Knuckles stepped through the portal, being greeted by the green landscapes of Mobius.
"Home…" he let out.
"Knuckles!"
He turned to see Amy, Cream, Vanilla, Rouge, and Tails, having landed the Tornado II to meet up with everyone.
"So… we're back," he noted as they all approached.
"Looks like," Rouge commented. "So what now?"
Amy looked around, noticing someone was missing. "Hey, where's Sonic?"
"He was right behind me," Knuckles explained.
Tails grimaced, the fur on his tails puffing up. "Guys… I have a bad feeling about this…"
As they were talking, Cream looked up to see a large white light appearing in the sky.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing up at it.
The others looked up to see the white light as it suddenly began to shine brighter and brighter. They all covered their eyes as the light grew so massive it overtook them, and everything surrounding them.
…
Amy was the first to open her eyes, surprised to find herself and the others in some kind of strange void. She looked around, seeing they were standing on the Solaris altar from Soleanna.
"What is this place?" she wondered as the others began looking around.
"I don't know…" Tails admitted. "But it's gotta have something to do with that bright light."
"Ya don't say," Rouge remarked.
"I don't like this place," Cream dreaded, clinging to Vanilla's dress. "It's scary."
"Stay near me, Cream," Vanilla insisted.
"Guys?!" a familiar voice called out.
The others turned to see Silver running up to them, much to their surprise.
"Silver?!" Amy let out. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm not sure. Last I remember I was standing over the Chaos Emeralds at Onyx Island. Then there was this bright light… and then I was here."
"What about Blaze?" Knuckles asked. "Where's she?"
Silver's face dropped, turning away at the memory of what he had lost.
"She's… she's gone," he told them.
Amy gasped, covering her mouth. "Oh no… Silver…"
He shook his head, trying to stay focused. "That's not important right now. We need to figure out who or what sent us to this place."
"Solaris," a familiar voice answered.
The others turned to see Shadow approaching, with the other members of Team Dark, Chuck, and Kat walking up to them. Seeing the humans had them all stunned.
"Kat!" Knuckles exclaimed, rushing forward. "What's going on? What are you doing here?!"
"There was…" Kat grimaced, barely able to hold it together. She looked ready to cry. "The portal… it… and…"
"There's no easy way to say this…" Chuck spoke up. "Iblis' seal has been broken."
"No…" Tails let out.
"Elise!" Amy realized. "Is she alright? What happened?"
"Mephiles escaped," Chuck informed. "But…"
"It wasn't me," Elise's weak voice told them. "It wasn't me he hurt."
"Hurt?" Tails repeated. "Who… who did he hurt?"
Elise took a step back, revealing Keith on the ground, kneeling over Sonic's body. The Mobians were all shocked by what they saw, Amy instantly running over and dropping to the ground next to him. Tails and Knuckles followed after the others not far behind.
"No…" Tails let out, tears forming. "No, it can't be!"
"Sonic…" Knuckles let out.
Amy could barely contain herself, instantly crying on the spot. Cream clung to her mother in sadness as Silver just lowered his head, remorseful at the situation.
"Mephiles did this?" he asked.
"Yeah," Keith replied. "He tried to kill Elise, but I got in the way. Sonic… he took the hit for me… if I hadn't-"
"No," Kat cut off, kneeling next to him. "Don't you dare go there. This is no way your fault."
"Of course not," Robotnik's voice now chimed in. The others turned around to see him approach, now free of his cuffs. "Mephiles played us all for fools. His plan all along was for Sonic and the queen to grow close enough that his death would compromise her emotional state, allowing the flames to come forth."
"That's why he wanted me to kill Sonic before," Silver realized.
"You must be loving this," Keith sneered, turning to Robotnik in grief and rage. "You've tried to get rid of Sonic for years. And now he's dead! Are you happy now?!"
"Young man, this creature has deprived me of the pleasure of ending Sonic myself and destroyed the world I mean to rule. What possible reason would I have to be happy about any of this?"
Keith just stared at him, his rage still as strong as ever. However, he was shaken from this by a loud roaring coming from above. He and the others looked up to see a vague monster-like shape in a massive white light.
