The Chaos Project

by ChaosProjectAuthor

Thousands of years ago, a being called White Sage created a weapon capable of destroying planets. Now, Sonic, Shadow, and friends are trapped in a Cyber Space world—a world once inhabited by another Sage. Could it be a simple coincidence? The answer is out there. But it won't mean a thing if they can't make out alive, first. (Celebrating the release of Sonic Frontiers!)

76. Special Episode: Zero Hour

Five Years Ago - Days After the Events of Sonic 4 Episode II

T̶h̶e̶ ̶L̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ ̶P̶l̶a̶n̶e̶t̶ Death Egg Mk. II

"Alright, Sonic. I've had enough of your games." In the mechanical halls of the mechanical shell covering the Little Planet, Knuckles pounds his fists together in challenge. "You're going to give back my Emerald right now!"

The younger Sonic the Hedgehog lets out a groan, rubbing a hand down his face. "Knuckles, for the last time, I don't have your Emerald. Metal Sonic does. If we hurry, we might still be able to catch up with him."

"Yeah, right, just what kind of fool do you take me for?"

"The biggest kind, Knuckles."

"Graggh!" Knuckles flies at Sonic with his hardest punch, but Sonic rolls out of the way.

"Hey, what's gotten into you!? I got your Emerald back last time, or did you forget already? We're wasting time fighting each other!" He dives back to avoid another punch. This time he fights back, quickly rolling up and charging straight into Knuckles with a Spin Dash. "We have to look for Metal Sonic!"

"Is it me you say you're looking for?" Metal Sonic stands behind them, his arms outstretched. Above one hand, the shrunken Master Emerald floats. Above the opposite, the seven Time Stones in a tight orbit.

"Metal Sonic! Back for more? Don't you think you embarrassed yourself enough already, losing to me and Tails? Why don't you hand those stones back and save yourself the trouble of another beating?"

"Amusing that you think you defeated us. Our Death Egg is still here. My powers are stronger than ever. And what I have in my two hands is enough to set me free. But why take my word for it? Witness for yourself." Metal Sonic draws his two hands together, and sparks of energy suddenly fly from his chest, connecting him to the gems in a blazing magenta aura.

Sonic and Knuckles both shield their eyes against the blinding flash of light that results. When the light subsides, Knuckles slowly lowers his hand away from his face. "Huh…?" He starts to look around at the empty room in confusion. "Sonic? Where'd you go? Where's Metal Sonic?" His eyes finally stop at a massive window overlooking the outside. "Whoa… Has the planet always looked like that from this high up?" Beyond the windows of the Death Egg, the planet Earth sits covered by gloomy grey clouds, thinned in patches to show scorched, black earth.

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Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Silver & Zero Special Episode

Zero Hour

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

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10,000 years ago

Animoid Village

"No more tests! I'm finished with you!"

Zero the Hedgehog wakes up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. He clutches a hand over his heart, focusing on calming his breathing. "That same dream. Wait, where…?" Zero looks around the dark for a moment in confusion, before his eyes settle on the figure on the opposite side. Illuminated by the faint dawn light coming in through the cracks of a simple plank door, the magenta furred hedgehog lies asleep on a pile of blankets on the floor by the wall. Zero looks down at his own bed—a mattress without a frame, covered in mismatched, hole-filled bedsheets, but a bed nonetheless. He takes another look back at the other hedgehog sharing the room. "At least that part wasn't a dream."

Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he slowly climbs out of the bed, careful not to make much noise as he heads for the door. He stops there to take one last look back. "Thank you for sharing your home with me, Nine."

—–—

Zero's Journal, Day 2

I've been thinking a lot lately about the future. And the past. By Sonic's time, no one will know who I am, or what I did while I was alive. I was fine with that. The things I've done have never been for me. But yesterday, things changed.

Zero walks through a quaint village, filled with huts much like the one he exited, made of mismatching materials and scattered about in no particular pattern. As he goes, he waves hello with a smile to the other animoids he passes, of every imaginable species.

The world that I strive to change used to be an idea. Something that could exist, if I just worked hard enough. Now, it's something that does. It's the people that I want to protect, and the place where I want to spend the rest of my life. This is the world that I always dreamed of. And the thought of it being forgotten makes me uneasy. I don't expect this journal to change any of that, really. After all, I'm the only one here who knows how to read it, thanks to my recent months with Gregor. I suppose I just like the idea of my thoughts being able to survive apart from me.

Zero arrives at a small lot, where the foundations for another hut have already been laid. A pile of large and heavy building materials waits for him to start constructing. Each chunk of concrete and charred wooden beam is easily grabbed with one hand as he gets to work.

The people here have been more kind than I ever could have imagined. I wasn't expecting to feel so welcomed. But the village is happy to accept any animoid looking for a home. There are even a few who found their way here from other labs. Most of them don't know who I am. Even in Gregor's lab, there were only a few who ever saw me, since we were usually kept apart.

Zero drives a wooden beam into the ground, pushing hard to secure it into the dirt. He stops for a moment, taking a glance behind him. An Echidna girl walks through the village, eyeing him cautiously the entire way.

Trinity is the only one who feels differently. She was there when I lost control. She knows how dangerous I can be. I don't blame her. But she's the only one.

With a long sigh, he turns back to his work.

N̶i̶n̶e̶ Nina saw too. That's her name now. Nina. I need to remember that. Nina doesn't care what I've done. She has been everything for me. She's the reason I found this place. The reason I stayed. If it weren't for her, I would've run the other way. She offered to let me share her hut until mine is built. She insisted that I take the bed. I tried to refuse, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. I don't remember her being so forceful. I think I like it, though. We stayed up all night talking, just like the old days. Even though we've both changed so much, it was like picking up right where we left off. Just hearing her voice was enough to make this place start to feel like home.

"Zero. You're up early."

Zero looks up with surprise. "Nine. I'm sorry, did I wake you up? I wanted to get an early start here. I don't want to keep you out of your bed any longer than I have to."

"Zero, I told you, there's no hurry. And it's Nina, remember?"

"Of course, I'm sorry. I'm still getting used to that." In an unconscious motion, his hand moves up to his ear, fiddling with the bright orange tag hooked in through the skin, labeled with the numbers '000'.

"Do you want to get that thing off? Trinity knows how. It looked pretty painful, but she's okay now."

"Huh? Oh, this. I wasn't even thinking about it. You still have yours, don't you?"

Nina moves one of her long quills out of the way, showing the ear that was hidden behind it, and the tag attached to it. '009'. "Yeah, I guess I haven't thought much about it either. It hasn't bothered me."

"I can see why Trinity would want it off, though. It's something the Doctor put on us, a reminder of the things he did—but then, he gave us the gloves and shoes, too. We haven't taken those off."

Nina looks off distantly. "Yeah…"

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up—…"

Nina looks back up with a smile. "What's with all the apologizing? No one's expecting you to be perfect, you know. You've been worrying about yourself for long enough, let us worry about you for a while. We were up late, are you sure you're getting enough sleep?"

"It's fine, I don't usually sleep very well anyways."

"Yeah? With the way you snore, I'm surprised you aren't waking yourself up all the time."

Zero looks up from his work. "Wait, I snore? Did I always do that?"

"Not from what I remember. But that's okay. I thought it was kind of cute."

Zero blushes as he scratches at the back of his head. "Well, sorry if I kept you up."

"Zero, what did I just say?"

Zero goes right back to fiddling with his tag. "Right. Sorry. Uh, I mean—"

Nina starts to laugh. "Hey, don't worry about it. Like I said, we've all worried enough in our lives. This is a place for looking to the future."

"I know. This place is wonderful, and it's perfect the way it is, and that's why I refuse to be a burden on anyone. I'm going to pull twice my own weight. I'm going to make this village better for having me in it, not worse. That starts with finishing this hut."

"No one thinks you're a burden, Zero. But if that's what you feel you need to do, we'll do everything we can to support you. I'll start by getting you some water. Don't work yourself too hard, okay? Take a break if you need one."

"I will. Thank you."

—–—

Zero's Journal Day 3

Zero wakes up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. Once again, he's forced to look around before he can remember where he is.

I've been having this same nightmare ever since I escaped from Gregor's lab. I'm right back there, in that cage, pushed past my limit. I lose control. If I'm lucky, I wake up there. I haven't been very lucky recently. It never ends in quite the same way. But the rage, and the guilt, and the sorrow is always the same. I still don't understand how anyone walked out of that lab alive after what I did. My dreams agree.

The dreams got worse when I started working with Gregor again. I thought it was just spending time in that lab that dredged up the old memories. I thought it would get better now that I'm here. But somehow it's even worse. My days are like dreams. My nights are like torture. Is it any wonder that I'd rather be awake?

I wonder if it's the same for anyone else. This place is built on the foundations of openness and communication, but our time in the lab is the one thing that most of us avoid talking about.

Zero walks along the winding pathways through the village, bustling with activity even at an earlier hour than the previous day.

