"Hold on, what's going on?" Selim asked; the whole thing was somewhat confusing. "How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you're not showing me some made up story to make me believe all this happened? It seems unfathomable… who was that fox? I've never heard of an uncle who was a wizard… I don't remember any of this or why I need to know what Sonic saw…"

There was a pause, before a sigh"I guess it is kind of hard to believe that I am trying to help you… but think of it this… I can't manipulate and tamper with someone's memories like the one who did this to you… however I have grown to understand the Void's properties so that I can show you what truly happened."

"So then? You must be Nagus…?"

"Hmm… I guess since you have seen who I am it would be ok to show you now." The dark form steps forward, and as Selim gasps, it was the same fox he had seen in the visions of his past, the darked brown fur and the deep blue eyes. It was like staring in a strange mirror. Of course, unlike himself, the fox hadn't seemed to have aged a single day, as if even after he had matured, the brown fox had been frozen in time.

"You? Who are you?" The older fox asked.

"I didn't have a chance to be given a name, but I was the one who was going to be you, had things not changed…"he sighed."You see theVoid is a garbage collector. Paths that had been avoided, removed, or effected by flaws in time get gathered here… however they are not given names… and their forms become reduced to their central components, their 'spirit' if you will. These forms are simplistic creatures called Chao."

"Chao?" Selim sounded confused, as if he'd never heard that term before.

"You've forgotten them as well? Don't worry about it for now. You see the important thing is that some of the 'lost' elements that are Chao are so strong in spirit that they become able to evolve in form, like myself."

Selim was intelligent, even though he had no idea what a Chao was, he knew that he had to have 'replaced' the form before him somehow… that he wasn't supposed to have two tails and should have looked like the one before him… but something must have happened to change it. "So… how did you become… 'lost'?"

"That's simple, before you were born… your mother was exposed to Chaos Emerald Energy, actually while she was expecting you… what happened was that since early development is easily manipulative, the energy altered the embryo not only physically but in spirit too, deprecating myself, and you replacing me."

The older fox suddenly felt guilty, like he had stolen someone else's life… "Sorry…"

"No need to be, it happens all the time… you will learn that Chao are numerous, as are the sudden paths life takes, but now that you see that I mean you no harm… let us continue to regain your memory."

VVVVVVVV

The elders continued to watch the portal, it had been a good while since they had sent the young Prower in to save his friend and doubt now started to rise in their minds. Of course, when there was any doubt the green elder always voiced his concerns. "It's been a long time… maybe we should-"

"Shut it Gren," the blue elder retorted. "You said that five minutes ago."

There was a sudden flux in the portal and instantly the four birds fell silent and stared at the gate for anything to emerge. "Come on kid…" the red one said, pleading that he would be the one to emerge and not the evil wizard.

Fluctuating one more time the gate spewed a blue and orange blur into the room. The two forms stopped to reveal that it was the fox and his friend. Seeing the two safe and sound the gate quickly shut and the elders let out a relieved sigh, all the evil was still trapped in the portal, they couldn't believe it, but now it seemed that Mobius could finally have the peace it so badly needed for the past decade.

The hedgehog and fox both started to free the creatures from their glass cages. Tails looked to his friend; they hadn't said anything to one another after Sonic snapped at Snively. The vulpine knew the human deserved what he got, but he never knew that his idle could be so vicious.

"Feels great to be out of that cramped glass case!" Grensfeld, the green elder said with a sigh of relief.

"If you weren't so chubby you would have had a lot more room." The red one said with a laugh.

The green elder retorted, "Wanna make something of it twig boy?"

The human sat in the silent nothingness that surrounded him; he couldn't believe how he was fooled. Now he was stuck in this dimension, with a lunatic wizard, he knew he swore that he'd make those creatures pay, but he couldn't… he was stuck here.

There had to be a way out… he was smart… he could figure it out, but how? Nagus had far more power, but he was still trapped here, no… he was getting his hopes up. He swore, it was all he could do, he thought he had the whole world in the palm of his hand, now he had lost it all.

