CHAPTER 25: Tears Calling


Older-Viper and Rouge stood upon a dock, overlooking a black sea. Above them, the sky was lined with storm clouds, flickering purplish lightning, and before them lay the sea, broken by tall pinnacles of rock and stone. Somewhere in this fell land was a Chaos Emerald, needed to revive Sonic. Both looked the area up and down; each of the pinnacles and spires stood a hundred feet apart from each other.

"Hmm, well this is going to be interesting…" Viper said under his breath, but Rouge heard it.

"What's the matter, big boy? Stumped already?" Rouge said in her usual flirt.

Viper gave a slight shrug. "Nah, I just think the solution will be interesting."

As Viper looked behind him to judge the amount of space behind him, Rouge looked at Viper as if she never knew him before. Viper usually gave her a poisonous look or a lashing remark back, but here Viper seemed not to give a damn. Was it because of his age, or because of what he had seen in those years? What exactly DID he see in those years?

Viper didn't appear to notice Rouge's studying of him, so Rouge kept looking at him, thinking to herself. What could have happened in the two-hundred years that would have had such a dramatic shift in that part of his personality?

Viper began taking steps backwards, looking backwards, but would look fiercely at the closet rock pinnacle in front of him. As the hunter continued proceeding backwards, Rouge immediately guessed what he was going to do: a flying leap for the pinnacle. No sane human being would attempt such a leap and except to make it...but many would argue if Viper was ever sane…or even human.

Rouge darted for the sky just as Viper charged forwards. At the last second, Viper gave a massive heave and leaped off of the dock, flying forwards like a hawk, arms tight against his sides and as straight as an arrow. His leap was indeed great, and he appeared he was going to smash face first into the rock, but quickly, he yanked out Bane and heaved it forwards blade-point first. It stabbed into the rock, and Viper heaved himself up on the remainder of the blade exposed, using the greatsword as a platform. He didn't stay long, as he yanked out the blade, and ran straight up the pinnacle. Upon reaching the top, he leaped onto the point and stood poised, looking over the rest of the land as if his climb and leap were no big deal. Being a homunculus did have its advantages.

Rouge fluttered beside him. "Well, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Viper shrugged again. "Like I said, the solution would be interesting."

Lightning struck another stone pinnacle farther in front of them, and all felt the slap of thunder assault them. As the rumble faded, a voice echoed through the air…coldly…and menacingly… "You never cease to impress me, Viper…it is no wonder why you have survive two hundred years in hell…"

Viper didn't flinch, and to her credit, neither did Rouge. "What can I say? I have some kickass cereal each morning."

"But like everything," the voice continued. "you also have an end. Only nothing is eternal."

"Sounds like you and I have something in common then," Viper said with a smirk. "You're obviously something, Solaris. I haven't figured out what yet, but hey, details."

The voice laughed Viper to scorn. "Such bravado…all the better. It only makes this more interesting."

Several lightning bolts struck at a part in the sky very far away, towards the front of them. Nothing happened for some time. The clouds above began rushing towards the striking point, as if being drawn by some power. Rouge landed beside Viper and watched the show unfold, feeling the breeze kick up behind him. Strange, there was no wind before. Wind was alien to the Void, and when the wing kicked up, it was a sign something was happening. And since Solaris had spoken mere seconds before this, it couldn't be anything good.

The clouds began twisting around the strike-point vertically, being drawn further into the center. Viper felt like he was watching a tornado form from above. Suddenly, the strike-point exploded into a black emptiness, and the entire thing began rotating. Viper and Rouge pitched forward unexpectedly, and felt a disorienting sensation in their bodies as it felt like their centers of gravity had been shifted. Fighting it, Viper whipped out Bane again and stuck it into the stone. Rouge merely extended her wings and fluttered up onto the side of the pinnacle. Viper hoisted himself up onto the pinnacle soon afterwards.

Both looked back towards the spinning mass of cloud and debris, which now felt like down. As it continued to rotate and grow, things closer to it began breaking off and falling into it. Both watched amazed as whole stone pinnacles broke off like twigs far down and were swallowed up, never to be seen again. They were looking into the belly of a black hole.

The voice spoke again. "Is it not beautiful? A physical manifestation of nothingness?"

Rouge sniffed. "If you ask me, it looks just like staring into a toilet backing up."

The Voice of Solaris apparently didn't seem fazed by the off-color comparison. "You had survived many battles, Oroborus Alpha. Are you willing to push your luck further?"

Viper and Rouge said nothing.

"Deeper, towards the mouth of nothing, is the item that you seek. If you dare, find it before the mouth swallows it. The clock is ticking…" The voice laughed and faded away.

Viper and Rouge continued to look down into the black hole. Somewhere in that mess was the Chaos Emerald. It could be anywhere in there, and finding it would be worse than finding a four-leaf clover, and they would need the luck. Solaris had challenged them to a deadly game, and the losers would be crushed in the gravity well.

Viper and Rouge looked at each other, weighing the situation. Both knew that diving into a gravity-well was a million-to-one shot to find the Chaos Emerald, and if they failed there, they…and everyone would die. It soon dawned upon them; if they did not dive in, there was an absolute certainty that everyone would die…more than that…wiped away from the face of time. Failure…was not an option. If both would die here, then both would die trying to find the Chaos Emerald. At least there, they tried. Both locked eyes and gave a determined nod. Time for the ultimate game! Both snapped up and leaped out in space into a dive. The countdown has begun. Let the game begin!

Viper and Rouge dove headlong into the abyss, forcing the maddening instinctual screaming for self-preservation inside their heads to silence, and ironically, diving towards what looked like certain death was their best chance at it. Both dove for several seconds when they espied a large flat stone base ahead, falling and tumbling down. Both dove towards it, and at the last few second, they flipped into a fanned out into a belly-flop position to slow their speed. Rouge used her wings and glided in circles until she slowed down. Viper had no such slow down so continued to fall at over a hundred miles per hour. Viper wasn't concerned; he's fallen from greater heights then this and had more than survived.

Doing another flip, he landed in a crouch on the platform with a boom, and remained there. Rouge glided down to him and landed beside him gracefully. "I have to give it to you, Viper. You know how to make an entrance."

Viper rose up and looked around. "I don't think the preludes are over yet."

Swooping down upon them from above were purple creatures, glowing hotly. They looked like a cross between an eagle and a bat, with a long tail with a small fan-shape at the tail. The talons were long and sharp like an owls', and just as deadly. Viper whipped out his two handguns and covered the flying foes, and Rouge followed suit with her own guns. "Looks like someone doesn't want us to get our hands on my precious Chaos Emerald."

"Hmph, apparently so." Viper added. "Well, even if it wasn't for a Chaos Emerald, I have one rule I follow:"

Viper opened fire, and the two scattered. Viper and Rouge weaved in and out of their dark wings, blasting each to pieces with their guns. The flurrying ranks were quickly decimated under the combined punishment.

Viper landed back on the platform, and rose back up to his full height. Cracking his neck, he said casually, "Getting in my way means getting shot."

Rouge looked around and saw more of the dark bats swooping down from above. "My, my, I feel like a celebrity. Shame that I don't do autographs…"

Viper and Rouge went at it again, blasting away wave after wave. There seemed to be no end to them, but they could not continue unless they cleared enough out. Suddenly, the platform smashed into something, they didn't know what. Like glass, the platform shattered into pieces. Viper barely had the nerve to avoid being crushed or smashed by the flying boulders. Leaping from one to one, he looked around for Rouge. He could see no sign of her.

Squashing a prick of panic in his core, he immediately set off again, half looking for the Chaos Emerald…and for her. He tried to force away the thoughts that there was a time that he might have thought "good riddance." However, seeing a world become lifeless over two-hundred years can change one's perspective.

Another platform rose up in front of him and he leaped towards it like a leopard to the antelope. As he landed, he became aware that the black hole was closing in, as everything felt like it was falling faster, and he felt the air close in around him slowly but surely. Time was running out. Rising up, he saw that he wasn't alone. Stomping towards him were more of the purple and black creatures, this time they reminded Viper of golems, and they stood twice as tall as he was.

