Null Space

Time has no meaning

A familiar-looking containment pod tumbles slowly through a void of infinite emptiness. A faint, static-filled sound emanates from it. It's a person's voice. A familiar one. "Contained within this pod is a creature of unspeakable power. And I am the fool who created him. I named him Sunlight. But he has since taken on a new name. Blacklight. Blacklight would have destroyed the world, had he not been stopped. Even so, I could not bring myself to let my creation die. I made a promise to hide him in a place where he could never be found." The pod finally turns such that its glass front can be clearly seen through. On the other side sleeps a hedgehog much like Shadow, though with fur of white and green. The faintest smile still sits on his face.

"I feared that I might never find such a place. Until I discovered the Ruby. A gemstone with properties that I couldn't even begin to understand. And contained within it, an entire pocket dimension, completely devoid of matter, which I've come to refer to as 'Null Space'. Exactly what I required. And so, I've decided to hide Blacklight in this place. Even so, I would be an even greater fool to think that no other could ever find this place. So, to whomever has rediscovered the Null Space, let this be a warning to you. Blacklight…is the least of your worries. This Ruby…it is evil. It will rain destruction upon your world, and it will take advantage of you in order to do it. If you have found the Ruby, you must get rid of it, get it as far away from your world as possible. If you do not, the consequences shall be dire." The message cuts to static, then starts to repeat on an infinite loop. "Contained within this pod…"

Far off in the distance, a strange distortion appears in the blackness of the void. The distortion begins to grow, into a swirling vortex of a pinkish color. All around, the blackness begins to change. Floor and sky, once nonexistent, now almost indistinguishable from each other, flows with morphing clouds of a similar pinkish hue to the vortex, constantly fluctuating, and providing a fair amount of ominous light. Suddenly, out of the vortex rises a violet colored gemstone, almost seeming to pull behind it a short hedgehog with sky-blue fur, orbited by seven Chaos Emeralds, turning uncontrollably through the air. A few moments later, a large mechanical hand reaches out of the vortex, grasping for the gemstone. The hand is followed by the rest of the regal egg-shaped robot, with legs replaced by circling tendrils, and a crown insignia marked on its chest. The Heavy King, in its most powerful form, drifts backwards from the vortex, waving its arms as if in challenge to the younger Sonic the Hedgehog, inserting the gemstone into a slot on its tall crown. Suddenly, the robot is struck by another machine, a hastily-made, two-armed red mech piloted by a poorly-dressed Doctor Eggman. The two machines push against each other for several moments, until the Doctor's machine disappears in a flash of crimson light. Heavy King returns its attention to Sonic. In defiance and determination, Sonic glares back as the Emeralds orbit him tighter and faster, until he finally absorbs them in a flash of golden light. Super Sonic flashes towards his opponent.

Far off in another direction, a different scene appears. Two animoid figures are thrown out of a much darker vortex, onto a platform of purplish cubes in the Null Space. The older Sonic the Hedgehog of ocean-blue fur stands, and after a moment of looking around, states resolutely, "This isn't where we were meant to end up." His companion, a red-furred Wolf garbed in black-rimmed glasses and dark green gloves and boots, and armed with a red Burst Wispon, stands and offers Sonic his hand. Sonic nods in response. "Let's head back. Everyone's waiting for us!" The two jump up and clap hands, becoming cloaked in a bright blue aura as a faint point of bright light appears in the blackness far beyond them. Suddenly, they take off at an incredible speed, the cubes beneath them continually rearranging to keep them always in the center as they run. The faster they go, the brighter the light in front of them grows.

In yet another direction, duplicates of the very same two run along a similar shifting platform of cubes, joined by a duplicate of the younger, lighter Sonic as well, all three of them charging towards a strange, white, almost organic-looking tentacled robot. The older Sonic leaps into the air. "There's nothing the three of us can't achieve together!" The other two leap next to him. "Victory is ours for the taking!" In an even greater burst of color and speed than with just two, the three dash towards the robot at full force.

And in one last direction, a different event seems to be unfolding. A single point of golden light faces down a silhouetted monster of terrifying proportions, with an ominous violet glow at its top.

Somehow, all of these events seem to unfold at once around the slowly drifting pod, none ever aware of the presence of any other.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Sonic Forces Special Episode 2

After the Fight

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Eggman Empire Fortress - DEATH EGG ROBOT

Two years ago - The events of Sonic Forces

"Victory is our for the taking!" The three heroes burst towards the tentacled machine, drilling through the air with their combined power, finally impacting the machine's core, and blasting right through. The robot becomes wracked with explosions as the illusionary space around them begins to crumble away, revealing normal space behind. As the robot sustains greater and greater damage, massive beams of shining violet light are thrown out from its core, growing brighter and brighter, until the entire machine is encompassed by the light of the shattered Phantom Ruby inside.

A war wages on the rocky battlefield outside. The Resistance of heroes, Knuckles, Silver, Amy, the Chaotix, Shadow, Rouge and Omega, backed by an army of Wispon-wielding animoids, fight in chaos against a far larger army of Phantom Replicas, Shadow, Chaos 0, Metal Sonic, Zavok, and even a few scattered Replicas of Infinite. Knuckles faces a Zavok Replica in a duel of strength. But as he leaps in for a solid punch, the fake creature suddenly dissolves into a mess of glitchy particles, and Knuckles passes right through him, rolling to avoid landing on his head. He looks back at the rest of the battle, as one by one, each and every Replica dissolves in the same way. The soldiers look around in confusion, ready for the next attack. But Knuckles stands tall, raising a fist in celebration. "Alright! We won!"

Silence falls over the battlefield. Then a quiet cheer begins, quickly spreading through the entire army. The Chaotix give especially emphatic cheers, and give a congratulatory nod to Knuckles. Rouge gives a casual shrug. "Piece of cake." With a slight smirk, Shadow nods in agreement.

Silver floats up with a cheer. "Yeah!"

Amy gives him a thumbs-up. "We did it!"

All around the battlefield, soldiers help each other to their feet, congratulate each other, and cheer even louder.

