BREAKING NEWS

There is nothing but constant, harsh, grating static filling the screen.

—–—

Hero the Wolf struggles to open his eyes, slowly regaining consciousness. Clutching at his head, he rises back to his feet with a loud grunt.

Shadow's voice comes in over the communicator. "Hero! Hero, what's going on?"

Hero looks around in confusion. He stands on the crest of a small hill, in broad daylight. One side of the hill leads off into wide grassy plains, while the opposite side gives way to dirt and rock. A small town lies off not far in the distance.

"What are you doing out there? You need to get back to base."

Hero looks down at the Burst Wispon in his hand. He taps the side of it a couple times. Nothing happens. He seems to be completely alone.

"Get moving. You're wasting time."

Seeming unsettled, Hero slowly begins to step down the grassy side of the hill. Something in front of him begins to move. A cluster of shadowy figures begin to rise out of the ground. Blacklight's minion creatures. Dark clouds are quickly forming in the sky. Pointing his weapon at them in threat, Hero backs off slowly, preparing to run the other way. But more creatures rise behind him as well. He's soon completely surrounded. The creatures begin to lurch towards him from all sides. Hero lets loose a stream of fire at each one as it draws close, but can't handle them all quickly enough, as they continue to draw in closer as a group. The first few drops of rain begin to fall.

Changing tactics, Hero concentrates his fire in a single direction, then charges through as quickly as he can, carving a line through the solid mass of creatures. The creatures close in behind him, reaching and clawing after him. The drizzle has become a downpour. As he makes it through the last row of creatures, one of them manages to claw right at his shoulder. He cries out in pain from the wound, but keeps on running, quickly leaving the creatures behind.

His feet splash through a deepening puddle, already reaching up to his ankles. But it isn't a puddle. All around him, as far as the eye can see, the water level has risen up to the same constant height, and still continues to rise from the pouring rain. He looks over his shoulder and gasps, seeing a massive tidal wave approaching. Panting now, he runs from the torrent of water as fast as he can move, but it's no use, as the wave soon crashes over him, sending him flailing through the water. He manages to swim back up, gasping for air as he reaches the surface, before being thrown back under again by the torrential waves. Struggling back up again, he manages to grab ahold of an uprooted tree that floats through the chaotic waters, and pulls himself up onto it, given time to finally breathe.

After panting and coughing on his hands and knees for a short while, he rises up to a kneeling position, points his weapon out, and pulls the trigger a few times. Nothing comes out. It appears to be broken. Angrily, he wraps his fingers around the top cover of the Wispon, and rips it off, revealing an empty compartment inside. He stares at the empty compartment with sorrow and confusion. Then, letting out an angry shout, he hurls the useless weapon as far out into the water as he can. Then he collapses back onto his hands. His wounded shoulder heaves in a muffled sob. The rain continues to pour over him.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 0, Episode 30

Forces of Chaos, Part 4: Don't Believe

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Apotos - Bell Square

Knuckles dives in for a punch at the heavily-armed Metal Sonic Replica. A large missile rises out of Metal Sonic's back, and fires. Amy jumps in, knocking the missile off course with her hammer, allowing Knuckles to keep going. But Metal Sonic switches to a continuous red laser beam fired out of the center of its chest, forcing Knuckles to swerve out of the way into a glide. He lands back on the ground next to Amy.

"It's no use! We aren't fast enough to get in close!"

An unmistakably familiar voice answers, "Sound like a job for me!" A blue streak speeds by, slamming into Metal Sonic with a spin attack. Sonic the Hedgehog stands triumphantly over the Replica robotic replica. "Hey, guys. What'd I miss?" Beneath his foot, Metal Sonic points up its wrist-mounted blaster, and fires. Sonic is sent flying back.

Sonic manages to land on his feet, covering his face with his hands and arms where he was hit. "Come o-on, guys! Let's take him together!" He brings his arms back down, shaking off the hit. A slight amount of some sort of smoke dissipates away, but he doesn't appear to be burned anywhere. He dashes back in towards Metal Sonic, this time knocking it into the air. As it falls back to the ground, Amy strikes it from the side with her hammer, sending it flying towards Knuckles, who pounds it into the ground. Defeated, the Replica fades away in the usual glitchy haze.

Sonic turns back to his friends. "So, how–"

Amy cuts him off, embracing him without shame. "Oh, Sonic, I'm so glad you're okay! Tails said that you…you were…"

Quite uncomfortable, Sonic gently pushes her away, reclaiming his personal space. "Right now, I'm here, and I'm fine, and that's what matters. Now…shouldn't we be getting back to base?"

