Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 0, Episode 4

Speed of Time, Part 4: Once, Upon Many a Time

Written by ChaosProject

Concept by ChaosProject

Sonic stands in triumph over the broken wreck of the fused military robot. "Not bad, for a few-thousand-year-old hunk of junk. But let's be honest. That's what you get when you try to outspeed the fastest thing alive!"

"Cut the gloating and get the Sapphire. You're wasting time."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm–" He stops as he is suddenly cloaked by a dense shadow. He looks up to where the sun was, perhaps hoping to see clouds rolling in. Instead he sees what might at first be mistaken for a flock of birds, closely bunched together, and flying at a downward arc towards Sonic's general area. But they aren't birds. As they get closer, it becomes clear that each of them is another military jet robot, hundreds of them in total, moving towards Sonic at supersonic velocity.

"Get the Sapphire, now!" Sonic runs off towards the area where he saw the gem, and reaches it within a few seconds. The gem is unusually short.

"Janice…I hate to break this to you, but this is no Sapphire. This is the blue Chaos Emerald."

"What!? What are you talking about? Of course it's the Sapphire."

"I think I know a Chaos Emerald when I see one. And this is most definitely–"

"We don't have time for this! Get back to the void immediately!" Sonic looks back behind him to see that the horde of robots now race along the ground, heading straight for him, only a few seconds away. Not wasting any time with theatrics this time, he pulls out his old Sapphire and takes off running, just before the robots all pass over the wreck of the first three. Just as before, they slowly gain on Sonic, despite his best effort to keep ahead. They draw closer and closer as he becomes cloaked in the sparking blue light of the Sapphire. Then, with a flash and a loud bang, Sonic disappears into a newly-formed rift, and the swarm hastily divides and arcs around it, aware of its possible dangers.

—–—

"There it is." Pushing a leafy branch out of his way, Zero points down to a metallic building a short distance forward and below. "Robotnik's base."

Amy answers, "No doubt. So what's our plan? We can't just break in there, can we?"

"I…I suppose I hadn't thought of that." He takes a few moments to study the front door is guarded by badniks. But after a moment, what appeared to be part of the back wall slides open, and a motobug wheels out. The wall closes behind it. "Bingo! Back door, that's our way in. We get a bit closer, and then follow one of the robots in next time they come."

"What if they only come out?"

"Then…then we still wait near the door, and we jump in as soon as the door opens. We'll have to destroy it quickly, before it can sound any alarm."

"Snooping around, are we?" Zero and Amy look behind them, startled to see Robotnik, piloting a giant egg-shaped mech. It wears a long black cape, and holds a hammer, proportionately the right size to be a gavel. With its other hand, it reaches out to grab Amy.

"Let me go, you creep!" She struggles to free herself.

"Ha! You're coming with me! And you…" He turns to face Zero. "You had best stay out of my way. I have business with Sonic."

Amy cries out, "Zero, help me!" Before Zero can say a word, the mech jets into the air, and flies back towards the base.

Janice immediately comments, "Good. Now, without your little distraction, you can get back to work."

"Not a chance. I'm going to save Amy, and there's nothing you can say or do to stop me."

She doesn't bother arguing the point. "Just be quick about it."

—–—

Zero lays himself flat against a metallic wall. "Come on…come on…" Finally, he gets his chance as a part of the wall next to him slides open. Without hesitation, he dives into the opening, and a loud crash can be heard. Inside, he has already made quick work of the motobug that was about to emerge.

"Alright, I'm in. Now to find the dungeon in this wretched place."

—–—

EGG JUSTICE

Zero has arrived in the dungeon. There are cell blocks all around, most of them empty. But one of them is occupied by Amy. "Amy!"

"Zero! You made it!"

"Hang on, let me break you out of there." He grabs hold of two of the cell bars, and heaves.

"That's never going to–" She cuts off as the bars bend to his will with a loud clang. A few moments later, the entire frame is torn from the wall. He throws it off to the side. "Wow…you're very strong."

"Oh, you mean that? That wasn't too hard. You know, one time I had to–"

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little sneak from before? I must say, I'm impressed." Robotnik is ready in his mech to fight.

