CHAPTER 17: Train Ride


Later that morning, two fatigued figures worked their way slowly through the streets of New Town, one a white hedgehog with long head spines, and the other a lilac-colored purple cat wearing a rich purple cloak. Silver and Blaze had arrived in Soleanna around nine AM, and both felt exhausted. Both were fatigued from a night, a day and another night of failures.

Blaze hadn't slept in the last twenty-four hours, but she managed to keep herself awake and fiery. If perchance they met the Iblis Trigger, they needed to be ready. She knew she was…but couldn't help but feel distracted about Silver. Silver himself was the worst off of the pair. While he had sleep, it was fitful and restless, plagued by dreams and all other kinds of things. One in particular was bugging him, and it left him severely distracted. What was that girl? Silver would wonder over and over again. It plagued him the entire trip back from the White Acropolis base. Unconsciously, he stroked the Talisman of Light in his hand nervously as he thought, almost as if it was a teddy bear. What was that place? And what about what I saw there: me crying…Blaze fading into the darkness…Sonic murdered…and… Silver shuddered in revulsion. He had seen many horrible things, more than anyone should ever see, and what he saw at the end of that vision...no one should ever have seen that thing, and he hoped he never would see it again as long as he lived.

As they walked through the streets of New Town, both looked for the Iblis Trigger, but not with the fiery passion they had just a day ago. With Silver, too much has happened in the last twenty-four hours, and it all cluttered inside his head, each event coursing and bulldozing through his mind so fiercely that he couldn't concentrate on his initial goal. Blaze, nothing really happened to change her mood, but was constantly distracted by Silver. His silence was unsettling, as well as his reluctance to talk about what was on his mind. Silver was usually quick to speak on what was on his mind—he was still a child after all at fourteen—but besides one quick conversation on the docks the previous day, Silver wouldn't say a word on what was on his mind. It frustrated Blaze somewhat, but more so, she was disturbed at Silver's seemingly sudden change of behavior. She reflected on that one conversation she and Silver had on the docks, however brief. Was there a clue in what Silver had said…about the morality of their quest?

Blaze forced herself to look away from the troubled white hedgehog, albeit still lost in her own thoughts. When she looked up, she espied a black hedgehog leaning again a building wall in an alleyway. Squinting to pierce through the rays of the midmorning sun, she identified the alley-dwelling being. She could see the cobalt-blue highlights.

"Silver," Blaze spoke, and Silver looked at her wordlessly. "It's Mephiles…in the alleyway."

Silver looked to see where Blaze pointed, and saw Mephiles leaning against the wall. Not saying anything, he moved toward the black hedgehog. Blaze felt a flicker an apprehension on her heart. Now Silver wasn't talking period. She had to find out what was eating him before he broke. She soon followed after the silent white hedgehog.

Mephiles seemed not to notice the pair's approach; he hardly moved and didn't lift his head from looking at the ground.

"Mephiles," Silver started, and then paused. He wasn't prepared for asking Mephiles what was on his mind for the last several hours, therefore didn't really know what to ask him for some time. Silver noticed that Mephiles seemed deaf to his approach, but after taking a breath, he continued. "Why does the Iblis Trigger want to destroy the world? Was it an accident, or was he truly evil?"

Blaze eyed Silver suspiciously. This was somewhat an odd question to ask, and Blaze could feel that this was not what was on Silver's mind. Oh, Silver, Blaze thought. You were always a terrible liar when it comes down to it.

Mephiles didn't say a word for some time. Silver felt a nervous bead of sweat travel down his snout from waiting. Finally, Mephiles spoke. "I believe I told you that back in the future. He acted rashly. He did not stop to think about what would happen if he released the Flames of Disaster. In law, they still punish those who commit a wrong even if they didn't know the consequences and just acted rashly."

"But--" Silver began.

Mephiles cut him off, snapping his head erect in a glare. "Why does this matter to you!? The blue hedgehog you saw in the gem, the Iblis Trigger, is responsible for unleashed the genocide of two species, and the complete extermination of a time and world, two-hundred years of it. There's no time to think about the why. Concentrate on what you need to do. You must deliver justice!"

Silver was stunned. Mephiles' words pierced right through his clouded thoughts like a hot knife through butter.

"If you miss this opportunity, you will go back to fighting Iblis again and again but in the end you will fail." Mephiles said. "And today, you must do it…for before the day is done…the Flames of Disaster will be released."

Both Silver and Blaze blanched. "Today's the day?"

"Yes…the end of the world…begins before sunset."

Silver and Blaze locked eyes, feeling the fatigue evaporate into the wind.

"He just now left for the train station…intercept him and eliminate him. When you succeed, your world will be restored, but you will have no knowledge what happened, for the time paradox will transport you back into the future, and everything will be peaceful…for Iblis will never have been released. Now go…"

Mephiles trod past them, leaving them alone. Silver and Blaze had to breathe. Today is the day when the world would literally go to hell, and it left both of them numb.

Silver snapped out of his stupor. "We got to get him now!"

"Yes!" said Blaze, inwardly glad that Silver was refocused again. She guessed all he really needed was a wakeup call, and he got it.

Without another word, the white hedgehog and lilac cat darted for the train station as fast as they could. Time was not on their side…for they only have twelve hours to save the world.

Unknown to both the two and the now departed Mephiles, there was a Joker in the deck. On top of a building right above the alleyway, a blue hedgehog-like robot and a white bat were perched on the roof, and had overheard the conversation.

"Did you get all that, Mecha?" Rouge said.

"Affirmative…" Metal-Sonic said. "I have recorded every word of the discourse."

"It's lucky we happened to be here…" Rouge said. "There were some juicy things to listen to."

"Indeed," Mecha agreed, although he wouldn't use the term juicy. "From your description of Mephiles, I can draw the conclusion that the black hedgehog was Mephiles, despite the fact I didn't see his eyes."

