Werwolf99: I disagree. Fan characters are one thing you should always consider what other people will think of them.
And now, the beginning of the end… The grand finale.
Chapter 24 (End of the World)
Sonic, Tails, Mario, Luigi, and Elise went along back to the castle, talking and enjoying the scenery, not a care in the world. The five didn't notice the shadow rising out of the ground behind them, they were so caught up in their victory.
If Mephiles had a mouth, he would have smiled. It had all come down to this… One shot, and it'd be done. He silently glided over the ground, taking aim. It had to be perfect… If they knew he was here, there'd be no time to prepare for another.
A dark beam of light shot out of his hand, hitting Sonic the Hedgehog dead in the back.
Sonic stopped in his tracks, suddenly consumed by pain far worse than anything he'd ever felt. If he'd been able to, he would've screamed as his lives were ripped away, but his energy was draining so fast he never got the chance. It was all over in half a second, and Sonic collapsed to the ground, knowing no more.
"Sonic!" Elise yelled, dropping to the ground next to the hedgehog, and beginning to shake him. "SONIC!"
Tails, Mario and Luigi had noticed this. Tails immediately flew to his brother's side, and joined Elise in trying to wake him. It was only a few seconds before Tails realized he wasn't breathing. "Okay, don't panic… don't panic…" Tails said to himself. "He's still got four left, right…?"
From his position behind the group, Mephiles began to laugh maniacally. "Game Over for Sonic the Hedgehog… He's not coming back, fox. Never! And that means I've won!"
"… No… Sonic…" Tails said, his eyes watering. "… no… big bro… no…" He buried himself in Sonic's side, sobbing. Elise patted him on the shoulder, but it seemed like she was trying her very hardest not to do the same thing.
Mario and Luigi glared at Mephiles. "You… I can't believe you!" Mario yelled. "You're going down!" He ran at Mephiles, slamming through Shadow's doppelganger with his fist. Mephiles burst into darkness, but reformed, none the worse for wear, laughing. "Oh, you could fight me, Hero! But it's already too late! Look at the princess!"
Mario did, turning to see Luigi, Tails, and Elise all around Sonic. Luigi was trying to comfort the other two, but failing, as he was clearly just as upset as Elise. Elise was still trying not to cry, but was losing the battle. She shed a tear, and everything broke loose.
A huge shockwave broke out from the princess, knocking Tails, Luigi, and Sonic's body back from her. A huge wave of flame, larger than any Mario had ever produced without a Fire Flower, shot upwards from her, forming into a glowing sphere of lava some thirty feet up.
Mephiles began laughing once more. "Iblis! Finally, we reunite!" He took out the Purple, Yellow, and Green Chaos Emeralds, and they began to glow. Suddenly, Mario's, Luigi's, and Sonic's Chaos Emeralds shot out to join him, and six Emeralds were now circling Mephiles.
"WAH!" Yelled a familiar voice, as Wario was dragged out from behind a tree, clutching the Red Chaos Emerald. "Oh, no, you don't!" Wario yelled, as he dug his feet into the ground. "MINE!"
"The cunning star. Oh, yes, we finally meet. If you're truly so cunning, you must know that this is FUTILE!" Mephiles yelled, as all seven Chaos Emeralds flashed and the red one was yanked out of Wario's hands to join the circle. "Now, Chaos Emeralds… It's time for the final curtain call!" The Chaos Emeralds glowed, as Iblis was pulled down, straight into Mephiles. The flames surrounded Mephiles, and a bright flash of light lit up the world.
Shadow clipped his inhibitor rings back on, and grabbed Rouge and Omega by the hands.
"We've got to find Mephiles, before he-"
Shadow covered his eyes, as a bright flash of light enveloped the world, feeling as though it was going through his very being.
"No!" Shadow yelled, as the light overtook them. It was too late…
Amy, Peach, Yvan, and Wolley were enjoying a walk through Soleanna Castle town, when clouds suddenly covered the sky. Amy got out her hammer and Peach her umbrella, both ready to face whatever was happening.
As the light flashed over the entire world, though, it became abundantly clear to the two girls that they were NOT ready for whatever this was.