"Is that… Solaris?" Silver asked.
"Iblis' primal urge for destruction combined with Mephiles' contempt for life and temporal powers," Chessie realized.
"Creating a trans-dimensional lifeform that will consume all timelines of Mobius and Earth until time itself is destroyed," Robotnik finished.
"But if time is being destroyed, how can we be here?" Rouge wondered.
"We must be stuck in some kind of time-rift," Tails theorized. "Like a moment between moments. The real question is how we got here."
"It hardly matters," Robotnik shot down. "It won't remain for much longer."
"Well…" Kat looked around desperately. "There has to be something we can do. Anything."
"There isn't," Chuck lamented. "This isn't some would-be conqueror or Chaos creature. This is a force of nature. A transcendent lifeform that exists in the past, present, and future all at once. Even if we could defeat it here… it wouldn't mean a thing."
"Then…" Hope realized. "There's nothing we can do?"
Keith's face suddenly hardened. "No. I can't believe that."
"Keith-" Chuck tried to reason.
"No! If Sonic were here, he would hate all of us for giving up so easily. He'd say there's always a way. Well, I'm not gonna let him die in vain. I'm gonna keep fighting until I can't fight anymore! So… who's with me?"
There was a silence among the crowd for a moment.
"I am," Silver spoke up. "I've lost friends too. And I know, Lara, Blaze, and Sonic didn't do what they did just so we could give up. There has to be a way!" he turned to Chuck. "You said this thing exists in the past, present, and future? Well, what if we destroy it all at once?!"
"Is… is that possible?" Hope asked.
"It might be…" Shadow replied, looking back at Sonic. "If he was still alive."
As everyone spoke, Amy just sat there, silent and motionless. Just then, she felt a breeze come across her face. She cracked her eyes open, feeling her hair quills to see it was blowing in the wind.
"Hey… do you guys feel that?" she asked.
"Feel what?" Knuckles asked.
"It's… it's like a breeze. But there shouldn't be a wind here, right?"
"What are you saying?" Shadow wondered.
"I… I think it's Sonic."
"What?" Tails let out in surprise.
"It's like… his presence is here with us. Can't you feel it?"
Elise paused, feeling the wind in her hair as well.
"I… I feel it too. He's still here with us. It's not too late!"
"So… his spirit is with us?" Tails guessed.
"Wouldn't be the craziest thing we've seen," Rouge remarked. "Question is, how do we get it back in his body?"
"The Emeralds," Kat realized. "If all seven Emeralds could do something like this, then…" a smile broke out across her face. "Then maybe it could resurrect Sonic!"
"Of course!" Silver realized. "With the Emeralds, we can focus our thoughts on this miracle. We can do this!"
Robotnik looked up at Solaris, sliding down his goggles to get energy readouts for the Emeralds.
"It would appear Solaris has flung the Chaos Emeralds to the distant corners of this distorted world," he reported.
"We'll have to split up if we want to collect them all in time," Tails realized.
"This is going to take all of us," Knuckles declared.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Amy asked, getting to her feet.
"Mother, I wanna go with them," Cream requested. "I wanna help save Sonic."
"Cream, I-" Vanilla began to respond.
"We'll keep her safe," Amy promised. "We're not losing anyone else. Not today."
Vanilla was conflicted, but saw the resolve in her daughter's eyes, so she relented.
"Just be safe."
Cream nodded. With that, the group set out into the broken world, hoping to recover the Emeralds and save Sonic in time.
…
Rouge elected to travel with Cream, the two flying through a distorted version of Soleanna, with Cheese clinging to Cream's back the entire way.
"Solaris sure doesn't play around," Rouge remarked.
"So how do we find a Chaos Emerald in this place?" Cream wondered.
"Fortunately I have a radar for these things. Just stay behind me and we'll be out of here in no time."
Rouge flew forward, with Cream following close behind. Their search led them to the courtyard where Sonic and Silver fought. The Chaos Emerald was sitting on one of the tables.
"There, ya see?" Rouge remarked. "Piece of-"
A roar filled the air, and something manifested in front of them. The two stepped back as several strange black creatures bearing a resemblance to the eagle picture from the altar sprung out from the ground and flew above them.
