BREAKING NEWS

"The war is turning. After several days of hard-fought battles all over the world, including the likes of Empire City and Soleana, Shadow the Hedgehog and his team, along with the rest of the Guardian Units of Nations, have successfully driven the forces of Infinite out of all major cities. After a long battle on the streets of Spagonia, Knuckles the Echidna, General of the team and former Commander of the Resistance, had this to say."

Knuckles appears on the screen, appearing a bit bruised from battle, but giving a confident smirk. "Yeah, that's right. We're gonna show that masked jerk what for. And when we're done with him…" He pounds a fist into an open hand. "…Eggman's next." He points directly into the camera. "So you listen here, and you listen good, Eggman. We've had enough. This time, you won't be getting off easy. This time, you're getting what's coming to you."

With the press of a key, Eggman closes the news feed on his screen. "Keep dreaming, Echidna." He looks instead to another window of footage on the screen, live security footage of the Titanic Monarch outside. A large panel on its front appears to be open, and heavy machinery all around of it seems to be lifting a giant object up to the open hatch bearing the distorted, pulsating yet unmistakable glow of a Phantom Ruby prototype. Eggman zooms in on the footage, getting a better view of Heavy King, standing next to the massive gemstone almost as large as he is. "We'll see who 'gets off easy'. Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 0, Episode 31

Forces of Chaos, Part 5: The Time of Reckoning

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

The GUN CLIP

"I'm sorry, but…it really wouldn't be proper of me to recruit such a young child." The GUN Commander scratches awkwardly at the back of his head.

In front of him, Cream the Rabbit pouts angrily, "But what about Charmy and Tails!? You let them help! I wanna help too!" In the corner of the room, Cheese the Chao appears to be engaged in conversation with Bruno the Wisp. Based on Bruno's movements, he appears to be telling a story about some sort of battle, which has Cheese quite excited.

The Commander continues, "Both of them have prior war experience, but you weren't there. I'm sorry, I can't allow it."

Amy steps up beside Cream. "Come on, Commander. Cream's gone with us on adventures more than once, she can handle herself just as well as those two."

"I…"

Tails steps in, addressing Cream directly. "Cream, maybe you can help us out by staying back here and keeping us coordinated, instead of going right into battle." He looks up to the Commander. "…Assuming that's alright?"

"I suppose…as long as she stays here at the base…"

Cream cheers, "Yay! You hear that, Cheese? We're gonna be Generals!"

"Chao chao!"

Cream turns back to the Commander, and gives him a little bow. "Thank you, Mr. Commander sir."

Tails beckons to Cream. "Come on, let me show you how some of these computers work."

The Commander mutters, "I didn't say you could be a General…"

Amy smiles up to him. "Lighten up, Commander. You said it yourself, Charmy and Tails have experience. Don't you think it's about time Cream gets some too? You did say we needed all the help we can get."

The Commander doesn't smile back. "It's hard enough running a military without being in charge of a little girl."

Amy gasps. "You don't really mean that, do you?"

"I'm…just worried that something might go wrong. It's happened to me before."

While Cream practices with the computer, Shadow pulls Tails aside. "How much time do we have left?"

"Well…it all depends on how many prototypes Eggman makes, but…we should probably have at least a few days left."

"Worst case scenario?"

"Worst case, it could start any time now."

"So we need to get moving."

"We still have all the same problems we had before, maybe even worse. Blacklight is putting every ounce of the Ruby's power into defending the last of his territory, and that power is still growing thanks to Eggman."

"Assuming there's any part of Blacklight still left in there."

Knuckles steps up beside them. "The longer we wait, the worse things are going to get. It's now or never. Against defenses like that, it looks like an all-out attack is our only option."

Infinite shakes his head. "It's still a suicide mission. I thought the point of waiting this long was to improve our chances."

Chaos the Hedgehog steps up to the holographic globe in the center of the room, answering, "That may yet still be true. I don't believe the time is right. Blacklight is becoming desperate, he will soon make a move, I'm certain of it. That will be our chance."

Everyone starts to gather around the holographic globe in the center of the room for the impromptu meeting. Tails adds, "It's all about finding that chance. We don't need to beat his entire army, we just need to get the Ruby away from him. Shadow…do you think there's any chance you can get through to him, get him to give up the Ruby willingly?"

Shadow sighs. "It isn't likely. But if I can make him realize it's controlling him, he'll want nothing to do with it, I'm certain of that. And there just might be a way I can do that."

Infinite looks him in the eye. "And when you fail?"

"Then we'll have to fight."

Vector shakes his head. "That's if we even get that far. We may not have a better option, but…I don't like our odds."

Tails answers, "We just have to have faith in each other. Together, we can do this. We can save the world."

The door behind them hisses open. On the other side, Hero the Wolf, bandaged and supporting himself against the wall, gives a nod and a grunt in affirmation.

The room becomes filled with shouts of "Hero!" and "Rookie!"

Bruno is the first to make it to him, bouncing around him and squeaking with uncontrollable excitement. Overcome with emotion, Hero embraces the little alien, wrapping it up tightly in his arms.

Tails makes it to him next as he lets go. "I can't believe you're awake, h-how did you get out?"

Behind him, Knuckles clamors, "What was it like, what did you see?"

Vector greets, "Good to see you for real this time, Rookie."

Infinite mutters quietly, "You never cease to surprise me, kid."

Hero's only reply to all of them is to turn over something in his hand. A glittering blue Chaos Emerald.

Shadow looks at it in confusion. "Where did you get that…?"

Amy nods slowly in understanding. "Sonic…"

Espio questions, "If you're here, does that mean Sonic is…?"

Hero shakes his head.

Knuckles looks over to Vector. "Either way, I think our odds just got a bit better."

Chaos gently shakes his head. "Better odds don't make rash actions a safe bet. We still have to wait for Blacklight to make a move."

Shadow objects, "We can't wait any longer. Every moment we wait is a moment closer to the Ruby destroying everything."

Rouge counters, "You're talking about rushing straight in, setting off every alarm, getting every defense he has on us at once. We won't even get to the Ruby that way. If there's a chance for us to take advantage of his mistakes, we need to wait for that to happen."

The Commander crosses his arms. "That's assuming he makes any mistakes. Strategically, he's best off exactly as he is, and we have no reason to believe he doesn't know that. And that assumption is based on what?" He looks over at Chaos. "Your hunch that he'll slip up?" Next he looks to Tails. "Your guess that we still have the time to wait at all?"

