The Twilight Cage

Several years ago

The brilliant golden figure of Super Sonic rises up into the air, staring down his opponent for just a moment. Across from him, radiating with the power of the Master Emerald, stands the elderly staff-wielding Echidna known as Imperator Pir'Oth Ix.

Super Sonic curls up in the air and launches at the crazed Nocturnus leader with impossible speed. Ix never flinches, his aura seeming to protect him from the attack. But Sonic doesn't relent, rebounding back in for a second attack, and a third. He rises up and slams down from above, he loops around and strikes from the side, crouches down and strikes back up in an uppercut before slamming back down once again, dealing greater and greater damage with each blow. He zooms around Ix in a circle, striking over and over again from every angle. He finally flies backwards and directs out his hands, firing off a massive beam of Chaos Energy that completely envelops the Echidna.

When the smoke clears, Ix has collapsed onto the floor.

Sonic's golden aura begins to fade as he lands on the ground. Behind him, all of his friends and allies stand, tired out from the long battle, but cheering at his victory. Among them is the Echidna girl in Nocturnus armor, Shade.

Sonic looks to the collapsed form of the Imperator. "It's over, Ix. You've lost."

Ix looks up sharply with his glowing blue eyes. "Yes…you have defeated me. You have won the day. But if I can't leave this nightmare prison…then neither will you!" In a brilliant flash of light leaving spewing sparks behind, Ix disappears, as the ground begins to rumble.

Amy looks around in confusion. "What did he do?" Everyone struggles to keep their balance as the ground shudders again.

Tails cries out, "What's happening!?"

Shade the Echidna steps up for all to see. "Ix activated the shutdown sequence! He's closing the wormhole!"

Sonic shouts, "Everyone, hold onto something!" Each tremor is more violent than the last.

Amy cries out, "Sonic, what do we do!? We're doomed!"

Tails presses a button on a small device he holds. "Maybe not! Our ride's here!"

Sonic commands, "Everyone, to the Cyclone!"

As a group, they run from the Nocturne temple. Waiting for them just outside, with boarding platform extended, is Tails' dimension-traveling ship, the Blue Cyclone. One by one, they all board the ship, and the door shuts behind them. The Cyclone quickly lifts off, turning to face the massive vortex torn open in the starry sky of the Twilight Cage. All engines fire, blasting the ship towards the wormhole as it seems to shrink away from them. But at top speed, they just barely manage to pass through the shrinking vortex as it closes behind them, forever re-locking the Twilight Cage.

Inside the ship, everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Tails looks around from the pilot's chair. "Everyone make it aboard?"

Sonic nods. "We're all here."

Amy cheers, "Brilliant, Tails! I didn't know the Cyclone could do that!"

"Hey, Eggman and I designed this ship ourselves! She'll surprise you!"

Knuckles nods in agreement. "Well done."

Amy continues, "And we stopped Ix! The world is saved!"

"Yeah. Now we just have to get back there."

As if on cue, the ship starts to rumble. Tails shouts, "Everyone hang on! I'm working on that!"

Knuckles stands close to Shade, as if to protect her. Amy takes Sonic's hand. He doesn't seem to mind. The ship rumbles again, more violently than the last time.

Rouge demands, "Tails, what's happening!?"

"I think there's…some kind of malfunction in the Dimensional Buffer! I'm trying to compensate!"

Outside, the ship shudders through the turbulence between space, until it finally tears out through a hole into normal space. In an instant, warning sirens wail as the ship is detected by satellites, searchlights, and hundreds of cannons and guns carpeting the mechanized city below. Hardly a moment later, they open fire.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 1, Episode 6 — Sonic Chronicles Special Episode

Chapter 11: Lost Chronicles

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Daily log, May 13th, 0 A.E. Knuckles the Echidna reporting.

Cyber City. One of the most dangerous places on the planet. Eggman built the city up with every trap and weapon he could get his hands on. Enough to earn this place the nickname…Genocide City. And somehow, I got stuck on recon duty. Of course, there could be a reason he's built up all these defenses. Rumor has it that this is where Eggman's holed up, where he gives all his orders from. If I can confirm those rumors, we might be able to take the fight straight to Eggman, and finally put an end to this war. If not, I'm putting my life on the line for no good reason. Nothing like imminent danger to make a guy miss his old, quiet, secluded floating island. Kind of makes me wonder what–… What the heck is that!?

—–—

Emperor Eggman stands beside the massive semicircular window of his dim throne/command room, looking down at the great mechanical Cyber City below from his mighty tower. He looks up, noticing the disturbance in the evening sky before Orbot's call even reaches him.

"Sir, I'm getting a very strange energy reading. Some sort of dimensional breach in the atmosphere."

Eggman glares at the growing vortex in the sky. "Lock all scanners on it. I want to know what it is, and what it's doing here."

"There's something coming out, boss! It looks like…a ship!"

"Ship!? What kind of ship!?"

"…I think you'd better see for yourself, sir." After a moment, a holographic screen lights up in front of the window, showing a greatly zoomed image of the wormhole, and the craft that exits through it. The Cyclone.

Eggman's eyes lock on the side of the ship's back fin, proudly displaying an emblem with a star in the middle, of the kind that Sonic might use. "It's the Rebellion! We're under attack! Lock all cannons, shoot them down!"

—–—

The moment the inside of the Cyclone calms down, an automated message suddenly appears on the main viewscreen. On it, the less regal Dr. Eggman gives a devilish smirk. "Welcome back, team. You've been gone a long time… Might have been better if you hadn't returned. But I was hoping you would." The first blast from below hits before anyone has a chance to react.

—–—

Knuckles watches in shock from atop a moderately-sized building as a hailstorm of laser fire cuts through the silver and blue craft, covering it with explosions as it quickly dips out of the hazy red sky. From the smoke of the explosions, several tiny figures are thrown outwards. The turrets on the ground continue to fire relentlessly, though most of them now miss their mark, as the smoking craft plummets far off to the left, past the cybernetic city and into the grassy hills beyond.

But Knuckles remains transfixed by one of the scattered figures, falling ever closer to him. "That's…a person!" He sprints for the edge of the building, and leaps over the side. "Don't worry! I've got you!" He glides in the direction of the figure, deeper into the heart of the city. With perfect timing, he catches the figure in his outstretched arms, and they land safely on the ground together.

Knuckles gently sets the barely-conscious figure on the ground. "Hey…are you alright?" Though he sounds concerned, he takes a step back in surprise the moment he gets a good look.

Slowly, she rises to her feet. Though she wears the full, menacing Nocturnus mask and helmet to go with her armor, the purple marking on her forehead clearly identifies her as Shade. "Knuckles…? How did you…?"

Knuckles cautiously raises his fists as he continues to step back, prepared for a fight with the strange marauder. "Who are you? What are you?"

"What are you talking about, Knuckles? It's me, Shade."

"I don't know you. How do you know my name?"

"This is silly, what's gotten into you?" She reaches up a hand to press down on the side of her helmet, causing it to fade away with a faint purple light, retracting into her headband by some futuristic technology, and revealing her face to him. "See? It's just me."

Knuckles gasps aloud. He stumbles back another step, gaping at the sight of the Echidna warrior. "W…what!? You're…you're an Echidna! But that's impossible!"