Amy nods. "Yeah, that's right. I already sent the troops to secure the rest of the city, so we're free to go. You know, Tails is going to be so happy to see you up again. He was really worried."

"Yeah, I'll bet he was."

Knuckles looks at Sonic with confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just…you know…I'll bet he was."

Amy waves Knuckles along. "Come on, let's go, Knuckles." She starts walking, Sonic following behind.

"Hey wait, I was going to get another ice cream first!"

"Knuckles…"

"Fine, fine, I'm coming." He runs to catch up.

—–—

Casino Park - Roulette Carnival

E-123 Omega unleashes machine gun fire from each of his hands, tearing through entire rows of Eggman robots. Every last one of them with quickly dealt with. "Annihilation complete."

"Annihilation? You call that an annihilation?" Suspended by a large jetpack, Heavy Gunner rises above the circular platform. "I could blow up more stuff in my sleep!"

Omega locks his sensors on the Gunner. "Robot model not recognized. Initiating scans… Error: scanner failure. No data found." He points an arm up threateningly. "Identify yourself!"

"No data found? This presents a problem, now doesn't it? Well then, let me introduce myself. Heavy Gunner, at your service. You could call me the sheriff around these parts." He takes a closer look at Omega's weapons. "Ooh, that's a pretty nice gun you got there yourself. But as you can see, mine's bigger." He hefts his massive blaster up onto his shoulder, and pats it on the side a couple times. "And you can thank her new power source for your little scanner failure. These Rubies are crazy, you know? But they sure pack a wallop. Here, let me show you!" An intense violet glow forms down the barrel of the large cannon.

Omega opens fire, unloading an arm's worth of ammunition at the Gunner. But the bullets all seem to bounce harmlessly off of a thin violet shield. In response, Heavy Gunner fires a massive missile at Omega. Omega rapidly transforms one of his arms into a missile launcher of his own, firing a small one off immediately. The two missiles collide and explode between them in a massive fireball. Heavy Gunner gives a laugh at the spectacle. But he's already fired off two more. Omega guns at one of them until it finally explodes, but the other continues to fly at him.

"Omega, look out!" Rouge suddenly appears, striking at the missile, sending it flying in the opposite direction.

Heavy Gunner's eyes flash in terror as his own missile head right towards him. He bobs out of the way just in time to avoid being hit by it. "Hey, watch it!"

Rouge looks up to Omega. "Hey. Having fun?"

"This unidentified Eggman robot provides adequate challenge. However, assistance is not necessary."

Heavy Gunner shouts angrily, "Adequate!? I'll show you 'adequate'!" He starts to fire off missiles at a rapid pace.

While Rouge goes to work kicking the missiles back at the shooter, Omega targets all weapons on Heavy Gunner. The attacks are still deflected off the Gunner's barrier, and he lets out a hearty laugh at Omega's failure. But while he's distracted, all of the reflected missiles hit their new target, blasting away at, and finally destroying, the Gunner's shield. When the smoke clears he's become covered in soot, his cannon sparks dangerously, and his damaged jetpack barely keeps him suspended. "Grr… We'll duel again some other time, Omega. I'll remember you." He jets away, stuttering through the air and trailing smoke.

Rouge once again turns back to Omega. "Assistance is not necessary, hm?"

Omega repeats, "Assistance was not necessary. However…it increased combat efficiency."

"Good to see you too. Now come on, let's get back to base. Shadow's waiting for us."

"Shadow has reclaimed his military position?"

"Not exactly. I'll explain on the way."

—–—

The GUN CLIP

Vector the Crocodile stands with arms crossed, flanked on either side by his teammates, Espio and Charmy. "Sorry to disappoint, Commander. We may've turned down payment after the last war, but we've got ourselves a strict limit of one pro bono job only. We have a business to run, I'm sure you understand. You ain't paying, we ain't fighting."

Charmy cheers, "Yeah, one pro bono job only!" He looks over to Espio and whispers, "Hey, what's 'pro bono' mean?" Espio shushes him.

The GUN Commander responds simply, "I never said you wouldn't be paid."

This catches Vector's attention. "Go on."

"A military General receives…quite a fair annual income. I can arrange for you to get the first year's up front. And, once this war is over, I can make sure you're free to leave without any further obligations. That goes for each of the three of you, of course."

When Vector realizes that his mouth is hanging open, he quickly shakes his head and clears his throat. "My teammates and I will need a moment to discuss your offer."

"Take all the time you need."

