AN: Hey there, everyone! Sorry for keeping you hanging on the cliff...just to...add some drama to this. The wait is finally over.

Here is the last battle.


Chapter 25 – The Final Judgement

Bubblegum's POV, Inside the Eggman Empire Fortress

"Are you sure that we are going in the right way?" said Minty.

"Good question," I said, checking my ear piece. "I'm not pretty sure after spending the last few minutes trying to find an exit."

We were walking through a long dark hall. None of us knew where we were heading to. None of us knew what hall we were in. It felt like as if we were walking around in circles.

"Maybe there is an emergency exit door nearby," said Minty.

"Oh good," I said sarcastically. "Why didn't you tell me at a GOOD TIME where the nearest emergency exit is?"

"Sorry. I didn't see any before. It likes there are none here."

A low humming noise could be heard.

We stopped and listened.

It was the glitching noise the Phantom Ruby would make.

"What…is that?" said Minty nervously.

"I don't know," I said sweating. "But what that means is that we need to get the hell out of here."

We started to run only to bump into a door. To my surprise, that door led to the lab I found earlier. At that point, all the green tubes turned to a dull colour, the pixel blocks disappeared and the whole place was flashing red.

As we ran further, the humming noise could be heard louder.

And closer.

We stopped upon seeing something black…lying on the floor.

Infinite.

But not the 'monster' we knew before.

He looked like a total train wreck.

His entire body was glitching.

His mask was crooked.

His fur was a mess.

And the ruby…

The jackal was lying down on the floor and when he slowly lifted his body up, you could see that on his chest…the ruby was starting to…crack.

Cracks were forming on the ruby and it was glowing as brightly as before. In fact, it was turning grey.

It was a disturbing sight.

I gasped.

So did Minty.

However, Infinite didn't notice us. He was focused on trying to stand up while muttering this:

"C…can't be possible…I…can't die…defeated…I'm…not weak…I'm…not weak…I'm not weak…I'm not weak… I'm not weak…I'm not weak… I'm not weak…I'm not weak… I'm not weak…I'm not weak…"

"Him?" I said shocked. "What is he doing here?"

My Pink Wisp came out and stared at Infinite with wide eyes.

Minty narrowed her eyes to see the ruby on the struggling jackal's chest. "It appears that the ruby is already thrashed at this point."

"Is he going to be OK?"

"Well…I remembered seeing another file about the Phantom Ruby…if it cracks, then it will come off, leaving a huge wound and the host will suffer blood loss. But since he is glitching, that means the ruby must have took a lot of heavy damage. This is the impact of the ruby about to glitch out from reality…and since Infinite's body is connected to that ruby…he's going to disappear as well so…probably not OK!"

At this, Infinite lifted his head up and finally saw us.

Just wow.

"You…" slurred Infinite. He slowly got up, using the wall for support and pointed at me. "…you again…"

I gulped. I realized why he was…staring at me.

"H-Hi…" I said sheepishly.

My Pink Wisp waved nervously.

"I WON'T GO DEFEATED! I WILL KILL YOU!"

At this, Infinite pounced like a wild animal towards me, but I nimbly step to the side. Infinite crashed onto the floor before getting up. He got up and raised his hand to form red energy in his palm, only for the power to die down.

His powers were nearly useless.

Enraged, Infinite stood and attempted to do hand-to-hand combat attacks. He swung his fist at me, but I quickly grabbed his fist.

I knew that this wouldn't lead to anything.

"Just…stop…" I said softly. "…enough fighting."

My Pink Wisp squeaked at me in shock as if asking why I was not fighting back. I ignored her. I wasn't in the mood to fight and I was done with hurting myself and others.

Not after Zach hurt me in Null Space.

I let go off Infinite's hand and was about to walk off, but the jackal tried to attack again. I just backed away and watched Infinite slashing his claws around, trying to scratch me.

Eventually, Minty quickly swung her leg upwards and kicked Infinite in the face.

The masked jackal fell onto the ground.

I winced.

"That's what you get," said Minty, hostility in her voice. "Let's go, Bubblegum."

The green hedgehog walked away.

I obediently nodded and walked along with her.

My Pink Wisp followed along, warily watching the defeated jackal behind.

We walked away from Infinite who was trying to get out, groaning in pain due to his body glitching. I saw a nearby emergency exit, sighing in relief. Minty was near the exit and about to open the door when…

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

I halt upon hearing Infinite screamed.

I stopped…and thought.

I made myself remember that scream.

It sounds…

…painful…

…hurt…

…emotional…

…even though it partly sounded demonic, it sounded as if Infinite was crying.

And for some reason, I had the image of the Infinite – without his mask – crying. His original face. His real individuality.

Silence filled the whole room.

The only sounds were the glitching and Infinite screaming out in pain.

I looked down.

I slowly turned around and looked at Infinite – the poor jackal struggling to get up one last time.

On the brink of death.

I felt the presence of Minty looking at me in confusion. My Pink Wisp hovered next to me, unsure how to react. I felt…uncomfortable. Knowing them, they would have a grudge over Infinite. For me?

I don't know.

I just stared at the pained jackal. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Infinite. I recognized those screams. The screams that you would make when feeling lost, upset, angry or scared. The screams you would hear when disaster struck. The screams you would hear during the war. The screams that would make them…the final time you get to raise your voice.

Just like how my friends died.

The scene of someone about to disappear forever broke my heart.

I know that before I would say that Infinite deserved this fate. He got that coming after those six months. He deserved pain, torture and punishment for all the horrible things during the war. Destroying property. Killing lives. Conquering lands. Those things are wrong. And yet, at the start of the war, I wanted to rip Infinite's head off for hurting me and killing my friends.

I remembered how much the war impacted everyone. Friends and family were lost. Many people were scarred permanently. Everyone's homes destroyed and gone. Even worse, I remembered seeing some little kids in the bunkers on their own…without their parents. The Eggman Empire is responsible for that and it is Infinite's fault for breaking everything apart.

What made me feel sorry?

Because since I saw Infinite's REAL face before, I saw that he was just a broken jackal who must have no idea of what he was actually doing.

His blue and yellow eyes told me that…he seemed to be…scared of what he was doing.

Almost like how I felt when I snapped and took my anger out on other people.

Besides, his real face was the face of a normal individual…relatable to others. It almost made him look…innocent.

I didn't know Infinite well on a personal level, but I know that it wasn't right to treat a person horribly for their mistakes. Either on purpose or not.

As I said a few days before, I did hate Mecha…BEFORE…but I didn't want him dead. I just wanted him to change and see the errors of his mistakes...by showing kindness to him. After Rookie talked with him, it worked and Mecha was starting to change.

I remembered how snappy my mother could be to my father, but the latter was fine by that.

I remembered how snappy I could be to others, but we get over it.

I wanted to make the world a better place, but in order to do that, I must learn to work with other people.

Especially with those I don't trust.

Infinite is a monster everyone knows, but that doesn't mean that I CAN'T have any concern for him.

"…because…" I thought sadly. "…because…it isn't be right. No matter what they did wrong, it's not right to take revenge. If so, I will not be better than anyone. Heroes must help others in need…even bad guys."

All of a sudden, I felt the Phantom Ruby prototype buzzing in my vest pocket.

The whole place started to glitch.

"H-Huh?!" I said, looking around. "What's happening?"

I noticed that everything started to disappear.

Even Minty and Infinite.

It was just my Pink Wisp by my side.

The whole scene glitched and changed to a small bedroom. It was quite filthy, lacked any furniture and the walls were cracked.

In Infinite's place…was a small jackal cub.

About 8 or 10 years old.

He was just crying on the floor, curling up in a ball.

Bawling his eyes out.

"I'm…not weak…" whimpered the pup. "I'm not weak…I'm not weak…I'm not weak…"

"What?" I said out loud. "I-Is this how Infinite looks like when he is younger?"

The whole scene glitched and changed again.

This time, I found myself in Eggman's Mystic Jungle HQ.