Knuckles smirked, as he punched out another of Eggman's robots. "I can't wait to see the look on Sonic's face when he hears I took out one of Eggman's bases without his help!" He glanced out the window, at the wonderful underwater view the base held. "Still, though, this place is beautiful. Shame I've got to, as Sonic would say, 'trash the place'."
A blinding wall of light suddenly filtered in through the water, permeating everything in sight.
"Huh? What's going-"
Daisy had introduced Silver to Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, and the four were getting along nicely. DK had thought it was a good idea to introduce Silver to the idea of a banana split, and so the four were sitting around an Ice Cream Parlor. Yoshi had been there already, and had made up with Silver already.
"Man, that was one heck of an adventure!" Daisy said. "We gotta do that more often!"
"BASH BADDIES AND EAT BANANAS!" DK yelled, pounding his chest.
"Yeah, that was fun!" Silver said, as he looked outside. "… Uh, guys? There's a lot of clouds out there, suddenly, and-"
Silver didn't get the chance to finish as the huge flash of light overtook them.
Bowser groaned, picking himself up. Nearby, Eggman was sitting in his Egg-O-Matic, arms crossed. Bowser sighed. "Beaten again."
"As usual," Eggman said, irritated. "How, even? Even when we work together, we still… Oh no!" Eggman yelled, interrupting himself as the light began to descend. "Solaris!"
"OH CRUD!" Bowser yelled, as the light overtook them too.
The Chaos Emeralds circling around Mephiles zipped off in all directions, into the distance to who knows where.
The light faded, and Luigi found himself standing on a floating platform in the middle of a void. Next to him was standing a still-crying Tails, with Mario on his other side. In front of them was Elise, and the limp form of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Near Tails, all three members of Team Dark stood. Amy, Knuckles, and Peach stood together a little ways in the other direction. Silver, Donkey Kong, and Yoshi stood in a group nearby, as well. Right next to Mario stood Wario.
"What's going on here?" Luigi asked. "How'd everyone get here?"
"It's all because of Solaris," Rouge said.
"She's right," said a growling voice from behind the Mario Bros. Everyone turned around to see Bowser and Dr. Eggman standing there. "The sun god is the one who did all of this."
"It seems we were all caught in the spatial distortion," Eggman said. "Iblis's seal was broken. Mephiles has rejoined with his other half."
Amy wasn't looking at Eggman, though. "… Sonic?" she asked, running over to where the blue hedgehog lay on the floor.
Knuckles came with her, staring agape at his friend. "… Tails… Is he…"
Tails sobbed. "… yes…"
"… Sonic's dead?" Knuckles asked. "He can't be… He's actually…" Knuckles was speechless. Sonic, dead? It was… It was just so incomprehensible. How could that even happen?
"NO!" Amy yelled. "NO! SONIC! YOU CAN'T BE GONE!"
Mario and Luigi hung their heads. They'd only known Sonic for a short time, true. But he'd definitely made a lasting impression.
"Mephiles had two goals… One was to stall for time, so he could become so powerful it would be impossible to imprison him again," Wario said.
"And the other… You see the results before you now," Eggman said. "He wanted to make the princess cry… So he got someone who'd gotten close to her, and… Sonic." Eggman whispered his next statement to himself. "… You were a good rival, Sonic. Never forget that."
"So that's why Mephiles wanted me to…" Silver trailed off.
"… Blue hedgehog Silver friend?" DK asked. "… DK Sorry."
"… This can't be over!" Mario yelled. "I refuse to accept it! Peach, we need you!"
"Mario, I don't think I can heal this," Peach said, as she came over.
"But you've gotta try, Princess," Mario said. Peach sighed, and crouched down over Sonic. Her hands glowed pink as she waved them over the blue hedgehog, but nothing happened.
"He's gone… I can't do this…" Peach said sadly. "Maybe… With a Power Star… If Jaydes let him come back…"
"I'm afraid that's impossible," Eggman said sadly.
