Disclaimer - I do not own Sonic or any other characters. They are property of SEGA and anything Sonic the hedgehog affiliated with it.

If you like the cover art type this in on google or whatever search engine:

/art/C-Pink-Cutie-640570468

Check out the artist I commissioned for this shes awesome.

I made some revisions for chapter one cause I finally have the plot and all, so the first chapter is different if you have already read it.

A few days later…

It was a bright, humid day with a mix of sun and shadow filtering through cloudy skies, and though there was a bit of gray in the skies earlier, like there was rain coming, it had all but seemed to pass. Thick, fluffy, scattered clouds formed through the blue skies as the day became nicer. This summer continued to be beautiful, with the smells of fresh-cut grass, people talking and bustling through the streets of New Mobotropolis, kids laughing and playing, butterflies flying, and the warm weather.

The force field of New Mobotropolis had been let down because of the hot weather, and the large breezes that flowed into the city certainly cooled things down a bit. It had been a very comfortable environment in New Mobotropolis since summer started, and they had had no serious trouble for the last few months. The sights of colorful food from vendors on the streets and new brick buildings made from actual materials being erected, it was one of the most peaceful summers yet in New Mobotropolis.

At an unusually pink colored house on the North-East side of town, one individual's day was only getting better. Amy Rose just stepped out and closed the door to her home. She wore her usual attire, only she carried two items in her hands. Big smile on her face, a red sweatband in one hand, and a medium-sized yellow metal pole in the other hand, she ran down off her porch, and onto the walkway of her yard and onto the sidewalks. She placed the yellow metal pole into a pocket in her dress, walking at a brisk pace to her destination.

Amy swung her arms as she walked with a pleased grin, passing by a security fencing of a business as she made her way into the streets. She briefly wiped her head from the humidity of the day as she looked up towards Castle Acorn. She had fun hanging out with Sonic a few days ago… but today she would be around him all day… and she made the most of it every time she could…

She continued to smile as she made her way along to the Castle. The Freedom Fighters were training today. On the occasions when she hung out with Sonic, when they weren't lazily hanging about or when she wasn't dragging Sonic around shopping with her, they would go to the training area at Castle Acorn and train together. On the rarest occasions Sonic and she would go to a private, scenic area… and they would just be silent with one another…

Those were her favorites because sometimes he wouldn't push her off when she hugged him…

Though she could tell it irritated him. Sometimes, though, all the Freedom Fighters would train together, like on days like today. It was mandatory, so they all stayed in top shape for the unknown but always inevitable next crisis.

But Amy knew she was late, and she began sprinting to the Castle training grounds. She might have spent a little too much time dolling up her quills, but she liked to look good despite any occasion. And using her speed, she ran nonstop until she reached Castle Acorn's training grounds.

And in a few minutes' time, she reached the sounds of heavy breathing, groans and grunts, and much chatter from all the people in the area. She slowed down and screeched to a halt, holding a smile on her face as she searched for the guys.

The area was filled with military personnel and Castle and government employees, training for whatever reasons may be. The area had a small circular track to run on, obstacle courses, and many outdoor fitness stations, with durable metal bars and poles which to do exercises on. Amy walked into the middle of the area where she usually met Sonic and found him to be right where she expected. The guys were not present yet, though.

She stopped when he caught sight of her nearing, and he looked up from stretching, grinning at her. She only smiled even brighter as they locked eyes… she was in love with him… and one day she knew… if she only persisted… that he would love her too…

Then they would get married… then they would have kids… and then…

Then, without warning, she lunged at him in a happy, high-pitched voice, "Sonic!"

Sonic's eyes widened as she grabbed him and squeezed him with her usual greeting to him. He sighed and grunted as he tried to pull her off of him. Sonic spoke with a weak grin "Slowpoke…"

Amy released him, still smiling and responding in a playful tone, "Shut up!"

Sonic began stretching again and Amy stretched as well, but Sonic looked curiously at her, raising a single eyebrow. "Hey Amy? Where's your Piko Hammer?"

Amy blinked briefly losing her smile, but she brightened and stood straight up reaching into her pocket "I got it right here!" Amy pulled out the yellow pole from her pocket and Sonic looked confused for a moment as she continued holding it up in the air "I just got a new one made!"

Sonic stopped stretching and stood straight up, looking confused. "That's a metal pole…"

Amy kept her smile, though, as she spoke again in a sweet tone. "No…"

Then Amy put both of her hands on the yellow pole, squeezed and twisted the pole, and they heard a click. And the yellow metal pole suddenly transformed into the very large hammer, still yellow and red in appearance, which usually accompanied her. Sonic looked surprised as it fully transformed and thudded heavily onto the ground, and Amy leaned on to it with a smirk. As usual, her Piko Piko Hammer still seemed to be dangerously heavy, and just as dangerous as it sort of shook the ground. It startled slightly nearby people who were working out but went back to working out when they saw it was just Amy and her hammer. Her Piko Piko Hammer had sort of become iconic over the years, mainly because she chased Sonic around with it sometimes…

Sonic walked over to her, looking baffled. "Where'd you get that? What happened to your old hammer?"

Amy stopped leaning on her hammer, watching as Sonic tried to move it and pick it up, with little success at that. Amy smiled. "I still have my old hammer, but lately I've been feeling it was impractical. So I pestered Tails until he and Nicole came up with this."