I gasped when I saw Mecha.

He was on his knees, his face in his hands…crying.

That must have been after experiencing Infinite's and Shadow's fight.

"I'm…weak…" cried Mecha. "I'm weak…I'm weak…I'm weak…"

My mouth started to tremble.

I noticed my Pink Wisp shivering at the sight of this.

Again, the whole place changed.

I was sent to another bedroom.

I realized that I was my own…back in my old house…before my parents died.

I saw myself on the bed. I was 8 years. It was the time when I was sent on a time-out and I was crying in my pillow.

That time, I looked more broken then ever.

"I-Is this all parallel to…?" I said to myself.

The place changed again one last time. I was at a treehouse in a small room.

Sitting on the bed was Rookie…he was staring out at the window with a depressed look. He was watching the night sky, the stars aligning and the bright moon rising high.

He looked…lonely.

I realized what this was all about…

The whole place glitched and I was sent back to the present to see Infinite still trying to get up, but continued to scream in pain.

I let out a shaky breath.

I turned around to see Minty, staring at me with wide eyes.

"W-What just happened?" she said. "There were red cubes surrounding your head for a while."

Minty hadn't seen the illusions I saw.

I looked at my Pink Wisp who turned on my translator of my ear piece.

"Bubblegum?" asked my Wisp. "Is this how you always see Infinite as?"

"Not like this," I said.

I looked back at Infinite.

Just what is the purpose of this war?

What is it all for?

Who is the bully of this?

Who is the hero of this?

Whose fault is it for starting this war?

Are we all messed up like each other?

Or is the world always like that?

"W-Who is really the bully here?" I thought sadly.

I felt really uneasy and sorrowful. I will admit that I had been upset a lot of times, but at that moment, I felt as if my heart would fail me. I watched as Infinite – the once mighty and feared villain of the world – struggled to get up and screamed. It almost looked like he was trying his best not to cry…like a man.

That was pretty unhealthy.

I closed my eyes…took a deep breath…and opened them.

I felt it again.

When helping the poor children back in San Francisco.

I felt…

Compassion.

Sympathetic.

Pity.

My smile showed empathy.

Infinite was going to die soon.

There was only one thing to do.

And I hoped that it would be enough to change another bully's mind.

Slowly, I walked towards Infinite.

The jackal looked up in hatred.

"What do you want?" he snarled. "To gloat about your victory?"

What an idiot.

I shook my head.

I bent down and held out my hand.

Infinite tried to scoot away.

"Just hold my hand," I said calmly. "…please…"

Infinite just looked away.

"I…it's OK. Don't worry. You will be alright."

To my surprise, Infinite seemed…surprised of my generosity. I slowly pulled Infinite into an embrace.

The jackal started to panic.

I felt it.

I felt his fur nearly sticking up, his body trembling and his large tail swinging from side to side.

"W-What…what are you doing?!" he said.

"Never got a hug from anyone before?" I said bluntly.

I looked down. I saw Infinite was forming something in his right palm. I was about to get away when the ruby cracked again and the energy formed in his hand faded away.

"Let go off me, RIGHT NOW!" yelled Infinite. "I don't need your-!"

"Just calm down!" I said, nearly snarling. "I'm not hurting you! I understand that you're scared. But don't worry too much. Don't be ashamed. Being scared…is a common feeling for everyone…including for the greatest people."

Infinite remained silent. I wasn't sure if he understood me, but he…slightly relaxed. He stopped moving around and his tail stopped as well.

"Just what the hell is the point of this?" said Infinite, this time quieter.

"I'm just trying to tell you that at least not everyone is cruel," I said. "I don't know much about you, but I don't want anyone to go through the same things I did. Anyone. An innocent person. Or a criminal. Or anyone from age 1 and up. If you continue to be THAT lonely, it would only weigh you down. I don't want people to feel down for their mistakes. You…you deserve better than that."

Infinite sighed. "…this is pathetic. You're supposed to kill your enemies when you have the chance to."

"But I saved millions of lives. You're a living being like us. It isn't right for a person to die. It is best for them to know what they did wrong first or redeem themselves. So…here's the question I WANT to ask for a long time: do you know what you were doing is wrong?"

There was a pause as Infinite thought about that.

"…it was my choice so that I could be powerful."

"That doesn't mean you get to take people's lives! Yes, some can be outright jerks, but at least there is some good in people. Whether they are good or bad on the outside. Including those you NEVER met who never did anything to you. Trust me. I know. It would be much better if you put your faith in others. It is important to help each other."

Infinite snorted. "Friendship is just a waste of space. Getting help from others makes you weak."

"Oh, believe me. It doesn't make you a failure. It makes you STRONG."

At this, Infinite let out his last breath.

I placed a hand onto his ruby. He didn't react. I felt his body glitching, twitching and trembling in pain. The ruby was about to break and disappear.

His whole body became transparent.

He collapsed onto the floor through me.

"I-I'm weak…" he whispered.

And just like that, he disappeared from existence.

Infinite is gone.

I looked down in somewhat shock. Even though it was expected, I couldn't help but feel horrified…no…PETRIFIED for seeing another death. A single tear rolled down my left eye. Even though the masked monster was gone – freeing everyone from fear – I was sad that I didn't get to hear if Infinite believed in me. Everyone would celebrate that Infinite was dead, but…I was hoping that he could redeem himself.

Sometimes, things don't go the way you want them to be.

If only Mecha helped Infinite in the first place…nobody has to suffer.

If only I knew…

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I hope you find your peace in heaven…Zero."

I slowly stood up.

I looked at my Pink Wisp.

She was…crying.

She slowly flew towards me and clung onto my chest. I returned the embrace.

"T-This is wrong…" she said. "This is so wrong…h-he hurt me…but…"

I sighed and patted her gently.

I looked behind and saw Minty's meaningful expression. She was apathetic, but seemed to be absorbing what just happened.

"At least you showed sympathy to the devil," said Minty shrugging.

I chuckled heartily. "No one is a devil. Not even Eggman."

"Let's get out of here. We can think about Infinite later."

I nodded and we went to the emergency exit. I stopped for a while to look at the position where Infinite used to be.

For some reason, I swear I saw a forest green figure with a sorrowful expression. When I blinked, that thing disappeared.

"I wonder how the members of the Jackal Squad will think about this," I thought.


Clay's POV

Upon hearing that Bubblegum destroyed the Phantom Ruby generator, everyone knew that the war was nearly over. The only thing we had to do was to capture Eggman before he came back with another attack. Sonic and I went outside the Eggman Empire to see if Tails was OK while the Resistance get ready to start the search. To Sonic's relief, the young fox was alright, but the biplane need to be repaired.

I was overwhelmed by the death of Mecha. I couldn't believe what I saw. Mecha was trying to apologize his former friend…only to be stabbed in the chest! And then…he dropped to his knees…he was glitching uncontrollably…before he…before he…

…disappeared from existence.

He wasn't doing anything wrong though. I guessed that you should be aware of who you trust in. Especially around Infinite.

I couldn't believe that Mecha was killed in front of my eyes. First those innocent people in that town and at that moment, him! He became one of my first friends and he didn't deserve to have a fate like that. Even worse, Mecha had become kinder just TWO DAYS AGO. For his whole life, he was a bully, but he changed his heart and became more sympathetic. I just started to see him in a new light on the day he changed. Yet, he died too early. I would never get to see him redeem himself.

I kept on remembering that scene. Seeing him glitching…falling over...smiling one last time. I forced myself to think about it because he was a good friend of mine.

I can't forget it.

"M-Make sure not to mech any mistakes…O-OK…Rookie?"

And then…the memory of watching my Cyan Wisp perished came to me.

Oh…Cyan…she…she had been my trusty buddy. She was a good Wisp. She helped me. But at that time, she seemed to have lost her temper and tried one last attempt to kill Infinite, but…that came to the price of her life. She didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve to die. Not after everything she went through.