"I'm sure of it…but I wonder who the kid and the cat were…and how they came back in time."

"I cannot draw a conclusion from that…," Mecha said. "But I'm sure it will interest Shadow and Viper greatly, considering they are involved with Mephiles."

"I'm more curious about the Iblis Trigger," Rouge began. "Mephiles described it as a blue hedgehog." Rouge didn't notice Mecha make a funny twitch. "I wonder what that's all about and what it has to do with Sonic."

Metal-Sonic had not quite overcome his loathing for Sonic, but after his defeat during Operation Firestorm, he was beginning to accept that they weren't enemies anymore. There was now a mutual truce between the two.

"We must depart," Metal-Sonic finally said. "We shall relay all the information including the two new creatures as well as the information regarding the quote-on-quote Iblis Trigger to Shadow and Viper."

"Then let's go. I'm very curious to see what they think."

- - - - -

In another part of New Town, behind the weapons warehouses, Viper and Shadow waited conveniently in the shade for Metal-Sonic and Rouge to arrive with the two talismans. In the mean-time, Viper was filling Shadow in on Mephiles and his history.

"You may not remember this, Shadow, but when we first met Mephiles, he was called Nazo, a snow-white colored hedgehog with enormous power. It was during an investigation of Mystic Ruins, when several researchers and archaeologists kept disappearing in the night expeditions, only to be found several days later rotting in the sun, seemingly devoured by something. You, Sonic, the Chaotix and I were heading the investigation when we encountered Nazo. We fought numerous times, and he merged himself with the creature that was primarily responsible of devouring the researchers. Controlling it, he stabbed you with its stinger and we thought you were dead. Sonic and me finally killed the creature and destroyed Nazo…or so we thought."

"I'm with you so far," Shadow said. "But you're right. I have no memory of this."

"I suspected as much," Viper said. "He was able to rebuild himself as Echelon, I believe, and he and I fought during the Black Arms invasion. I defeated him again, but nearly died myself. Now…he's here…as Mephiles. The only way I could tell was that his eyes never changed, not in the least. The Black Chaos Emerald corrupted your mind so you lost all of you memory, and you're still piecing it together, and it's all because of Mephiles."

"Damn it," Shadow said.

"Yeah," Viper continued. "I got my own reasons to go after Mephiles for trying to kill me twice. I do want to destroy him once and for all."

"We both will," Shadow said. "I'll destroy him for destroying my mind."

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear, Shadow."

"Now we just have to find him again."

"I can't help be curious though," Viper said. "What did Dr. Kintobor want with Mephiles to begin with? He was sealed in the Talisman of Darkness somehow, but that doesn't make sense since he was destroyed."

"He may have resurrected himself and is just saying he was sealed to throw us off the track."

"Quite possibly," Viper said. "But he still remembers us. Wouldn't a reborn entity really retain all of its memories?"

"I cannot say." Shadow crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. "He's practically immortal, and therefore we cannot deduce properly on how he will work. We should know, after all..."

Viper sniffed in agreement.

Suddenly, Shadow snapped open his eyes. Not moving, he breathed, "They're here."

Viper didn't have to ask, for he knew who had come. They were expecting them after all. Glancing towards the warehouses, they espied a white bat and a blue robot that looks vaguely like a hedgehog. Each of the two carried a jeweled talisman, one green and the other black.

"Hi, boys," Rouge greeted. "Long time, no see..."

Neither Viper nor Shadow returned the greeting.

"Greetings," Metal-Sonic greeted. "We had observed that you had returned from the far future, and I observe you attained...minimal damage."

Viper and Shadow nodded, mildly amused at Mecha's attempt at dry humor. He was remarking how ruffled they looked after their intense fight with Mephiles.

"Why so tight-lipped boys?" Rouge asked, fluttering her eyes briefly. "Have you two been doing anything bad while I was away?"

Neither responded; both knew that Rouge was being annoying deliberately to get a response.

"That's too bad...," Rouge said. "And here we were wanting to share something oh so juicy with you."

Metal-Sonic finally grew tired at Rouge's babble. "We happened upon an interesting conversation on the way here between three individuals; one in particular matches Rouge's description of Mephiles."

Both Viper and Shadow looked up. Now this was interesting. "What did he say?" Shadow addressed Metal-Sonic.

"It was very peculiar," Rouge said soberly. "The three spoke about the Iblis Trigger, whatever that is. Hey, wasn't the demon you guys fought in the future called Iblis, Shadow?"

"Yes," Shadow replied. "More accurately, Sonic called it Iblis." Shadow crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. "The Iblis Trigger...that doesn't mean anything to me."

"It does to me," Viper said, causing the other three to look at him in surprise. "Was one of the individuals talking to Mephiles a silvery-white hedgehog?"

Rouge and Metal-Sonic locked eyes, then they looked at Viper. "Yes," they said in unison. "Why?" Rouge asked, genuinely interested.

"When we first arrived here in Soleanna a few days ago, I had awakened in the clock tower. I waited there for several hours. During that time, I found the hedgehog in question awaiting on the clock tower but outside of it. Observing him, he said, and I quote, "I finally found him...the Iblis Trigger." That hedgehog's name is Silver, and I gathered that from him saying his name to someone. That's all I know of him."

Shadow didn't move, but his now open eyes stared distantly in thought. Why was this Silver after something called the Iblis Trigger. What was the Iblis Trigger?

"There's more," Mecha said suddenly. "Mephiles may not be working alone. Listen closely."

All three listened closely to the recorded conversation of Silver, Blaze and Mephiles.

"Mephiles," said a higher masculine voice. Viper identified it as Silver "Why does the Iblis Trigger want to destroy the world? Was it an accident, or was he truly evil?"

There was a long pause, then a voice everyone identified as Mephiles spoke. "I believe I told you that back in the future. He acted rashly. He did not stop to think about what would happen if he released the Flames of Disaster. In law, they still punish those who commit a wrong even if they didn't know the consequences and just acted rashly."