Sonic grunted as he barely lifted her hammer off the ground and let it drop thudding to the ground. Sonic scratched his head, looking curiously at her. "How does it transform like that? It was so tiny, and it's still heavy…"

Amy smiled gently at him as she effortlessly picked up her Piko Piko Hammer and began twirling it and moving it with ease as she spoke "Well if you must know…" she held it directly above her head "It's obviously been made special…" she then placed it over her shoulder speaking in a lower tone moving nearer to him "… Nicole said she used advanced technology from her time and nanites to give it special properties…" Sonic nodded as she stepped back and winked at him "Its lightweight, durable, and perfect for… chasing… and other things…"

Sonic knew that last line was for him, but he frowned slightly. "But why did Nicole build something like that? Didn't she say that building stuff from her time was dangerous?"

But Amy shook her head, wagging her finger at him with a smile. "Not exactly. Her helping me is actually helping her complete her future stuff. That's why she allowed it, because it's helping her alter timeline stuff… technology… whatever…" Sonic groaned and Amy squealed in delight, squeezing her eyes shut as she flipped her hammer upright and pointed at the head "Look! This is the best part!"

Sonic took a step closer and noticed an inscription that read 'Amy X Sonic' in a fancy cursive style, painted in pink, and with hearts surrounding it. Sonic grimaced and Amy giggled as they both knew it was going to be easier for her to take out her grievances when he made her upset from now on. Her hammer was always going to be on her, and she could pull it out with impunity because of her strength.

Sonic turned away from her in a grouch closing his eyes "Hmph… I'm going to talk to Nicole about this and tell her it's dangerous to have technology like this…"

But Amy only grinned seductively at him as they both knew he meant it was dangerous for him, for her to have her new Piko Piko Hammer. So Amy put on her red sweatband and Sonic went back to stretching as they soon began training as the others hadn't shown up yet.

They stretched for a bit, and without warning, Amy suddenly began swinging her Piko Piko Hammer at Sonic. Sonic grinned as he jumped back and Amy giggled as she chased him past many people working out. They made their way to an open spot away from many people, and they sparred using their abilities, looking for new ways to use them.

Amy brought her hammer up into the air with both hands and slammed it down as Sonic dodged, and he hopped on her hammer and jumped over her, brushing his hand across her head. As Amy turned around, she blinked in surprise as Sonic curled into a ball and spin dashed at her at high speeds. Amy quickly lifted her hammer back up as Sonic connected, and the force pushed her back, grunting as she slid backwards through the dirt. But Amy positioned herself and her hands as she turned her hammer vertically and flicked it. It sent Sonic flying in another direction in the air, and he uncurled as he got ready to land.

Once he did, he ran back towards her, and Amy smiled as she ran towards him with her Piko Piko Hammer ready in the air. And as they moved through different areas of the Castle training grounds, they gathered attention as they usually did, and as the Freedom Fighters usually did when they were training.

And Amy knew her abilities became more apparent overtime to others around her, as when she first met the guys they weren't aware of them. She had always had well above average abnormal high physical strength, and though she wasn't super powered, her high strength was very formidable.

She could always run at fast speeds. Since she was young, she had always been fast. She discovered she had abilities when she was young but thought little of it, as many people in Mobius had abnormal abilities. Those two things were her dominant powers, though. She had developed her speed and strength over time, and she could run fast enough not to keep up with Sonic, but enough to even keep him on his toes on a constant lookout for her.

And because of those two abilities combined, she had great agility and acrobatic skills as well, though that sort of came with the territory. And Amy used all three as Sonic flew through the air kicking at her hammer, and she leaped out of the way, pulled her arm back and threw her hammer at him. It made a thundering sound crashing into the ground, tearing it up just missing him, and he ran off in another direction, with her hot on his heels as she dashed off after him, going for her hammer. She yanked her Piko Piko Hammer out of the ground with ease as she chased after him.

They ran to the track and around it twice before they had gathered enough attention that many people were watching them. And they sparred as a small group of people watched them, but it temporarily and abruptly ended for a moment as Amy faked him out, pretending to swing her hammer at him while she was near him. But she dropped it and grabbed onto him. As they crashed onto the ground, Sonic looked surprised and Amy squeezed him tight with her eyes shut and a big smile. Nearby bystanders grinned, looked sympathetic, and laughed as they went back to working out, turning away from Sonics plight as he struggled to get out of Amy's grips.

Sonic held wide eyes as he tried to pull Amy off himself, but he had little success because of her strength. "Geez Amy!" Sonic grunted, "Could you always run fast?"

Amy giggled with her eyes closed, still smiling. "Of course I can, silly! I think I told you and everyone that before. But it looks like you need to keep your guard up, or else you'll get jumped like you just did!"

Sonic continued to grunt as he spoke with a weak smile "Well… you're good at tracking… I'll give you that…"

"How do you think I got this fast? I had to learn how to keep up with you so I could track you." Amy said, still squeezing him.

"You don't think I can escape? I think I can dodge better next time." Sonic said with his weak smile, raising an eyebrow.

Then Amy looked up at him with a flirtatious look, opening her awestruck eyes. "Nothing can escape, my love!"

Sonic grimaced, and he sweat as Amy metaphorically and maybe literally suddenly had hearts in her eyes, but there was an interruption, much to Sonic's relief. But it was someone other than the Freedom Fighters.

Sonic and Amy looked up curiously as a shadow loomed over them. They looked up, blinking their eyes to see a disgruntled-looking Knuckles, and he was holding a small metallic-looking device that was beeping. Sonic spoke. "Hey Knuckles, what are you doing here?"