Viper aimed a gun straight at the center eye of the creature and fired. The creature at once fell backwards, black blood spilling from the wound. Viper sighed, "Being bigger sure hasn't made you any tougher. Good, I'm in a rush anyway…"

And the slaughter began again. Viper soon discovered that the eye was just the weakspot. The flesh was a lot tougher then it appeared. Viper wasn't intimidated however. Nothing could ever compare to battling one of his own kind, so this trash was nothing. Viper shot, slashed and pulverized each one as they came near to him. Each one fell to his brutal punishment, whether by blade, bullet or beating, it didn't matter; one by one judgment was served regardless.

Unseen below, the platform was smashed again. Viper jumped clear of the splintering rock and stone, while his assailants weren't so lucky. Before Viper had a chance to recover from the jump, he was attacked again by the darkbats, seeking to claw and rip him apart while he was vulnerable. Viper did receive many tears that would have sent any man into a maddening agony, but Viper was anything but any man. With a mighty swing of Bane, the bats scattered, many cleaved in two. But quickly, they regrouped and dived again at Viper. Grinning, he prepared another fell swing.

Suddenly, from above gunshots rained down on the bats like hail. The darkbats scattered again, screeching as their fallen comrades fell to their demise into the gravity well fast approaching. Viper looked up and saw the familiar shape of Rouge the Bat diving towards him. Viper called out to her.

"I'm okay!" Rouge called back, diving closer until even with the homunculus. The latter noticed a suspicious purple glow in a bulging side-pocket on her bodysuit, and guessed what it was immediately.

Both were aware of the yawning depth that was alarmingly close. Both could feel the pressure building up outside them, pounding at them, as the air itself was closing in all around them, threatening to crush them. Above them, the darkbats were swooping in again, as if they wanted to ensure the two's collective demise.

Viper and Rouge went back to back, whipped out their guns, pointed them in all directions and prepared for the attack. "Let's go! Stay close to me!" Viper commanded.

The bats swooped in, as the crushing chasm closed in around them. Viper and Rouge braced themselves. They're just might be no escaping from this, but if they were going to die…it would be in the attempt.

Suddenly, the bulging pocket burst out in a great purplish explosion of light, blinding the two, and the bats, which were sent scattering. Viper and Rouge felt a sudden change of direction before they were completely blinded. When the light faded, the two were gone…saved from the maw of the abyss.


Amy, Cream and Cheese were trudging through snowdrifts as deep as their waists and higher as the blizzard roared on, and they were lost. The snow was beating into their faces, making seeing an impossible task in itself, let alone traversing the landscape. Needless to say, all three were cold, miserable and discouraged, but something drove them on like hunger and thirst.

They were looking for a Chaos Emerald, one of the keys that would bring Sonic back from a personal purgatory: his soul trapped in the Void aching to rejoin with its body. Somewhere, in this blizzard, rested that key, one of the mythical gems.

Amy was taking point, with Cream and Cheese following behind. Amy had one hand gripping her Piko Piko Hammer, while her other hand was firmly grasping Cream's hand. The rabbit's other hand was keeping Cheese by her side. They were taking no chances in this blizzard. Amy took point as her heart kept pricking her to go one direction, then another. There was no way they could navigate through this blizzard, and Amy knew that her heart knew as much as any other person would, but it was the only thing that would give her direction, so she didn't think about it. Only two things annoyed her: the size of the landscape…and all the snow that was blinding her. This only made her mad, and only spurred her on.

Her thoughts only dwelt on Sonic, the person responsible for her survival time and time again. Amy had never been able to repay him, and she always felt obligated to return the favor. There was a time when she was maddeningly in love with him, but all that did was create frustration for her, and a lot of headaches for Sonic. Eventually, Amy did get past that phase of her life, and was spurred on by a vow she made to Sonic that she wouldn't treat Sonic as a trophy or an object to be admired. Ever since then, Amy stayed out of Sonic's way, but underneath still admired him. After all, how could she not after being saved countless times by him?

Sonic never asked to return the favor, and even if he did, who could repay that kind of a life-debt? Everyone owed something to Sonic for one reason or another, so all were helping to bring him back, each to his or her own reasons. Amy knew that it was foolish to think that this one act would repay her own life-debt, but that wasn't why she was out here. There was only one reason she was doing it: love.

Not the romantic love that she had once sought, and the one she still secretly hoped for; a different kind of love, the greatest love of all: the sacrificial love. She had heard something from an old book that said there was no greater love then the one where one is willing to sacrifice all for another. At the time, she didn't know what that exactly meant; Sonic had shown her how, but she didn't know that at the time either. Now she knew…and she knew that if she truly loved Sonic, she would not hesitate in trying to save him from the jaws of death. And that's why she had volunteered hastily…and that's why she was here. She needed no reminding.

Cream was silent, and didn't understand what Amy was thinking about entirely. Her child-like mind was not big enough to even consider grasping such abstract concepts like the meaning of love and the desire to repay debts. Her motivation was that she wanted to help Sonic because he was a nice person who would be quick to stop the bad guys. She didn't want that to end, so she was helping Amy. Cheese merely mirrored his mistress' feelings, so came along loyally and wholeheartedly.

Despite all that, they were still hopelessly lost. More accurately had no idea where they were, nor had any idea how to get back had they found the Chaos Emerald. All they could see was a lot of snow. Occasionally, they could see some kind of light above, like the moon shining gloriously bright as if it was trying to curse the blizzard to silence. At first, they thought it was the moon, but sometimes they saw many such lights, so banished the thought. Strangely, Amy felt the compulsion to follow the light, for when they saw the light, her heart immediately told her to follow it.

They continued to trudge through the snow for hours, following the lights. Something in the air changed as they progressed though; before all they heard was the cold howl of the harsh winds, biting and chafing their exposed flesh, but soon, they became aware of a strange musical sounds, enchantingly soft and beautiful. Cream had heard it first. "Amy, do you hear something?"

Amy glanced back at the floppy-eared rabbit, thankful for the excuse to face away from the howling winds. "No, what did you hear?"

"It sounded like…singing."

Amy strained her ears to listen, but all she could hear was the howling of the winds, cold and cruel. "I can't hear anything. Are you sure—"

Cream gasped. "There it is again!"

Amy again listened. Still, she heard nothing new. "Cream, I don't hear—" Something clicked inside her head, and suddenly, she heard a faint high-pitched sound, very different from the winds. It swayed rhythmically, pitching up and down in a strange mesmerizing tune. It was beautiful and warm, combatting the cold and harsh winds somehow. "What is that?" Amy wondered aloud.

Cream let go of Amy's hand for one quick second to point. "It's coming from over there!" Quickly, she grabbed onto Amy's hand as the wind threatened to carry her away.

Without hesitation, Amy began trudging through towards the new sound, tugging Cream and Cheese in her wake. "Let's find out what it is. Maybe it will lead us to the Chaos Emerald!"

One foot ahead of the other, they continued to struggle through the building drifts of snow. As they progressed, the voice began to become clearer. Before, it sounded like someone was humming, but soon words could be heard.

Listen to my voice calling you
Calling you out of darkness
Hear the devils cry of sin
Always turn your back on him

"It's so beautiful," Amy thought aloud, and then said louder. "Hello! Is someone there!"

But the voice continued to sing all the clearer:

With the wind you go and still
I dream of your spirit leading you back home
I will give my gifts to you
While you're gone and watching on

Mustering a burst of new energy, Amy pressed on. It lifted her spirit that there was someone else in this place, and that it sounded friendly. The voice grew clearer…they must be closer now…

The light in your eyesAn angel of dark
Lighting to ease the shadows' sight
Hearts will grow, the heavens will play
Leaving behind the things in the end

Something glowed ahead, a soft green glow that stood out in the white snow and dark skies. It had to have been close by to pierce the white-out, or so Amy thought, so she headed right for it. The voice was coming from that direction anyway. The snow felt deeper than ever before, but Amy wouldn't give up. Not when they finally had a lead in this blizzard.

The source of the light was a lot closer than Amy realized, for very quickly, they were almost on top of it. In fact, Amy nearly ran into it. Amy stopped dead in her tracks as mere inches from her face was a glorious looking statue: a stone eagle perched on a globular stone that was the color of jade, smooth to the appearance. The voice sounded like it came from it.