Tails shakes his head fervently. "It's not a guess, I've done all the calculations, Eggman would have to be producing prototypes on a massive scale for anything to go wrong any time soon."

Shadow growls, "We aren't getting anywhere debating like this."

The Commander responds, "You're in command here, Shadow. The final decision falls to you."

Shadow looks down to the ground, thinking for a moment. He looks back up to Chaos.

Chaos, fur colored green in fear, pleas, "We cannot attack now. If we do, it will only result in disaster."

Shadow nods slowly as he comes to a decision. "Alright…so we'll put it to a vote."

The Commander questions, "A vote? That isn't really proper protocol in–"

Shadow cuts him off. "Who says we should wait?" Immediately, the hands of Chaos, Tails, and Rouge go up, followed by Amy, Cream, and even Infinite. After a moment of hesitation, Hero's does as well. Shadow nods as he finishes the count. "And that we should go now?" Omega, Knuckles, the Commander, and all three of the Chaotix raise their hands. Shadow nods again. "With me, that's seven votes each. A tie."

The Commander seems satisfied. "Well, since the two ranking officers here are on the same side, I suppose that means–"

Shadow cuts him off again. "No." He looks over to Tails. "You started this team." He turns to Chaos. "You convinced him to do it. And if Sonic were here…I think he would agree with both of you. So that settles it. We wait for Blacklight to make the next move."

The Commander sighs. "Well…if that's your final decision…"

"It is."

"Then I guess we all have some spare time on our hands. Everyone is dismissed."

Shadow immediately heads for the door. "I'm going to meditate." With an odd look after him, Chaos follows. Many of the rest begin to file out the door. Tails and Cream stay by the computers, while Rouge and Omega stay to monitor the tactical readouts.

The Commander looks over to Hero, who still leans back against the front wall. "Can I have a word with you, Hero?"

Hero nods and slowly walks over.

"I know you've been through a lot over the past few days. How are you feeling?"

Hero rubs a bit at his bandaged wound, but gives a smile and a nod to indicate his readiness.

"That's good. I've looked into your record, I know that you're an excellent soldier. It's always worth celebrating when a good soldier comes home alive."

Hero scratches at the back of his head a bit, but doesn't refuse the praise.

"I've been through plenty of hard-fought battles in my day. You were…effectively captured, tortured by the enemy. I know how that can get into someone's head. I just wanted to make sure…you'll be able to keep your head when the next battle comes."

Hero gives a confident nod.

"Excellent. Now, I know you've technically been asleep for a few days, but I would suggest you get some proper rest."

Hero nods with a smile. After a moment, he puts up a salute in respect.

The Commander returns the salute. "Good luck, soldier."

—–—

Shadow sits on the floor of a dim room, eyes closed, meditating. Five Chaos Emeralds are arrayed out on the floor in front of him.

The door to the room hisses open, letting light flood into the room. Chaos the Hedgehog stands in the doorway, oddly silhouetted by the light. "Forgive me for intruding, but…I overheard your desire for meditation. I was wondering if I might join you?" The light in the room reveals a neat, stiff-looking bed that doesn't appear to have been used recently, and a flat metallic desk with just a single object placed on top. A shiny gold medal, propped up on a metal stand. This appears to be Shadow's quarters.

Shadow sighs, but doesn't open his eyes. "Do what you want."

Chaos nods obligingly, and steps into the room, the door closing behind him and cutting off all light but that from the Emeralds. He takes a seat across from Shadow, and assumes a meditative stance. "I wish to tell you something. I very much respected the command decision you made out there. Any leader might have taken their own position as a final verdict, seeming reasonable for offering the vote at all. Instead, you took into account the voice of he who could not speak for himself. There is much about you that surprises me."

"I did what made sense. What I think doesn't matter any more than anyone else. I'm no expert on the Phantom Ruby, but Tails has at least studied it."

"How much do you know about the Phantom Ruby?"

Shadow at first opens an eye slightly to give an irritated glance at the continuing interruption. But then he answers, "Only what it can do. We don't know what it is, where it came from, or why it's here."

Though Shadow doesn't ask anything, Chaos answers as if he had, "Yes, I do know…some. In battle against it, the Ruby's energy caused me great pain. Something about it is…somehow incompatible with what I am."

"Incompatible?"

"The Phantom Ruby…it is filled with an energy…that is much like Chaos. There is much Darkness within it, but there is also Light. However…where a Chaos Emeralds contains a harmonic balance of these energies, the Ruby is…discordant, perhaps, anarchic. As if at war with itself in each passing moment."

"Blacklight is a lot like that himself. That explains why the Ruby works for him."

"I see…" Chaos goes silent for a few moments. "But still, I wonder…" His hand goes up to the spot on his chest where his Moonstone normally lies. "…if he is anything like myself."

"He's a lot more like me than he is like you. Trust me."

"Of course." He goes silent for a while longer. "Shadow…there is so much turmoil in your heart. I must know…what are you thinking?"

Shadow goes for a few moments without answering. "I can't stop thinking…about the chance that we might still be able to get Blacklight on our side."

"Do you really think that's possible?"

"I don't know. He's just so…confused. At war with himself, that's what he said to me. He barely even knows what he wants for himself. Maybe, if I can help him find that, we won't have to be enemies anymore."

"And what about yourself? What about the war in your own heart?"

"…You're right. I don't know what I want either. I want to save him, and I want to destroy him, and I want nothing to do with him. I want this all to be over with, but then I don't know what I'll have left when it's done. But I can't let any of that get in the way of the mission."

Chaos takes a moment to think. "The future…moves in predictable ways. Never certain, but always predictable. But for you…something is different. When we had our first encounter, I saw only a heart of Darkness. But…there is something more. I still don't know how to explain it. You…are not bound, as others are, to your own nature. With all my power, I cannot see who you will become. I imagine it must be even harder for you. But, for whatever comfort it might bring you, you can be whoever you want. Your future is entirely up to you."

"Hm."

"What's that?"

"It's just…you sound a lot like someone I used to know."

"Well…it sounds like you have a lot of respect for this person. I am honored."

"I figured out a long time ago that I can determine my own destiny. Now I just need to determine it. On my own."

"If I might ask another question…?"

Shadow groans a bit. "Why stop now?"

"You have so many friends out there. People who care about you. But here you are, trying your hardest to be alone. And somehow, I don't think that will change when this is all over. If you can choose who you want to be…why do you want to be alone? Why do you keep others away?"