Knuckles sounded irritated as well. "Nicole told me I could find you here. I need some help… I found this thing…" he lifted the metallic-colored device "… near the shrine of the Master Emerald a few days ago, but I can't figure out what it is. I have a feeling it's not good. It never is whenever anything gets near the Master Emerald…"

Amy and Sonic continued to look curiously up at him on the ground, with Amy only loosening her grip a little. Nicole definitely could analyze that thing and figure out what it was. But by the way Knuckles looked to be perturbed by it, they both knew there was more to this story. And Amy was a little disappointed that her time with Sonic shortened, but she was sure that once this minor issue was fixed, she could have the rest of the day for Sonic. At least she hoped…

Sometime later…

Inside Castle Acorn, Amy, Sonic, and Nicole took Knuckles with them after Amy's and Sonic's training session interruption. Nicole contacted the other Freedom Fighters and had them report to the second floor of the castle to the main control room. There had been an addition to the main control room, and on the far side of one area of the room was another room. It resembled a conference room, with two wooden double doors as the entrance, and the inside of the room occupied by office furniture.

There was an oval table with many chairs in the center of the room. The room was well lit with fluorescent light, advanced science equipment scattered around, a very large monitor and computer console, file cabinets, a whiteboard with multicolored markers, schedules pinned on a large wallboard and many other things the Freedom Fighters used exclusively for their dealings.

They had dubbed this room: The Situation Room

The main control room was mostly empty other than a few technicians, because Nicole ran the city without too much help nowadays. But Amy, Sonic, Nicole, and Knuckles promptly entered the situation room once the other Freedom Fighters finally showed up. And the technicians in the room looked on curiously as the double wooden doors closed and clicked as it locked.

With a serious expression, Sally turned away from the closed doors to everyone sitting around the oval table. She took a seat as well, and Nicole walked away from some of the science equipment to the computer console with the metallic device that Knuckles had brought. The Freedom Fighters discussed Knuckles' issue with him and Nicole also handed some papers to Rotor, and he read them.

With a frown on his face, Knuckles leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. "I don't know what it is or where it came from. I ran across it a few days ago but couldn't figure out what it was. Never seen it before, but it was near the shrine of the Master Emerald."

Tails scratched his head, looking curious. "Has it interfered with any of your tech up there on Angel Island?"

Knuckles shook his head. "Not that I can tell. I could contact you guys, so most likely no."

Amy questioned Knuckles, looking curious as well. "Who's watching the Master Emerald?"

"The Chaotix are doing me a favor." Knuckles said with his frown.

"Well, we shouldn't be here long. After Nicole figures out what that thing is, we'll keep in touch after you leave. We don't know if someone is trying to spy on you or something." Sally said seriously with her elbows on the table.

Knuckles nodded as Amy spoke again, frowning slightly now. "Do you think you would need some extra eyes?"

Knuckles thought it over for a second, then nodded appreciatively, still frowning. "I wouldn't mind if something shady is going on."

"Auhum sure we could arrange somethang…" Bunnie said with an upset expression a few seats down from Knuckles.

Everyone silently nodded as Rotor spoke, looking up from his papers thoughtfully. "Well, it seems from the basic analysis anyway, that this device doesn't really do anything, really…"

Knuckles confusedly uncrossed his arms, turning slightly in his chair to look at Rotor. "Say that again?"

And Rotor nodded, lowering the papers on to the table. "It doesn't seem to have any internal mechanisms. Just a very faint signal… and that annoying beep…"

And everyone nodded in agreement about that as the beeping from the device hadn't stopped. Sonic then pushed and rolled his chair over to Nicole at the computer console poking at her side. "Hey Nicole? Are you finished yet?"

And despite being in her holographic form, Nicole could still interact physically with the world. As she created a special technology that concentrated energy around her hologram so she could touch physical objects. And though Sonic's poke went through and disrupted her image for a moment, soon though it became solid as he poked at her. And Nicole's brows knotted, looking slightly irritated as she turned away from the computer she was typing at, and she playfully swatted Sonic away "Sonic…"

Sonic only grinned at her though as her features softened, holding a weak smile. "You are lucky you interrupted me as I finished the analysis."

"What did you come up with, Nicole?" Sally said, raising an eyebrow.

Everyone turned their chairs in Nicole's direction as she held up the metallic device in her hand with a stoic expression. "After extensive analysis, I have concluded. As you have heard Rotor said, the device is emitting a faint signal. This device is a probe…"

Sonic rolled his chair back over to his spot at the table and frowned. "So it is monitoring?"

Nicole shook her head. "No. From my analysis of this device, it does not have the hardware for any kind of functionality other than the signal it is emitting."

Amy looked slightly frustrated. "Well, what is the signal doing? Can it be tracked or something?"

Nicole nodded. "That was to be my next step. I am going to attempt to track the signal and see where it is originating from." Nicole said as she turned back around to the computer console and took control of it. She squeezed the device in her hand, and she looked to be analyzing the device again. Her expression remained stoic as advanced programs began loading and appearing on the screen that looked to be tracking the beeping device in her hand. "Decrypting…"

Knuckles leaned one of his arms on the table with an upset expression. "A signal, huh? I wonder who is up to this and what are they looking for…"

"If they are not after the Master Emerald, then I'm surprised. This reeks of Eggman though…" Antoine said with a frown.

And as Nicole decrypted, she suddenly waved her hand in front of her, and holographic digital maps materialized in front of her, with many additional readouts of numbers and fast moving text showing across the holographic's. The holographic map was a blue fluorescent color shaped like a globe, which everyone figured was a holographic projection of Mobius. However, the longer it went on, the more everyone noticed that this might be worse than what they thought as Nicole suddenly frowned.

It seemed Nicole was not having as a simple time decrypting the signal from the device as they had previously thought. But soon Nicole turned her head to the computer console, but abruptly whipped her head back towards the holographic map in front of her. And everyone suddenly looked shocked as the holographic globe in front of her shifted and changed into what looked like a galactic map.