"But--" Silver began again but was cut off.

"Why does this matter to you!? The blue hedgehog you saw in the gem, the Iblis Trigger, is responsible for unleashed the genocide of two species, and the complete extermination of a time and world, two-hundred years of it. There's no time to think about the why. Concentrate on what you need to do. You must deliver justice! If you miss this opportunity, you will go back to fighting Iblis again and again but in the end you will fail." Mephiles said. "And today, you must do it…for before the day is done…the Flames of Disaster will be released."

"Today's the day?"

"Yes…the end of the world…begins before sunset. He just now left for the train station…intercept him and eliminate him. When you succeed, your world will be restored, but you will have no knowledge what happened, for the time paradox will transport you back into the future, and everything will be peaceful…for Iblis will never have been released. Now go…"

As the playback ended, Metal-Sonic and Rouge looked to see what response either Shadow or Viper would have. "That was definitely Silver and Mephiles."

"Who was the third at the scene?" Shadow asked.

Rouge answered, "A purple cat. She didn't speak obviously, but she looked like royalty almost."

"Pawns of Mephiles, perhaps?" Viper asked.

"Doubtful," Shadow said. "Mephiles is a manipulator; more then likely he recruited them to perform something beneficial for him. In this case, to find the Iblis Trigger."

"I'm more interested in that," said Viper. "Ever since Silver mentioned it that night, I was curious to find out what it was. The description was to say the least...enlightening."

Unseen to all, Metal-Sonic gave a slight twitch.

"Sonic's been all over Soleanna and the regions around in the last couple of days, trying to rescue the Princess," Rouge hinted.

"Because of that, Dr. Kintobor has been awfully busy trying to getting Elise back..." Viper couldn't help but smirk. He found the constant game of catch and rescue Sonic was playing slightly amusing.

"Dr. Kintobor was exceedingly interested in the Talisman of Darkness, where Mephiles was supposedly sealed." Shadow said, looking at Viper.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rouge said.

"Never mind," Viper said to Rouge. "The point is that Mephiles has some kind of power that Dr. Kintobor wants to obtain. What can Mephiles control? Anybody?" Viper looked around, searching for an answer.

Rouge and Shadow looked at each other before answering. "He is able to travel through time. You know this, Viper."

"Yeah, yeah, I was asking for something ELSE beside the obvious," said Viper slightly annoyed.

"He has incredible regenerative powers," Shadow continued to list.

"Doesn't everyone?" Viper commented dryly, causing Shadow and Metal-Sonic to smirk slightly. "What else?"

"Let's focus on that last ability. Immortality?" Metal-Sonic said.

"And who isn't going after that?" Viper said. "but I see you point."

"My, you're feeling witty today, Viper," Rouge said, smiling.

Viper ignored her, and continued. "We're still fuzzy on the details, and it's all about Project Solaris. Until we find out what exactly that encompasses, we can only guess."

"What's our next course of action then?" Metal-Sonic said.

"Shadow, are you up for a hunt?" Viper asked.

Shadow looked at Viper, then smiled. "I always am."

"We're going to hunt for Dr. Kintobor. He's one of two sources that we can use to find out what exactly is Project Solaris and what it encompassed. And thanks to Mephiles, Dr. Kintobor has got to be around the train station. Sonic is heading towards it at breakneck speeds most likely, and he's obviously after Elise, which means Dr. Kintobor should be at the train station, since Sonic doesn't seem the type to take a train to speed to a rescue." Viper said as he mixed his plan with drips of sarcasm. "Shadow and I are going after him. I have questions for Dr. Kintobor."

"And if I encounter Mephiles' recruits, I intend to drill them with questions," Shadow said.

"Good plan," Viper said.

"What about us?" Rouge said.

"You two are going to exploit the other source and find a way to hack into the archives to find the documents for Project Solaris. Also, track Mephiles if you can. He'll be hanging around here, I'm sure..." Viper said, then turned to Shadow. "Let's go..."

Shadow nodded, and just as quickly, Viper and Shadow departed for the train station at a run. Rouge and Metal-Sonic looked on after them.

"Hmph," Rouge huffed. "They aren't back for even an hour and off they go without even as much as a hello. Doesn't look like their little trip changed them any."

Metal-Sonic wasn't listening. Busily he was searching with his wireless uplink searching for any port he could use as relays so that he could safely hack without detection. Although being a Mecha-bot and possessing the best hacking software known to man and Möbian kind, he was not one to take risks. This may take a while, thanks to the relatively primitive technology that these people of Soleanna possess...plus there was the other directive of keeping track of Mephiles. Radar was now set at maximum rage, but Metal-Sonic didn't have a reading for Mephiles. Metal-Sonic suddenly felt a rumble of paranoia in his core. He felt the compulsion to accelerate the research into Project Solaris.

- - - - -

Sonic was frantically searching for one train, one particular train in a train yard packed with trains and people. Elise was in one of these trains, but each train looks exactly the same on the outside as another. There was no telling which one was Elise's train!

Sonic looked at the talisman he bore in his right hand, and into the dark blue gem, almost glaring at it as if this sticky situation was its fault. He had obtained this talisman from the porter at the castle when he went to find Elise, but learning that Dr. Kintobor caught her again, he took off for the train station, thanks to the porter's intel.

Glaring somewhat at the crowd of trains, he continued to scan the area for anything that might help him in his search. He didn't count on this many trains to be packed into this small station. Soleanna was busier then he thought. It didn't help that these trains wouldn't wait for him, as some left and some came. So often did trains depart and arrive that Sonic was genuinely concerned that Elise's train had already left.

Suddenly, something—or more specifically someone—caught his eyes at the far end of the platform. A bald man was boarding one train far away. Sonic squinted hard, hoping to see more. Ah, a change of luck! The man turned his head slightly and Sonic could see more of his features: dark glasses, large orange mustache, red coat…that had to be Dr. Kintobor.

