Miles out of Soleanna was a vast sprawling desert that housed numerous fractured ruins of an ancient temple. Standing in front of one of the larger ruins was Team Dark, with Rouge holding her Emerald radar and getting a solid signal from within.
"No doubt about it," she confirmed. "The Emerald is inside."
"And Mephiles?" Chessie asked, turning to Omega.
"Mephiles energy signature detected," Omega responded.
"So… am I the only one who feels like this might be a trap?" Hope voiced.
"Oh it's absolutely a trap," Topaz confirmed. "Stay close to me, kid. I get this feeling this fight is Mobians only."
"She's right," Shadow confirmed, stepping in front of the group. "One way or another, this ends today."
With that, Shadow entered the temple, the rest of Team Dark following close behind.
…
Meanwhile, Sonic quickly made his way back to the cottage, rushing inside and skidding to a stop.
"Guys is everyone al-" he stopped mid-sentence, seeing the distraught look on everyone's face. "What's going on?"
"It's Elise," Tails replied. "She surrendered herself to Eggman."
"What?!"
"We tried to stop her," Keith insisted, "but she went anyway. She said she had faith that things would work out."
"But that's not the scary thing," Knuckles chimed in. "It's two days after the Festival…"
"What?" Sonic responded. "But that's not possible, we weren't gone that long."
"Sonic…" Tails spoke up. "You and the others left for the past yesterday. It's the day after."
Sonic went wide-eyed at the news, taking a step back in response. "No… no, no, no…"
His voice became almost inaudible as he shrank in on himself in horror. Amy saw this and quickly rushed over to him, taking hold of his arms. She made him look at her, tightening her grip to ground him.
"Sonic, look at me," she gently requested. "There's still time. It's not too late. We can save Elise, and save the future, but you need to get a hold of yourself."
Sonic paused for a moment, taking a breath before steeling himself. "You're right. I've never let Eggman win before, and I'm sure as heck not gonna let him win now."
"Right," Keith responded. "We know that the crash happens in Kingdom Valley. If we head there now, we might be able to cut him off before he gets there."
"We still have the two Chaos Emeralds," Tails remembered. "I think I can retrofit the X-Tornado to accommodate them and give it a boost of power."
"You guys do that," Sonic replied, heading to the door. "I'll meet you there."
"Sonic?"
"I'm the only one fast enough to get there in time. I can at least slow him down while you guys get the X-Tornado ready for a rescue."
"But shouldn't we-?" Tails began to interject.
"He's right," Keith replied. "Sonic can catch up with him faster than we can. He'll buy us the needed time, but we have to act now." He turned to Sonic. "And you, just do what you do best until we get there."
"Not worried, are ya?" Sonic remarked, smirking.
"Hey, if you have time to worry, then run. Right?"
"You got that right, pal," he and Keith shared a fist bump before Sonic made his way out. "Try not to keep me waiting!"
Sonic quickly sprinted off, leaving Keith to turn to the others. "Come on guys, we've got work to do."
…
Elise made her way down to the beach, steeling herself as the deadline approached. Once there, she was greeted by Eggatha and Agent Stone, both of whom were standing near a larger version of the Egg Mobile meant to house multiple people.
"Welcome, your highness," Stone greeted. "I'm glad to see you got our message."
Elise remained silent as she approached them, her chin high and her gaze unwavering.
"Aw man, I hate the whole silent dignity thing," Eggatha complained, crossing her arms. "It's so boring."
"Let's just get her to Dr. Robotnik," Stone insisted. "Then we'll have some fun."
Eggatha smiled at the thought. Quickly leaping into the massive Egg Mobile as Stone escorted Elise inside. Once everyone was secure, the massive ship took off.
…
Back in the desert, Team Dark quickly made their way through the temple, finally coming out to a massive chamber where they could see Mephiles standing on top of an altar. Topaz and Hope held back as the Mobians and Omega made their way toward the altar.
"Mephiles!" Shadow called out.
Slowly, the shadowy figure turned to the heroes, holding the yellow Chaos Emerald in his hand.