And everyone looked on in wonderment as the map continued to zoom farther and farther out until it stopped, and it began moving and shooting in another direction, and soon it stopped again…

Nicole continued to look at the map with her frown, and the others stared at what looked like some kind of space nebula with floating pieces of land masses that looked to be torn from the ground floating there. It appeared as indigo gas in color against the stars in the backdrop of the holographic map. Before anyone could state the obvious that this might be where the signal was originating from the computer console began beeping, showing there was an incoming call.

"Patch it through, Nicole…" Sally said with a frown, and everyone else held frowns as well.

Nicole nodded as she accepted the incoming call, and static briefly fill the screen before it cleared up. It revealed a strange figure adorned in what seemed like dark armor with a cyan glowing mark on its chest and glowing cyan eyes. The armor covered its face and the armor covering its head was unusually obtuse. The background behind the thing looked to more technologically advanced than they expected, and they all guessed they were not dealing with amateurs.

It remained silent as it looked at them, and everyone in the room remained silent as well until it spoke in an ominous yet condescending tone "It seems our test probe was a success… and something found it and was even intelligent enough to trace it back…"

Everyone looked insulted, and Nicole responded with her frown, "State your purpose."

However, it all but seemed to ignore Nicole speaking in its own personal interest, "Our calculations are likely correct… our way of escape might finally be imminent…"

"Escape?" Amy said skeptically as she stood from her seat.

And everyone around the table stood from their seats, and Sonic pointed at the screen. "Who are you?"

But the thing on screen ignored them again, and its cyan colored eyes glowed, flashing briefly, and a little while later it looked off screen before turning to its left. It looked to be talking to someone "Something has discovered our probe…"

The other person off screen responded, "Then it is certain it works, Imperator."

The thing in front of them nodded. "We have already confirmed its landing. I suppose it is good to be even more certain. It seems we are ready. Is the leader of the Marauders ready?"

"They have been standing by waiting for the appropriate resources for the next Phase Shift. We have nearly gathered enough energy for another and are standing by and awaiting orders." the other person responded.

"I think we are ready. Initiate the next Phase Shift and inform the Marauders that it is time for their departure." the thing in front of them nodded to the person off screen and then finally looked back at the monitor remaining silent.

And the Freedom Fighters and Knuckles looked on in shock as even if the thing in front of them did not say what its intentions were, they knew exactly what it was doing, but not exactly what was happening. Though they all came to the same conclusions in their minds that if the signal was coming from that place in space, then wherever that was, it was obvious they were trying to come to them. And they all felt powerless because of it…

And after a long minute of silence, there was suddenly a loud whirring heard in the video's background feed, and offscreen to the things right, a bright yellowish color filled the screen. Everyone in the room looked around instantly on guard as they prepared for enemy forces to suddenly appear, but they were only temporarily relieved as the thing on the screen turned to its left again. And the person it was speaking to before spoke sounding hesitant "Imperator… there was an anomaly… only a few Marauders and the leader made it through… ninety percent of the Marauder forces remain… and it drained our resources… there is no more energy left… and it will take years to regain the lost resources… it seems our calculations did not account for every anomaly…"

"How long?" the thing asked.

"… Thousands of years… it is undetermined…" the person responded.

The thing grumbled under its breath "It remains inconsistent, I see… after all this time it seems we still have not figured it out…" it sighed "Though not all seems to be lost. The Marauder leader is more than enough competent, and I'm sure she and her team can still accomplish our goals. Once they are fully through, contact me…"

"Yes Imperator." The person off screen said as they were heard shuffling away.

As the thing turned back to the monitor, it looked to be ready to shut down the feed. But Sally spoke with her brows narrowed into frustration. "Alright Imperator, what's going on? Who are you? What do you want?"

And it responded sounding slightly frustrated, "I am Imperator Ix of the Nocturnus Clan. I am sure you might be unaware, but we were the fourth great civilization of Mobius, and I would not tell you if not for interference, and it is none of your business, but since you must know, we are returning to Mobius…"

The Freedom Fighters and Knuckles looked on in confusion and shock, and Sonic looked at Knuckles with a frown. "You know anything about that?"

Knuckles had his fist balled and his teeth gritted with an upset expression, shaking his head. "I heard of the great civilizations that used to roam Mobius, but I've never heard of that clan. I barely know much about mine…"

"Returning? You're from Mobius? Where did you go?" Tails said with a frown.

And Nicole spoke to the Imperator, keeping her frown, "You are from a previous great civilization, and you are still alive? And I surmise you are not coming back bearing gifts…"

"And you would be right… whoever you are… I cannot seem to infiltrate your systems and obtain your data…" Imperator Ix stated, sounding impressed.

And Nicole responded in a tough tone, "You will not."

Imperator Ix remained silent at Nicole's comment as Sonic spoke, frowning and looking directly at Imperator Ix. "Well, whoever you are, don't make me have to kick your butt! We'll stop you from whatever you are trying to do. You will not hurt anyone if we have a say about it!"

"That's right!" Amy agreed with Sonic.

And everyone around the table all agreed in the same way, but Sonic's comment seemed to get under the Imperator's skin, and he spoke sounding irked, "We are the Nocturnus Clan. And I am the leader, Imperator Ix. We have sent that test probe to see if our way of escape would work. It has… with very limited success. However, it seems we are still at an impasse, as our way of escaping still does not work. We have to find another way out of the Twilight Cage…"

Everyone in the room listened intently as Imperator Ix continued, "We have been trapped for four thousand years in the Twilight Cage. Our society lived in a strained peace until I began a series of successful conquest across the lands. The Nocturnus Clan managed to take much control of the world, expanding and pushing against the borders of all who opposed us. Though we were a flourishing tribal civilization with clockwork technology and waterwheels in fusion with nature, we also believed in science and industry. We gained the upper hand with our Gizoid armies as our technology grew, and we nearly conquered Mobius. But in our greed, I believe we overextended ourselves. Our technology grew unhindered, even by our standards, with no one to stop us. It was no were near the level of the technological supremacy we have developed in the Twilight Cage, but still strong. We began sending probes into space, sending out different wavelengths to communicate and locate other species and planets to expand our rule. But unfortunately, it triggered our downfall, as we made contact with an unfathomable being, one of those things in the universe and life that can't be fully explained, things you know might exist, or exist in your imagination, the being… Argus…"

Everyone remained silent, but a feeling of apprehension had washed over the room because they knew they had just stepped into something that was way over their heads, and it was coming whether or not if they wanted it so if nothing else they were not to blame.

