]It all started eons ago…[ the girl started to tell, ]… our race was very old. Some say it come from the Earth as its first children. But no one knew the truth. Our civilization flourished and our knowledge deepened with everyday.
Soon the priests become frightened that our knowledge may be lost in the future. But no one could remember everything, neither any material could hold our writings forever. They made a plan to create an ultimate being.[
"If Shad was here he would call him a fake hedgehog," Sonic smirked and Silver probed him in the ribs.
]And so after many days their magic ritual created a first artificial being – S'ancer. He was given an ability like no one had before him. The ability to read.[
"I can do that too."
Silver probed him in the ribs.
]You don't understand, brave blue one. By reading, I mean reading your heart. Knowing what you are thinking and hiding.[
"There is no way he could get a gossip on me."
Silver probed him in the ribs.
]With this ability he was able to gain knowledge by just looking at an object or a person. Soon he was avoided by all. He didn't mind it at all. His mission was preserving our knowledge for all eternity. He had no need neither use for bonds. This all happened a long time before I was born.[
"Did we get to a middle part of the movie yet?"
Silver probed him in the ribs.
]This structure was once a great tree of a great importance for us.[
Sonic looked at it. It looked death and old like the world itself. He had to admit it made an impression on him. Silver flew up as he noticed a lump on the trunk. It was smooth like a glass and it seemed something could be inside. He thought he saw a face there.
]This tree… gave birth to all of us. It's The Tree of the Beginning.[
"What?!" Silver jerked and jumped back. So inside of it… is a death person?!
]Our race comes from this tree. Everyone born with an item beside him deciding his future. The sword belonged to warriors, a staff to priests, a hammer to worker… only I born differently… I have born with a book.[
"Doesn't that make you a bookworm?"
Silver probed him in the ribs.
"Cut it out!"
"Stop interrupting her."
]Because of it I was considered a special and priests took me in, raising and teaching me. As I grew I started to examine my book. It looked normal to me, but something about it was odd.
It felt like it's talking to me. Saying to be opened and written upon its paper. And so one day a did it… and it happened.[
"Happened like what?"
]What I have written has become a reality. I thought it's just coincidence, but soon I realized the truth. And priests as well. My life changed forever. My contact with outside world was already rare, but now they forbidden me to even leave my room.
I tried to put up with it. I took it as my fate. From that moment they told me what to write and I realized the price for it. The bigger change in reality was mad, the bigger price I had to pay.
I lost my sight, taste, my hair lost its sky blue color, my tail become weak, just walking a bit made me tired… I could take it all… for my people, but when I lost my voice, I felt so much despair. I loved singing more than my life.
Even if my tail was weak I have tried to escape. I lived in big complex and only priests were allowed there. They never thought about I would try to run away.[
Sonic was this time listening without any commentary. The story was getting depressing.
]During my escape I have lost my way only to be found by him.[ She slightly smiled. ]S'ancer found me. It was my first time seeing him. Actually not… I was blind at that time, but I felt someone was there. He was scaring me but not for long. He took my hand and led me out.
Soon we started to talk. I have learned about his power and how he can minimize his reading ability by closing his eyes. He was still able to tell if a person is happy or angry but not knowing the details.
With him, I have returned to my room and from that day he often visited me and told me everything about his day. My position became more bearable. But nothing is eternal, even if our race believed they were.
One ruler made me do a lot of writings, resulting in losing most of my emotions and memories. I felt like a puppet. He wanted an absolute control over the world and people were with him. He ordered me to erase all of the budding civilization below us.[
"He what?! And here I thought Eggman was crazy enough with his Genesis wave and the Shattered planet!"
]So I wrote it, but not a destruction of the innocent people of the world below but my own. I had no regret… except for two things… I have doomed every one… including the unborn one… and the another one…[
"Please, continue," Silver silently asked her.