"I expected you here much sooner," he mused. "As it stands, you are already too late. Still, you can change your mind. Join me, and we can rewrite the future itself. Imagine the power at our disposal."
"Don't try to deceive me," Shadow shot down, stepping forward. "You don't care about revenge. All you want is destruction. Your only desire is to fuel the flames of Iblis until time itself is destroyed."
If Mephiled had a mouth, he would have been smirking. "So you finally remember. How delightful. Killing you will truly be satisfying."
With the Emerald's power, he sent out a wave of energy, knocking the four of them back. As they all skidded across the ground, the floor itself began to become black and fluid, not unlike Mephiles' own skin. At Mephiles' command, several shadow creatures burst out of the black, heading right for them. Shadow quickly leaped to one, kicking it into a nearby pillar and causing it to dissipate. Rouge took off upward, staying ahead of the shadows before diving into a screw kick, taking out several more. Chessie leaped out of the way of one shadow creature before snapping her cable at it like a whip. It dissipated upon impact, causing Chessie to smirk before spinning around and doing the same to another. Omega just unloaded his weaponry on the shadows taking them all out in rapid succession and with little remorse.
After blasting through a few more shadow creatures, Shadow made his way to Mephiles, leaping up into the air.
"Chaos Spear!" he cried out, raining down energy bolts on him.
Mephiles managed to shield himself from the attacks. Immediately after, he dove toward the floor, engulfing himself in the dark sludge before. Shadow leaped after but was unable to follow. The ground around them started to ripple, unsettling the group.
"What… what is that?" Rouge asked.
"Nothing good," Chessie dreaded.
Just then, three larger shadow creatures sprung out from the ground, looming over the team. One of the behemoth creatures tried slamming its arm down toward them, causing them to scatter. Another one of the behemoths brought its fists down, hitting the ground in front of Shadow and knocking him back. Seeing this, Hope became restless.
"We can't just stand here," she declared, taking off. "We have to help!"
"Hope, wait!" Topaz called back.
Unable to stop her, Topaz was forced to follow, Shadow slowly picked himself up as the behemoth prepared for another attack. As it brought its fist down, Hope slid next to him, activating her forcefield just in time. The fist collided with the forcefield, straining a bit as a result, but still holding.
"Thought I told you to hold back," Shadow told her.
"You did," she replied. "I didn't. You complaining?"
Shadow just gave her a look before smiling. "No."
Once the behemoth moved its fist back, Shadow took this chance to dart forward, spin dashing into it, and shattering it instantly. Meanwhile, Topaz made her way out onto the field, which Rouge quickly took notice of. Thinking fast, Rouge reached into her belt and pulled out a small metal cylinder
"Topaz, catch!" she cried out.
She tossed the cylinder to Topaz, who caught it and aimed it at one of the behemoths, firing a laser from it at the creature. It sliced the creature's arm off, causing it to disappear into nothingness. Rouge took this chance to fly toward the creature and chuck several bombs at it. One by one, they exploded, causing the creature to be destroyed easily. Once it was down, Rouge turned back to her partner and gave her a thumbs up, winking. Topaz returned the thumbs up in kind.
Meanwhile, Chessie dodged and weaved between the final behemoth's strikes and attacks, heading toward Omega as he continued firing at it. She fired a cable at one of Omega's arms, prompting him to swing her around in the air before launching her at the behemoth. She shot her cables at the creature and charged them with electricity, causing the creature to cry out in pain before cracking apart and shattering. She landed on the ground, retracting her cables as she turned to Omega.
"Thanks for the assist," she told him.
"Acknowledged."
"Mephiles!" Shadow called out. "Show yourself, you coward!"
"If you insist…" Mephiles replied, his voice seemingly coming from everywhere.
