront Sonic again.
…
Meanwhile, Tails flew alongside the train, doing his best to get to Cream and Elise in time. Finally, he caught sight of the hole that Eggatha's Egg Mobile made. He flew up to it, grabbing hold of it and pulling himself inside.
"Tails," Cream let out. She was holding her bent ear, Elise tying a splint using a piece of her cloak and some wooden sticks. "I can't fly. Hurts…"
"Don't worry Cream," Tails reassured, heading over to her. "I'm gonna get you out of here."
"You won't be able to carry both of us out of here," Elise told him.
"But I can't just-"
"Take Cream and go. I will be fine, and her injury must be tended to."
"She's right, pal," Sonic called out over comms. "Get Cream to safety. I'll get to Elise."
"Sonic?"
"Got the gist of the situation. If Cream's hurt, she's gonna need Vanilla for medical attention. I'm catching up with the train now, I can get to Elise."
Tails paused for a moment before turning to Cream.
"Alright. Let's go."
He quickly picked Cream up and began flying off, with Cheese following close behind.
…
Outside, Sonic was huffing it as fast as he could, actually seeing the train as it barreled toward the castle. His eyes narrowed as he picked up the pace, gritting his teeth. The article they had seen in the bad future flashed in his mind, but he quickly shook his head. He wasn't going to fail. Elise wouldn't die, and Iblis would not be released. Just then however, Metal Sonic jetted in out of nowhere, plowing right into him and slamming him against the canyon wall. Sonic grunted in pain as Metal clamped his hand around his throat.
"Can this… wait?" Sonic insisted. "I've got… real people to save…"
Metal just punched him in the face repeatedly, wanting nothing more than to finish him off. The angry red glow in his eyescreens showed the murderous intentions of the robot loud and clear. Sonic quickly grabbed hold of his hands, using all his strength to try and pry them off. It wasn't doing much good…
Until a blur of black and red rammed hard into the robot.
"Get your own rival, scrap heap," Shadow spat.
"Shadow?" Sonic let out, pulling himself back up. "Never thought I'd be happy to see you. What about Hope?"
"She's safe. She's with the others." Shadow looked around. "How can I help?"
"Keep Metal busy for me. I've got a train to catch."
Shadow nodded as Sonic ran off, leaving him to face down Metal alone. "Perhaps it's a good thing you're here. I wanna have a word with your creator."
Metal just ignored him as he rocketed forward, Shadow bracing himself for the fight ahead.
…
Sonic moved as fast as he could to catch up with the train. He leapt over a rock in the way before rolling into a ball before shooting forward, hoping to catch up in time.
"Come on…" Sonic let out, getting back on his feet and speeding forward. "Come on!"
As he kept running, blue electricity started building up around his body, this time with Sonic noticing.
"What the…" he let out, looking down at his hand. "This is… the thing Knuckles did."
Looking back up, Sonic's focus returned on the task at hand, rushing toward the train. The electricity continued surging around him, growing stronger and stronger with each step. Finally, there was a sudden surge of power, causing Sonic to blast forward at high speed. Silver, who was following from the air, was knocked back by the resulting shockwave.. Sonic meanwhile, was shocked by the sudden boost of speed, but decided to take in stride as he approached the train, which was quickly approaching the castle. Not missing a beat, Sonic ran along the train, spying the gaping hole on the side. Within an instant, he leapt through it, grabbed Elise, and sped down the train towards the back.
Up in the air, Silver quickly stabilized himself and looked towards the train just as it collided with the castle, with each car exploding in rapid succession.
"No!" Silver cried out.
Just as the last one began to blow, Sonic, still holding Elise, leapt up through one of the windows and landed on the wall of the castle, the two looking down at the ensuing explosion.
"Talk about your fast stops," Sonic remarked before turning to Elise. "You alright?"
"Yes… thanks to you," Elise replied.
Sonic smiled in response. "Come on, let's keep moving."
As Sonic leaped off the wall and ran off, Silver just floated there, surprised by what he just saw.