Both Mecha and my Cyan Wisp should be alive.

But now…they are gone.

I winced. Having those hurtful memories playing in my mind repeatedly made me upset. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I felt…miserable. Was that what Emerald meant when she said I brood a lot? To think such bad things to make me like that? Alas, she might be right.

Ignoring Sonic – he was asking if I was OK – I just sat there on the edge of the cliff, my face towards the fortress. I was just staring in despair with my hood over my head.

In my hands was Mecha's Yellow Wisp. He was already distraught by the deaths we saw. Mecha was his partner and my Cyan Wisp was his friend as well. The small yellow alien cried the entire time while I embraced him gently.

In the distance, I saw something swinging through the fortress. Since I was crying a lot, my eyes were watery. Through my blurry vision, I could only see blurs of pink and green coming towards us before landing onto the cliff.

"Sonic!" said Bubblegum. "Tails!"

"There you are!" said Sonic in relief. "I was wondering where you went."

"Minty?" said Tails, shocked to see the green hedgehog. "You're…you're still alive?"

"It's a long story," said Minty.

I heard the sound of Tails embracing Minty.

"Whoa! Whoa!" said Minty. "It's OK! I'm fine…"

"Sorry…" said Tails, sobbing a little. "I…I thought you are dead and…"

"It's fine…I promise to not disappear again."

Tails sniffed.

"What happened so far?" asked Minty.

"Good news!" said Sonic. "We did it! Eggman's army is officially butt-kicked! The Phantom Ruby is weak now."

Bubblegum and Minty cheered in joy. Bubblegum fist-bumped Sonic.

"For a team like this," said Minty, rubbing Tails' head. "We were able to put an end to the war."

"Where's Mecha?" said Bubblegum.

Sonic's smile slowly turned to a sorrowful frown. "Oh…uh…something…something…happened to him."

"W-What do you mean?"

"He…he…Infinite…"

Bubblegum's mouth slowly opened.

Minty placed both of her hands over her mouth.

"You mean…" said Bubblegum, realizing what he meant.

Sonic sadly nodded.

Minty gritted her teeth in anger.

"Why that bastard…" snarled Minty. "Good thing Infinite died already. Good riddance to rubbish I would say."

Bubblegum just stayed silent. I glanced at her face. She didn't seem to expect that Mecha died. She might not like him, but that didn't mean she wanted him DEAD. The fact that Infinite killed Mecha for real made her feel down. I knew it. There was a pained but numb look on her face.

She slowly looked at me.

I quickly looked away.

"R-Rookie?" said Bubblegum. "I-Is that…?"

"Don't worry," said Sonic smiling, but hiding the fact that he was in grief as well. "He is able to control his powers."

"I thought that the 'Dark Wolf' is truly evil."

"For some reason, he managed to hold onto his own will."

Bubblegum was silent for a while.

She then sighed and told the others to give her some time alone.

She wanted to talk with me.

I just looked away, hearing her footsteps. She sat down next to me.

"Well…that's a nice form," said Bubblegum.

"Why…uh…thanks…" I said monotony.

"I don't get it. I thought this…'Dark Wolf' would make you sadistic. Why are you still yourself though? I know that's a good thing, but how come?"

I sighed. "It was just a test. That shadow in my dreams? He told me he did all of this – even gave me PTSD – to test if I am 'worthy' of this power. I am proven to be. Still…it hurts…"

There was an awkward silence between us.

"Is…Mecha dead?"

"Yeah…he was killed…right in front of my eyes. When Infinite stabbed him…his whole body glitched and…disappeared…also…my…my Cyan Wisp died as well…"

Bubblegum gasped. "W-What?"

The Yellow Wisp flew out of my hands and hovered towards Bubblegum and her Pink Wisp. He squeaked sadly.

Pink started to tremble, fighting to hold back tears.

Bubblegum looked like she was going to cry again. "Oh my lord…I'm so sorry."

I placed my face into my hands in grief.

"…I should have expected it. It wouldn't be surprising if a person died. This is war and anyone can die…I guess I have to get over what happened to those who died. They're gone…Mecha's gone…my Wisp is gone. I can't change that. Why can't I just save them…?"

Bubblegum sighed. "I'm…I'm so sorry…it would be much nicer if Mecha could get a second chance to be a better person…and a good life. Your Wisp helped us…every single one of us. Maybe that's how the world is. It's impossible to change it."

"I know…and in a way…a lot of people were hurt during the war…but it's all for the better…I think…"

Bubblegum gave me a slap on my shoulder. "Don't say things like that, idiot."

I sniffed and nodded. "We will still remember them…right?"

"We will," said Bubblegum. "…I don't know how Mecha's family will react to this."

I winced. Even though I didn't know Mecha's family that well, I bet that his siblings would be shocked at the fact that their brother died…excluding the mother.

We both stood up.

I looked up to see Sonic coming towards us.

"Are you OK now?" he asked softly.

I opened my mouth. "Well-"

I was cut off when a large earthquake started to shake the ground.

The entire place was shaking.

I gasped, seeing a large door from the ground sliding opened.

"Oh, c'mon!" complained Sonic. "Now what? Can't we ever just win and have that be the end of it?"

"Look!" said Tails, pointing to something coming out from the ground.

A massive grey mech with some red accents…

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" said Minty.

The Yellow and Pink Wisps started to panic.

I gulped.

Bubblegum inhaled sharply.

Both of us looked at each other, exchanging worried looks.

WE FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE MECH EGGMAN BUILT.

If we had just enough time before, we would have destroyed that mech in the fortress.

We heard Eggman laughing from the mech's loud speakers.

"Gotcha!" said Eggman from inside. "The fortress reactor was just a decoy. A true winner always keep his trump card hidden until the end."

Suddenly, our ear pieces started to ring.

"S-Sonic…what's going on?" said Vector.

"There aren't less enemies!" said Emerald. "There's MORE!"

"What?!" said Tails and Minty in unison.

I looked over the mech and saw the Resistance army far away from us. Out of nowhere, replicas formed unexpectedly, surrounding the army. All the soldiers started to clamor as many replicas marched towards them, beginning the next wave.

"How can there be so many?" said Amy.

"We can't take all of them!" said Ash.

"It's the same replicas…" said Rouge. "Shadow…Metal Sonic…Zavok…Chaos…Infinite…"

"Thousands of them!" said Knuckles.

"I thought the Phantom Ruby is useless by now!" said Angelica.

"Can this day be any worse?!" said Shark.

"What have you done?!" shouted Sonic at Eggman.

"I merely incorporated the Phantom Ruby into this Death Egg Robot," explained Eggman.

"But…that means the Phantom Ruby no longer has a vulnerable energy supply," said Tails. "It's…an INVULNERABLE ruby?"

"A good deduction, Tails. This Death Egg Robot has…no, I have surpassed Infinite to become the complete and ultimate form. The ruby doesn't have a power generator to store all the energy, but it doesn't matter now. It already has ALL THE ENERGY I NEED! Even better!"

The red energy core in the middle glowed mint green.

"Wait…" I said. "I…I know that color before…"

"It is so easy to manipulate people like you," said Eggman. "I kidnapped your brother not for fun…but for the Light Rings! I NEED HIS POWER!"

"So that's why you stole him," said Bubblegum, sounding a little tired. "For the sake for an extra power?"

"That's right! That disappointment doesn't have the courage to do what I have done! He doesn't deserve this incredible power! But since those rings are always stuck on his filthy hands and nobody can control his powers, I'm gonna have to use him as a BATTERY. The way it's supposed to be. And besides, those rings are INDESTRUCTIBLE; invincible…compared to the ruby. You will be crushed by this Death Egg Robot powered by the Phantom Ruby…"

A large powerful wave of mint green energy shook the entire world making us nearly fall.

"…and the Light Wolf. And in the end, everything will still be just as I planned!"

Sonic stepped forward, clenching his fists. "Your plan will end like all your plans do, with you sitting on a pile of busted robot parts wondering how you failed SO badly."