Sonic grinned; wherever Dr. Kintobor was, Elise was sure to be close by, and that was good enough for him. Not hesitating another moment, Sonic leaped off the platform and made a mad dash for the car on the far end, where Dr. Kintobor was now boarding the train. Getting there was difficult, as Sonic had to weave through crowds, climb between cars and what else. Despite this excuse, this frustrated Sonic. Time lost meant more time for the train to escape, and Sonic wouldn't have it. Sonic was going slow and he knew it, thus when he arrived at the platform where Elise's train was, it had left. Cursing in his mind, he looked up and down to see where the train would go to leave. When he found the out-going tracks, he took off along-side the tracks, blasting at eighty miles per hour. Trains took time to gain speed and couldn't move that fast to begin with. Even at the train's top speed, Sonic could keep up at an easy jog since he spent his lifetime perfecting the science of shattering the sound barrier. Surely, that train wouldn't be far.

Unfortunately, Sonic didn't count on the mountainous terrain. While Soleanna was a coastal city, the mountains came right on to the shoreline, so mere miles away from the shore were the foothills, which made even running treacherous, let alone a train ride. Therefore, the train was moving on a set of trestles and bridges over the valleys and ravines, while Sonic was stuck on foot. The train was already on one trestle, and Sonic already knew that running on train tracks was a very bad idea. He learned that lesson six years before when he was chasing down E-Zero Alpha whom had kidnapped Amy and Birdy before Perfect Chaos nearly annihilated Sapphire City. Therefore, he wasn't about to rip up his ankles or knees or both trying to take a seemingly faster route. If only he had his Soapshoes, that way he'd just grind on the rails after them. Still, Sonic was thrilled at the terrain. To a supersonic speedy hedgehog like him, this was practically an obstacle course, an awesome one too. This would be one radical train ride. Time to jam!

Sonic blasted into the ravine at two-hundred miles per hour, straight downhill. When he reached the bottom, he accelerated to four-hundred, using the ravine as a half-pipe! The colossal momentum he now bore carried him up, gaining enormous lift. He used anything he could land on to BASE-jump from cliff-side to trestle pillar to tree and what else he could use. He took the idea of re-using the environment and ran with it…literally.

During Sonic's exciting run through the foothills, he noticed that he kept crossing numerous train tracks, not the same tracks that the train he was chasing was riding on. He soon discovered that this area was a spider-web of train tracks and trestles, each leading to who knew where. Also, the trains coming and going from the train station he left minutes before were zigzagging through the train tracks, making this place very busy. Sonic was hard-pressed to keep from getting run over.

I'd move faster if I ran on top of the trains instead of alongside the rails, Sonic observed thoughtfully. But even then, I'd have to watch out. Sonic was referring to gaps in the train where one car ended and another began. Also, the trains that hugged the cliff sides sometimes went under tree branches or roots. Worse still, some trains went through tunnels with little to no room above the train for Sonic to go through. Also, if Sonic hopped on a train that was travelling inversely in the direction he was travelling, the gaps of the trains would move faster underneath him, but the tree branches and tunnels would come slower. If he hopped onto a train that was travelling directly in the direction he was going, the gaps wouldn't be so fast coming to him, but the tree branches and tunnels would come at him faster. Each way, there was a risk, but Sonic was a big risk taker.

Leaping from train to train, Sonic climbed the spider-web of tracks and trestles to reach the tracks where the train where Elise was on. He even ran up cliff-sides when the trains were too far apart vertically to leap from.

After another several minutes, Sonic found himself running behind his target. The train was moving at a steady pace at fifty miles per hour. However, the train a lot of the time was on bridges and trestles, so Sonic had to slow down to keep from ripping apart his angle. Still, he was catching up steadily.

Something caught his eye overhead. As the train was passing under a stone bridge, a shadowy figure dropped down onto the train from right off of it. Sonic could hear the crash from further up the train. Who the heck was crazy enough to jump down onto a train from a hundred feet in the air…beside me? Sonic asked in thought.

"I expected that you'd be here," said a voice to his side, causing Sonic's attention to snap to this new presence. Off to his left racing alongside the other side of the tracks was a black hedgehog with red highlights. He matched one skating stride with four of Sonic's strides.

"Heh, am I that predictable, Shadow?" Sonic answered. "Shoot, I'm going to have to work on that. But what can I say? I love the smell of adventure!"

Shadow's grinned, but quickly wiped it off his face. "Sonic, you're being followed. Two people are stalking you some distance behind. They mentioned something about the Iblis Trigger."

Sonic's eyes dilated. "Was one of them a white hedgehog with crazy hair?" he asked.

Shadow nodded. "He other was a purple cat."

Sonic gritted his teeth. Great, fanatic time-traveler is back and out to kill. "How did you find out?"

"Mecha and Rouge overheard and recorded a conversation between Silver, the hedgehog, and Mephiles."

Damn, Sonic thought. "Thanks for the heads up, Shads."

"I'm not looking for gratitude, Sonic," Shadow said bluntly. "Get the Princess then get the hell out of here. We have business with the doctor." With that, Shadow accelerated and went along the train.

Sonic tagged along behind then hoisted himself onto the rear car's bridge where the back door stood. Grasping the handlebars, he took a brief look back, seeing if there was any sign of Silver or that purple cat. Seeing no one, he went inside. If he was fast enough, he might be able to rescue Elise and get out of here before Silver and the cat caught up.

The rear car was nothing but storage, nearly wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling, but Sonic was more then able to maneuver through the boxes. He couldn't help but be curious about what was in the boxes, but he reminded himself why he was here. He passed into the next car. The same. Well, if he had to go through every car to find Elise, then so be it.

