53 - Your Greatest Nightmare

The white light faded as the shock wave of their attack knocked both golden hedgehogs to the floor. Dust rose into the air as the castle slightly shook from all the commotion, and they coughed as they struggled to stand back up. Sonic went to Shadow's side and attempted to help him get up, as the ultimate life form stared in contempt at the body before them. Scourge wasn't down, but he was struggling to continue standing. He was gasping and shuddering, his hands scratching all over his body, as if there were worms inside crawling all around his skin. The power Shadow and Sonic blasted into his body was horrible, and he whimpered as he shook his head rapidly to get it out of his head. He dragged his nails across his face and his limbs, losing his balance as he wobbled from side to side.

He then fell to his knees, his inverted eyes clenching shut as he slammed his head against the ground. "...!" He couldn't even scream anymore. "Y-You...What did you...Do to me-!" He tried to utter, but the pain cut him off. As he writhed in pain, Sonic realized that Shadow was no longer able to stand on his own. He was bleeding out, and fast. He resorted to lifting him up into his arms and looking down at his body with sorrow. If it wasn't for him, he wouldn't have gotten hurt like this. He wouldn't be dying if it wasn't for his stupid plan. Tears were still developing in the corners of his eyes, and he tried not to let them drop, but he couldn't help it. Staying strong right now wasn't possible. He just stiffened and looked away while muttering an apology.

Shadow just smiled with a weak laugh. Even as blood caked against his teeth, he could still smile at his former blue lover. "What's wrong faker?" He muttered. "You don't cry, you're too cool for that aren't you?" He humorously croaked before coughing more puddled of blood below them. He slowly rose a hand to Sonic's muzzle, letting his palm rest on his cheek softly. His ruby eyes gazed into his amber irises passionately, the smile on his tan bloodied muzzle growing. "It truly doesn't matter what you do, you're still so beautiful." He shook his head. "How...How did I manage to get someone like you?" He asked no one in particular. He saw Sonic tighten his frown, as he couldn't keep in anymore sobs.

"Just...Shut up, please..." He whimpered.

A loud snarl interrupted them, and Sonic angrily looked up from his boyfriend at his adversary. Scourge was absolutely furious, growling and yelling at the two for getting the drop on him. "Y-You...You think you're hot shit for that? Fuck you!" He hollered. "That's why," He started to laugh as black liquid pooled in the corner of his mouth. Gross, was that his blood? "T-That's why I killed your fuckin' phony ass boyfriend! Hahahaha!" He cackled. "Even if I die now, at least I got rid of that fucker!"

Sonic was just as, if not more livid. "What will it take for you to shut your fucking mouth!?" He yelled back. "It's over! You're done, and I'll make sure you'll never be able to walk again! I'll do whatever it takes to kill you! I will end you!" He shouted.

That made Scourge smile, taken aback by that choice of words. "Oooh? The hero of Mobius wants to kill me that badly? What a surprise-"

"SHUT UP!" Sonic stomped his foot into the ground, the castle once against shaking in return. "Because of you, I hate myself!" He said, tears flying from his face. "You're the very epitome of everything I detest, everything that disgusts me! You're not an evil half, you're a damn abomination! Every time I look at you, I wonder, is that what I could have became if it wasn't for my friends? If it wasn't for the spirits keeping me as their perfect little hero?" He gritted his teeth as a vein grew on his head. "I hate you, I fucking hate you! If it wasn't for you, none of this would be happening!"

Scourge scowled and narrowed his eyes as he spat out more black blood. "If it wasn't for me, you'd still be ignorant."

"I don't give a damn!" Sonic retorted. "My boyfriend is dying in my arms all thanks to you!"

"Your boyfriend is dying because of you." Scourge hissed back. "You're the one who dragged his ass here, when you could have just chaos controlled him back to your world or at least away from the castle. He has nothing to do with this, he could have been spared. But no, you just had to drag him where ever you go, pushing your burdens onto him. You're nothing but a nuisance, a damsel constantly in distress. Tch," He laughed. "Who'd think the hero of all people needed so much saving in just a few short months? You're fucking pathetic, Blue." He spat. "Hell, I almost feel bad for the fucker. Ever since the Ark, you've just been toxin to him. Then ya make him fall in love with you, getting him to die all just for you? Honestly," His voice grew deeper, and more serious. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were just as bad as any other corrupted Chaos Born. Having people fall to your feet on a whim, at the snap of a finger. You used him just as a Chaos Born would use their people." His inverted eyes became strongly disappointed. "You're a disgrace, you're the abomination here."

