White Space — Timeless

Silver looks frantically about the featureless white void he and Zero have found themselves in. "No, no, no, no, no. Not again… Not here…" He looks to Zero and shouts, "I can't be here again!"

Zero asserts, "Silver, get a grip! What is this place?"

Silver calms, but only slightly. "This is what the Time Eater turned my time into. This is what's left behind after a timeline is erased."

Zero asks, "So we're outside of time, then?" He looks to the Temporal Sapphires in each of his hands. Their usually vibrant blue glow now looks dull and sickly. "The Sapphires don't seem to like it either." He suddenly keels over and holds his stomach as he realizes the Sapphires aren't only things that are sick. He moans.

Silver asks with concern, "What's wrong?"

"I think it's my connection with the Sapphires. It's giving me some sort of adverse reaction to this place."

"We need to get out of here. Now. Can you use Time Control to free us?"

Zero forces himself to stand up straight. "Yeah. Let's give it a go." He holds both Sapphires out and shouts, "Time Control!" But nothing happens.

Silver groans. "Not again…"

Zero sighs. "Whatever effect this place is having on them is also limiting their abilities. We're going to have to find another way out. Again." He looks around. "How did we even get here?"

Silver, still on the verge of a panic attack, suggests, "My guess is that this void is a transtemporal bubble. Such constructs are theoretically possible but have never been proven. It would be the spatial remnant of a destroyed or erased timeline. I would say that forcing our way out of the time loop took so much temporal energy that we broke down the walls between timelines and ended up here by mistake." The more he speaks, the more his mind is taken off of his existential crisis, and his panics subsides.

"So how would we escape?"

Silver sighs. "That's something I couldn't even hazard a guess about. I was only able to escape from my dying timeline because it wasn't completely consumed yet. Whatever this timeline was, it's completely gone now."

Zero looks around. As he does, he swings the Sapphires about as he pivots his body. He notices something. The Sapphires glow brighter when pointed in a specific direction. Silver noticed it too. They both look to each other in surprise.

Together, they declare, "Let's follow it!"

Silver & Zero: Partners in Time

Part 7

Hope and Disaster

Written by Yuni Oha

"I heard that!" a deep voice echoes across the white expanses.

Silver and Zero look to each other in surprise and run in the direction of the voice. Two figures appear at the horizon. As they come closer, they become recognizable. Silver and Zero both say together, "Eggman…s?"

Two versions of Dr. Eggman are ahead. A younger one with more rounded features and simpler clothes stands, while the older one, looking more like expected, sits facing away from the other. They seem to be arguing.

The younger one asks, "So do we ever win?"

The older one stands back up and states, "That depends on your definition of 'win.'"

Young Eggman points accusingly and asserts, "Beating Sonic!"

Older Eggman flings his arms out in defeat. "Oh. Well, then no."

Young Eggman puts a hand to his forehead and shakes his head disapprovingly. "That doesn't give me much hope." He gets an idea. "Maybe I'll go back and get my teaching degree!"

Older Eggman seems to like this. "That's not a bad idea! I've always enjoyed telling people what to do!"

Silver demands, "Eggman, what are you doing here!?" He pauses. "And why have you put on so much weight?" He thinks back to the skinnier version of Eggman he knew from the erased timeline.

Zero points out, "I think the more important question is, why are there two of you?"

The Eggmans shout together, "Hedgehogs!"

Modern Eggman looks at Silver closely. "Wait! I know you! You were one of Sonic's cheerleaders just now!"

Silver hesitates. "You know me? And not from the erased timeline…"

Zero points out, "This is just like with Sonic, remember? He must have met a different timeline's version of you."

Silver nods. "Right."

Classic Eggman shouts, "A friend of Sonic's is an enemy of mine! I will destroy you!"

Eggman chuckles. "With what? We're fresh out of robots."

Classic Eggman crosses his arms resentfully. Then he gets an idea. "What if I resolved myself to bring extra robots with me in my future to this very moment. Then you should have them." He shuts his eyes and concentrates hard. "Okay! Where are my future robots?"

Eggman looks at him with a pitiful shake of the head. "Poor, ignorant, past me. That's not how time travel works."

He snaps back sarcastically, "Then enlighten me, oh great and wise future me."

Silver groans, already growing annoyed by their antics.

Zero asks, "Look, Eggmans, can you tell us anything about where we are?"

Eggman grins. "Of course I can! What kind of super genius would I be if I couldn't? This little void in the space-time continuum is a place I like to call White Space. I was the one who discovered it."

Classic Eggman chimes in, "And I will discover it!"

Eggman pushes him aside and continues, "Regular White Space is a natural phenomenon caused by the erasure of timelines, and normally would be unstable, as they would be replaced by newly branching timelines, but this is something different. The timeline that was erased to make this White Space was something special, and was erased so thoroughly that its White Space has yet to be fully filled in. It is from here that I would create the Eggman Empire and bring about the return of Eggman Land!"