Imperator Ix continued, "But it did not like what it saw needless to say. It is some sort of dimensional being still lingering about. We're trapped in this cage because of it. It did not like what we intended to do, so it uprooted us, as you can probably see on your maps, and many other races. We faced multitudes of cosmic horrors cohabiting in the Twilight Cage. It forced us to rapidly change from our previous technological prowess, and we became technophilic in nature to survive. Through alliances, or if we failed, direct subjugation, we have dominated the other races of the Twilight Cage. And now that we are the strongest, we are strong enough to conquer anything. And because of this… we should be powerful enough to return to Mobius and conquer anything…"

And the Freedom Fighters and Knuckles gritted their teeth in anger as the Imperator continued, "You seem to be a coherent group, and a threat because of it. To do what you have done, you must have societies, and you must have leaders, so you are in direct opposition of the Nocturnus Clan. We used to rule Mobius… and we are going to again…"

"We know about the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds… and we know they have the power we need to return…" Imperator Ix said in a callous tone.

And with what everyone was fearing and thinking confirmed, they stared at the Imperator unhappily. As if it was true that they used to dwell on Mobius, then that meant they might know some things they didn't.

Knuckles looked the most upset hearing mention of the Master Emerald as it was clear it was in danger now. Knuckles pointed a balled fist at the Imperator. "I am Knuckles, the current Guardian of the Master Emerald! If you think you're going to abuse the power of the emeralds, you've got another thing coming!"

"I am aware of the guardians. Though I do not remember all the ones we dominated, you will be unlike the others. You will fall…" and everyone growled as he continued, "We are already on our way to finalizing our return. Though all my forces could not make it through, my best are on their way to collecting both sets of emeralds. Marauder, Shade, the leader of my Marauders is on her way, and once she collects the emeralds, we will have enough energy despite the anomalies, to keep the Phase Shift running long enough to return all the Nocturnus Clan to Mobius, and those we've subjugated. With it fully powered, we will be able to analyze and fix the Phase Shift anomalies as well. And we will retake the world…" Imperator Ix said as his cyan eyes glowed ominously.

While everyone silently stared down the Imperator, Nicole gazed intently at the screen of the monitor. The guys noticed Nicole's odd behavior and wondered what was up, but they realized she was probably still fighting them in the digital realm. But the Imperator suddenly looked at her and grunted as the signal went dead and the screen filled with static. Everyone remained quiet as they stared at the screen, feeling shaken, and Sally was the first as she plopped back down onto her chair.

Sally rested her elbow and her hand in her head with a frown. "What the heck just happened?"

"Who was that?" Amy said with an upset expression.

Nicole remained quiet a little while longer, staring at the monitor as Antoine scratched his head. "That was unlike anything I've ever seen…"

"There are too many questions that need to be answered now…" Sonic said with a frown.

"Too many to be understood right now…" Knuckles said with his fist still balled in anger.

Everyone began sitting down again, trying to process what happened as Nicole walked over and placed the probe on the table. She squeezed it once more and the beeping finally stopped; it was obvious she disabled something. She spoke with an upset expression. "That was a lot of information to process at once. I have recorded the interaction so we may gather notes, and I accessed their systems while connected. They attempted to hack my systems as well, but they could not communicate with me as I blocked them."

"No kidding. We have to piece this stuff together fast." Amy said in an upset tone.

"I certainly didn't catch all that. I'll start going over it once we're done here." Rotor said with a frown.

"So, where do we start?" Knuckles frowned, looking around the table at everyone for answers.

Nicole spoke with a stoic expression, quelling their fears slightly. "We should start with the technical details first. First, I have not encountered this level of advanced technology yet…"

And her pause showed she was holding back information that pertained and had to do with her. That being all the time travel and future business stuff she always talked about. She always told them she came from the future… but she always hid why she had come back from the future to the past… and she always hid why and what her mission was about, what she was doing here, what she was doing to change things, and in situations like this, what kind of information she knew.

Because it was obvious she could understand and deal with this technology that was beyond them, but she always remained vague about any information about herself, her true past, and any information pertaining to the future. She always said it was too dangerous to know. They knew Nicole was advanced just by all the things she had helped them create… but they were sure they didn't even come close to understanding or even scratching the surface of how advanced or who Nicole even really was…

"Time travel stuff…" Bunnie inched out curiously.

"Sort of…" Nicole paused again as she looked at Bunnie donning a serious expression. "Excuse me for a moment…"

And Nicole dematerialized out of the room. Her portable was sitting on the middle of the table, and Sally pulled it closer to her. "Is there something wrong, Nicole?"

Nicole responded from her portable, and her screen flashed as she spoke "No Sally… I am just… reviewing some data…"

"Restricted files?" Tails questioned from the other side of the table?"

"Yes, those are restricted files, Tails…" Nicole responded from her portable in a neutral tone.

Tails sighed and shrugged as they waited for Nicole. There were a few chuckles from Nicole denying them yet again, but they all began chatting small talk as they tried to make sense of things. Rotor got up from his seat and gathered a notepad and pen and began writing down the questions.