Bubblegum looked at Tails. "Get Minty out of here! She isn't well to fight."

"Got it!" said Tails.

Tails grabbed Minty's hand and ran out from the scene.

The robot let out another shockwave, this time, it was from the Phantom Ruby. The red shock wave nearly made us lost our balance when it spread through the land.

"Bubblegum," said Sonic, looking at us. "Rookie. Let's end this."

I nodded.

The Yellow Wisp hid in my cape.

"Shall we?" said Bubblegum with her Pink Wisp flying into her Wispon.

I smirked. "Ladies first."

Sonic and Bubblegum dashed forward and jumped onto a nearby cliff platform, making their way to the mech. I flew upwards and charged towards it, heading to the red and mint green energy core. As I flew, the mech's hands started to sway around, so I had to quickly dodge them.

Never in my life had I felt this…scared…exciting…overwhelmed…and queasy.

I quickly took a look down to see Sonic and Bubblegum who found themselves surrounded by robot clones.

"Keep him busy!" called Sonic.

"Got it!" I said.

The hands swung from every side, trying to swat me away. They even fired many rockets at me. Fortunately, I used my power to fly, teleport and transform into a shadow to protect. To be honest, I didn't know how I'm familiar with my dark powers. After dodging the arms, I charged up and flew towards one of the arms, ready to break it.

BANG!

Only for me to bang my face into the metal arm. I thought I broke my nose or skull, but thankfully I didn't.

Then I realized that the mech was INDESTRUCTIBLE.

"Oh poop," I said quietly.

The mech let out a loud roar and hit me with one of the arms.

I went flying and collided with Sonic, the two of us falling onto the floor like bowling pins.

"Sorry…" I said, quickly helping Sonic get up. "Are you OK?"

"Don't worry! I am always OK!" said Sonic before attacking incoming robots.

I flew upwards and saw Bubblegum using her grappling gun to pull herself towards the mech. She flew towards the mech, fired several spiky energy balls and kicked the energy core.

CRASH!

Her spiky shoe soles and the energy balls shattered the glass, causing it to crack a bit.

Bubblegum quickly jumped back to the cliff platform.

The mech faltered a bit.

"That's the weak point!" said Bubblegum. "Destroy that core!"

I charged towards the mech again, dodging its arms and rockets. At one part, it fired out a large red laser. I quickly formed a shield to protect myself from being disintegrated. I quickly looked down to see Sonic and Bubblegum who were able to get rid of the robots, but have to dodge many rockets that were flying towards them.

Suddenly, the mech lifted its left fist and banged onto the cliff, causing a part of the platform to break off, separating Sonic and Bubblegum. It even created a shockwave of red energy.

With the mech distracted, I charged towards the red energy core and repeatedly slammed myself into it. It started to break and I quickly flew back, forming a large energy ball.

I fired it and it flew straight towards the core.

BANG!

The glass shattered into many pieces, revealing a hatch.

All of a sudden, the robot stopped.

Smoke could be seen pouring out from the top.

The red lights started to dimmer.

And then, it leaned backwards and froze.

It was all quiet.

"IIs it over?" I said nervously as I flew down beside Bubblegum.

BANG!

"Looks like not!" said Sonic.

We kept hearing bangs, seeing the hatch trying to open. And then…

BANG!

White tentacles burst out of the hatch and something else came out of the hole. It was a three-headed mech with a large head, two smaller heads on the sides and smaller cord-like appendages below it, each with a single eye. It was white and had eight long tentacles with three-clawed hands. It was almost the same size as the mech.

"I'M…BACK!" said Eggman in a sing-a-long voice.

"OK…" said Sonic. "That…is unsettling."

The monster leaped off the mech, leaving it to fall to the crater below. It flew above us and a large purple aura surrounded it.

The place was starting to change too.

Everything started to turn black and the three of us found ourselves on a dark blue platform made from pixel blocks.

"Null Space?" said Bubblegum, looking around. "Again?"

The mech widened its tentacles, letting out big waves of red energy before roaring.

The large shockwave should be enough to take us down, but we quickly kept our balance.

"Oh well," said Sonic. "This would make things more fun!"

"Ya think?" I said.

"End this, guys!" called Knuckles. "Defeat him!"

"Let's go!" said Sonic.

The mech fired lasers and rockets at us, so we quickly dodged them. Together, we all ran towards the mech, getting closer enough to damage it. Sonic used his homing attack to repeatedly hit the mech in the head and on the tentacles.

At this, its tentacles fired cyan missiles at us. We were able to dodge them and kept running for towards the mech. Again, Sonic attacked the mech again, using his homing attack to hit the three heads of the mech.

We kept running towards it and Sonic used his homing attack.

To finish it off, Sonic grabbed my hand and pulled me up into the air. Everything went into slow motion and both of us did a fist bump.

"DOUBLE BOOST!" yelled Sonic.

I felt an explosion of energy in my body.

We both blasted forwards and charged through the mech.

KABOOM!

As soon as we blasted through the mech, we landed onto another platform from behind the mech.

"That was fun," said Sonic with a grin as he wiped his hands together.

I slowly nodded and got up, trembling a bit. That…that…that was SO MUCH FUN. I felt adrenaline going through my veins and sweat coming down from my face. I would be freaking out, but I actually had a…good time doing that. I almost felt like an out-of-control rocket.

"Alright!" called Bubblegum, punching her fist in the air in the style of horns.

We looked at the mech.

It started to break down.

Smoke and fire pouring out from the holes we made.

Blue electricity could be seen sprouting out from the suit.

There were explosions happening on several parts of its body.

It was…shaking violently.

At that point, it started to…expand.

The mech let out a roar before its entire body exploded.

KABOOM!


Mecha's POV

The next thing I know was…hearing…things.

There was a low humming noise not too far away.

What is that?

The Phantom Ruby?

A robot?

Is Infinite back?

The war isn't over yet?

There were a lot of questions that filled my mind.

Mostly, I was trying to figure out what the sound was. But then…the word 'why' entered my mind.

Why am I hearing all this?

AM I dead?

I remembered SO WELL that Infinite stabbed me in the chest. I felt myself glitching and disappearing. I swore that I was dead. Nobody could survive being stabbed. Not even the most strongest person on Earth unless they have tough-as-leather flesh.

Why?

I struggled to open my eyes.

When I came to, I felt my face lying on the…ground.

I placed my right hand, trying to lift myself up.

Only for me to fall down.

I let out a squawk as pain shot through my right arm.

"Pinii și acei proști!" I grumbled.

('Pinii și acei proști' means 'stupid pins and needles' in Romanian)

It turned out, my WHOLE body was stinging in pins and needles. Including my tail.

I groaned in pain.

When the numbness faded away, I finally pulled myself up. It took me a while – as my feet felt like it was the first time I was walking – but I made it.

I groaned again as I tried to move my tail a bit. It didn't really help as what I only received was an awkward pain in the butt.

I looked around.

I was in some kind of…void.

Everything was black with purple grid lines. I was on a platform formed by purple and blue cubes. It was pretty quiet and creepy, but it was pretty cool. It looked like some kind of nostalgic world in a 8-bit game or a futuristic room like the TRON game.

Kind of beautiful.

This raised the question.

Am I dead?

Is this the afterlife?

Just what the heck happened?

CLONK!

Something hit me on the head and I fell down.

I groaned again, concentrating on the pain on my head.

As I rubbed the bump, I spotted the thing that hit me.

Rookie's Cyan Wisp.

She squeaked in pain and rubbed her head with her tentacle.

I picked her up gently.

I was surprised by the fact that…she was with me. It wasn't possible. But since she was killed by Infinite...

"What the hell is going on?" I said.

She babbled and shook her head, showing that she wasn't sure what just happened as well.

I shook my head.

"Do you know where we are?"

She shook her head.

A question came into my mind. "If…if I am dead…am…am I…this…this 'ghost' now?"