Knuckles nods in satisfaction at the sight of everyone celebrating together. "I knew we could do it." He turns around to look out past the Imperial Tower, where the last glow from the Ruby can still be seen fading away. "I knew they could do it."

"No…it isn't over yet…" The heroes all turn with a start to the source of the weak voice. A black and white furred Jackal seems barely able to claw his way across the ground, keeping his eyes locked firmly on the ground. He wears no mask.

Sonic and his Wolf partner run in from the direction of the tower, skidding to a halt at the sight of the Jackal. Sonic clenches a fist as he glares down at the pitiful figure with rage. "Infinite." A moment later, Tails flies in carrying the younger Classic Sonic, and lets him on the ground next to them.

Vector asks with some confusion, "That's him? The guy that took you down so hard?"

Shadow scoffs, "You couldn't even finish him off? Pathetic."

Knuckles steps forward, "If you don't mind, I'd love to give this guy a smack for you."

Charmy cheers, "Yeah, give him a smack!" Espio shushes him.

Silver scratches his chin as he watches the Jackal attempt to crawl closer. "Something's not right…"

The Wolf looks around at his comrades with what might be described as disgust. Then he runs for the Jackal, shaking his head and sighing with disappointment.

Tails reaches after him. "Hold on, he might still be–"

As the Wolf helps the Jackal to his feet, his face is revealed for the first time. Though his left eye is yellow as was always seen beneath the mask of Infinite, his right is a soft, deep blue, with a small but long scar running through it. "You have to help… The Ruby…" He seems barely on the edge of consciousness. His features, perhaps more like theirs than most of them ever thought to imagine, gives them all pause. Except for the Wolf, who sits him down on a flat rock closeby, looking him in the eyes the entire time.

Now sitting down, the Jackal seems to collect his senses a bit better, as everyone stares in confusion. "There isn't much time. Everything will be destroyed."

Sonic moves his way forward until he stands directly over the Jackal. "Alright, Infinite. You have ten seconds to explain why I shouldn't let Knuckles have at you."

"Don't…don't call me that."

"Nine."

"I'm just trying to–"

"Eight."

"The Phantom Ruby wasn't destroyed!"

The Wolf gasps. Sonic objects, "Of course it was destroyed, we just blasted right through it! The illusions all went away!"

"Didn't you listen to a word the Doctor said!? That Ruby, Infinite's Ruby, was just a prototype! The final prototype, but a fake nonetheless. But the real Ruby, the original, is still out there."

Knuckles steps up beside Sonic. "Forgive us if we're skeptical. You are single handedly responsible for almost everything that's happened these last six months. People have died! And it's your fault! Why should we believe a word that you say?"

"That…that wasn't…" He clutches at his forehead as he shakes his head. "Look, I only came here to warn you. If you want to sit back, and watch your world burn…" He slowly looks up at them, wearing a malicious smirk on his face, and clutching a hand in front of his scarred blue eye. "…don't let me stand in your way."

Sonic sighs. "Tell us everything you know."

"That's what I thought." He closes his eyes. "The Ruby…has always been filled with…malice. An eternity of it. But that's all it ever was. Pure, seething emotion. Until the Doctor started making prototypes. They were all…connected, somehow. And each new prototype added to the collective intelligence. It became conscious."

Sonic interrupts with a look over to his fox friend. "Tails, does this check out?"

"I'm no expert, but I can confirm that the Ruby always did have some kind of outside connection. I assumed it was just to its power source. But this would explain it too."

Sonic nods. "Alright. Go on."

The Jackal closes his eyes again. "The Ruby became conscious by connecting with the prototypes. So when we started destroying the prototypes…it got even angrier. But it couldn't control the prototypes, not directly. So in its newfound intelligence, it waited. It plotted. As you know, the prototypes required an immense source of artificially-produced energy. But the source of the real Ruby's power…is desire itself. And for six months, that thing used the prototype as a conduit to leech that power away from me. Six months, every hour of every day, I was feeding that thing raw power. The power it needed to strike back."

"So where is it now?"

"When the Doctor realized that the original Ruby no longer served his will, he foolishly cast it away without a second thought, seeing no further use for it. In his Ruby delusions, all he saw was that the prototypes were useful, and the original was not."

"That doesn't answer the question. Where is it?"

"I…don't know, precisely. But in the last moments before the prototype was taken away from me, I sensed that it was ready. Ready for its revenge. It's coming for me."

Sonic rolls his eyes. "There's the reason I was looking for. You only came to us so you could save your own skin."

"Don't act so superior about it. After all…" The Jackal raises a clawed finger, and taps it square at the center of the Wolf's chest. "…it's coming for you next." He looks over to Sonic. "And judging by what you just 'accomplished', I'd imagine you're on the list as well." He glances over to Classic Sonic. "Both versions of you. And that, of course, is only the beginning. It will rain destruction upon this entire world."

Knuckles raises an eyebrow. "Last I checked, you wanted to see the world burn. What does your life matter in that grand scheme?"

"Infinite may have been willing, even happy to give his own life to his design fulfilled. Is it such a surprise to you that I might put more value on my own life than that? The Ruby illusions…do things to one's mind. Call out one's darkest emotions." He looks up to the Wolf. "Surely, even you realized that, as you scaled the tower to stop the sun? You heard it beckoning to you, as if whispering thoughts into your ear. Telling you to abandon your reason. To hit hard. To show no mercy." The Wolf thinks back for a moment. Then he gives a brief nod in affirmation. "Even with the purest of intentions, such emotions can be drawn out. And I doubt you would call my intentions 'pure'. Now, for the first time six months…my head is finally clear again."

Sonic nods. "I hate to say it, but I believe you. So how much time do you think we have?"

The Jackal lets out a laugh that still somehow manages to sound menacing in his weakness. "I believe your time…" He points to a point in space above and behind them, where a black vortex opens from nowhere. "…is up."

To the sound of a familiar, slow pulsating noise, a large violet gemstone emerges from the vortex. Classic Sonic clenches a fist, immediately recognizing the shape.

Sonic springs into action immediately. "I'll shatter that thing right now!"

Tails looks up from the readings on his Handheld. "Sonic, wait, there's some kind of–…" Sonic hits hard against a wall of translucent glowing cubes that had been invisible a moment ago. "…barrier." The wall fades away as quickly as it appeared.