]I have made S'ancer come to me and I transferred most of the power of the book inside of his eyes. This way the book could change a reality only for a while, eventually returning everything back to normal. I knew the book will survive the fall of Mu, so I wanted to prevent another catastrophe.
I let the island fall and create this place, I ordered the ground to cover it and never let it see the light again. I took a life of everyone…[ She looked above her at The Tree of the Beginning.
"You… only wanted to protect them… all of them… from the pain they wanted to create…" said Silver soothingly.
The girl smiled. ]Thank you. You have a kind heart, I hope it will never be spoiled by hatred.[
"So now we know the story, but how can we stop the jerk with god-like powers?" asked Sonic.
]By fusing the power of the book with his own, he has to read your heart first before he can rewrite your reality.[
"So if I'm fast enough he can't do a thing."
"Did you forget how he was able to read your every move during your fight?"
"That was then and now is now,"
]No, it's possible. I'm sure his personality was altered as well. He may have become arrogant and self-centered. He will want to rewrite you when he beats you and take all the hope from you.[
"So just another Eggman-iac. That will be easy."
"But how do we stop him or even convince him to return everything to normal?"
"I hate to admit it, but we can't go too fast on this one."
]I… I have a plan. My book still has a remaining power that I can use.[
"But don't you need a moonlight for it? Then we kind of missed it," noted Sonic.
]No, that implies on anyone else. Because I have born below pure moonlight I'm a moonlight itself. I created the poem to warn everyone, but…[
"Don't sweat it! You have got an awesome blue hero to save the day."
"I'm here too!"
"And his part-time sidekick," Sonic smirked.
"Stop with that time-puns already!"
The girl laughed. She laughed and laughed until her ghostly body ache. ]Thank you.[
"No problem."
"So the plan is?" asked Silver.
"So I'm going to keep mister Eye-power busy while you two grab the book and make him close his eyes. That's simple enough."
Silver wished Sonic would take something serious, but he actually felt little better. His constant smile was giving him hope, they can succeed. No, they will succeed!
"Let's go!" Sonic raced out of the cave leaving only a dust.
]He is…[
"So fast?"
]No.[
"So cocky?"
]No![
"So inspiring?"
]No-Yes! I mean yes![
"Then I guess we should be going or we will hear from him for the rest of the day how slowpokes take their time."
Sonic rushed to the main building and he noticed a figure standing at the top of it.
'How dramatic and scary.'
]So you have returned, blue hedgehog.[
"You bet! There is a sole with your name on it." He stopped and showed him his sneaker.
]Impudent fool. Can't you see I want to save you from our inevitable misery?[
"This coming from you?"
]You are trying my patient![
"Don't you say."
]Very well, if you insist.[ He raised his hand. The ground shaken and many columns rose from it. They had a small rotating sphere above them.
"About time, this place needs a serious redecoration."
Around the spheres appeared sparks.
"Incoming!" shouted Sonic and jumped as thunder missed him by a whisker. Sonic started to run. "Blue streak speeds by…" he sang loud.
S'ancer called stone and iron soldiers at him.
"Too fast for the naked eyes!" He made a fast job with six of them. "Dundundundudu…He can really move." He stopped in the circle of them and escaped them in the next second. "He's got an attitude!" He made a funny face at S'ancer.
]Low life like you don't deserve to be saved![ He focused on him, but he just disappeared. ]Where?[
"He's the fastest thing alive!"
S'ancer turned after the voice but too late.
"Watch out when he storms through." The wind knocked the last of the Mu from the top. He rolled to down where he stopped.
'Man, I hope Silver and that girl are OK.'
S'ancer stood up. Furious.
[Inside of the main Mu building]
"There it is." Silver quickly grabbed the book on the floor. "If his power originate from its why he left it here?"
]It's possible he consider losing as something impossible. Or he is simply over-confident. The power of the book made him blind to his surrounding.[
"Makes sense." Silver looked at Freedom Fighters. They were sitting with no life in their eyes.
]It's no use to talk with them. Their emotions were taken.[
"Can they return to normal?"