I looked at my left arm and flexed my hand. The singlet sleeve was still…camouflage green. There wasn't a glowing aura around me. I wasn't completely in my own feather color. My body didn't appear to be transparent. I was all...in the flesh and the real bones.

I looked back at Cyan. Her eyes were still orange, so that meant that she wasn't a ghost as well.

"W-What?" I said to myself. "I…I don't understand. Am I…dead?"

"Well, pretty much dead on the inside if I have to say," said a voice.

I froze at the familiar voice.

A too familiar voice.

I turned around.

Standing right in front of me with hands on hips was a female jackal all in forest green and had a flaming green aura.

"T-Tempest?" I said, tilting my head. "Is that you?"

Tempest smirked. "The one and only."

I became so overwhelmed. To think that I would see the deceased members of the Jackal Squad brought me back many memories. I remembered how I enjoyed hanging around with them and getting to know them before they…before they…

I shook my head.

Tempest sighed.

"You know that you have better things to do," she said. "Go stop Eggman and end this war."

"Hold on," I said. "Can you please tell me what is going on?"

Tempest rolled her eyes. "We have no time for that. Just go and-!"

I grabbed her arm and gritted my teeth. "I…want…answers…NOW."

There was a moment of silence.

Tempest sighed in annoyance. "Fine then."

"First," I said. "What happened after I…eh…disappeared?"

The jackal flexed her arms. "Well…after your fight with Inf-I mean Zero…Eggman came up with a back-up plan. The Phantom Ruby now doesn't need an energy source. And the Light Wolf…he is still alive."

I gasped. "T-that means…"

My face went pale.

So we didn't win the war after all.

ALL FOR NOTHING.

With the Phantom Ruby still out there, Eggman is still invincible.

Before I could come to conclusion, I asked another question.

"What happened to Infinite?" I said. "Zero. My friend."

Tempest sighed. "Mecha, I-"

"Please tell me."

She shook her head. "I…I don't really want to-!"

"TELL ME!"

I quickly covered my beak. I didn't mean to snap, but I need to know. Tempest sighed and held out her hands. A mini screen formed in her hands.

I gasped at what I saw.

There…Infinite…lying on the ground…screaming…glitching…about to die. That was when Bubblegum comforted him. She reminded him that there are still good people out there despite the bad things in life. For once, Infinite listened to someone when under the possession of the Phantom Ruby. When it appeared that things would be alright, Infinite fell through Bubblegum…and disappeared.

I was in denial. I couldn't help but break down again. Seeing my former friend disappearing from existence made me go down on my knees and bawled my eyes out.

So far, I had three breakdowns on that day. The first was being forced to tell about how I met Infinite, the second was mistaking that my friends were gone and the third…this one was real.

Zero is gone.

My old friend.

It was my fault.

After a few seconds, I stopped crying. I stood up, wiping away my sad tears.

"Is…Zero…still around?" I asked. "You know…in the state…you are in?"

Tempest thought for a while. "I…I don't know. I'm sorry."

I looked down and nodded. "But what about me? Am I dead?"

Tempest smiled and shook her head. "Not quite."

"W-What?" I said confused.

"At the time you were killed, the Phantom Ruby prototype started to break. That illusion sword that went through your chest…it malfunctioned. Fizzled out of control. It didn't kill you, but it teleported you to this place."

The Cyan Wisp squeaked at her.

"Don't worry, girl," said Tempest. "You're still alive as well."

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHH!

It came from my stomach. Looking down, I lifted up my shirt and checked my belly. It didn't have any wounds, but…there was a painful feeling in my gut.

"It still has some effect on your intestines," said Tempest smirking.

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHH!

I rolled my eyes. "OK…I…I didn't expect to still be alive…but why?"

Tempest rolled her eyes. "Because the Phantom Ruby wasn't working! Isn't it obvious?"

"But why ME?" I said in self-doubt. "Why would I still be alive? After everything I've done? After what I did? After I killed Zero?"

Tempest shook her head. "Maybe you're lucky."

"Lucky or not, I should be dead."

Tempest shook her head. "No. You're alive and that's what matters."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" I said, getting frustrated. "Why of all people am I supposed to exist?! My parents were horrible and I was treated like dirt! I treated others like dirt! I treated my teammates like dirt! And look at what that led me to!"

I felt tears reforming in my eyes. "I haven't been a good person. Not for a while. I abandoned my own family, abandoned my friends and now I lost the first friend I'd made! I just want everything to stop and lie down on the ground for once, but for some reason, the grace of God kept torturing me in the hellish world! Maybe it is best if I just die. The world is better off without mistakes like me. I shouldn't exist. I should die. I shouldn't be here. I…I…I…"

I trail off when I started to hyperventilate. Tears started to roll my face and breathing became SO HARD. I felt as if billions of weights were pulling me down. I nearly lost conscious when Tempest grabbed me by the shoulders.

"Mecha!" she scolded. "Stop! Are you trying to be weak in front of me?"

"STOP SAYING THESE THINGS OF BEING 'STRONG OR WEAK'!" I shrieked, pushing her away. "I'M TIRED OF LIVING! YOU JUST GOT LUCKY BECAUSE YOU WERE KILLED!"

My hands went through her body.

I covered up my face, hiding my eyes.

I felt ashamed.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "I…I'm just so upset of myself."

Tempest sighed. "It's alright. I'm...fine with being dead. No beef towards Shadow. You just missed those you loved and lost, do you?"

I nodded. At this, my eyes were red and sore from crying.

"Maybe being a hero might be a bit too much," said Tempest. "You still got to fight for what you think is right for you and others."

"I'm not a hero," I said softly.

"Maybe not…but everyone deserved a chance to live. You know that you are being a bit selfish at the moment. Your new friends gave you a chance and look at how that changed you."

I got to admit, that warmed my heart a bit.

I smiled a bit. "I…I guess…I…I was concentrating a bit on myself at this moment…you really know how to get people around."

Tempest smiled. "There is still one thing to do. Please…stop Eggman for me. Avenge the Jackal Squad."

I nodded, but still feel worried about myself. I noticed that Tempest was starting to fade away.

"Kick Eggman's butt for me, keep living on, enjoy your life, don't think of yourself as weak, say to my brother Ryder…I will always be there for him and oh, watch out for Fender," she said.

"Wait, what?" I said, confused of her last two requests.

"Keep on going, bird."

Before I could ask what she meant, Tempest…was already gone.

I fell onto my knees. Questions came into my mind. So…I get to still live after everything I did? After my mistakes? After the horrible things I shouldn't have done in the first place? I get a second chance?

It was too much and my head was starting to hurt from…everything I gone through.

I cried again.

But…this time…

…I felt relieved.

I smiled as I cried silently.

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

I found myself to be actually grateful to be able to live again.

"Thank you," I chirped to no one. "Thank you for letting me live."

I smiled and slowly got up, wiping away my tears.

The Cyan Wisp looked at me in concern. She was…crying as well.

"You're OK," I said. "Are you?"

Cyan shook her head and nuzzled into my chest. Feeling sorry, I placed my hands over her, letting her cry for a while. She must have been so overwhelmed by the war…like me…like Rookie. I let her drain out her sadness for a while, rubbing her gently.

We stood there for a few minutes.

Suddenly, I heard a boom from somewhere.

I looked around.

To my surprise, I saw…some kind of mech far away from me.

Cyan quickly flew out and pointed at it, babbling in excitement.

"What is that?" I thought to myself.


Clay's POV

Everything went white.

My vision went blurry and my ears were ringing.

When everything went back to normal, I saw that Sonic, Bubblegum and I were still in Null Space.

At that moment, the entire place changed.

The walls changed from black to a beautiful blue and pink gradient with noticeable glitches.

We saw the mech falling down into the endless pit below. That was when ANOTHER hatch opened and out came Eggman.

He was riding in his Egg Mobile, covered in black ashes and bruises due to the explosion. To my shock, there was hand connected to the back holding…

"BELT?!" I said out loud.