Listen to my voice calling you
Calling you out of darkness
Hear the devils cry of sin
Always turn your back on him
On him
On him

The song looped as the three looked and studied the amazing statue closely. Cream looked at it mystified. "Wow, it's pretty. What is it?"

"I have no idea," Amy said, grateful that the statue was big enough to shelter them from the wind somewhat effectively. "But it sounds like the voice is coming from it, although I don't know how. It's like a stereo…"

Something was pricking Amy's heart to touch the stone, but in her head she had no idea what this statue would do. Appearances could be deceiving, and that touching this stone could in fact make the present situation even worse than it already is. On the other hand, it could actually do something to rectify the situation. Of course, it could do absolutely nothing at all.

"Should we touch it?" Cream ventured. Unknowingly, she had just voiced Amy's wonderings out loud.

"I don't know, should we?" Amy asked back. That was more of a question to herself then to Cream.

So they stood still again, unsure of what to do. They kept listening to the song loop itself over and over again. It was beautiful to hear and encouraging with its lyrics, so they didn't mind. Amy listened to the first part again: Listen to my voice calling you…calling you out of darkness…

Something clicked in Amy's head. Was this voice actually telling them what to do? Something was telling Amy that this stone was doing that exactly. Why did she hesitate and waste time thinking about it? Time was not on their side!

Wait, what if the stone is a trick? What if it was a trap laid by that demon Solaris, designed to trap them completely until he destroyed them all? There was no way to tell for sure! Oh, what to do!

Amy was stuck, and thus she remained standing in front of the stone, petrified in her own indecision. If they waited and did nothing, then their demise was for sure! If they touched the stone and it was a trap, then they would fail for sure as well!

But…what if it isn't a trap? If this thing was a trap, then they had entered upon a delusion…and if they had entered upon a delusion, then there was no hope at all for them and everyone else…and if there was no hope at all…then better to go forward for the hope of victory then perish in the pit of despair…

Amy looked up. That was it. That was the real situation they were in, the same one from their first setting out. There was nothing to lose and all to gain. So, they must move forward or perish. With a new face of determination, Amy knew what she had to do. Touch the stone. With a severity unmatched by anything she had ever done, she placed her hand on the stone; a simple act with the faith as great as the most majestic mountain.

The stone shimmered brightly like a floodlight, blinding all of them. Suddenly, the winds dropped, the snow ceased, and the drifts beneath them dropped until just below the ankles. The stone was calming the storm! Amy, Cream and Cheese looked around them and above them. The sky was clear, a black sky etched with shining stars like little diamonds. While there was no moon, it was still a truly magnificent sight to behold. Around them, the landscape looked like a winter wonderland of peace. That stone had broken the spell that bound this land to cold misery. Was that curse of Solaris' doing?

"Amy, look!" Cream pointed towards their right.

Amy looked and saw a linear cave, leading straight into the cliff, no twists, turn to dip could be seen. It was like a stone hallway. Foremost of all, was at the end of the hall was a glow like one of the stars above, but instead of white, it was a cold bright blue.

"Cream, is that what I think it is!" Amy said, suddenly excited.

But Cream didn't answer. Instead, she raced ahead of Amy, Cheese flying in her wake. Cream was laughing in delight as she ran. It must be it! It must be one of them! Amy followed on behind, laughing as well. Was it the sight of the light that filled them with joy, or that the stone that banished the misery of the storm?

Cheese buzzed on ahead, outracing his mistress, and arrived first at what looked like a stone altar. Sitting on top of it was a glowing bright blue jewel. Cheese flew around it like a light-struck moth, mouth spewing out a constant stream of incomprehensible chatter. It was here! Cream quickly caught up and saw that it was the Chaos Emerald indeed, and cheered. She quickly scooped it up in her hands, and turned to Amy, who was just coming to a stop right beside her. "Amy!" the rabbit cried. "It's the Chaos Emerald!"

All three did their little dance of joy, for the Chaos Emerald was found. Now they could return and help Sonic come back! Only one thing could now make them any happier.

"Come on!" Amy said. "Let's go back to the others quickly!"

Cream was about to respond, when suddenly the Emerald flashed bright blue. All three shielded their eyes from this sudden development. They felt like something yanked them off their feet, and quickly the light dissipated, leaving the winter-land quiet and abandoned.


Shadow and Metal-Sonic were standing on the side of a valley crowned with stone ruins. Below them, the river ran black as a starless night. The valley twisted, bent and groaned under great geological upheaval but without an earthquake, as if the land was in fact a roaring sea.

"This landscape must not be sitting upon firm sediment, but scans do not detect any thing to explain the seismic motions," Mecha said, after looking over the landscape.

"I do not think there will be a scientific explanation for this, except that Solaris has distorted this part of the Void so much that the land is unstable and behaves very differently," Shadow answered.

"I am forced to agree with you since I cannot offer said explanation of anything otherwise."

"Mecha," Shadow began to ask. "Can you detect the location of the Chaos Emerald in this place?"

Without an answer, Metal-Sonic began a wide-range scan for any energy fixtures, indicating the location of a Chaos Emerald. Quickly, Metal-Sonic's optical sensors dilated. "This presents a problem."

"What is it?" Shadow looked at the blue android.

"My scanners have located many energy spikes throughout the landscape. I do not possess the necessary software to distinguish a Chaos Emerald from all of these spikes."

Metal-Sonic was expecting Shadow to get angry, but Shadow merely humphed. "Hmph, I suppose we need to do this the hard way."

"I propose a strategy:" the robot continued. "I can inspect the landscape from the air, while you can scout the ground. We still have our close-range network through your wrist communicator and my internal comm network. We may be able to eliminate each spike as we encounter it."

"Sound strategy, but we must hurry. The spatial rift may close at any time."

"Indeed. Let us depart."

Without another word, Metal-Sonic roared his torso-jet-engine to life and shot skyward. Shadow waited one half second later and took off into the valley. Shadow quickly had a hard time of it, as the valley walls broke, opened and closed as he traversed them. Only his lightning-quick reflexes and extreme agility saved him from being knocked loose or crushed.

Shadow saw a thick vine coming up quickly, and dashed at it. Leaping upon it, he flung himself upwards. Another vine, he grabbed it and swung himself to a nearby cliff wall. The ground began to shake, but Shadow began to skate at a hundred, crossing crumbling bridges and shattering cliff-faces as they gave way underfoot.

Shadow swung up more vines and dashed to another cliff-top, when Metal-Sonic sent a warning through the comm. "Shadow, I have detected several temporal-spatial anomalies throughout the region. They intensify upon proximity. Be on your guard." Shadow didn't answer, but knew Metal-Sonic would assume he got the message. Shadow pressed on.

Upon skating hastily across one cliff-face, Shadow saw red and purple eye-portals open up to his front and sides. He felt the pulling sensation of the purple lighting-laced ones, and dodged the crushing debris of the red fiery ones, but didn't slow. His reactions were quick and on the money. When he encountered a tough spot where he couldn't dodge, he teleported and continued on without a break.

Shadow leaped onto one cliff-top and found one of the eagle-jade statues. Strangely enough, no portals would ever appear close to it, as if it was radiating an energy that canceled out the anomalies. Immediately, Shadow opened the comm. "Mecha, have you encountered jade-stone statues with stone eagles upon them?"

A short pause, then Metal-Sonic answered. "I have not, but I have been keeping track on your progress by tracking the radiowave-signaling between our communicators, as well as monitoring the multiple energy signatures seeking for any distinguishable anomalies that may differentiate one from the rest. One of the signatures is within your proximity. Only logical conclusion is that the jade-stone statues you claim as you describe them are the source of the signatures."

"Can you read what energy exactly is emanating from these statues?" Shadow queried.

"My current proximity to one of the signatures is too great for me to perform scans adequate to our queries regarding them. Shall I adjust my trajectory to scan one of the signatures while you continue to locate the Chaos Emerald?"

"Shouldn't be a problem," Shadow said. "It just might be helpful. The temporal anomalies don't seem to occur in a close proximity to them as well."

