End of the World

Amic flew up and clutched Metal's throat.

"Liar! Tell me you're lying!"

"It's no lie, hedgehog. It's true. All true!"

"You fool! You're gonna kill yourself!"

"I don't care, as long as you're dead." Amic flew back to Mitsuko and Shadow. Mitsuko reverted back to his original form, exhausted.

"We have to get out of here you guys."

"I wouldn't leave if I were you!" Amic looked at Metal. "If you leave now, then you'd be leaving me all alone. And you don't want me flying around, destroying other planets, do you?"

Amic looked down. "He's right. I can't go. Not yet. I have to destroy him first, and quick."

"What are we going to do, daddy?"

"I'll tell you what we're going to do." Everyone looked at Shadow, ready to hear him in.

"My original plan was to go to the Little Planet with Chaos Control after Amic destroyed Metal. But since that hasn't happened, we'll just have to use it at the last minute, so Metal can be destroyed by the Earth's blast."

"I don't know where Little Planet is, though."

"Yeah, me neither Shadow. How are we going to get there if we don't know where it is?"

"Don't worry about that, Mitsuko. I do. We'll all get together, and I'll teleport us there."

"Wait! What about mommy?"

"Oh no! I forgot about Sylvia!"

"It's ok, you guys. Mitsuko, I want you to fly back to where we left her and pick her up. Bring her back here, and then we'll all leave. But you have to fly fast, ok?"

"You got it!"

Just to make myself helpful, I'll tell you when Mitsuko has made it to Sylvia.

"Thanks, Knuckles. Now go! Get your mom as fast as you can!"

"Yes sir!" Mitsuko started to fly off.

"Mitsuko!" Amic called him back. Mitsuko landed and stood in front of him.

"I'm proud of you, my son. Tell your mom, that I love her very much."

"Don't worry, dad. You can tell her that yourself when we come back." A tear rolled down Amic's cheek.

"Yeah, you're right. Now go!" Mitsuko flew off.

"What's wrong, Amic?"

"We've moved very far off from where we started this fight. And you put Sylvia further than that."

"Yeah? So?"

"Mitsuko can't control his super form yet. And he doesn't know Chaos Control. At the rate he's going, he'll never make it to Sylvia and back in time."

"You mean…"

"Stop stalling, hedgehog! Don't you want to destroy me?"

"Look, Shadow. I won't be able to make it to Little Planet with you all. You have to go without me."

"Hold on, now. Mitsuko just might surprise us. Give him at LEAST 4 minutes. I'm sure he can pull this through."

"…Heh. You sound more like a father than I do right now. What am I kidding, Mitsuko CAN do this."

"If you won't fight me, I'll fight you!"

Metal flew for Amic. They jumped into the sky and started sparring. Metal flew back and threw a few blasts. Amic reflected them all as Metal dodged them. They stopped.

"How does it feel, Amic? How does it feel when you're about to lose everything in less than 4 minutes?"

"Shut UP, Metal!"

Amic flew at Metal for a punch, but Metal dodged it. Amic went for a left hook, but Metal ducked under it and punched him in the gut. Amic was a bit surprised.

"What's wrong, hedgehog? You're beginning to slip. You're not nervous, are you?"

Amic tried to kick him, but Metal disappeared and reappeared above him. He started firing a lot of blasts at Amic's back. He fell to the ground as the blasts pounded him in his back. Metal landed and put his foot on Amic's head.

"You fail! You failed to save Espio!" He stomped on his head with every sentence. "You failed to save Vector! You failed to save your mother! And now, you'll fail to save the world."

"NOOO!"

Amic used his energy to push Metal back. Metal gave a smile.

"We have 2 minutes left and all you can do is push me? How pathetic!"

"2 minutes?" Amic looked at Shadow.

"Shadow, go now! Get Mitsuko and Silvia and leave! Hurry!" Shadow looked at him, puzzled.