"If there's no Power Stars here, there aren't any anywhere," Bowser added. "Time itself is being erased…"
"… Which means we're in a rift, caused by the instability of time," Shadow said, finishing Bowser's thought.
"And it won't remain for much longer," Eggman said.
"Then we've got to get rid of this thing now," Mario said, clenching his fist. "And deal with the rest later!"
"It won't work. Solaris transcends time."
"Then we'll destroy it all at once!" Silver yelled. "It's my fault! It's my responsibility."
"But how?" Eggman asked.
"The Chaos Emeralds," Wario said. "They were here when the rift was created. They still exist, so if we can find them…"
"We can save Sonic!" Peach yelled suddenly. "His spirit has returned! And if we save Sonic…"
"Then, surely, Sonic can help save the world," Shadow said. "But there's no time to delay. We'll need to split up. The Chaos Emeralds are scattered throughout this distorted reality."
Mario nodded, and everyone scattered to help find the Chaos Emeralds – Everyone except Eggman and Elise, who stayed by Sonic's side.
"Will this really work?" Elise asked Eggman.
Eggman hesitated. "… I don't know. But there's no other options."
Luigi and Tails emerged in Crisis City, and immediately began running down the ruined street. The city looked just as it had the last time they were here, with one distinct difference: Everything was tinted purple, and holes in space were opening up everywhere, sucking in the minions of Iblis all around.
"You holding in there, Tails?" Luigi asked.
Tails swallowed, but nodded. "Yeah… gotta do this, for Sonic…"
"I'd do anything for my brother, too," Luigi said, as he and Tails jumped over a gap in the road. "I hope we make it."
"We will!" Tails said. "… We have to." As they scaled a ruined building, they found what they needed: The Yellow Chaos Emerald. Luigi grabbed it, and he and Tails turn back and ran the way they came.
"DO NOT GET IN MY WAY," Omega said to Bowser, as the two came into the volcano of Flame Core.
"Wouldn't dream of it!" Bowser yelled, jumping into the lava and wading through. "Keep up, if you can!"
"IS THAT NOT PAINFUL?" Omega asked, as he used his rocket thrusters to glide after Bowser.
"Yeah, duh!" Bowser yelled, continuing to wade through it. "But if there's no world, there's nowhere to rule, and no Mario to fight!"
"FIGHTING IS GOOD."
"I agree!" Bowser yelled, as he punched his way through the wall of the volcano to find the green Chaos Emerald. "Got it! Let's go, before everything is over!"
Mario and Knuckles emerged in the jungle, and Mario immediately jumped his way onto the ruins and ran down them. It was all Knuckles could do to try and keep up with the plumber.
"I can't believe this happened," Knuckles said, as Mario pulled him over a gap. He could've glided, but Mario's long jump was much faster. "How could someone just…"
"End Sonic's game like that?" Mario asked, as he allowed Knuckles to smash through a boulder in their path. "I don't know. It's… It shouldn't be possible to do that. It's just wrong!" They reached the edge of the ruins, where a cyan glow could be seen below. Knuckles dropped down and grabbed the Emerald, climbing back up to Mario.
"For Sonic," Knuckles said. "We've got to succeed."
"For Sonic, AND the world," Mario replied, determination in his eyes. "We will NOT fail!"
Yoshi carried Silver through Dusty Desert, dashing at high speeds.
"Why did you ever forgive me?" Silver asked. "It's all my fault, anyway!"
"Not Silver fault!" Yoshi yelled, as he hopped over a fire monster. Silver levitated a boulder out of the dragon's way, allowing him to continue uninterrupted. "Mephiles trick! You change mind anyway!"
"… Thanks, Yoshi," Silver said, as he snagged the white Chaos Emerald with his telekinesis as they passed.
"Always are welcome!" Yoshi said, back, skidding to a stop and dashing back the direction they came.
Rouge and Wario ran down the beach, looking for a Chaos Emerald.
"Look," Wario said to Rouge. "I'm sorry about ditching you back there! And I'm sorry about this whole situation, okay? I didn't mean for this to happen."