"Acknowledged. This new information should provide us with the data needed regarding the statues. I shall narrow my scans to temporal energy readings and effects there on."

"Understood. I will proceed to the Chaos Emerald."

"Affirmative."

Shadow closed the comm again, and rested his hand on the statue. At once it lit up like a flashbomb, blinding him. Shielding his eyes, he felt a pulse of energy before the glow died to more bearable viewing levels. When he dared to look again, the statue was still glowing hotly, but besides that initial pulse, it didn't do anything else, nor did Shadow see or feel what exactly it did. Puzzling about this new development, he thought about calling up Metal-Sonic to update them, then figured that Metal-Sonic would find out for himself soon.

Snapping out of this thoughts, he took off once again. A bridge rose in front of him, and he dashed across it, swifter then the wind. Up ahead, the bridge ended abruptly, and beyond that, there were no cliff-shelves to land on. But Shadow did not slow; he was created to adapt to each combat scenario and terrain. When the bridge ended, he leapt forward in a vertical-axial spin towards the very face of the cliff. As he neared, he thrust his feet forward, hoverskates blasting. Upon the cliff-side he thrust one leg forward. Thus, he began to skate down the side of the cliff, without even slowing.

Shadow continued the side-skate, scanning the cliff-side for a new platform he may land upon. The cliff shook, bulged and caved so much that Shadow doubted that he could maintain the velocity needed to combat the pull of gravity enough to keep him from falling.

Suddenly, the portals opened up again, mostly the fiery ones that shot out large pieces of debris. Shadow still didn't slow, but dodged to and fro like a serpent in the water. Shadow saw another shaking bridge to his left, and he dove for it. Landing hard on it, with a flash of fire from his skates, he skated off again, just before a boulder twice as big as he was smashed down where he was just standing not even a second before.

Looking ahead, he saw another one of the statues coming up fast, and thus he accelerated. Something about seeing the statue put new energy and speed into his limbs, although that thought had not directly occurred to him. Skidding to a halt, he grasped the statue's smooth jade surface. As it exploded in light, he whipped around back to the way he came. Despite the light, he was able to see the portals evaporate into gas with a screech of an eagle's cry.

Shadow only had a moment to wonder about this when his wrist-comm buzzed. Metal-Sonic's voice crackled through quickly, "Shadow, I have detected a spike in the signatures in close proximity to your position. Did you see anything to explain it?"

"More like what I have done to explain it." Shadow didn't move from the statue.

There was a pause. "Continue."

Shadow described what happened with the statue to the assassin robot. When Mecha replied, he sounded pleased. "Incredible! It seems that the signatures are in fact a temporal regulator for the area around the statue. I had just finished scans after locating a statue in another region of this area, and was about to pass on the results to you, but with this new information, we can now use the energy to our advantage.

"As I have already stated before, the energy is a temporal regulator, where it cancels out the temporal anomalies that have been developing. On their own, each conduit of this energy only regulates a small area around it, but when activated—as I assume you have done—the energy magnifies. I cannot say by how much, but the area affected is substantially larger. If we can manipulate this energy, we can guarantee safe passage to the Chaos Emerald."

Shadow nodded, although he knew that Mecha couldn't see that.

"But there is more. I have been able to gather enough readings on this energy so that I can now filter it out of my scans. After recalibration, I should now be able to distinguish a Chaos Emerald from the rest of the energy signatures."

Now Shadow sounded pleased, even excitement, which is an unusual event for him. "How fast can you recalibrate your scanners to filter out this energy?"

"I've already began the recalibration. It should be complete in—" A break in the signal. "—Good, the calibration is complete. Rescanning."

Shadow waited several more seconds, not daring to release his hand from the statue. Knowing that it would keep the portals away was welcoming. If this energy was temporary, it wasn't going to hurt to keep it activated.

"New scan: unique energy signature detected approximately twenty kilometers at heading twenty-seven point three-two degrees…north-northwest."

Shadow looked to what the compass in his head was telling him to be north-northwest…straight down the valley. "Understood."

"Caution: with the new calibration of my scanners, the temporal regulators are now invisible to them. We will be limited to detecting them only through visuals."

Shadow nodded comprehensibly. In other words, if they needed to find another one, they would have to look for it. "We must proceed to the Chaos Emerald," Shadow said finally. "I'm going now."

"I shall attempt to intercept with you either en route or at our destination." Metal-Sonic signed off without another word.

Shadow took one more look towards where he was going, looked at the statue, and then suddenly peeled away in a flash of fire. Shadow gritted his teeth. Twenty kilometers was no large distance to his speed, but in that distance, anything could happen, particularly with that crafty mind of Mephiles now in Solaris.

Shadow skated across bridges, cliff-walls, and hurled himself over every imaginable obstacle in his way. Quickly, the portals unleashed fury again. He located a statue and activated as he came to it, and kept on going.

Soon, he came upon the end of the valley, where outstretched a wide-bridge, several kilometers long. At the end of it, he saw a pinnacle, like a tower. Through the misty atmosphere it was barely visible, but Shadow saw it. The Chaos Emerald had to be in there; this tower was too weird to be anything else. Without another thought, he dashed away at three-hundred kilos per hour.

Quickly, Metal-Sonic called through the comm. "Alert! Massive temporal-spatial anomaly detected! Current position places it squarely in our trajectory. Estimated intercept: twenty-six seconds."

Just as Metal-Sonic signed off, a great black portal opened ahead and above the bridge. It was the largest time-space rift opened up in the sky. It was darker than a moonless night, twisting in black and purplish clouds like a black hurricane. Something was coming out of it. Shadow skidded to a halt and watched the great creature descend from the portal. It was pure silvery-white colored, complete with massive armored arms, a face resembling a vulture's, beak lined with several sharp teeth, and down it visage draped an armored chin, massive and curving inwards to the body like a spear-point. Its eyes burned purplish and reddish, and they did burn down upon Shadow so that he felt that he could feel its gaze. On its back was an armored plated with six points, and between the points floated six points like arrowheads.

Solaris.

Shadow's eyes widened in terrible awe upon seeing this monster descending before him. It descended slowly, speaking as it did in a deep terrible voice, "Ah, Shadow, I had hoped to confront you in person. I see you come for the seventh stone. Tell me, Shadow. How does it feel to witness pure darkness and nothingness in its finesse? I'm sure you would appreciate it of all creatures, as you were born of darkness…"

Shadow said nothing. His mind raced for possible strategies on how to get past Solaris. Each one so far ended in self-destruction. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice Metal-Sonic run to a stop beside him. He too had seen Solaris descend.

"Why can you not see? Can you not understand what I'm trying to accomplish here? From darkness everything begets and becomes. From nothingness, everything comes. Can you not see? With my darkness, everything shall being anew! Is it not beautiful to behold? Your very eyes seeing a grand new universe rebuilding? Your own soul must be writing in jealousy in seeing its completion…"

Shadow gritted his teeth and scowled, glancing over to Metal-Sonic briefly after finally noticing him. Solaris' logic was at times hard to argue. Many times had Shadow been misled by his manipulations of simple truths, whether it be from him or through someone else by him.

Something within Shadow's soul screamed out in defiance; he would rather die than fall to his deceit again, and this did he cry out. "I have no intentions of gazing upon a new universe! I am here to reclaim the key to Sonic's soul!" Before Solaris could respond, Shadow slid off his viresium-wristbands and tossed them to Metal-Sonic. "Hold these and wait here."

Shadow crossed him arms, glowing hotly red. Quickly, he flashed aflame from raw Chaos power, and dashed forward like a fireball.

Solaris didn't seem to flinch. Was Shadow trying to attack him with that minuscule limited power? If that were the case, wouldn't it be easier to attack directly? Wait a moment. Shadow was not charging at him, but UNDER him! Shadow was dashing underneath to get the Emerald! Quickly, Solaris opened up many of the portals he used to assail him and others before. Millions opened up and tossed out fiery meteors at Shadow.

Shadow didn't slow, even though he saw the millions of rocks pour down upon him from above. He was traveling well over the speed of sound now, and the distance was closing quickly. The energy was so great that he was about to become a lunatic, but it was the only way to dash past Solaris with the protection needed. All he cared about was the Chaos Emerald. Once there, he could grab Mecha and leave Solaris in the dust.