"I'll be ok, Shadow. It's something I have to do." Shadow nodded at him.

"Thanks, Amic."

"Thanks for what? The world is about to blow up. I'm not doing anything helpful."

"No. Thank you, for giving us hope. For avenging everyone's deaths." He gave a small tear. "And I'm sure Sonic thanks you too. He must be really proud of you living his legacy."

Amic gave a smile and a tear as Shadow flew off.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Metal flew for Shadow, but then Amic appeared in front of him.

"And neither are you." They both landed.

Amic, Mitsuko made it! He's getting Silvia now! Now what do we do?

"You all go. I stay."

What! You can't do that! We need you!

"Yeah, but what you DON'T need is Metal, and if you don't want him, I have to stay." Knuckles was quiet.

I'm staying too.

"Don't. You don't have to die. You can continue living with the others."

No, I must. I made a promise to stop Metal once and for all. And I'll stay here until it's done. Besides, I'm already dead physically. Now, go and show Metal what you're made of.

"Hey, Metal! How much time do we have left?"

"Only one minute left. Does the suspense kill you?"

"No, but I will."

"What?" Amic powered up to full power.

Mitsuko was carrying Silvia by her arms. The environment around them exploded as lava flew into the sky. They were overseas now.

"We have to go faster, son! Can't you do something?"

"I'm trying as best as I can, but I'm too tired."

"Don't worry then. Just try as best as possible."

Mitsuko! Shadow's heading for you! Try to fly as fast as possible; the planet is about to explode in 30 seconds!

"Oh no! We REALLY have to hurry now!" Mitsuko flew even faster.

Amic started talking in Knuckles voice again. "Metal, we're going to pulverize you, and the earth will crush you completely." Metal stepped back a bit, surprised to see the look in Amic's eyes.

"I do this for you, mother, Espio, Vector. And you, father," Amic thought to himself. He then realized the suffering Eggman went through being enslaved by his own creation.

"And yes, even for you, Eggman."

Amic's energy formed into a sphere around him. Particles from all living things around him, the plants, trees, grass, floated towards him.

"You…you fool. You…wouldn't…"

"See you on the other side, Metal."

With all of the courage in him, Amic released his power, destroying the entire area, including Metal. As Metal was being dissolved by the blast, Amic yelled out loud as the energy engulfed him too.

Mitsuko was still flying over the water when he saw Shadow heading towards them. He flew even faster, and so did Shadow. Everything around them exploded, lava spewing everywhere. Shadow stretched his arm out towards them. Mitsuko carefully put one arm out, holding Silvia with the other one as much as possible.

"Hurry!" Mitsuko yelled out.

As soon as they were a few feet away from each other, Shadow started to call out the command.

"Chaos…"

Suddenly, a huge wave flew into the sky, hitting Mitsuko. His hand slipped, and as soon as his mother's arm fell out of it, Shadow said the last word.

"Control!"

Shadow and Mitsuko's hand touched and a huge light appeared, swallowing Shadow and Mitsuko whole. Silvia screamed as she fell into the water.

Mitsuko hit the ground as he fell out of the light that saved him from death. He rubbed his head as he stood up, looking around at his surroundings. There were valleys and mountains with grass on them. But he didn't see anyone. He looked around even quicker, hoping to see someone. He started swelling tears.

"Shadow!" No one answered.

"Daddy!" Still no answer. Then he remembered his mother slipping out of his hands. He looked up into the sky and saw a small light. It got bigger and bigger, and when it shined its brightest, it disappeared.

"Momma!" He fell on his knees and started to cry. "NOOOO!" He got back up and stumbled in despair. He walked to the edge of the cliff he was on. At the bottom of the valley was a very huge rusted chain. As tears swelled in his eyes, a hand fell on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Shadow behind him. He grew a smile on his face as Shadow smiled back. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Time Stone.

"Come on, Mitsuko. We have work to do."

To be continued…