Shadow looked around, trying to locate the source of the voice, but couldn't find it. Eventually, a part of the darkness engulfing the floor rose, taking the form of Mephiles. Shadow was about to charge him but stopped when he saw other patches of darkness rising, each one taking the shape of Mephiles as well. Before long, the entire room was filled with Mephiles clones, each one staring down the heroes with the intent to kill. In an instant, they all charged forward, forcing the heroes to be on guard. Rouge kicked several clones back while Omega opened fire on them. Topaz continued firing her laser as Chessie cracked her whips repeatedly. Hope used the gun Omega had given her before to blast the clones away while using her shield to block their advances. Shadow just restored to punches and kicks as the hordes closed in on him. This was for naught however as the clones slowly began overwhelming everyone, grabbing hold of them and pinning them down despite their best efforts. The clones holding Shadow forced him to kneel while holding his head to meet eyes with the real Mephiles, who had his three Chaos Emeralds circling over his head.
"I trust this makes my point," he boasted. "You cannot hope to stop me with your limited power."
Shadow gritted his teeth in response to that remark, using his strength to grab two clones holding him and bash them together. As they dissipated, Shadow grabbed the one holding him from behind and tossed him through the air allowing him to stand up.
"So you say," he retorted.
"You may be able to withstand me… but your friends cannot say the same thing."
Shadow looked back, seeing the Mephiles clones slowly dragging the other members of Team Dark into the inky black below. He became scared and then furious in a matter of seconds before turning back to Mephiles.
"Let them go!" Shadow demanded. "Now!"
"Why? You will lose them, eventually. You've seen it. No matter what you do, humanity will betray you. Why fight at all? Why risk your life to save those who would persecute you?"
Shadow scowled, turning back to see the others slowly sinking into the dark, including Hope and Chessie, the latter holding out her hand that had Shadow's ring. The sight gave him an idea as he slowly turned back to Mephiles.
"If the world chooses to become my enemy…" he replied, casually snapping off one of his rings. "I will fight like I always have!"
He snapped off the other, allowing it to drop to the ground as his natural Chaos energy surrounded him. After a few moments, Shadow sprung forward, plowing right into Mephiles and wailing on him with his raw power. Mephiles didn't even get a chance to fight back as Shadow's strikes increased in speed and strength.
"Chaos…" Shadow let out, grabbing Mephiles by the throat and slamming him to the ground. "Blast!"
An explosion of Chaos Energy then shot out engulfing both of them as the shadows holding the rest of Team Dark quickly evaporated. The five of them slowly pulled themselves up as the energy died out. Chessie ran up to see a weakened Shadow standing over a pile of black sludge that used to be Mephiles. He fell backward, only for Chessie to catch him before he could.
"I've got you," she told him, holding him close. "I've got you."
"I know…" Shadow replied, smiling a little.
Spying the rings on the ground, Hope scooped them up and ran them over to Shadow and Chessie.
"Here," she offered, holding them out.
Chessie took them and slipped them on Shadow's wrists, slowly restoring some of his power. Once he had enough strength, he picked himself up and walked over to the shroud, pulling out the Scepter. He held it out, recalling the spell he needed.
"Ifalas zares I e zaraq. Ifalas zares I e zaraq."
With that, the shadow flowed right back into the scepter, allowing Shadow to catch it before it fell to the ground.
"So… is it over?" Hope asked.
"For now," Rouge replied, grabbing the Chaos Emeralds discarded by Mephiles. "For now, let's get these things back to GUN headquarters."
"Agreed," Topaz concurred. "Let's-"
Just then, a small explosion came from one of the upper walls, causing the group to look up and see Metal Sonic busting through and firing an energy blast at Rouge. It knocked her back, allowing Metal to swoop in and grab the Chaos Emeralds. This gave him a surge of energy as he turned to Shadow, eying the Scepter in his hand.
"Don't even think about it," Shadow threatened.
Metal moved, but he didn't aim for the scepter. Instead, he grabbed Chessie by the neck, hoisting her into the air. She choked and flailed, the robot's gaze locking on Shadow.
"Give me the scepter or we find out what happens when you skin a cat."