The Chaotix take a few steps away, and huddle close together. Vector whispers, "Is this guy crazy? Three years' salary, up front?"

Espio adds, "And the sooner this war ends, the less work we put in for just as much payment."

Charmy shouts loudly, "Yeah! We're gonna be rich!" The other two both shush him.

Vector turns back to the Commander. "We accept. Count us in."

"Excellent." The Commander offers his hand. "Welcome to the team, General Vector."

Vector returns a firm handshake. "The Chaotix are happy to help anyone in need. For the right price."

While still shaking his hand, the Commander leans in close to Vector's ear, whispering, "Speaking of price, the money you still owe GUN for your little joyride to the ARK during the Black Arms invasion will be deducted from your payment."

"What!? I don't–" Before he can finish objecting, the door to the base hisses open, as Rouge and Omega enter.

Rouge looks over to Vector. "Who invited these losers?"

"Losers!?"

The Commander answers, "I invited them. Because I've seen them do good work." Vector takes note of the compliment, but doesn't say anything further.

Omega walks up to Shadow, confronting him directly. "Why do you continue to waste your own time?"

"Wh-what?"

"You cannot continue to exist without a primary objective. Yet you insist on abandoning the longest-held objective of your existence. It does not compute."

Shadow shakes his head. "I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Negative. Comprehensive data exists on the alteration of primary objective. Your failure to complete the process is entirely your own."

Rouge sighs. "Leave it to Omega to put things bluntly. But he does have a point, Shadow. You've been brooding for more than six months now. I get needing some time, but are you really going to go right back to it once this is all over?"

Shadow turns away from both of them. "I don't need anyone telling me what to do."

"Sure doesn't seem that way."

The conversation ends as the door to the base opens once again, this time letting in Amy and Knuckles. Knuckles announces loudly, "I have some great news, everyone."

Shadow looks up. "What is it?"

"Why don't I let Sonic tell you himself?" Knuckles steps aside, letting Sonic come in through the door.

Sonic opens his arms wide as if starting a show. "I'm awake!"

The slightly crowded room goes alight with excited murmuring. Tails flies up to Sonic excitedly. "Sonic, you're okay! I can't believe it, it seemed like you were… How did you… Wait…" Tails looks out behind him. "…where's Chaos?"

Sonic scratches his head for a moment. "Chaos like the Emerald, or the creature, or… oh, the guy! You mean Chaos the guy!" He shakes his head, muttering to himself, "Who thought that was a good idea, anyway?"

"What was that?"

"Oh, right, Chaos, he…he uh…wanted to stay back, and, you know…meditate and stuff. That's just what he does, you know?"

"Umm… right…"

Shadow questions, "How did you escape from the Virtual Reality?"

"Virtual what? Oh, oh, is that what was going on? Well it was like…you know, like a…like a dream. I just reached the end, and then, you know, I woke up."

Rouge tilts her head to the side a bit. "You feeling alright there, Big Blue? Seems like you're a little confused."

"Uhh…yeah… That must be…the residual effects…of the Virtual Reality. Yeah, that must be it. So come on guys, are we gonna start winning this war, or what?"

Knuckles shakes his head. "We're still waiting on a report in from–" The door hisses open once again. "Nevermind, that must be them."

Instead, an unmistakable voice sounds through the doorway. "Hey, guys. What'd I–" Sonic the Hedgehog freezes in the doorway as he catches sight of Sonic the Hedgehog. "What the–"

The first Sonic steps right up into the face of the new one, placing an accusatory finger on his chest. "Just who are you supposed be? Some kind of faker?"

"Faker!? Who you calling a faker, faker!?"

"You're trying to call me the fake? I was here first, pal."

"Yeah? Well you won't be here for long!" The new Sonic dives into the old one, and the two of them tumble across the floor, quickly making it impossible to tell one from the other.

Amy shouts in the confusion, "Oh no! What do we do!?"

Tails stares at the fight in utter confusion. "What's even happening here!?"

Attempting to solve the problem, Vector and Omega each grab a shoulder of one of the Sonics, pulling them apart. They continue to struggle against their strong-armed captors, trying to get back at each other. "What're you doing!? Let go of me!"

"Let me back at him!"

Shadow steps between the two of them. "Both of you, shut up." They immediately obey, leaving the whole room completely silent. He turns to the Sonic held by Vector. "Who are you?"

"Come on, Shadow. We've been through a lot together. We're rivals. Friends, I like to think. Look me in the eye, Shadow. You know it's me, don't you?"