"That's exactly what you said when we met. Don't you remember me, Knuckles?"

"What kind of trick are you trying to pull!? One of Eggman's androids, maybe?"

Shade looks down to the ground, scanning her eyes back and forth as she thinks. "Something is very wrong." She looks up, around at the city. "This place looks like Metropolis…but it isn't." She closes her eyes. "What was it that Tails said…? 'A malfunction…in the Dimensional Buffer.' Of course, that must be it."

"Tails!? What did you do with him!? Answer me!"

"Knuckles…this is going to sound strange, but…" She suddenly gasps. "Look out!" Catching him by surprise, she dives on top of him, tackling him to the ground. The laser blast passes over them a moment later.

They both stand to get a look at the ambusher, the leader of a squadron of four Egg Pawns. Shade voices, "The others might still be in danger, we need to get out of here. Just follow my lead." As if from nowhere, she pulls out a small spherical device, and throws it at the lead Egg Pawn. The grenade detonates in a huge cloud of smoke. Knuckles hesitantly glances back at Shade for a moment, but runs in for an attack before the advantage fades, striking through the smoke cloud. With well-timed precision, the other Echidna rushes in after him, holding out a closed fist as a blade of purple light is generated in her hand, which she uses to cut down the robot just as the last of the smoke fades. The two both jump back, putting distance between them and the remaining opponents.

Unrelenting, Knuckles runs right back in to punch at another Pawn, knocking it down. Shade acts the moment he's done, creating a second blade in her opposite hand, and leaping up to slice at a third robot, taking it down as well. The remaining robot fires off a shot at Knuckles, but he dodges out of the way as he runs in for a powerful uppercut, taking down the last robot and winning the battle.

Shade nods in approval. "I see you haven't lost your skill in battle."

Knuckles isn't sure how to respond. But after a moment, he manages, "There'll be more robots on the way. You're right, we should get out of here."

Shade nods in agreement, and they run together past the wreckage of the defeated robots.

—–—

What remains of the Cyclone has left a long, smoking trail of dirt carved through the grassy hill. Much of the front portion of the craft has been torn and crumpled, but it seems mostly intact despite the amount of fire it took. Shade and Knuckles run for it from the direction of the city.

Knuckles notes, "That's the ship you fell out of. It appeared in the sky through some kind of portal. Where did it come from?"

Shade answers simply, "The Twilight Cage."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'll explain everything once we find the others." They stop as they reach the side of the ship. Shade moves right for the door on the side, but it appears to be stuck. "Help me with this."

Knuckles steps up, and digs his fingers into the small opening between the door and the rest of the hull. They pull together, ripping the door completely out. Smoke pours out from the inside of the ship. But the sound of coughing confirms that people are alive inside.

One figure quickly moves out to meet them, silhouetted by the smoke. But the voice of Sonic is unmistakable. "Shade, it's good to see you're okay. Knuckles is…" His figure is revealed as the smoke clears. He seems just a little bit shorter, his quills just a little bit larger than the Sonic that Knuckles knows. But he is unquestionably Sonic the Hedgehog. "…standing right there next to you?"

Knuckles scratches his head with confusion. "Sonic? How did you get in there, what's going on here?"

Sonic crosses his arms with a slight scowl. "That's what I was going to ask you. Shade?"

Shade lowers her head slightly. "I think I can explain. But he needs to see for himself."

Sonic seems to object to the idea. "I don't like this. Why should we trust him?"

"He's saved my life once already. We can trust him, at least for now."

Knuckles growls, "Can you two stop talking about me like I'm not here?"

Sonic closes his eyes with a long sigh. "Alright." He steps aside. "Come on in."

Knuckles somewhat aggressively moves in first. Waiting inside is a small group of familiar faces, including Shadow, Rouge, Amy, Cream, and even Big the Cat. A few faces are notably missing. But Knuckles is far too distracted by the figure lying out on the ground to notice. The figure of himself, lying unconscious on the floor. He swears under his breath, "Mother of Chaos…"

Shade steps in behind him. "You're probably thinking this is another trick. But I believe I have the answer." Sonic listens in eagerly. "When we were exiting the wormhole, Tails mentioned a malfunction in the Dimensional Buffer. As you may remember, that component had to be repaired during our travels in the Twilight Cage, using parts from my Warp Belt. So I'm familiar with the technology. I believe that we encountered dimensional turbulence within the wormhole which the Buffer failed to compensate for, causing us to exit in the wrong dimension."

Everyone stands in a stunned silence for a few moments. Amy is the first to speak, still bearing a doubtful expression. "So you're saying we're in another dimension…right now? This isn't our world?"

Shade nods. "All the proof you need is standing right here. This Knuckles is an inhabitant of this dimension. Our Knuckles was…injured in the crash?"

Sonic steps up to the middle of the room. "Yeah. He seems okay for now, but I'm no doctor. He needs medical attention." He looks up to the conscious Knuckles questioningly. "Is there somewhere nearby we can take him?"

Knuckles still doesn't speak for a short time. He takes another glance back at Shade before he finally does. "…No hospital will take him. … …I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but…our base is just a few miles from here. We might be able to do something for him there. And…we might able to help you get back home, too."

Sonic has to think for a moment. "That sounds a little suspicious."

Shade immediately objects, "Our Knuckles needs help. Now's not the time to refuse help that's offered."

Sonic looks back to the rest of the group. "What do you guys think?"

Shadow is the first to offer an opinion. "We certainly aren't accomplishing anything waiting around out here. We should do whatever it takes to get back to our own dimension as soon as possible. Right now, that means believing him."

Amy ponders, "Even if he isn't our Knuckles, he's still…basically the same person, isn't he? If we can trust our Knuckles, can't we trust him, too?"

Rouge counters, "I wouldn't be too sure. This could be some kind of freaky mirror universe where everything's backwards."

Big suddenly interrupts, "Wait a minute…" Everyone stops to listen. "Since when did Knuckles have a brother?" A collective groan sounds through the room.

Sonic lets out a sigh. "I don't think we have much of a choice right now. Take us to your base, Knuckles."

Rouge keeps up, "Fine. But if their version of Tails has a goatee, I'm out."

Shade looks around for a moment. "Sonic…what happened to Tails and Omega?"

Sonic looks down and shakes his head in shame. "One problem at a time. We have to hope they can handle themselves."

—–—

Tails slowly comes to consciousness in the dim jail cell. He looks around cautiously, clutching at his head. "What…what happened…?"

He starts to pace back and forth as he continues to think. "We were…attacked… We fell out of the ship… We were…captured?" As he turns to pace the other way, he notices another figure in the opposite corner, a deactivated Omega. He runs up to see closer. "Omega… He must've been damaged in the fall…"

Another voice responds, "I wouldn't be worried about the robot, if I were you."

Tails turns with surprise. "Eggman! I'm so glad you're here, maybe you can help us break out of here!"

Emperor Eggman, in his long, gold-trimmed jacket, steps into view on the other side of the bars. "Now why would I want to do that?"

Tails runs up to the bars to talk to him face-to-face. "Something happened to this world while we were gone, I don't know what it is, but you were here! You've seen it happen! Why weren't you there to guide us in like you said, who attacked us?"