He looked to the wizard, and as he looked to the body he thought of what would happen when the malevolent magician awoke. Anything that came to the human's mind wasn't pleasant, he'd either toy with him just for entertainment or he'd just do away with him. Snively frowned and shivered at the thought, he wouldn't let that happen, he'd kill Nagus before the evil wizard had a chance to do anything with him.

The pointy nosed human looked around for anything to run through the downed nemesis. On the ground he saw what appeared to be light blue crystals growing, Snively nodded, those would do just nicely. He moved over to the shining growth and took in how the tips were all pointy, he saw a large one in the center and nodded, that one would do quite nicely. The human wrapped his hand around the crystal that would serve as his dagger; it was cold to the touch.

After a few good tugs it came loose causing Snively to fall backward, he looked at the shiny object that would serve as his dagger. After looking at his reflection and taking a deep breath he stood up and turned around looking upon the still body of the wizard he nodded. If he couldn't rule the world of Mobius, he'd just have to conquer the void, and if he was going to do so, he had to do so now. The human took a deep breath and raised the pointed crystal; he then brought the sharp object plummeting down.

His hand stopped in mid plunge though, he tried to continue, but his hand felt as if it were being held back by an outside force, an instant suspicion hit him and he felt himself become ice cold. The cloaked figure that was on the floor suddenly shifted and Snively realized that his suspicion was unfortunately correct.

"You fool… catch me while I'm down will you?" the wizard says hoarsely as the human find his hands began to move of their own accord. He found both of his hands around the crystal dagger, and the blade turned so that he looked like he was about to thrust into himself. "I should have you finish yourself right here and now."

Of course the little human did what he did best in situations like this, he groveled and plead with the wizard. "No…" he squeaked. "I'll do anything you want…" He thought quickly, something the magician needed. "I'll get the ingredients you need, to e-escape the void."

The wizard suddenly released the human from his grip, and he grinned as Snively gasped to catch his breath. "Hmm… I'm listening…"

Sonic, Tails, and the four elders had made it down the mountain rather quickly with the help of the birds, they knew a shortcut back to their village. When they arrived they got a heroes welcome, the other Flickies were very happy to be reunited with the elders. Of course, there was also sadness with this victory; some of the birds were still missing from the scuffle in the village from a few days back.

The hedgehog could still not believe that it was truly all over, with Snively trapped in the Void there wouldn't be anyone left to fight the war, all the machines would remain still and let them walk right in. Sally was going to flip with joy at this news, and he also was relieved that he and his best bud could finally be friends without worrying about the stuff such as destruction and death. Selim had definitely changed things, and it all seemed for the better, Sonic wished he were still here so he could give him a big hug, or something to thank him.

He smiled as he looked to Tails, "So bud, how does it feel to have helped me finally bring peace to Mobius."

The fox smiles and scratches the back of his head. "It was alright, kinda scary at times, but I'm glad we made it through ok."

There was a rustle in the bushes and the friends stopped talking as they both turned their heads to it. It was deadly silent for awhile and they both kept their eye on the brush, ready for anything to come out of the bush. They let out a sigh of relief as a red echidna made its way out of the wood work. "So what happened down here?" Knuckles asked in confusion.

"It was as you told us Knux, Robotnik was up to something, or should I say his little shrimp of a nephew. I'm pretty sure that we'll be hearin' from neither for a great while." The blue hedgehog said with a smile.

"You mean, they're dead?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Well, if they aren't they probably wish they were, anyways what took you so long to get down here? We could have used a hand."

"I had to park the island you dolt, and I had to make sure the Master Emerald was safe, give me a break!" He shook his head and sighed.

The hedgehog grinned slyly and shrugged, laughing a bit as he said. "Awell, you probably wouldn't have been a good help anyway. You're always getting in my way."

He got even more of a kick as Knuckles got riled up and Tails sighed, "Come on Sonic don't start…"

Tails, Sonic and Knuckles decided to spend the night on Flickie Island since it was too late to really go anywhere. The fox and hedgehog were exhausted from the events of that day as well. It wasn't easy to escape the Void, especially with a lunatic wizard on your tail, or tails.