Sonic lands in a crouch, and immediately looks back at the Jackal. "How do we get past the barrier?"

The Jackal laughs. "The wall is only there to make sure you watch patiently." On the other side of the invisible barrier, beneath the floating ruby, five cyclones of the crimson cubes begin to circle. "It's putting on a show for you." The cubes cycle tighter and tighter, until, at their base, they begin to form together, constructing shapes from the bottom up.

The first shape morphs into a Replica of Shadow the Hedgehog. The real Shadow glares at it with rage. But it only stares blankly past him. The second forms into another Replica, one of Chaos 0, met by a look of sorrow from Knuckles. Omega stares without recognizable emotion at the third shape, a Metal Sonic Replica. Tails tenses up with caution at the sight of the fourth, Zavok. And in the position of the fifth, something unrecognizable to most appears. Now wearing a billowing red cloak, and wielding a tall staff in one hand, the Heavy King stands tall alongside the other Replicas. Sonic glances over at his Classic counterpart for a moment, seeing all he needs to know from the look in his eyes.

The Jackal chuckles again. "How amusing. It must really hate…" Another, smaller cyclone of cubes forms above the Ruby, quickly forming into the empty mask of Infinite. He finishes with a growl, "…me." The mask begins to lower over the Ruby as if it were a person's head. The moment the Ruby is covered completely, it releases a massive, overwhelming wave of negative crimson energy. As this wave contacts the Replicas, they begin to transform. The fake Shadow's feet lift from the ground as his fur takes on a golden glow, transforming into Super Shadow. In a rainbow colored flash of light, the Chaos creature disappears, as a far more massive Perfect Chaos rises as if from a spring in the ground behind where it once stood. Metal Sonic explodes into pieces, only to come back together almost as quickly, along with thousands of other mechanical pieces generated almost instantaneously by the Ruby, assembling piece by piece at an almost untraceable speed. Spikes jut out as components connect together, all to form the body of the dragonoid Metal Overlord. Zavok claws into the ground as his body begins to swell in a process that looks immensely painful. The result is a full-powered Giant Zavok, with embers flying from his mouth as he roars. The Heavy King rises from the ground as its legs, in a flash of glitched particles, morph into a pair of circling tendrils composed of what might be mistaken for strings of small Phantom Ruby prototypes, as the robot grows considerably larger. Its arms and other features change similarly, until matches its Phantom King form seen in Null Space.

Amy looks across the empowered Replicas, horror-struck. "This looks bad…"

The masked Ruby releases another pulse of energy. As this wave washes over the Replicas, they begin to lose their forms once more, dissolving back into cubes, which begin to swarm around the Ruby in a chaotic amalgam. Finally, with one last pulse, everything forms together into a single, monstrous form. This new creature is a hideous combination of all of the empowered Replicas. It bears four crimson arms of Zavok, mechanical tail and wings of Metal Overlord, tentacled liquid body of Perfect Chaos, and gold and red spikes of Super Shadow, emerging from the back of an organic, silver-scaled dragon's head, recognizable with the same shape and eyes as Infinite's mask. Atop the creature's head sits Heavy King's tall pointed crown, with the Phantom Ruby secured to its top.

Silver shakes his head. "That looks even worse…"

The Phantom Nightmare roars in challenge, as it begins to charge an intense crimson light in its jagged mouth.

Knuckles shouts, "Look out, it's attacking!"

The heroes all scatter, avoiding the creature's massive laser attack, aimed directly at the Jackal. He stares down the blindingly bright beam without flinching. He even gives a slight chuckle at the inevitable. But at the last moment, the Wolf grabs hold of his arm and fires his grappling hook, rapidly pulling them both up and away from danger, as the laser obliterates the rocks around where he had been standing.

Sonic looks out at the Resistance army, scattering and screaming in confusion. He declares in a shout, "Come on, everyone! Now's not the time to give in to your fear! We need to work together to take this thing down! Give it everything you've got!" After a momentary murmur, the army trains their weapons on the creature, and open fire. The creature recoils under the hailstorm of cyan laser fire, opening the opportunity for the heroes to attack. Silver throws out rapid-fire psychic waves, Amy swings her hammer, Knuckles punches, Omega launches an arsenal full of weapons at once, Shadow warps from place to place to place landing kicks wherever he can. But even with them and everyone else working together, none of it seems to have much effect on the massive creature.

Consumed with rage, the Phantom Nightmare creates a massive negative energy pulse with a roar, which deflects laser bolts and knocks all of the heroes away.

Vector wipes off the corner of his mouth. "This thing's tough. I don't know if we can handle it." The Phantom Nightmare holds out one of Zavok's hands, and begins charging a massive fireball. But the fire dissipates as a grappling hook wire wraps around the wrist, and yanks the hand away.

Knuckles cheers, "Yeah! The Rookie's got this!"

The Wolf swings around the massive creature, wrapping it tighter and tighter with the wire. Focused entirely on him, the creature wildly turns and fires off more laser attacks, continuing to miss the mark.

Sonic looks down at his Classic counterpart. "Get ready. We're gonna take this thing down." As the Wolf swings around again, he comes down enough to grab the hands of both Sonics, pulling them up, and then throwing them high with the full force of the swing. The creature bound tight, he unhooks the wire and gives them the thumbs up. The Sonics curl into balls for a spin attack right at the crown that holds the Ruby.

With relatively little effort, the Phantom Nightmare snaps free from the wire, and prepares to claw at the blue streaks headed for it.

Sonic uncurls with a start, flailing through the air. "W-whoa!"

Just before the creature strikes them, it suddenly freezes in place, completely enveloped by an aqua-colored aura. The Sonics stumble back to the ground, and the older one looks over to the source of the aura. "Silver?"

Silver stands with both hands directed at the creature, clenching his eyes and putting immense effort into keeping the creature still. "I can hold it here, but not for very long. If you have a backup plan, Sonic, now's the time!"

Sonic looks the other way, to the Jackal, who stares up at the creature's crown. Sonic groans. "Why are you just standing there!? At least help us out! That thing has to have some kind of weakness, right?"