Some meteors landed in front of him, with no time to dodge. Shadow plowed through them like a meteor himself. His now glowing red fur prickled under his power. There was a reason why Professor Gerald had made him wear those rings; otherwise, Shadow was a living breathing nuclear bomb.

Two kilometers away. Shadow accelerated. Solaris continued his attack, opening white portals that shot lasers as hot as a star. Shadow dodged them as soon as he saw them. Nothing was slowing him down now!

One kilometer away. Shadow leaped into a spin, his aura erupting into pure-white flame. Shadow knew what he was going to do: smash through the tower, grab the Chaos Emerald and get the hell out of there! Shadow knew that his energy was limited, and that if he didn't get the Chaos Emerald quickly, his energy would expend, leaving him totally helpless. The energy also acted as life energy. While losing it all wouldn't kill him, it would leave him comatose…and vulnerable.

Solaris opened his maw, and inside it grew a great bright glow. Strengthening quickly, out scorched a great beam of dark energy at the tower.

Like a cannonball, Shadow smashed through the top of the tower, just as the beam ripped through it like a hot knife to butter. There was an explosion of raw power, sending the debris of the tower flying high into the atmosphere and around.

Metal-Sonic watched the entire thing, stunned senseless. He still held the rings in his grip. Did Shadow survive, or did Solaris destroy him? Was it then lost, or was it up to Metal-Sonic now to fetch the Emerald? If that was the case, how was he going to do any better than Shadow against Solaris? Where was the Emerald now in that rubble? Would be find it in time if he survived Solaris' onslaught?

Metal-Sonic's central processor was so jammed with these self-queries that his scans didn't detect something grasping him by the arm, nor the pulse of energy that carried them away from the place.


Silver felt the pressure in his jaw climb as he clenched his teeth. With the utmost concentration he could muster, he was summoning Amy, Cream and Cheese from some place in the Void. Before that even, he had been watching them through Chaos Vision through the White Chaos Emerald so that he could see when he could pull them out of the Void as soon as they had found the Chaos Emerald.

He had just pulled older-Viper and Rouge from their corner of the Void with their Chaos Emerald in tow, but nearly lost them trying. As he tried to summon them, he encountered some strange mental block, as if something was pulling his head from his own body. Fighting it, he pulled them out. It wasn't until they finally came through was when he found out that he had pulled them from a maw of a black hole. To Silver himself, it didn't really explain his experience, but didn't pursue the matter. Now he was pulling Amy, Cream and Cheese through who knows how far out in the Void.

With a flash of light, Amy, Cream and Cheese appeared a few feet in front of him, looking surprised. As soon as the light faded, Silver collapsed on his knees, his head suddenly buzzing like a hive of mad hornets. He didn't even notice that the Emerald dropped from his hands, landing on the stone underfoot with a clatter.

Amy's ears were quick to detect the noise, and looked to see what had caused it…and quickly noticed the ailing hedgehog. "Silver!" Cream and Cheese heard this and saw Silver as well. All three rushed forward to help him get back on his feet. They were having a hard time of it, as Silver's vision was dancing with circles and waves as his brain was struggling to correct the upset neurotransmitter transfers inside. Silver was so out of it that he barely even acknowledged his help.

"Leave him be," said a voice.

Silver's helpers looked to see older-Viper watching them, arms folded.

"But he needs help!" Amy said.

"And by leaving him to lay there will be the most help you can provide." Viper looked sternly at them. "Silver just snatched us and you three from completely different parts of the Void using Chaos Summon. More than likely, he just overtaxed himself. Letting him rest will be the best for him. Could have been much worse for him; he could have had a stroke from doing such a feat."

"Chaos Summon?" Amy asked. "Is that like Chaos Control?" Amy had seen Shadow use Chaos Control years ago, when Shadow was first released from Prison Island.

The scruffy hunter shrugged slightly. "More or less."

Interrupting their discourse was another flash of light. Out of it dropped a black hedgehog and a blue hedgehog android. The black hedgehog looked like he had just been through a fire as his fur was smoking and had a washed out look to it. Tightly gripped in his hand was the Blue Chaos Emerald.

Metal-Sonic had just realized what had happened, and looked at Shadow in pure surprise, which was quickly replaced by relief. "I see that you had survived."

"Barely," Shadow said. Rarely did he come close to humor, but after that near brush with Solaris, what else could be said?

"Put these back on." Metal-Sonic returned the viresium bands to Shadow, who promptly slipped them onto his wrist. Slowly, the smoke in his fur started to die, but he would stink of ash for some time, which older-Viper was quick to remark on.

Charmy the Bee, who had been hovering around with notepad and pencil in hand, noticed the new arrivals. "That's another one! That makes four. I'm getting so psyched!"

Shadow looked around. He found that Silver had dropped the White Chaos Emerald, Amy had the Light Blue Chaos Emerald and Rouge bore the Violet Chaos Emerald. He himself bore the fourth Chaos Emerald, a vivid blue like the billowing seas. Apparently, Charmy was keeping tally on incoming Chaos Emeralds.

Metal-Sonic had noticed this too, and was attempting to draw a conclusion on how these three teams had beaten them here. "Viper, how did you reach here before Shadow and I have? We used Chaos Control."

"So did Silver, except it was Chaos Summon. Don't quote me on this, but I believe Silver got here first with Chaos Control. Since Charmy was with him to get it, Charmy probably started keeping tally as soon as the next group arrived…which was me and Rouge."

"Imagine, a kid like him using Chaos Control to pull us out of the jaws of death just like that?" Rouge added, eye fluttering slightly. "Gotta hand it to him, I owe him one."

Metal-Sonic rethought the arrival schedule with this new information. That would imply that Silver also summoned Amy and Cream after Viper and Rouge, making his own group the fourth to arrive. He had not thought that Silver would learn a form of Chaos Control so quickly…or did he always know it?

His audial sensors alerted him that something was approaching, but it was at such a low decibel amount that it was barely registering. Metal-Sonic flipped on his scanners again and found that a party was coming. Quickly, Metal-Sonic switched to Chaos-energy tracking radar. The results pleased him.

Soon, Viper heard the noise that Metal-Sonic had detected first, a distinct whishing sound, and knew exactly who was coming.

Tails shot into sight, his twin tails a spinning blur. In his tightly grasped fist was the Yellow Chaos Emerald, glowing hotly, and on his face was a mark of jubilation. Espio trudged up behind him slowly and deliberately. In a stark contrast to Tails, the normally hot-pink chameleon was now an off-green color, which seemed to have spread to his gills. His face looked as if something very unpleasant was going on in the bowels.

Charmy updated the tally, and then made a bee-line to Espio, grinning like a chimp. "Hey, Espio, ate something bad or was it a wicked ride?"

Espio glared at the bee. "Shut up, Charmy."

Charmy flew away, giggling like a gremlin while Espio sat down into a modified lotus position to ebb the churning concoction of chyme, bile and enzymes in his stomach.

Elise looked as the bee flew off to hover above the array in progress, feeling her heart being buoyed up by newfound hope. The laps around the platform had released the accumulated stress in her body, as well as banished the dark clouds of doubt that have been hovering over her. With each appearance of a Chaos Emerald, she felt rays of hope shine through the clouds of doubt like a sunrise. She had now joined Tikal in her prayers of protection for those still to return.

Meanwhile, Shadow was now studying the array that Thunderhawk and Silver had been working on in their absence, of which the elder Echidna was now putting on the final touches. Shadow was unable to see how this array would help in bringing back Sonic, but knew better not to argue with the likes of Thunderhawk. Thunderhawk seemed very firm in his resolutions that this array would in fact be necessary in resurrecting Sonic. Therefore, Shadow did not argue, but merely continued to observe Thunderhawk in silence.

Suddenly, another voice broke the quiet on the stone platform. "The next time you guys throw a party…throw me an invite my way."

All looked to see young-Viper and Mighty trudging up onto the platform. In Viper's fist glowing the burning fury of the Red Chaos Emerald, which to everyone's amazement was not burning Viper in the slightest. Both looked like they just walked through a volcano, covered with ash and sweat.