Shadow takes a while deciding how to respond. "A long time ago, I lost some people who were close to me. I don't want something like that to happen again. So I keep my distance." Still never opening his eyes, he shakes his head. "I don't know why I'm telling you any of this."

"I appreciate your honesty. And…I am sorry about what happened to you. An event that can drive even the purest heart to Darkness. You seem to be managing yourself quite well, all things considered. But…if the Controller has taught me anything in my time with him…it is that you cannot live in constant fear of the Darkness. And that friendship is something…not to be squandered. But of course, only you can decide how to live your own life." Chaos only pauses for a moment. "Do you meditate often? Based on the Controller's reaction to my suggestions, it doesn't seem to be a common practice."

"I once lost my connection to the Chaos Emeralds. I started meditating as a way to find that connection again. It didn't work. But I figured out that it helped me focus. So when I got Chaos Control back, I kept doing it."

"Certainly a sound practice. If only the Controller had as sound judgement as yours."

"Why don't you just call him Sonic?"

"Well…it's a habit, I suppose. For eons to me, the Controller had many names, but was always just the Controller. That fact did not change simply because I came to this world to protect him. Protect him from…–" He suddenly gasps, opening his eyes on Shadow. The light of the Emeralds reflects curiously over his eyes. "…from you." He suddenly stands, taking a step back as fur turns a fiery red to match the Emerald on the center of the floor. "Of course, I see it now! You are the Outlier!"

Appearing quite irritated, Shadow finally opens his eyes all the way. "What are you talking about?"

"You said it yourself, you aren't natural. You are outside the Flow of Chaos, the Balance of the universe doesn't account for you! You changed the course of the future! You are responsible for Sonic's death!"

Shadow stands as well, taken aback by the accusation."What!? Sonic is alive, he's still trapped in the Virtual Reality!"

"Oh yes, he is still alive." Chaos' fur slowly shifts to vibrant yellow. "And I intend to keep him that way. The reason I came to this world was to protect the Controller from your interference. You aren't supposed to matter in the scheme of the universe. And I will ensure that you don't."

Shadow raises his arms in preparation for a fight.

Chaos lets out a sigh as he shakes his head as if in disappointment, as his fur reverts to its neutral white. "Calm yourself, Outlier. You are wise leader, seeking to end this war just as I am. I will continue to fight by your side. To follow your orders. But if you ever come near the Controller again…you will answer to me." He turns to the door, and it automatically opens for him, flooding light into the room once again. "I will meditate elsewhere. I'm sorry for disturbing you." If the color of his fur changes at all, the silhouetting light makes it impossible to tell.

—–—

"Chaos was right, everyone. Blacklight just slipped up." The groups has once again gathered around Knuckles at the globe display, showing the newest update in the war. Knuckles steps back, letting the Commander continue.

"Blacklight's forces are making a plunge straight into the heart of Eggman territory." As he speaks, he shows a part of the map where yellow is jutting out into a large mass of red. "He is most likely trying to take out Eggman in one swift strike, leaving only us to deal with later. But he's left himself extremely vulnerable. He's already surrounded by Eggman's forces on almost all sides. If we cut him off from behind, he'll be trapped."

Shadow is the first to comment. "This isn't a normal war we're talking about, Commander. His troops don't need supplies, and he can make his own reinforcements. Trapping him makes little difference."

Vector replies, "We'll at least be able to take his Capital while he's away from it. If he retreats, he won't have anywhere to go back to."

The Commander agrees, "I think we can handle that, as long as this team takes care of Blacklight himself."

Shadow nods. "That still leaves one more problem. Even if we beat Blacklight, then we'll be the ones stuck in the middle of Eggman territory."

Knuckles responds, "Good. Then Blacklight will be saving us work. Once we're done with him, we'll already be knocking on Eggman's front door."

Chaos comments, "This certainly isn't an ideal situation, but we can agree it is the best we can hope to get." Many nods are made in agreement.

Near the back of the room, Hero stares with curiosity at an odd violet particle, which rises slowly through the air. He looks down to the ground, at what appears to be a very small hole in the floor, the edges of which have a similar violet glow, and appear to be leaking more of the same particles. Amy, noticing what he's looking at, questions, "What is that?"

Heads turn to see. Tails, closest to it, quickly pulls out his Handheld and starts to scan it. He gasps. "Oh no." He looks up to Shadow. "I was wrong. This is it, Shadow. It's already starting."

Rouge questions, "What is it, what's starting?"

Shadow answers slowly, "The end of everything."

Murmurs of fear and confusion sound through the room. Tails starts to explain, "The damage to the Phantom Ruby has spread too much, through the connections of all the prototypes Eggman's making. The fractures in Null Space are opening up into fissures. And Null Space is sort of…leaking out."

—–—

In an odd, pinkish colored sky, another much larger fissure is open, clearly showing Null Space on the other side. Tails continues to narrate, "Null Space is as close to our dimension as it is to any other. So what's happening here is happening everywhere else." Beneath the torn sky of the Sol Dimension, Blaze the Cat stares up at the Null Space fissure with concern and composure. Beside her, Marine the Raccoon looks to have much less composure.

—–—

"Null Space has nothing in it. But that nothingness is what's coming out. Matter is being erased from existence, and that reaction is fueling the Phantom Ruby even more, making it exert more energy, spreading the damage and increasing the problem even faster." On what appears to be Angel Island, the younger Classic Sonic stares off at the horizon, where another large fissure lies. The Tails and Knuckles of his dimension step up beside him.

—–—

In Null Space, there are a countless number of fissures, most of which reveal concerned faces on the other side. Many of those faces appear to be other versions of Sonic. Some are taller, some are shorter, some with different colored fur, some with different numbers of spikes on their heads, some wearing strange outfits. One of them even has a scarf around his neck. "If we can't stop this, there will be nothing left in any dimension. The entire multiverse will be one giant Null Space."

—–—

Infinite comments, "At least if we fail, I'll go out in a poetic way."

Shadow objects, "We won't fail. We will get the Ruby, we will stop this from happening."

"You mean, I'll stop this from happening. Only I know how to repair the Ruby."

"We have to win this battle first, and now we have to do it fast. Knuckles, if I'm busy dealing with Blacklight, then I won't be able to give orders, so I need you to be Field Commander. Cream, you're staying here with the Commander to help coordinate, like you talked about. Everyone else, we're on the front lines. Everyone ready?"

A chorus of "Ready!" replies.

"Then let's go."