My hut is far from the only construction project going on around here. They like to say that a real home is never complete. There's always more to build, more to improve. Most of us have seen the cities that the humans built. We won't be making anything like that in our lifetimes, of course. But it's proof that there's always more to work towards. Right now, they're working on a community center. Basically it's just a big hut with extra rooms. It's supposed to be a place where everyone can get together for special events. I don't think anyone actually knows what that means. But that's how things tend to go around here. When someone has an idea they like, they go for it, and ask questions later. That's the freedom of choice. I get it, but it's pretty brash if you ask me. I know all too well, hasty decisions can get people hurt.

He stops at another empty lot, much larger than his own, where a dog and a bear are at work laying the foundations. Like Zero and Nina, they both have tags on their ears—'011' and '005'. "Hey, Eli, Quinton."

They both look up, greeting, "Morning, Zero!"

"Have you seen Uni around here this morning?"

The dog, Eli, answers, "Actually, I think he said he wanted to help you out with your hut today."

"Got it, thanks. And leave the heavy lifting to me if you need it done, alright?"

Quinton nods. "Will do. Good luck today."

I think I might have an idea about what to do there. What if I got everyone together and taught them how to read and write? I could share the knowledge I have, and maybe get to know everyone a little better. I suppose that would mean turning the community center into more of a school. I'm not sure exactly what a school is, but Gregor said that's where he learned most of the things he taught me. Of course, I'd have a problem if anyone learned how to read some of the things I'm writing in here. Not hard to figure out who Gregor is. I'll get this situation figured out before that can matter. Maybe I was too hasty in my decision to move in here.

Gregor's on his own right now. He told me he'd be fine while I was gone for a few days. He has plenty of machines to help him get around. But that was before I knew what I was going to find out here. It's because of what I did to him that he can't use his legs. It was out of guilt as much as anything that I agreed to start helping him. But he showed me genuine kindness in return. He taught me how to read and write. He taught me mathematics, and even a little bit of science. He said they were the basic skills needed to assist him properly. But when he was in an especially good mood, he would say, "This is what I should have done with you all from the start." He is a changed man. I believe that. The trouble will be getting anyone else to believe it. Everyone here has known nothing but trauma from him. I don't feel right leaving him on his own. But I certainly can't bring him here. I don't know what I'll do.

Zero arrives at the foundations of his hut to find another hedgehog already working there. A bit shorter than Zero, his fur is a dark purple, with gold highlights accenting his short quills. His ear has a tag of its own—'001'.

"Morning, Uni. What's going on?"

Uni looks up from his work. "Zero! I was expecting to have a bit more of a head start on you. I wanted to help you out today."

"What for? I thought you were working on the community center."

"Well…theoretically, yeah. I haven't really done much construction work before, I wasn't really getting a lot done over there. I'm not strong like you, you know? But I saw you and Nina working so hard yesterday, I guess I was feeling inspired, and I thought a smaller project might be better for me. Anyways, we should all pitch in everywhere, shouldn't we? I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. As long as you don't mind me joining you." The two quickly begin working together.

Uni was originally Subject 001, the first animoid to be awakened after me. While my DNA was effectively spliced together using the Chaos Emeralds, his was a modified variation of mine. That sort of makes us brothers. We didn't see each other much in the lab, but we clicked pretty much right away when Nina introduced us here. He reminds me of an old friend. Ever the optimist, and with a good heart, even if he can be a bit clueless at times. Like me, he's seen the worst that Gregor has to offer. He wouldn't be so friendly if he knew who I was working for when I found this place.

Before long, Zero begins, "Uni, I…I was looking for you because I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh? What's on your mind?"

"Why does no one ever talk about the lab?"

Uni freezes at the question. He stops to think for quite a few moments. "It's a past that most of us don't want to go back to. You were his favorite test subject. You should know."

"I do know. And I thought the same, but…how are you supposed to move on from your past when it's always lurking right there behind you? I guess what I'm saying is…maybe we should start talking about it. It's a past we don't want to go back to, but it's still our past. A part of who—"

"Gahh!" Uni suddenly drops his makeshift stone hammer, clutching at his injured hand.

"Uni! Are you okay?"

"It's fine, I— Urgh…" He clearly struggles through the pain. "It's not broken, it'll be fine in a few hours."

"Uni, I…I can help you, if you want." Zero takes out his long blue Temporal Sapphire. "I can use this to sort of…turn back time. Stop you before you got hurt."

"That…sounds unnatural. I think I'll just let it heal the normal way, if it's all the same to you." To prove it, he picks his tool back up from the ground and goes back to work. "I'm fine, see? Besides, how am I supposed to learn from my mistake if I never make it?"

"That's…something I would've said, too."

I used to break down at the thought of ever going near my old life. But then I learned to confront my past, instead of pretending like it never happened. Now I work with the man who caused me all of that pain. Is this a mistake I'll have to learn from?

"Everything okay, Zero? You look a little distracted."

Zero looks up. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about…some stuff I left unfinished when I came here."

"Well, if it's bothering you that much, you should go take care of it. You deserve a break with how hard you worked yesterday anyways."

"I don't think you understand. What I left behind was the work. This is the break."

"Whatever you want to call it, it's clearly weighing on you. There's no good reason to sit around here stressing about it if there's something you can do. You should go finish that unfinished stuff of yours. I can handle things here for today. Or for a few days, or however long it takes. We'll still be here when you get back. I've got you covered. What else are brothers for?"

"I don't know what brothers are for, you tell me."

Uni laughs. "Seriously though, I mean it. Let me handle this."

Zero lets out a brief sigh. "I'm going to go get some water. I'll think about it."

Uni smiles. "Alrighty. Take your time."

I was in the middle of a job when I accidentally found Nina out here in the forest. Gregor and I were working on finding a cure for the animutants. Something to relieve their pain and aggression, so they can live out normal lives. There have been some setbacks, but we're close. I was supposed to track down the test subject that Gregor let out. I still don't like saying those words, "test subject." But that's what he was. I did everything I could to stop him from being harmed, but we still kept him in a cage. We still experimented on him. And when I find him, we're still going to inject him with a vial of chemicals we don't fully understand the effects of. I know the implications of what I've done. I've been the test subject before. But that's how I know this is right. When I was told, all those years ago, that I would undergo experiments to benefit myself and all of my kind, I agreed without hesitation. So did every last animoid that Gregor made. This one creature's sacrifice can save its entire race from a lifetime of torment. If I could only communicate this to him, I know he would agree.

Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm a monster, just like Gregor. Maybe it's me who changed, not him. Maybe Trinity is right to be afraid of me. Maybe I should go back to Gregor and pretend like none of this ever happened.

I wonder. Would Nina be happier if I just disappeared one day? Or if I told her everything so she could banish me herself? Everyone would be happier if the truth never got out. But that would be wrong. If the things I've done haven't already made me a monster, lying about them for the rest of my life certainly will.

I'm going to finish this job. I owe that much to Gregor and to the animutants we're trying to help. After that, I don't know what I'll do.

Zero stops at a clearing among the unhealthy but still living trees, where a brook of clear water flows at a slow but steady pace. Ignoring the water, he takes out a small handheld radio, taking a cautious look around before he presses down in it to speak. "Gregor, this is Zero. Can you hear me?"

The voice on the radio is quick to respond. "So, you're alive after all? You were beginning to make me wonder."

Zero laughs. "Gregor, that almost sounds like genuine concern in your voice."

"Of course I'm concerned. You think I want all my research to go to waste? It's been over 36 hours, what have you been doing?"

"I already told you, didn't I? The animutant was scared off by the radio, I had to go silent. But I've definitely confirmed that its home is in this forest, and I've located the tracker that was removed."

"Removed? Removed by whom?"

"Uh, I meant….fell off. It fell off, I found it."

"But you still haven't found the creature?"

"I'm working on it. He's very intelligent, remember? He doesn't want to be found."

"Then what have you been doing all this time?"

"Gathering information."

"What kind of information?"

"Oh, uh, you know… Tracks, food waste…et cetera… That kind of information. At this rate, it'll probably be another few days at least, but I wanted to check in. Is everything going alright there? No accidents, no evil snake attacks?"

"Zero, that almost sounds like genuine concern in your voice. I told you, I'd be fine."

"Of course I'm concerned. I don't want to let down a friend in need."

The radio goes silent for a moment. "…The next batch of the cure is ready. We can get started as soon as you bring the creature here. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can help them all. So hurry up."

"I'll do what I can. And this is your daily reminder to stop giving me orders. Zero, out." He lets the radio drop to his side, staring down at the water with a brief sigh of exasperation.

"I hope you weren't planning on drinking that water."

Zero looks up in surprise. "Nina! H-how long have you been standing there?"

"Oh, I just got here. Anyways, the water's contaminated. You can bottle some up and bring it to Duarte, he has something called a purifier. I don't think you've talked to him much, he's the real smart one."

"Right, right, I remember Duarte. The Fox, right?"

"That's him. So, who were you talking to out here?"

Zero immediately begins to sweat. "O-oh, you heard that? It was just, uh, my friend on the radio, the one you heard before. Heh heh."

"I've told you all about my friends. How come you haven't told me anything about any of yours?"

"Oh, my friends? Well, there's, uh, not much to tell, really."

"Tell me what there is. What are their names?"