The Jackal looks back at him with feigned surprise. "Weakness? And here I thought you could defeat it through the bonds of friendship."

"Now's not the time, just tell me anything!"

"There is…one thing." He looks over at Classic Sonic. "Something the small one taught the Ruby itself to fear."

Classic Sonic nods slowly, pulling out a glittering white gemstone. Tails walks up behind him. "We found that out in the Mystic Forest looking for you."

Sonic nods as well. "Of course. The Chaos Emeralds. But what can we do with just one?"

Vector steps forward. "Make that two." He produces the purple Emerald. "We were hoping to sell this off for a little extra dough once this whole war was over. But it sounds like you need it more than we do."

Knuckles pulls out a yellow one. "Got your third right here. Been holding on to it for good luck since the very beginning of this war."

Silver, keeping the creature held with one hand, uses the other to psychically lift the blue and cyan Emeralds, and pushes them off to Sonic. "I was keeping these for when I need them…but they'll do fine for you."

Rouge, somewhat reluctantly, pulls out the green. "Managed to swipe this beauty off the Death Egg. I guess it's all yours."

Sonic looks over the Emeralds, making a quick recount. "That's only six. Where's the seventh!?"

Rouge glances over at Shadow, then jabs an elbow into his ribs. "You've been using Chaos Control, we all know you have it."

"Ungh. Fine." Shadow holds out the remaining red Emerald.

The Emeralds lift away from the hands of those who still hold them, entering in orbit around the two Sonics. Sonic looks over to his younger self. "You ready to do this, partner?" Classic Sonic nods back confidently. The Emeralds begin to orbit tighter and faster. Sonic holds out a closed fist. "Then let's show this thing what we can do!" Classic Sonic happily returns the fist bump, as both are encompassed by a golden flash of light.

From a fair distance away, the Wolf stares oddly at the transformed Super hedgehogs.

The Sonics turn around with a start to the sound of the loud roar coming from behind them. The Phantom Nightmare moves again, no longer held by the aqua aura. Silver lies collapsed on the floor. "Silver!"

Knuckles runs in to help him. "I've got him, you just take care of this thing!"

Enraged by a new target, the creature prepares to strike at Knuckles and Silver. Super Sonic once again glances at Classic Sonic. "Let's take this thing where it can't hurt anyone!" The golden hedgehogs take off at incredible speeds, blasting into the creature, interrupting its attack, and forcing it off of the ground, and into the same vortex that the Phantom Ruby came out of.

The Wolf reaches out as if preparing to call out to them. But he remains silent.

—–—

PHANTOM NIGHTMARE

Floating close enough together to be mistaken for a single point of golden light from far enough away, the Super Sonics face down the Phantom Nightmare as a blazing red aura flares to life around it. Tails' static-filled voice chimes in on the communicator, "Guys, can you hear me? I have some bad news. I think that thing is stronger in its own Null Space."

Amy objects, "No need to worry about that now. With all of us cheering you on, I know you can do it!"

Knuckles adds, "The way you inspired all those people out there, you've got a whole army cheering you on. I'm proud of you. Just try not to let us down."

Espio continues, "It's all up to you now. Show this thing once and for all that we do not give in to fear."

Rouge, with a hint of sarcasm, cheers, "You've got this, Sonic!"

Shadow, the target of Rogue's joke, groans.

Silver, sounding quite weak, concludes, "Not just for us…not just for the world. For everything…that comes after."

The pair of hedgehogs fly at their target through the dark void of Null Space. As Sonic soars, he answers back, "You guys worry too much. Super Sonic style, the two of us are unbeatable. Right, buddy?" Classic Sonic gives no answer. The Phantom Nightmare roars in challenge once again, and immediately fires a crisscross of lasers from each of its four hands. The hedgehogs separate as Sonic weaves and dives to keep out of harm, while Classic Sonic merely ducks underneath, maintaining his straight course. As the two draw closer, the Nightmare ends the lasers and roars again, as several dozen small, electrified orbs form in orbit around it. One at a time, these orbs launch away from their orbits at the hedgehogs, gaining much larger negative auras as they do. Sonic resumes his aerial maneuvers, skillfully dodging one orb after another, but overwhelmed by the number of them, one finally lands a hit, knocking him back and forcing out a cry of pain. "Argh! What the heck!? That hurt! That thing can hurt Super Sonic!" After a moment, speeding back on course, he adds, "I just referred to myself in the third person, didn't I?"

Tails responds, "We're dealing with power that we still don't understand. You'll have to be more careful. And yes. Yes you did."

—–—

Knuckles carefully sits Silver down on a rock. "Are you alright?"

After a moment to collect his wits, he answers slowly, "I…I'll live. How…is Sonic doing?"

"They're having a rough time. But they'll pull through."

Silver tries to push himself back to his feet. "I should be helping them."

Knuckles forces him back down. "You should be resting. You've done enough."

Silver closes his eyes and clutches at his head. He looks back up after a few moments as he realizes something. Shadow stands not far away, arms crossed, staring out at the cloudy horizon. Silver calls out to him, "What about you?" Shadow glances back at him to listen. "Shouldn't you be out there with them?"

Shadow rolls his eyes. "And get between the narcissist and his reflection? Tch."

"The…what?"

"Don't you get it? Sonic is living his egocentric fantasy out there. Just him and himself, solving everyone's problems, because that's just how great he thinks he is."

Silver scratches his head. "So you're saying that he…deserves to be happy…while he's saving the world?"

"No. I'm saying he's a fool, and he doesn't deserve anyone's help." He sighs and shakes his head. "This war's already over, I don't even know what I'm doing here anymore." He's already started walking off.

Amy calls after him, "Shadow, wait! Don't leave!" He ignores her.

Tails looks over to Rouge. "Is he alright? He seems…even grumpier than usual."

She shakes her head slightly. "I'm worried…that he might be losing sight of what's important to him. I'll go talk to him."

Rouge runs to catch up with Shadow. He glances back at her as he walks. "Coming with me?"

"Not yet, I'm not."

He stops with a sigh. "We should be getting back to GUN. This war nearly destroyed them. They'll need us."

