Outroduction

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WARNING: This page contains spoilers.

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Additional Ending

(First Draft)

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"Ahahahaha!"

"Admit it, you controlled Sonic through the entire game!" I say. "How could it not be you?! You just kept on going and going, only resting when you wanted to rest. Now he's gone forever, because you played this game you call his life for so long, you made the game aware of yourself!"

"No, of course, you only did what I wanted you to do. That's right, me, the game. No, I'm kidding, haha. I don't mean the game! (No. The text.) No. The creator! No, none of that!"

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"I'm just another person like you. That's all. I'm a fan that believed in Sonic, and wanted to see how far he'd go. I suppose you were expecting some grand finale after all of that, but really there's nothing more. This entire time it's just been you and me. You played through everything I created. But really, I'm amazed you made it to the end. It wasn't easy. It was really fucking difficult, actually. But you did it, you're here. You're great. Thank you."

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"Entropy alluded to Sonic CD earlier. That, and the history of Mobius, and how Sonic became just a fighting machine: they were all pointing to me as creator of this world. In fact, in less direct ways the entire game pointed to me. A few characters figured it out. Why, you ask, why break the fourth wall? Why talk to you? What do I have to say that's so important as to put myself at the apex of everything? I'm asking myself these questions, but I'll answer them anyway."

"There is no point beyond this. Everything begins and ends with its cause. I am the limit of the game's scope. I always was, but I felt like making it clear. To you, I should be nothing more than just this game and nothing more. Even this monologue seems like a cutscene gone too far, and it is, just not yet."

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"Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog is a brand. He exists only to sell video games. That's all he was designed for."

"But that isn't all he is. To the kid who plays the games, to the fan who falls in love with his universe, to all the people who know who Sonic is, who is he then?! He is more than a brand, more than an object in a script or pixels on a screen. He's more than a flashy, fast hero. He's more than his adventures. He represents freedom. Justice! He's a primary color, even! People can spend so much of their free time dedicated to something related to Sonic, and yet he's just an image! He has no substance. He does not exist."

"But Sonic does exist. He exists in our minds. All that is in the mind, and that can ever be in the mind, is real. Yes, even our imagination, even our dreams, even our hallucinations, they are all real simply because we perceive them. If they were not real, then how could they exist, how could they affect us like they do?"

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"We think each others' mental worlds are not real, and yet once we perceive the same things as they do, a piece of their world becomes part of ours. If it does not fit our world, we refuse the reality of their reality even though we remember it (especially so in some cases). What is aggression but refusing to be aware of something? What is apathy but ignoring it? What is love but embracing it?"

"Everything is real. Everything can be perceived. It is impossible to consider an object that cannot be perceived, because to even think about it makes it real. And yet all the time, people refuse this or that as real, despite having perceived it, despite having been affected by it! It's silly, but on a wide enough scale it leads to great suffering as people's individual and collective realities are rejected. Reality is rejected, very often and very violently. Dogma, power, war, and heartless nature itself. All of that, all of everything is real. But they are all also just in our minds."

"Don't believe me? Try to actually destroy something. At best, you'll split it into pieces, which can be put back together some other way. But you won't destroy it. It's impossible. The murdered are still remembered. Lost civilizations still leave their traces in the environment. A thought by someone nobody ever knew was a reaction to some event, and it influenced other thoughts, which at some point influenced some action, and so on. They are very distant from reality, but they are real. Everything is one, sorry. I hope you like gradients."

"I'm not saying we should uncritically accept everything, no. I'm saying we should critically accept everything, for everything that exists to us exists in our minds. Whether it exists outside of our minds or not. Rather, we should not uncritically refuse everything. We should be thinking fluidly, flexibly, rather than in crystallized, rigid structures. We have not explored every possible form of thought and every state of mind. We stick to the first thing that works for far too long, and think to do otherwise is idealistic. Idealistic to ask for such a simple change in thinking: to just look at something, anything, no matter what and say, 'That exists, that is real enough'? If we believe we are free beings, why are we shy of being idealistic?"