Classic Eggman chuckles and says snidely, "Get a load of this guy. He just wants to build an amusement park."

Eggman turns around and asserts, "I'll have you know; I've already built two! Including one in space!"

"Ooh! Space! I'm so impressed." He drops the sarcasm and shouts, "You know what I built? A space station! In space! You know, something that's supposed to be in space!"

"I know! I built it too, remember? I also built a second one that you haven't yet! In fact, I think I'll build another one, just to spite you."

"Oh ho ho! That means I'll be building another two someday too!"

"I hate you."

"I always thought you had a self-loathing complex."

Eggman just sneers at his younger self.

Silver groans again. He asserts, "Can we focus, please? How is it that you came across this place?"

Eggman grins. "Oh, I love to brag about my accomplishments. You see, I was fresh off my last battle with Sonic the Hedgehog. We were equally matched. The battle could have gone either way, until that Hedgehog cheated. He destroyed my store of Hyper-go-on, causing a cascade reaction which eventually resulted in a space-time singularity." He looks to Silver and Zero. "A black hole, for the less educated." Silver rolls his eyes. Zero listens intently. "Sonic may have gotten the upper hand in that fight, but what he didn't know is that he allowed for my most ingenious plan ever. The Wisps might have stopped the black hole, but the fissure in the space-time continuum it had created remained. Through it, an entity that lived in this White Space emerged. I single-handedly subjugated the creature to my will and used it to bend time itself!"

Classic Eggman chimes in, "Lies! You had help from me!"

"Yes, but since you're me, it doesn't count. Still single-handedly!"

Silver speaks up, "Wait, an entity that could bend time? What do you mean?"

Eggman grins devilishly. "You should know! It was the Time Eater!"

Silver and Zero gasp. Zero surmises, "This is where Mephiles came from!"

Silver adds, "And it's the Eggmans' fault for releasing him!"

Eggman laughs. "Oh ho ho! I do love stirring up chaos. Though I don't know what a Mephiles is."

Zero looks back to the Eggmans and asks, "We need a way out of here. Do you know of one?"

Classic Eggman laughs as if something is hilarious. "Of coursewe do! We were just sitting here in this desolate wasteland specifically waiting for you two to show up! Now that you're here, we'll just leave right away!" His fake jovial attitude vanishes, and he asks critically, "If we had a way out, do you really think I'd still be in this dump with that fool?" He points accusingly at the other Eggman.

Silver sighs. "I guess we're back to following the Sapphires."

—–—

Zero leads the way, though his sickness looks to be getting the better of him. The Eggmans follow behind. They bicker the entire way, much to Silver's annoyance.

Classic Eggman suggests, "What if I were to upgrade Metal Sonic and give him cool new powers? Something like shapeshifting."

Eggman bluntly responds, "Already tried that. Fails."

"Okay… I could trap an alien world and harness the powers those aliens possess."

"Fails."

Classic Eggman strokes his mustache. "Hmm… What if I held the world hostage and blow up half the moon as a show of my power?"

"Fails."

"Really? Okay. Wait, does that mean you only have half a moon in your time? Eh, that's not important. Don't answer. Here's a plan I've been working on for a while. I awaken an ancient deity and—"

"Fails. Multiple times."

Classic Eggman is getting annoyed. "You really do fail at everything." He pauses, then realizes, "Multiple times!?" He shakes his head and groans. Then he goes back to thinking. He holds up a finger. "Eureka! I've got it! Hear me out here. Cyberspace."

Eggman is intrigued. "Cyberspace?"

"Yes! Cyberspace! It's a whole new frontier!"

"Hmm… I've never considered that one before. I might have to steal the idea."

"Not if I pull it off first!"

"Good luck with that! The fact that I haven't done it means that you won't! It shall be me who destroys Sonic first! Oh ho ho ho!"

Silver groans. He complains to Zero, "Can those two think of anything other than destroying Sonic? They're obsessed."

Zero forces himself to grin through his discomfort. "It's been the focus of their life since long before the younger Eggman's time, and I suspect it will continue on long after older Eggman's time." He abruptly keels over.

Silver helps to support him and asks, "Are you okay?"

Zero grimaces. "Yeah. I'm fine. Whatever the Sapphires are leading us towards seems to be making things worse for both them and me."

"Maybe you should stay back, and I'll look ahead."

Zero shakes his head. "No way. We only just reunited again. I'm not letting us go solo again."

Silver grins at him. "Fair enough. Thanks for staying by my side."

Classic Eggman declares, "I've got it! There's no way you've done this one already! I'll host a fake hover board grand prix tournament and invite all the best racers in the world! As they compete, I'll have a robot disguised as a contestant secretly analyzing the data and skills of the racers! When all is done, I will have the data to create the ultimate racer and I'll defeat Sonic in a race! It's fool-proof! Best. Plan. Ever."

Zero, Silver, and Eggman all stare at him, as if attempting to determine whether or not he's serious. After several moments, Eggman takes a deep breath and admits, "Fails."