"It was… just like the vision…" he realized. "So, Sonic… isn't the Iblis Trigger…"
Still trying to figure out what it all meant, Silver flew off. As he did so, the demonic figure of Mephiles stepped out of the shadows, watching the events that had unfolded.
"Disappointing… no matter. I believe it is time to take matters into my own hands…"
…
Back on board the Egg-Train, Robotnik was trying to salvage the systems, but found the damage was beyond repair.
"Dammit," he let out, slamming a fist down. "When I get a hold of those pint sized freaks I'll-"
Just then, there was a loud crashing sound. Robotnik turned to see Metal had crashed through the roof, sparking from the joints a bit as Shadow dropped down. Stone instantly drew his gun and tried to shoot, but Shadow easily ported out of the way. He reappeared in the air behind Stone and kicked him in the head, causing him to collide with the train wall, knocking him out. Shadow landed on the ground before finally turning back to Robotnik.
"Wouldn't the door have been easier?" Robotnik asked, acting nonchalant. "What do you want?"
"I want to know about Mephiles," Shadow answered.
"Mephiles? Oh yes, the shadow encased in the Scepter of Darkness. So it has a name."
"You were after it," Shadow continued, pointing a finger. "You know it's connection to the Solaris Project. I want to know what it is."
"And why exactly would I tell you that?" Robotnik crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. "I don't see how offering that information benefits me in the slightest."
Shadow just narrowed his eyes.
"Tell you what," Robotnik remarked, standing up. "I'll give you a hint. What do you think the Solaris project was truly meant to accomplish? Because I can assure you, the King didn't put that much manpower into creating his own Chaos Control just for an over-glorified battery."
Shadow paused for a moment, before a thought popped into his head.
"The Solaris Project… was about harnessing the power of Solaris himself. So Mephiles…"
"Is part of that power," Robotnik confirmed. "I need the full power of Solaris for my plans to succeed."
"Meaning that without him, Solaris is incomplete…" Shadow's eyes widened. "Leaving only Iblis… a mindless destructive monster."
"And neither of us want that," Robotnik mused as he walked towards a window. "Iblis was said to be the might of Solaris, while Mephiles is said to be the will. A shadow that crosses over time itself. I personally thought it was rhetoric but after ending up on Mobius, well… let's just say I've been able to reevaluate things since then."
"Maybe, but you won't be getting him or Iblis. Not if I have anything to say about it."
Shadow turned to leave as Robotnik faced him. "Perhaps a trade, then? Bring Mephiles to me, and I can give you the truth about your past."
Shadow stopped for a second, before turning back. "I don't need you to tell me anything. I know who I am."
With that, Shadow teleported out, just as Stone picked himself up.
"Laying down on the job doesn't inspire confidence, Stone," Robotnik critiqued.
"Sorry sir," Stone replied, nursing a headache. "He surprised me."
"Well, get surprised on your own time," Robotnik replied, returning to his seat and pressing a few buttons. "I need you to get back to base and keep tabs on Shadow and his crew."
"Right. What about you?"
"I'm going to stay on mission," Robotnik replied, pressing a button and causing his Egg Mobile to rise from the ground. "I've got a Queen to kidnap."
As Robotnik flew off, a shadow suddenly washed over Metal Sonic, causing his eyes to suddenly glow purple. He then got back on his feet and flew off.
…
Back out in the canyon, Sonic ran to meet back up with the others, holding Elise close. Once they all regrouped, he gently set the Queen on her feet before looking over everyone. The second his eyes fell on Cream, and her bent, bandaged ear, he froze.
"Cream?" he whispered.
"She was hurt pretty bad," Tails told him. "Her ear was strained hard, so she won't be flying anytime soon."
"I protected the Queen," Cream said softly, trying to put on a brave face. "I did my bestest."
"You did more than that," Sonic reassured, kneeling down and patting her head. "Now," he got back up, "I'm gonna have a few words with Eggman's nutcase niece."
Before he could take off, Metal slammed right into him, causing him to collide with the canyon wall hard as he faced him down.
"You aren't going anywhere, Hedgehog." For some reason, Metal's voice was distorted, like the robot was speaking on top of someone else.