"Well, I already told you a bit about Sonic…and Shadow. There's also…Silver, we were pretty close. And…Amy…"

Nina raises an eyebrow. "Amy?"

"Oh, yeah, umm… To tell the truth, I liked her a lot, but…she didn't feel the same way. We parted as friends."

"Oh, that's a relief."

"Is it?"

Nina quickly changes the subject. "What about your friend on the radio? What's his name?"

"Gr— Uh, uh, Greg. His name's Greg."

"That sounds like a human name. Is he a human?"

"Yeah, you got me, he's a human. I have a human friend, that's my secret."

"Can I say hello?"

"No, no, uh… Greg is…very shy, he, uh, he gets scared by strangers."

Nina eyes him with suspicion.

Zero closes his eyes and lets out a brief sigh. "Okay. Sorry, that was a lie. The truth is…my friend…doesn't know about you, or about this place. And I want to keep it that way."

"Well what's the point of that? Just because he's human doesn't mean we'll turn him away."

"I'm glad to hear that you feel that way, but I don't think everyone would agree with you. And anyways, it's for you, not for him. My friend is…not a very nice person. In fact, he's done some…pretty awful things. And he feels bad about it now, and we both needed each other, so we…agreed to leave the past behind us. But I don't think that kind of person belongs here. This is a sacred place, isn't it? Just us animoids, figuring out life on our own. Why should we let him interfere with that?"

"Well if he's your friend, he can't be all bad, right? He kept you company and supported you out there in this unforgiving world. And we don't worry about the past here. I think it's silly to keep a secret like that, but I understand your feelings. We can talk to everyone else about it, if you'd like."

"No, no, I…I'll figure it out."

"By that, do you mean sitting around and waiting for your secret to get out by accident?"

"What? No, I…" He cuts himself off with a sigh. "Nina…I think I need to go away. I can't be happy until I've finished the things I've started."
"Are you talking about…a few days? Or…?"

Zero turns away, looking down at the ground. "I…I don't know yet. I just know that I've already put this off longer than I should have."

"Well then, I'll go with you."

"No, y-you shouldn't do that. Like I said, I-I don't know how long I'll be gone. It could be a lot more than a few days."

"I don't care how long it is." She takes his hand. He looks up with surprise. But he doesn't pull away. "I don't care if it's weeks, or months, or years. I want to spend that time with you. Don't you think we've been apart long enough?"

Zero closes his eyes, feeling the hand held in his. "I'm sorry. I have to do this. Alone."

"Zero….what are you hiding from me?"

"The next time I see you…I'll tell you everything. I promise you that." Slowly, he pulls away his hand, and looks up at the sky.

"Zero, look out!"

Zero looks over in surprise. Nina has taken a protective stance in front of him, drawing a makeshift bow and arrow from the harness on her back, and nocking the arrow skillfully. On the opposite side of the brook, something rustles through the shadows of the trees. Zero squints his eyes to see. "What is it, who's there?"

The figure slowly sulks out into view. The large and muscular four legged creature with quills running down the length of its back eyes the two of them silently as it steps closer.

"It's the animutant…"

Nina lets down her bow and relaxes with a smile. "Oh, it's just you, Thornton. You sure gave us a scare."

Zero looks at Nina with confusion. "You gave it a name?"

"What else would I give him? A number?"

"No, I mean— It's a wild animal, it's dangerous, you shouldn't be getting so familiar with it."

"Thornton's not dangerous as long as you give him his personal space. And he's been downright friendly since I got that thing off of him."

"The tracker? How did you get close enough to—"

"Zero, look."

The animutant seems to have decided to ignore them, lowering its head to drink from the flowing stream of water.

"Does that look dangerous to you? He's just trying to survive out here, the same as us."

"He's drinking the contaminated water…"

"It's never seemed to bother him."

"How could that be?"

"I don't know. I tried leaving some purified water out for him once, but he wouldn't even drink it."

"Maybe I should be writing this down…"

"What for?"

"Oh, uhh, no reason. Heh heh." Zero fiddles with his tag nervously.

The animutant suddenly looks up, curling its lip back in a snarl.

This time, it's Zero who takes a protective stance in front of Nina. "See, what did I tell you?"

"He's not looking at us, Zero."

Zero follows the animutant's gaze back into the air, where a strange distortion begins to fill the sky. He quickly shields his eyes bright sparks fly through the air, creating a burst that dispels the murky clouds in the sky, revealing the shape of a familiar machine-imprisoned planetoid. The Death Egg Mk. II.

Staring up at the planet-sized face of Dr. Eggman, Zero whispers in horror "Gregor… What did you do?" He looks back down at the animutant to find it staring him directly in the eyes. With a single movement of its head, it seems to indicate the Death Egg to him. Then it turns and bounds swiftly back into the forest.

"He asked for your help. Zero, what is that thing?"

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out." He places his hands on her shoulders. "Stay here where it's safe, okay? I'll take care of this." Not leaving her the chance to argue, he turns and runs into the forest.

"Zero, wait!" Nina reaches after him, watching as he disappears without looking back. She takes another look back at the Death Egg, and seems to make up her mind.

—–—

Gregor's Lab

"Gregor!" Zero stomps through the automatic door into the research room, seething with anger.

At the counter on the other end of the room, Dr. Gregor Robotnik turns his wheelchair around to face Zero. "Well, you're certainly a lot faster when you're feeling motivated."

"I don't have time for games, Gregor. Tell me what you did, right now!"

"What I did? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Does the giant metal moon with your face on it ring a bell?"

"My face? I would never wear such an unruly mustache. It's a good look, though."

"Gregor…"

"Right, business, of course. I'm still working out exactly what that airborne facility is, and where it came from, but I've figured out two things so far. Firstly, it's not a space station or a moon. It's a planetoid, with its own ecosystem still living underneath that mechanical shell."

"A planet? With life on it? And it just appeared in the sky? Come to think of it, shouldn't its gravity be—"

"Nah ah ah, you're getting ahead of me. The second thing I've determined is that this planetoid has gravitational readings which don't at all adhere to the laws of physics as I understand them. I suspect there may be some manner of artificial gravity mechanism involved. Whoever constructed that facility is clearly a genius."

"Could Lyric have anything to do with it?"

"Astrophysics is hardly Dr. Song's field of expertise. Still, we can't rule out the possibility. At this point, the only way to know for sure is to go up there and study the facility for ourselves."

"Oh, and I suppose you just have a rocket ship laying around we can take?"

"No. But I do have a robot." Gregor points with a thumb to the massive hole still left unrepaired in the wall, and the tall silver and gold Sentinel robot left behind by Lyric on the other side.

"Huh. That could work. It can carry both of us?"

"With room to spare. In the other hand, anyways. There's only room for one in the cockpit. I can't wait to see how your lungs perform in a near vacuum."

"Gregor…"

"What? Unless you were secretly learning how to pilot a giant robot over the last three days, this is your only chance to get up there. You'll be safe, don't worry. I would never let anything happen to my most important research subj—…" He stops himself as Zero's glare intensifies. "My most important…friend."

Zero closes his eyes and lets out a sigh. "And you'll be okay up there? Couldn't it be dangerous?"

"I'll be piloting a giant robot. I think I'll be fine."

"Gregor…there's something else we need to talk about."

Gregor starts to wheel his chair forward. "We can talk on the way. I have survey equipment to prepare before we depart." He stops beside Zero, and reaches up to place a hand on his shoulder. "Don't look so worried. I, for one, am growing quite used to these little adventures of ours."

Before Zero can say a word, a voice behind him shouts, "Stay away from him!"

Gregor and Zero both look with surprise to see Nina standing in the doorway, and to hear the twang of her bowstring as it sends an arrow flying towards them.

"Time Control!"

Zero drops to his knees, his breath already expended as time freezes around him. "No… It wasn't supposed to be this way…" He looks up at Gregor, seeing the frozen look of fear on his recoiling face at the sight of the wooden arrow halted just a short distance ahead. Zero's head slowly turns to look at Nina, a look frozen upon her face of rage, but also of fear, tears waiting to fall from her eyes. Her stance is firm, the string of her bow still snapping in two from the force of launching the arrow. "I can fix this…" He looks down at the Temporal Sapphire in his hand. "I can turn back the clock. Stop her in the hallway before she gets the chance to see him. That would be the smart thing to do…"

"Are you sure that's what you want?"

Zero looks up in surprise. "Janice?"

No response comes.

Zero closes his eyes, letting out a long breath. "That would be the smart thing to do." He reaches out to wrap his hand around the frozen arrow. "But I guess I'm just a bumbling fool."

"Gyyaghh!" Gregor's hands fly up to protect his face from the arrow that's already been stopped.

Zero's eyes remain closed, his hand out to show the arrow that he caught. "Nina, please stop. This is my friend."

"Y-you mean he's not—…" Nina's eyes dart back and forth between the two of them as her broken weapon slowly lowers. "What do you mean, he's—… How is he even—"

Zero takes a step closer to her. "I can explain—"

"N-no, stay back." She takes a step back to match. "This was your secret… You've been with him, helping him do what, exactly?"