"What are those things?" Cream asked.
"No clue, but they're gonna get in our way," Rouge remarked, spreading her wings. "I'll keep 'em busy, you get the Emerald!"
She took off into the air, kicking away several of the creatures as they approached.
"Cheese, help her!" Cream requested, chucking her Chao at the creatures.
Cheese plowed through several creatures, hovering alongside Rouge as they faced down the creatures.
"Never thought I'd be fighting side by side with a Chao," Rouge remarked.
Cheese chirped enthusiastically in response. The two squared up as they took on more creatures. Down below, Cream flew across the courtyard, making a beeline for the yellow Chaos Emerald. She dove right at it, grabbing it and holding it to her chest.
"Miss Rouge! I have it!"
As she held the Emerald, it glowed brightly. She held it up, gazing at the bright light coming from the gem. As she did, the light began washing over the creatures still battling it out with Rouge and Cheese. The creatures all recoiled at the light, allowing Rouge to kick them aside as she and the Chao dove down to her.
"Nice one, kid," she commended.
"Thank you, Miss Rouge," Cream replied, smiling. "Let's get this back to Sonic."
"No argument here."
The two quickly flew off, hoping it wasn't too late.
…
Elsewhere, Tails had teamed up with Omega and two were traveling through the distorted remains of Robotropolis.
"Man," Tails let out. "I haven't been here in so long…"
"Our priority is the Chaos Emerald," Omega reminded. "No time for distractions."
"I know, I know." Tails began looking around. "Just need to figure out where it is."
He reached into his backpack and pulled out his scanner, trying to get a lock on Chaos Emerald energy. After a few moments, he finally got a lock
"There!" he let out. "This way!"
Tails and Omega quickly took off down the street. Eventually, they came out to the heart of the city, where the silver Chaos Emerald was.
"Alright!" Tails cheered. "Let's go!"
"Warning," Omega let out. "Multiple enemy signatures detected."
"Yeah, that tracks." Tails turned to the robot. "Can you keep them at bay?"
"Affirmative."
Omega remained stationary as the shadowy creatures came out charging at the two. Omega unloaded his arsenal on them, decimating them in rapid succession with Gatling guns and missiles without missing a beat. Meanwhile, Tails made his way toward the Emerald, drawing his laser pistol to keep any stray shadows at bay. Just before he reached the Emerald though, a shadow plowed into him, knocking his pistol and backpack away. As Tails landed, he looked up at the creature staring him down. He picked himself up, initially terrified at the sight before him, but the memory of Sonic needing him steeled his resolve. The creature lunged at him, prompting Tails to swing his signature tails at it, knocking it back. Tails went wide-eyed at the sight, but smiled in response, spinning his tails so he could ram right into the creature knocking it completely to the ground. With that, he rushed over to the Chaos Emerald and grabbed it.
"Omega!" Tails called out, tossing him the Emerald.
Omega jetted up, catching the Emerald and integrating it into his systems. This supercharged him, causing him to fire twin lasers, completely decimating the hostile forces.
"Enemy targets neutralized," Omega declared.
"I'll say," Tails agreed. "Come on, we gotta get back to Sonic!"
The two didn't waste a minute taking off, unwilling to spare a second.
…
Amy went off alone, finding herself back in Station Square. Or rather, a twisted version of it.
"This is so surreal," Amy commented. "Okay, stay focused. You need to save Sonic. Now, if I were a Chaos Emerald in a warped facsimile of the city, where would I be?" she thought for a moment, before snapping her fingers. "The city square. That's where Chaos showed up. It's gotta be it!"
She quickly took off, hoping that her hunch was right. She rushed as quickly as she could until she reached that intersection, finding the blue emerald bobbing up and down in the air.
"There it is!"
She ran to grab it, only to be cut off by a barrage of shadow creatures descending from the air, aiming right at Amy.
"Oh no you don't!" she declared, pulling out her hammer.