]There is still a chance. Let's hurry to Sonic. I have to be close to S'ancer to make my plan work.[ She flew inside the book.
"Alright."
[Outside of the Land of Mu]
The ground before Sonic turned to water.
"No water! Bad water!" he shouted in fear. S'ancer smirked and Sonic too. "Yeah, right!" Sonic run across it, leaving S'ancer in shock. "Don't doubt what he can do!" he sang.
Purple hedgehog was truly surprised. He had never read about running on the water. He thought for a while. From their first encounter he felt something is odd about him. Now he understood.
Every person is like a book to him. That book has unique writing, thickness, size and other attributes like a cover. Till now he believed there can't be a fully unreadable person. Watching him did give him a rough shape of his book, but it was far from the completion.
Can some one like that… even exist? Yet the proof was right before his eyes… when he stopped, that is… yet it was so unthinkable.
'What's with him? No new magic mumbo jumbo?' Sonic found it weird. He was only trashing an ancients robots for a while, which started to be repetitive. On the other hand, they proved to be pretty sturdy. Even Eggman would find liking in them.
The memory of him reminded him his original mission. Even if he is a pain in spikes, he has to bring him back and settle the score with him with his own power and supersonic style!
"Hey, what's the holdup? Did something got into your eye?" Sonic antagonized him and rushed towards him, which proven to be a bad decision. S'ancer had a chance to calm down making himself more focused.
He touched Sonic's chest with his palm.
"Wha-?!" Blue hedgehog fell on the ground, unable to move much less to run. With a simple hand sigh, the ground engulfed his limbs and lifted him.
"What you did?!"
]I only used a gentle palm to attack your nerve system. For a ten minutes, you will be unable to move.[
"Great. Now you are going to bore me to the death with your baddy speech."
]No, I'm going to read you.[ He came closer.
"Hey! Diary! I have a nice diary! I wrote there everything! Want a diary?" Sonic tried to break free, but his body was paralyzed.
"Eyes off!" shouted Silver and hit S'ancer with stone. Then he ripped the stone prison and took Sonic with him.
"Nice timing."
"One more time-pun and I'm dropping you."
"We don't have time for that."
"Sonic!"
"Hahaha. Please tell me you have it!" Sonic felt as the limbs were returning to normal.
S'ancer touched the place Silver hit with a stone. Yet another unknown knowledge. It was the first time he felt pain... wait, the second time, but before he was preoccupied with different matter.
He looked at Silver. Yet another enigma. His book was even more unreadable than the blue hedgehog's one. It was there yet not. Like he was trying to read a page that wasn't written yet.
]Not written…[
Silver took the book and a pen. He wrote 'S'ancer closed his eyes.'. He felt a pressure like a book was fighting back. He finished the sentence, but the beginning already disappeared.
"Was that supposed to happen?"
"I don't know," Silver looked at S'ancer. It didn't look like he was closing them. "Plan B?"
Who are they, asked S'ancer himself. Why they are so… unreadable? Is it a mistake? Is it something new? Is it… possible? It must be… they are before him. Looking at them makes him calm and relaxed. Yet something was telling him to get rid of them.
He had slightly closed his eyes. They seem so full of hope and brightness… just like her. How could he think emotions are the source of pain?
They are not important, yelled a voice in his head.
He closed them more. He has to correct what he did. How was she saying it… there is no light without a shadow. Both sides need each other, one is the proof of an existence for the other.
]Fu'moon…[ He almost closed his eyes.
]]No![[
]What?[ The voice in his head got louder.
]]You can clean this world… No, you shall do it![[
]Gyahahah![ S'ancer shouted as his eyes were forcefully opened and energy poured from them.
"What's happening?" Shouted Sonic and with Silver they were thrown back by a strong gust of wind.
]It's the book… The book is trying to take control of S'ancer![
"Can't have a day without a final boss, huh? At least Eggman wasn't betrayed by it. That was getting kind of lame."