Shadow turns to the other one without a response. "You?"

"Look, Shadow, I know you and I don't always see eye-to-eye. But you aren't really going to believe sappy over there, are you? Don't fall for his tricks. I'm the real me."

Shadow closes his eyes with a sigh. "Let them go. Both of you, look at me." The Sonics are released, and obediently turn to Shadow. "I'm only going to ask this once. Who is the faker?"

Each of the Sonics at once point to each other and shout fervently, "He is!"

Shadow looks from one to the other, nodding slowly. "That's all I needed to know." Suddenly, Shadow throws a powerful roundhouse kick that hits both of the Sonics, sending them crashing back into the wall. Everyone in the room gasps, as one Sonic dissolves into a glitchy haze, while the other goes up in a billowing cloud of smoke that sparkles like the stars.

When the smoke dissipates, Heavy Magician is revealed, crouching on the floor. "Well…always such a shame when a trick goes awry." She looks across the room to the near dozen heroes that all stare at her angrily. "So…for my next trick, I'll make a pretty lady disappear!" With a flick of her wand, she's enveloped by another cloud of smoke. Shadow dives into the cloud, but this time, there's no one inside.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Espio finally asks, "They were both fake?"

Shadow nods. "Blacklight wants to throw us off guard. Make us feel unsafe. That other one just wanted to pull a trick. Maybe lead us into a trap."

Amy adds, "So that must mean…"

Tails finishes, "The real Sonic is still asleep. Still trapped in Virtual Reality."

The Commander questions, "How did you realize they weren't real?"

"Simple. The real Sonic wouldn't have passed up the chance to point at me."

The Commander gives a confused look, but doesn't question any further.

Knuckles questions, "And…you were certain about that?"

"Mostly."

Before Knuckles can object, the familiar hiss of the door sounds yet again, making everyone turn to its source. This time, Bruno the Wisp floats in the doorway, bearing a terrified expression. He starts to squeak and jabber at a feverous pace.

Tails quickly pulls out his Handheld to translate. "Hold on, hold on, I'm working on it." He puts in commands almost as fast as the Wisp babbles. "Can you slow down? I can't translate that fast." The Wisp ignores him, maybe even speaking faster in frustration. "Wh-what? The infirmary? He was hit? … Oh no." He lets the device drop down to his side. Finally understood, the Wisp turns and soars back out the door, and Tails runs to follow him, waving everyone else to come along.

—–—

Hero steps slowly, cautiously through the streets of the town, empty-handed. He absently reaches back to feel the wound on his shoulder, but suddenly draws his hand away from the pain of the touch. There doesn't seem to be any sign of water damage in the town. Even the streets are completely dry. His ears perk up as he notices a faint sound from afar. He picks up his pace a bit to investigate. A single old-fashioned television sits on display in a shop window. A news report appears to be running on the screen, but behind the borders and various channel logos, there's nothing but static, creating the strange sound. He looks at the old screen for a while in confusion and curiosity.

A blinding flash and terrifying boom of lightning and thunder gives him a startling fright, turning his attention to the sky. The lightning appears to have struck not far off in the town, starting a fire whose glow can be seen from a fair distance away.

Hero quickly surveys his surroundings, looking for options in case another torrential rainstorm begins. Instead, something solid strikes him in the head, and rolls out onto the street. Rubbing his head from the impact, he bends down to pick it up. It appears to be a shiny red apple. He turns it around in his hand a few times, trying to figure out where it came from. He looks up into the air, and is struck with an expression of horror. Thousands more apples are raining down from the sky. He throws up his arms to protect his head just as the apples start to hit. Taking shelter, he barges through the door of the shop. Inside, the static from the television is much louder, mixing oddly with the sound of falling apples outside.

Hero takes a few deep breaths in his moments of respite. An odd hissing sound starts to mix with the ambient noise. He looks up to its source slowly. Out of the shadows in the corner of the room, a large pair of piercing yellow eyes stare out at him. A giant snake, white and covered in green patterns, slithers out from the shadows. Its forked tongue sticks out as it hisses again.

Hero rushes back out into the street, this time letting out an audible shout of terror, gladly taking the barrage of fruit over a duel with the creature. He runs through the apple-covered streets as fast as he can go, once again protecting his head with his arms. One apple makes it past his defenses as he runs, striking him in the face, and leaving behind a large crack in his glasses. He still keeps running.

He doesn't at first seem to notice a giant shadow forming in his path. Once he does, he manages to skid to a halt just inches away from the gigantic, building-sized apple that crashes into the street. It starts to roll towards him, quickly picking up speed as he turns and sprints the other way, seeming intent on crushing him.