Shadow's gaze hardened, but he could see there were no options. He tossed the Scepter in the air, prompting Metal to toss Chessie aside for Shadow to catch as he darted up and caught it, instantly being set fire upon by Omega and Topaz. He ignored their attacks as he flew back out of the hole he came from.
"Are you alright?" Shadow asked, still holding her.
"I feel like an idiot for letting him grab me." Chessie got to her feet, rubbing her neck. "You shouldn't have let him have it."
"I couldn't take the chance…"
"So now Eggman has the Scepter and the Chaos Emeralds," Rouge lamented.
"Our only hope now is Sonic can take him down in time," Chessie realized. "And for the sake of Earth and Mobius… he better."
…
Back in the city, Sonic ran back to the remains of the palace, seeing soldiers and advisors trying to maintain some kind of order.
"Hey!" Sonic called out, getting the attention of the Captain of the Guard. "Elise surrendered herself to Eggman! I need to get to Kingdom Valley fast!"
"What?!" The man sputtered for a moment before snapping back to attention. "Um… there's a cave system just behind the waterfall. It opens out into Kingdom Valley."
"Great, thanks. And hang on, I'm gonna get your ruler back!"
With that, Sonic took off, determined to save Elise at any cost.
…
On board the Grand Egg-Imperium, Metal Sonic arrived with the Scepter and Emeralds in hand, much to Robotnik's delight.
"Good work, Metal," Robotnik remarked, taking the Scepter in hand. "As I said, let the heroes do the grunt work, so we can claim our reward. Put the Emeralds with the others. I have a guest to entertain."
Metal nodded before walking out with the Emeralds. As he did that, the main doors opened up, allowing Stone and Eggatha to walk in.
"Doctor," Stone spoke up. "It is our esteemed pleasure to welcome aboard… Queen Elise of Soleanna."
As he finished speaking, Elise was escorted in by several Swatbots, much to the delight of Robotnik.
"Perfect," Robotnik mused, getting up from his chair and walking over to her. "You've certainly wasted a lot of time. If you had only cooperated with me to begin with your highness, I wouldn't have had to resort to extreme measures like this."
The expression on Elise's face remained cold, unchanging, and unphased. She sat down in one of the chairs on the deck, back straight, chin high, and eyes forward. She looked like she was sitting on her throne in her castle and not as a prisoner. It made Robotnik's eyelid flicker in annoyance.
"You have made your presence well known, Robotnik," she finally spoke. "But in the end, you will fall. Your fate is inevitable."
"Oh, I disagree, your highness," Robotnik replied, circling her chair. "I have every confidence this plan will succeed."
"The Flames of Disaster cannot be controlled. Why would you wish to unleash them?"
Robotnik smiled in response. "Tell me, did Sonic and his friends ever explain the phenomenon known as Chaos Control?"
"... no?"
"It is a manipulation of space and time to allow travel across dimensions. Solaris' eternal flames can transcend time and even control time itself. I intend to harness Solaris' power to manipulate Chaos Control and control the merging of the two worlds."
He stopped moving, looking out the window. "I will manipulate a fusion of Earth and Mobius as I see fit, creating overlaps that will destroy any force that can stand against me. And amongst the ruins, I will build my Robotnik Empire, enslaving human and mobian-kind alike so they may service my ever-growing army of machines. And with the temporal powers of a god at my beck and call, any opposition, any resistance will be crushed before it even has a chance to begin!"
He turned back to her. "And you are among the final pieces of that puzzle, holding the Flames of Disaster within your very body. You've seen what I can do with a small sample of your power, imagine what I can do with more."
Elise was floored by the speech she heard, fearing the implications of such a scheme. "You're insane."
"I've heard it all before, my dear. Such juvenile insults hardly phase me anymore. I almost have everything I need. The Queen of Soleanna, the Scepter of Darkness, and five of the seven Chaos Emeralds. Once I have the final two, the fate of your whole world will change… in my favor."
"Whoa…" Eggatha let out. "That is so cool."
"He sure knows how to build up to his work," Orbot commended.
"Sir, you're magnificent," Stone praised.