"Maybe they will. But right now, there are other people who need us more."

"And who would that be?"

"Everyone. The entire world, Shadow."

"The war is over."

"Which is exactly why they need us now. The war tore this planet apart. The world needs to know that there are heroes out there who will do everything they can to stop something like this from happening again. And like it or not, you're one of those heroes, Shadow."

"A hero? In case you forgot, my face was one of the symbols of the Eggman Empire. It's going to be a long time before this world can trust me again."

"That wasn't you! But you'll have a pretty hard time proving that if you aren't around to tell them now!"

Shadow rolls his eyes and resumes his walk.

"Look, I don't know what kind of problem you have with people right now, but you're not going to solve anything by hiding away from it."

Shadow keeps walking. "I'm not hiding."

"Fine then. Run on back to GUN, if you want to return a complete failure."

Shadow stops again. "What?"

"Our mission, remember? The whole reason we got caught up in this crazy war. The Commander wanted us to destroy Eggman's secret new weapon. Which, in case you forgot, Sonic is still dealing with. How's it going to look on you if, six months later, you head back before the job is even done? At least stick around long enough to see it through."

"…Fine."

Quite some distance away now, the Wolf still stares up at the portal into Null Space. "It really makes you angry, doesn't it?" He looks back with a gasp at the Jackal, who speaks as he approaches from behind. The Jackal stops and looks up to the portal just as the Wolf does. "All your life, you've looked up to heroes like him. And for a single fleeting moment, you thought that you had become his partner…his equal, even. But the moment you were no longer of use to him, he cast you aside, in favor of…himself. Because no matter how hard you work, no matter how much of a 'hero' you become, you will never have what this world granted him at birth. You'll never become like him. You can try all you want, but the world will never allow it."

The Wolf gives him a look of surprise and curiosity.

"Of course I understand. Why do you think I ever picked up that Ruby in the first place?" He looks back up to the portal. "It was my one chance…to have the power that the world had denied me time and time again. The power to bring change. To escape my endless days of useless toiling."

The Wolf looks down for a while with a look of deep thought. But then he looks back up to the Jackal with a smile.

"I was wrong about you, kid. You and I…are much alike."

The two both look back up to the portal, sharing a similar look of longing. But the Jackal's is marked by the slightest smirk.

—–—

Super Sonic blasts towards the Phantom Nightmare's crown, Classic Sonic right back on his tail. Sonic speeds ahead, preparing to strike right at the Ruby. Instead, he bounces hard off of another wall of cubes. He looks down to Classic Sonic, who meets with similar results trying to strike at the creature's center. "Keep trying, this thing has to have a weak point somewhere!" The two golden hedgehogs begin to swarm around the Nightmare, attempting to strike at as many different points as they can, but failing every time. It seems to be completely encompassed by the box-shaped barrier. Further enraged, the creature swats them both away in one blow, launching them far back.

Sonic reaches for his communicator. "We're not getting anywhere here, this thing's untouchable!"

Knuckles shouts back, "Don't give up so easily! Remember the Metal Overlord?"

Tails adds, "Of course! Regular attacks didn't work back then either!"

Knuckles agrees. "But you know what did?"

Sonic nods. "Of course. A team attack!" He turns to Classic Sonic, offering his hand. "You ready to show this thing what we can really do?" The two happily clap hands, becoming cloaked in an intensely radiant golden aura. Then they take off together at blinding speeds. "Super Boost!"

The Phantom Nightmare roars, rapidly throwing massive fireballs from all of its hands. But the combined strength of the Super-powered hedgehogs is able to blast right through all attacks. Finally, they collide with the barrier, forcing against it with their full power for several moments. "Keep pushing through! We can do this!" The barrier shatters into a thousand cubes as they blast through, and strike right between the Nightmare's eyes. The massive creature tumbles backwards from the force of the blow, but quickly recovers.

Sonic nods down to Classic Sonic. "I'll bet we can wrap this up in one more go! Together, this thing's got nothing on us!" They prepare to clap hands again.

More enraged than ever, the Phantom Nightmare lets out the loudest roar yet, accompanied by an intense negative energy pulse from the Ruby.

"Super…" Just before their hands touch, the pulse hits them, knocking them tumbling away. "Wh-whoa, whoa!" The creature roars again, creating second pulse. But this one seems to wash over them harmlessly. Until Sonic's eyes begin to go blank.

Tails' voice calls in, "Sonic, can you hear me? What's going on? Sonic? Sonic!? Sonic!"

—–—

"Guys, something's wrong! Sonic isn't responding!"

Knuckles objects, "No way! They had this all wrapped up, they can't have lost now!"

Silver shakes his head slowly. "It can't be…"

A loud grunt sounds behind Tails. He turns to look at the Wolf, still standing beside the Jackal. Tails looks at them with confusion. "What is it, what do you need?"

The Jackal answers for him, "Isn't it obvious? He wants you to fly him to the Null Space portal."

"What!?"

Vector shouts, "Are you crazy, kid!? You won't last ten seconds against that thing!"

Knuckles steps up to him. "As your Commander, I can't let you go through with this. It's way too dangerous!"

The Jackal shakes his head. "Don't any of you understand? He's perfectly aware of the danger. He doesn't care. He's grown tired of running away from danger. He's willing to do whatever it takes."

Everyone goes silent for a long time at the meaning of the words. Finally Knuckles lowers his head. "Okay…I won't stop you."

Tails interrupts, "Hold on!" He pulls out something, and presents it to the Wolf. It appears to be a Wispon, but of a design not seen before. In color, it is white with just the slightest bluish tint, with a single violet spot printed towards the back. As if to indicate that it's special, a curly metallic piece sticks out from the top. "This is a prototype Colorless Wispon I've been working on. It's meant to be able to work with any kind of Wisp. You should take it, it might help you."

The Wolf takes the new weapon, replaces his old one, and takes a moment to get a feel for the weight and shape of it.

Suddenly, Vector shouts, "What the heck is that!?" He points high up into the sky, to an enormous cluster of constantly shifting points of light floating beneath the dim cloud cover.