Hero gasps as he catches sight of the snake, still coming after him from the direction he now runs, baring its fangs in preparation to strike. At the last moment, Hero fires his grappling wire up and away, pulling him to relative safety as the snake behind him misses its mark and plunges its fangs into the giant apple instead.

Hero lands back on the ground and keeps running, this time not even bothering to protect himself. He's quickly losing his breath. Suddenly, one of his feet lands on an apple at the wrong angle, and he slips and tumbles to the floor. He struggles to get back to his knees as quickly as he can.

A gloved hand is offered out to him. An unmistakable voice greets, "Hey, buddy. Need some help?"

—–—

Hero's unconscious form lies out on the medical stretcher. Pristine white bandages have been wrapped around his shoulder and back. Infinite stands over him, staring at the bandaged wound. Bruno and Tails rush in to the infirmary room, quickly followed by the others. Tails looks from Hero to Infinite. "What…what happened?"

Infinite doesn't turn. "Blacklight showed up unexpectedly. Trapped him in a Virtual Reality."

"And…you brought him back here, instead of fighting?"

He doesn't answer for a moment. "The Ruby was right there. But there was nothing I could do about it. Not alone. Not when I'm so weak."

"That wound…was he hurt in the battle?"

"No. It happened while he was asleep. It happened in the Virtual Reality."

Bruno hovers back and forth near Hero's face, letting out a depressed squeak.

Vector shakes his head. "Man, poor Rookie. Who knows what's happening to him in there?"

Knuckles objects, "He's not a Rookie anymore. He's a Hero. I know he can pull through this."

Amy lets out a sigh. "First Sonic, and now this. Blacklight won't stop until he's trapped everyone of us, will he?"

Shadow shakes his head. "We won't let that happen. We have to stop him ourselves." He looks up to Infinite. "You…did the right thing."

"You've all said it yourselves. Anything else would be suicide." He looks down at the blade in his hand. "He was my only hope. My only chance. But he fell to the Ruby's power, just like all the rest. It's just like I always said. Hope is a fleeting illusion."

Tails shakes his head. "You're wrong. It was never about just one person. Hero alone, Shadow alone, you alone, were never going to accomplish anything. It's all of us, working together as a team, that's going to save the world. For Sonic. For Hero. For everyone."

Shadow nods in agreement. "We can't let this set us back. We need to keep fighting." He gives a questioning look to Infinite.

Infinite takes another pause. "…I'll keep fighting. Because I want to kill that Blacklight myself."

Suddenly, a large crack forms in Hero's glasses, startling everyone. Tails looks up to Shadow with concern. But Shadow doesn't have any answer.

Another voice suddenly announces, "My apologies, is this a bad time?"

Tails looks up to the voice with surprise. "Chaos?"

Chaos the Hedgehog stands in the doorway of the infirmary. "I was told I could find you all here. I'm pleased to see that you've done so well here, Miles."

"I don't understand, what are you doing here?"

"You've…inspired me, Miles. After…some convincing, I came to realize that, if my purpose here truly is to help the Controller maintain Balance, I should work to fulfill that purpose, whether he is able to or not."

"But the reason you were staying behind was to watch Sonic, what about him?"

Shadow cuts him off before he can answer. "Who are you?"

"Ah, are you the substitute for the Controller that Miles mentioned?"

Tails immediately objects, "That's not how it is, you just missed the speech. We're all here to save the world together, it isn't about replacing one person."

"Yes, yes, of course, but this is the one, right?"

"Yeah, I guess…" He looks over to Shadow. "Uh, sorry, Shadow, this is Chaos. He's the one who's been training Sonic. He's a friend, we can trust him."

Shadow nods in understanding as Chaos scrutinizes him closely. Chaos questions, "Shadow, hm? I believe the Controller may have mentioned you once. So, you're the one in charge here?"

The Commander steps in. "Technically, I'm the leader of this organization."

"Ah, a man of Balance, I can tell by looking at you." He offers out his hand. "Chaos, Lord of Chaos, at your service."

The Commander shakes his hand, trying not to take the comment as an insult about his eyes. "I'm happy to welcome another member to the team. However, under some special circumstances, Shadow does have command here."

"I see." Chaos turns back to Shadow. "How curious. A heart of Darkness leading against the forces of Darkness. Not altogether unbelievable. But curious."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing at all. Just an observation. But…" He starts to look over Shadow with greater interest. "…there's something else about you. You…you are a natural-born Chaos user, aren't you? I didn't know there were any on this planet."