"Why thank you, sycophant," Robotnik replied. "Your admiration… is inevitable." Suddenly, there was an alert on his screen. "And speaking of inevitability, the last two Chaos Emeralds have appeared on radar. Come, let's claim our destiny."
…
After a few minutes, Sonic made his way to the hidden entrance to Kingdom Valley. He stood there, looking out at the inside of the waterfall before him.
"Ugh, water," Sonic lamented. "Why'd it have to be water?"
Shaking his head Sonic stretched himself out, making sure he was nice and limber.
"Alright, you can do this," he told himself, assuming a runner's start position. "Save the queen, save the worlds. No matter what happens…" he tensed up, electricity surging through his entire body. "I gotta go fast."
In an instant, he took off, running along the pathway at breakneck speed. As he kept moving, he dodged and weaved between the columns that lined the path. Looking ahead, Sonic noticed that part of the path had crumbled away forcing him to leap over the gap. He landed on the other side, quickly taking off again to keep his pace. Sonic smirked as he kept going, but he went wide again as more of the path was broken up. Acting quickly, he leaped toward landing on a column before bouncing off toward the waterfall. Thinking fast, Sonic quickly started moving his feet just before he hit the water. He instantly started running along the water, smirking as he dashed forward. He carried on before seeing a rock amid the waterfall, running right at it and using it as a springboard to launch himself off the waterfall and back onto the path, with the entrance to Kingdom Valley dead ahead. Not wasting a second, Sonic plowed through the doors, coming out into the valley and seeing the Grand Egg-Imperium flying overhead. He took off after it, intent on not wasting a second.
…
Back on board the Grand Egg-Imperium, Robotnik sat at his command chair, musing to himself about his inevitable victory. Elise just sat there silently, something Stone and Eggatha took notice of.
"You're pretty calm considering the world as you know it will belong to Dr. Robotnik," Stone noted.
"There's no way you honestly believe Sonic can stop my uncle," Eggatha boasted. "That overgrown rat can't win."
"You're wrong," Elise replied calmly. "Sonic will triumph. I'm sure of it."
"Why? Know something we don't?"
"Maybe she has a crush on him," Bokkun suggested, hovering over her chair. "Is that why? Cause you like him?"
"No," Elise shot down. "I simply… have faith."
"Oh really?" Robotnik remarked, spinning around to face her. "If your faith in Sonic is so strong… then where is he now?"
"Why not ask that blue guy down there?" Cubot asked, looking at one of the monitors. "He looks just like Sonic."
Orbot glanced over at the monitor, his optics going wide. "He doesn't look like Sonic. He is Sonic!"
"What?!" Robotnik let out, nearly falling out of his chair.
Elise smiled in relief as Robotnik walked over to the monitor, shoving Orbot and Cubot out of the way before seeing Sonic running toward them. He grumbled at the sight.
"Like a blister, he keeps coming back!" he bemoaned, slamming a fist on the console before turning to the others. "Summon every Swatbot and Badnik we have! I want that hedgehog destroyed!"
…
Down on the ground, Sonic continued running after Eggman's battleship, even dropping down from a cliff to maintain pursuit. As he continued running, several of Robotnik's Swatbots flew alongside Sonic, something he quickly took notice of.
"Sorry, boys," he spoke, beginning to pick up speed. "But I don't have time to play today!"
He dashed forward, heading toward the old castle just ahead. As he ran inside, another group of Swatbots dropped down, blocking his path and causing him to skid to a stop. Sonic scowled at the sight as the Swatbots readied their weapons. Thinking fast, Sonic leaped up and rolled into a spin dash, plowing through two of the robots before running up the wall to stay ahead of the third one's firepower. Once he got high enough, he leaped off the wall and bounced from column to column before heading toward an opening in the ceiling. As he landed, he kicked a nearby rock back at the robot, nailing it in the face plate and taking it out as Sonic landed outside and ran forward.