Rouge winked at Viper. "Don't worry, hunky, the party is just beginning to swing."

Young-Viper pretended he didn't hear Rouge, while his older scruffier counterpart had one hand clasped over his mouth and was tapping his cheek with a finger. Viper swore that he was laughing.

"Six! That makes six!" announced Charmy. "One more to go!"

Thunderhawk rose up from the array and stretched. "Ah, that does it for the array itself. Now to complete it."

The phrasing of Thunderhawk's words rang strangely with Shadow. Speaking for all, he asked, "If the array itself is finished, why does it need completion?"

"Do you see where the points of the seven-pointed star meet the circle of the array?" Thunderhawk ushered to the array underfoot.

"Yes."

"At those points, there must be a pyramidal cut to be made so that the Chaos Emeralds may sit in and be connected to each other through the array. Such an array exists on the floor of the Hidden Palace. Power flow is vital in doing anything with Chaos Auras. Surely, you know this for yourself, Shadow…"

Shadow looked away briefly. He had always understood that to use a Chaos Emerald, the power had to come from within and well as without, creating a circular flow of exploitable energy. However, he never really thought about it and its significance. Looking back at Thunderhawk, he asked, "How must the cuts be made?"

Thunderhawk motioned to the Chaos Emerald in Shadow's hand. "That Chaos Emerald, as well as the others, must sit snugly in a cut, so the cut must be eight-sided like the Chaos Emerald itself. The cut itself must be one inch deep."

Metal-Sonic, who had been studying the array with scholarly fascination, had heard what the cuts need to be. Someone had to be of utmost skill to cut out such a shape…or a guided robot could. Suddenly, Mecha had an idea. "If you please excuse me, but I possess an industrial laser that can cut with utmost precision through stone. Therefore, I offer my services in this task."

Thunderhawk smiled. "But of course, Mecha! Take absolute care on these cuts. Any flaw and they may not work."

"Affirmative." Metal-Sonic in his databanks pulled up a wire-frame image of a Chaos Emerald with measured dimensions, surface area and volume, converted to centimeters. He now began to set new instructions for his processor:

Display wire-frame model on x,y,z-coordinate graph. Acknowledged.

Transpose model out of negative-x-planar coordinate. Confirmed.

Display new graph.

Bisect model at x-planar coordinate 2.54. Acknowledged.

Remove bisected model above x-planar coordinate 2.54. Confirmed.

Display new model.

Display new dimensions and volume. Acknowledged.

Dimensions:

L: 3.89 cm

W: 3.89 cm

H: 2.54 cm

Volume: 34.84 cm3

New command data: remove identical mass according to dimensional and volume data.

Adjust measurements to accommodate for laser-cut width.

Prepare industrial laser.

Metal-Sonic hunched down onto his hands and knees and began to cut the rock. Shadow provided crowd control by informing everyone that no one is to come near to Mecha as he is working, as each cut had to be perfect. Shadow knew that Metal-Sonic was the only one for the job, as he being a robot with computer-guided systems would make the cuts perfect, or as perfect as they're ever going to be.

Nearby, Amy Rose had wondered off from the group and was now kneeling next to Sonic's body, aware that Elise and Tikal were very close at hand, praying for Sonic's soul and the safe return of the missing party. Knuckles and Vector have shown no sign of returning from finding the last Chaos Emerald. Doubtless, Elise and Tikal were worried. Amy had to admit that she was too, and she would admit ashamedly later that she wasn't worried for Knuckles and Vector, but for Sonic and him only. She did feel bad for feeling that way, on top of her sadness from Sonic's passing. Oh, she wished that she could use a Chaos Emerald like Shadow or Silver had done, or at least use it to see if Knuckles and Vector were all right and successful, but alas she could not. She espied Silver still looking very out of it from his strenuous Chaos Vision and Summoning. She couldn't think about asking Shadow, since he didn't seem willing to do anything by request. He was always a puzzle to Amy, but somehow Sonic had figured him out. Instinctively, she grasped Sonic's hands, and found that Sonic had not grown still through rigor mortis as bodies would do after death. This cheered her up slightly. Somewhere out there, Sonic's soul was wondering the Void, aching to return to its body again, which was holding on for him, and Amy hoped it would continue to hold on. Was that how death was like? A spirit wandering forever in a dark void? Amy felt disturbed by that preconception, and tried not to think about it anymore.

Thunderhawk inspected Metal-Sonic's first cut from the rock, and then with almost reverent care, placed Shadow's Blue Chaos Emerald in the cut. It fit perfectly. Thunderhawk smiled. "Well done, Mecha! You truly are a great asset to your friends."

Mecha's face didn't register it, but he was pleased himself, particularly with being praised. Very rarely was he ever praised for anything, particularly under Dr. Robotnik's rule. Then his mind finally processed Thunderhaw's full praise, and it hung. Friends? How could he, an assassin robot, trained in dozens of combat skills and tactics, and can kill a foe without the foe ever realizing it, capable of having friends? How could he have such a luxury? Before, he had always considered such attachments as a potential weakness to be exploited; therefore did he keep such strings of attachment cut…or so he thought. The winter before the Black Arm invasion, he remembered throwing himself in front of Robo-Knux, knowing full well that Robo-Knux could have easily torn him to scrap in seconds then deal with Shadow next. Such an action was irrational…but he had felt that impulsion to protect Shadow. Shadow and Viper did help rebuild him after the fall of Operation Firestorm, but for a long time, Metal-Sonic had despised both of them for that. He would have rather just rotted away. Were those two really…friends to him after all?

Metal-Sonic suddenly realized that he had been standing still for a considerable amount of time. Stammering, he said, "I shall…commence with the other cuts. Please excuse me." Escaping Thunderhawk for a little bit, he set his cutting to automatic so that he could think and consider. His bio-nano-neuroprocessor was amazing to say the least, but it always surprised him with all the new pathways it was creating. In retrospect, it was a brain. At times, Mecha marveled at it, while other times, he despised it. He knew that the makeup of his new "brain" was of Professor Gerald's design, provided by Shadow many years before, but he couldn't help but wonder if this outcome was foreseen by the Professor himself.

Unknown to Mecha since his back was turned, Thunderhawk was smiling. He had seen Mecha's emotions through his eyes, and Mecha's own attempts at hiding them were amusing. However, he said nothing to the robot as it would merely distract him.

Time past slowly, uneventfully…but anxiously. Metal-Sonic continued his work wordlessly, but the others were growing restless, fidgeting nervously. So far, there was still no sign of Knuckles and Vector, and that concern was slowly taking over.

Metal-Sonic announced that the cuts were complete, and stepped back. Thunderhawk thanked him again and called for everyone to bring the remaining five Chaos Emeralds to the array. All listened carefully as Thunderhawk told them specifically where each Emerald had to sit. He further explained that each symbol in the array stood for a specific Chaos Emerald, so it was adamant that each Emerald should be in its spot. After the Emeralds were in place, all stepped back to look at it, painfully aware of the blank spot where an Emerald needed to be.

A thought crossed Shadow's mind. What if Knuckles and Vector never returned, failing to bring the remaining Chaos Emerald. What should they do then? A thought entered his mind. Six Chaos Emeralds had an immense amount of collective energy. Could that be enough to revive Sonic? Couldn't hurt to ask. "Thunderhawk, we already have six Chaos Emeralds. With the amount of power, could we not use them if Knuckles and Vector do not return?"

Thunderhawk's eyes flashed, causing everyone to jump. "No! Such a thing must never be done!" Thunderhawk's voice had risen greatly, which rattled many of the watchers. "Since the corruption of the Chaos Emeralds millennia ago, seven Chaos Emeralds must be present in order that anything wonderful should happen. Using six…" Thunderhawk's voice now dripped with dread. "…especially six…will unleash the corruption of the Chaos Emeralds. No, this cannot be done!"

Shadow's face had not changed, but inwardly he was shocked at Thunderhawk's display of dread. No living creature before, save Black Doom, had ever addressed him in such a powerful way. Not even Solaris moments before had addressed him so.

Cream stepped forward, and asked in pure innocence. "Can we clean the Emeralds so they would be all good again?"