From S'ancer's body was coming jelly-like substance engulfing him and growing. Soon it was big as the tallest building here.
]]The world can be saved only with absolute knowledge, only that way it can be guided to right future.[[
]No…[ S'ancer clenched his fists and tried to move, but his body was heavy.
The monster took a form of a big figure with massive hands, crystals growing from his head alongside many tentacle-like hairs. They even had a small mouth full of sharp teeth. The transparently blue body mass was covered with big purple spots accompanied by a string of ancient language of Mu.
The monster's head had a lizard-like profile. The symbol of Mu was glowing on its forehead.
]Are you?[ asked the girl, that left the book.
]]So you remembered, Fu'moon.[[
"You know this ugly?" asked Sonic.
]Yes, it's the voice I started to hear after using the book for a while.[
]]I'm your creation. The Tree of the Beginning gave me a body and you gave me a soul. Now I shall fulfill my purpose.[[
"Let me guess, he wants to destroy the world. How cliche."
]]I do not wish to destroy the world, I will merely reshape it to the form it should have.[[
"Sorry, ugly, but I like the world as it is! So butt off!" Sonic got ready for action.
]]Fool. I have the power to reshape reality. What you can do?[[
"Good question," noted Silver.
"Hey, give me some credit," said Sonic over his shoulder.
"Guess we have to kick its butt… if it has one," added Silver as the monster's body was missing any proper anatomy.
"Let's do it to it!" Sonic run. The snake-like tentacles attacked him and went after Silver too. He flew, taking the book with him. The monster was leaving Fu'moon alone.
"Is that all you've got?" Sonic was provoking it.
Silver took few big stone blocks and threw them at the monster, but they only entered its body. Then they were flung back at the hedgehog. He barely avoided them. Even Sonic had a hard time as the tentacles were everywhere. He would be a toast a long time ago without his speed.
'Gotta think of a plan fast!'
The monster let out of its body big tentacles burying into the ground. They sucked energy from earth and made it grow even bigger, to an extent it crushed the hollow mountain above itself.
Silver shielded himself against the raining stones and Sonic used bigger pieces to get to him. "We have to do something!" shouted Silver.
"Any suggestion?" They watched as the monster was getting bigger. It already engulfed the whole city taking pieces of it inside of itself.
Sonic jumped to solid stone on the edge of the destroyed mountain. He looked at Sky Patrol as it flew to them. One big tentacle wrapped around it and sucked it inside, sending it to the main body.
"What?" Sonic looked back and noticed the bodies of his friends are floating inside too. He growled. The monster lost all of its… anatomy turning to a big mass of liquid sending one tentacle to the ground after another.
"Let's free S'ancer, it may be our best guess!" said Sonic.
Silver nodded, took big pieces of stones and created a path for Sonic. He took it, gaining incredible speed, rushing towards mass and finally using spin dash get him inside of it. Silver was just behind him, using his abilities to keep the hole opened.
The monster was trying to crush them. Sonic got closer to the dark purple hedgehog, but it took him all of his speed. Silver ripped space around him. Sonic was just one step from him, when was Silver attacked from behind by mouthed-tentacle.
"Gyah!" It wrapped around him, but he didn't stop concentrating pushing his power beyond its limits.
Sonic caught S'ancer's hand and got ready to punch him in an attempt to wake him up. His eyes were widely opened showing sclera. Faint streams of energy were flowing from within. He felt distant memories of his life.
His dedications to books, words of priest and time with Fu'moon, that taught him more than any book could. He could feel her presence. Her voice calling his name. He as well heard the blue hedgehog's voice and many more. All of them were in pain.
This isn't the world he wanted… not the place Fu'moon wished to protect. Not his vision. Not his wish!
]S'ancer![ she shouted and flew through the path hedgehogs created. She entered his eyes one more time.
]]You! What are you doing?![[
His strength returned. He stood up, feeling Sonic's hand.