"You ask a lot of questions for a prisoner. How about I ask a few? Let's start with that ship of yours. Where did you build it? What technology did you use to open that portal?"

"What do you mean? You know all that already, you helped me build it!"

"I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about."

"But… but…" Tails glances back and forth as he continues to think. Then something dawns on him. "The message… 'Might have been better if you hadn't returned'… What did you mean by that?"

"I never sent you any message. I'm beginning to think you've completely lost your mind, fox boy. Now whether you answer my questions or not, you'll still make an excellent bargaining tool for the Rebellion. But I don't intend to promise you returned unharmed. So I suggest you cooperate."

"Eggman…you promised you'd reformed. You helped us save the world from the Nocturnus invasion. I thought you were…were…" Tears begin to fill his eyes. "…our friend."

"Then you really have gone mad. I'll return shortly. For your sake, I hope you're in a more cooperative mood by then." He turns and walks back the way he came.

Tails reaches after him. But there's nothing he can say.

—–—

The more familiar Sonic the Hedgehog sits at the desk in the center of his tent, carefully reading over the screen on his TAL computer. He absently scratches at the small discolored scar still left on the side of his arm. A knock comes at the center post of the tent entrance.

Sonic looks up with slight surprise. "Come in."

Instead of complying, the voice of Tails calls from outside, "Sonic…there's some people here to see you."

"People?"

"I…think you'd better see for yourself."

"Umm…sure?" Sonic waits as he watches the entrance.

After a moment, the leader of the visiting group ducks into the tent. He can't help but smirk as he gets his first good look at himself. "Hi. I'm Sonic. But you probably already knew that." After a moment, he adds, "There's more of us."

Sonic sits speechless at his desk for quite some time. Finally, he manages, "…Let's gather everyone in the mess tent."

—–—

The group from the Cyclone stands across from the group at home in the camp, including Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Espio, Charmy, and Hero. They are gathered in the large eating area, with Sonic standing at the front of each group. Though tables and chairs are set up, no one sits.

Shade finishes explaining, "…We defeated Ix, and escaped from the Twilight Cage before the wormhole closed completely. But our ship had seen much battle. Our Dimensional Buffer was damaged, and as a result, we came out here, instead of in our own dimension."

Beside her, Sonic nods. "I know it sounds pretty crazy. But that's how we got here. And that's why we need your help."

The Rebellion's leader shrugs. "To be honest, we've dealt with this kind of thing before. Other dimensions, even another version of me. But meeting him wasn't quite this…uncanny."

By his side, Knuckles suggests, "I think we'd better talk about labels, before things get too confusing."

The Sonic from the Cyclone group nods in agreement. "You're the home team here. We're just the visitors."

Home Sonic nods as well. "You make it sound like the Interdimensional Olympics. But fair enough. So where do we go from here?"

Visitor Sonic doesn't need long to think. "Tails and Omega are still missing. Now that Knuckles is being taken care of, our priority needs to be finding them."

"That isn't good news. If they fell into the city, Eggman most likely captured them."

"Then we'll break them out."

"I don't think that's a very good idea. Cyber City is one of the most dangerous places on the planet. It's completely overrun with Egg Pawns, Elite ones, too."

"In the last few days, we've infiltrated Metropolis while it was overrun with Marauders and reprogrammed robots, not to mention the Nocturne itself. If those 'Egg Pawns' are anything like Swat Bots, they'll be no problem."

"What's a Swat Bot?"

Visitor Sonic is stunned for just a moment. "Wow, we really are in a different dimension. But that doesn't matter. No obstacle is going to stop us from getting our friends back. Right, guys?"

Rouge doesn't seem so convinced. But she doesn't say anything one way or the other.

Shadow answers for her, "That would be foolish. The Cyclone is still our only chance at getting home. Since it's clear there's nothing that can help us here, we should focus on getting it repaired, instead of leaving it out in the open for Eggman to take."

Visitor Sonic seems to be growing irritated. "What about Omega? You just want to leave him behind?"

"We won't leave anyone behind. Omega can probably break them out himself. If not, we can worry about them after we have a way back."
"Easy for you to say! My friends aren't robots like yours! They can be hurt! Every second we don't help them!"

Everyone stands in stunned silence for a few moments. Both versions of Rouge raise an eyebrow.

Visitor Amy softly takes her Sonic's hands. "Sonic…I know it's hard, but…I think they have a point."

Sonic lets out another long sigh. But he doesn't say anything.

Finally, home Sonic questions, "Everyone…can I…talk to myself, alone, for a few minutes?"

After a moment, members of both groups start to file out through the tent's entrance, until only the two Sonics remain.

Visitor Sonic sighs once again. "…I messed up, didn't I?"

"It looks that way."

"I'm still wondering whether or not I can trust you. And here I am, giving you reason not to trust me."

"You're still wondering? Why's that?"

"You're rebels, aren't you? Like…war, sabotage…terrorism? That kind of thing?"

"The people are our priority. No one ever gets hurt. No one ever gets threatened. We've all sworn to never stoop that low."

"It just doesn't sound like the kind of thing we'd ever be involved in."

"The way I see it…there's only one difference between us. When you had your final battle with Eggman, you won. You thought he was gone for good. Well for us, we lost. He thought I was dead. If that'd happened to you…do you think you'd be doing anything different now? Do you think you'd just give up and let Eggman have the planet?"

"I guess not…"

"If you don't mind me asking…how did you end up becoming the leader of your team? It seems like you have a lot of hard heads to deal with."

"Yeah, that Shadow can be a Grade-A jerk sometimes. I guess it all just…sort of happened. I was off on my own for a long time. And when I came back, it was because everyone needed my help. So I took charge. Knuckles was really against it after we first broke him out. Even Tails admitted that I didn't really have the right to tell him what to do, after being gone so long. But I guess everyone just got used to it. Except Shadow. He still argues with me every chance he gets."

"I think you and Shadow are more alike than you think. When something matters to you…it can set you off."

"And make me come off as a jerk, too. Yeah. So what about you, then? How'd you end up leading a Rebellion?"

"It was…sort of the opposite, for me. I didn't want anything to do with it. I would've been happy just running into whatever someone else tells me to. But everyone else thought otherwise. They pushed me to step up and lead. Even Shadow."

"And of course, you ended up better at it."

"Better? If you ask me, I'm terrible at this. Do you know what I've accomplished as leader these last four months? Absolutely nothing! But look at you. You've been through some crazy stuff in the last few days alone, without even taking a break. And you won. The first battle, at least. You seem like a pretty good leader to me. All your friends are counting on you, of course you're going to get upset when you can't help some of them. Especially with all the stress you've already been under. If I were in your shoes, I'm sure I would've said the same thing. Though…I guess that doesn't mean much, coming from yourself."

"…You'd be surprised. But…do you think they're right? Do you think we shouldn't worry about Tails?"

"I think…as much as I want to tell you to put your friends above all else…I don't know if that's what Tails would want. Then again, maybe you should ask him. My Tails is right over there in the med tent, taking care of your Knuckles."

"Alright. I'll ask him."

—–—

Outside, everyone seems to have broken off into smaller groups.