Thunderhawk's moved back to the more pleasant nature he had before, in the presence of such innocence, dead had no hold on him. "If only it was that easy, child. Take heart, for there are prophecies that a great cleansing of such corruption will come. Time is the cure at the moment."

Unheard by everyone, young-Viper had humphed, turning his head away. Viper never cared for metaphysical prophetic banter, but possessed the discretion to stay silent. After all, his own existence was arguably supernatural, and he himself had witnessed events of such a nature. Only thing he really scoffed at was prophecies in themselves.

"But in the meantime, we must not use six Chaos Emeralds to perform this task. Even if it wouldn't release it evil inside, the array was designed for seven. The circle will remain broken until the seventh arrives."

Shadow nodded understandingly, although he reprimanded himself for not realizing that for himself.

Elise spoke for them all. "Then let us continually pray for their safe return, and that they have succeeded."

"You called?" said a strong gruff voice.

All looked to see someone coming up the steps towards them, and when they saw who it was, everyone burst into cheers. Up the stairs came a red heavy-browed Echidna, fist bearing a glowing green gem. Immediately behind him was a muscle-bound crocodile, Vector.

"Sorry we're late. Had to take out a couple of Mephiles' followers along the way," Knuckles smiled.

"Then it is time," said Thunderhawk reverently.

Knuckles walked to the blank-spot in the array, mildly shocked that the array was a miniature duplicate of the one in Hidden Palace. Also, the Emerald ring was arranged so that they were in order of the Super Emeralds in the same place. Finally, Knuckles placed the Chaos Emerald in the remaining slot and stepped away.

"Now…the departed hero…" Thunderhawk said.

Older-Viper nodded, then turned to go get Sonic's body…only to find that Elise had beaten him to the task. When he had turned, Elise had already stooped down and picked up Sonic. Slowly, and carefully, and being very mindful so Sonic's head wouldn't dangle, she carried him to the center of the circle. Just as carefully, she placed him down upon the seven-pointed star in the middle, and reverently folded Sonic's arms over his chest, so that it looked like he was in fact asleep then dead. For a couple of seconds, she remained at his side, and then retreated to the outside of the array. Older-Viper watched this in fascination, and a healthy respect had kindled in his aged heart.

Thunderhawk and Tikal stepped forward, on opposite sides of the array. Both raised their hands over the array and began to speak in a dialect that none understood, except Knuckles. He recognized each word they said, and in shock he realized that it was the same command for activating the Master Emerald. He himself had used it countless times back on Angel Island.

The Emeralds flashed, then began to glow hotter like the stars. The array too began to glow, fading from the black paint it was before to a hot green, sending rays of light upwards as a distinct ringing was heard by all. The array was activated.

"Everyone," Thunderhawk began back in the common tongue. "Tune your hearts in one accord to what must be done. Tune them to bring back Sonic from the clutches of the Void."

Like a church congregation, all nodded and in their own actions prepared their hearts.

Thunderhawk called Elise forward. "Now, Elise, the rest is up to you…"

Elise nodded, suddenly feeling weak in the knees. This was it: the moment of truth. Stepping forward to the edge of the array. She breathed deeply, as if about to take a dive into dangerous waters, and clasped her hands in front of her mouth. Then…she spoke. "Oh Chaos Emeralds, gems of wonderous miracles, please here my plea."

Everyone nodded in unison, and the Emeralds grew brighter. Amy now tightly shut her eyes from a fresh flow of tears and clasped her hands tightly.

Elise continued, slowly building. "I wish to save the world. I wish to forever cleanse my father's sin…and I wish to speak to Sonic…one again."

Again, the Emeralds brightened. Then, they slowly began to ascend from their holes in the array. The array was not broken, as the glow of the array still showed power transfer. At the same time, Sonic's body rose into the air. His head leaned back slightly, but not dangling, as he rose. The Emeralds and Sonic's body continued to rise slowly until coming to a rest at four feet above the ground.

Elise stepped into the array between the floating Chaos Emeralds, eyes never turning from Sonic whom did not stir nor move as she approached. Laying one hand on Sonic's folded hand, she continued on with passion. "You have told me of so much that you have done, how you can helped others every time they needed help. You have given them…me…so many things. How could we ever come close to repaying the debt we owe you? You've rescued me so many times, not just from Dr. Kintobor, but from my own darkness. You gave your life so that I would continue to smile with joy. Now, I return the favor to you. I care not what happens to me, so please…here my call…here my plea…"

Sonic remained still. A flicker of apprehension flashed in many an eye on those who beheld. Elise spoke again, her voice beginning to crack. "Sonic, please! Come back to us…to me…"

Elise's eyes rimmed with fresh tears, overflowing with one single tear running unchecked down Elise's cheek. Streaming down, it hung briefly off of her cheek, then dropped below, shimmering like a star in the Chaos Emeralds' light before it splashed upon Sonic's brow.

Suddenly, the Chaos Emerald began to move. Everyone gasped at this sudden development, and watched in dreadful awe as they continued to revolve faster. Faster and faster they went, soon becoming one single band of rainbow light. Then, a colossal explosion of golden light erupted from Sonic's body, burning brightly into a column of golden fire. All shielded their eyes as this light was threatening to blind them. Elise's shape was barely visible in the light if one dared to look.

Then, out bellowed a voice, deep and powerful like the sound of roaring waters:

The soul that possesses evil's fire
The tears shall call the flames

The shadow that possesses time's old flow
The tears shall call the flames
Through the Seven, evil shall rise
Shadow and Flame shall unite once more
The tears of royalty, shed in sorrow
The Flames of Disaster shall rise once more
Then through tears of sacrifice and love
Shall again redemption burn more!

All who dared to looked again saw the flame extinguish, but now saw a most remarkable thing. Sonic's body was now hovering in the air, upright, feet handing down. His fur had bleached into a burning gold, and his spines surged upwards like the flames burning around him. Then, Sonic descended to the ground. Slowly and like an angel did Sonic descend. His feet embraced the ground, and there he remained. His posture was a stark contrast to the burning power wrapped around him like a garment; his head hung in front of him, and his hands hung limply by his sides.

Everyone held their breath; for several agonizing seconds, Sonic did not move. For all they could tell, he was still dead upon his feet. Did they fail in bringing him back? What would they do if he was still dead?

Suddenly, Sonic's right fist clinched tightly, making everyone's heart skip a beat. Sonic's other hand followed suit. They opened and closed several times more as if Sonic was unsure about his own hands. Then, slowly, Sonic's head rose. When it finally became level, Sonic's eyes fluttered, struggling to open. At least, Sonic opened his eyes, and the first thing they saw was Elise's tear-rimmed eyes.

Elise stared into Sonic's now shimmering red eyes, when she felt her spirit faint within her. She collapsed onto her knees in a sigh, and a collective gasp surfaced from the onlookers. As she pitched forward, she was caught by strong hands. Her head fell forward and rested on her helper's shoulders.

As Elise lay faint in his arms, Super Sonic started straight ahead, his own eyes brimming with tears. Blinking them away, he spoke weakly, "Thank you, Elise."

The atmosphere was instantly electrified with joy and elation. Amy was so overcome with joy that she collapsed to her own knees and cried hard into a handkerchief. Cream, Cheese, Tails, Knuckles and the Chaotix leaped into the air, and much whooping and cheering could be heard from them. Shadow and Metal-Sonic remained stock-still, although if anyone looked carefully, they were overcome with joy, but were unable to express it as they didn't know how. Rouge placed one hand on her hips and winked at Sonic. Young-Viper raised two fingers in the air, brushed the air with them in a gesture, then laid them to rest again. Older-Viper had strode forward and leaned down to take Elise out of Sonic's grasp, so that he may go to do what needed to be done. He nodded as he did so.

Super Sonic's mouth cracked into his trademark grin, and he stretched his muscles. "Come on now, guys. I expected some food and drink about my funeral! You better have something good for me to make up for it. So, what's up?"

Silver stepped forward. "Mephiles and Iblis used the Chaos Emeralds to unite themselves and become Solaris. Right now, he's destroying all of time!"