Espio gasps. "Could it be…some sort of attack!?"

A loud squeaking noise comes out of the cluster as it begins to descend towards them rapidly.

Tails shakes his head. "It's not an attack…those are friends!" As the cluster draws closer, individual colors can be made out amongst the points of light, colors of an incredible variety, red, green, blue, orange, pink, magenta, and plenty of others. But a majority of them are white. "They're Wisps! Hundreds of them!"

The cluster of Wisps stop a short distance above the group, swarming around and squeaking happily. One particular Red Burst Wisp leaves the group, floating right up to the Wolf. It bounces around and squeaks especially excitedly to him, flailing its tentacle-like arms about as it jabbers on.

Amy looks to Tails. "Tails, what's he saying?"

Tails taps some commands into his Handheld to get the translator working. "Let's see here…he says… 'You saved us all from Baldy Nosehair…'" He stops to chuckle for a moment. "…'so now, we want to help you too.' Of course!" He looks to the Wolf. "These are all the Wisps you and Sonic freed during the war! They sensed that he was in trouble, so they want to help you save him!"

Nodding in affirmation, the Wisp happily soars into the Wolf's new Wispon. The rest of the cluster give a collective squeak, and begin streaming in after the first Wisp. The Wolf gasps in surprise as one after another soars into the same device in his hand, and it quickly becomes covered in a rainbow-colored aura.

Tails yells, "Hold on, it wasn't meant to hold that much–…" He trails off as the aura begins to spread, up the Wolf's arm and through the rest of his body. The radiant aura blows his fur wildly, but doesn't change its color. "Under the right circumstances…the Hyper-go-on energy that Wisps produce can be just as powerful as the Chaos Emeralds. You and Sonic should have no problem taking that thing down!"

The last of the Wisps stream in, and the force of it causes him to reel back a step. The Wolf looks up and down his arms in wonder.

"Well, what are you waiting for? You don't need me anymore!"

The Wolf nods with a slight chuckle. Then he crouches down, and spreads his arms wide.

"Eagle!"

He leaps up into the air, and continues to soar all the way to the portal, calling upon the power of the Crimson Eagle Wisp.

Tails looks up at him happily as he flies through. "Amazing…he found all the power he needed, by saving lives and making friends."

Knuckles nods in agreement. "We could all learn a thing or two from that kid."

Even the Jackal stares up with surprise. "He really is something, isn't he?"

—–—

? ? ?

The setting sun casts a brilliant orange gleam over the ocean, and out onto the grassy plain beyond. Sonic the Hedgehog runs by in a blue streak. There are no clouds in the blue and orange sky. There are no walls, no obstacles, no enemies, no allies. Just Sonic, sprinting through the open air as fast as his feet will carry him. His eyes are closed, letting the wind rush past his face. The only sound is that of his own rapid footsteps, crunching against the grass. No matter how far he runs, the landscape never changes. The sun never sets. A voice, distorted beyond any recognition, yet still soft-sounding, speaks slowly, "Your desire…is strong. You are…tired. Tired of fighting. Six months, you were trapped. Now all you want…is to be as far from it all as you can get. You don't have to fight anymore. You won't have to fight ever again…" Sonic doesn't react directly to the words, continuing to run along. But somehow, he seems to be comforted…

And yet, in reality, Super Sonic stares blankly off into Null Space, though still wearing the same expression of comfort on his face. From the watery Perfect Chaos body of the Phantom Nightmare, two tendrils reach for Sonic and Classic Sonic beside him, who stares off with the same blank eyes. As the tendril reaches Classic Sonic's foot, it begins to wrap slowly up and around him, binding him tightly. But he doesn't seem to notice, as a smile comes to his face…

A twinkling light soars away from the Little Planet and through the late-dusk sky, landing on a nearby cliffside between two others. A younger Tails happily embraces Classic Sonic at his return. Across from him, Knuckles gives a satisfied nod. Together, the three of them look out to the chained planetoid, as its chains begin to shatter, and it takes on an intense violet glow. As they watch on in wonder, the Virtual copy of the Little Planet begins to fade away in the same glitchy manner as the Replicas. "This is not your fight. It never was. All you want…is to return home, where you belong. To leave all of this Ruby mania behind you. Soon, you will be exactly where you belong…"

The tendrils wrap around their necks. Then across their mouths. "Soon, all of your troubles will be over."

"Laser!"

In an instant, the tendrils are sliced apart by a cyan streak, and the Wolf emerges on the other side. No longer connected to a source, the watery wrappings around the hedgehogs simply drip away.

"Drill!"

Directing his Wispon at the Nightmare, the Wolf spirals towards it, headed by a pointed energy aura.

"Rocket!"

Still drilling, the Wolf blasts forwards far faster than before, with speeds perhaps even matching Super Sonic. Even further angered by this interruption, the Phantom Nightmare roars again, and begins to charge six separate attacks at once. In each of its hands, fireballs of Zavok, Chaos Spears of Shadow, blue crystal attack of Metal Overlord, and green energy bullets of Perfect Chaos. Phantom King's energy spheres form around it. And in its mouth, Infinite's crimson laser. It unleashes the barrage of attacks all at once.

"Spikes!"

The Wolf becomes cloaked by a pink, spiked shell, rotating rapidly as he flies at the Nightmare. The impenetrable shell deflects every attack without being slowed in the slightest, fading away just as the Wolf rockets into his target. The Nightmare once again tumbles back from the force of the attack. The moment it recovers, it lets loose another negative pulse with a roar, which washes over the Wolf just as it did the hedgehogs.

The Wolf tries to straighten his arm, to point the Wispon at the creature, but he can't seem to get it to move. His eyes begin to glaze over.

"I remember you…. You, with desire unlike any other. Desire to save your home against all odds. And now, still just as strong. Desire to…to…" The strange voice begins to falter as, inch by inch, the Wolf's hand begins to move. "…to fight…alongside your friends. To…save their lives. To…point the weapon in your hand…and to fire."

"Burst!"

He fires an unbelievably large inferno from the Wispon, enough to completely encompass the massive creature.