His words caused the golden hero to pause.

He...

He was right.

And he hated that he was.

Super Scourge wiped his mouth of the black blood as he took a single step closer. "Now get rid of that damn corpse, and transform into Hyper already-"

He hated that he was right so much, that Sonic had chaos controlled behind Scourge, and shoved a sword-like chaos lance through his chest. In the same place he struck Shadow, avenging his lover. Shocked at the instant attack, his anti's eyes shrunk as he sputtered more black blood onto himself. Quickly, Sonic teleported back to Shadow, and placed him back in his arms while glaring at his enemy across from him. Then, he whispered, "It's over." He then turned his back to his anti, his eyes set on a dying Shadow as he began walking away. Scourge was clutching his chest, groveling on the ground as he cursed his prime self over and over. Shadow was just barely alive, his breathing now shallow. His ruby eyes were becoming a deep dark wine, and his super form as beginning to fade. He could feel that Maria would soon be gone from this world for good, along with her best friend.

"Sonic," Shadow murmured with barely any strength left.

"Yes?" Sonic answered back gently.

"Is it done?" He asked.

With a sniff, Sonic nodded his head. "Yeah, it's done."

Shadow closed his eyes, satisfied with that answer. "Good," He said. "I...Knew you could do it...I'm proud of you..." His body fell limp. "...I love you."

He was gone.

Sonic stopped walking, his sobs becoming louder as he couldn't contain his emotions anymore. The golden light faded from Shadow's fur, and it became a now dull jet black. The hero buried his face into his love's body, as he too crumbled to his knees and sobbed over his corpse. His shoulders shook violently as he cried, his tears shining with an auric light.

It was over, it was done.

At the cost of his life, Sonic had won.

...

Tails looked up at the robot in wonder, he had to know what this thing was. He couldn't take this mystery anymore. As Knuckles composed himself at the alter of the Master Emerald, panting as he rubbed his forehead from all that use of energy, the small fox cleared his throat. He prepared to speak, and moved to stand in front of the droid. This could be dangerous, as the droid warned him not to try and get too nosy. But damn it, he wanted to know. He tightened his hands into fists, and opened his mouth to speak. "I-"

"A portal has been opened to this world." The anti-Omega suddenly announced.

With a blink, the kitsune furrowed his brows. "W-What?" He watched as the robot pointed a clawed finger towards the edge of the island to look over it. With a frown, Tails made his namesakes turn into a propeller and lifted from the ground. He then rose over the alter of the island, peering over the edge. All he saw was the ocean, until something told him to instead look back in the direction of where they previously were, Station Square. Carefully flying a little farther to get a better view, Tails squinted his eyes and looked closely. That's when he saw it, a portal opening up right in the middle of town underneath the red sky of the blood moon. He gasped, and saw figures walking out of it. He at first thought it was Sonic and Shadow returning, until he realized their silhouettes didn't seem right.

That, and the fact that dozens of people were rushing out of the portal at once. No, that wasn't his brother, and that couldn't have been Scourge. Why would he return if he's fighting Sonic? And his entire gang was neutralized thanks to the anti-Omega here, so who in the world were these people? No, he had to get down there. Tails quickly flew back to land onto the area of the alter, and turned to Knuckles. "Knuckles! I'm going to get the VTOL, and I'm flying back down there!" He then jogged away, making his way towards the bunker. Knuckles flinched and scrambled to run after the preteen.

"W-What!? Hey wait a second!"

The anti-Omega stood there in silence as it was now alone. Then, for a brief moment, it's head lifted and opened. Pressurized air puffed out, and the person inside of it was revealed. They made a large sigh, and looked up at the sky with cyan colored eyes. They leaned back in the seat, and tilted their head at that blood moon. They wondered if the kid realized what was happening right at this very moment. Soon, it would all be over. Soon, they would end this, once and for all. They wondered if their professor was watching them right as they stood here on this island. They closed their eyes with another small sigh, before diving back down into the droid, and activating it's head to close back. The robot then turned around, and moved in the direction of the bunker as well to join with the others.

The second the robot got near the bunker door, it saw that it was already opened. Amy, Ms. Vanilla with Cream in her arms and Rouge were all rushing out and running past the droid to get to Tails' VTOL. Knuckles was the last one out, shutting the bunker door behind him and following them. The aircraft was already started up, with Tails in the pilot seat. Amy volunteered along with Knuckles to fly on the wings, while Rouge and Ms. Vanilla got inside along with the fox. The anti-Omega walked beside the flying machine, ready to launch itself along with it. The grass below them blew violently as the VTOL's propellers spun rapidly, preparing to lift itself in the air. Tails grasped the controls, and initiated for take off.