"Helping him do good. Please, just let me—"

"I said stay back!" She continues to step backwards, until she finally turns and runs out through the door.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting turn of events." Gregor nods along in what seems to be satisfaction. "Did you call her Nina? Isn't that cute. Were you aware that she followed you here?"

"Later, Gregor. I need to talk to her."

"Of course, of course. I'll just be here, prepping my equipment. Without your assistance."

Zero ignores the jab as he exits through the door.

—–—

In a familiar room with crumbled walls and scorched black floor, where broken cages lie toppled and open, Nina kneels in the center of it all, showing little sign of movement.

"Nina, there you are!" Zero runs closer to her, but stops himself with a distance still left between them. "I promised you that I would explain everything the next time I saw you. Here we are. Please, just let me fulfill that promise."

Nina remains still on the ground, not looking back at him as she answers, "You were my hero. Fighting back against that man when none of the rest of us had the courage to. But now, here you are…protecting him. Defending what he's done."

"If there's one thing I've learned in all the time since then…it's that being a hero isn't about fighting. It's about standing up for what's right. Sometimes, that does mean fighting back. But sometimes, it just means offering a hand to someone who needs it. That's the kind of hero I always wanted to be. I didn't fight back because I wanted to hurt Gregor. I fought back because I wanted to protect you."

"You know what the worst part is? I already argued in his favor." She shakes her head slowly. "I told you all the reasons why I shouldn't care who he is. Who he was. I don't know what I was expecting, but…it certainly wasn't this. It certainly wasn't him."

"I didn't expect this either. I never imagined that he survived, let alone that I'd see him again. But he needed my help. And I offered my hand. And he offered his in return. And we agreed to stop worrying about the past. At least…in theory."

"Is it true? Everything you said? About him being a true friend? Supporting you when you needed it most?"

"In his own way…yes. He's still learning, but…he's trying to be better. He's…like a father, in many ways. He's the reason I'm here, the reason I am who I am today. He was a wretched, abusive father, but…he's changing his ways. And that's worth something, isn't it?"

"You understand, don't you? He didn't just hurt you, he hurt all of us. What right do you have to forgive him on our behalf?"

"None at all. That's why I wanted to leave him out of this. Why I wanted to keep his world separate from yours. I knew that just seeing him would be enough to hurt you. And hurting you…is a nightmare that never leaves me. I couldn't stand the thought of it. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, for everything that I've done. I don't deserve to be your hero. I don't deserve all the kindness you've shown me. But I want to make it up to you. I'll do anything. Anything you ask, if it means you'll be able to trust me again someday. Please, I…I don't want to be alone anymore."

Nina climbs slowly to her feet, picking up her damaged weapon from the ground, facing away from him all the while. "Here's what's going to happen. Wherever you two are going, I'm going with you. I'll be watching him every second of the way. If he so much as lifts a finger to hurt you…I'll finish the job you started." She turns around, finally stepping closer to him. "And you are going to stop apologizing. If you're wrong about him, then it's my turn to protect you." She stops right in front of him, so close as to be almost touching. "And if you're right…it just proves that your heart is even bigger than I knew." She leans in, and plants a kiss on Zero's cheek. "We've lost too much time to let something like this set us back."

Zero's cheeks flush with red as she walks on past him.

"You should probably stay close to me if you don't want me to put an arrow in his chest while you aren't looking."

Zero shakes himself out of his stupor, realizing that she has taken the arrow out of his now empty hand. "Right. Yeah. Coming."

—–—

"So…Nina, is it?" Gregor loads a small machine into the open chest cavity of the Sentinel robot before turning his chair around to grab the next load. "It's been too long. How have you been?"

Nina ignores him, struggling to secure her snapped bowstring back into place.

"The bow is new. Where'd you find it?"

"I didn't find it. I made it."

"Well who taught you how to do that?"

"No one. Although…it was you who gave me the idea."

"Oh?"

"You don't remember? You told me that I had the 'hunter's instinct'. That my 'spatial acuity, sensory awareness, and coordination skills are all significantly above average'. You seemed in a good mood, so I gathered the courage to ask you what a 'hunter' is. The twenty minute history lesson after that was the closest I ever came to enjoying your company."

"And you crafted a functioning bow, with arrows, based purely on my verbal description from years ago?"

"It took a few tries, and—" The newly tied string snaps right back off, nearly hitting her face in the process. "…'functioning' might be an overstatement right now."

"May I?" Gregor has wheeled up to her without her noticing, and offers out his hand.

Nina looks over at Zero questioningly. Zero gives her an encouraging nod. Hesitantly, she hands the bow over to Gregor.

Gregor takes it, and quickly removes the string entirely, tossing it aside.

"Hey, w-"

"Don't worry, I'm fixing it." He takes out two small ring-shaped devices, and secures one of them on each end of the bow. With the press of a small triangular button, a pink energy beam flies out from one device and attaches to the other. "One Enerbeam bowstring, courtesy of Dr. Nagashi Song."

Nina takes the bow back from him, and runs her fingers down the length of the beam with curiosity.

"The length and tension is entirely adjustable, and it will never snap, regardless of the force applied."

Nina pulls back the string and lets it fly back, nodding with satisfaction. "Do you have any more of these?"

"Just a few."

"I'll keep that in mind." She stands back up, reholstering the bow on her back.

"We make a pretty good team, wouldn't you say? Nature and science working together as one."

Zero interjects, "You're pushing it, Gregor." He uses one hand to drop the last piece of heavy machinery into the Sentinel a bit forcefully. "We're ready to go."

Gregor claps his hands together. "Ah, yes, perfect." He glances back at the open cockpit of the Sentinel, where an open seat awaits. "Uh, Zero, would you mind…?"

With a sigh of exasperation, Zero walks over to pick Gregor up from his wheelchair, and carry him over to the Sentinel.

Gregor smiles up at him. "You're the best."

"And don't you forget it."

As Zero sets Gregor down and steps back away, Nina shakes her head in confusion. "This is weird."

"You're telling me."

The ramp leading up to the Sentinel's cockpit rises up, sealing off the chest cavity. The robot's eyes light up as it kneels down, offering a hand out to each of them. Gregor's voice projects from the inside, "Hold on tight. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

Zero places a hand on Nina's shoulder. "I don't want you to come. This is going to be dangerous."

"You can't stop me. And that's exactly why I need to go." She steps up onto the left hand. "I won't sit around and wait to be saved by you. Never again."

Zero steps onto the right hand. "Nina, I…I…"

"You what?"

"I…want to thank you. For believing in me."

"You know, it's easy to tell when you're not saying what you really mean."

Zero scratches at the back of his head as a slight blush returns to his cheeks. "Still that easy, huh?"

The robotic hands slowly close around each of them, securing them in place.

Gregor voices, "Are you both ready?"

Nina nods. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Zero agrees, "Let's get this over with."

"Very well." The Sentinel lifts them up, taking several steps back away from the walls of the building. Then it crouches down as rocket thrusters in its feet fire up, propelling them skywards.

—–—

Death Egg Mk. II — Future

"The intruders have been dealt with." Metal Sonic kneels before a floating monitor, showing Eggman standing tall on the other side. Metal Sonic continues, "I used the Master Emerald to take control of the Time Stones. I've expanded the Little Planet's sphere of influence to encompass the station. The time frames have been separated. The Echidna has been forced into the past, while Sonic remains trapped in the present. They cannot touch us here in the future. We have an indefinite amount of time with which to charge the station and build our army."

Eggman growls through the monitor, "You idiot! You were supposed to destroy them, not delay them!"

"I have failed twice now to best Sonic's speed. Would it not be prudent to-"

"You were created for the sole purpose of destroying Sonic, and you can't even do that right! I see now that it was a mistake to retrieve you at all. Bring the gems to me. I'll take matters into my own hands."

Metal Sonic's gaze remains locked on the floor. "…Yes, Doctor." The monitor shuts off, leaving Metal Sonic alone. He slowly rises to his feet. "You test my patience, Doctor. I thought that I could count on your assistance. But I will transform this world with my own hands, if that's what it takes." He suddenly turns his head sharply to the side, glaring back at the hallway behind him. Seeing nothing, he turns his attention back ahead, and begins moving.

In the hallways behind him, Amy Rose, her back pressed against the wall, lets out a sigh of relief. "If Sonic and Knuckles are gone…I guess that means it's all up to me." She tightens her grip on her hammer. "Time for some revenge, Metal Sonic."

—–—

As the Sentinel carries them up through the atmosphere, Zero takes a look back down. The horizon recedes away, leaving a clear view of the smoggy grey Earth. "It's…beautiful…" He looks up at Nina, who beams back at him.

"It's so different from above the clouds. Nothing but the stars looming over our heads. And that planetoid, anyways."

"You should've seen the Earth before the war," Gregor's voice projects through the robot. "There isn't a sight in the universe more awe-inspiring than a planet filled with life."

Zero smiles longingly at the thought. "I wish I could have seen it."

Nina encourages, "It'll look like that again. Someday."

Gregor interrupts, "We're crossing into the planetoid's gravity field. Disengaging thrusters. Brace yourselves for landing." The Sentinel's rockets cut out, and the robot reorients itself in preparation to land feet-first.

"Still not sure if he's on our side, Nina?" Zero gasps. "Nina!?"