She started swinging wildly, taking out multiple shadows in rapid succession. She kept moving forward, striking away at every shadow creature that came close. As one came down toward her, she leaped out of the way, hitting the ground hard as she skidded toward the Emerald. She shook her head, looking up at the Emerald as the shadow creatures began to swarm. She quickly grabbed the Emerald and tried to make a break for it, quickly becoming overrun by the creatures.
"Get back!" Amy declared, swinging her hammer wildly. "I need this to save Sonic! I won't let him go out like this! I won't lose to you!"
The blue Emerald shined bright, causing the shadows to back off. Seeing this, Amy was struck with an idea. She plunged the Emerald into the base of her hammer, causing it to glow brightly. With a hardy spin, she swung the hammer to the ground, sending a Chaos Energy shockwave that struck the shadow creatures, eviscerating them. She took a breath as she straightened up, looking around.
"Glad that worked."
She turned around, slamming her hammer again and taking out even more shadow creatures. She smiled greatly as she held her hammer up.
"Hang on Sonic," she spoke. "I'm coming…."
…
Meanwhile, Knuckles and Kat found themselves on a twisted version of Angel Island, the two wincing at the unnatural state of the place.
"This place…" Kat let out. "It… it feels all wrong."
"I can tell," Knuckles concurred. "The energy here, it feels… corrupted," he shook his head. "We have to stay focused."
"Right. Which way to the Emerald?"
Knuckles paused, feeling for the Emerald's energy. As he did, he felt like it was calling out for him, the energy that was usually so difficult to pinpoint might as well have been screaming at him.
"This way!" he motioned. "Come on!"
They ran through the dense, unforgiving jungle, eventually reaching the trunk of the large tree that held Kat's tree house. Through the window, a red light was visible: the light from the red Chaos Emerald.
"In there!" Knuckles pointed out. "Let's grab and go!"
Kat immediately started climbing the ladder into the tree house, but when Knuckles went to follow, he spotted enemies creeping in the bushes. He took a fighting stance, bracing himself as the shadow creatures flew out, aiming toward him.
"Knuckles!" Kat called back.
"Go!" he told her. "I'll hold them off!"
Kat was hesitant, but she relented, continuing to climb as Knuckles' fists sparked with energy. He punched out one before sidestepping another and punching it out as well. A third one approached from behind, causing him to roll out of the way before leaping up and uppercutting it. Another shadow quickly rushed up, prompting him to leap up before punching it down to the ground.
While Knuckles continued to fight, Kat continued climbing up into the treehouse. She threw open the door, seeing the Emerald hovering right in the center of everything. Desperate and scared, she immediately grabbed it, bracing herself for the painful burning that she got every time she did. However, this time was different. The Emerald flooded her body with energy, her wounds healing as her eyes turned a bright red, a similarly colored lightning dancing across her arms and legs.
"Holy… MAMA!"
She grinned, then jumped out the window, twisting in the air before landing Super Hero style right next to Knuckles. Her landing caused a shockwave that blew the creatures right off of Knuckles. He looked up, his eyes going wide.
"How did you do that?!"
"I have no idea!" Kat exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.
Knuckles smiled as well. "Well, I'm not complaining. Let's do this!"
The two went back to back as more creatures came swarming in. The two easily fought them off, with Kat doing as much damage as she would have had she had her specially designed suit. She grabbed one shadow and then another before slamming them together, causing them to disappear into nothingness. Knuckles meanwhile just kept punching out shadows left and right. Finally, he charged up a fist before slamming it on the ground, causing a shockwave that took out several more in an instant.
"That… was amazing!" Kat let out, holding the Emerald. "Is this how you feel every day?"
"More or less. But right now, let's get this back to Sonic. I wanna save the real Angel Island as soon as possible."
"Agreed," Kat concurred as they took off.
…
Silver found himself in a setting all too familiar. The Crisis City. He sailed across the skies, searching for any sign of a Chaos Emerald in the area.
"Come on…" Silver let out. "Where are you?"
He sailed over an area, thinking he saw something below. He double-backed, realizing it was the area Lara gave her life to save him. Down there, he saw the purple Chaos Emerald floating amongst the molten rocks.
"Bingo!"