"Hardly a compliment, coming from a lowlife like you. I would have hoped that by this time, psychos like you would be a thing of the past. But I guess I was mistaken."

"No, I mean it. You did away with every last robot you came across like it was nothing. And the way you just ripped the bars out of the prison cell…you are clearly quite powerful. I could certainly use an ally like you. How would you like to join me?"

"You must be even more mad than I first thought. I would never trust a Robotnik."

"Very well. Then I will do away with you here!" He taps at the controls, and the mech swings its gavel down at Zero.

He doesn't have nearly enough time to react. He holds his arms up as if to shield himself. The Sapphire in his hand begins glow brilliantly, and a strange sound can be heard, almost as if the entire world were decelerating. Zero peeks up to see that the hammer now swings down at a practical snail's pace. Everything moves unbelievably slowly all around him. He looks into his glowing Sapphire. "Time Control…"

Janice speaks in his head, "That is correct. As I suspected, you have acquired the power to manipulate microtime. You have slowed down the mech. But there is so much more that you can do. In time, you may yet learn to take certain individual objects backwards in time while the rest of the world progresses normally. This is only the first step."

The hammer has almost reached Zero. He casually steps out of its way, grabs its handle, rips it out of the mech's hand, and tosses it aside. Then he hops onto the mech's thick arm, and from there delivers a spin attack on the cockpit. The Sapphire ceases glowing just as he impacts, and the entire mech is sent reeling back a few steps.

"What!? What just happened!?"

"Instead of explaining, how about I just show you again? Time Control!" He lifts the Sapphire into the air as he shouts the words. But nothing happens. "What!?"

Robotnik smirks and chuckles, and takes advantage of the opportunity by grabbing Zero with both of the mech's hands. He struggles to free himself, to no avail. "Your time is done, hedgehog. You never stood a chance." The hands crush in harder, and Zero grimaces at the pain.

"Let him go, creep!" Amy charges at the mech, holding its discarded hammer high above her head. Although it was small for the mech, it is almost as tall as she is.

Robotnik laughs. "Ha ha ha! And what do you think you could possibly do with that?"

She lets out a cry as she swings the hammer down on the mech's elbow joint, shattering the entire arm to pieces. Zero is dropped to the ground. "Now, let's finish this guy off!"

"Right!" Immediately, Zero delivers an attack right at the robot's center of mass, sending it crashing to the floor. Amy is ready right next to where the head-cockpit lands. She swings the hammer right at the cockpit, cracking the glass and knocking the egg-mobile out of the mech. It lifts into the air immediately.

"Don't think that you've won yet, hedgehogs. I have a backup plan! Oh Robo Sonic! Come here, please!" A hedgehog android jets into the room, but this one is different. It is quite a bit larger than a normal hedgehog. About half of it is painted black, while the rest is unpainted, remaining a shiny metallic grey. Its eyes, shaped much more similarly to Sonic's, are completely yellow, with no pupils. Its hands are extremely blocky, and appear to have jets coming out of their wrists. It has three large spikes coming out of the back of its head, grouped near the top, and two more very small ones near the bottom. In one hand, it holds the Temporal Sapphire. "Take care of these pesky intruders, would you? And be sure to use some of your new power."

Zero steps forward to fight. "You should stay back, Amy. That gem is dangerous."

"That robot's no laughing matter, either. He looks like a new model of the one that captured me before."

"I can handle this." Zero gets into a battle-ready stance. Robotnik laughs as he flies away. Zero runs in to attack the robot.

Wordlessly, Robo Sonic raises the Sapphire into the air. It begins glow, and Zero watches in horror as his own movements slow to a stop. The robot swiftly jets in for a blow across Zero's face, just as time resumes normally, sending him flying back. He quickly gets up, and wipes off the corner of his mouth. "Whew, this one is tough." He pulls his own Sapphire out. "Let's try this again." Once, more, he charges at Robo Sonic as Robo Sonic charges at him. They each hold up their Sapphire, and each of them glows. Just as the two fighters come within inches of each other, both of their movements slow drastically. They stare each other in the eye for several long moments. Then time once more returns, and they both strike each other with equal strength, sending them back apart from each other.