Before long, they were in the air, flying back down towards Station Square.

All while the blood moon above them continued to glow.

It didn't take them too long to get back home, with Tails landing the large aircraft on a roof. Amy and Knuckles jumped off first, while the anti-Omega landed beside them. Tails opened it's doors and jumped out himself while Rouge and Ms. Vanilla peered out. The fox joined Knuckles and Amy, and looked down over the roof with curious blue eyes. The portal that opened up in the middle of the square, was spawning people who were walking in a march. They had black uniforms with golden badges, strange looking helmets and weapons on their hips. No, these definitely weren't Scourge's men. Who the hell were these people? And why were they walking in step like that? Just then, Amy gasped and pointed with a big smile.

"Guys! Look!" She exclaimed. They followed her finger and looked down below, to see one of the soldier-like people pulling off their helmets and revealing blue fur. They were speaking with another one of the soldiers, with a strict expression on his face. Tails knew instantly, that while that wasn't his big brother, that was his No Zone counterpart, Zonic the Hedgehog.

"Zonic...!" Tails cried. He propelled his namesakes to push himself forward with a small boost off the roof, and jumped down with a graceful landing. He ran across the street through the line of marching soldiers in matching uniforms, and sprinted to the blue hedgehog. "Z-Zonic, is that you?" He asked, interrupting his conversation with the other soldier. The blue hedgehog paused and looked down before him to see the orange fox, and a relieved smile appeared on his peach muzzle.

"Miles prime," He addressed. "You are safe." He sighed. "Thank goodness." He looked over at the person he was just speaking to. "First lieutenant, I believe you've already been acquainted with Mr. Prower?" He asked. Tails rose a brow. Already acquainted? Who-

The other pulled off their helmet as well, revealing a Shadow-look-alike underneath. "Indeed," His deep voice replied. "Thanks to his efforts, I believe Sonic prime got the advantage he needed to escape."

"Z-Zhadow!" Tails said in surprise. "You're both here! But, but how?"

The second lieutenant general answered for him. "No Zone is equipped with warp rings to every single reality there is known to the force. Considering the Champion of Realities is a favorite of mine," He slyly commented with a knowing smile. "I have his warp ring close by in our facility. Thanks to the power charge Sonic prime gave to the building with his transformation, everything that was damaged inside of the building was instantly fixed. So after preparing, we rushed over here as soon as we could to give you all assistance." He looked over at his superior. "The state of this world is in shambles, but we should be able to perform a decent evacuation."

Zhadow nodded as he held his helmet tucked in his arm. "I concur. With our men back in action, we'll be able to get the majority of the surviving population to safety. It will take some time, however. Actually, Miles prime," He suddenly addressed the fox and looked in his direction. "You've been the primary leader of your group, and your intelligence proceeds you. Could you please explain to us exactly what's happened here since the anti-Sonic showed his face?"

Zonic also gave a brief instruction. "Oh, and bring your friends down here. They'll be safer with us."

With great hope glinting in his eyes, Tails saluted with a proud smile.

"Yes sirs!"

"Y-You...You think you've won..." Scourge hacked in a grave voice. "Y-You...You're wrong...B...Blue-" He collapsed, and his voice was silenced.

Sonic continued to stay with Shadow's corpse, his sobs now just as silent as Scourge.

It seemed as if time stopped marching on, as if the entire universe was put on pause. There was no noise, there was no breathing, there was nothing. It was almost like nothing existed. The golden hero continued to stay quiet, but noticed that he could still faintly feel Scourge's power. He narrowed his eyes, and a small smirk formed on his muzzle. Their plan was almost complete. He dragged his knuckles across Shadow's face affectionately, it almost worked. His smirk became a somber smile as he stared into the now closed eyes of his dead lover. "Almost there, Shadow. Almost-"

"Hehahahahaa..."

Laughing.

Sonic's entire body froze just as stiff as time.

The entire room darkened, it's colors becoming nearly gray. It was like the entire world was plagued by a monochromatic curse. Then, Sonic dropped Shadow out of his arms and knelt over. His hands rushed to his mouth, his body reacting before his brain could to protect his lungs from the venom that was now the open air. It felt so poisonous in here, that breathing would almost be a death wish. It was so rancid, so revolting, so pungent that Sonic could barely hold his breath. No longer did he see just black aura, but he now saw something else, scarlet. Just as Sonic spread his energy through the floorboards earlier, that scarlet energy was doing the very same. It grew along the walls and floors like the veins of a gigantic tree, it's roots spreading rapidly throughout.