He quickly dove down to the Emerald, unaware of the shadow creatures trailing right behind him. Just as he touched down on the ground, the shadow creatures instantly set upon him. He was overwhelmed by the shadows. He could barely move as they continuously swarmed him. He did however manage to get an arm free, pulling up a chunk of the floor to knock back some of the shadows. He then used his powers to pull himself free of the others, moving toward the Emerald. Unfortunately, more shadows dogpiled him, pinning him to the ground inches from the Emerald.
"No… it can't end like this… I'm not giving up. Not now… not ever!"
He used his power on the Emerald, managing to pull it in close so he could grab it. The second he did, His entire form was engulfed in silver light. His eyes turned white and he screamed, a shockwave expelling the shadows. Once the energy died down, he dropped to a kneel, slowly picking himself up.
"Told you… I wouldn't quit. Sonic, hang on!"
He quickly flew off, hoping to save Sonic and the future of his world.
…
Elsewhere in the distorted reality, Shadow, Chessie, and Hope found themselves in a facsimile of the Space Colony ARK.
"Never thought I'd be here again," Chessie admitted.
"This place…" Shadow spoke up. "I… know it."
"It's Space Colony ARK," Hope realized. "Or… a version of it. It's kinda your birthplace."
"This… this is where Maria lived…" Shadow pieced together. "And…"
"And where she died…" Chessie admitted. "But that's not something we can focus on right now. We need to find the Emerald."
"Right…" Shadow replied. "Let's…"
A giggle reached his ear, making him stop. He turned, seeing a blonde figure in a blue dress standing in the opening of one of the hallways. She laughed, then turned and disappeared down the hall.
"Wait!" Shadow called out, running after it.
"Shadow, wait up!" Chessie called out as she and Hope followed after him.
Shadow continued running after the girl, watching her continue to take various turns through the labyrinthian halls. Every time he thought he lost her, he would hear her giggle and see a flash of blue. After several minutes of this, he stopped in front of a door covered in faded crayon drawings of flowers. Chessie and Hope managed to catch up, stopping in front of the door.
"This… this is Maria's room," Chessie recognized. "This is where you remembered her promise. Her true promise."
"A promise…" Shadow repeated as if he was recalling a distant memory. "She… she wanted me to help people. To give them a chance… for a better future."
He opened the door, seeing the green Chaos Emerald hovering before him. As if in a trance, he stepped into the room, gently taking the Emerald in hand. As he did, he felt slender arms hug him from behind.
"Go," Maria's voice echoed. "Save this world. Save your friends."
Slowly, Shadow reached up with his free hand, placing it on the arms holding him.
"Shadow?" Chessie's voice broke through memory. The feeling of the embrace faded and he blinked. "Shadow, are you alright?"
He turned to her and Hope, seeing their concerned faces and feeling a sense of completion at seeing them by his side.
"Yes," he replied, cracking a small smile. "I am. Let's do this."
As they approached, several shadow creatures started coming out of the walls, causing them to get on the defensive. Chessie quickly cracked her cables, dissipating the shadows instantly. Hope formed her shield into an electric disk, throwing it at the shadows and taking them out. Shadow clenched his hand around the Emerald, golden lightning surrounding him. He took off at high speeds, rolling into a spin dash and taking out several shadows in rapid succession. He then landed in the middle of the room, energy building up around him.
"Chaos… Blast!"
He unleashed a massive surge of Chaos Energy, destroying the shadows in mere moments. As the energy cleared, Shadow stood upright, with Chessie and Hope running over to him.
"That was incredible," Hope told him.
"Thanks," Shadow replied. "Are you two alright?"
"We're fine," Chessie reassured. "Come on, let's go save Sonic."
Shadow nodded as the three took off, hoping to save the world in time.
…
Finally, Keith found himself in the green hills of South Island, except now looking disoriented and faded in color.
"This is… not how Sonic described it at all," Keith commented before shaking his head. "Come on, Keith, focus. Gotta find that Emerald for Sonic."
He quickly took off, looking for any place a Chaos Emerald could be. As he continued running, he saw what looked like a series of huts lining the cliffside nearby.
"One of those must have been where Sonic grew up," Keith pieced together. "Maybe the Emeralds there."