]]Can't you see what I wish to achieve?[[
]Yes, I can see it.[
]]Then why?[[
]This world… has more than one future.[ He raised his hand and he free himself out of the liquid creating a spherical space.
]]Such futures are meaningless. Only one can bring light. Only if it's firmly written it can…[[
]No, nothing is set in a stone. Everything change as it flows just like a river.[ S'ancer started to write symbols to the air.
]]You are using my ability to…[[
]You have lived inside of me for a long time, so what's the surprise?[
]]I guess…[[
He finished and the writings glowed. The monster's shape started to change, becoming smaller and more compact while the bodies remained in the air.
]]What you wish to change?[[ it asked him, its form now reminded him a hedgehog with tentacle-like quills, snake bottom-body, he had no mouth and his eyes were glowing.
]Something… or nothing…[
]]I have watched as the world was heading to its destruction. I have witnessed countless pains, hatred, and betrayal. What's gives you the hope your decision's is right?[[ The monster wasn't just full of hatred. It... He thought for himself too, looking for a better future.
]Maybe them.[ He looked at hedgehogs. ]They did open my eyes.[
]]A pun intended?[[ He crossed fanged arms.
S'ancer looked at him quite shocked. Sarcasm was the last thing he would expect from him.
]Really funny.[
]]Do I take it, you are having a god-like power and you are not indenting to use it to erase a god-like monster out of existence?[[
]Are you complaining?[
He was thinking about it. ]]I guess I can life with that.[[
]There is only one thing that should be done.[ He called to himself the original book and made it disappear. ]It's better this way.[
]]I think I caught some illness from these small creatures,[[ he noted, ]]I feel… hot?[[
]Emotions can be a true pain in spikes sometimes.[
]]Geez, thanks for the tip.[[
S'ancer let Mobians and the professor to the ground and came closer to hedgehogs. Now he understood why they were unreadable. One was full of potential and other was unseen future. Neither of which was decided. Both can change and evolve. Silver's eyelids shook and he slightly opened his eyes. S'ancer knelt and took his hand.
"You are okay…"
S'ancer smiled. ]I always thought the knowledge has to be preserved for any cost, but I was mistaken. It's important, but not absolutely unnecessary. The world doesn't need absolute knowledge, it needs people like you.[ He let his hand and stepped back. Silver fell again in unconscious.
When it felt he opened them again, he was standing and watching fleeing Eggman, it all was like a distant dream.
"I'll remember this, you blue rodent!"
Everyone was alright and standing on the beach which was covered by destroyed robots.
"And another Eggman's plan to make secret base goes kaboom!" shouted Amy joyfully.
"I'm so glad we stopped him," said Cream and Cheese agreed.
"Good work team," Sally praised them. She was glad none of them was seriously hurt.
"Don't worry professor Faranight, we will get you to safety," said Rotor and helped the man to feet.
"Thank you. I can't believe that mad doctor has chosen me for a hostage."
"Guess we kicked Eggman's butt in the nick of time, huh?" Sonic looked at the silver hedgehog. Silver didn't react, he was only watching the hollow and destroyed the mountain. "Mobius to Silver, do you read me?"
"Eh? What?" Silver jerked a bit.
"You okay, buddy? You were spacing out. And I made such nice time-pun."
"Oh, yeah, it must have slipped from my mind this time." Silver slightly smiled. Sonic was surprised, but then they did bro fist. "Sonic, don't you have a feeling you forgot something?"
"Actually I do and the worst is, I don't remember how super cool and awesome I was."
"Yeah, right. Let's go home."
"Hey, looks!" Amy pointed to the horizon. The sun was rising. "Isn't romantic?" She immediately hugged Sonic's arm. He only awkwardly smiled, but he let her do it. It was indeed a beautiful view.
[OFF Panel]
"Do you know, why there isn't any flea Egg boss?" asked Cubot.
"No," answered bored Orbot.
"'Cause it would need to Flee-a-way!"