The Nightmare distracted, the Sonics begin to shake themselves out of their delusions, just as the Wolf himself fully regains control. For a moment the two glance at each other, before turning their attention to the source of the massive fireball. Sonic shouts happily, "Buddy! You made it!"

The Wolf turns back to him with a smile and a thumbs-up. But while he looks away, a hand reaches out from the flames, and swats him away.

The Sonics catch the Wolf before he flies too far. After a moment to regain his balance he nods to them in thanks. Then they all turn to the creature. Sonic points out at it dramatically. "You've made a big mistake, pal. You messed with my friends." He indicates the two on either side of him. "So we're gonna show you what it means to put our trust in each other, to stand united no matter what!" He puts his fist out between the other two. "Right, guys?" They meet his fist with their own in a three-way fist bump. The Wolf's aura washes over the other two. Together, they dash towards the Nightmare, radiating the rainbow aura around them. "With the three of us together at max power, nothing can stand in our way! And this thing's just a hunk of rock with a bad attitude! Super…Triple…Boost!" A single, pointed aura encompassing them all, they blast off with blinding speed, drilling towards the Nightmare.

The Phantom Nightmare emits a continuous roar, unleashing wave after wave of negative energy pulses. But each pulse fails to distort the full spectrum of colors in the boosting projectile. They impact a newly-erected barrier. They blast through it almost instantly, only to impact another. It shatters just as quickly, giving way to still one more. No barriers left, the Nightmare protects itself with its arms. Each arm vanishes like Replicas after only a moment of contact. No means of protection left, the three blast straight through the creature's head. It lets out a pain-filled shriek, as its entire body glitches away into nothing, leaving only a dulled Ruby behind.

—–—

Everyone watches the portal in total silence. Suddenly, it starts to pulsate wildly. The two hedgehogs and the Wolf drop out and onto the ground. Sonic holds up the Phantom Ruby triumphantly. A cheer roars across the crowd. The Wolf gasps as all of the Wisps burst out of his Wispon, cheering just as fervently in their own squeaky language. Even the Jackal gives a satisfied smile. The weapon, emptied, drops out of the Wolf's hand, flinging sparks. Tails sighs, "Aww, that was my only prototype!" In the sky, the dim clouds are beginning to clear, revealing patches of clear blue on the other side.

A Burst Wisp, the same from before, approaches the Wolf from its crowd, and dances around him gleefully. He laughs at the sheer joy on the alien's face. Then he looks over to Tails questioningly. Tails digs through the data on the translator for him. "He's not really saying anything. He's just…happy. I think he wants to stay with you." The Wisp squeaks and flips around in affirmation of the suggestion. The Wolf laughs again, and reaches out to scratch the alien's chin.

Rouge looks over to Shadow. "So, gonna leave now?"

Shadow looks across the happy faces of the three celebrating heroes, and everyone else in the crowd. "Maybe I'll…stay with the Resistance a while longer."

Rouge nods with a smirk. "I knew you'd come around."

As the cheering finally begins to die down, Sonic looks to the dull violet gem in his hands. "Welp…time to get rid of this pain-in-the-neck once and for all." He raises the Ruby up high, as if to smash it into the ground.

Tails shouts, "Wait!"

Sonic freezes in place. "What's wrong?"

"Well…" Tails shifts around awkwardly. "…the other Sonic is being tethered to this dimension by the Ruby. Once it's gone…he'll be gone too."

"Oh." Sonic lowers the gem again, and turns to his counterpart. "I guess this is it then. Before we say goodbye…" He holds out a fist. "…one last time?" The two share an energetic fist bump. "Oh, and uh…" He scratches awkwardly at the back of his head. "…you remember how I told you your future was gonna be great?" Classic Sonic nods. Possibly thinking back to his last six months in captivity, Sonic finishes, "I…may have exaggerated a bit."

Classic Sonic shrugs as if to say, 'I never really believed you anyways.'

"Just keep being yourself, and I'm sure you'll manage." Sonic gives him the thumbs-up.

Tails approaches Classic Sonic nervously. "You know…you don't have to go. If you want, I bet I can figure out a way to–" Classic Sonic puts a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head and waggling a finger. "Of course. You have your own friends to get back to. Tell your Tails hi for me, okay?" Classic Sonic nods with a smile.

Sonic looks to him one last time. "Alright. Ready to go home, little guy?" In response, Classic Sonic raises an upturned fist and gives a confident smirk, in a familiar pose. "I'll take that as a yes." He once again raises the Ruby over his head. "Okay, for real this time! Goodbye, Phantom Ruby!" He hurls it at the ground as hard as he can. It bounces off of the ground with a pleasant 'tink' sound, completely undamaged. He bends down to pick it up again, chuckling awkwardly. "Heh heh. Guess it's not as fragile as those prototypes, huh?"

The Jackal slowly walks up to him. "I…I know how to destroy it." He holds out his hand. "If…you would allow me the satisfaction?"

Sonic looks from the Ruby to the Jackal, thinking for a few moments. "Well…you helped us out today…so I guess you've earned it." Somewhat reluctantly, Sonic hands it over.

The moment the Ruby touches the Jackal's hand, it takes on the slightest glow. "Finally…I can leave that old me behind." Shadow glances up at the sound of the words.

Sonic looks on with confusion. "Well, go on then. Destroy the Ruby, and the last bit of Infinite will be gone for good."

"That…wasn't quite what I meant." The Ruby begins to glow brighter, filled with the slow-crawling black rings that indicate it's been bonded. Its violet aura begins to wash over him.

"You know…I think I've changed my mind, why don't you just hand the Ruby back, and we'll find another way to–"

"Enough!" With Infinite's shout, a massive negative pulse is unleashed, knocking all off their feet. Wisps and soldiers alike scatter and flee in terror. The Wolf's new friend retreats into his old Wispon, lying on the floor not far away.

Amidst the chaos, Sonic struggles to stand. "What…are you…doing?"

Infinite gives a hearty laugh. "Oh, the poor insect doesn't realize that he's been lied to! How sad."

"But…you said the Ruby…wanted to destroy you!"

"Well, perhaps that part wasn't a lie. Though I must thank you for subduing it for me. It wouldn't have been possible to bond with in such a volatile state. But now, it is under my control."