"What the…" Sonic let out, only for Metal to charge again. Sonic quickly dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack before Metal snapped around and shot out at him grabbing him by his neck and slamming him onto the ground.
"Sonic!" Tails let out.
Thinking quickly, he reached into his backpack and pulled out his laser pistol, firing at Metal. Unfortunately, Metal raised an energy shield to block the attack, before tossing Sonic right at him, knocking them both to the ground.
"Stay out of this, boy," Metal's distorted voice demanded.
While he was speaking, Knuckles struck from behind, knocking Metal to the ground. To Knuckles' surprise though, Metal rose back up, in almost a zombie like form as he lumbered towards him.
"Such foolishness," Metal boasted, raising a hand and causing purple energy to shoot out, knocking him back.
"Couldn't… do that before," Sonic realized.
"And I think we've seen that kind of energy before," Tails recalled.
The two quickly got back on their feet and rushed into battle, with the adults plus Cream and Helen quickly moving toward Elise.
"Come on, we should get you out of here," Chuck suggested.
Elise nodded as the group began to move. They didn't get too far though, as a claw shot out from nowhere and grabbed Elise, yanking her into the air. The others turned to see the Egg Mobile hovering in the air with Eggatha in a sidecar as the metal claw held Elise up to Robotnik's eye level.
"So how was your ride, your highness?" Robotnik jeered as they began flying off.
Elise's screams managed to get Sonic's attention as she was carried away.
"Elise!" Sonic cried out, trying to run after her.
Unfortunately, the possessed Metal darted towards Sonic, grabbing him and charging him with the strange purple energy, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Goodbye… hedgehog."
Just then, a large rock came sailing in, nailing Metal in the face and knocking him off of Sonic. Sonic managed to pull himself up to see Silver landing on the ground in front of him.
"Get away from him!" Silver declared, taking a fighting stance.
Slowly, Metal pulled himself up, revealing that his head had snapped out of place. He took hold of his head and snapped it back into position.
"More hedgehogs," Metal sneered, sounding more like himself. "How bothersome."
"We're a stubborn bunch," Sonic remarked before turning back to Silver. "Thanks for the save."
"Just go save her," Silver insisted.
Sonic shot a thumbs up before heading off, Silver quickly grabbing hold of Metal before he could pursue.
"Silver, over here!" Amy called out.
Silver nodded before throwing Metal towards Amy, who pulled out her hammer and smacked him hard, sending him flying. He collided with the now empty train car, buckling it hard before Metal shot out. Before he could make contact, Shadow suddenly appeared, kicking him aside. Metal stumbled in the air but quickly steadied himself as Shadow landed.
"Ready for round two?" Shadow boasted.
"More than," Metal swore, his eyes flashing his signature red.
"You…?" Silver let out, confused by Shadow's appearance. "Who are you?"
Shadow turned back to him, giving him a once-over. "Let me guess. You're Silver."
"I… yeah."
"Name's Shadow. Now, can we focus on the murderous robot?"
Silver's brow narrowed. "Oh yeah."
The two hedgehogs quickly took their fighting stances as Metal lowered himself toward the group, fully back in control and ready to finish off all of them.
…
Back with Robotnik, he and Eggatha carried on over the canyon still holding Elise within the metal claw.
"Let's hurry back to the lab," Robotnik let out. "This little excursion has put my plans far off schedule."
"You are a fool," Elise accused. "The power you seek will only bring about death and destruction."
"Wouldn't be the first time," Robotnik dismissed.d. "Now, are you going to behave, or am I going to have to get forceful with you?"
Elise looked down at the ground for a moment before turning back to Robotnik.
"No," she declared. "I will never let you exploit the Flames of Disaster for your twisted designs."
"Ha! You're caught within a metal claw hundreds of feet in the air. Do you really think you have a chance of escape?"
She met his gaze, her expression cold. "Yes."
And with that, she started kicking at the joint of the claw, hitting it as hard as she could. The metal began to bend and warp under her foot, and she just kept hitting it.