It must be him. He was in a poor state. He was out-cold and his glasses were gone. There were bruises all over his body and his fur was dirty. His arms were hanging out over the hand's fingers, showing his mint green rings connected by wires that attached to the mobile. I could see energy flowing through those wires.

Eggman flew towards us, ticked-off. His face was red and his mustache was disheveled. There was a fiery wrath in those weird eyes of his.

I gulped at this.

"You…you ANNOYING PESTS!" he snarled. "Well...it doesn't matter now that my physical mech is destroyed. You end up not killing me anyway!"

Sonic just smirked. "Is that all you've got?"

"No, but thank you for asking."

At this, he took out the Phantom Ruby.

"WHAT?!" said Bubblegum. "I-It's still intact?!"

Eggman flashed an evil grin and the Phantom Ruby reacted.

A white flash spread throughout the place.

BOOM!

Eggman laughed wickedly when everything went back to normal.

"If you think ONE Death Egg Robot isn't enough…then how about a HUNDRED Death Egg Robots?"

My eyes widened opened as I saw the replicas around us. They were the same gigantic mechs we encountered before including some new ones that I never saw before.

Death Egg Robot.

Egg Dragoon.

Queen Bee Robots.

Whatever the hell they were.

"All in one," said Sonic sarcastically. "What a surprise."

The robots attacked.

I quickly flew upwards.

Sonic dashed to the side.

Bubblegum used her grappling gun to get away.

Unfortunately, we only bumped into more incoming replicas. We tried to attack them, but they outnumbered us and it was overwhelming.

Sonic tried to use his homing attack, but he was only tossed around like a beach ball.

Bubblegum tried to land a single hit only to be thrown to the side dangerously.

I tried to use my powers or create a shield, but there were too many mechs. I felt pain on each side of my body as they punched me around like a punching bag. I couldn't help but cry out in pain.

"Must be how that bag feels when I punched it," I thought grimly. "I wonder if it is still hanging at my treehouse."

Eventually, I turned into a shadow and flew upwards, getting through the robots.

I spotted Eggman laughing like a psycho as he watched the scene in glee.

I saw the unconscious Belt.

He looked…hurt.

Used as a battery.

I won't let Eggman do that to my brother.

With a loud roar, I charged towards Eggman. He noticed me and pressed a button. I didn't care. I knew that I would be able to get through his attacks. A large cannon appeared in front of the mobile and shot a beam of white light at me.

I got caught in it.

I let out a scream of pain. It felt so…painful. It felt like I was on fire.

Finally, the laser stopped and I turned back into my wolf body. I struggled to hold my position, but I fell. I quickly revived and managed to float in the middle of the mechs. I looked up to see Bubblegum and Sonic falling towards me so I quickly made a dome shield around us, breaking their fall.

The bad news was that we were surrounded.

I looked up to see Eggman grinning. The cannon lights were glowing mint green. I realized that he was using Belt's powers to power up his mobile.

And as a demon-like wolf, my weakness was the light power.

"This is bloody bad…" I said.

"Uh…" said Bubblegum. "Sonic…can we wipe all of them out? With the…Chaos Emeralds?"

"Well…sorry," said Sonic sheepishly. "I don't have them."

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah. Even though I used them, I don't get to keep them. They got scattered everywhere when the war began. I would have looked for them for the past three days, but…I didn't think I need them."

Bubblegum's face turned red. "You IDIOT! They could have be the only solution to win this freaking war!"

"And you just noticed that JUST NOW?" I said.

"You know, Dark Wolf," called Eggman. "You can still join my empire and rule the world if you want!"

"He would rather 'HE DIE' then joining you!" snarled Bubblegum.

"Umm…" I said. "I rather not 'he die', but any other option than joining you is better."

"C'mon…" said Eggman mockingly. "Last chance. Join me…or give me those rings."

I just looked at him with a glare. "Eggman…I know how important this may be to you…but I will never let the future of the world rest in your hands."

At first, Eggman frowned…before laughing insanely.

"Very well then…" he said lifting up his Phantom Ruby. "Robot army, ATTACK-!"

Out of nowhere, a figure flew by and roundhouse kicked Eggman in the face, stunning the mad scientist. The Phantom Ruby was sent flying into the air until the figure caught it. The figure quickly used the ruby to teleport away and landed onto another platform away from us.

It was…

"MECHA?!" shouted Bubblegum.

"MECHA?!" exclaimed Sonic.

"MECHA?!" I yelled.

"Did anyone missed me?" said Mecha.

My jaw dropped opened.

It…it can't be.

I…I swear I saw him died.

Unless…no.

He isn't a ghost.

He isn't in one color and there is no flaming aura around him.

I felt something pelting me in the face. I turned aside…to see my Cyan Wisp.

"C-CYAN?!" I said in shock. "You're alive?"

It was sure my Cyan Wisp.

She squeaked happily as she flew around me.

Mecha lifted the Phantom Ruby into the air and everything went white again.

When the flash disappeared, so did the entire mech army.

Every replica disappeared.

We were safe for now.

The whole place turned golden.

Including Mecha.

His feathers turned gold (what I mean is orange-yellow) and his beak turned a shiny texture of metallic gold. All the colors on his clothes – except for the black parts – turned gold and shiny metallic gold. His eyes turned purple. The scar on his face had turned tan.

Whelp…he got the skin color he wanted.

And oh, he had a sparkling golden aura around him, spouting out magic sparkles.

Sonic clapped. "WHOO! Good performance!"

Mecha smirked and bowed down. "Why, thank you."

"Mecha?!" said Bubblegum, her face pale. "You're still alive?"

"T-this can't be possible!" yelled Eggman. "I thought you-"

"Fell from a high building and got stabbed in the chest?" said Mecha frowning. "I'm not going to die until the war ends!"

Eggman growled. "You pudgy pigeon! Give that back to me!"

Mecha got into an attack position. "Oh, you want the ruby? Come and get it!"

KAPOW!

A lightning blast strike from behind Mecha.

When the white light cleared…it revealed…

Fender.

A FREAKING 35O FEET TALL FENDER.

She was larger than anyone else.

She just…stared at us…with those freakish eyes. Her eyes were black with tiny white pupils.

Everything went silent.

I was staggered.

Bubblegum was stunned.

Sonic was confounded.

Even Eggman was dumbfounded.

Mecha was…speechless.

Without moving a single muscle, the bird shifted his eyes to see the giant Fender.

WHO WAS RIGHT BEHIND HIM.

"Ah, ****," swore Bubblegum.

Fender let out a blood-curdling screech and grabbed Mecha. She took the Phantom Ruby from him with her free hand.

"MECHA!" Bubblegum and I yelled.

Fender threw the Phantom Ruby and Eggman quickly caught it.

"Ha ha!" said the mad doctor. "Got it! Though…I wasn't expecting that...but I was expecting not to expect something, so it doesn't count."

"Well, that's a failed experiment…for the right reasons," said Sonic.

"Whatever. Now…all I have to do is to end YOU."

He made another robot army which surrounded us.

I broke the shield and we landed onto a platform.

The robots were coming in.

We looked up to see Eggman who was riding away.

"Let's get him!" said Sonic, ready to charge through the robots.

However, Bubblegum had other plans.

She used her grappling gun to swing to Fender.

"Wait!" I said. "What are you doing?"

"Worry about Eggman!" said Bubblegum as she flew off. "I'll worry about Mecha!"

I looked at Sonic and we both nodded. My Cyan Wisp quickly hung onto one of my curved ears. Sonic grabbed my hand and we both felt another surge of energy going through our bodies.

"DOUBLE BOOST!" shouted Sonic.

We both broke into a fast run and charged through the robot army after Eggman.


Bubblegum's POV

I swear to God that I will NEVER EVER SEE FENDER AGAIN.

But at that moment, it got worse.

She appeared.

AGAIN.