Robo Sonic stands back up with ease. Zero struggles to his feet, tiring quickly. Each of them holds up their Sapphire and tries the same thing again. But this time, as Robo Sonic speeds towards Zero, its path is met by a giant swinging hammer. After flying through the air, it smashes into the wall behind it. It collapses to the ground, riddled with cracks and sparks, clearly destroyed beyond recovery.

Zero looks to Amy with an expression appearing both impressed and very surprised. She responds, mocking nonchalantly, "Oh, you mean that? That wasn't too hard." He continues to stare at her. "It's not like you were getting anywhere yourself. That fight would've dragged on forever. But…I never got to thank you before…for rescuing me."

"Rescuing you? You've saved my life twice in the past ten minutes. That's…quite a swing you have with that hammer."

She smiles at the compliment. "I think I'm going to keep it. I might have to paint it a different color, though…"

Zero walks over to where Robo Sonic lays. He rips the Sapphire from its hand. "I'll be taking that." He holds one in each hand, and looks deeply into each of them in turn. Without turning around, he speaks, "Amy…I have to leave now. And I…I may not ever…"

"You may not ever what?"

He turns back in her direction, but still stares deeply into his gems. "I've only just met you, but somehow I feel the need to tell you everything. I've never felt that way about anyone before."

"Oh…what do you want to tell me?"

"I wouldn't expect you to believe me."

"The world's a big place, and I've seen lots of it. Try me."

He takes a deep breath. And then he begins. "I may not ever see you again, because I'm a time-traveller from thousands of years in the past, here to save the entire universe from destruction. These gems are how I can do that. And now, I have to leave to some other time so that I can get the next one."

She is silent for a moment. "…I believe you. And I believe in you. Go save the universe."

He smiles, and blushes a bit. "Thank you." He prepares himself to open the next rift. "Time Control!" The swirling blue portal opens before him. He prepares to jump in, but then stops, a thought suddenly coming to his mind. He turns back to Amy. "Amy, I…I know it sounds silly, and I can't expect you to…well…I want to ask you…" Whatever he was thinking before, he seems to have changed his mind. Instead, he finishes, "Please don't forget about me."

Amy smiles, and answers a completely different question. "I appreciate the thought, Zero. But you know I can't go with you. I'm never giving up on Sonic. Not for anything. But I won't forget about you either, if you really are concerned about that."

"What!? No, I didn't say–"

"I knew what you meant. In all honesty, you're not that hard to read. But maybe that's what happens when you don't try to have many friends."

He sighs, his hasty charade seen right through. "I understand. I expected as much." He is silent for another moment. "Amy…you are kind on the inside and strong on the outside. Sonic is a lucky guy. And if…if I might offer some advice…I don't think Sonic is the type to care for the strict and proper. You need to relax. Let your hair down. Don't dress so…formally. I think Sonic would like that."

Now it's Amy's turn to blush. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind. And…if I might offer some advice of my own…some people may be selfish, and I can tell that you've seen that for yourself…but they're basically good. I don't think that you believe that. That's because you have to get to know them first. If you don't make the effort to make friends, then you'll never have any. Whether or not you'll be alone in your life all depends on how hard you try for it."

He seems to deeply ponder on this. "I…I'll keep that in mind. Thank you…for everything." He turns to leave.

"Zero, wait!" He looks back. "We will see each other again. I'm sure of it."

He gives her one last smile. "I hope so. Goodbye, Amy." This time, he really does leap into the portal, as Amy watches with a mixture of happiness and sorrow.

—–—

A cylindrical pod with translucent yellow glass rises up around the deactivated Robo Sonic. Robotnik's voice speaks, "Project Metal Sonic is now on hold. I have new plans to attend to." As he walks away from the pod, he zips on a new shirt, a more familiar solid red with white stripes reaching around from the back to the front, each ending at a rectangular yellow protrusion.

On the opposite side of the room, the other failed Sonic robot, Metal Sonic, floats deactivated in a similar pod to Robo Sonic's. But in the far corner of the room, where Robotnik walks to, an entirely different robot stands atop a metal platform. It is quite tall, with most of its mass near its top, and with long legs. It has a yellow visor-like structure above its dull green eyes. Instead of hands, it has one large cannon attached to the end of each arm. It is painted black, with white trim. On one side of its chest area are painted the numbers "101."