Home Cream happily speaks to visitor Big. "It's very nice to see you again, Mr. Big. Even if it isn't the real you…"

"Wait…I'm not real…?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, that's not what I meant!"

A short distance away, one Rouge closely examines the other, though it really isn't possible to tell them apart. Finally, she says, "Mine are not that big."

The other Rouge seems a bit shocked. "Excuse me?"

"Your ears. They're enormous."

"Look in the mirror sometime, hon. We're identical."

After a short while, Rouge, apparently the home one, poses, "Mind if I ask you a few more questions about your story? I like to know what's going on, I'm sure you're the same way."

"Of course. What do you want to know?"

Up by the edge of the tents, Charmy questions to visitor Cream with confusion, "So how come there isn't another version of me, huh? You have, like, everyone with you, so where's the Chaotix!? Oh no, are we dead!? We're dead, aren't we!?"

"No, no, nothing like that! You and Mr. Vector were working with GUN on the case of the Marauders. You found everyone an important lead that helped them find Mr. Knuckles."

"Oh. Well that's kind of lame. Why didn't we come with you after that?"

"I don't really know… I guess everything just happened kind of fast."

Shadow speaks to Shadow in the shadows on the other side of the canyon floor. One of them, apparently the home Shadow, voices quietly, "You don't seem to respect your Sonic as a leader very much."

The visitor Shadow spits back, "That's because he doesn't deserve my respect. You saw how he lost his temper in there."

"He lost his temper because you prodded him in all the wrong places, at the wrong time. And you knew exactly what you were doing. Seems like you know him pretty well."

"Just because you became best pals with your Sonic, doesn't mean I have to be with mine."

"No one said you had to. Your destiny is yours to decide. But it would look a lot brighter…if you opened up to someone you share something in common with."

"And what, exactly, do I share in common with Sonic?"

"A lot more than you think. A desire to protect the world, for starters. The rest, you can figure out on your own."

"I'm just trying to get home. You can save the flowery friendship speech. I'm beginning to wonder how you could possibly be me, in any universe."

"I would've said the same thing. But anyone can change."

Both versions of Amy stand out in front of the only white tent among the row of dull orange, apparently the designated medical tent. The home Amy comments, "So…you and your Sonic seem…pretty close."

"And you're wondering how I did it?"

"What!? I-I never said–"

"Oh come on, don't try to hide it. I would've asked me the same thing."

"Okay, so…how'd you do it?"

"Well, I sort of…made up a pretend boyfriend to make him jealous."

"Oh. That sounds a little…"

"Scummy?"

"I was going to say 'overboard', but…"

"Yeah, it was…never a very good idea. Sonic was gone for a long time, and when he came back, and I had this plan all ready, he was just being really nice to me all of a sudden, which made me feel even worse about it. I don't really know exactly where we are now. But he's under so much stress right now, the last thing I want is to make it worse for him."

"Well, I at least know what that part's like."

"If you plan on waiting until your war is over…it looks like you might have a long wait ahead of you."

"I'll wait for Sonic as long as it takes."

"If that's true, then I'm sure you'll get him eventually. Your way."

Inside the med tent, the visitor Knuckles lies out on a stretcher, still unconscious, while home Tails carefully wraps bandages around his head.

From two chairs set up near the entrance, the other Knuckles, and the only Shade, sit and watch. Knuckles lets out a sigh. "In that story you told…you left out the part about you. Are you one them? The Nocturnus?"

Shade looks down to the ground. "I was known by the title of Procurator. Lord Ix's most trusted warrior. But I only wanted to return to the world. He wanted to conquer it. I spoke up about it only once. And he tried to kill me because of it. It was Knuckles who saved me." They both look to the unconscious figure in front of them.

"It's hard to wrap my head around. Yesterday, I was the only Echidna. Now I'm sitting in a room with two of them. Except that one of them is me, and the other one is three thousand years old. And they're both from other dimensions. So really, I'm as alone as I ever was."

"I wouldn't pretend to understand the loneliness you must feel. But when I returned to the Nocturne…a fugitive amongst my own people…unwelcome in my own home…I never felt so alone as in that moment."

"You consider that place a home?"

"I never really thought about it before then. But I wasn't like the elders, like Ix. I was born in the Twilight Cage, I had never seen the other world. To me, it was like…a fairy tale. A magical land with grass and trees as far as the eye can see. From the seclusion of the Twilight Cage, it sounded like paradise. So I sought our return to that world as adamantly as any elder. But it was never my home. And it never will be…"

"What do you mean, 'never will be'? Everyone's welcomed you back to their world. You have friends, even someone else like you, someone who understands you. That's what home is really about."

"Sonic and his friends…have been very kind. And in return, I have guided their travels through the Twilight Cage to the best of my abilities. But we aren't in the Twilight Cage anymore. And once we return to their world, once I become the stranger in their world, I won't be of use to them anymore. Remaining allies with me will no longer be to their benefit. And I fear I will be alone."

"If that's what you think about Sonic…then you don't know him very well at all. Maybe that's how things were for you as Nocturnus Procurator, maybe people only spent time around you because of your position of power, but around here, that's not how we do things. And if that Knuckles there is anything like me…spending time with you will be benefit enough for him."

Shade suddenly stands. "That's enough."

Knuckles stands right up beside her. "What's wrong, did I say something?"

"No. You've been nothing but kind. Too kind. And I need you to stop. This whole thing is confusing enough without…you. I just want the madness to end."

Knuckles looks down in shame. "I understand. I'm…sorry."

A few moments later, two Sonics enter the tent. Tails looks up to greet them.

Visitor Sonic quickly begins, "How's he doing, Tails?"

Tails looks down to the unconscious visitor Knuckles. "Luckily, he hasn't sustained any serious injury, but I don't think he'll wake up for at least another few hours. After that, he should be fine…besides a mild headache." He looks up to his own Sonic. "So…everything checks out?"

The Sonics nod to each other. "Yeah. We're all good."

The conscious Knuckles walks up to them. "So what's the plan?"

Visitor Sonic looks to Tails. "That's what we were hoping to ask you about. We think that our Tails was captured by Eggman. And I want to rescue him, but the rest of the team thinks we should focus on defending and repairing the Cyclone. So if it was you…what would you want us to do?"

Tails thinks for a moment. "Well…I guess…I wouldn't ask you to risk your only chance at getting home just for me. From that perspective, I might tell you that you'd need me to fix the ship, but…I can probably take care of that. Me me, I mean. In fact, if you're worried about keeping it defended, we can all go."

Visitor Sonic sighs, knowing that he must listen to Tails. But then he looks up. "You'd really do that for us?"

Tails looks to his own Sonic again. "Well…?"

Home Sonic gives a smile with a thumbs-up. "We help people. That's why we're here. We'll do whatever we can to help you guys get home."

—–—

Eggman slowly steps up to the cell bars. "Well…I've just received an interesting report from my new informant. It seems that you aren't who you appear to be."

On the other side, Tails crosses his arms with a smirk. "Did it really take you that long, Eggman? I had it figured out hours ago."

"My, that's quite an attitude. The way I remember, you were sniveling over friendship or some nonsense like that just a few hours ago. Might I remind you that you're still my prisoner?"

"I don't have anything to fear anymore, because I'm not who you thought I was. You might as well just let us go, since we aren't useful to you here."