This time, she was the height of the Statue of Liberity.

I would have faint at the sight of this, but I had to pinch myself.

I had to save Mecha.

I made my way to Fender who was shaking Mecha around like a toy. The bird was screaming at the top of his lungs as he tried to break free from the jackal's grip. This encouraged me to not lose focus on saving Mecha. I jumped and fired my grappling gun at the jackal's nose. When I pulled myself up, she let out a distorted scream that nearly blew my ears off.

Maybe pulling on a child's nose must be a mistake.

Once I was close, I kicked Fender in the face. The jackal stumbled backwards, giving me enough time to run towards Mecha who was caught in the jackal's right hand.

"Can you somewhat turn invisible and get yourself out?" I asked, trying to pull the fingers off the trapped bird.

"I'm not a ghost!" said Mecha. "I'm still alive. Flesh on bones. See?"

"But your entire body is gold and you have an aura."

"I just used the Phantom Ruby to make myself look like that! It makes me look good!"

"But how come you're still alive?"

"One: I will tell you about it later. Two: GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Unfortunately, Fender revived and grabbed me. I screamed as her filthy fingers wrapped around my torso.

"HaH!" she said in that manly voice again. "gOt HiM!"

"You let us go, you big fat idiot!" I hissed.

With my arms freed, I took out my Wispon and shot out spiky energy balls at Fender's head. However, they just want through the giant illusion like they were nothing. Fender started to babble like a baby and swung Mecha and me around like dolls.

I made the mistake of looking down.

Below us was the bottomless void.

I felt sick.

If Fender let go off us, we would be doomed.

"This is bad!" I said. "How do we stop her?!"

"I have an idea!" said Mecha. "Use the Phantom Ruby prototype!"

My eyes lit up. Why of course?! Why didn't I thought of that before? I could have just used my prototype to get rid of that stupid robot army AND Fender in the first place.

Smiling, I took out my prototype.

Fender laughed like a murderer…until she saw the prototype.

"NaNi?!" she shouted, her eyes widening up in horror.

"Say hello to my little friend!" I said, slamming the prototype into the arm.

The Fender illusion exploded into white particles, letting out her last retarded scream.

Fender was gone.

That was when gravity ensued.

Even though we were no longer were held hostages of a giant, Mecha and I fell down towards the bottomless void.

Luckily, there was a platform below us and we landed onto the platform hardly.

BANG!

CRUNCH!

"…ow…" I groaned.

I slowly got up despite the stupid pain.

I looked up to see Sonic and Rookie still chasing after Eggman while fighting through the robot army.

"Looks like we got some catching up to do," I said, turning to Mecha who was just lying on the platform.

"I'm starting to think that Infinite shouldn't meet Fender in the first place," he said deadpanned.


Clay's POV

Sonic and I dashed through the robots and got closer to Eggman. The mad doctor was flying away in his mobile, using the Phantom Ruby to create more robots. We just smashed right through them like they were nothing. We were focusing on stopping Eggman.

"This is too easy!" said Sonic, grinning.

"It's not over yet," I said.

At this, Sonic leapt into the air and tried to use his homing attack to hit Eggman…only for the mobile to let out a shockwave of green energy, blowing the hedgehog away. I was even caught in the blast, flying away.

Sonic landed onto the platform. He charged forwards and jumped upwards, about to do another homing attack when something else appeared.

It was Metal Sonic.

Again.

"Metal?!" said Sonic in disbelief.

As he went flying towards the robot, it kicked him upwards before grabbing him by the throat. Sonic struggled to break free while trying to punch the robot. I watched as the two soared through the air.

I flew towards them, but that cyborg just threw Sonic at me. He collided with me and both of us started to fall down to the bottomless void.

I quickly created a shield around us and flew upwards only for the flying robot to quickly grabbed the shield with its hand. It started to press its claws onto the shield walls, causing the walls to break. Cracks could be seen, spreading all over my force shield.

My heart started to fail me at the sight of this.

I tried to mend the shield or fly towards Eggman, but that metal replica of Sonic was too strong.

Eggman let out a maniacal laugh. "YOU PESTS THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT A STRONGER VERSION OF MY CREATION?!"

"This is bad…" I kept saying as the shield started to break. "This is bad…"

"It's OK if you can't do it," said Sonic. "I know you can do it!"

"I'm doing my best, but I can't move!"

Out of the blue, Bubblegum came flying and kicked the robot out of the way, landing onto the shield.

Metal Sonic went flying before quickly reviving.

It charged towards her and she quickly lifted up her Wispon. Its claw-like hand struck against the weapon and the two were having a match of pushing each other off on the shield. The robot quickly kicked Bubblegum in the air and grabbed her by the throat.

"NO!" I screamed.

With the shield still surrounding Sonic, I turned into a shadow to fly out of the shield, quickly turned back to my wolf body and pounced onto the robot.

However, it grabbed me by the face and threw me aside.

I was sent flying and hit Bubblegum, but I quickly hovered upwards and grabbed Bubblegum by her hand.

Metal Sonic's attention diverted to Sonic as it resumed trying to break the shield. The blue hedgehog just glared at the robot, ready to fight back.

Eggman was laughing at this, looking excited to see Metal Sonic about to rip Sonic to pieces.

"Game over, losers!" he said.

"Not yet!" said a voice.

"Huh?"

Everything went into slow motion as Mecha flew into the scene…towards Eggman.

"WHAT'S UP, ****ER?!" he yelled.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH-!"

The doctor let out a girly scream before Mecha slammed into him. Once on top, the bird slapped him on the face before grabbing the Phantom Ruby.

"Pathetic," sneered Mecha.

"METAL!" yelled Eggman. "GET HIM!"

But Mecha already took control of the ruby…and that freaking robot disappeared in a flash.

"Alright!" said Sonic.

Mecha smirked…only for something to grab him. Unknown to him, a large hand came out from the right side of the mobile and caught the bird by the legs.

"Argh!" squawked Mecha in surprise. "Again?!"

"Get us up there!" said Sonic.

I nodded and deactivated the shield. I then used my power of levitation to lift Sonic upwards while I threw Bubblegum upwards.

I hovered upwards.

The three of us landed onto the edge of the mobile, cornering Eggman.

"You are so dead," snarled Bubblegum.

Eggman's only reply was to press a button, activating three more hands to come out from the sides of the mobile. Sonic and I got caught, but Bubblegum managed to jump away from the incoming hand.

Eventually, she jumped off the mobile and grabbed onto the hand that was holding Belt.

"Hey!" yelled Eggman as the third hand tried to grab Bubblegum who quickly moved away. "Hold still!"

I let out a low growl and my aura started to expand.

Eggman turned around to face me and I was ready to let out a burst of energy, when he pressed a button.

I saw electricity running through the arm before it…came to me.

Before I could figure out what was going to happen, I was assaulted by electrical shocks.

ZAP!

It was painful and my body felt like it was on fire again. This must be how it feels like when being attacked by a police taser. I couldn't scream. After being electrocuted for exactly 10 seconds, the electricity turned off.

I groaned in pain.

I felt so…weak.

Wait a minute…

When I groaned, it sounded normal…not gruff.

I took a glance at my fur.

It reverted back to turquoise.

I wasn't surrounded by an aura anymore.

"What?" I said.

"Oh…" said Eggman. "Just an electric shock to pacify your powers. You won't be able to use them for a few minutes or hours."

I bit my lips.

Great. So getting shock by electricity would shut down my powers for a while.

At this, I saw my Cyan Wisp and the Yellow Wisp came out of my vest. Even Bubblegum's Pink Wisp even joined them.

The three Wisps let out loud screeches before swooping at Eggman.

However, the doctor was prepared.

He threw out three capsule pods and they captured the Wisps, dropping onto Eggman's lap. The three Wisps started to bang against the strong glass, crying in rage or pleading for help.

"HEY!" Sonic screamed. "DON'T YOU DARE HURT THEM!"