It pulsated, causing the entire castle to vibrate yet again. The numerous amounts of objects or curtains that obscured the castle's old windows, were soon knocked down from the pulsing. The now revealed broken stain glass windows were shining for some reason. But why? There was no sun in this world. That is, until Sonic's eyesight darted to look more closely. No, was that a moon? It-It was scarlet red, and slowly rising into the sky to blanket the entire planet with it's color. Soon, the windows reflected the colors into the room, causing a deep wine shadow to cast behind Sonic. His ears flicked at the sound of hailing rain pouring outside, seeping into the castle through the cracks of the ceiling. No, if the world's weather and time was being affected, that meant that a deity was being used to it's fullest!

That laughing from earlier became louder and deeper, more maniacal and evil. With an emotion that Sonic hadn't felt in a long time, fear forced him to turn around and see just what was causing so much havoc. His eyes shrunk, cowardice striking his heart from the aura alone. A hedgehog with flowing black quills stood on the opposite side of the throne room with a broad smile. Their eyes were dead, but their body was very much alive. The wound that was in his chest from before, was closing up at this very moment. Then, the hedgehog cracked it's neck from side to side, and popped a few bones to get himself ready. Scourge, his eyes now inverted once more with red eyeballs and black irises, posed rather triumphantly. This was his new and improved form.

Black fur, red eyes and black irises, and an almost gray muzzle. What kind of form was this? Was this Fleetway's power?

Scourge shook his head with a chuckle. "You really thought that would kill me?" He taunted softly, his voice having a slight demonic morph to it. No doubt, that was Fleetway's essence, he was fully using his power now. "Oh Blue, you poor, poor fool..." He said as he began to back away into his own throne. "The party's just starting, you shouldn't leave so soon." He rose his hand and grasped the seat of the throne. He then tore the fabric off completely, tossing it away as a green glow emerged from inside the open seat. There was a huge load of anarchy beryl, there had to have been at least a million of them in there. "Oh and don't worry, this is only the first half of my transformation." Wait, he wasn't done transforming...?! Scourge sneered and held his open palm into the air. "Everyone, descendants and bloodlines of the Royal Family, to me!" He commanded.

Then, a thump at the double doors of the room.

Then another.

And the doors flew open.

Thousands of transparent spirits set their sights on the former prince of Moebius, and made a beeline for his body. His mother, father and any other relative of his from the past flew to his figure with sheer speed, phasing inside of him instantly. They constantly fused with him, spirit on top of spirit compiling inside of him. Scourge grunted, his body twitching as he knew this was taking on a lot of power. However, this is exactly what he wanted. Chaotic spirits wanted nothing more than to feed off of the very thing that birthed them, it was like dangling a bouquet in front of a hive of bees. They attached themselves to him without hesitation, and after less than a minute, every single spirit that was trapped within this castle was now inside of Scourge. This was the final part of his transformation.

Losing his balance a bit, Scourge panted with a grin. "A-And now...The real fun can start!"

A monstrous shadow loomed over the room, that held swirling red eyes.

Scarlet mixed with black energy rose above Sonic's anti like an upcoming tsunami, before landing and engulfing him with it's essence. It formed over Scourge's limbs, becoming larger and thicker, growing like a another coat of skin over his body. That energy had manifested into a disturbing black and scarlet glowing goop that dripped all over him like ink. It formed wider limbs, a taller and more ferocious figure, and a face that was beyond Moebian or human. It's large eyes were red and swirling, pulsating and rattling. It's mouth was wide and grotesque, drooling with black slime. It's uneven and large hands were claws, along with those things that were supposed to be legs and feet. It was over fifteen feet tall, and it barely had enough room here. It sounded like a creature from a horror book, making gurgling and growling noises that shouldn't be audibly possible to make. Every step it took shook the floors, and it got closer to narrow it's ginormous disgusting eyes down at Sonic.

"Oh Blue..." The monster said. "It's time."

The golden hero couldn't move.

He...Couldn't move.

He was too scared to move.

"...I love you."

Sonic blinked, his senses coming back to him. He scowled and forced himself to relax. No, the plan was almost complete, he couldn't falter now. He had someone to avenge-No, he had multiple worlds to avenge. He turned back to his side to scoop Shadow's body back in his arms and hugged it close. His eyes closed, and he concentrated carefully even with a monster standing and drooling over him.