"Oh, you are still very useful to me. And I intend to make use of that advantage."

Tails looks down to the ground, thinking for several moments. "You may not be the Eggman that I knew…but that doesn't mean you don't have the same good in you that I saw in him. He did some amazing things on the side of good. We wouldn't have been able to save the world without him. You can do the same. You can be good, bring good to the world."

"You almost make all of your running around and jumping on things sound like fun. Almost. But by the sounds of that 'message' you received, your Dr. Eggman didn't turn out to be the goody-goody you make him out to be. Perhaps it was his intention to trap you here in a foreign dimension, out of his way. Clever man. I really ought to thank him."

"Don't you understand? Taking prisoners, making threats, waging war, it doesn't have to be that way."

"You say that as if it's what I want. What I seek, no amount of good can ever bring me."

"You already control this world. What more could you possibly take?"

"Now, now, you're still the prisoner, remember? You're here to further my needs. And from this dimension or not, Sonic won't be able to resist helping out a friendly face. So smile for the camera, would you?"

—–—

Tails crawls backwards out of the access space in the Cyclone, tools in hand. "Well, I have good news and bad news. Good news is, the damage to the engines seems pretty minimal, which means I should be able to get the ship up and running in no time. Bad news is, your…uh…Dimensional Buffer is completely shot. If you had it, you could probably reopen the wormhole you came through, use that to get where you were going before. But you won't be getting much of anywhere without it."

Visitor Sonic looks over to Shade. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare warp belt he can deconstruct, would you?"

Shade looks down and shakes her head. "I only had one, and all of its necessary parts went into the last repairs."

Tails scratches his head. "I could try to build a new one from scratch. But that could take weeks. Maybe longer."

Sonic crosses his arms. "I don't think that's an option."

"Well, that means we'd have to find the components somewhere else."

Rouge poses, "Didn't our Eggman have one of those Buffer thingies just lying around when we first needed it?"

Sonic nods. "Good idea, Rouge. If anyone has those parts, it'll be Eggman."

Amy questions, "But where do we even look? It's not like we can ask Eggman this time."

Knuckles steps in through the open door to the outside. "I think I can help with that. I was scouting out the city before you all got here. Eggman has a vault near the center of the city where he keeps rare and valuable technology. It's right next to the construction facility where he uses that tech to build his most elite robots. One of the reasons why he keeps the city under such heavy guard. But if you get in there, I'll bet you can find the parts you need."

Shade comments, "Getting in there would be the problem, wouldn't it? Genocide City, you called it?"

Shadow scoffs, "Tch. I'm sure it's nothing I can't handle."

Sonic puts on a scowl as he starts to think. "We shouldn't rush into this without a plan."

Before anyone has a chance to propose one, the ship's main viewscreen suddenly lights up. Emperor Eggman stands with his hands folded. "This message is for the Rebellion…and all of their new friends."

Knuckles calls outside, "Sonic! I think you'd better come see this!" Home Sonic runs in through the door at the call.

Eggman continues, "Let's keep this simple, shall we? I am currently holding your friends captive. Have a look." The camera pans around, showing Tails behind the cell bars.

Visitor Sonic cries out, "Tails!"

On the screen, Tails shouts, "Sonic, whatever he tells you, don't listen to him! I'm fine, he–" The voice cuts off as the camera turns back to Eggman.

"As you can see, I haven't harmed a hair on his little head. Yet. My demands haven't changed recently. I want Sonic, and the Chaos Emerald. Come to me willingly, and the prisoners go free, unharmed. All of our visitors will be allowed to return home without interference. Refuse, and I make no such promises. We await you in the central tower of Cyber City. And I suggest you make use of that speed of yours." Just as quickly as it began, the message cuts out.

Everyone stands in stunned silence for a moment. Home Sonic seems ready to say something. But visitor Sonic cuts him off. "Don't even think about taking that deal."

"I thought you wanted to help Tails more than anything."

"Oh, I do. And I have a plan that'll get Tails, get the parts, and get us home."

"Let's hear it."

"Eggman's arranged a meeting with you. And I'm going to make it."

Amy asks with concern, "You don't plan on giving yourself up, do you?"

"You kidding? I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. 'Giving up' isn't in my vocabulary."

Shadow mutters, "Neither is 'shutting up'."

Sonic continues, "Once Eggman takes us right to our friends, we bust them out."

Rouge interrupts, "Hate to disagree with your plan, Big Blue. But how does that get us the parts?"

"Once we make our move, things are gonna get pretty crazy. Eggman will divert his defenses to keep us from getting out. Shadow, that'll be your chance to take a team into the vault for the parts we need."

Home Sonic thinks for a few moments. "There are a few problems with your plan. Eggman has scanners. If you show up without an Emerald, he'll know something's up."

Visitor Sonic reaches back for something. "I don't think that'll be a problem." He pulls out what can only be a Chaos Emerald. Though it seems like it might be the purple Emerald, it still has an odd pinkish hue. Shadow stares at it from afar.

Sonic examines it closely. "Umm…why is it pink?"

"The Voxai called it a Great Emerald. They imbued it with some sort of psychic energy. It's a long story."

"That should work fine. But Eggman will be expecting you to pull something. If you go in alone, you'll be playing right into his hands."

"Who said anything about going in alone? I'll bring in my own team. Shade, Amy, sound good?" They both nod.

Knuckles steps forward a moment later. "I'll come, too. I've scouted out the place, I can help you stay out of trouble."

Home Sonic steps up beside him. "Are you sure about this, Knuckles?"

Knuckles nods, looking to Shade. "Absolutely. With your Knuckles still out of commission, you might need me."

Before visitor Sonic can object, home Sonic continues with a nod, "There's one other problem with this plan. If all of Eggman's defenses are focused on you four…there's no way you'll make it out of there. What you need is an extra distraction. I think we can take care of that. I'll take my own team in, and the rest can stay here to guard the Cyclone."

Visitor Sonic finally objects, "We can't ask all of you to do that. It's one thing standing guard for us here, but there's no way we're letting you put your lives on the line for us like that."

"We promised we'd help you get home. We aren't going back on that now. Besides, I'll take any excuse to stick one to Eggman. Let's you and me show him not to mess with Sonic the Hedgehog. In any dimension."

"…Alright. Fine. Shadow, that will leave your team with Rouge, Cream, and Big."

Rouge immediately complains, "Why do we get stuck babysitting?"

"Hey, Cream can handle herself."

"I was talking about the other one."

Big scratches at his face, completely unaware.

"I'm…sure you'll manage." The visitor leader turns to Shadow. "We're counting on you to get those parts, Shadow."

"And we're counting on you to bring Omega back."

Sonic nods with a look of understanding. "We'll get them both back. No question about it."

—–—

Sonic slams into the black armor-plated Elite Egg Pawn with a powerful spindash, using the momentum to launch himself into the air, only to come back down with an axe kick that knocks its broken wreck to the ground. As he jumps back into formation beside his teammates, Amy leaps out in his place, arcing her hammer into a low blow at the Elite Pawn on the opposite side, destroying it just as quickly. All that remains is a shield-bearing Gold Pawn. Knuckles and Shade move in after it together, as Shade throws a grenade to cover their rushing combo attack. The final slice from her energy blade takes the robot down.