Sonic kept going from car to car, searching thoroughly each car (unless it had storage), until his fifteenth car. When he burst through the door, he found that he was in a first-class passenger car, single booths on either side and the hallway down the middle. The booths were kept private thanks to sliding doors with no windows. There were eight booths in all. Sonic shrugged and began flying each door open, and quickly scan for the Princess. When he came to his fifth booth, he opened it and found the Princess sitting in the far seat. Her gaze was turned away from the door and her hands were grasped, fingers intertwining. Elise was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door slide.

"Elise?" Sonic said.

Elise snapped towards Sonic, and her expression changed like the mighty sunrise on the darkest night. "Sonic!" Elise exclaimed and virtually levitated from her seat.

"I'm glad you're--" Sonic was about to say, but Elise once again had taken Sonic in an embrace, obviously more then relieved to be rescued and that Sonic was back in one piece to say the least.

"I knew it!" Elise cried out. "I knew you would return! You had to!" Elise finally let Sonic go.

Sonic, reddening in the face quickly, had to swallow before answering. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm not hurt. Are you all right?" Elise said. "I was afraid of where that madman sent you. He didn't even know where he sent you?"

Sonic couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Really? Well, it's a long story, but I'll tell you as we get off this train. Ready?"

"Yes," Elise said. "But Sonic, I need to tell you this: Dr. Kintobor is looking all over for the Talismans of Essence. We need to keep them away from him."

"Sure thing," Sonic said. "Hey, can you hold this as I carry you once we're off the train?" Sonic held up the Talisman of Water.

"I will. Dr. Kintobor also said that he needed my power. I don't even know what he's talking about!" Elise said. "What can I do? He wants something of me that I don't even know I have!"

"Elise..." Sonic said, reaching up to take her hand. "Smile."

Elise looked into Sonic's eyes. After taking a breathe, she smiled.

"That's it!" Sonic returned with a grin of his own. "Leave Dr. Kintobor to me. When I rescue you, I'll take care of him myself."

Elise looked at Sonic again, then nodded. "Ok."

"All right? Now I think we're on the wrong train. Let's bail!" Sonic said, then both of them began working their way back.

- - - - -

Viper smashed through the roof of a train car, landing firmly in a crouched position. Slowly rising to his full height he looked around the train car. If his calculations and Shadow's intel were correct, he should be exactly where he wanted it to be. Looking straight ahead, he espied a large chair, back facing him, sitting in front of a network of computers. He could tell that the seat was occupied; from what he could see, the man was wearing red, but another dominating feature was that peeking out from either side of the chair was the ends of a large auburn mustache. Yes, he definitely arrived at the right place.

Dr. Kintobor was sitting with his back to the intruder. He was getting readouts on all the trains' activity and various activities around the train. Thus, when a "hitchhiker" decided to board the train, he knew about it. Right now, he discovered that there was an individual that boarded the train from the rear car and was making his way towards the passenger cars, doubtless after his one passenger. Now out of the blue, someone smashed through the ceiling of the same car he was. This annoyed him but it also fascinated him. Sighing, Dr. Kintobor addressed the intruder. "Wouldn't the door have been easier?"

Viper smirked slightly. "It might have been, but it's far less dramatic."

Kintobor spun around in the chair to face Viper. Looking him up and down, he said, "You must be one of the accomplices that broke into the military warehouses and stole over five hundred thousand crown of military property. You certainly fit the description."

Viper scoffed. "You must be Dr. Kintobor, the accomplice behind multiple kidnappings upon the Princess of Soleanna plus destruction of property during the Festival of the Sun. You certainly fit the description."

"Smartass, huh?" Kintobor smiled. "I can deal with that. So, what do you want?"

"Now were in business." Viper said, and then continued. "Tell me everything you know about Mephiles."

"Hmph," Dr. Kintobor huffed. "I doubt I know more than you already know. Your guess is as good as mine on his identity." The red-garbed human stood up—looking Viper almost in the eye—and continued. "But I can tell you this: it all ties back to Solaris. We, the scientists of the Royal Guild of Science, had discovered that Solaris was in fact two beings. One is the body, and the other was the soul. The soul is Mephiles, and the body is a being of flames, called Iblis."

Viper crossed his arms. Now, this was enlightening. "Keep talking."

"During the accident ten years ago, and I'm sure you have heard of that, Solaris split into two forms."

"Ten years ago…Project Solaris."

"Indeed, but if you expect me to tell you about that, you will need to capture Mephiles and bring me the Talisman of Darkness." Dr. Kintobor brushed past Viper, whose gaze followed him. "I'll leave it at that. Now if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend to." The doctor exited out the back door, leaving Viper to his thoughts.

Mephiles. Iblis. Solaris. The Talismans of Essence. The Princess of Soleanna. They are all connected, and the common denominator was Project Solaris. Since no one save Dr. Kintobor knew what Project Solaris was about, they could just be grasping at straws till Doomsday and they wouldn't be any closer to a solution. Mephiles wasn't just some being. He was directly involved with Project Solaris, and was the soul of Solaris. That meant that Solaris was no good at all, and Viper couldn't help but feel relieved that Mephiles was just a soul. If Solaris was reunited with Iblis...it might not be possible to defeat him at all.

But wait, Mephiles also claimed to be a physical manifestation of the Black Chaos Emerald. But Mephiles was sealed into the Talisman of Darkness ten years before in this world? How could that--

Viper's eyes dilated, and his heart began to race. Of course! It made sense! Viper and Sonic had defeated Nazo over a year before back on Möbius, but what if Nazo wasn't destroyed really? What if he just expired back into the Emerald? Time travels different in this world. It traveled faster in this world then it did on Möbius. Ten years have passed in this world when only a year past on Möbius! And that wasn't all. Shadow could use the Talisman of the Earth to use Chaos Control. Originally, they just assumed that the Talismans had the same wavelength of Chaos Emeralds. But what if there was more to it then that. What if the Talismans and the Chaos Emeralds were gates, linked to each other transcending the very fabric of time and space! If that was true, that would explain how all of them got here. The freak Chaos Control passed them through the passage between the Chaos Emeralds and the Talismans of Essence and they came out on the other side!