Nina looks around in confusion as her very body seems to fade out of existence. "Zer—" She vanishes completely.

"Nina!"

The Sentinel passes through the bright purple energy field on the lower hemisphere of the Death Egg Mk. II, and fires its thrusters one last time to land gently on its feet.

Zero peels back the metal fingers clamped down around him to throw himself onto the ground, quickly moving for the opposite hand. "Nina!"

Gregor throws the hand upwards, out of Zero's reach. "Whoa, there! Let's settle down, let's stay calm, let's not forget your temper. You've already destroyed one hand, I could really use the other."

"But Nina disappeared! Where is she!?"

"If you would just be quiet for a moment, I could figure that out! What I can tell you right now is that she's alive, and she's still nearby."

"She is?" Zero lets out his pent up breath, and takes a glance back at the mangled fingers of the robotic hand behind him. "Uhh… Sorry." He stops for a moment. "Wait, how do you know she's…?"

"I have all of her readings right here. Heart rate is above normal, though that's to be expected. Her location is…in this room, by the look of it. "

Zero repeats more sternly, "I don't see her. How do you know that?"

"Oh, you know, just a…little…device…that I…"

"Gregor, did you put a tracker on her?"

"No, of course not. Not…recently, anyways."

"Gregor, I swear to the Lords…"

"It's the tag. On your ear. It's not just there to label you, it's a monitor. It tracks your location and vital signs, it was just to make sure you were all alive and accounted for, that's all."

"And you never thought to mention that I was still wearing one of your wretched machines!?"

"You never asked."

"All this time, since the day I escaped, I thought I was free of you! But you knew exactly where I was every second of it! When that animutant attacked you, you knew I was nearby, you knew I would hear your cries for help! You were using me!"

"Zero, it's…not like that…"

"To think that I actually vouched for you. That I thought you'd changed. What a fool I was. And Nina… You're using her, too. You knew she was following me. You knew… You knew about the village. Months, we were working together, and you never told me that Nina and all the others were just a few miles away. Me finding them, was that part of your plan too!? How deep does this go, Gregor!? What's your angle!?"

"Are my secrets any different than your own? Yes, I knew. Yes, I kept it from you. And yes, there was a selfish reason for that. I desperately needed your help, and to tell you that I've been tracking you and the others would have been a guaranteed way to make sure you would never offer it. But it was for you, too. Just as you didn't want to hurt your friends by telling them about me, I didn't want to hurt you by telling you what I knew about them. And when you finally found them, I let it be as it was. I let you be happy, knowing perfectly well that you may never return. And if they rejected you, as you told me time and again you were afraid they would, I still would have been there for you. That was my plan. That was my angle. Criticize me for it all you like, after we use my foresight to figure out what's happened to Nine."

"Her name is Nina."

"Whatever you call her, she's moving on." The robot points to the entrance of the nearest mechanical hallway. "The signal is moving that way."

Zero growls at the change of subject, but still looks off in the direction he points. "How are you receiving her signal when she isn't here?"

"The logical answer would be that she is here, just concealed from us in some way. Now, would you like to stand around asking questions, or would you like to follow her?"

Zero sighs. "Lead the way."

—–—

Nina looks around in confusion as the robotic hand gripping her seems to fade out of existence. Across from her, Zero, too, disappears. "Zero!" With nothing to hold her down, she tumbles into freefall towards the Death Egg. Thinking fast, she pulls her bow from her back, quickly removing the devices that Gregor attached. "He'd better be right about these…" She activates the Enerbeam and tosses it down at the surface of the Death Egg. It latches on just above the hangar bay, and swings her around through the energy field. She lands gracefully on her feet inside, pulling the beam back to her hand. "Alright. That worked. One more point for Gregor, I guess."

She takes a long look around the wide mechanical room. "Alright. Let's stay calm. I'm in an unfamiliar lab. Zero and Gregor vanished in front of my eyes. And I have no way back home without them." She busies herself restringing her bow with the Enerbeam. "They can't just be gone. Maybe they were…teleported to another room? I guess I don't have much other choice than to start looking." She calls out loudly, "Zero! Can you hear me!?"

"Who are you?"

Nina turns with surprise, seeing Amy standing behind her. "Who am I? Who are you? How did you get up here, do you know what this place is?"

Amy hefts her hammer over her shoulder somewhat threateningly. "Hey, I asked you first, lady."

"Lady?" Nina shakes off the apparent insult, begrudgingly answering, "My name is Nina. I came here with my friend to investigate this…planetoid, but he disappeared."

Amy nods. "The same thing happened to me. Who's your friend?"

"He's a hedgehog. And I guess I'm also looking for…I guess it's called a robot?"

"Funny enough, I'm looking for a hedgehog and a robot, too. And Knuckles, but he's not as important. I think that means we should look for them together."

"Uhh… Sure?"

"Great!" Amy takes Nina by the hand and starts leading her forward. "The Hedgehog you're looking for wouldn't happen to be Sonic, would it?"

"Sonic? No, it's not, but how do you know that name?"

"How do I know it? Everyone knows Sonic. He's the coolest, bravest hero in the world. How do you know it?"

"Zero told me about him. He's from the future."

"You know Zero? No way!"

"Only my entire life. What did you say your name was?"

"Amy. Amy Rose. So you must be…"

Nina stops to laugh. "You're Amy? That's good."

"Something funny?"

"No, no, it's just… I imagined you'd be a little…"

"A little what?"

"I don't know, older? I like the outfit though, definitely gives you a more mature look."

Amy is not amused. "And I'm supposed to take fashion advice from the girl wearing a potato sack?"

"It's functional, not fashionable. Anyways, Zero probably would've called me Nine back when he met you."

"No, I…don't think he mentioned you. But you are from his time?"

"I am. So does that mean I travelled in time? Or you did?"

"Knowing where we are? Probably both of us."

"So you do know about this place?"

"I'll explain on the way. Metal Sonic got away from me before, but once we find him, we can make him put things back to normal."

—–—

Death Egg Mk. II — Past

Isolated in another timeframe, Gregor and Zero follow right behind the path of Nina and Amy. Gregor's Sentinel begins to tip forward as the path curves downwards in front of them. The robot keeps right on walking, even as it goes completely sideways. Zero stops at the curved ledge, staring hesitantly down at what would ordinarily be a long drop.

Gregor stops the robot to look back at him. "It's fine. The gravity fields follow the paths, you can't possibly fall."

Zero slowly steps to catch up, watching as the world around him seems to turn sideways along with him. "Such strange technology… What could this place be for?"

"Exactly the angle I decided to approach our current predicament from. The construction is similar to that of a Dyson sphere, a structure built to absorb energy from all sides of a celestial body. Ordinarily, that would be a star, not a planetoid. A rocky body like the little planet this station is built around won't be putting off any useful amount of light or heat, nothing worth absorbing. But, searching through all of the equipment I have here, I have found at least one signal of interest. The planetoid appears to be putting out a unique form of radiation—not dissimilar to the kind produced by that gem you never let me look at. A Temporal Sapphire you called it, yes? It could be that this station is a Dyson sphere designed to absorb that pseudotemporal radiation. But that's just a working theory."

"Temporal energy? That could explain why it seemed to appear out of nowhere." Zero takes out his Sapphire, holding it out in front of his face for a moment. "Is it possible, then…that Nina is still in this place, just in another time?"

"It's clearly more complicated than that. My trackers don't transmit through time, that simply isn't possible. And it fails to answer the question of why she was drawn apart, yet the two of us remain together. Still, you may be on the right track."

"If it's a question of time, I may be able to do something about it. I have to try. We don't know what she could be dealing with."

"You have my permission. Let's see what happens."

Zero holds the Sapphire up high. "Time Control!" A radiant blue shockwave spreads out from the gem, only to slow to a brief halt, before retracting right back inwards. Zero shakes his head. "It…it didn't work."

Gregor comments, "From a scientist's perspective, that was a successful disproving of a hypothesis. Nothing to be ashamed of."

"If that was you trying to be supportive, you need to work on it."

"There is another force at play. You must find another way."

Zero looks up in surprise. "Janice? You're awfully talkative lately." He gets no response.

Gregor complains, "There you go again, talking to this invisible 'Janice' person. Is my company not good enough for you?"

"I liked your company better when we avoided talking to one another."

"Now that's just unfair. Here I thought we were finally getting our friendship back on track."

"I have more important things to worry about than being fair to you. Nina is right here, but…just out of reach. I shouldn't have let her come. What if I never see her again? I was never able to say…" He trails off somberly.

"So, should I take that to mean you haven't selected her for mating yet?"

Zero looks up at the robot with an expression of shock and aggravation. "Excuse me?"

"I don't need any explicit detail, of course. Just a yes or no will suffice."

"Don't you have any tact at all?"

"Of course I do. I could have asked you while she was still in the room."

Zero lets out a disgusted groan and keeps on walking.

"That's what she was made for, you know. I didn't have much other need for a third hedgehog at the time. You know, one of the defining characteristics of a species is its ability to produce fertile offspring—so, technically speaking, I've yet to prove that the animoid hedgehog is its own species as such. I suppose that hedgehog from the future did imply a few things, but all the same, the scientific proof is lacking. You never quite allowed that particular line of experiments to conclude. But now, if you were to just—"

"You're a disgusting man, you know that, Gregor?"