"What are you doing?!" Eggatha shouted. "If you break the claw, you'll drop to your death!"
"Then so be it."
With one more kick, the claw malfunctioned and released, sending Elise plummeting to the ground.
"No!" the two evil geniuses cried out.
Down on the ground, Sonic came running up, seeing Elise falling to the ground. Not wasting a second, he sped forward, leaping into the air and grabbing her seconds before she hit the ground. He promptly landed on the ground, skidding to a stop as he turned to Elise.
"We have got to stop meeting like this," he remarked. "People are gonna talk, and I only see you as a friend."
Elise laughed lightly, looking relieved. "As do I. A very dear friend."
Sonic quickly took off with Elise in hand, much to the chagrin of Robotnik and Eggatha.
"I hate that hedgehog," Eggatha snarled.
"Well said, my dear," Robotnik told her, resting a hand on her head. "Well said."
"Should we go after them?"
"No, they'll be too well guarded by Sonic's fan club. For now, we return to the base."
…
Back with the others, the fight with Metal Sonic raged on. Shadow quickly side stepped out of the way of one of Metals attacks before performing a spin kick on his head. He rolled on the ground before getting back up, turning toward him and firing a laser from his chest. Shadow quickly avoided it as Blaze stepped in, shooting a blast of fire at him. Metal formed a shield to block the blast before charging at her. She quickly leapt over the robot before he could attack, allowing Knuckles to rush forward and try to punch him. Metal reacted quickly however, grabbing both his fists and trying to hold him back.
"You think this can stop me?!" Metal shoved Knuckles back, throwing him into the cliff wall
Knuckles collapsed to the ground as Metal stared him down. Silver tried to use his powers to hold Metal down, but the robot began surging energy through his body, causing Silver to grunt in pain. After a minute, Metal shot out, grabbing Silver and lifting him into the air. Seeing this, Shadow took out the Chaos Emerald and prepared to act.
"Chaos Control!" he let out.
This slowed time down enough for Shadow to shoot forward, with Metal slowly turning his head toward him and raising a hand. Just as Shadow threw a fist toward him, Metal managed to block it. He then threw Silver into Shadow, knocking them both back and making Shadow drop the Chaos Emerald.
"Ah, a Chaos Emerald." The metal facsimile picked up the large gem, tossing it in his hand. "Thank you for your donation to the Robotnik Empire."
"No…" Shadow let out.
"Hey!"
Metal Sonic spun around to see Sonic running up and leaving into the air, giving him a kick to the head. Metal tumbled through the air as Sonic landed, depositing Elise on the ground before rushing forward. Metal regained his positioning before placing the Emerald in his chest cavity, charging him with power.
"You made a mistake coming back to face me," Metal boasted. "Now, I will rend you limb from limb."
"Yawn," Sonic retorted. "Don't you have any new material?"
Sonic then leapt up and clashed against Metal, Silver picking himself up off the ground. He groaned and dusted himself off before turning to Shadow. He was grunting in pain as he picked himself up. Silver then looked back to the fight between Sonic and Metal, the two rivals going at it hard, though Metal seemed to have the advantage.
"I can't… give up now… not when I'm so close…"
"Glad to know… Hedgehogs are still stubborn in your time," Shadow grunted.
Silver smiled, pulling out his own Chaos Emerald and rushing towards Sonic. Back with the fight, Metal surged with energy from the Emerald, knocking Sonic back and forth repeatedly before knocking him to the ground.
"Say goodbye…"
"Chaos Control!" Silver shouted.
This slowed down time, allowing Silver to shoot Metal with a surge of psychokinetic energy. The blast knocked him back as Silver grabbed him with his powers, slamming him into the ground. Sonic and Shadow saw this opening and looked toward each other, nodding. They instantly took off, rolling into spin dashes right at Metal as he got back up. They both collided with him at the same time, their quills tearing through the robot's exo-skeleton like saw blades. Metal dropped to the ground, an arm falling off and his metal plating torn off to expose the wiring. Looking back, he saw the three hedgehogs regrouping, getting ready for the next round. Seeing that the odds were no longer in his favor, Metal took off, taking the Emerald with him as the three looked on, with Shadow turning back to Silver.