This was good news...and terrible news at the same time. The good news is that they could theoretically go back in the same fashion, and since it was only a few days since they've been here, they'd theoretically only have been gone for hours. But the worst was yet to come: because of this, Mephiles had a free pass to get to and from Mobius using the Black Chaos Emerald and the Talisman of Darkness! Meaning, if they defeated Mephiles on either side, he'd merely reform on the other world and come right back!

Viper began to understand. There was only one way to destroy Mephiles for good: destroy the Black Chaos Emerald and the Talisman of Essence simultaneously. In itself, that was an impossibility as either one was on its respective side of the fabric of time and space. One couldn't bring one item into the other's dimension to destroy it to speak plainly. But that wasn't the worst part; destroying a Chaos Emerald guaranteed wanton destruction on the scale comparable to a supernova, not to mention that it was suicidal. Viper had been through a lot, but this was a whole new level. They had an idea on how to finally destroy Mephiles...but how exactly were they going to do it? This new revelation had to be shared with Shadow at once.

Viper's comm buzzed. Well, speak of the devil. "What is it?"

"Did the Doctor share any useful information?" Shadow's voice said.

"Some...but I think he relinquished more then he intended," Viper responded. "Do I have a lot to tell you."

"I eagerly await it," Shadow said, although he didn't sound eager.

"I'm on the way," Viper said as he signed off. Looking around the room once more, he mused about what has been thus revealed to him. Mephiles, Iblis, Solaris, the Princess, Dr. Kintobor, two cronies, the Chaos Emeralds and Talismans, not to mention quite possibly the end of all things; Viper had to smirk. "I can already tell; this is going to be one hell of a party!"

- - - - -

By now, Sonic and Elise had long left the train and were making tracks back to Soleanna. To shorten the time—and to lessen the possibility to recapture—Sonic took up Elise in his arms and carried her over the rough terrain. As he went along, the heroic hedgehog recounted his tale in the future.

"After going through that black stone gate and the freaky darkness behind it, we found the second Chaos Emerald...but a demon named Iblis came up and ate it!"

"Iblis?" Elise said. That name sounded familiar. "What is he like?"

"Can't really describe him," Sonic said. "But I can say that he was huge and covered in flames. I didn't think we could ever beat him!"

Elise didn't hear the last part. Her thoughts drifted to that vision she had on the night of the Festival of the Sun. Before lighting the Holy Torch of Solaris, she had a vision seeing a huge demon appear from the depths of Soleanna, and her city being burned in its apocalyptic fury.

"Elise?" Sonic asked, noticing Elise's silence.

Sonic's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" Sonic asked, slightly concerned.

"Oh, I'm fine; sorry. What happened next?"

Sonic looked at Elise briefly in wonder, then he shrugged. "Well...Shadow, Knuckles and me had to literally beat it out of him. After that, we used Chaos Control to open another time warp back into the present. We arrived earlier this morning...but Shadow stayed behind, and I don't know why..." Sonic's sunny disposition clouded over slightly. "I hope he's okay..."

Elise smiled. "Well, if he's half the hedgehog you are, he'll be all right."

Sonic felt encouraged. "Oh, he's more then half the hedgehog I am. In fact, he's probably a stronger one then I am. He's been through more then I can ever imagine."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been fighting a bunch to, but he's had to fight with himself on several occasions, almost to the point of madness. He's nearly lost who he was several times. Shadow's a real survivor as he's been to hell and back. He's someone to admire, when he doesn't act like he has a cockle-bur stuck in his shoe."

Elise couldn't help but laugh. "Well, there's no need to worry then. Just get up and run, right?"

Sonic cracked a grin; Elise was right. Suddenly, something caught Sonic's eye to his right and his instincts screamed to leap aside. With a gasp, he leaped to the side, just as a boulder as large as Kintobor's hovercraft breezed by to the side where he was just seconds before.

The sudden change of direction made Elsie cry out in surprise as well. "Sonic, what was that!?"

Sonic glared to where the rocky projectile had borne from, and his suspicions were confirmed. Silver was standing some distance away and was accompanied by a regal-looking purple cat. Silver had hurled the boulder using his power.

"Silver, I don't care why you have a cocklebur up your ass about me," Sonic said angrily. "but one good way to piss me off is hurting people when they have nothing to do with this! If you have beef with me, deal with me alone, got it!?"

Silver didn't look remorseful. "This time, there will be no interruptions!" Silver pointed at Sonic. "The Iblis Trigger...MUST DIE!!"

"Sonic," Elise whispered. Her blood had chilled at Silver's threat.

Sonic looked firmly at Silver. "Silver," Sonic began. "I've been to the future. I've seen your world. I've seen Iblis!"

Silver couldn't answer right away; he suddenly felt choked. "I don't believe you!" He finally managed to say, his voice cracking slightly.

Sonic could see that he caught Silver off-guard, so he pressed his new advantage further. "I even overheard you talking to Mephiles about the Iblis Trigger!"

Silver blanched severely. Sonic knew about Mephiles? How? Was Sonic really telling the truth? If that was true, what was Sonic about to do with that knowledge? Mephiles said himself that Sonic behaved rashly when he released Iblis, but now that Sonic knew what happened when Iblis was released, Sonic couldn't act rashly to release Iblis rashly! Just those four statements rattled Silver to the core, and he felt physically ill. Bile rose up in his throat and he felt numb all over; he felt like he might throw up.

Blaze saw that Silver was frozen by Sonic's words. She too was thinking the same thing as Silver, but she was made of tougher stuff. Stepping forward, she said firmly, "That's impossible! How could you have been there!?"