"Well, I'm a scientist. So yes."

"Good. Then stop asking."

They walk on for a while longer in silence. "You know, in the wild, male hedgehogs—"

"I really don't want to know."

"I still haven't heard a denial, which, combined with your profuse blushing, leads me to assume—"

"I am going to punch you in the face as soon as you leave that robot."

"Oh, so you weren't planning on abandoning me up here? Good to know."

"Don't give me any more ideas, or I may change my mind about that yet."

"Duly noted."

Their walk has brought them in to another wide chamber deeper in the Death Egg. It isn't long before the silence is broken.

"Sonic!"

"Whoa!" Zero throws up his hands just in time to guard against the charging echidna that assaults him. They lock fists, Knuckles pushing against Zero with all of his strength. Zero sweats against the pressure. "You're…pretty strong, aren't you?"

Gregor suggests, "Hold him still, I'll take care of him."

Zero objects, "No, stay back! We don't want to hurt him!"

Knuckles growls, "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, Sonic. You won't get away from me this time!"

"You think I'm Sonic? Fiery red fur, fiery red personality, easily confused… You must be Knuckles."

"Don't play dumb with me! You think a little hair dye is going to fool me into thinking you're a different person? You're even working with that Egg man, that's proof enough for me!"

Gregor demands, "What did you just call me?"

Zero gasps, "Eggman? So this facility was built by a Robotnik." He finally overpowers Knuckles enough to push him back a step. "Look, I'm not Sonic, and I don't know what his deal is right now, but I get a pretty strong impression that you and I are on the same side here."

"I'm not on anybody's side!" Knuckles throws a hard punch, and Zero leaps back to stay out of the way. "I just want my Emerald back!"

Gregor interjects, "Are you sure you don't want me to step in here? Seems like an awful waste of a giant robot."

Zero ignores him as he ducks under another punch. "You're not the only one who's lost something here! We can help each other!"

"You're telling me about loss!? That Emerald is all I have left of my civilization! The spirits of every Echidna to come before me! Now I'm stuck on this time-twisted planet, and I can't even tell if my Emerald exists anymore! What could you have lost compared to that!?"

"You lost your past? I lost my present." Knuckles halts at the words. "Nina is everything to me. I have to find her. Right now, that's the only thing that matters."

"What's…happening to you?"

Zero looks around in realization. His body appears to be fading. "Of course… A time-twisted planet. Another force at play, preventing that time from being controlled. Time as an expression of the self."
Janice's voice rings in his ears. "Bingo."

Knuckles scratches his head in confusion. "What are you talking about, what's going on?"

Fading quickly, Zero looks Knuckles straight in the eyes. "You and I have been stuck in the past. Both physically and mentally. To find your Emerald, you have to—" Before he can finish, he vanishes completely.

—–—

Death Egg Mk. II — Future

"There he is," Amy whispers cautiously. She points around the corner into the room, where Metal Sonic has entered. He slowly lowers the Master Emerald down into a pedestal in the center of the room. Instantly, the facility lights up around him, streaming with purple energy that flows out through the conduits connected to the pedestal.

Amy raises her hammer above her shoulder, preparing to attack.

Nina lifts a hand to stop her. "Allow me." She draws her bow and nocks an arrow into the Enerbeam bowstring. Setting her sights on the back of Metal Sonic's head, she lets it loose.

Metal Sonic's hand snaps upwards, grabbing the arrow in the air and halting it instantly. He turns his head slowly to look at the object he caught. "Hm. How primitive." He clenches his metallic claws harder, snapping the wooden arrow in two. He looks all the way back to the direction it came from. "More intruders. What a nuisance."

Her hiding place revealed, Amy steps out into view. "Recognize me, Metal Sonic?"

"Of course. You're the girl I kidnapped."

"I'm the girl who's about to kick your can!" She rushes in, hammer raised to strike.

"Foolish choice." Metal Sonic rockets towards her in turn. In one swift movement, he sends the hammer flying out of her hands and grabs her by the throat, slamming her into the ground. "You lack the use you once had. Now you're meaningless." Above his head, the Enerbeam wraps around the handle of the flying hammer, and sends it swinging straight downwards. Looking up in time to see it, Metal Sonic lets go and jets backwards, and the hammer crashes to the floor between him and Amy. He looks over at the source of the beam as it retracts into Nina's hand. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"I could explain myself to you, but that would be pretty meaningless." She strings the Enerbeam back onto her bow more swiftly than ever, and nocks three arrows at once. "I'm really starting to like this thing." The arrows fire.

Metal Sonic swats them all away at once. "This is a trivial exercise. You lack any means of defeating me."

"Talk to the hammer, buddy!" Amy swings her reclaimed hammer, this time connecting to its target and sending Metal Sonic crashing back into the nearest wall.

Nina cheers, "Nice one!"

Amy nods with a smile. "You're not so bad yourself. But it's not over yet." They both ready their weapons as Metal Sonic rises back to his feet.

"Enough!" A sparking red aura explodes around Metal Sonic's body, sending both hedgehogs flying off of their feet. Crackling with electricity, he marches closer to them. "This power is wasted on useless life forms such as yourselves, but you've left me with no other option. I'm finished with you!"

Nina looks up, gasping with fear. The same words, spoken by another, ring in her head, accompanied by a vision of the world exploding in red. In reality, she almost seems to be fading away. She clenches her eyes shut, shaking her head. "No… That was the past. That's not the way things are going to be. I won't be afraid anymore!" She opens her eyes to see Metal Sonic with his hand once again around Amy's throat, this time lifting her off of the ground.

Metal Sonic almost seems to revel in the feeling of squeezing his hand down harder. "I should have done this the first time." His head suddenly snaps to the side as an arrow embeds itself in his neck. With an irritated growl, he reaches up with his free hand to rip it back out, putting up a surprising struggle. The projectile comes free with a tip dripping silvery ooze. Metal Sonic looks at the strange substance in confusion. "What…?"

"Hyah!" Amy lands a hard kick against Metal Sonic's face, freeing herself and sending him reeling back several steps.

When his hand comes away from the spot he was hit, it too is soaked in the liquified metal that seems to melt over the side of his face. "What's…happening to me?"

"It's called payback!" Amy's hammer slams into Metal Sonic with full force, sending him tumbling down the floor, trailing the silver ooze all the way.

"No…" He tries to lift himself back up, but his arms and legs lose form beneath him, sending him splashing back down. "No!"

Nina reclaims her arrow from the ground, examining the strange substance on its tip. "I don't know much about robots, but…this doesn't seem normal."

Amy's attention remains focused on the ever-melting form of Metal Sonic himself. "Alright, Metal. Now you're going to tell us how to bring back Sonic and the others. And make it quick."

"Heh heh heh… You fools… You've only ensured his victory."

"His?"

An alarm siren wails, flooding the room with a strobing red light.

—–—

Death Egg Mk. II — Present

Sonic races through the empty chambers of the station, finding nothing and no one, until he skids to a halt in a familiar room, seeing a familiar hedgehog seem to materialize from thin air, in the middle of shouting, "…you have to—" Zero stops himself as he realizes that Knuckles is no longer there, looking back only to see Sonic there instead. "Sonic! I think it worked! And you're not half-robot!"

Sonic scratches his head in confusion. "Uhh… Do I know you?"

"You…don't recognize me?" Zero puts a hand up to his chin as he looks down to the floor in contemplation. "Could this be before you met me? But then why wouldn't you—… Forget it, not important." He looks back up at Sonic. "I'm looking for someone, have you seen anyone else on this station?"

"Not since Metal Sonic did that thing with the Time Stones. I've been around the whole place three times over, it's like it's completely empty! Do you know what's happening?"

"Of course, that makes sense. We're in the present of this planet, but Nina's frame of mind…would be on the future. I didn't make it far enough, we have to keep going."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds like you know what you're doing. How can I help?"

"Sonic, I need you to—" Zero places his hands on Sonic's shoulders, but immediately takes them back. "Right, sorry, you don't know me. Anyways, we need to focus on the future. Our frame of mind affects what timeframe we inhabit in this place."

"I think that makes sense… When I first came to this planet, I would always end up in the present whenever I got to a new place. But Robotnik would always be in the future. But…focusing on the future? I don't know anything about the future, how am I supposed to focus on it? Are you sure there aren't any signposts we can use?"

"You don't have to know what's going to happen. Just think about…the places you'll see…and the friends you'll make. Think about how you'll affect their lives…and how they'll affect yours. Focus on the life you want to carve out for yourself. Focus on the legacy that you want to leave behind once you're gone."

"My…legacy…" Sonic closes his eyes, doing his best to follow along.

"You don't know what's going to happen in your future. Sometimes, it will be great. Sometimes, it will be filled with hardships the likes of which you can't even imagine. But you're going to face those challenges with all of the strength you have, because that's who you are. That's who we are. That's who we're going to be." Zero closes his eyes along with Sonic, and both of them begin to fade away from the timeframe.