"Aw, giving your dead lover one last goodbye before I kill you? How sweet. But don't mourn him," The monster raised it's dripping fist. "'Cause you'll be joinin' him soon."

Focus, breathe.

Focus, breathe.

Focus...

...And breathe.

Hot pink eyes flashed across Sonic's face as he opened them. His quills raised even higher than they did before, and extended a bit longer. His muzzle, arms and stomach became a paler fawn. His fur was lightened until it was a blinding white. The blood and wounds that were on his body from before, vanished. A holy light emanated from him, and shined brightly through the stain glass windows. It was so pure, that it caused the monster to cringe and back away with a snarl. Slowly, the hedgehog ascended into the air, still carrying Shadow in his arms. The beautiful light enveloped his body, gracing him like a ribbon gently wrapping itself against his limbs. Sparkles and dazzles adorned him, one trillion colors faded constantly through his fur. From red to yellow, pink to blue, purple to green, it didn't matter. He was every color of the spectrum, he was the spectrum.

He, was Hyper Sonic.

And with a calm, but confident smile, he tilted his head at the monster with a confused expression. "What?" He said, his voice now so sanctified that it was almost incoherent. His very breath was white air, purifying the very oxygen around them. "Aren't you the one who told me to transform?" Then, he looked down at his dead lover with half lidded eyes and closed them while leaning down towards his face. His lips slightly puckered, and pressed themselves against his. Multicolored light enveloped Shadow's cold body, and erased his mortal wounds one by one. Hyper Sonic deepened the kiss as he held him, his cheeks becoming slightly rosy as he could feel his power course through his veins.

Slowly and reluctantly, Hyper Sonic broke the kiss and opened his half lidded hot pink eyes. His smile deepened with pure love, and the body in his arms shifted. Warmth took over Shadow's body, and his eyelids gradually moved upwards. Ruby irises met hot pink, and his tan muzzle began to move it's mouth. But, he couldn't form words. Shadow blinked several times, realizing that he was once again alive. He looked around them, noticing that they were still in the same place, but then he turned back to his former blue lover. He looked...

...Gorgeous.

The ultimate life form placed a hand against his pale cheek and smiled back. "You did it," He whispered. "I knew you could do it." He praised gently.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Sonic replied. "It's almost over for real this time."

"Indeed." Shadow replied as Sonic gently placed him down on the ruined floor. However, his very touch was so rich with life, that it restored the destruction of the floor of the throne room, and it was good as new in only seconds. Even grass and moss formed in between the tiny cracks, and blossomed flowers at full bloom. The red striped hedgehog stared in amazement, while Sonic slightly blushed. "Astonishing, anything you touch comes back to life." He looked up at him. "That's...Beautiful." He stepped closer and grasped Sonic's hands. "No, you're beautiful."

Sonic's fur turned entirely red, his expression becoming slightly bashful. "Come on, don't do this right now. Not during a fight."

"I can't help it. You look perfect, you are perfect. You're everything I could ever want."

Sonic's fur became a bright pink, as did his face. "Shadow, come on...You're making me all pink and stuff."

Then, Shadow smirked. "Well isn't that just making you even stronger?"

The god-like hero giggled and turned away while scratching the side of his muzzle. "Shuddap..."

"ENOUGH!"

The room rumbled as a demonic voice roared at them. Hyper Sonic and Shadow turned their attention to the large black and scarlet elephant in the room.

"You! I should have known you'd be able to bring him back with your stupid power!" The monster's repulsive mouth then grinned. "No matter, I'll just kill him all over again!" The monster raised it's fist again, and swung it down onto the two in alarming speeds. However, Sonic didn't make a move, and just held onto Shadow's hands tightly. He watched the attack coming, but didn't look daunted.

The second the monster's fist landed on them, something violently shoved it back. Shadow only smirked in both pride and love at the sight before them. Hyper Sonic barely had an arm held up to simply smack the giant's fist away, his expression unimpressed and practically appalled. "Disgusting." He muttered under his breath. He turned back to Shadow with a more serious expression. "Shadow, you know what to do. Did your energy recharge?"

Shadow nodded. "Sure did. I'm ready."