—–—

Backed by Chaos, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Omega, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Hero, Infinite, and an army of GUN soldiers, human and animoid alike, Shadow stands ready to lead the charge against the horde of Replicas that stand opposite to them, including Zavok, Metal Sonic, Chaos 0, Mephiles, and countless of Blacklight's shadowy minion creatures. Blacklight, still bearing the mask of Infinite, and the intensely-glowing Phantom Ruby, floats high above them, slowly drifting down until he stands before his army just as Shadow does. He speaks with a strange, distorted voice overlaid with his own, "So good to see you again, Shadow. We were wondering how long it would it would take you to take our bait." The air is filled with glowing violet particles, drifting out from Null Space fissures all around. "And we see that you brought all your friends. That will make them much easier to destroy."

Shadow at first seems surprised at the coherence of Blacklight's thoughts. "Blacklight…is that still you?"

Blacklight laughs softly. "Of course it's us, Shadow. Who else would it be?"

"Us? You and who else?"

"No one else. Just us." He places his hand over the Ruby. "We are one, now."

"No, no, don't you see it!? That Ruby is taking over your mind! But it's not too late to fight it! You have to fight it!"

"Fight it? Why would we want to do that? We were always destined to be together, don't you see it, Shadow?"

Behind Shadow, Infinite growls and clenches his hand around his blade.

Shadow responds, "What happened to the free spirit, who hated rules and wouldn't listen to anyone but himself!? Isn't he still in there!?"

"Yes…and no. Besides, we still listen only to ourselves. Hence, why we aren't listening to you now. So we would suggest you stop wasting your time. That is, if you still intend to stop us."

Shadow closes his eyes and sighs, ready to take his last shot. "I have something for you."

"What's this? A gift?"

"That's right." Somewhat hesitantly, Shadow pulls something out and holds it up high for Blacklight to see. It's a shiny red apple.

Blacklight gasps. "Is that…could it be?"

Shadow nods encouragingly. "I brought it for you. Just you. I thought you might enjoy it."

"Shadow…that really means a lot, you know?" Slowly, Blacklight starts to lift his mask, revealing a genuine smile underneath. But, halfway up, he seems to change his mind, and lowers the mask back down. "Only two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine more before you've repaid your debt to us." He directs out a hand, and a violet glow is cast over the apple in Shadow's hand. With the flick of a wrist, the apple is plucked out of Shadow's hand with the Ruby's power, and drawn into Blacklight's. He lifts his mask up again, just high enough to take a large bite. "Hm. Not bad."

Shadow lets out another sigh, realizing that there will be no easy way out.

Through a mouthful of apple, Blacklight continues, "Well, what will it be, Shadow? Who will make the first move?"

Behind Shadow, Infinite suddenly shouts, "We will!" Sword drawn, he charges alone out of line. Immediately, Hero runs after him, raising his Wispon in preparation to back him up.

Blacklight merely laughs, extending his arms wide as a command for his entire army to charge in response.

Knuckles looks back to his own army. "What're you all waiting for!? Let's go!"

Havoc quickly erupts on the battlefield. Countless bursts of weapon fire are unleashed from both sides as the armies collide in the middle. The heroes quickly break off into groups as they fight. The Chaotix battle with well-practiced teamwork, focusing on one target at a time and making successive attacks that break any enemy's guard. Rouge and Omega fight back-to-back, expertly balancing skill and power. Tails, Knuckles, and Amy show off years of friendship, wordlessly communicating to pull off well-coordinated attacks.

Infinite is the first to reach Blacklight, leaping at him with drawn sword. Not even taking his eyes off of Shadow, Blacklight makes a swatting motion with his hand, releasing a directed energy wave that knocks Infinite back to the ground. Hero comes in just after him, firing a grappling wire in an attempt to ensnare him. Blacklight grabs the end of the wire and uses it against its wielder, twirling Hero around through the air before slamming him back into the ground.

Finally, the moment Blacklight was waiting for comes as Shadow moves in for an attack. Before Shadow makes it within a few feet of him, he casts out a negative energy pulse that freezes him in the air. But before he can do anything further, he is suddenly struck by a bolt of green energy, fired by Omega from afar. He deflects the next two bolts with his hand, but the distraction leaves Shadow free, letting him land a solid Spin Attack.

Blacklight is knocked back, only to find himself on the wrong end of Amy's hammer. He zips out of the way of each of her successive swings, then knocks her back with a wave of his hand. She quickly picks back up in the battle with Tails and Knuckles against the Replicas.

Blacklight quickly looks around, trying to catch sight of Shadow again.

Taking advantage of Blacklight's confusion, Chaos shouts, "Chaos Spear!" He hurls the spear of light at Blacklight, which he deflects with a hand.

Across from Chaos, Shadow looks to him with surprise at seeing his own move used by another. But he quickly shakes it off, throwing his own "Chaos Spear!"

Shadow and Chaos trade off, alternately throwing their spears of light, slowly drawing in on Blacklight as they do, but he skillfully deflects them from both sides, though appearing to grow more irritated by each one. Suddenly, he turns and throws out a hand, just in time to freeze in place a cluster of small shuriken stars, thrown at him from behind by Espio.

While his head is turned, Chaos successfully lands a Chaos Spear, which explodes on impact. Shadow looks especially surprised by this.

Enraged, Blacklight shouts, "Enough distractions!" With his shout, the Phantom Ruby releases a powerful negative pulse with an overwhelming sound, just large enough to encompass Shadow and Chaos, lifting them from the ground as if gravity had been turned off.

Undeterred, Infinite leaps into the bubble of negative space along with them, shouting, "You won't get away that easily!" Hero is close behind him.

In another moment, the bubble collapses down on itself, and all five of them are gone.

A murmur spreads through the crowd. Knuckles shouts, "Don't stop now! We need to keep moving until we get to Eggman!"

The murmur is replaced by a cheer as the heroes move back into battle.

—–—

The negative pulse fades as Shadow, Chaos, Infinite, and Hero are dropped onto the metal grated floor. Blacklight drifts down to the floor in front of them. "Ah, so good to be home again. We've really become quite fond of this place. Though it appears we've brought a few stragglers along with us."

The other four climb back to their feet. Chaos clutches at his head as he does, clearly in considerable pain. Shadow takes a moment to look around. Though they are near a cliffside leading off to the ocean, the crumbled archways, neon lettering, and golden statue in the distance make the location unmistakable as what remains of Eggmanland. The slow annihilation of space is perhaps even more prevalent here. He looks back to Blacklight, who waits patiently for a response. "So, this is where you've been hiding out? You took this place from the Doctor?"