Amy added, "To release Iblis, Mephiles stabbed you in the back. He did it only so Elise would cry, which would release Iblis."

Sonic rubbed his chest, where some moments before—or so it seemed—a crystal spike pierced him there. "Yeah, I got to kick his butt for that. Now what's this about Elise crying?"

"When Shadow took me to the past, ten years ago, we saw the accident that released Iblis for the first time." Silver continued, "I chased Iblis down and had him trapped, but I couldn't stop him there. Then, the King with Elise came up and the King used one of the Talismans to seal Iblis inside Elise's soul. One thing I remember him saying is that the tears would release the flames inside her."

Sonic blinked, as if remembering something. Something flashed into his head, all the way back to the Chaos Control that threw them across dimensions onto this world. He remembered hearing a voice. He couldn't remember exactly what it said, but one line stuck in his mind.

"The tears shall call the flames…" Sonic said soberly.

"What?" Knuckles asked.

"When we first got dumped here in Soleanna, I remember hearing a voice that said a couple of times: the tears shall call the flames. It sounded like a prophecy."

Young-Viper spoke. "It was."

Sonic turned to him. "You heard it too?"

"Yeah…just now before you came back." Viper then added. "The last line however is also important: through tears of sacrifice and love, shall again redemption burn more. When Elise called you back, one tear fell from her face and splashed on you…and here you are." He smirked. "As much as I hate prophecies, this one came true. Son of a bitch…"

Sonic smirked as well. "So, where the heck are we anyway?"

Thunderhawk stepped forward. "We are in the Void, the space between dimensions. Once Solaris devours the rest of them, the Void too will expand so much and quickly that it will shatter, and it too will collapse, and we being prisoners within shall perish as well."

"The Void again?" Sonic exclaimed. "I'm so going to fire my travel agent."

Thunderhawk looked amused, but continued soberly. "Solaris exists in the past, present and future. Since the Void encompasses all three simultaneously—as time and space are meaningless in the Void—the only chance to defeat his is in the Void."

"Big demon-thing in the Void and I gotta kick its butt before the Void kicks ours." Sonic sighed. "A hero's work is never done. Any tips?"

"Just one." Thunderhawk spoke again, "Solaris is a physical re-manifestation of the Black Chaos Emerald. To truly defeat him, you must destroy the Emerald. Destroying the Emerald in the Void will not cause harm to the dimensions."

Here, Knuckles leaped in. "Wait! That could kill Sonic, even as Super Sonic, if he could destroy it at all…"

Amy nearby looked horrified, but Sonic shrugged. "Looks like that's the best chance we got."

"Wait," Thunderhawk raised a hand. "The Black Chaos Emerald is more powerful than even the Chaos Emeralds united. Even the Super Emeralds couldn't stop it…but there is one that can overpower it."

Knuckles opened his mouth to ask, and then closed it. He knew exactly to what the elder was referring.

"The Master Emerald, huh?" Sonic said. "How are we going to use it from here in the Void?"

"Leave that to us," Thunderhawk said.

Sonic flashed a thumbs-up. "Cool, but one thing. I ain't going to kick Sol-man's butt alone." Sonic eyed Shadow and smiled. Shadow nodded, and stepped into the ring. Sonic then turned to Silver.

Silver jumped. "Me!"

Sonic grinned more. "Get real, Silv. Did you really want to just sit by while Shads and I kick some demon-butt?"

Silver didn't know how to answer.

"I also seem to recall you saying something about saving your time at any cost. Refresh my memory, Silv ol' pal…"

Silver blanched. Sonic's words cut right through to his heart, and he knew Sonic was right. Already a great price had been paid to destroy Iblis, at the cost of Blaze's own life. However, Solaris had erased that from happening, so Blaze's sacrifice was lost as much as she was. Now her sacrifice was meaningless. Silver gritted his teeth; he would rather die than let that happen. By any price? Yes, it would be. "I'll do it."

As Silver stepped into the circle, Thunderhawk called to Tikal and Knuckles to circle around the array and wait for his cue. Sonic nodded to Thunderhawk who nodded back, and then the hedgehog nodded to Shadow and Silver. They nodded in return. Everything was ready.

Super Sonic lifted his hands towards the other two, palms outward; Shadow and Silver followed suit. Sonic closed his eyes and lowered his head, and again Shadow and Silver followed his example. Suddenly, the seven Chaos Emeralds flew out of Sonic's being, extinguishing the flaming aura around him. However, Sonic's fur still glowed hotly yellow and standing up on its ends.

Thunderhawk started quietly and reverently. "The servers are the Seven Chaos…" Tikal joined him, building strength. "Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart." Knuckles joined in. "The Controller serves to unify the Chaos…" In unison and powerfully, they continued in their chant. "Master, Super, Chaos; be no longer 'part!"

Around Sonic, Shadow and Silver the Chaos Emeralds rotated again. Again, seven more Emeralds burst from Sonic's waist, except they were smaller than the Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles watched on in awe as that they were the Super Emerald miniatures that he had given Sonic in the form of an omni-gel belt he obtained from the human colonies. They had escaped from his belt and now joined their Chaos-powered brethren. Suddenly, the array glowed hotter, light beams now reaching above everyone's heads, brightening into a yellow-green glow. Knuckles felt a ring build up in the back of his skull and knew what it meant. The Master Emerald was responding.

All three shouted together with all the might they mustered. "Chaos…UNITE!"

Sonic, Shadow and Silver exploded in a white blast of fire and light. Everyone shielded their eyes and felt a blast of hot wind like the opening of a blast furnace. None have ever seen this show of power, not since Super-transformation. The roar continued, and all felt their skin bristle against the heat. Soon, it subsided, and all who dared to look saw what had transpired.

Sonic, Silver and Shadow were hovering above the ground now, but transfigured. Their fur has bleached into silvery-white, and around each of them burned a furious fire of white and blue flames, making their spines dance and sway like the flames themselves.

Ultra Sonic looked over himself, admiring the new transformation. "Dude! And I thought Hyper was way past, but it doesn't hold a candle to this!"

Ultra Shadow was marveling at the fiery aura that now bathed over him. The highest power he ever acheived was Hyper with Sonic outside the ARK. "What is this power?" His voice warbled in the flames.

Ultra Silver was shocked; not only at his newly-given power, but also at finding that all of his fatigue from Chaos Vision and Summoning had burned away by the fires themselves. "Whoa, I've heard of that when the seven Chaos Emeralds or Talismans of Essence come together the make a miracle, but I've never heard of this!"

Knuckles, who had taken several steps back when the Ultra-mode literally blew up in their faces. "It's what happens when the Chaos, Super and Master Emeralds loan their power and unite them within the beings. It's called Ultra."

Thunderhawk added, "Indeed, it is a power-form that is typically reserved for the Guardians of Angel Island, but in times of greatest need, other individuals can use it as long as the Guardian wills it."

"Well, I think that qualifies for us!" Sonic said, forming a fist.

"Keep your distance from the rest of us, Sonic." Knuckles further explained, "Ultra-mode is so powerful that it even ignites the very air and surfaces around it. If there were trees and grass around, it would probably burst into flame if you got too close. As for me, I prefer not to be fried chicken."

"Only baked, huh?" Sonic winked. "Just as well. If you did burst into flame, we'd have to stomp you out. No water for miles…"

Knuckles smiled wryly but didn't answer.

"So, are we ready to rock and roll?" Sonic asked. Shadow and Silver nodded in reply. All looked to the crowd of onlookers who were now cheering them on with various encouragements and shouts. Amy wished Silver and Sonic the best of luck, and young-Viper said to Shadow, "Kick his ass or I'll kick yours." Shadow smiled and nodded to him.

"Come on, dudes! Let's ROCK!" Sonic shouted, and then shot into the air with the sound of a blasting rocket thruster. Shadow and Silver followed behind in the same fashion.

All continued to cheer and they craned their necks upwards to watch the three blazing comets that were the three hedgehogs shoot skyward towards the time-space rift. Unnoticed by all but older-Viper, Elise had come to sometime around the time Sonic had become Ultra-powered. Now she watched the three go to the battle to end all battles, and she smiled. She said only one thing, and only Viper heard him.

"You're welcome…Sonic…"