Hyper Sonic smirked back. "Alright then, get ready." He lowered his arm in front of Shadow. "Oh and, do be careful. Both of you." He then snapped his fingers and suddenly, Shadow was once again in his super form. He gave Shadow a wink before extending his fingers into an open palm. "Do your best, and don't lose hope. I'm just outside, and I'll be waiting for you when you get back." The ultimate life form, who now stood strong and tall on his own, once again nodded to his lover with a great smile. That might have been the biggest smile he's ever seen on Shadow's face. Without a word, the anti-hero gave a thumbs up, before Hyper Sonic's palm glowed with a light pink light. And then, Shadow deteriorated into gold dust. It then formed and concentrated into Sonic's hand as a small ball of raw energy. "Alright Shadow," He whispered. "I won't fail you, and I know you won't fail me. I believe in you." He then made a deep breath.

The monster flinched and twisted it's amalgamated head as a tilt. "What are you doing!?" It demanded.

"Chaos," Hyper Sonic began. "Transformation." He then glared at the monster that was now Scourge head on, before furrowing his brows. He then snapped his fingers, and appeared before his giant eyes in a blink of a nanosecond. The monster's eyes shrunk and narrowed onto Hyper, noticing his instant chaos control, but it was too late. Then, Hyper Sonic made a cruel smirk and pointed his finger right towards him and uttered two words: "Chaos Infiltration." The beam of energy that was entirely Shadow's existence, was then blasted directly into the head of the black and scarlet beast. It howled in pain, it's arms swiping at Hyper Sonic in retaliation to get him away. Sonic easily teleported away with his arms crossed over his chest.

But then, a breath of relief flowed from his lips.

God, he felt so good right now.

He hugged himself, his legs clutching against it's thighs. "God," Sonic whispered. "This feels so good," His murmurs echoed off the walls. The holy light radiating off of his body rose around him, the colors in his fur changing a little faster as his heart pumped with both adrenaline and passion. "Shadow was right," He murmured. "This is perfect...I'm perfect."

Yes...

I'm perfection.

That same wicked grin from before returned, and his fists tightened.

"Now we can really party."

The multicolored hero hovered in the air, drifting and circling around the abomination as it wailed in anger. "What the hell did you just do!?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, for now." The deity proudly announced with a smirk. "Now quit stalling and come at me already, Scourge." As he commanded, the monster did as he demanded with gusto. It raised one of it's bulky dripping black arms, beams of scarlet energy formed with the motion. A cascade of an energy blast shot directly towards Hyper, it's aura filled with ghoulish red power. He easily held up an arm himself to block the blast, and it bounced off of his wrist into the ceiling without leaving a single scratch on him. "Come on, that was just a love tap." He boasted. "Why don't we get serious?" Hyper pointed his index finger, and moved his arm in a circular motion. His finger left a trail of white light, drawing a full perfect circle into the air with his power. Then, he leaned back and snapped his fingers once more.

This time, his own blast was activated and shot directly at the monstrosity. A large scarlet wall of corrupted power rose in front of it to shield it from the blast, and it barely cut through the wall. They were equally matched, just as they predicted. However, one would leave here as the victor, no matter what. That's when the monster made a devilish booming laugh that echoed off the walls. It's mid section began to move and stretch it's entire upper body into the air, still being connected by the string-like black liquid. From within the separation of his abdomen, grew scarlet lights. Formed of pure chaos, were sharp katar blades protruded from the black substance and aimed for the deity. Twelve in total appeared, and made a bullseye for Hyper. But that wasn't all, after every single one shot, another appeared in it's place to shoot again. It was an onslaught of those chaotic weapons, an attack that was endless.

That's when Hyper Sonic knew that play time was over, he would have to dodge these or else he could receive some kind of damage. He dashed in the air, ascending higher while descending a few seconds later. He did this over and over to dodge the blades, twisting his body to gracefully and elegantly miss every single katar. He then rolled himself into a ball, his fur illuminating into a bright baby blue as he charged up energy into his form. This mean that he momentarily paused in the air, so he was no longer dodging. The katars hit him, but they did nothing but bounce right off of his aerial spindash. Soon, Hyper launched himself forward at eye boggling speeds towards Scourge's disgusting form. Scourge was going to raise one of his meaty arms to smack him away, until he realized that's not what Sonic was aiming for.