"Took? No, this territory belongs to us legally. Eggmanland is an official country, remember? Old Mustache was its ruler, but he abandoned the place. We are the only other citizen. That makes us the ruler."

"Well, look around you! Your territory is disappearing from existence, just like the rest of the world! That Ruby is damaged, and if we don't fix it, you won't have a universe to live in, let alone a territory! You have to stop this fight and give it up!"

"Did you say…damaged?"

"That's right. It was caused by some sort of reaction with the Chaos Emeralds. You remember, don't you? Back when you still had control over your own thoughts?"

Blacklight looks through his mask down to the Ruby on his chest, letting out an odd sort of half chuckle as if trying to make sense of something. He places a hand over the gem, and rubs down it slowly as he lets out another, more complete chuckle. He doubles over as his chuckle rapidly builds into a hysterical laughter. "Ah ha, ha ha, ah ha ha ha! You… ha ha… you actually think that we're damaged!" He points at Shadow as if at a clown. "Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Infinite shouts angrily, "This is no laughing matter! Your use of the Ruby is destroying it!"

Blacklight instantly stops his laughter. "Oh, shut up, Ugly. No one asked you." He looks back to Shadow. "Oh, Shadow. Shadow, Shadow, Shadow. Poor, poor misguided Shadow, trying to save us from a threat that doesn't exist. I can't believe you're actually foolish enough to think that what's happening here is an accident." Gasps are let out all around.

Blacklight continues, "That's right. Could you not realize it before? Our first encounter with the Chaos Emeralds…part of us, you understand…is what trapped us in that other dimension. It was Alfred who did it, we can now see with our combined memories. That Mustache used the Chaos Emeralds to send us away. So we plotted our escape. Fooled the denizens of that dimension into uniting the Chaos Emeralds around us as they fought over us. And it worked. The Emeralds allowed us to come home. But we knew they could just as easily send us back. So as our next plot unfolded, we tried to keep them away. We failed. We were defeated. It's only thanks to Ugly over there that we weren't destroyed. We never wanted to see another Chaos Emerald again. And then Speedy came along. And though we despised those gems with everything we are, they granted us a gift we had never anticipated.

"You see, Shadow, our power has only one limitation. And that limitation is this space that we exist in. We cannot access other times, we cannot access other dimensions, for those are only connected by the Flow of Chaos. But that all changed when Speedy used his Chaos Control while in contact with us."

Beside Shadow, Chaos finishes, "…Inadvertently linking you into the entire Flow of Chaos. Removing your only limitation."

"Exactly! At least someone's catching on. Even with no understanding, no control over the process, our combined powers were able reset time itself. Each contact with that Emerald started the process over again. And each iteration strengthened our connection to the Flow. A few more times, and we might have gotten to this phase weeks ago."

Chaos nods. "Just as I suspected…"

Shadow objects, "This phase? The one where you intentionally destroy everything that you've only just become connected to? Why would you do it?"

"Ugh, must we explain everything to you? Think, Shadow, think! You were in a Virtual Reality, weren't you?" He glances over to Hero. "Come to think of it, weren't you as well? How did you escape?" He shakes his head. "Nevermind, nevermind, forgot, you're Mute." He looks back to Shadow. "What were we saying? Oh, yeah. You were in a Virtual Reality. So tell us. Was it not real in every conceivable way?"

"Except that it wasn't."

"Our point exactly. The only difference between reality, and our creations, is the very existence of reality. Remove that barrier, and the only world will be the one that we create. There will be nothing more real than the reality we build from scratch. We will be God."

Infinite mutters quietly, "To burn down the old world…and build a perfect one in its place…" He suddenly shouts, "No, no, none of that is possible! You hardly even had a mind to plot with before we met! How could you know all of that about Chaos!? How did I not learn it from you!?"

"You speak an infinite deal of nothing, Ugly. It is true that your…prototypes, were they called? Your prototypes…enhanced us. Expanded our influence in ways not possible before. But we didn't share all of our secrets with you. Only what we wanted you to know."

Infinite clenches a fist. "It can't be…"

"Look we didn't take all of you here to chat. Shadow, listen closely. We wanted you here, alone, for one simple reason. We want you to join us. We want you to be a god like us. You're the only thing in this world near as perfect as I am."

Shadow and Hero glance at each other in surprise at Blacklight's use of 'I'.

"Well? Don't leave us hanging, Shadow. We even have a prototype for you to use. What do you say? We can turn back time together, build a perfect world, where we will get the respect we deserve. All your mistakes, all your sorrows, can be undone. All you have to do…is join us."

Shadow sighs. "There's only one mistake…that I care about undoing. And that's failing to stop you from becoming this thing. I'm going to fix it. Here and now."

"Hm. Pity."

Suddenly, Infinite shouts, "Take me instead!" Hero gasps, while the other two glare at him mistrustingly. He only glances back at Hero for a moment, before looking back to Blacklight. "Your new world order…let me be a part of it. Please. All that you want, all that I want, it's the same, I can help you! Listen to the Ruby, it will tell you that much is true!"

Blacklight only halfheartedly looks to Infinite. "What we know to be true is that you are wildly desperate for any power that you can get. That you would try to pull us apart the moment you got the chance. We don't like you. So no. You don't get to join us." He looks across to Hero and Chaos. "But what about you two? Since we're taking appeals anyways, wanna be gods?"

While Hero shakes his head, Chaos scoffs, "Ha! I'm already a god. You're just a madman with a rock."

"Ugh, you're all such buzzkills. Very well." He snaps his fingers. "Bubbles! I need you!" The other four tense up for a fight as a Chaos 0 Replica rises up from the ground beside Blacklight. "Let me see it." The Replica produces from its watery hand the dimly-glowing purple Chaos Emerald.

Shadow eyes it carefully.

Blacklight reaches out to take it from the Replica's hand. "Much obliged, Bubbles. You're free to go." The Replica dissolves as quickly as it appeared. Blacklight twirls the Emerald around in his hand.

Beside Shadow, Chaos questions, "What do you expect to do with that? The energy of the Ruby isn't compatible with that of the Emerald! You'll only hurt yourself trying."

"Yes, that was once very true. We were once afraid, even to touch this Emerald. But now…" He pulls the gem closer to his face. As he does, both it and and the Ruby glow and tremble slightly. "…we are connected. Now, we can touch it. Now…we can use it." Under his mask, his eye moves to Shadow. "Chaos Void."