Meanwhile, the arm that held Mecha swung around until he lost his grip on the Phantom Ruby.

The ruby flew upwards and Eggman caught it.

"DROP THAT RUBY RIGHT NOW, YOU BIG JELLY OF MARGARINE!" yelled Sonic. "AND RELEASE THOSE WISPS! OR ELSE YOU'RE GOING TO BE SORRY!"

"Oh, don't you dare complain to me," chuckled Eggman, holding the ruby up for all of us to see. "The only thing I'm going to be sorry about is that none of you will be alive to see the Eggman Empire rising to ultimate power! I'll get rid of you, the Resistance and everyone to make room on Earth for me to create Eggman Land. Even if that means wiping every living being on Earth. The world will be mine. ALL mine."

"And then what?" said Mecha in disgust. "What in the universe could possibly be the point of owning an empty, devastating planet? Isolation is pretty unhealthy, especially for a lunatic like you!"

"Ah…you have such little imagination! But that's understandable. After all, none of you are as smart or powerful as me. None of you or even that knucklehead of a leader have absolutely no idea how to rule the world…let alone lead an army who eventually drop like flies. Can't you see? It's not the world that I want. It's the entire universe! And with the Phantom Ruby, I get to do ANYTHING I WANT. But I have to start with Earth first."

As Eggman blathered on about his plans for total imperialism on the world, he failed to notice Bubblegum trying to pry Belt out from the hand. Despite her efforts, the metal hand's fingers were made of metal and tough to pull off. She was able to pull some of the wires out from the rings to stop the energy to transfer into the mobile.

"Please, Belt…" said Bubblegum. "Please wake up…"

I winced.

I would say the same thing to my brother.


Third Person's POV

Belt couldn't remember what happened after he passed out. All he knew was that Infinite knocked him out and everything went dark.

He slowly opened his eyes and stood up.

He looked around.

There was nothing.

Just darkness.

No light.

No people.

No machine.

Nothing.

The place he was in was completely deserted.

"Hello?" called Belt. "Is anyone here?"

No reply.

Just before he could do anything else, he felt something strange.

It was coming from his left arm.

Even though he didn't have any glasses on, he managed to make out the image of his arm.

Coming under his glove was…white.

Pure whiteness.

It was spreading across from the wrist to the elbow.

It was like how his brother got covered in darkness.

"What the-?" he whimpered. "What is this?!"

He started to panic. The whiteness covered his entire left arm and continued to spread across his body. Finally, when his fur was fully white, he felt…powerful.

Screaming, he let out a big wave of light energy.

When the transformation was over, Belt breathed heavily. There was pain, but for a brief moment. He slowly opened his eyes. He saw that his appearance had changed.

For some reason, he could see better without his glasses.

His fur was pure white and his eyes turned mint green. The utility belt and the purple parts of his shoes turned mint green. His vest turned into a long white cape with a hood and he was surrounded by a mint green aura.

"W…what happened to me?" he said to himself. "Is this…how I look like with my powers?"

Blinking, Belt looked up. The whole place turned into a large white landscape with mint green waves in the sky.

"Where am I?" he thought.

"Hey there, our son," said an echoing voice.

Looking up, Belt saw two people in front of him.

They were slightly taller than him and both wearing brown slightly ripped robes with hoods, dark grey body suits and black boots. Looking at their faces, the left one was a light purple female wolf and on the right was a blue male wolf.

Belt immediately recognized them.

"M-Mum?!" said Belt in shock. "Dad?!"

"It's been a long time since we last saw you," said Booth, the blue wolf.

"Good to see you again," said Dory, the light purple wolf.

They went up to Belt, but he quickly took a few steps back.

"Wait!" he said. "Please don't touch me!"

"Why?" asked Booth.

"I don't want to hurt you…"

"We know that you won't hurt us," said Dory.

"But I hurt you before with my powers and…" trailed off Belt, having tears in his eyes.

The two wolves just slowly walked to him. Dory bent down and touched his face.

"We know that you won't hurt us," said Dory again.

Belt nodded slowly. This must be a dream. "I'm…I'm so sorry for…"

"It's OK," said Booth. "We're fine."

"How are you fine? I killed you!"

"Not really," said Dory.

"What are you talking about?"

Dory was about to explain when she quickly closed his mouth. "…I'll explain that to you later."

"I wish I've never got those rings before," whined Belt.

"It's OK," said Booth. "We forgive you. Even though it was wrong to find something unknown, at least you know how to use them. Just be grateful for the rings you got."

Belt sighed and looked away. "What's the point when they kill people?"

"They don't. Clay used his rings wisely."

Belt looked up in surprise. "H-He did?"

"Yes," said Booth. "You might have locked his powers, but when Eggman used you, this unlocked Clay's powers. He learnt how to use them and for good responsibilities."

"The powers you and Clay have are special," said Dory. "They don't kill people; they save people from danger."

Belt was silent for a while. "I-It's just that…I'm worried that we might accidentally hurt people with those rings."

"It's alright," said Booth. "We know you won't. YOU know you won't. Even by accident, you know you didn't do it by heart."

Belt sighed again. "I-I don't know what to do…I'm lost and I have been separated from Clay for a long time! I don't know how he will feel when I told him that I lied to him in the first place! I-I just want to be a family with him and you again!"

He started to break down and hugged himself, sobbing uncontrollably. Tears were rolling down his face.

"Belt," said Dory, stroking Belt's hair softly. "It's alright. Don't blame yourself. You know that what you did was an accident. We might be gone, but that doesn't mean that the memories of us are gone. We will STILL be in your heart, your memory and your life. We will meet again, but not after a long time. For now on, keep moving on and take care of Clay. He may not forgive you straight away, but you know that he will still be with you, because…he is your brother. The entire family will always be with you no matter what."

Letting out another sob, Belt hugged his deceased parents, wanting some physical affection from his parents after being separated from them. He knew that it was a dream, but it was his only change to meet his parents again.

Strangely, it felt real.

"Don't be sad," said Booth. "It will be OK. It will be OK."

Finally, Belt let go.

"So…now what?" said Belt.

"I believe that you need to help not only Clay…but also the world," said Dory.

Belt's eyes widened up realizing what that meant.

"OK," he said. "I will…see you later…Mum…and Dad…"

He watched as his parents gradually faded away

"See you later our sweet Light Wolf…and happy birthday," they said as they disappeared.

Belt smiled, wiping his tears away.

He closed his eyes…and awake.

He woke up.

Despite everything being blurry for him, he found out that he was in a tight spot.

"Belt!" said a voice. "Finally!"

"Bubblegum?" said Belt, recognizing the pink figure in front of him.

"Hold on! I'll find a way to get you out. Just stay-"

"No need."

Using his powers, Belt's hands started to glow mint green under the metal hand. The remaining wires connected to his rings started to collect a lot of energy.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Eggman had stopped talking and realized what was happening. He looked at the screen on the control panel.

"What's going on?" said Eggman.

"BATTERY OVERLOADING."

"W-What?"

"What's the matter?" mocked Sonic. "Too much for a small vehicle?"

Eggman growled in frustration, trying to shut down the energy transfer, but the controllers weren't working. Belt had managed to use his powers to override the mobile. Due to its small size, it couldn't have too much power. Like a battery, it was going to create a large fuse. The entire mobile started to shake from side to side as mint green energy entered it.

"NO!" said Eggman, desperately trying to press the button to electrocute Belt, but to no avail. "No, no, no! It's going to break all the fuses!"

"Belt?!" said Clay.

"This is for my parents," said Belt before releasing a big burst of white and mint green energy.


AN: I feel like the battle isn't really that good. It kind of lacks that much description. I hope that it's OK.

You think we're done with Fender? Here she is up to 9000! Can't get enough of using the crazy jackal lady. I might use her again in future stories!

If you enjoy this chapter, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. Make sure to review this chapter on what you think about this chapter. I'm OK of hearing improvements from you (please no flames).

Until next time, keep on rocking!