The four take a moment to cheer in victory. But only a moment.

"Now was that really necessary? We did promise to let you in unharmed." In front of the entrance to Eggman's tall central tower stands the transformed, scepter-wielding Egg Robo, Heavy King.

Sonic mutters, "Yuck… It's just like that Egg Bot from the Hazard Vault."

Apparently not hearing him, Heavy King continues, "Of course, we were expecting you to come alone."

Sonic crosses his arms. "These are…some of my visitor friends. They're here to make sure the prisoners get out safely. To make sure you don't pull anything." Knuckles glares at Heavy King with recognition. But after a moment, he turns to look at the ground instead.

"…Of course. And I'm here on behalf of my Emperor to ensure the same of you. You can start by handing over the Chaos Emerald." Heavy King extends a gloved robotic hand.

Sonic puts on a scowl. "And give up the only thing keeping us from being attacked right now? Not happening. Your scanners can tell you that we brought it. Now you can do the same for us. Take us to the prisoners. I want to see that they're alright with my own eyes."

"…Very well. Follow me." Heavy King turns to enter back into the tower, his long red cape billowing behind him. The four cautiously follow him in.

—–—

Tails holds two severed wires up very close to his face, keeping them carefully apart. "This…should do it…" He touches the tips of the wires together for just a moment. Nothing happens. He tries again. This time, a small arc of electricity sparks between them, starting up multiple whirring mechanical noises. "Yes!" Tails takes a few steps back, allowing Omega to activate.

"SYSTEMS COMING ONLINE—E-123 OMEGA BEGINNING REACTIVATION PROTOCOL." Omega straightens up, and starts to swivel his head around. But it stutters and stops, unable to complete the motion. "ERROR. ERROR. CRITICAL MALFUNCTION."

Tails declares, "Omega, can you hear me? You were damaged in the crash, but I was able to get you back on. I had to use a few parts from some of your other systems, though…"

Omega instead turns his entire torso to face Tails, with slightly more success. "ORANGE FOREST CREATURE HAS TAMPERED WITH MY SYSTEMS WITHOUT PERMISSION. THIS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED." He points a clawed arm directly at him. "COMMENCING IMMEDIATE DESTRUCTION." His arm shudders in place and makes a loud clicking sound. "WEAPONS SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. UNABLE TO DESTROY."

Tails holds up his hands defensively. "That was one of the systems I had to dismantle, it was the only way to get you working again! I promise I can get you all fixed up again once I get some parts and tools, but we're stuck in here right now." Omega lowers his arm, but says nothing. "By now, there's probably a plan to rescue us underway. But I needed to make sure you were up and able to get out by the time they get here. I don't think it would be good for any of us if you had to be carried out."

"EGGMAN ROBOT DETECTED IN THE VICINITY. UNABLE TO IDENTIFY."

"Oh no! Omega, you have to pretend you're still inactive! If they see you, they'll know we're trying to escape!"

"I WILL NOT DEMEAN MYSELF WITH SUCH A COWARDLY TACTIC. I WILL DESTROY ALL EGGMAN ROBOTS."

"How do you plan to do that without any weapons?"

"… …I AM CAPTURED. I CANNOT FIGHT. IT IS EMBARRASSING."

"We'll be out of here in no time. Just trust me."

"UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, THERE IS NO REASON TO TRUST A MEATBAG. HOWEVER…I WILL COMPLY." The lights in Omega's eyes switch off and he slouches down, just as footsteps can be heard approaching.

Heavy King slowly steps into view, Sonic and the others following behind. "Here they are. Quite unharmed, as promised."

Tails cheers, "Sonic! Uhh…I mean…Sonic…?"

Sonic turns to look at Tails, and, hidden from Heavy King, gives him a wink. "There's no need to worry. You'll be out of there soon."

Tails smiles as he places a hand on the side of Omega's arm. "Thanks for coming. We're ready to be out of here."

Heavy King suddenly slams his scepter into the ground. "There really isn't need for this subterfuge any longer."

Sonic puts on a cautious glare. "What are you talking about?"

"Did you think it wasn't obvious? The Sonic of this dimension has a small scar on the side of his arm. I've traversed enough dimensions to notice such things. You are attempting to fool us by pretending to be someone you're not."

"If you knew that, why'd you bring us up here?"

"It's simple. You are no less valuable to us than any other Sonic. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about your…tainted Emerald. But since you decided to change the terms of our deal, I'll simply capture all of you, and arrange for the exchange of the correct Emerald. With nothing to lose but a measly object, in exchange for all of the prisoners but one, I expect them to be a bit more cooperative."

Knuckles suddenly shouts, "You're wrong! Sonic won't leave anyone behind! So you might as well give it up right now!"

Heavy King turns his head to look at Knuckles. "Ah, yes, I had almost forgotten. The one amongst you who is of this world. It seems that fate likes to draw the two of us together." Knuckles gasps. "Yes, that's right. In truth, I've known of your plan since before you ever arrived here. It makes no difference." He slams his scepter into the ground once again. This time, at his call, two Elite Egg Pawns run in from behind, taking up position on either side of him.

Tails cries, "Sonic, look out!"

Sonic quickly barks into his wrist communicator, "Shadow, we've been found out! Now's your only chance!"

—–—

Rouge drops down into the dark room, and looks around cautiously. Eggman's vault is filled with piles and shelves of machinery of all sizes and in all conditions, much of which is recognizable as pieces of familiar old robots and mechs. Standing out somewhat amidst all of the technology, a dull black gemstone sits on a tall shelf in the far back of the room. Finishing her scanning, Rouge announces, "All clear."

Shadow drops in behind her. "I just got word from Sonic. We don't have much time."

Cream flies in last, carrying Big with her. "Wow…there's so much cool stuff in here."

Rouge complains, "How are we going to find the Buffer in all this junk?"

A familiar growling voice answers from the darkness, "I can help with that." As always, the figure stands just on the edge of the shadows, remaining just barely concealed. But with his four-fingered, brown gloved hand, he holds a sack of clanking metal parts out into the light. "I believe this is what you're looking for."

Shadow glares at the figure in the darkness. "Just who are you supposed to be?"

"You and I haven't met. Not in this dimension, anyway. But I know you well enough, Shadow. Well enough to know that you are a reasonable man." Suddenly, he tosses the sack through the air, in an arc for Shadow to catch. "So take it, and leave."

Shadow looks inside the sack. It seems to have everything they need. "Why are you helping us? You work for Eggman, don't you?"

"Ah, very perceptive. You are quite correct. And as I'm sure you understand, we've been having quite the problem dealing with the Rebellion. The last thing we need is a duplicate set of them running around. If you don't get these parts, you don't leave. If you don't leave, our problem remains doubled. So take it, leave, and never return. This will be the only act of kindness you can expect from me."

"Or, we could give you a beating, take the parts anyways, and leave whenever we feel like it."

"My, you do like to argue, don't you? But let's face it. You are short on time, facing an unknown enemy on his own turf. It doesn't make sense. Just go already."

Shadow glares silently for a moment. But finally, he turns his back to leave. "Fine. Let's go."