Robotnik takes the goggles he now wears over his forehead, and draws them over his eyes. He begins working on the robot. "Finally, I understand. I have been unable to defeat Sonic because I've been thinking too small! But now, thanks to those ruins I found, I can awaken a creature truly powerful enough to help me take over the world. Only then can I gain the power I seek…" Suddenly, the robot's green eyes light up. "Ah ha! It's awake! My most advanced robot ever! Beta, as your creator and master, I hereby command you to begin training immediately! If I find your skills to be adequate enough, I may allow you to serve aboard my Egg Carrier once it is completed. If they aren't, I'll send you to the scrap heap!"

"YES, DOCTOR ROBOTNIK."

"Robotnik…no. Robotnik is too…small. I need a name which will be remembered for the rest of time! Henceforward, I shall be known as Doctor Eggman!"

"YES, DOCTOR EGGMAN."

Eggman begins to laugh maniacally as the scene begins to pan outwards, eventually revealing the jungle beyond the cliffs of the Mystic Ruins, the hiding place of the soon-to-be-launched Egg Carrier.

—–—

The Void

Sonic dashes out of the rift he created, and skids to a stop, panting. He immediately pulls out the blue Chaos Emerald and tosses out in front of him. After bouncing a few times, it comes to a stop beneath the floating orb of light that is Janice. "There's your 'Sapphire'. Doesn't look quite right, does it?"

"…Is this some kind of joke?"

"I'm beginning to wonder the same thing myself. All you've ever done since I started this mission is make mistakes and hide things from us. I'm beginning to wonder just how much I can actually trust you."

She is silent for a moment. "…I believe I understand my mistake. This is definitely a Chaos Emerald."

He responds sarcastically, "Oh, really? I just wasn't quite sure."

"I grow tired of your unending insolence. If you don't wish to be a part of this team, I can send you back right now. Just say the word."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's really going on here."

"…It seems that you are begging me to teach you a lesson. Though it would be a shame if I were to injure you."

Sonic gets into a fighting stance. "I wouldn't be too worried about that if I were you."

"Very well. I will fight you. And when I defeat you, you will stop questioning me and start following your orders." Immediately, the orb of light begins to glow more brightly as it begins to take on a humanoid shape. The light releases, revealing a form similar to that of Chronos. The body shape is taller and more feminine. The face appears less like a beast and more like a human. The butterfly wings are larger, more pronounced, and less torn. "I promise you, you are making a mistake."

"Are you kidding? This'll be fun!" He leaps in for the first attack.

—–—

Dry Desert Zone

Silver picks up the Sapphire from the dry sand in front of him. He appears to be deep inside of some sort of desert ruins. "That wasn't too hard. But those creatures and robots being sent by Chronos are getting tougher." He speaks directly into the Sapphire. "Janice, I'm on my way back." He waits, but receives no answer. "Janice? Janice, can you hear me?" Still nothing. "Hm…I guess she's busy. What am I going to do!? What if I'm stuck here!?"

He sits down and begins pondering. "Alright, let's just calm down. I can make rifts on my own, it's just Janice who directs them. If I were going to another time…I would have no idea how to direct the rift to go where I want it to. But I just need to get back to The Void. Outside of time. I've already been there. It shouldn't be too hard to find my way back there…I hope. I suppose I'd better try that, then. No use waiting around here."

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He begins to channel his power through the Sapphire. In a dramatic motion, he attempts to tear open the very space in front of him. A space-time rift opens before him. "So far, so good." He lifts himself in. He's shocked at what he sees on the other side.

Sonic, appearing slightly battle-worn, cheers in triumph, "Oh yeah, I'm awesome! No one can beat Sonic the Hedgehog, not even an extra-dimensional time lord!"

At his feet, a dim light in the shape of Janice's humanoid form condenses back into a small orb, as she mutters, "What have I done? I've only made his ego even larger…"

Silver shouts in anger, "What did you do!?" Without waiting for an answer, he launches a psychic wave at Sonic. Taken by surprise, Sonic is hit, and sent flying back.

Janice weakly mutters, "Silver, no…" But he doesn't hear her.

"Why did you attack Janice!?"