"Not the time!" Rouge yelled, as she flew across a submerged part of the beach. Wario just ran through, easily wading through the water while running. "And I know you were trying to save the world. Besides…"
"Besides what?" Wario asked, as he punched through a boulder to reveal a cave with the purple Chaos Emerald within.
"It's hard to fault another treasure hunter if they don't take your treasure," Rouge said, as she grabbed the Chaos Emerald.
Despite the situation, Wario smiled. "Too true. I know some good spots, if you want."
"When the world isn't about to end, sure."
Amy and Peach dashed through the snow of White acropolis, using Amy's ability to double jump and Peach's ability to glide with her umbrella to avoid all the monsters that tried to attack them.
"Amy, how are you doing?"
"TERRIBLE!" Amy yelled, as she smashed down one of Eggman's guard towers. "Sonic's… Gone!"
"I'll get him back, Amy," Peach said. "I promise."
"Do you mean it?" Amy asked, as she slammed through one of Eggman's gates, not even bothering to solve the 'puzzle' meant for Sonic.
"Yes," Peach said, deadly serious as she grabbed the blue emerald that was behind the gate. "I'm going to get him back. We're going to get the world back."
Shadow and Donkey Kong arrived in Kingdom Valley, Donkey Kong wasting no time in climbing across a wall. Shadow found a trail of rings, and light-dashed after him.
"Do you even know what we're doing?" Shadow asked.
"Find pretty gem!" DK yelled.
"A Chaos Emerald. A gem of ultimate power."
"Yes! Save world. Place with all friends."
"… Yes, I suppose it is," Shadow said, as he ran below the climbing ape. DK jumped onto a ledge, and jumped right back down with the red Chaos Emerald.
"Got it! Go save friends now," DK said, running back the way they came. Shadow followed, hoping they weren't too late.
Peach rushed over to Sonic, blue Emerald in hand. Everyone had arrived at the same time, each with an Emerald. "Okay, give them all to me!" Peach said. "I think… I hope I can do this." With all seven Chaos Emeralds in hand, Peach focused her energy. The Chaos Emeralds lit up, circling the princess. She began to glow a brilliant pink color, wings of light appearing behind her as her dress shimmered with a golden-pink color. She began to float above the ground, the Chaos Emeralds dropping to the floor, lifeless and dull.
Peach floated forward, placing her hands on Sonic. The glow faded from her, as Sonic's body flashed a brilliant white for a moment. A second later, Peach was back to normal, and Sonic had changed from blue to a brilliant gold, his spines sticking up instead of hanging down like they usually did. Sonic opened his eyes, revealing that they had gone from their usual emerald green to a ruby red color.
"All right!" Super Sonic yelled. "I am back in business!"
"Sonic!" A multitude of voices yelled, no one quite sure at all who did and didn't. Sonic grinned, flying over to Tails, Knuckles, Mario, and Luigi.
"So, yeah, I got the memo of the whole issue here," Sonic said, floating in front of his friends. "That lady in purple in that dark place told me before sendin' me back here." He held onto Tails' and Knuckles' hands. "Ready for this?"
"Always, Sonic," Knuckles said, smiling at his friend.
Tails nodded, giving Sonic a thumbs-up with his other hand. "Let's go!"
Tails and Knuckles rose into the air, Tails' fur shining and glowing a brilliant gold, Knuckles gaining his own, fuchsia glow.
Sonic turned to what little could be seen of the light in the sky. "Time to end this for good! SUPER SONIC STYLE!"
The Super Team Sonic shot into the air, leaving the other heroes on the ground to watch and cheer them on.
Sonic: Was just dead. Cracks jokes.
So, I had Super Tails and Super Knuckles instead of Super Shadow and Super Silver. Instead of looking like their modern Super forms do in Sonic heroes (and, yes, those golden shields are their actual Super forms, as far as I can tell), I had them glow the same colors as their classic Super forms – Tails golden, Knuckles pinkish.
And, yeah, Peach saved Sonic, instead of Elise. But she had to go Super (Or, rather, Empress Peach - I based her Super form on her Mega Strike, so it stands to reason it should be named after it) to use her existing healing powers to heal Sonic. And it worked so well, he became Super.