"In response, you retort: Then what about habits, history, nature, the material cosmos, the vast, uncountable number of particles in unrecorded, unlivable planets past, present and future? They are real, but nobody makes them real! A mind is only a human thing! The real world is realer than you think. If you open your mind too wide, nothing makes sense! The world is an apathetic neverending cycle of new life and suffering into death, and you could never understand how cold your own skull will feel, and so on!"

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"Come, now, I'm not here to argue with you. No matter how real we think we can think, we are riding on the sails of our own imagination. And somewhere in that sea, there is a perfect Sonic, who doesn't drown in water. And there is a perfect something for everything out there, as long as we keep searching our minds. If we go far enough, perhaps we'll map the edges... so we can cross into a world truly unknown."

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Suddenly the screen is filled with color, whooshing stars and galaxies in the quadrillions at an incredible rate, slowing down rather quickly, entering this supercluster, this cluster, this galaxy, this solar system, and slowing right above Mobius. The moon is back, perfectly intact, and so is the planet surface. The cloud patterns and color are normal.

Here, on the surface, the land is no longer roboticized. Everything is seemingly back to normal, although, essentially all of the built structures throughout the world are completely leveled. Robotnikland has mostly disappeared asides from a few small areas all around the globe and inside it as well.

All of the Mobians are deroboticized as well. They slowly regain their consciousnesses en masse, very tired and groggy. People are too out of it to really know what's going on or what had happened to them. Those that have been awake, however, seem to conclude that the New Chaos, or Chaos II, must have destroyed everything and knocked everyone out, to the obvious rebuttal from others that they all survived and the world looks nothing like it did from the Old Chaos.

Many New and Old Mobians wake up next to each other, but due to their shared circumstances they simply don't care about fighting anymore. Although, a few zealots from both sides refuse to let go of war and immediately set out to attacking each other. However, nobody wants to deal with bullshit like war anymore, so they are dealt with in multiple ways. Some try to talk them out of it, others try to do it by force, and some just let them kill each other.

In the ruins of Nexus are two of the earliest who woke up. Tails and Knuckles, looking out over the land from the top of a fallen skyscraper, are silent. They both came to the same place despite waking up in different locations, but they are somewhat uneasy given everything. Knuckles is the first to break the incredible silence.

"Sonic never came back. And Robotnik's forces are gone. It's obvious. It's over," he says.

"The fighting seems to have stopped, too. Well, there's a few people taking advantage of it, but that's typical" Tails comments.

Knuckles pauses, thinking. "I keep on seeing people crawling out of the rubble. They're all tired-looking, all of them moving about, slowly, deliberately. I don't know why... for some reason, that makes me feel really happy inside. Our world was destroyed and I want to dance. Actually..." And then Knuckles started dancing.

Tails chuckles. "I think everyone's feeling the same thing... It's like... the world is waking up from a bad dream. The sky... is clear... and blue..."

Knuckles turns to Tails, who looks back at him. "It wasn't a dream, though. Many people died... many, many people. No matter what happens... we can't forget what happened. Not a single thing. We are responsible for blood."

Tails bows his head solemnly. "When you say it like that... it makes me think that maybe... maybe Sonic... really is dead."

Knuckles chuckles this time. "I thought you were smart, Tails. Isn't it obvious? If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be here right now." He looks back out over the shattered cornice.

Tails interrupts what Knuckles is about to say. "You're right. There's no way anyone else saved us. If it weren't for him, everything would be hell like it was before. But he opened one door of the gates to hell, and Robotnik pulled on the other. He was too stubborn to think he was being used. He was... he wasn't a hero. He..." He takes a breath. "I... I don't blame him for it, though. If he wouldn't do it, I would. But I wish I could have been with him the entire time... He was changed, completely changed. He must have suffered... Maybe things would have been different..."