In an instant, Blacklights one open hand unleashes a terrifyingly massive beam of black, shadowy energy, sparking and glitching on its edges with the aura of the Phantom Ruby. The heroes dive and scatter out of the way of the enormous beam, which slices through a large section of the cliffside they'd been standing on, sending rock and steel crashing down into the ocean below.

After a moment of shock at Blacklight's raw destructive power, Shadow quickly shakes it off, and races around to attack from another angle. Chaos matches his movements on the opposite side, while Infinite and Hero charge in from the front.

Blacklight takes care of Chaos first, flicking out a simple energy wave that's enough to send him crashing to the ground in pain. He turns back to his front at Infinite and Hero. "Chaos Void!" He unleashes another immense beam of darkness, which slices through the ground between them as they each dodge a different way, leaving an open chasm between them. As his attack disperses, he shakes off his arms with a grunt, as if he were injured by his own attack.

Hero attacks first, firing a stream of flames from his Wispon, which Blacklight easily blocks with a hand. Infinite leaps up for a slash with his blade, but Blacklight once again knocks him back to the ground with his free hand. But the distraction is enough for Shadow to land a solid kick right to Blacklight's face.

Blacklight's Infinite mask clatters to the ground, a new crack opened along the weld line running down its covered eye. Blacklight looks out with a snarl, clutching a hand over his face as if to hide it. "You little…"

Chaos looks with curiosity at the face half-covered by the hand, and from it to Shadow's own duplicate face. "Could it be…a second?"

Blacklight growls, "Fine! If you think it's fair to outnumber us, we'll play your game!" He dramatically waves a hand off in one direction, and a small army of shadowy minion Replicas form from the Ruby's violet aura. He makes the same motion with his opposite hand, creating another squadron of Mephiles Replicas on his opposite side. He waves both of his hands in the middle, generating yet another squadron, this time of what seem to be Shadow Replicas, with cold, blank eyes, and a few odd, sharp corners instead of natural curves. They appear to be Shadow Androids.

Infinite gives a vicious smirk. "Thanks for making this fun for me." He charges headlong into the cluster of Shadow Android Replicas, slicing and stabbing as he goes. Following his lead, Hero opens fire on the shadowy minions, while Chaos targets the Mephiles clones.

"Do you like it, Shadow? Being copied, we mean. It's just, it happens to you so often, we were wondering if it's something you enjoy." He indicates around at the three clusters of Replicas engaged in battle. "Does it help you to get a look at who you are? We ourselves do know a thing or two about being copied." He places a hand over the Ruby.

Shadow starts to reach for one of the rings on his wrist. "Look in the mirror sometime. You are one of the copies."

"Was that…a joke? Ha! Ha ha! You just made a joke! Shadow, we're so proud of you! Still, we wonder. Why always you? What makes you so special, that everyone always wants more of you? We must know."

Shadow snaps off his Inhibitor Rings one after another. "Do you ever shut up?"

Blacklight gasps loudly. "Shadow, such harsh language! But, what can we say? Two minds, twice as much to talk about."

Shadow takes on a radiant golden aura as his energy is released. "I'm tired of talking." Chaos glances over from his battle with interest.

Blacklight activates his own violet Ruby aura. "Fine, fine, then we can just beat each other senseless, if that's how you want to solve your problems. Though…as we recall, it's our turn to make the first move." In an instant, Blacklight blasts at Shadow.

Able to react with just as much speed, Shadow blasts forward just as quickly, and the two collide in the middle, their auras flaring furiously as they force against each other for several long seconds. Finally, some sort of energy explosion between them forces them each back.

Blacklight doesn't seem concerned. He holds out a single hand. "Chaos Void." Instead of the usual beam, an orb of darkness forms in his palm. As the orb expands to a massive size he lets out another grunt with a grimace, before firing.

Shadow seems a bit more pressed. "Chaos Spear!" The larger than average spear of light penetrates the orb, and detonates a moment later, dispersing all of the energy. Shadow leaps forward through the cover of the distortions for another direct attack.

Blacklight merely laughs, putting out a hand for another negative energy wave, that once again freezes Shadow in place. This time, the others are far too occupied dealing with the overwhelming numbers of Replica Shadows to come to his aid. Blacklight draws Shadow closer to himself through the air. "Who is going to save you now, Shadow? No more interruptions, no more flukes. You have nothing left. We can finally destroy you."

As Blacklight speaks, Shadow slowly struggles, getting just enough movement to pull out his own yellow Chaos Emerald. "You forgot…one thing."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"I made a promise…to keep the world safe from you. And I never go back on a promise! Chaos Shine!" Shadow's aura flares even brighter, as if shielding him from Blacklight's influence, as he unleashes a beam of his own, this one of pure, intense light. The beam blasts Blacklight backwards, freeing Shadow completely.

Blacklight simultaneously growls and mocks, "Oh, Shadow, never had an original idea in his life, had to steal it all from me!" Shadow looks up in surprise at another use of the singular identifier. "Let me just put you out of your misery! Chaos Void!"

"Chaos Shine!" The two immensely powerful attacks collide in the middle, mixing and swirling in a central sphere just as they always have. But Blacklight's attack, aided by the power of the Phantom Ruby, is considerably larger, and starts to push back against Shadow, drawing the sphere much closer to him as it fills with more dark than light. But as Blacklight puts even more force into the attack, the glitching around his beam starts to spread up his arms. He lets out a cry of pain as he tries to keep up the attack, but its size begins to fluctuate as Blacklight loses intermittent control over the combination of his two powers. Shadow redoubles his own efforts, and his beam of light pushes hard against Blacklight's, until the sphere where the two meet collides with Blacklight and bursts.

Blacklight collapses faceup onto the floor, his Emerald on the ground beside him. He tries to climb back to his feet, but Shadow steps on his shoulder to pin him down. Blacklight clenches his eyes as he tries to activate the Ruby, but its usual overwhelming sound only putters out with each attempt. He looks back up to Shadow, an appearance of sorrow in his eyes. "Please, Shadow… Please don't take us apart. We're all we have for each other. We don't want to be alone…" He lets out a few meek coughs.

Shadow's only answer is to reach down and wrap a hand around the Phantom Ruby. But for a moment, he hesitates. "…You always had me." With that, he tears the Ruby away. Blacklight's eyes roll back as he loses consciousness. Shadow quickly reaches down to gather his dropped Inhibitor Rings.