What did Nicole detect? Was it really in outer space? If so, they assumed the name of that place where the Nocturnus Clan was, was called the Twilight Cage, as mentioned by the Imperator multiple times. What was the Twilight Cage? Was the Nocturnus Clan really gone for four thousand years? Was that history true? Who were they and what did they do in the past? What was Phase Shifting and how did that transport them here? How were they going to stop them? Imperator Ix mentioned that they had sent forces. Who was this Marauder named Shade? And apparently she was on her way here now. Where was she currently at and how where they going to stop her from collecting the emeralds?

These and so many other questions filled their minds as Nicole returned, rematerializing back into the room at the head of the table. Her stoic expression remained as everyone looked at her. "Excuse me. Now, I have made a threat assessment, and unfortunately I believe I must step in to help personally. The technological danger the Nocturnus Clan poses is an interference with why I was sent to the past. It interferes with… what I am supposed to do… so if I must, I will assist you with technology that will counter theirs."

Sally then gave Sonic a wise look. "Kick their butt? That was very diplomatic of you…"

Everyone chuckled as Sonic blinked his eyes and shrugged sheepishly. "Hey, I wouldn't have said it if he hadn't started talking about invading us."

And Amy defended Sonic, looking skeptically at Sally. "Well, he wasn't very diplomatic either. Even if Sonic might have ticked him off, he was still going to try and take over the world."

Sally nodded in agreement, though. Everyone was sure they were all unnerved and upset about the sudden situation they were suddenly in. And Sally looked at Nicole with her frown "All right Nicole, that's not good news. So what kind of information did you get? Do you think you have any idea what that place was, the Twilight Cage?"

Nicole was near a whiteboard, and she walked over to it and picked up a purple marker and began writing complicated math equations on the board as she spoke, and everyone watched and listened. "From the data I've gathered, this intersects into spacetime theory. However, I cannot give full details from so far away. I would have to physically interact in the space and time where the Twilight Cage resides to fully analyze what is happening there and what it is. But due to the distance and time restrictions, we cannot analyze it, anyway. I observed some strange inconsistences as I was hacking. As the time I observed their while hacking, differed from the time here on Mobius. Time is moving much faster here on Mobius and significantly slower there in the Twilight Cage. And because of that tidbit of information, I can conclude that not only is it in space, though we have maps of it in space as well now, but because of spacetime theory, and because I am not able to fully analyze the energy flow there, the time inconsistences show clearly that there is a spacetime flux of some sort that is consistent with spacetime theories and other theories that deal with other dimensions and space time influx there in…"

Nicole stepped away from the whiteboard, completely full to the brim with math equations, and placed her purple marker down. However, when she turned around, she turned to see only confused faces, and made a gesture with her holographic that showed a sigh. Her shoulders slumped, and she closed her eyes briefly, shaking her head. She learned and knew some living gestures over the years, and she guessed this was a very appropriate time to use one.

"Talk about a mouth full…" Tails said exasperated.

"So are you saying that the Twilight Cage is like… in another dimension or something?" Amy said with confusion on her face.

And Nicole nodded as she frowned. "In the simplest terms yes and not exactly because the Twilight Cage is visible somehow. But it seems the Twilight Cage may reside inside another dimension…"

Everyone's expressions became serious again as Nicole finished her statement. Somehow they had stepped into another world threatening situation, and they had to get moving quickly.

Knuckles stood from his seat with his fist balled and an angered expression on his face. "If that probe landed on Angel Island, then that Marauder and her goons could touch down there, too. I have to get back to Angel Island!"

Sonic stood from his seat with a serious expression. "I'll drop you off with the Tornado."

Sally nodded as she folded her hands and looked at the two with a frown. "We're going to get a plan together. Knuckles will be in contact. It's possible that you will need backup. We have to find out where Imperator Ix has sent his Marauder, Shade, and her forces. I need not say that if they get their hands on any of the emeralds, then we're going to have a problem. They'll have enough energy to come back to Mobius and we don't know what forces and technological power they have behind them. We just have to stop them, and that's it."

Knuckles nodded as he walked around the table with Sonic close behind as he headed for the door. "I'll contact you when I get back."

But before Sonic could walk out the door, Amy and Sally simultaneously spoke to him "Be careful Sonic…"

And then Amy and Sally locked and narrowed their eyes at one another, giving each other wise looks while the rest of the guys silently chuckled. Sonic grinned nodding at Sally and winking at Amy "I haven't flown in a while so it might be a rough flight. Thanks for caring."

Once Amy broke eye contact with Sally, she donned a tender smile as they all watched Sonic and Knuckles leave, and Knuckles became irritated about Sonic's rusty flying skills. They bickered as the doors closed. But as the doors closed and the Freedom Fighters began discussing serious matters again, Amy's smile disappeared, and her mind sort of wandered on this situation they just stepped into.

Because it was another opportunity for her to shine, because if she did, Sonic might notice her…

Thinking maybe if she did something great that he might look at her differently. She was just sure if she could impress him, he might respect her more… then they would get married…

She would wait forever for him…

Though she was running out of ideas about how to get Sonic's love. She'd tried so many things over the years that if this didn't sway him, then she would cry. But for now, she remained hopeful, as she always was, and listened to their meeting. Because if she could find Sonic first, when he returned, she was going to brief him about what was happening. And from what she was learning right now, they were in deep, no matter what way they looked at it…

Meanwhile, on Angel Island…

On one area of the island, a forest of tall, thick, lush green trees and shrubbery was serene, like many areas of nature on the floating island. But by a nearby meandering river and wind damaged trees, a strange phenomenon was happening. Out of thin air, five black figures appeared in the forest. The figures remained static for a few minutes, but soon they became solid and stood still. The leader remained still and the four others followed her lead, remaining still.