Hyper Sonic suddenly smashed through a katar, then he ricocheted off of that one to immediately shoot through another. Then he did it again, and again, repeating this until there were no more blades to launch. Then, Hyper Sonic skidded himself to a stop by landing on the wall behind the monster. He uncurled himself, his fur now changing to light red. He then outstretched his hand, his legs still perfectly balanced on the wall like a ninja. In his hand, formed a blade of his own, except it was longer and more reminiscent of his days as a knight. With a sigh to ready his aim, he gripped the hilt and slowly raised the edge. And in less than a nanosecond, Hyper Sonic was suddenly on the other side of the monster, his feet now firmly planted on the floor. His knees were bent, his arms lowered and aimed to the side as he just made his perfect cut. He then flawlessly relaxed his posture and snapped his fingers to make the sword disappear in multicolored embers.

And then, the right arm of the monster gushed black blood all over the room. Some even almost got on Hyper, but he simply tilted his head to dodge the splatter. It roared painfully, it's right arm completely cut in half. It fell off, wriggling and twitching like a dying cockroach. With a repulsed expression, Hyper chaos controlled in front of the dismembered limb and raised his leg to give it a quick axe kick to death. With a low hiss, it finally stopped moving, and melted into a puddle of faintly glowing scarlet and black goop. "AAAHHH!" He bellowed.

The hero just shook his head before quickly teleporting to dodge a sneak attack of Scourge's remaining fist. It tried to crush him in vain for retaliation of his lost limb, but to no avail. "Aww," Hyper teased. "Want me to kiss it better?" He placed a hand behind his back, and rose the other underneath his chin. He then puckered his lips and blew a kiss towards the abomination. A literal kissy mark of chaos energy rose into the air, before jetting directly to his grotesque adversary. Like a dart, it shot right into it's face, but it did minimal damage with a small hiss. Scourge growled angrily and made another roar, but the violent air of his vocal chords was only boring Hyper, but also grossing him out even more. "Chaos, your breath smells worse than your BO-" The monster immediately charged forward before he could finish his remark. "Oh boy."

Looks like he wasn't going to hold anything back this time.

Zonic made a small huff as he jumped from the roof of a nearby building and landed beside his superior and Tails. He walked forward and placed his hands on his hips with a concerned sigh. He was going to report to his first lieutenant general, but he was ending his conversation with Miles prime. The Shadow-look alike had his arms crossed and narrowed his eyes at the small fox. "I see." He looked very displeased and even a little worried. "This isn't good, the world is permanently destroyed. Even significant repair with every soldier and citizen in No Zone wouldn't be able to fix this mess. Not to mention the population here has gone down by fifty-seven percent." He raised a hand on his forehead and shook his head with a scowl. "Damn it."

Zonic figured now would be a good time to report. "Sir?"

"Ah, Zonic. Full report."

"Every single building has been dismantled. There are corpses lined up from Empire City to Station Square. Other soldiers scoured the globe, and the population of many countries have been nearly entirely and utterly destroyed." His expression became mournful. "There are no survivors in the city, and the Overlanders are nowhere to be found alive. We fear they may have been completely eradicated."

Tails gasped, his face paling immediately. His friends who had came down from the roof previously, were also mortified by the report. They were all covered with emergency blankets and were given packs of food. They were currently all sitting on the curve of a pavement, with soldiers moving back and forth all across town. Amy looked as if her soul was ripped out of her body, Knuckles was beyond enraged, Rouge just had her eyes closed and her head down, and Vanilla just pressed her face against her daughter's unconscious shoulder. Zhadow tapped his foot irritably. "This is bad, very bad-"

"Bad!?" Knuckles suddenly shouted. "You fucking think so!?"

Rouge grasped the echidna's arm and gripped it tightly. "Knuckles!" She hissed.

Zhadow shook his head. "No, he is right to be enraged. I can't even guarantee the safety of your friends around the world. The Babylon Rouges, The Chaotix, even all of the human descendants...They're more than likely all dead, and I am sorry for that."

Tails' head hung low, as his eyes were small as peas. "...So...It's over." He whispered. "It's, hopeless. There's no one left."

Amy buried her face in her hands, stifling a few sobs. Rouge gritted her teeth as she looked away, and Knuckles just punched his fists into the ground with a loud growl.

"But," Zonic suddenly interrupted. "There is still one thing we can do." He said as he turned to Tails. He then knelt down to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sonic prime is alive, and believe me when I tell you, that he is our only hope left of fixing this mess."

A few tears fell from the kitsune's face. "But how?!" He desperately asked as he rose his head. "How can he fix this!? My big brother is amazing and all sure, but no amount of chaos, or magic or anything, could fix this!" He gestured as he threw his hand to the side. "No one can fix death. That, is permanent and there's not a damn thing anyone can do to make it better." He shuddered and looked away from Zonic. "It doesn't even matter if Sonic wins, we lost our world. We lost everything. In the end, Scourge won. It's...Over..."