—–—

Future

The room rumbles as the walls begin to slide open, revealing a wide view of the starfield outside, and the round, hulking Death Egg Robot flying in front of it using the gyrating gravity device attached to its back. The Death Egg Robot throws its extending claw straight out into the room, scooping the defeated form of Metal Sonic off of the floor. Eggman's voice projects from within, "You've failed me for the last time, Metal Sonic." The robot's claws squeeze him harder and harder, until the seven Time Stones fly out into an orbit around him. A panel slides open on the robot's chest, and Metal Sonic is shoved inside, Time Stones and all.

Nina and Amy gasp as something seems to activate within the Death Egg Robot. Long, curved spikes tear out from the robot's back by the dozens, joined by sharp claws and black armor plating. The gravity device on its back begins to move even more intensely, creating a distorting ripple as large segmented devices are ripped away from glowing tower structures in the distance, attaching to the robot and connecting into long, electrified tentacles. A familiar machine covered in red and blue highlights, resembling the shape of an organic heart, flies down over the robot's head, its one red and one blue eye lighting up to complete the robot's animalistic, almost dragonoid transformation. The Death Egg Robot Mk. II's sights are set on the two hedgehogs.

"Now I'll finish what you could not." Four spherical devices are pulled spiraling in towards the Mk. II's chest, charging up a combined multicolored energy. In just that moment, another two hedgehogs begin to fade into existence. Eggman notices Sonic and Zero at the same time that Nina and Amy do. "Interesting. Change of plans." The charging laser turns only slightly to face the new targets before firing.

"Zero!"

"Sonic!"

Nina and Amy both dive into the appearing hedgehogs, knocking them onto the ground and out of the way of the strobing laser beam that passes over their heads.

Zero's face lights up from the ground. "Nina! I found you!"

"I'm happy to see you too, but now's not the time." She helps him back to his feet.

Sonic's reaction is not quite so pleased. "Amy? What're you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, apparently."

Zero looks over in surprise. "Amy?"

Amy looks back. "Zero?"

Sonic joins in the confusion. "Wait, you know him?"

Nina readies her bow as she repeats, "Now's not the time!" The four hedgehogs dive away, scattering in every direction to avoid the incoming lash of the Mk. II's electrified tentacle. Nina comes out in a crouch and fires out a single arrow that strikes a joint in the segmented machine, severing the tentacle entirely.

Catching on quickly, Zero grabs the fallen machine off of the ground and swings it around himself in a circle before throwing it back at the robot.

Amy comments to Sonic, "Why can't you and I work together that well?"

Sonic responds in a surprisingly receptive tone, "Maybe we will. The future's a long way off. Care to start now?" As he speaks, one of the Mk. II's laser devices crosses in front of the robot in a continuous orbit, firing to slice right through the oncoming projectile.

Amy blushes as she takes Sonic's hand.

Sonic leaps up, spinning Amy through the air to launch her at the robot. A tentacle lashes out at her, but she smacks it away with her hammer. A laser crosses towards her on its orbit, but an arrow knocks it away, clearing the way for her to smash the robot's chest with her hammer.

Amy is sent flying back, but Zero catches her before she hits the ground. "You're getting pretty good with that hammer."

"You're getting pretty good with people, by the looks of it."

"Just following your advice."

"Zero!" Nina shouts. "Quit flirting and focus!"

"I wasn—" He shakes his head and puts his objections aside, looking back up at the Mk. II as its gravity device fires up once again, creating a shockwave of gravitational distortion through the air, throwing the hedgehogs off of their feet, and pulling them all in towards the robot. Eggman's laughter can be heard as the robot's massive arm extends outwards, preparing to slam down on top of all of them.

The arm comes down. Then it halts just above them. Eggman's voice growls, "What!?"

Fading into existence, already jetting into the Mk. II's arm from below, Gregor's Sentinel robot pushes against it to stop it from coming down the rest of the way.

Zero shouts with surprise, "Gregor!"

Knuckles leaps off of the Sentinel's shoulder, diving into the Mk. II with a punch that disrupts its gravity field, dropping the hedgehogs back onto the ground.

Sonic greets, "Knuckles! Ya made it!"

"Calm down, I'm just here to get my Emerald back." He quickly finds it, still locked in a pedestal in the center of the room. "And there it is." He marches for it.

Sonic calls out, "Knuckles, you can't just—"

A tentacle lashes out at Knuckles from the Mk. II. The Sentinel fires a bright orange laser beam from a cannon that rises out of its wrist, slicing the tentacle away. Sonic has turned his attention back to the Mk. II, chaining attacks between its own orbiting laser cannons until he lands a hit directly on the robot.

Knuckles reaches for the Master Emerald. But as soon as his hand draws close, it is zapped by the same purple energy that runs through the base. With a growl and a sigh, he shakes his head. "I'm probably going to regret this… Sonic!"

Sonic looks up at Knuckles as he lands on the ground.

"You might be needing this!" He tosses something through the air straight at him.

Sonic catches the Chaos Emerald with one upraised hand. "I knew we could count on you."

Zero looks to Sonic questioningly. "Does that mean…?"

Sonic nods. "Just stand back. I'll take care of him from here." He throws his arms out to the side, and the golden light of the seven Chaos Emeralds instantly surrounds him, transforming him into Super Sonic.

Eggman's loud gulp can be easily heard. "Uh oh. Time for another change of plans." The Mk. II quickly turns around, flying out from the room towards the starfield beyond.

"Oh no you don't!" Super Sonic jets out after him, chasing the robot into open space. He dodges around constant lashes from the robot's tentacles, ramming into its body whenever the opportunity arises. Before long, he becomes nothing but a point of light darting around the larger robot that flies in all directions in a vain attempt to lose him.

Gregor marvels, "Now that's how you use a giant robot. What an intriguing design…"

"Gregor! Stop rooting for the enemy!"

Nina points out at Super Sonic. "Is that…? And you can…?"

Zero smirks confidently. "You bet I can. Maybe you'll get to see someday. But for now, I'll let Sonic have his fun."

Before long, the wreck of the Death Egg Robot Mk. II is thrown back into the room. The Time Stones spill out of its open chest, onto the floor. Sonic lands back on the ground at speed, slowing to a walk as the light around him fades, sending the Chaos Emeralds scattering away in a flash of light. Wiping off his hands, he comments, "Welp, I think that just about wraps up this adventure."

Amy comments, "Don't you think we should take down this base first?"

Knuckles adds, "And I still can't get to the Master Emerald!"

"Oh yeah. I guess those are good points." He looks down in thought. "Huh." He looks back up at the trio of Zero, Nina, and Gregor. "Do you guys know anything about how we can take care of that?"

Gregor makes the Sentinel shrug. "Given a few hours, I could probably figure out how to shut down the base's power system, and perhaps discover a structural weak point as well."

"Your voice sounds kinda familiar, robot guy. I can't quite—"

"Sonic!"

Before Sonic even has the chance to look, Amy rams into him with her shoulder, knocking him out of the way of the multicolored laser that now fires straight at her.

Zero gasps in horror. "Amy, no! Time Control!" A bubble of distorted space spreads from his hand as he runs towards her, but it fails to get far enough before it retracts right back in. The laser hits, and the view of Amy is blocked by a blinding light.

Sonic, Knuckles, and Gregor all attack the still barely functioning Mk. II at once, sending it flying back out into space, once and for all.

Zero kneels over Amy, her eyes closed, her body covered in burns. "No… No, no, no…"

Sonic races to her opposite side. "Amy!" He kneels down beside her, taking her hand in his own. "Amy, you…you saved me. You have to be alright, you have to!"

Zero echoes, "You have to be… Your future, it…it isn't like this. I know, I've seen it. You have to make it out of here."

Nina looks down at the sight with a sorrow of her own. "Zero, you…you can save her, can't you? You can make this happen over again, you…"

Zero shakes his head. "I can't… I have no control here…"

Janice's voice echoes in his head, "There is another force at play. Use it."

Zero looks back at the ground, where the seven Time Stones still lie. As if at his thought, they begin to rise up, floating towards him until they circle around his head.

Gregor comments, "The pseudotemporal readings coming off of those gems is off the charts. The charts I created. Astounding."

Zero closes his eyes. "Sonic… Amy… Even you, Knuckles. You all have a long road ahead. Enjoy the time you have together. Let the people around you show you who you are." Before anyone can respond, he opens his eyes, shouting with all his might, "Time Control!" Another distortion spreads from his Sapphire. The expanding bubble slows down, seemingly struggling to reach far beyond him. But finally, the bubble reaches the orbit of Time Stones around him, and suddenly flies out to encompass everything in sight. For just an instant, a strange image strikes Zero's mind—the visage of a smokey creature, with hollow eyes and jagged mouth, gone just as quickly as it appeared.

The world reverses in time at an impossibly fast rate, only seeming to speed up as it goes. The figures of Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy almost seem to warp around the room before disappearing. Soon, the walls themselves begin to deconstruct, as metal plates are removed one by one. The floor is pulled out from under Zero and Nina, and they begin to fall. Gregor's Sentinel swoops in to catch them, carrying them back down to the Earth below.