Sonic acknowledged Blaze. Wow, this girl is stronger then she looks. "Dr. Kintobor made some kind of time machine, and he used it on me. He sent me hundreds of years into the future. I saw you guys fight Iblis and when you defeated him, I followed you guys to the old base and listened to you talk to Mephiles. I heard it all!"

Now Blaze's resolve was shaken. There was a time when both Silver and she didn't believe time travel was possible, yet here they were, so Sonic's explanation made as much as sense as their reason for being here. However, admitting Sonic was right meant that Mephiles was a liar and that their time was still a living hell…and she would not hear of it. "Then you should know WHY you have to be punished!"

Sonic was aghast. "Idiot!" He shouted out furiously. "I haven't done anything!"

"Not yet," said Blaze, her voice deepening dangerously. "And I won't allow you to." With that, Blaze snapped her fingers.

Sonic could see sparks soar from Blaze's hands, and his instincts screamed to dash. Obeying, he found that the area he stood scarce seconds ago ignited in a fiery explosion. Blaze was a pyrokinetic! She could create and manipulate fire! Who the heck were these people!?

Sonic made to go for another dash…but found that he couldn't move! Glancing as far as his eyes would allow, he saw Silver with one arm stretched out to him, palm open and glowing. Silver had snapped out of his stupor and had petrified Sonic's muscles and body with his telekinesis. Sonic was now at the mercy of these two.

"Stop it!" cried out Elise, seeing her hero helpless. "He didn't do anything!"

Blaze and Silver ignored her. All they wanted was him and his future sins fully paid for. How could this human woman understand the pain that both of them have endured?

"So how was your little walk, Your Grace?" said a voice out of nowhere suddenly. No one had expected it and all of them jumped in fright. Scanning the skies, Blaze and Silver saw a large hovercraft sporting large robot arms, which did snatch Elise up and carry her away upwards.

"Sonic!" Elise cried out as she was taken away.

"Elise!" Sonic cried back, budging slightly in the invisible grasp that held him down, but then he was forced still again.

Silver had been distracted by Dr. Kintobor's sudden appearance and departure that he lost a little bit of his concentration, enabling Sonic to move, but Sonic's crying out brought his mind back to what he was doing. "Now, it's time to finally end this!"

Sonic winced in preparation to be burnt to a crisp, and he could do nothing about it! This couldn't be the end of it! He saw Blaze step forward a couple of steps. She addressed Sonic again. "I will give you a few seconds to pray. Maybe whatever god out there will be merciful on you for what you have done."

Sonic looked at Blaze. "I have nothing to be sorry for, because I didn't do anything!" He managed to say.

Blaze said nothing at first, and then said, "Very well then." Blaze raised her hand, blazing with a fierce fire. Sonic braced himself for the mortal blow.

Just then, a lightning bolt shot down from above, hitting the space between Blaze and Sonic. Blaze leaped back in pure surprise, and Silver was so surprised that he let go of Sonic. Sonic felt in a heap to the ground, equally surprised. Suddenly, two figured dropped down between Sonic and his assailants, blocking the latter from dealing any harm on the helpless blue hedgehog. One was a tall black-garbed human, armed to the teeth and bearing an arm that seemed to be alien; the other was a black hedgehog marked with red highlights on his limbs and spines. Both bore countenances hot enough to melt the Poles.

Viper rose up full height and whipped out his two handguns, Mortal Coil and Grim Reaper, and aimed them squarely at Blaze's and Silver's heads. "Back off while you two still have skulls," he hissed, glaring at them.

Silver was too busy staring wide-eyed at the black hedgehog. Shadow remained crouched in a pre-attack posture and stared at both of them as if he was studying them. "Mephiles!" He cried out in shock. "Why are you in our way!?"

"Hmph," Shadow humped, and rose into a standing position slowly. His gaze not breaking, he said, "I'm Shadow." He crossed his arms. "Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Sonic, get off your ass and get the hell out of here!" Viper growled, not moving. "Leave these two to us."

Sonic was still recovering from his brush with death, but was recovering. Shadow looked back at Sonic, who was still getting to his feet. Shadow's eyes told Sonic the same message as Viper's words said. Sonic flashed a thumbs-up and dashed away. Leaving the two behind, he took off in the direction where Dr. Kintobor took Elise. Thanks, guys, Sonic thought. Hold on, Elise. I'm coming!

- - - - -

Back near the tracks, Shadow and Viper were facing off with Silver and Blaze. Viper looked the two up and down. "You two sure have a jacked up notion of fair play…and it's really pissing me off."

Blaze angrily addressed the two. "Why are you aiding the Iblis Trigger?"

"You're working for Mephiles," Viper said, smirking slightly. "I don't need another reason."

"We have questions for you," Shadow added. "And we will get answers from you…one way or another."

Both Silver and Blaze braced themselves for a fight.

"Looks like they want it the hard way," Viper said.

"Quite...but it's the fun way," Shadow smiled grimly.

"Exactly," Viper said. Then he fired.

Silver caught the bullets with his power, but Viper wasn't perturbed. Quickly tossing his guns in the air, he grabbed his sword and rushed at the two like a torpedo. As Blaze and Silver scattered, Shadow caught the free-falling handguns and rushed at Silver in a spin, sending him sprawling. At the same time, he tossed the handguns back at Viper, who caught them in one hand as he swung the sword with the other.

Viper's and Blaze's skirmish was a contest of agility. Blaze found that Viper was incredibly agile, almost as good as her! While she didn't possess her light body, his acrobatics made up for it. Most of the battle took place in the air, where Blaze used her flames to buoy her up like tongues of fire itself to gain her height, but Viper followed by using any rock, cliff-side or pillar as a springboard. At one point, both Viper and her were leaping from one stone pillar to another, clashing as they intercepted.