The hedgehog leaned up against a tree, his little bud Tails laid right beside him. The fox's head rested on the hero's ankle as the little guy slept. Knuckles of course was leaning against the other side of the tree, he had hardly said two words since Sonic teased him. The rodent shook his head and sighed, the guardian really had to lighten up.

As the hero looked around the forest he found he couldn't sleep. So much had happened these past few days, none of it seemed real to him. There was no way, after all these years of fighting, it was finally over. After having false promise many times taken away from him something didn't seem quite right. He knew, somehow, it wasn't over. He looked down to see the fox snoring softly at his feet.

Maybe it was the thing the elders told him, about Miles being some sort of 'chosen one'. He chuckled to himself, he would have never thought it, but he was not surprised. Maybe, it was because of the way that the kit was the only one who could dream of keeping up with him. Maybe it was because of his two tails and his ability to fly. Maybe it was his mechanical prowess, almost ranking up there with the Dr. Buttnik himself. Truly though, it didn't matter what it was now, peace was here and Tails wouldn't have to risk himself.

There was a wind that blew past the sleeping three, it gave Sonic a chill. Tails wasn't disturbed by the shiver; however the fox did turn, facing the other way. It was quiet for awhile after that, and the hedgehog thought he was about to join his friend in the dream world when a sudden sound startled him, it sounded like a far off stomp that caused the ground to shake lightly.

The hedgehog looked around, trying not to alarm the sleeping kit that was using his leg as a pillow. Maybe it was his imagination? The same sound rang out in the distance once again, but this time it was closer then before. He heard the red echidna stir, but he didn't know if he was awake or not.

"What is that sound?" Knuckles asked quietly, confirming the hedgehog's suspicions that he was awake. Sonic shook his head. "I don't know."

CLANK! Came the sound again and again getting closer each time, the young fox finally woke up and sat up allowing Sonic to get up and join Knuckles in scouting around for any suspicious movement. "What's going on?" Tails asked rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

A bright light shined through the underbrush and it raised up and down, every time it came down the sound happened. The hedgehog and echidna were on guard in case whatever the strange light was attached to was hostile. The young fox flew up a bit to see if he couldn't spot what it was first.

What they all soon saw was a robot, it was relatively large in size and it was shaped like a human, two arms and two legs. It was a suit though, not a robot as Tails looked into the cockpit of the machine he could hardly believe his eyes. The long nose and short stature made him know that without a doubt the pilot was, without a doubt, Snively.

Sonic almost went white, the machine stood about three times their height, and the human looked far from happy. He had left him to rot in the void, and obviously he wasn't going to be forgiving. Tails got back on the ground and stood behind the hedgehog and Knuckles.

The machine stopped in front of the three at the same time some Flickies flew in from nearby. The human smiles, almost sadistically. "Well, well. If it isn't the terrible trio…" His eyes drift to the blue hedgehog. "You shouldn't have left me in the void; I would probably have spared you further bloodshed if you helped me. But since you wished me dead, I feel I should return the favor." He said with a smirk, looking to Tails. "Then again, I'm not going to repeat Nagus's mistake. The little twerp would probably reveal his power he did in the void if I harmed his hedgehog pal…"

Tails looked down, he wished he could remember what happened when he attacked Nagus, the thought of him striking the wizard down and him not being able to remember what he did scared him. Knuckles looked between his two comrades confusedly, "What is he talking about?"

The human laughed. "Don't even bother, apparently Nagus and I are the only people who were conscious enough to remember." He said, turning his head back to Tails. "That's why I'm making you the first priority on my hit list twerp. You should feel honored."

Shivering lightly the fox looked nervous. His hedgehog friend moved directly between the machine and the vulpine. "You have to go through me first!"

"Of course, how noble, but that can easily be arranged." He said as he moved forward, taking a large swing at the rodent with the mechanical arm. There was a clank as the swing contacted; however it was not with its target. Knuckles had blocked the arm and held the metal appendage to keep it from getting any closer to the hedgehog. The echidna growled. "You'll have to get through me too; no one tricks me and gets away with it!"