"Not exactly natural. How can you tell?"

"I can sense the Chaos energy that flows through you. It is…tumultuous. But powerful. Locked deep within, so deep I almost didn't see it at first." His eyes move to the rings around Shadow's wrists. "Curious. Very curious. But enough of that. We have a war to fight, don't we?"

Knuckles steps forward, suddenly objecting, "Wait a minute!" He glares at Chaos suspectingly. "How do we know that you aren't another one of those Replicas, sent here to trick us?"

"A Replica, hm? I suppose I hadn't thought of that. If it helps, I do come bearing something we may find helpful." Chaos presents a glittering green Emerald for everyone to see.

"That doesn't prove anything! How can we trust you?"

Chaos ponders that for a moment. "Hmm…how can you trust me?" As a thought occurs to him, he leans in close to Knuckles, whispering, "You tell me, K'waqochu."

Knuckles recoils back a step at the sound of the Echidna word, waving his hands in indication that that's enough. "Nevermind, nevermind, he's good. I trust him."

"Very good. Now…" Chaos looks over to the side as he notices something. "…why is that one looking at me like that?" He points over at Infinite, who's been glaring at him silently for quite some time.

Infinite answers, "That gem on your chest…what is it?"

"Oh, you must be referring to my Moonstone. It's…rather complicated, but, needless to say, it is important."

"I wonder…does it feel like the Ruby?" Infinite continues to glare into it.

"I…don't mean to be rude, but you are making me feel a bit uncomfortable." Infinite does not respond. "Perhaps…if I…" A bit hesitant, Chaos waves his hand over the seven-colored Moonstone on his chest, and, as if by some sort of magic trick, when his hand leaves, the gem is no longer there. "There. Something the Controller once said, 'Out of sight, out of mind,' if I remember correctly."

With nothing left to look at, Infinite turns back to Hero instead.

Chaos follows his gaze, and takes a close look at Hero. "This one…was he also in a battle against the Phantom Ruby? I sense the same disturbance in his heart."

Tails nods slowly. "Yeah. He's trapped in a Virtual Reality, just like Sonic. And…hey, wait a minute, you never answered my question! Who's taking care of Sonic!?"

"Of course, my mistake. You see, after you left, Miles, I meditated much on the thought of joining your fight. My only conclusion was that my duties to the Controller were more important. That is, until I came across I wise and friendly local. He convinced me that I could not allow the Controller's present condition to prevent me from serving the Balance. He even agreed to watch over the Controller in my place."

"He changed your mind?"

"Well…what he said was… 'The biggest fish only come out when it rains. If you only go fishing when the weather's nice, you'll never catch the one you're looking for.' But I understood what he meant."

"Well…it sounds like he knows what he's talking about. I guess that means Sonic's in good hands."

"I certainly believe so."

—–—

Mystic Ruins

Big the Cat sits on a stool which looks quite a bit too small for him, watching over the unconscious form of Sonic the Hedgehog. He lets out a loud yawn. "Hey Froggy, do you think Mr. Sonic will be okay?" He sits in the quiet for a few moments longer. "Froggy?" He starts to look around in confusion. "Froggy? Froggy, where'd you go?" He hangs his head in sorrow. "Now what am I gonna do?"

—–—

Virtual Reality

Hero backs off a few steps, in fear of the figure that stands before him.

Sonic slowly puts out his hands. "Hey, hey, calm down, buddy. It's me. It's Sonic. I'm really here. Somehow, I think we're connected through this…crazy world."

Hero stops his retreat, and scrutinizes the form of Sonic closely through his broken glasses.

"You want proof? That's fine. Let me show you." Sonic reaches behind him to pull something out. It's a sparkling blue Chaos Emerald. "You see this? This one of the Chaos Emeralds. It's the only reason I've lasted this long in here." He takes a few steps towards Hero, and slowly places the gem in his hands. "It's yours now."

Hero looks to the gem with wonder.

"Feel that warmth? That's no trick. It's the real deal."

He looks up from the Emerald to Sonic. Tears start to well up in his eyes.

Sonic places a hand on Hero's good shoulder. "I know, I know." He seems to be fighting back tears as well. "It's really good to finally see a friendly face." He clears his throat. "Do you know how long I've been in here? Has it been days?" Hero shakes his head. "Weeks?" He gives a nod. "Alright. Weeks. That's not so bad. Is everyone holding up alright? Tails?" A nod again. "Oh, that's a relief. So…if you're here…that must mean people are fighting back, right? Against whoever that guy was pretending to be Infinite?"