He quickly took off toward the huts, unaware of the shadow creatures skulking him from behind. He made his way from house to house, searching for any sign. After a bit, he noticed a well worn path all the way to the top, the same kind of path made by constant high-speed traffic.
"Bingo," he let out.
He rushed down the path, finding a hut that rested at the top. He threw open the door, going inside and seeing a room with a worn hammock that had the cyan Chaos Emerald floating above it. Keith smiled as he ran inside, only for the shadows to bust through the windows, heading right for Keith. Looking around, he saw an old spear laying on the wall, prompting him to run over and grab it. Using it to wave off the shadow creatures as best he could. As he jabbed the spear out, one of the shadows caught it and pulled it away from Keith, breaking it in two.
"Oh no…" Keith let out.
The shadows quickly rushed toward him, forcing him to leap out of the way before they hit. He landed right in front of the Emerald, prompting him to reach up and grab it.
"Yes…" Keith mustered. "Hang on Sonic…"
He looked up, seeing the shadows rushing at him.
"Stay back!" he called out, holding one hand out while clutching the Emerald in another.
As he did so, the Emerald began to glow bright, causing a stream of light blue electricity to shoot from his hand, hitting each one of the shadow creatures. He gasped in surprise, looking at his hands as lightning danced across his arms. Behind his glasses, his eyes were light blue and brimming with energy.
"Whoa…" he let out.
After a moment, the energy dissipated, causing his eyes to return to normal as well. With his senses back in check, he made a beeline back to Sonic, praying he wasn't too late.
…
One by one, the heroes returned with their Emeralds. They placed them in a circle around Sonic's body. Once everything was in place, Knuckles was the first to speak.
"The Servers are the Seven Chaos. Chaos is power enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify the Chaos," he quoted, causing the Emeralds to glow. "Chaos Emeralds, hear us. So that we may save this world… and our friend."
The Emeralds seemed to do nothing at first, prompting Knuckles to focus harder.
"Come on, Sonic," he insisted. "I know I gave you a hard time, but…" he looked back at Kat and Rouge. "I owe you so much."
The Emeralds then began lifting off the ground, slowly spinning as Sonic was carried with them. Tails took note of this and stepped up.
"Sonic… I want you to see the hero you believe I can be."
"Please Sonic," Cream pleaded, stepping forward. "You're our friend. And we miss you."
"We love you more than we could ever say," Amy added, her tears welling up in her eyes. "I love you, and I want to grow older with you."
"Sonic," Shadow spoke up. "You're the light of hope for the world I could never be. We need you now more than ever."
The Emeralds continued to glow, now spinning faster.
"Sonic," Silver chimed in. "Despite everything I did, you gave me a chance to fight for my world. Now it's our turn."
"You showed me a way to grow past my pain," Elise added. "You freed me from my curse, and showed me how to live."
"Sonic, I started out seeking a people that never existed," Chessie spoke up. "Now I have more than I ever thought possible. And that's because of you."
"You rescued me," Hope declared. "You saved me from my horrible uncle, and helped me find the strength to keep moving."
"You better survive, Sonic," Robotnik demanded. "If anyone is to have the pleasure of finishing you, it's going to be me."
"This family was made brighter by having you a part of it," Chuck told him. "You've changed so many lives. You deserve to help more."
"Come on, big blue," Rouge spoke up. "You can't let it end like this. You got more fight in you than anyone I know."
The Emeralds continued to spin, their energy glowing bright.
"Sonic, you and everyone here have made my life so much brighter," Kat admitted. "Thanks to you, I have a new best friend, and so many others."
"Sonic…" Keith spoke up. "Sonic, I owe you so much. Ever since we've met I've been able to grow into something more than just some rich kid. Thanks to you I'm… a hero. And I wanna keep being a hero, with you fighting by my side. Please… come back to us."
The Emeralds continued spinning faster and faster, their energy reaching its apex. Finally, there was a burst of energy, causing everyone to cover their eyes. Keith was the first to open them, and right before him was Super Sonic, landing on the ground, his eyes flickering wide open.
"... why the long faces?" he asked with a smirk.