Shade, the leader of the Marauders, adorned in black, grey metallic armor with pink designs on her boots and a pink sigil on her head, seemed to come back to reality. So did her grunts dressed in similar armor, only theirs was blue in design and sigil. Shade slowly began looking around herself. She didn't feel one hundred percent as well, but she took in her surroundings first.

She could smell nothing on a count of her helmet and armor, but she could see and hear perfectly fine. The wind was rustling the trees, and the river was moving. She looked up through sun dappled leaves in the surrounding trees into the sky to see that it was evening, and the sun was most likely setting. It would be dark soon, so they had to make camp.

Though as her grunts looked around themselves, she paused, taking in the rural settings. It had been so long since she or anyone of her people had seen the light of day…

After being trapped in the Twilight Cage for so long, she had forgotten what daylight looked like… what the outside world looked like after literally being trapped in darkness for thousands of years…

It was beautiful…

But she did not express her thoughts or feelings as they trained her not to…

She instead lifted her arm silently and moved it in a circular gesture, signaling for her team to scout the area. They all nodded silently in agreement and began spanning the area. Shade stood still in her spot as she lifted her wrist and spoke "Initiate connection…"

And she waited for less than a minute when she got a response from Imperator Ix "Marauder Shade? Have you made it through?"

Shade nodded "Yes Imperator. This Phase Shifting technology really does work… we are no longer in the Twilight Cage…" but she paused "… it also seems we are short forces. Did they not make it as well?"

Imperator Ix sounded slightly frustrated. "No, unfortunately. This Phase Shifting technology is still imperfect. Only you and those four you have been transported. The rest remain here. We also have no resources or energy left to do it again. That one Phase Shift drained hundreds, maybe a thousand of years of built up reserves to attempt the Phase Shift. Changing wavelengths requires insurmountable amounts of energy. Is there any sign of the Master Emerald?"

Shade looked up and around as she spoke. "No Imperator Ix, not yet. We seem to be in a forest like area… hopefully the same where we sent the probe…"

"Very well. Are you ready to move out?" Imperator Ix questioned her.

Shade hesitated, but spoke. "I would like to say yes, but I believe there might have been some side effects to the Phase Shifting too. I feel queasy and may require a bit of rest…"

"Then do so. You are the only ones who've made it through, and the only way to do another Phase Shift is by collecting the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds. Only with their energy will we be able to accomplish our return. Rest and report back as soon as you are able. You are my best and I expect nothing less." Imperator Ix said in a stern tone.

Shade nodded. "Yes, Imperator, we will be in contact."

Then the line went dead, and she lowered her wrist as her team returned to her. She spoke to them all, "Are you to feeling ill as I am?"

And they quickly nodded in agreement as a male spoke, "Yes Marauder Shade, I do not feel as strong as I usually do."

And a female team member spoke "I feel dizzy…"

And Shade nodded at their responses. "I see. We cannot continue at the moment. We will set up camp and make movement once these ill effects have passed."

And they all saluted her, speaking simultaneously, "Yes Marauder Shade!"

So Shade and her team began moving into the forest away from the nearby river and pass strangely odd large mushrooms and toadstools that flourished in their path ahead. And Shade, for the first time in a long time, was getting distracted by being in the outside world again. She and many others had experienced nothing but the darkness of the Twilight Cage for centuries... nothing but military life and fighting for centuries…

And Shade felt a pang of doubt inside her focused and molded military mind… always focused on finding and accomplishing her next task and nothing else…

She really had the urge to just explore now that she was free from the cage… but her... training… made her look away from all the beautifully colored mushrooms and colorful red, orange, and peach leaves around herself as she and her team looked for a suitable spot to rest for the evening.

Under her mask, she donned a frown as she silenced her longing for… something else… something other than just fighting… and she and her team focused on finding a place to rest…

A few hours later back in New Mobotropolis…

Amy and Sonic were lazily relaxing on her porch. Sonic had returned just before the sun started setting, and they were watching the colorful changing colors in the sky as it became dark in the twilight of the day and transitioned into night. It was a little cooler out but still plenty warm as they still felt small beads of sweat from the humid weather. They sat in two yellow straw chairs with crimson red cushions. Amy's front door was open and her screen door let a warm breeze in her house, as the aroma of her cooking dinner permeated their noses now and then.

Sonic leaned back in his chair with his feet propped up and his legs crossed on the white railing of the porch. Though most of her house was pink, there were accent colors like on fascia's and soffit's that made her house a mix of white and pink. Amy sat next to him with her feet propped up as well, though her legs were not crossed, and they both looked up into the skies with curious expressions on their faces. People were still out and about walking on the cement sidewalks past Amy's house, as the warm weather spurred people to stay out later than usual.

She went looking for Sonic when she heard he had returned, and when she found him, she chased him because he refused to hold her hand. The guys said nothing as Sonic ran and she chased, proclaiming her love for him, as they knew she had him on lock this time, and she was going to brief him on what was going on.

She didn't actually catch him though…

He was too fast for her, so he slowed down and just took another one of her superstrength'd hugs because he was about to head home and grab something to eat. So they had been talking for a while and Amy informed Sonic about the things they had pieced together by bumping their heads. Rotor also was analyzing more information that he would have ready tomorrow. But in the next few days, they were going to be mobilizing for sure…

Amy spoke with a curious expression, but inside she was very content being able to be around Sonic in this manner. "We might have other problems as well. Nicole detected something that might be going on with Eggman too, so we might have to deal with him along with the Nocturnus Clan."

Sonic nodded, placing his hands behind his head with a slight frown. "So this Marauder, Shade, is probably already here, huh? Well, the quicker we get some info on the Nocturnus Clan, the faster we can counter them."