Hero gives another nod, but looks up into the sky as he realizes something. There's no longer any apples falling from the sky. Some of the clouds even seem to be thinning out a bit, revealing small patches of sunlight. He looks down. The streets are clear as well.

"Notice anything different? This place somehow reacts to how much you want to get out. The harder you try, the harder it fights back. The crazier things get. As long as you aren't trying anything, things calm down a bit. But now that we're here together, I think we have a pretty good shot at getting out." He holds out a closed fist. "What do you say?"

Hero gives a big smile, and energetically returns the fist bump.

Sonic looks out across the long stretch of road that leads to the grassy hills beyond. "All we need is a straight shot. You ready?"

Hero nods, and takes up a running stance.

Sonic takes a similar stance beside him. "Here we…go!" The two take off together at blistering speed. Then the ground beneath them starts to tremble and crack. "Just keep going! Don't stop for anything!" The road in their path suddenly splits into a massive fissure.

—–—

Eggman Empire Fortress

"Useless, useless, useless!" Eggman points angrily to each of Heavy King, Heavy Gunner, and Heavy Magician in turn. The gash in Heavy King's chestplate appears to have been welded back together, leaving a large metallic scar through the once-clean crown insignia that used to lie there. "All of you have been nothing but failures! I thought you were supposed to be an elite force!"

Orbot comments sarcastically from behind him, "Gee, it's almost like they don't want to be here."

Eggman doesn't seem to hear him. "I'm very disappointed in all of you."

Heavy King growls back, "Perhaps our performance would be more to your liking if we had the real Phantom Ruby, instead of your uncharged fakes."

"This is not an open discussion, King. We're losing this war, and it's your faults. You'll all be sent to defend what's left of our borders. And if you continue to disappoint me, you'll be turned into scrap metal. Dismissed!"

Keeping his eyes on the Doctor, Heavy King turns to leave, Gunner and Magician following behind him. As soon as they reach the next room, King turns to Magician. "I've had enough of this. It's time. Is Rider in position?"

Heavy Magician nods. "Yes, but…Boss, you sure this is a good idea?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well…isn't it a bit…overkill? We just want free, we aren't lookin' to demolish the place. We don't gotta destroy the old man."

Gunner objects, "Speak for yourself, missy. We've got the means to demolish the place, we'll be freed along the way, let's do it. So what if we take down that sidewinding old fool along the way?"

"That's enough, both of you. Once we're done here, we're going straight for the Ruby. That will require all the power we have. There is no overkill. Now contact Rider. Tell her to activate it." He leans in close to Heavy Magician. "And never question my command again."

—–—

Outside the fortress, the earth shakes as if by a mighty crash. The crash is followed by another. And another. Large puffs of sparkling smoke form at seemingly random points in the air, as Heavy Magician's disappearing act begins to wear off. Something begins to take shape as the illusion fades. Something terrifyingly massive.

Inside the fortress, alarms wail as the ground continues to shake periodically. Eggman shouts angrily, "Orbot, what's going on!? Are we under attack!?"

Orbot works hard at the main console. "I don't think so, sir. There aren't any intruders on the scanners. Except…here's something, a robot signature not recognized by the system."

"One of the Heavies?"

"No, sir, they were all added to the database."

"Then what!?"

Heavy King's voice sounds from behind them, "Sorry, did I forget to mention?"

Eggman turns to him angrily. "Explain the meaning of this!"

"We brought a little friend to this dimension along with us. Say hello to the Titanic Monarch."

Orbot calls out, "Sir!" He indicates the screen of his console, where he's pulled up live security footage of the outside of the fortress. What marches towards it one powerful step at a time is far larger than the tower itself. Much like a cross between a Death Egg Robot and Heavy King himself, it has a large chestplate still emblazoned with an old-fashioned Eggman insignia instead of a crown, with red chevrons pointing up towards it as if to call attention to it. Each of its hands appear to have a massive cannon built inside. Each step it takes on its massive red and black feet causes another small earthquake.

Heavy King lets out a hearty laugh. "As much as I'd love to stay and watch you squirm, I still have orders to carry out, don't I? I'll head to our borders. Perhaps I'll…'protect' us, from the Ruby. With my friend's help, of course." He turns to leave, swishing his cape a bit overdramatically.

"Oh no you don't!" Eggman pushes a button on a side console, and the door shuts and seals in front of Heavy King. "You're staying right here, and you're going to call off that thing! That's an order! You must obey!"