The rest of the team follows cautiously. But the figure in the darkness calls after them, "And Rouge…" She stops to look back at him. He tips the brim of his brown hat just into the light, as a glint reflects off of his single fang. "…such a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I look forward to doing it again."

Rouge stands surprised for a moment. But Shadow growls, "Just ignore him."

—–—

Sonic delivers a hard spindash into the Elite Pawn on the left, rebounding into the air and maintaining his spin. With perfect timing, Shade jumps up and leaps off of him in the air, dropping down with her leech blades onto the robot, destroying it, as Sonic returns to formation. Not getting a break, he curls back into a ball, along with Amy, and Knuckles grabs each of them in a hand. He spins around to build up momentum, and finally lets go, hurling them each into the remaining Pawn. The first hit knocks it back slightly, and the second destroys it completely.

Heavy King goes on the offensive, raising his scepter fire off an energy sphere that strikes Knuckles directly, knocking him to the ground.

Knuckles climbs back to his feet quickly, and runs in for a direct punch. Amy and Shade each try for a separate attack after him. But none of them seem to do much damage.

Heavy King attacks again, this time with a more powerful move, pounding his scepter into the ground, and shooting out a beam of energy that sweeps across the team's feet, erupting in flames a moment later, and damaging all of them. Just a few moments later, two more Elite Egg Pawns run in to replace the ones that were destroyed.

Sonic grunts, "We can't keep going like this. Shade, time for a change of pace."

At his order, Shade activates an energy blade, turns, and slashes at the lock on the cell bars, letting the gate swing open, and leaving Tails and Omega free to escape.

"Let's get out of here!" The whole team, including the prisoners, prepare to run away.

But Heavy King doesn't look particularly concerned. "Going so soon? A shame. My Emperor was so looking forward to speaking with you."

Knuckles freezes in place. "Eggman? He's here!?"

"Well of course. Just a few floors above us, in fact. I would be happy to take you to him."

Sonic urges, "Knuckles, we have to get out of here!"

Knuckles objects, "This might be my only chance! If I can get to Eggman, I might be able to put an end to this war!"

Shade cautions, "He's trying to goad you. If we stay in here, we might not ever come out again."

Heavy King adds, "Oh, they don't have to come. They're trying to save their own lives. That's fine. But you have your own mission. And a private audience would be better anyways, don't you agree?"

Knuckles closes his eyes. "Shade…there's something I want you to do for me."

"Knuckles…"

"Give us some cover!"

Understanding immediately, Shade hurls a high-tech grenade that detonates in a large cloud of smoke right in Heavy King's face. By the time the smoke clears, the team, Knuckles included, has ran far down the hall, leaping over any obstacles in their way.

The Pawns run after them, trying to get them. But Heavy King doesn't bother. He merely shakes his head. "It seems he isn't so gullible as we thought."

—–—

Home Sonic rolls straight through the ground-mounted laser turret, blasting it into pieces. He stands up in the hazy dawn light just long enough to shout, "Hey, Eggman! You wanted me!? Come and get some!" He curls back into a Spindash for another attack.

Not far behind him, home Omega shreds through another in the long row of turrets with his twin machine guns. "I will destroy all Eggman machines! I am finally free to destroy!"

A short distance away on ground level, Hero the Wolf uses his flamethrowing Wispon to burn down whole squadrons of attacking robots, just as he does best. Espio backs him up, moving swiftly and throwing projectiles with perfect precision, ensuring that no robot can get very close. The group may not fight with the perfect order and organization of visitor Sonic's team, but they certainly seem to be getting the job done.

Another tall cannon falls to Sonic's attack. But on the rooftop of the closest building, another one turns to set its sights on him. Sonic turns just in time to see. "Oh no!"

A spear of energy strikes through the cannon just before it fires, causing it to go up in a fiery explosion. Visitor Shadow lands in a crouch in front of it a moment later. He holds up the sack of parts for Sonic see as the rest of his team comes in behind him.

Sonic gives a thumbs-up. "Nice work! Any word from Sonic?"

Shadow growls, "He's late as usual, I'm sure." With that, he leaps out to find more cannons to destroy, while Cream, Big, and Rouge join the fight on the ground to hold back the ever increasing swarms of robots.

"Not too late, I hope!" Visitor Sonic stands along with Knuckles, Shade, Amy, Tails, and Omega in front of the central tower. They quickly join the waging battle as well, though the damaged Omega seems only able to attack by slashing with his claws. With their added help, every cannon and turret in sight is soon destroyed, leaving only the army of robots which continues to receive greater and greater reinforcements.

All of the heroes stand in a group, surrounded on all sides by dozens, maybe hundreds of robots, with still more coming in. It's become an all-out war. Home Sonic shouts, "We have to break through, find a way out of here!" But there are no escape routes, no way out.

Suddenly, the robots stop attacking, holding their defensive positions. The voice of Eggman echoes through loudspeakers set up throughout the city, declaring, "I think that's enough. You're all outnumbered a hundred to one. You've lost this battle. Let's negotiate the terms of your surrender, shall we? I think you'll find I'm still in a generous mood."

Visitor Sonic clenches a fist and growls. "I should never have let you guys get involved. Now you're about to lose your entire war, and it's my fault."

The other Sonic beside him puts on a smirk as he looks up into the sky. "I wouldn't count us out just yet."

A storm of laser fire suddenly blasts down into one group of robots, blowing a massive hole in their ranks. Everyone looks up to see the damaged but still-flying Blue Cyclone, providing support from the air. Not having turned off the speakers, Eggman can be heard shouting, "What's this!? Shoot them down!"

The voice of Orbot can be faintly heard answering, "All of our defense turrets have been destroyed, sir."

The Cyclone continues to lay down cover fire, until it finally starts to come down for a landing. While it descends, the heroes are easily able to take care of any robots that try to stop it. The moment it touches down, a door on the front opens, and the boarding platform extends. Home Tails waves from the other side. "Everyone, get in!"

Visitor Tails blinks a few times in surprise at seeing himself for the first time. But he quickly shakes it off, and follows everyone else in to his ship. As soon as the door closes behind him, it lifts off once again.

—–—

Home and visitor Tails each hold one side of a large assembled machine part, apparently the complete Dimensional Buffer. Standing next to each other, visitor Tails is noticeably shorter than his home counterpart. He begins, "Ready? One…"

"Two…"

At once, they both finish, "Three!" They push the part into the Cyclone's interior systems, and it locks into place.

Home Tails takes a step back, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "Man, it's nice being able to work with someone who really knows what they're doing."

"I know, right? I never thought I'd get the chance to work with anyone smarter than Eggman, but…here we are! You've already done great work with the engines."

"What can I say? I wouldn't have built them any better myself."

Visitor Rouge approaches them from behind. "Hey. Hate to interrupt your nerd-bonding time, but I'd like show my gratitude to the hero who saved all our necks today."

Home Tails scratches at the back of his head, blushing just a bit. "Oh, i-it was nothing, no need to–"

Rouge presents an odd-looking curved device, primarily black in color, but covered in several small blue lights. "A little thank you gift, straight from the Twilight Cage."

Tails takes it eagerly. "Wow, is this Nocturnus tech!? It looks so advanced! You're just giving it to me?"