Blaze hurled a kick at Viper's face right after one clash and struck home, Viper was sent sprawling to the ground, but quickly recovered himself. Not missing a beat, Blaze dived down at him in a spin, a blazing inferno surrounding her. Viper looked up and quickly lifted his left arm in defense. There was a clash like rock on rock followed by the roar of a furious fire. Blaze leaped back to see what damage she had inflicted and stood shocked. Viper, who should have been incinerated to a cinder was standing coolly. Burning parts of his flesh were quickly quenched and renewed as if it never was burnt.

Viper looked at parts of his overcoat, appearing to not notice the former burns. "I really wish you didn't do that; now my coat's all charred."

Blaze stared at Viper as if he was a demon. "What are you!?"

"Pissed off," Viper said coolly, then charged at Blaze again.

Shadow and Silver's skirmish was about power, and while Viper and Blaze were even matches in there skirmish, Shadow was clearly winning over Silver. Shadow's Chaos Spear could pierce through Silver's power, and Shadow could teleport in and out completely throwing Silver off. Silver was bruised and frustrated. Shadow was too much of a match, and all he could do was throw up debris to defend himself from the black hedgehog's fast and furious attacks. Sonic let up after a hit, he found out in the last confrontation, but Shadow was relentless, eagerly seeking his prey like a famished jungle cat, and would not back down even for a second.

Suddenly in the corner of his eyes, Silver espied a boulder lying near the cliffs. Not thinking twice, he grabbed it with his power and hurled it with colossal strength at Shadow, hoping that he would hit pay-dirt with a hit.

Shadow however was no rookie. Seeing the boulder, he raised the Talisman of the Earth and shouted "Chaos Control!" The world froze around Shadow, and taking up his advantage, he drifted around the still boulder and dealt Silver a savage kick to the back of his skull.

Silver had no idea what had happened. All he heard was Shadow shout "Chaos Control" and the next thing, he was sprawling to the ground after being smacked over the head. Climbing to his hands and knees and smarting from a growing knot on the back of his head, he stared aghast at Shadow. "You!" Silver manage to sputter in outrage.

"Don't bother," interrupted Shadow. "With this Talisman's power, I can manipulate both time and space to my liking. You can't break free..."

Silver growled in frustration, then slammed a fist into the ground angrily. "No, I can't give up! Not when I'm so close to restoring the future! I can't lose now!" Silver climbed back to his feet, when his hand touched something. Looking, it was the Talisman of Light! What did Blaze say? It turns our thoughts into power? That gave Silver an idea. If Shadow could use Chaos Control...

Silver jerked back up so quickly that it caught Shadow by surprise, and the latter noticed quickly Silver's newest weapon.

"Chaos--" Silver shouted.

"Chaos--" Shadow shouted.

"Control!" both screamed in unison. Without meaning to, Silver and Shadow clashed their Talismans together like swords in epic battle. There was a harsh ring and the jewels of the talismans glowed hotly. Shadow and Silver leaped back apart in surprise, and watched more as a blue and white portal quickly formed between them.

Both were shocked, Silver because of the portal and that Chaos Control didn't work as he planned, while Shadow because of Silver's successful use of Chaos Control. He couldn't help but be impressed at Silver's quick learning of Chaos Control.

"What is this!?" Silver exclaimed.

Shadow stepped around the portal as it twisted and spun like a hurricane. "A time-space rift, a portal that connects the past, present and future in a second way. With it, one can travel through time."

A little bit of commotion from above, then dropped in Viper and Blaze from their fight. Blaze landed beside Silver, and Viper beside Shadow. Blaze had a fresh cut to her shoulder where Viper was able to score a blow, while Viper smelled of ash.

Viper looked at the portal. "What the hell is this?" Viper knew what it was, but what he wanted to know what was it doing here.

Blaze looked at the portal, and a sick wave of nostalgia hit her. It felt something like the portal Mephiles used to get them to this time. "A portal?"

Shadow nodded, then regarded both Silver and Blaze. "You both have been deceived, Silver."

Silver blanched. "How do you know my name?"

Viper answered. "We overheard a conversation you had with Mephiles this morning."

"What matters is that both of you have been deluded to the lie that Mephiles conjured to distract you from his ambitions...or to aid his own." Shadow pointed to Silver. "Mephiles has no intentions to help you build a better future; he's here for only one purpose: to eliminate the past!"

"What?" Silver said.

"Explain yourself!" Blaze said.

Viper answered the cat. "I went to the future as well, and directly confronted Mephiles."

Shadow continued, "Mephiles has fought us multiple times, and we stopped him each time from wiping the world from existence. Each time, he's nearly killed both me and Viper. He hasn't changed. He will kill us all."

Silver was stunned. Mephiles truly is a liar?

Viper saw Silver's inward battle, and said to Shadow, "Looks like you're going to have to show him, Shadow."

Silver heard that. "Show me what?"

"The truth," Shadow said, and took a step towards the portal, his back slightly turned to Silver and Blaze. "To know it, you will need to journey back in time yet again to witness the start of it all, the incarnations of Iblis...and Mephiles." Shadow looked back at Silver. "Follow me if you desire to know the truth." With that, Shadow leaped into the portal.

Silver hesitated. He wasn't sure he trusted this human, this Viper, or Shadow. After all, both of them nearly tried to kill them just minutes ago. He looked at the human, who said in reply to his unspoken question, "It beats never knowing, kid." Silver looked down, then looked back at Viper and nodded. Looking back at Blaze one last time, he leaped into the portal. Shortly after, the portal closed as if it never was.

Blaze addressed Viper, although kept her distance. "Where did they go?"

Viper looked at Blaze. "The underground laboratories of Soleanna...ten years into the past. There is the truth."

"You know?" Blaze said, picking up that Viper knew more then he let on.

Viper crossed his arms in a non-threatening posture. "Yes and no. It's patchy, but I can tell you some about the fatal accident that occurred there...and who Mephiles really is."

Blaze crossed her arms, almost mimicking Viper. "Enlighten me."

Viper nodded. "Very well, but I must warn you...this will be a long story..."

"Right now," Blaze said. "I think we have plenty of time."