Zonic didn't at all looked shifted from the preteen's tears. He then tilted his head and furrowed his brows in confusion. "I'm confused." He suddenly said.

While blinking a few times, Tails turned back to Zonic slowly. "W...W-What?"

Knuckles immediately stood up and snatched the blanket from off of himself. He stomped over in front of Zonic and made a threatening glower. "This kid's been through enough today, and I've personally had enough of seeing you Sonic and Shadow-clones running amok in our world. If you've got nothing productive to say, then get the hell off of our planet before I eradicate you."

That's when the second lieutenant general darkened his expression and stood up straight to lean forward towards the guardian. "I do apologize for my lack of emotion, as most No Zone superiors have trouble using them properly. However," He stepped a little closer, his demeanor becoming more menacing as Knuckles began to back away with each step he took. "Threatening any No Zone soldier won't get you productivity," He voice deepened. "But instead, a painful consequence."

"Now now," Zhadow quickly got in the middle of the two and gently pushed them away from each other. "None of that, commander. You should know better than to lose your cool so easily in front of your prime's familiars."

Instantly, Zonic made a slightly panicked expression and gave Knuckles his personal space back. "I-Err...Of course, first lieutenant general." He bowed. "My sincerest apologies, it will not happen again, sir." He was mostly apologizing to Zhadow than to Knuckles. He then looked away almost sheepishly, his body stiff in a straightened military posture. Tails and the others realized that Zhadow kept Zonic on a tight leash just like Sonic did with Shadow. The roles were switched, that was pretty funny. But back to the issue at hand. Zonic cleared his throat. "I was just, going to say that my confusion lies with your lack of knowledge of Hyper Sonic's abilities." He almost shyly added as he glanced back at Tails.

Tails made a puzzled expression. "What do you mean? Sure Hyper's super powerful, but that's all he is. He's an upgraded Super Sonic, nothing more, nothing less."

Zonic shook his head. "Incorrect." He said. "Hyper Sonic is powerful enough to perform many miracles, as every form of Sonic prime's is a deity, with Hyper being the most powerful of them all."

"Miracles?" The fox repeated with narrowed eyes. "W-What are you talking about?"

The second lieutenant general continued. "Hyper Sonic's full extent of power is unrivaled, and unmeasured. Even I as Sonic's Overseer do not know what he is like at his fullest. He can perform miracles, as he is as powerful as a living God." He then made a small smile. "And that includes bringing people back from the dead. However," His smile faltered. "Death is permanent, and nothing in existence can stop that. The extent of this ability, is that Hyper can only bring back people who have been dead in the last two weeks. However, it's been a month, and you've all suffered the power of that strange Blood Moon for more than fourteen days. I cannot guarantee that everyone on Mobius prime will be brought back to life. So yes, while the damages are permanent, some of it can still be fixed. As for the state of your world, his very essence of just touching something could repair it back to normal. But I'm afraid that's as far as it can go. The status of your friends are still in great question."

Of course that didn't make them feel that much better but, at least some people would be brought back. But still, Sonic had that kind of power up his sleeve? No wonder the emeralds used to belong to the Chaos Born, that power was indescribable. Tails slowly blinked, and looked down. "I...I see." He whispered.

Suddenly, a large thud rumbled the ground behind them all.

The No Zone superiors and Sonic's friends all turned to look.

And standing tall with a shiny coat of cyan paint, stood the anti-Omega. Upon it's appearance, Zonic's eyes widened. "..!" He immediately turned to Zhadow. "Sir! That is the anti-robot of Kintobor's that I was telling you about! It's here for some reason."

"This is the droid? Yes," Zhadow slowly nodded as he stared at the robot. "Miles prime was just telling me about it and how it saved them from Scourge's brain dead slaves. Where has it been? I've never seen it before in our patrols."

Zonic frowned. "I honestly do not know, sir. As we couldn't find any records of this thing anywhere. We found a file in Kintobor's profile saying that it existed but, nothing more. It didn't help that the anti-Sonic trashed Moebius before we could make our investigations years ago."

"I see."

"But," The Sonic-look alike quickly added. "We do know it's schematics. And the only way that robot can move, is if someone is piloting it."

Tails's eyes widened.

"So," Zonic said while eyeing the droid up and down. "Care to introduce yourself along with the others?"

And then...

...The anti-Omega punched him in the stomach.

53 - END

Bum bum buuuuumm...