Rouge smirks at his reaction. "Yep. Sonic helped me find a bunch to take back to GUN, but I have way too much of it to keep lugging around. I'm sure they won't miss one more piece of it."

"Wow, thanks so much!" He carefully looks over the device from many different angles. "I wonder what it does…"

Rouge turns around with a wave. "Well, you have fun with that." On her way out, she passes both Omegas, who have their eyes silently locked on each other, as they apparently have been doing for quite some time. As she passes, she comments, "Didn't I ever tell you it's not polite to stare?" She doesn't stay around long enough for an answer.

After a long pause, the less damaged home Omega finally declares, "You were not created by the unit identified as Eggman. Your creator is a different individual. Eradication is not necessary."

"…LOGIC CIRCUITS CONCUR. IDENTIFICATION: ALLY."

Outside, the Cyclone has landed within a wider area of the Emerald Canyon, concealed from view along with the rest of the Rebellion base. Knuckles and Shade stand together just outside the ship. Knuckles lets out a sigh. "I guess…you and the others are going back to the other dimension now, huh?"

Shade looks down to the ground. "It's the closest thing I have left to a home. And besides…my friends are still counting on me."

"I've been thinking…if you were pulled from your dimension into the Twilight Cage…wouldn't that mean that…this dimension's version of the Nocturnus Clan was pulled into another version of the Cage? That our version of you could be trapped out there somewhere?"

"I don't believe that would be true. The Twilight Cage had inhabitants pulled from many different dimensions. That would seem to imply that there is only one. And even so…just because our worlds are similar now, that does not mean we share the same histories. Perhaps, in the history of your world, there never was a Nocturnus Clan. Or perhaps there was, and it was wiped out by Perfect Chaos just as your clan was. Perhaps there was another Shade of this dimension, who lived and died here four thousand years ago. In any case, you shouldn't go looking for something you will not find."

"Yeah…I guess that makes sense." He pauses with a long sigh. "Shade…there's something I want to tell you. Something I've never told anyone before. My name…my real name, in the ancient language of my people…is K'waqochu."

Shade hesitantly translates, "The One with…Sharp Knuckles?"

"You speak the ancient language?"

"It isn't quite so ancient to me. But I am honored that you trust me with such knowledge."

"I hope that…no matter what the future holds for you…you'll always remember that you don't have to hide yourself from the people close to you."

A similar voice interrupts from afar, "So, this is the guy who's supposed to look like me?" Approaching from the white med tent, bandages still wrapped around his head, is the finally conscious visitor Knuckles. He steps right up to home Knuckles, and stares him in the eye. "You don't look so tough."

Home Knuckles immediately takes that as a challenge, raising up a fist. "Oh, you wanna see just how tough I am?"

Shade steps between them. "Both of you, stop it." She looks to her bandaged Knuckles. "Knuckles is the reason we're all still here. The reason you got the medical attention you needed."

Visitor Knuckles still glares over her shoulder at his duplicate. "You're sure he hasn't hurt you?"

"Not at all. In fact, he's been more kind than you ever were."

Visitor Knuckles defensively objects, "Kind? I can be kind!"

Shade steps out of his way. "Really? Then prove it."

After a moment of disgruntled hesitation, the visitor offers his hand out to home Knuckles. "I'm…sorry…for the harsh words."

Home Knuckles takes it, and gives a firm handshake. "I'm glad we have an understanding." Staring past him, off to Shade, he continues a bit more quietly, "I hope you realize how lucky you are." After a moment, he hastily adds, "That you survived the crash, I mean."

Visitor Knuckles looks back at Shade as well. "Yeah. I guess that was pretty lucky."

All three of them look up as visitor Tails calls out from the entryway to the ship, "We're all set! We can go anytime!"

Much movement ensues as members of the Cyclone crew board their ship, while members of the Rebellion exit it. Home Tails gives his duplicate a fist bump on his way out. Meeting right at the base of the boarding platform, the two Sonics firmly shake each other's hand. Home Sonic begins, "It was nice meeting you, Sonic."

"I'd like to return the favor you've done for us. Someday."

"You've given us a pretty big victory today. That's more than we've had in…too long. I'd say you've done plenty."

"Alright. But…if I can ask one more favor…don't forget our story."

Both Sonics give a similar smile. "Not a chance."

With that, the visitor turns away with a wave, preparing to board his ship. Tails comments as he passes the entryway, "Hey, before we go, now would probably be a pretty good time to save your–"

"Tails! How many times do I have to ask you to stop reminding me?"

"Sorry. I'm sure you know what you're doing."

As Shade and Knuckles proceed in behind them, Shade tells him quietly, "Let's go home, K'waqochu."

Knuckles demands in confusion, "What did you just call me!?"

Shade lets out an uncharacteristic giggle as the door closes behind them.

Inside the ship, Tails once again sits down in the pilot's chair. "Alright…here we go. On to the next chapter."

Sonic steps up behind him. "It's been a long time coming. But no matter what that next chapter may be…whether Eggman's there waiting to help us in, or shoot us down…we'll be ready. Right, guys?"

The team behind him cheers, "Right!" Even Shadow gives a nod of total confidence.

"Alright then. Tails…take us in."

—–—

The Rebellion watches as the Cyclone jets off through the air, beyond the lip of the canyon and out of view, in the direction of Cyber City and the wormhole it came from.

Knuckles lets out a sigh. "Eggman was right there. I could've had him. We could've ended this war."

Sonic still stares off at the horizon. "It's not too late. The city's defenses are still in shambles. If we all go back in for another attack, we might still be able to catch him."

Knuckles shakes his head. "I'm sure Eggman's long gone by now. And I doubt he's ever coming back in person. Maybe we could take the city, for a while at least. But it wouldn't do us any good."

"Then there's nothing we can do about it now. We may not win today. We may not win tomorrow. But we'll keep on fighting, just like we always have."

"There's…something else I'm worried about. Heavy King…he knew things about our plan. Things he shouldn't have known."

"What are you saying? How did he know?"

"I'm saying…Sonic…I think someone on our side told him. I think we might be dealing with a traitor."

Rouge stands a fair distance away, just close enough to pick up the words with her impressive hearing. She looks away from them in shame.

To be continued…

Hello, everyone! And thanks for reading! I'd like to give a big thank you to the guest reviewer, Heat Salamance, for their recent reviews to this story! Normally I'd respond to this sort of thing with a PM, but I can't send one to a guest account, and these ones made me much too happy to leave unthanked. I've always written this story with the intention of it being the perfect story for me personally, so having someone else out there who likes it as much as I do really does mean a lot. You've reminded me of all the reasons why I love writing, and I truly do thank you for that. I hope that I can keep putting out stories that you and all of the other readers can enjoy.

While I'm here, I suppose I ought to thank the other guests who have left reviews as well, Char360 and ShadsyStarsWish. Even if I can't respond to you directly, know that your feedback is always appreciated! Same goes to everyone I have responded to, and everyone who's read consistently but has always been too shy to leave a review as well. I appreciate all of you, and you help make this long project all worthwhile.

And lastly, I'd like to wish a very happy 10th Anniversary to Sonic Chronicles! This game may not ever get the sequel it deserves, owing to a certain unfortunate lawsuit, but, in the words of our hero, "No copyright law in the universe is going to stop me!"