Infinite tears his blade out of the last fading Android Replica. "Perfect, now hand the Ruby over so I can fix its damage." He extends his hand out to Shadow.

Shadow snaps the last ring back on as his golden aura fades. Then he reaches down for Blacklight's dropped Emerald. "It isn't damage. It was intentional…"

"Well, whatever you want to call it, I'm the only one who can fix it! You have to hurry, we're running out of time!" He indicates the air out with his hand, which has become densely thick with violet particles.

"You expect me to trust you with this? After you tried to betray us? Tried to join his side?" He indicates Blacklight's limp form on the floor.

"I was trying to get the Ruby as quickly as possible, he said it himself! Are you really going to risk all of existence because you're still holding some grudge!? We had a deal, Hedgehog! I helped you get the Ruby away from him, now give it to me!"

"No…you don't intend to fix it… You don't even know how to fix it, do you? And you don't care. It was all just a ploy to get the Ruby, wasn't it?"

"I…I…"

Shadow turns to leave, Ruby still in hand. "Help us finish this war. Maybe I can still change my mind about you."

"What about your friend Sonic? What do you intend to do about him? You don't know the first thing about using that Ruby, you won't even be able to wake him up, let alone repair reality."

Hero looks to Infinite with an expression of sorrow and disappointment. Infinite catches his glance for just a moment, but that seems to be enough to change his demeanor. He goes silent.

Shadow already seems distracted. He stares into the depths of the Phantom Ruby in his hand. A distant voice sounds off in his head, "We meet at last, Shadow… Your desire is as powerful as I had ever hoped. More tamed, yet far stronger than the other one. So many things that you desire… I can help you save your friend. I can help you do so much more…"

Chaos shakes Shadow by the shoulder. "Shadow? Outlier, can you hear me?" He suddenly tugs away his hand with a grunt, as if burned by the physical contact. "The Ruby's energy, it's already taking him over."

Infinite growls, "Perfect, now I have to save him, too. Just stand aside."

Contrary to Infinite's demand, Chaos steps directly in front of him, and blocks him with a hand from moving towards Shadow. "If he won't allow you to have the Ruby, then neither will I."

Through clenched teeth, Infinite responds, "I suggest you change your mind soon, unless you want to start this whole war over again. He can't control the Ruby. I can. And he is running out of time."

In Shadow's head, the distorted voice of the Ruby continues to call, "Everything you've ever wanted is at your fingertips. We can make the world exactly as you desire it. We can even…bring back the dead." In front of Shadow's red-hazed eyes, an image begins to form. An image of a young girl with long blond hair and crystal blue eyes.

Maria smiles and waves at him. "It's so good to see you again, Shadow."

"Even as you deny it to yourself, I see everything that you desire. Together, we can make it a reality. And crush all those who stand in our way."

Shadow mutters quietly, "Together…" But there is nothing in front of him.

Infinite shouts, "Don't you see!? He's already succumbing!" Suddenly, he lifts his blade up to Chaos' throat. "I'll only ask once more. Get out of my way."

Chaos doesn't flinch in the slightest. "You are making a grave error."

"My greatest error was believing that I could actually benefit from siding with you lot of weaklings."

In an instant, Hero's grappling wire wraps around the Ruby in Shadow's hands, and tugs it away. At once, Infinite and Shadow shout, "No!" Shadow just as quickly recoils and looks to his own hands as he realizes what just happened.

Now, it is Hero who stares deeply into the Ruby in his hands.

Its distant voice sounds in his mind, "Ah… I never expected to meet you again. You, who had the strength of will to overcome even my strongest influence. You need not fear me. You need my help, don't you? You wish to save your world. I can grant your desire. I will grant anything that you desire…"

Shadow looks up from his hand to Chaos and to Infinite, realizing that there is no other choice. In the most encouraging voice he can manage, he turns back to Hero and commands, "Whatever the Ruby is telling you, don't listen to it! It's nothing but lies and illusions!"

Infinite instead demands, "Give the Ruby to me, before it's too late for you! I can control it!" Hero continues to stare silently at the gem.

Shadow looks from the Ruby, to himself, to the limp form of Blacklight still not far away, to the torn, violet-bleeding skies all around. "It can't be fixed… It can't be controlled… There's only one way…" He turns back to Hero. "Hero, listen to me! Forget about controlling it, you have to destroy the Ruby! That's the only way to save reality! You're the only one who can!"

Infinite objects, "Lies! Destroying the Ruby will make reality impossible to save! You'll doom us all!"

The Ruby continues in Hero's mind, "I can help you save reality. I can… I can… urgh…" The Ruby begins to tremble in Hero's hands. "What…what are you…?"

"No… No, no, no! You have to stop this now! Give me the Ruby!" He furiously tries to shove past Chaos, but he is firmly held in place.

As the Ruby glows and pulsates intensely, Shadow watches with baited breath. Suddenly, a large crack forms down its side. It's followed by another. The Ruby rapidly becomes covered in spiderwebbing cracks and splinters, trembling furiously.
"No…"

With one final loud crack, the entire Phantom Ruby collapses in on itself as it crumbles into sparkling dust, revealing a tiny Null Space portal inside, which, too, closes on itself, leaving nothing behind. All around, Null Space fissures rapidly seal themselves as the air finally clears of all traces of the Phantom Ruby's power.

"What have you done…? What have you done!?" With no Ruby left, Chaos no longer restrains Infinite, allowing him to dive onto the ground beneath Hero's feet. He runs his hands across the floor over and over, scrambling to find even the smallest piece of the Ruby. He finds nothing. Staring at the ground, he mutters, "You…destroyed my Ruby. There's nothing left. I'll…I'll kill you." He sharply looks up to Hero, a murderous glare in his eyes. "I'LL KILL YOU!" He draws his sword and tries to stab upwards.

In a flash, Shadow appears beside him, striking hard enough to send him flying up into the air. In another flash, Shadow appears above him as he flies, pounding him down into the ground. Just as he bounces off of the ground, Shadow appears beside him yet again, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick that sends him flying back into one of the park's crumbling pillars.

Even injured, Infinite still struggles back to his feet. "I can't… I can't be weak like this for the rest of my life…"

Shadow seems ready to go in for a finishing attack. But he hesitates. "The day we first met…I called you pathetic. What you heard was 'weak'. But that was never what I meant. What I saw when I looked at you was someone who was squandering everything he had, taking every order from Eggman even to what might have been your own death, just for whatever meager payment he'd arranged with you. You lost complete control over your own life. And I never wanted to see your face again. Because I didn't want to see that worthlessness in myself. I don't know if I was right back then. But I know that I am now." He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "You aren't worth any more of my time." He turns to leave.