"You couldn't even stand…to hear Infinite's name!"

"My name!" He calms down with a chuckle. "It was quite the convincing charade, wasn't it? I might have even convinced myself, for a while. But what fool would want to resist this power?"

The Wolf grunts loudly in objection.

"Oh, you don't believe me? Adorable."

The Wolf shakes his head fervently.

"You think you see the good in me, do you?" He clutches his free hand over his scarred blue eye. "All just part of the facade. But there was one truth that I told you. You and I are so alike. You found your means to power just as I have. You understand this world just as I do. You don't have to be my enemy." He extends a hand outwards.

The Wolf looks to the ground, clenching a shaking fist. Suddenly, he turns, dives, and rolls along the ground, skillfully snatching his old Burst Wispon from the ground, coming up in a crouch, and pointing it at Infinite. His finger hovers inches from the trigger. The weapon clatters in his trembling hands.

Infinite shakes his head in disappointment. "Even now, still filled with anxiety and doubt. But it's just not the same. I won't force you to flee this time. You don't deserve to be so demeaned. Just remember my offer, child."

"You won't get away with this!" Sonic dives at Infinite.

Infinite darts upwards in a flash as Sonic crashes to the ground beneath him. "I'm afraid I'm in no condition to teach you a lesson now, hedgehog. The Ruby requires far more time to recharge. But rest assured. I'll be back for you." Arms outstretched, he drifts backwards into the Null Space portal, laughing maniacally. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" His laughter fades away as he vanishes through the collapsing vortex.

Knuckles gapes at the spot where the portal used to be. "What…just…happened?"

Sonic once again climbs to his feet, dusting himself off. "Right now…Infinite is gone. And Eggman's down too. Right now, the world is safe."

"Hey, what happened to Eggman, anyways?"

Sonic shrugs. "I'm sure we'll figure that out eventually." He turns to the Wolf, who hangs his head and stares at the ground. He puts a hand on his shoulder. "You alright, buddy?" He doesn't look up. "I know you wanted to see some good in him. We all did. Maybe everyone's born with a hero somewhere inside of them, you're proof enough of that. But some people just…stamp it out, until there's nothing left."

The Wolf clenches a fist, as if holding on to the slightest something. In his other hand, the Wisp pokes its head cautiously out of the Wispon, peeking around with its top eye. Seeing that it's safe, it comes the rest of the way out, and starts to poke the Wolf in the shoulder. He finally looks at it. It squeaks and dances around. Its antics are enough to put a smile back on his face. Its job done, it retreats back into his Wispon, apparently quite comfortable there.

"Sonic, look!" Tails points with surprise at Classic Sonic. An odd particle of light drifts away from him. A second follows a moment later.

"What's happening to him?"

Tails looks over the readings on his Handheld. "I think…he's going home."

"But the Ruby wasn't destroyed. I thought you said that's what was keeping him here."

"It was. But…the Ruby's not in this dimension any more, and Sonic's not out there with it. Without them here together, it can't hold him here anymore, not without any Ruby prototypes left to extend its influence between dimensions."

Classic Sonic looks up and down his own arms as he begins to spew more particles of light all over, and his body begins to fade in and out. Above him, the sky has cleared of all but a few white and fluffy clouds, revealing nothing but blue the shade of his fur behind them. Quite some time must have passed since Eggman was defeated.

Tails steps up to him with a smile. "I guess…this is goodbye." He offers his hand forward. "Get home safely, Sonic." Classic Sonic steps forwards to take his hand. Tails gives a satisfied nod. "And thanks for everything."

With his other hand, Classic Sonic gives a thumbs-up with a smirk and a nod of his own. Then he looks out to the rest of the group of heroes, who give their own waves, grunts, and nods in farewell. Even Shadow gives a casual flick of the hand.

Classic Sonic's hand slips through Tails' as he continues to fade away. He takes the hand back, clenches into a fist, and looks at it for a while. Then he offers the fist back out. Tails looks at his own hand in understanding. Despite no longer being able to touch, the two gently meet their fists in the middle in a spiritual fist bump. Finally, Classic Sonic takes his hand back into a big wave at everyone, along with a great big smile, as the last of the light, along with him, fades away.

Tails reaches out as if to call him back. But he stops to hang his head instead. Sonic steps up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Cheer up, Tails. I'm sure we'll run into him again." Both of them turn back to the rest of the group. Sonic opens his hands to begin a speech. "Alright, guys! It's time we cleaned up the mess that Eggman left this world in. And I'm not talking about those illusions he dreamed up for us. We need to fix the real world we all live in!" One by one, everyone grunts and nods in agreement.

Tails seems especially convinced. "True that." The Wolf beside him happily grunts as well.

"Come on, let's go!" Sonic turns off to the horizon with a raised fist.

Everyone together cheers, "Yeah!"

—–—

Null Space

Some time later

Blacklight's pod continues to drift slowly through the empty void. "Contained within this pod is a creature of unspeakable power…"

Infinite, the Phantom Ruby secured to his chest, floats such that he can continue to stare into the glass. He still has no mask. "That face…" He clenches a fist. "The world continues to taunt me, by sending me that face, just to remind me of the weakling I once was. But I suppose that's the way it goes." He puts his hand over his entire face, as if to push up a mask that isn't there. "Clearly, you are not Shadow the Hedgehog. But I will just as gladly enjoy tearing you apart!" He grabs the side of the pod, and tears off the glass cover, tossing it into the void. "Come, then! Show me how 'unspeakable' your powers truly are!"

Blacklight lies exposed to the open space, still with the same calm smile on his face. He doesn't stir in the slightest.

Infinite growls angrily. He moves right up to Blacklight's face. "Why won't you wake up!?"

In an instant, the hedgehog's hand wraps around the Ruby. Blacklight opens his eyes just to give Infinite a wink. Then he delivers a hard kick, sending the Jackal flying away through the void, separated from the Ruby.

"Noooo!" The Jackal's cry fades away as he tumbles farther and farther.

Blacklight is occupied only with his new prize, an intense look of glee on his face. "I have a feeling that today is going to be a grrreat day!"

To be continued…