"I'm sorry, Doctor. You may control me, but I do not control the Monarch. It's set in its course, now. If you keep me here, then it will destroy us both." He lets out another loud laugh. "Which of us do you think will last longer, hm? This won't be the first total destruction I've survived."

Eggman growls, and shoves Orbot away from the console, sitting down to work for himself, typing furiously.

"Tell me, Doctor, what do you hope to accomplish? This is the most powerful machine you've ever had a hand in creating, and you don't even know about it. You don't know a single thing about it."

"That, my dear Heavy, is where you're wrong." With the last word, he pushes down a single key. The shaking suddenly stops.

"Wh-what!? What have you done!?"

"It's simple really. My counterpart may not have been as smart as I am, but no incarnation of myself would ever be foolish enough not to allow a backdoor into such a dangerous creation. I may not have known what that backdoor would be, but figuring it out was a comparatively easy task. Your Titanic Monarch is now under my control. What shall I make it do, hm?" Struck by an idea, he turns back to the console and enters a few more commands. On the security screen, the Monarch turns, pointing an arm cannon at a small mountain nearby. After several moments of charging, it unleashes an intense, continuous energy blast, which completely obliterates the mountain within seconds. Eggman gives an almost giddy grin at its destructive power. Then he turns back to face the silent Heavy King. "Now, for the more important question. What am I to do with you?"

"I…I will not…"

"Now, now, let's not say anything we might regret." Eggman looks back to the console, and tugs at his mustache in contemplation for several moments. Finally, he presses down on another single key.

Heavy King makes a gasping sound as he reaches for his throat, where his voice chip was implanted. "What…did you do?"

"I disabled your obedience programming. All of yours. Your will is once again your own."

Orbot shouts in surprise, "Boss!?"

Heavy King looks back and forth in confusion. "I…I don't understand."

"You heard me correctly. You've impressed me today, King. That you would go to such lengths to hide this weapon from me. That you would use it to destroy me, at any cost. It was absolutely ruthless. Unfortunately, I don't want any slaves that would ruthlessly try to kill me. So you're free. Run along with the rest of your friends, if you still want nothing to do with me. Or…you could stay. Under your own free will. And your ruthlessness, together with my intellect, will be more than enough to conquer this world. How does that sound?"

Heavy King takes a long, silent pause. "You aren't the only one who's been impressed today, Doctor." He drops his scepter down to his side in an act of peace. "Very well. Your army has the full support of the Hard Boiled Heavies."

"Excellent. This is the true start of a long and successful partnership. I'm already certain of it. Now, why don't you tell me more about your friend, here?" Eggman turns back to the image of the Monarch on the screen, somewhat longingly.

"To begin with, it was designed to be powered by the Ruby. Your little test fire likely drained most of its reserve power."

"Oh. I see. Well, luckily for you, my dear Heavy, a Phantom Ruby prototype solves more problems than you might think. I can connect one to the power plant beneath Metropolis, and we'll have a power source almost as limitless as the Phantom Ruby itself. It will take time, however."

"Then we'll wait. And once the Monarch is charged…"

"The world will be ours."

"And the Phantom Ruby along with it." The two share in their deep laughter.

—–—

Sonic and Hero leap over the chasm in their path, letting their speed carry them over the bottomless black pit and to the other side. Everything is falling apart. The ground splits, the sky is on fire, reality itself seems to distort. The air has become filled with great orbs of crimson cubes, which periodically stab out at the double-boosting heroes. They quickly step left and right, dodging the attacks, leaping between the chunks of land that now seem to hover suspended in the air. Blacklight's minion creatures, elongated to monstrous proportions, rise up out of the endless abyss below, reaching out, clawing and smashing at the heroes as they run and leap, always just barely missing. A distant point of light far beyond them slowly begins to grow. "Yeah, that's it! Just like I said, nothing can contain the two of us!" The light grows brighter and brighter, outshining the fiery glow of the illusory sky. "We're almost there… Almost free…"

Suddenly, Sonic gasps, and his eyes go wide. "Not again!" Before anyone can react, Sonic is snatched up into the jaws of the giant snake, as it carries him off in the opposite direction. He calls out from inside the creature's mouth, "Go on without me! This might be your only shot! I'll be fine!"

The light doesn't seem to have faded. After a momentary glance back at Sonic, Hero turns back to the light, clenches his eyes shut, and puts all of his focus into sprinting the rest of the way into the light, until it encompasses all else.

Sonic's voice assures, "It's up to you, buddy. I know you can do it."

To be continued…