—–—

Angel Island — Sonic's Time

"Wha… What happened…?" Sonic struggles to push himself out of the strange-looking escape pod that he lies in. He looks around in confusion, until he spots the second escape pod next to his, and the lines in the dirt that they both carved as they crashed. He suddenly seems to remember, "Tails!" He gets up to look at the other pod. But it appears to be empty. "Tails…?"

"Sonic!"

Sonic looks up in surprise, watching as Tails quickly lands the Tornado next to him, climbing out before it even comes to a stop.

"Sonic, I don't know what you did up there, but it worked! Look!" Tails points up at the sky, where the metal exterior of the Death Egg Mk. II recedes away from one side to the other, first revealing the incomplete scaffolding, then the lush green Little Planet below.

"Did I do something? The last thing I remember is…you and me getting out there as the place was shutting down."

"Sonic, that was days ago. You don't remember getting separated here on Angel Island? Metal Sonic stealing the Master Emerald? Following him back up there?"

Sonic shakes his head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

Tails looks up, scratching his chin with a perplexed expression. "I guess we may never know what happened…"

—–—

The wreck of the Death Egg Robot Mk. II has crashed all the way back down to Earth, yet Eggman appears to have crawled out of it quite unscathed. "No! No, no, no! My plan is ruined! All because of those accursed hedgehogs!" He stomps his foot in anger before finally seeming to calm himself. "Very well, Sonic. I'll turn to more drastic measures, if that's what it takes. I will conquer this world. It's only a matter of time." He storms off in his contained rage.

A silvery fluid seems to leak out from the robot left behind. Slowly, it begins to rise off of the ground, trying to take the form of Metal Sonic. But after several failed attempts, its form changes further, growing taller and wider. Finally, its hands clench into the solid form of white gloves over a long red jacket. Though his form is that of Eggman's, it is Metal Sonic's voice that announces, "Doctor Ivo Robotnik—life form data…has been copied. I will correct your vision, Doctor. I will free this world."

—–—

10,000 years ago

The Sentinel sets Zero and Nina down on a high precipice, overlooking a clear, blue lake that reflects the image of the lush green Little Planet above.

Zero comments, "The planetoid… It's still there."

Gregor answers, "The pseudotemporal readings are dropping off at a steady rate. I predict they'll reach negligible levels…precisely at the turn of the new year. Isn't that something? At that time, I suspect the planetoid will have nothing keeping it here, and should reasonably return to…wherever it came from."

Nina marvels, "A Little Planet, lost in time, where past, present, and future exist as one. A miracle of the universe."

Zero takes Nina's hand. "We don't have to look to the stars to find miracles." She smiles at him in turn.

Gregor hesitantly voices, "I…suppose now's as good a time as any to ask. What is it that you'll have done with me, Zero? What is my punishment for my latest transgressions? Will you silence me? Ensure that your village never learns what I've done? What you've done?"

Nina looks over with concern. "What's he talking about, Zero?"

Zero holds nothing back. "He's talking about tracking us. All of us. He knows about the village. He lied to me, and deceived me, and made me believe that I was alone. But those trackers…are the only reason I was able to find you today. He saved you. He saved us."

Nina adds, "More than once, as I recall." She looks up at the Sentinel. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Only that I wish to make it up to you. Both of you. All of you. If you'll allow me."

"Zero?"

Zero nods slowly. "I know what needs to be done."

—–—

Animoid Village

Within the walls of the partially-constructed community center, Zero stands on a platform elevated above the rest, dozens of animoids seated on log benches to look up at him. Under the light filtering through the unfinished roof, Zero clears his throat to speak. "Thank you for coming, everyone. I'm here… We're here…because I've made some choices that affect all of us. Choices that we all need to know about. I'm just trying to figure out how to start. There are people in this world who…" He shakes his head. "No, no, I'm not going to dodge around this. No more secrets."

Nina steps up beside him, taking his hand silently.

Zero begins again. "We all know the name Gregor Robotnik."

Immediately, murmurs begin to stir through the room.

"It's a name that we don't like to talk about. The name of a man who harmed us all. The name of the man that I…attacked. So we could all be free. The thing you need to know before anything else is this. Gregor survived that attack."

The murmurs only grow louder.

"Furthermore…many months later…I saved his life."

"What you should've done is finish the job." Among the crowd, Trinity the Echidna has risen to her feet. "That's what you're good at, isn't it? Hurting people? Or maybe you can't even do that right." Beside her, another echidna urges her to sit back down. She begrudgingly obliges.

Taking a long breath, Zero continues, "I came to learn a lot about Gregor. He was remorseful about what he'd done. And, with what little power he had after I left him crippled, he was working to undo some of his mistakes. With nowhere else to go, I agreed to help him."

"Traitor!" Trinity is right back on her feet. "You've been working with that wretched creature!? I'll bet you led him here, didn't you!? We're clearly in danger here, we were wrong not to leave before you found us!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" On the other side of the crowd, Uni has risen in challenge. "Zero knows what Gregor has done better than any of us! If Zero's willing to give him a chance, then so am I!"

The murmuring through the room quickly grows to a louder debate.

"Everyone, please." The room quiets down at least partially at Zero's request. "I…didn't have to lead Gregor here. He's known about this place since long before I even knew he was alive. He's known because of trackers he had placed on each of us while we were still in the lab. He chose to do nothing with that knowledge, because he has changed! He knew you'd all be happier thinking he was dead, and that's all he wanted!" Zero keeps raising his voice to fight over the rising noise level. "But now he's here!" The room suddenly goes dead silent. "He's here…with the only apology he can offer."

The squeak of a wheelchair precedes Gregor as Zero steps out of his way, so the entire crowd can see him. Gregor picks right up, before anyone in the room can truly process what's happening. "I do wish to apologize. Not with my words, but with my actions, as Zero has taught me to do."

"I can't believe this." Trinity is once again on her feet, fists trembling at her sides. "You would bring him here? The man who made us all suffer? I thought it was just humans we couldn't trust. Apparently, it's every other species." She grabs the other echidna by the hand, and drags him to his feet. "Come on. We aren't safe here." As the only echidnas in the village exit, Trinity spits behind them, "And if I were as despicable as Zero, I'd kill that man right here in this room."

Zero places a hand on Gregor's shoulder, motioning for him to continue in spite of the interruption. Gregor proceeds, "My wish is to provide the tools and service necessary to remove all of your trackers without causing you any harm. Remove any control I still have over you, for those of you who wish it. After that, I will put myself to your mercy. But my greatest wish, at this moment, is to continue helping this village to thrive in any way that I can. I can never make up for the things I've done. But I'll take any step closer that I can get. Figuratively speaking, of course. But if you all wish me to leave and never return, I will happily accept that mercy."

The room remains utterly silent.

Uni stands slowly, and all eyes turn to him. "You say you can remove these trackers?" He steps out of the crowd, and straight up to Gregor. "Do it. I'll be the first."

Chatter of a positive tone begins to pick up in the room, and other animoids quickly fall in line behind Uni.

Nina pulls Zero aside. "Zero…I'm proud of you."

"For what?"

"For trusting everyone to put away the past on their own. For revealing your secret, knowing what it could've cost you."

"I would have taken any cost. Because I know I'd still have you."

"Zero…I know we said that…you'd only stay in my hut until yours was built. But I was thinking…maybe you could stay longer than that. If you'd like."

"I would. But wouldn't that make all our work for nothing?"

"Well…we're going to need to keep a close eye on Gregor, aren't we? Better that we know what he's doing on any given day."

"Maybe you're right. But do you really think everyone would be okay with him moving in?"

"I'm sure they will. After all, even if something goes wrong…the village always has you to protect them."

Zero and Nina both look back at Gregor, as he seems to chat almost casually with the crowd that has surrounded him.

"Us. The village has us."

—–—

Zero's Journal, Day 4

I laugh, looking back at what I wrote yesterday. It feels like it could've been years ago that I thought those things.

On the outskirts of the village, Zero sits down next to a familiar flowing brook. He pulls out the Temporal Sapphire, and stares at it for several moments, contemplating his own reflection in the facets of the crystal.

The voice of Janice points out, "You're brooding again." She sounds annoyed.

Zero is surprised. "Janice?" When his surprise fades, the two begin to chat.

Forgiveness is an odd thing. Some things are easy to forgive. Some things aren't. And it doesn't matter who did it. Sometimes it can be even harder to forgive yourself than someone else. But once it's given, it's like a step backwards in time. A chance to redo what was done wrong. I chose to forgive Gregor. But in many ways, I still haven't forgiven myself. Maybe that's why I chose not to have my tracker removed. Maybe I trust Gregor more than I trust myself. Someday, that will change. I know that I need to love myself before I can truly do the same for anyone else. So I'll build my new life one day at a time. And eventually, the nightmares will end.

Suddenly showing concern for whatever he last heard, Zero stands up quickly. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

The voice, not of Janice, but of Chronos, barks, "Zero, you have incoming!"

"Incoming!? What does that mean!?"

To answer his question, a space-time rift opens above him. An unconscious Silver the Hedgehog falls out from it, splashing down into the brook.

To be continued in…

Silver & Zero: Partners in Time

Chapter 1 available now!