Knuckles says, "Maybe Robotnik was part of someone else's plan, too. Maybe none of this could be avoided. Maybe it could have been avoided a long time ago. Or the day before it happened. It doesn't matter right now. Forget about it. Let's get down from here."

Tails agrees on the dot and they jump off the building. As they fly and glide back down to the ground, Jeir suddenly sees them from afar, near the edge of The Nadir, which has since caved in. "I wonder if they knew...?"

"Knew what?" a man asks. Jeir turns, seeing a jet black echidna wearing a simple robe.

"I bet you wouldn't believe me. The whole world got turned into a machine by a human called Robotnik. He then went on a rampage to destroy everything, but Sonic stopped him. The entire world attacked Sonic but he won! And then me, the only other non-robot, directed him here, to the Nadir. Now, before you say-"

"Say what? I helped construct the Nadir. I know Zexa was down there," the echidna says with a smile. "So he helped Sonic out, eh? Once you say 'Zexa' it hardly seems real anymore, eh!"

"No way..." Jeir says in awe. "You can't be that old... Then again! I bet that's not your skin's natural color, eh?"

"Same to you!" the man says, laughing. "Ah, but on that topic, the Black Stones seem to have lost all their power, at least for me! I'll admit I feel rather like death, having used them for so long!"

Jeir then gets an epiphany, turns his head and thinks to himself. "That's it! It's all related! He must have used the connection between the stones somehow to return..."

The man replies, "As if we could know now... what comes next. You know, The Nadir is caved in. I made it invincible, and it's demolished completely! Where am I supposed to live now? Hohoho! I never thought I'd see the sun again. I forgot how hot it is above ground!"

Jeir sighs. He doesn't blame the old guy for talking on, but he couldn't help doing it himself. "He must have done it. He has to still be alive. There's no other way. There's nobody as powerful. I wonder if he'll come back to this world... Nobody would forget him. He would be here, alive, the hero of the greatest story of the world..."

The man looks away, down the road and then up into the sky. "If I know who you're talking about, after all this he could only be really boring." He shades his eyes from that golden sun blazing deep within the vast blue heavens.

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The Fourth Wall

You read this far? Or maybe you want to see what's at the very end? Well, this is nothing more than the conclusion of everything that's before this.

This is a self-criticism of the first draft, 3 years after it was written when I returned to it. Maybe it's sensible, but at this part that's not my concern. I don't even know if I really agree with it myself as I work on the second draft. But it's obvious to me right now that the story as a whole is deeply influenced by my attitude at the time I wrote it. I wrote it just to write something fun and complicated, and not really to say anything, so it's somewhat detached and even negative. That's not necessarily a bad thing as I go interesting places with it, but it's not really the best attitude.

The length attests to that, but so does the dialogue. To me, plenty of the dialogue generally sounds flat and devoid of true emotion, although a few scenes worked out. It's difficult to care about some of the worst stuff that happens. I was aware of this at the time, but because I was emotionally detached, myself, I decided it fit Sonic, Robotnik, and the story. That doesn't make it easier to read, but since nobody but me was going to read it I didn't care. If anything needs to improve, it's that.

Whenever I did have something to say, it was universally negative. Nothing is right. Nobody is good. No matter what anyone thinks, including Sonic. This was all I could see in the world. Who wants to read that? And yet, with every reason not to be, I've always been an optimist anyway. This is why the additional ending is so weird, because in the first draft I tried to say something is good after all that. It sounds superficial and leaves no impression. If there's anything, it's not enough. Ironically, this old paradox has never stopped haunting me although I favor optimism more.

Then there's the whole maximizing approach I took, typified by all of that ancient history. It is unique for a game to have such complexity and length which is why I did it, as well as to connect everything together, but its effect on the story is questionable. It could be taken out entirely with little consequence if I had a simpler idea. Everything after Part 5 is almost entirely an exercise in maximizing: some of it because I was excited and had a lot of ideas, some of it because I had to flesh it out according to plan. I think that's essential to Sonic Ballistic, but I wonder if simplicity may be superior in terms of a Sonic game.