"You… induced a Chaos Control?" he let out in astonishment.
"I guess I did." Silver looked down at the Emerald in his hand. "I'm just glad it worked."
"Nice work," Sonic commended, walking over to them. "That's two I owe you."
"Call it making up for before. I know the truth now. Who or what the Iblis Trigger is… it's not Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Don't blame you for thinking that though," Sonic replied, crossing his arms. "I've been to your future. I've seen the devastation Iblis has caused. I get why you wanna change things."
"I just don't get it though," Silver admitted. "The guy who helped us said that you were responsible for the destruction of my world… why would he lie?"
"His name is Mephiles," Shadow spoke up, walking towards him. "And he lied because he doesn't care about helping you build a better future. He's trying to destroy the past. He's part of Iblis, and he wants to be whole again."
"What?!"
"You sure about that?" Sonic asked.
"Eggman himself confirmed it," Shadow replied. "It's why he wanted the Scepter of Darkness in the first place."
"Are you saying that the Iblis that has reigned over my timeline for the past 200 years wasn't even at full power?!" Silver exclaimed, practically flopping onto the ground. "It's taken everything we have just to keep him at bay."
"Consider yourself lucky it isn't worse. Iblis' raw strength combined with Mephiles' mastery over time…"
"Could tear reality apart," Sonic dreaded. "We gotta stop both of them before that can happen."
"But how?" Silver asked, getting back up.
"To figure that out…" Shadow decided. "We need to find out how they came into power in the first place."
"The Solaris Project," Sonic realized. "Everything that's happened up till now, Iblis, Mephiles, Elise, Eggman, Solaris, it all connects back to that event. We've been trying to find out what it was and have gotten everything but a straight answer…" Sonic thought for a moment before an idea came to mind. "Maybe we just need to go to the source."
At that moment, the sound of jet noises caused the three hedgehogs to look up and see the X-Tornado landing nearby, making Sonic smirk.
"Hold on a second, boys," he told them before rushing over.
Over with the others, Chuck and Elise were informing Tails and Keith of their plans to travel to the summer cottage.
"Could be a good place to lay low," Tails conceded. "I just hope Eggman hasn't pieced together where it is from the train manifest."
"Even if he has, it's our best option right now," Chuck conceded. "Plus with Cream injured, we can't be too picky."
"Hey Tails!" Sonic shouted as he came skidding to a halt. "I need to borrow the Chaos Emerald from the X-Tornado."
"Really? Why?"
"Going on a fact finding mission. I'm taking Shadow and Silver and going back to see the Solaris Project itself."
"You're going to time travel again? Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"I'm not gonna change anything. But if we find out how Iblis and Mephiles came to be, we might have a way to stop them and Eggman."
"It's risky…" Chuck admitted, turning to Elise. "What do you think?"
Elise paused, before turning back to Sonic. "I trust Sonic's judgment. If he feels this is the best course of action, then I say we let him take it."
Tails nodded, flying over to the X-Tornado and removing the cyan Emerald.
"Good luck Sonic," Tails told him, tossing him the Emerald.
"Thanks buddy," Sonic replied, catching it. "And don't worry. I'll be back before you knew I even left. Now get going before Eggman decides to do something stupid," he started to take off. "And make sure Cream gets taken care of!"
"You got it!"
Sonic then ran back over to Shadow and Silver, who were waiting for his return.
"You two ready?" Sonic asked.
"More than," Silver replied.
"Let's do this," Shadow concurred.
Silver handed his Emerald to Shadow, since he seemed to have experience with time travel, and he and Sonic lined up.
"Focus on the old Soleanna castle, thirteen years in the past," Shadow instructed.
Sonic nodded as the two began thinking of the date, before finally holding up their Emeralds.
"Chaos Control!" they both let out.
Their combined energies caused a portal to open up above them. All three hedgehogs looked at each other before turning back to the portal, dead set on their mission. Sonic leapt through first, followed by Shadow and Silver just before the portal closed behind them.