Hero looks to Infinite with deep sorrow.

With nothing but wordless snarl, Infinite leaps at Shadow from behind, blade drawn. Shadow turns and delivers a chop square to Infinite's head, causing him to collapse to the ground, unconscious.

Hero starts to lift his hand as if to reach out and help him. But after a moment of hesitation, he instead turns and looks down to the ground. Bruno pokes his head out of the Wispon in his hand. He looks around, and sees Infinite's form on the floor. He flies up to Hero's face, and gives a sorrowful squeak. Even with a saddened look in his eyes, Hero still gives a smile as he places his hand on the side of his Wisp friend. They both seem comforted by the touch.

Shadow gives a sigh. "Now we just need to take care of Eggman, and this war will be over."

Chaos steps up beside him. "Before we do…I must apologize to you, Shadow."

"For what?"

"I said some terrible things to you earlier today, founded only on my basest assumptions. I am now certain that I was wrong. You've shown immense heroism today. In the face of something that I didn't think was possible. I never could have imagined that there would be a second Outlier. It changes everything."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Were you alone in your separation from the Flow of Chaos, you would have only two choices. Live your life in absolute balance, never experiencing any Light that does not yield to Darkness, in essence, having everything you care about taken away from you. Or, create an imbalance that could offset the Balance of the entire universe. You did have that choice. But with another, that all changes. The two of you…can balance each other. So long as he holds Darkness in his heart, you are free to choose the Light. A choice few others are able to make. To change your very nature at a whim, as I saw the potential for in you before. You are truly something unique, Shadow the Hedgehog. There is much I could learn from you. But there is one thing that I know for certain. You could not possibly be the one responsible for the Controller's death. You may…even have the power to prevent it."

Shadow doesn't say anything for a few moments. "…We should get going."

"Wait!" Right where he was left, Blacklight is climbing back to his feet. As he does so, he wraps a hand around the Infinite-style scarf he still wears, and tears it away from his neck, letting it drop to the floor. The three heroes tense up for a fight as Bruno retreats back into the Wispon. Blacklight starts to limp his way towards them. "I don't want…to fight." Shadow looks to him quizzically. As he limps along, he pulls out a white Chaos Emerald, which he has apparently been holding onto all this time. "I have business…with the Doctor. So do you. I see this…as an opportunity." He steps right up in front of Shadow. "How about it, mon ami? Just once…we do this together." He lifts the Emerald up in front of Shadow's face. "The way things ought to be?"

Shadow stares him down for a long moment. Slowly, he lifts his own yellow Emerald up beside Blacklight's. He gives a slow nod as he agrees, "The way things ought to be." He even wears just the slightest smirk.

Chaos turns to Shadow. "Do you really trust him?"

"As long as he wants the same thing we do…yes."

Blacklight mutters grumpily, "I'm standing right here, you know."

Shadow takes a step back. "If you're going to stand with us, then it's time to prove it. We're going straight to the Doctor."

"So we shall."

Chaos interrupts, "Wait."

Shadow looks to him in confusion. "What is it now?"

"There's something I should warn you about, before we go into another battle. Those rings that you wear…they inhibit your release of energy, yes?"

"And taking them off might kill me, yeah, I've heard it before."

"No. Not might. Will. I sense the the flow of Chaos energy within you, and I can tell you that another release like the one you just experienced will kill you. The longer you wait, the safer it will become, but you cannot take that risk today."

"But unless I take them off, I can't–"

"You will have to make do without that power, you don't have any other choice. You must promise me."

Shadow sighs. "Fine. I promise."

A soft voice calls out, "Shadow…" Shadow suddenly looks over to his side with surprise. Beside him, the image of Maria that appeared before somehow still seems to be there. She gives him a smile, and states softly, "Please…don't forget your promise, Shadow. Give everyone a chance…to be happy." Shadow reaches out as the image starts to fade away, without any of the usual Ruby haze. Shadow looks around. No one else seems to have noticed anything.

Blacklight goads impatiently, "Well? What're you waiting for?"

Shaking his head for a moment, Shadow raises his Emerald up high. Hero takes one last glance at the unconscious form of Infinite. "Chaos…Control!" In a flash, the four of them disappear.

Infinite, left all alone, slowly struggles to lift his head from the ground. Immediately, he turns to look beside him. Not far off, Blacklight's cracked mask still lies on the floor, facing him as if staring into his soul.

—–—

The war has pushed all the way to the outskirts of the great futuristic Metropolis. Knuckles slams a fist hard into a Replica Zavok, sending it flying back as it dissolves away. Tails and Amy cover him from the side, as Tails throws Amy down from the air into a Chaos 0 that targets him. She slams her hammer hard enough to destroy it instantly, creating a shockwave that knocks back several more Replicas behind it. But suddenly, they all begin to dissolve away, one by one. The battle quickly calms with murmurs of confusion.

Knuckles cheers, "They did it!" All around, Null Space fissures close and the skies clear of their influence. The whole army starts to cheer behind him. Knuckles continues, "Great work, everyone! But we can't let up now!" He dramatically points off towards the interior of the city. "Eggman is just ahead! Just keep going!"

—–—

Infinite's feet clank across the metal floor as he limps through the interior of the Eggmanland base. With each step, he mutters, "I can't… I can't… I can't…" In one hand, he still holds his Ruby Blade. In the other, he holds the mask he once called his own.

He comes to a stop as he reaches a polished glass chamber. "It's here… Just like he said…" He stares up in wonder at the pyramidal Phantom Ruby prototype that floats slowly around in a circle within the chamber. "Small… Simple, and uncharged… But it's still a Ruby. Still a chance." He suddenly strikes the glass, shattering into a thousand pieces with a loud clatter.

He drops the mask to the floor, and slowly reaches up towards the free-suspended gem with just a finger. But, just inches away, he freezes. Shadow's voice rings in his head. "You lost complete control over your own life."

He angrily shakes his head, retracting his hand. "I always thought…that fate controlled my life. That the Ruby was my one chance to break free. Could it be…that the Ruby controlled me all along? That my control was nothing but an illusion?" He looks down to the mask on the floor, then back up to the Ruby. Then, hesitantly, he looks to the blade in his hand.

Cautiously, he raises the blade into the air, letting the light cast his reflection in its side. He smiles at what he sees.

To be continued…