Sonic gets back up. "Well technically, she–"

"Answer me!"

"You have it all wrong, this–"

He becomes trapped in Silver's psychic grasp. "I should have guesses that you were a traitor. Why else would you have pretended to know me when I've never met you before?" Sonic struggles to free himself. "It's no use resisting. I can be done with you right now. Take th–"

"Silver, stop!" Just as Silver prepares to violently throw Sonic, he finds his arms forcibly restrained to his sides. Zero has grabbed him, and holds him tightly. Silver having lost his concentration, Sonic drops to the floor. "Sonic may be a fool, but he's no traitor!" After a moment of struggling, Silver calms down. "I'm going to let you go now, and then Sonic is going to tell us exactly what's going on, alright?" After a moment, Silver nods. Zero lets go and steps back. "Sonic?"

"After a little disagreement, Janice challenged me to a fight. And I won. I'd say that makes me the new leader of this team!"

"Ha! You, a leader? You couldn't lead your way out of a paper bag!"

"He is right. About the fight, anyways." The Janice orb rises and gains in brightness. "I agreed to fight him, hoping to teach him a lesson. The plan backfired, I'm afraid. But that does not make you a leader."

Zero looks to Silver. "You see? All just a misunderstanding."

"But because I lost the fight," she continues, "I am obliged to respect your wishes. I must share something with you and Silver that I have kept hidden, that I only told to Zero. I know Chronos so well because I was his apprentice. You must know that I have personal investment in this mission, because I will become the new lord of time once Chronos is defeated. I am sorry if I have grown too emotional because of this fact. I hope to remain more objective in the future. But…we are wasting time here. We should continue the mission immediately. Time wears thin. If we do not grow more efficient in our methods, we will not get all of the Sapphires in time. That being said…I have a special mission for you, Sonic. I saw the way you fight. Even without thinking about it, you draw power from the Chaos Emeralds. And I'm sure that goes the same for all three of you. What you found in your last journey was indeed a Chaos Emerald, but before the time that the Chaos Emeralds ever existed."

"Before they existed? How is that even possible?"

"Normally, it isn't. Chaos Emeralds naturally go where they are needed, so to have one missing from its natural place in time could have catastrophic results. I believe that these…temporally displaced Chaos Emeralds are an unforeseen side effect of the space-time rift problem. Rifts are randomly forming near them or growing to encompass them, sending them into the wrong time." Both Sonic and Zero nod in affirmation of this fact, each pulling out the Chaos Emerald that came to them through a rift. "This temporal displacement is why I mistook this one for a Sapphire, because it was at a time where Chaos Emeralds are not supposed to be. For the sake of the preservation of the timeline, these displaced Emeralds must be removed, and at some point returned to their proper places. If we succeed in our mission, but ruin the timeline in the process, then the whole purpose is defeated. But before that happens, I see no reason why you three shouldn't use their power to your advantage. So I hereby appoint to you, Sonic, the assignment of collecting the temporally-displaced Chaos Emeralds, while Silver and Zero continue to collect Sapphires. If we work quickly enough, we should still have enough time to do both. And I already have the next one located for you. I suggest you get going right away."

"You got it. Let's get those Emeralds."

"I already have the next one located. You are free to leave."

Just as usual, Sonic tosses his Sapphire into the air before catching it again, then takes off at high speed. Within moments, he is gone behind the newest rift.

"Silver, I have your next Sapphire ready as well."

"Right." Silver focuses his energy and tears open his own rift. But before he goes, Zero stops him.

"Silver…I wanted to apologize for grabbing you so…brusquely, earlier." Once again, he extends his hand. "I do hope you'll forgive me."

Silver stays right where he is. "You did what you had to." He turns to leave.

"I'm going to keep trying, you know. Every time we meet here like this, I'm going to try again. A good person today taught me…I won't ever have any friends, unless I make the effort to make some. And I want you to be my friend."

Silver is quiet for a moment. "…Whatever." He lifts himself into the rift.

Zero thinks on that for a while. Finally, Janice questions, "Zero? The next Sapphire is ready for you."

"…I'm ready."

"Then you can go."

He nods. "Time…Control." His own rift opens before him. Without any hesitation, he leaps in.

To be Continued…