Snively growls as he tried to push the arm past the guardian, but the red echidna proved far too strong and didn't budge an inch. Knuckles looks back to Sonic and Tails, "Get out of here you two. I'll hold him off…"

Sonic laughed. "And let you have all the fun? You think I'm crazy?" He looked to see the elders shaking their head. A sudden thought was suddenly forced through his head. 'Remember your promise'. It sounded like the purple bird from his dream when he was unconscious. He looked over to see the purple elder nodding to him, and he smiled and returned the nod. "All right Knux, you take care of him, I owe ya one pal." The hedgehog said as he grabbed the fox's wrist and sped off in the direction of the Tornado.

The pointy nosed human let out another angry snarl as he saw the two get away… "Out of my way knucklehead." He said as he swung the other arm and swung it at the guardian's side. Knuckles was too busy keeping the other arm at bay and couldn't block the incoming attack. It hit hard, the echidna flew backward and hit the tree he was resting on earlier, causing a dent to form in the trunk at the point of impact. Snively didn't even bother to check if the echidna was unconscious or not, he had to get Tails before he got away.

Tails looked back to Sonic as he hopped into the plane. He felt as if he was forgetting something as he turned on the engine, the propeller moving the plane forward slowly. The fox pulled out of the brush and lined up the vehicle with a strip of land that looked flat enough to make a suitable runway.

"Lets go Tails, quickly." Said Sonic, who was now in the back seat.

Tails picked up the throttle when he finally had the plane lined up with the make shift runway. "Alright Sonic, here we go." The pilot said as the plane began to pick up speed.

After about 10 yards the kit started to pull up on the yolk and the plane started to lift off the ground. Suddenly there was a jolt and the plane seemed to stay at a hover a few feet above the surface of the island.

"What's going on?" The fox called back to Sonic.

The hedgehog looked over the side to see a mechanical suit keeping tight hold on the landing gear bar that went from the left wheel to the right. "We've got company…" Sonic said, "Sniffs has got a hold of the landing gears."

Tails growled as he felt the wings lose their lift and the plane began to descend. He needed to get air flowing over the wings and fast, or the only place they were going to go was down. He then remembered the jet engine on the bottom of the plane. "Hang on Sonic, we're gonna warp seven."

Sonic cocked his head. "Hey, that's my line…" He said wondering what Tails was doing.

There was a sudden jolt and roar as the jet engine blasted forth, causing the plane to pull forward. Snively refused to give up keeping grip on the landing gears. After a sound of warping metal there was a snap as the landing gears broke off the Tornado causing it to shoot forward and away. The only thing Snively was left with was a few bars of metal and two wheels.

"Have fun landing…" the human laughed a bit to himself before his suit suddenly left the ground in an attempt to pursuit. Something had hit him hard in the right side causing the metal suit to crash into the ground, kicking up a lot of dust. Snively shook his head as he shook the surprise from the sudden impact out of his system

The attackers voice called out, "You should have made sure I was down… nobody hits me without getting one in return." The red echidna stands a few feet away, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

The machine stood up shakily as its human pilot caught his bearings. "Right, however your friends made a fatal mistake. You see, you can't help them in the air." He laughed as the suit lifted itself off the ground with jet propulsion. "Later knucklehead." He said as he took to the skies.

Knuckles ran after the metallic suit as far as he could until the cliff edge stopped him. "Come back here you coward!" The echidna cried after the suit.

A rumble was heard throughout Flickie Island, and out of the volcano rose a gigantic air battleship, the Wing Fortress. The massive ship, newly reconstructed soared over the island, the small metal suit was a spec to it as it flew up to the gigantic resurrected airship. The suit landed on the main deck of the ship, its pilot laughed, they weren't going to get away from him this time.

A worker bot moved up to the human and asked if he had a destination in mind. Snively hopped out of the machine, making himself noticeable shorter. "After that biplane." He stated as he started toward the bridge. "Today, the twerp will be mine."

0000000

Longer chapter this time, the number of reads of the new chapters has gone, but the reviews have gone down. I think maybe it's because people are curious, but it's just been meeeh or something so it's not worth the effort to review. I guess I'll try harder to make better plot twists though I can't promise anything to tie it all together anytime soon. Next chapter in two weeks as always. 11/4/05.