Eventually, he made his way out into a clearing, seeing the Grand Egg-Imperium was dead ahead. He smiled at the sight as he pressed on, unaware of a panel opening up on the underside of the battleship. From that opening countless Swatbots dropped down, making a beeline right toward Sonic. The Swatbots landed right in front of Sonic, causing him to stop as he surveyed the immense army before him, each one with weapons at the ready and willing to kill him at a moment's notice. Despite the insurmountable odds before Sonic… he just smiled.
"I don't suppose you boys are gonna just let me by," he retorted, crossing his arms defiantly.
The robots responded by opening fire on Sonic, causing him to furrow his brow and a spark of electricity to appear in his eyes. He darted forward, dodging and weaving through the constant fire before leaping up and kicking a bot in the face, knocking him into another and taking them both out. The second he landed, he charged forward, rolling into a spin dash and plowing through numerous Swatbots at once. He came out of the roll and skidded across the ground, electricity sparking all over his body. He charged back into the fray, noting a trail of electricity behind him and getting an idea. He charged at four Swatbots in particular, circling them and leaving a trail of electric energy as he did. He came to a stop, causing the electricity to double back on itself and explode, destroying the robots in the process.
"Yes!" he let out, doing a quick fist pump before charging back into battle.
He homing attacked numerous Swatbots in rapid succession before coming out and doing a double kick on another as it was about to fire a missile. As it hit the ground, the missile fired out at some of the other Swatbots, destroying them. Before Sonic could rush back into battle, however, an all too familiar flash of light appeared before him, forcing him to cover his eyes in response. As the light died down, he looked back, shocked to see a large mountain right in the Grand Egg-Imperium's flight path.
"The mountain…" Sonic let out.
…
Back on the bridge, Robotnik and his forces were scrambling to evade the large landmass that had appeared before them.
"Quickly!" Robotnik ordered. "Pull up! Pull up!"
"Trying sir!" Stone reported, working the controls. "Response time is still-"
"I don't want excuses, lackey! Get us out of the way of that thing, now!"
…
The Grand Egg-Imperium slowly pulled up as it approached the mountain, but the tip of it tore through the underside of the ship, causing extensive damage. Seizing his chance, Sonic ran forward as fast as he could, the lightning coursing through his system giving an extra boost of speed. He leaped onto the base of the mountain and started running up it, not stopping for anything. He leaped onto some falling rocks to gain some altitude before proceeding to land on the mountain and continue running.
"Won't be like last time…" he promised, thinking back to the Egg Carrier. "I won't fail to save a friend. Not now, not ever!"
He dashed off, eyeing some pieces of metal falling from the ship and getting an idea. He reached the top of the mountain and leaped up, landing on a piece of metal before bouncing from one piece to another, going up the entire time. Landing on the final piece, Sonic sprang up with all his might, his hand stretched out to grab onto the underside of the Grand Egg-Imperium. This time, Sonic grabbed a piece of plating on the outside. Sonic quickly flipped himself up onto the plating and rushed toward the inside of the ship, breaking down a door as he landed.
"Eggman, you're finished!" Sonic declared rushing inside.
…
Back on the bridge, Robotnik scowled as his longtime nemesis made his way through the ship.
"It would seem your plans are in disarray… Dr. Eggman," Elise taunted, causing Robotnik's blood to boil.
"Don't. Ever. Call me that," he commanded, turning toward her. "And don't think you're safe yet your highness. I'll admit, I've suffered a setback, but the game's not over yet."
"Um… boss?" Cubot called out nervously. "Should we be worried about the plane coming over the mountain?"
Robotnik froze at that, then he closed his eyes and grimaced. "It's the X-Tornado, isn't it?"
"Indeed," Orbot confirmed.
Robotnik shook his head, turning back to them. "No matter. Sonic may have his little friends, but they don't have my intellect and ingenuity. I have a specially designed mech built for just such an occasion, and with it, I will finally rid myself of that meddling rodent once and for all! You all secure the Queen and the Chaos Emeralds and get off this tub!" Robotnik turned around and walked off. "I have a showdown to prepare for…"