Amy stretched. "Does Knuckles know anything?"

Sonic shook his head as he stared up into the sky. His curious expression returned. "Nope. He said he would look into what information his people had left behind, but he still doesn't even know how he came to be. He was born on Angel Island alone, as far as he knows. All he knows is that he always lived on Angel Island, and after he found the Master Emerald and all the transcriptions about his people, he devoted his life to protecting it. He still thinks he's the last of his kind… unless you've seen any echidnas around…"

Amy placed her hands on her lap as she stared up into the skies, growing darker. She still looked curious. "Not that I know of…" Amy paused, sounding sadder "So he sort of just made up his purpose and all? I mean, no one could have dubbed him that, right?"

"Well, he has lived alone his entire life…" Sonic said curiously.

"Yeah… you're right… I understand…" Amy spoke, still sounding saddened.

And they both remained quiet for a little while, pondering about it all. As if Knuckles didn't have it hard enough living alone basically his whole life, now something was coming to threaten it. It was difficult living alone… no matter how strong you were…

But sometimes that was the situation…

And those were the hands you were dealt…

And accepting your path didn't mean you had to like it… they were sure sometimes Knuckles was angry, upset, and frustrated that he could not affect the change that he wanted…

And he realized how powerless many of us were so many times in our lives. Sometimes things were out of our control…

And many times, instead of fighting the feelings of frustration, it was just better to accept it. Instead of trying to see things better than they were when they weren't. Instead… to just wallow, face, and be with the feelings… positive… negative… as they soon would pass… everything always changed… and it too would pass…

But in Knuckles' situation, they understood his pain might have persisted much longer than others because of his circumstances and situations. And it was okay to feel negative… it was a part of this living experience… so better to embrace it and still try to push through it…

And Amy and Sonic knew theirs, and many's resolves had been broken many times over… and they didn't feel like getting back up… and many times they didn't want to…

But despite there being no reason left to go on… because there were no answers...no reason to convince… it was a person's will that decided…

Despite it all... resolve would reform… it would change… and after being broken… the fire that had led them their whole life came rushing up again… even if it was just for a little longer… and they would find the strength to push through…

The internal fire that led everyone…

Their reason…

To live or do whatever they did…

It was always there, even in their darkest times…

But soon though Amy was done pondering on Knuckles, and her attention shifted to the man of her dreams next to her as she tore her eyes away from the skies. Her eyes became half lidded as she smiled gently at him. He didn't seem to notice her as he continued to look into the twilight skies. It was time for another attempt to win over Sonic. She'd been thinking about it a lot lately, and she knew it was time to try another approach. It went against all her better judgment that she knew, but she thought, just maybe she should just… let go a little… let go just a tinsy bit…

Though she felt a great unease about letting go, as she was afraid Sonic might lose interest in her as he wasn't romantically interested in her yet. She didn't want to pull back because she wasn't afraid of expressing her love. But she knew Sonic was freedom, and he needed his space. But she still thought this was a bad idea… she didn't want to stop showing her love…

But she was running out of ideas on how to woo Sonic, so she tried it just to test it…

Amy scooted her chair closer to his and Sonic glanced over at her curiously. He almost flinched as he thought she was up to something, but she just calmly grabbed his hand and intertwined them. Sonic raised an eyebrow as she spoke with a smile. "Hey Sonic? Do you think if we ever make it out of all these conflicts that we'll still be hanging out and enjoying our free time?"

Sonic looked skeptically at her. "You mean with marriage?"

And Amy hesitated still smiling as she had the urge to say yes, but she resisted it and said the opposite "… No… not with marriage… I mean as… friends… close friends that exchange kisses now and then… but just friends…"

And Amy's heart skipped a beat, seeing Sonic's reaction. His hand stopped being so tense in hers and he looked relieved, much to her surprise. And Sonic grinned. "I hope we can enjoy the days with no worries ever again. But life will probably cause some chaos."

And Amy turned away from him, looking up into the sky again, but she did not release his hand. And much to her surprise, he did not protest again, which made her heart rush even faster. He turned to look up at the sky, slightly squeezing her hand in return, and Amy's cheeks became flushed as she lost her smile and blinked her eyes. She didn't think this had ever happened… he was accepting her…

But in doing so, he sent her emotions into overdrive, and she reverted to expressing her love with super powered hugs. She turned to him again with a blank expression. And when Sonic looked at her, he lost his grin as they locked eyes. And she suddenly squeezed his hand tighter…

She lunged at him with open arms, squeezing her eyes shut and squealing in a happy tone, "Sonic!"

But Sonic grinned as he hopped out of his chair and jumped over the railing of her porch, and she missed him completely. Amy crashed into his chair and onto the white floorboards of the porch, knocking both chairs on top of herself. Amy grumbled as she pulled herself up to see Sonic grinning as he ran away. "I'll see you later, Amy! You should probably check on your food! It smells like it's done!"

Amy held an annoyed expression that Sonic had got away, but she responded to him, "I'll see you tomorrow…" but she paused as she sniffed the air, and she could smell something burning. Her eyes widened in shock as she turned and ripped her screen door open, running inside her house. "Omigosh! My food!"

And as Amy went to recover what might be left of her dinner, the streetlights for New Mobotropolis cut on as the sun had fully set on this warm summer evening. And Amy racked her brain trying to figure out what precisely she had done differently and right in her approach this time that didn't scare Sonic away. She wasn't exactly sure at the moment, but it was the first time, and there was something there this time…

I hope you enjoyed. This is my first new venture in a while. I'm gonna see how well this is received before I write anymore. If people like it I might continue it. I don't even know if I'm going to have time to continue to write but if there's enough people that like it I will try. Thanks for reading.