The plot could have had some improvements too. I didn't mention the Super Emeralds at all and so I apparently didn't recall there already was a Hyper form. Item boxes, springs, and even spikes could have been added and explained somewhere. The details to roboticization are vague. Everything could always be made clearer and more precise.

Sonic Ballistic isn't really that bad, and I did do what I wanted to do. It is complete as a project, but for me, its idea wasn't quite reached. It sits on the edge of fandom. I didn't care about what I wrote, because I didn't care about Sonic, but I cared enough to write a full story over a year and a half, because I still cared about Sonic. And now it's on the Web and who knows how good or bad people will think it is! And I still somehow find myself working on parts. At this point, I don't even want to think about this thing anymore. If it's got half a heart, throwing pieces of heart at it isn't gonna make it beat out dance tracks. Sheeyit. I'm out.

-Shblue, aka MCO

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"Level Select"

Part 1 [14 acts]

Blue Hill [1] [2] (1/1)

Torch Temple [1] [2] (1/2)

Biomech Base [1] [2] (1/3)

Falling Frenzy [1] [2] (1/4)

Dead Egg [1] [2] [3] (1/5)

Silver Skyway [1] (1/6)

Mechanix Seal [1] [2] (1/7)

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Part 2 [11]

Crystal Caverns [1] [2] (2/8)

Green Meadows [1] [2] (2/9)

Quickened Quay [1] [2] (2/10)

Crumbling City [1] [2] (2/11)

Assimilated Asteroid [1] [2] (2/12)

Flying Fury [1] (2/13)

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Part 3 [12]

Great Glacier [1] [2] (3/14)

Violent Volcano [1] [2] (3/15)

Egg Tempest [1] [2] (3/16)

Grand City [1] [2] [3] [4] (3/17)

Locked Lab [1] [2] (3/18)

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Part 4 [11]

Special Zone [1] (4/19)

Space Ruins [1] [2] (4/20)

Void [1] [2] [3] (4/21)

Fallen World [1] [2] [3] [4] (4/22)

The Apex [1] (4/23)

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Part 5 [8]

Eraser Egg [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] (5/24)

Lunar Fight [1] (5/25)

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Part 6 [10]

Grand City [5] [6] (6/26)

Wild Road [1] [2] (6/27)

Misty Mountains [1] [2] (6/28)

Forever Forest [1] [2] (6/29)

Egg Colossus [1] (6/30)

Fighter Flight [1] (6/31)

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Part 7 [14]

Underzone [1] [2] (7/32)

Hidden Palace [1] (7/33)

Sky Sanctuary [1] (7/34)

Horizon High [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] (7/35)

Eternal Equator [1] [2] (7/36)

Zexagalaxius Zone [1] [2] [3]

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Part 8 [16]

Mobius Mayhem [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] (8/37)

Ominous Ore [1] [2] (8/38)

Infinity Tower [1] [2] (8/39)

The Zenith [1] (8/40)

Destiny of Death [1] (8/41)

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Part 9 [4]

Robotnikland [1] [2] [3] (9/42)

South Island [1] (9/43)

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Part 10 [6]

The Nadir [1] (10/44)

Entropy [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] (10/45)

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Cast of Characters

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Sonic

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Doctor Robotnik

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Egg Hunter

Silver Sonic

Scrap

Death

Launch

Doom

Egg Assassin

the Egg Robos

Metal Sonic

the Silver Sonics

the robots

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Mechanix

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Nikki

Mechanix Children

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Zaga

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Zexa

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Knuckles

Jeir

Salana

The Zexesh

Core

Galgatroth

the fire echidna

the Zexakal robots

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Tails

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Greg and Johnny

the Commander

the Mobian Army

the fox ascetic

the Mobians

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Entropy

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