Classic Eggman looks at his older self with combination of indignation and pity.

—–—

Silver and Zero come to an abrupt stop together. They look to each other and ask simultaneously, "Do you see that!?"

The Eggmans scramble for a better look. Classic Eggman pushes Zero to the side while Eggman pushes Silver down. Classic Eggman asks his counterpart, "Do I learn my vision is impaired, or is that what I think it is?"

Eggman announces, "Hindsight is 20/20, and I see it too!"

They shout together, "Color!"

Far off in the distance is a smudge of red and orange. It's far away and only visible due to the contrast with the endless white void.

Classic Eggman shouts in joy, "I never thought I would be so happy to see something that isn't monochrome!"

Eggman agrees, "I've got it in my sight! The colors feel so right!" They run ahead like giddy schoolchildren.

Silver and Zero have to run to catch up.

—–—

The Eggmans now pant. Eggman wheezes, "I'll…keep…on…running…" He goes into a fit of coughing and collapses from exhaustion.

Silver and Zero catch up with the Eggmans and are able to turn their attention to the source of the color for the first time.

Silver instantly freezes. His irises and pupils shrink as a terror takes full grip over him. A fiery orange light reflects in his eyes. His entire body begins to convulse involuntarily. He says in a low whimper, "This isn't possible… No…"

Zero is worried about his friend. "Talk to me, pal. What's wrong? What is this place?"

Without taking his eyes off the horror ahead, Silver says morosely, "The city consumed by a crisis…"

Ahead of him is what looks to be a small-scale version of a ruined city. Destroyed towers and collapsed bridges jut out from a lake of lava.

Zero looks to the city, then back to Silver. "It can't be. This is the place where you were from in the other timeline?" Silver's inability to answer is answer enough for Zero. Zero shakes his head in dismay. He looks back to the Eggmans and snaps, "You two, what is this?"

The Eggmans, who were squabbling over something insignificant, both stare at Zero. Eggman explains, "It's a zone within White Space. A window to another time and place. Step into it and you'll be whisked away to its destination. Or a temporally stagnant slice of it, anyways."

Zero demands, "But the time and place this window shows is from an erased timeline. How can it possibly be here?"

Classic Eggman points out, "You forget, White Space is literally the remnant of erased timelines. This is exactly where you would expect to see a ruined city from a forgotten future."

Zero looks down to the Sapphires. They're pulsing even brighter than they have been. Something weighs on Zero's mind. He looks reluctantly to Silver.

But before Zero can say anything to him, Silver speaks up with a blank face and words devoid of emotion, "We have to go in."

Even though he was about to suggest the same thing, Zero objects, "But Silver, all those memories. Everything you wanted nothing more than to get away from. Can you really go back there?"

"I have no choice. The Sapphires are leading us there. It's where we need to go."

Zero suggests, "I could go in without you."

"No. You would never survive. No one can. You'll need my experience."

Zero looks back to the Eggmans. "What about you two? Are you coming?"

Both instantly shake their heads. Eggman says, "No, we'll stay out here and…"

Classic Eggman completes his sentence, "Stand guard! We'll keep watch for any unexpected surprises!"

Eggman agrees, "Exactly!" He adds more quietly with some trepidation, "Just come back for us…"

Zero inhales deeply and looks back to Silver. "There's something else about this place too, isn't there?"

Silver's eyes remain transfixed on the ruined city and his voice remains monotone. "Yes. If the city is there after being erased, then so is she." He pauses. "Blaze is in there."

—–—

Crisis City, White Space — Timeless

Silver, completely stern and steadfast, walks down the side of a toppled building. Zero walks nervously behind him. He glances about, his eyes darting from one dangerous sight to another. White Space is nowhere to be seen now. The sky is covered by a permanent layer of dark smoke and ash. What was once the ground level of the city is now an endless ocean of lava. Toppled and ruined structures of a once grand city are the only features visible above the lava, other than a massive volcano of fire constantly raging on the opposite side of the city. An orange glow of fire and lava cloaks everything.

Zero takes a moment to look across the ruined cityscape. He is briefly reminded of the extremely similar skyline of the ruined city of the Fallout Zone as it burned from its nuclear holocaust. He shakes his head in disgust and says to himself, "After all the progress made from my time to Sonic's, for such a future to be possible is horrifying. Why must the world always end in fire, no matter what the era?" He notices Silver moving on and rushes to catch up.

Silver's eyes are locked ahead of him, and he looks ready to take on anything. No matter what Crisis City throws at him, he continues walking unperturbed. A chunk of debris from a building above falls, but before it can crush him, Silver catches it telekinetically and tosses it aside effortlessly. Zero leaps up in terror when the debris crashes next to him. When the ground in front of Silver collapses, he never stops. Instead, he seamlessly transitions to hovering over the gap. Zero, on the other hand, very nearly falls over when the gap widens further to his position. When Silver reaches the end of the toppled building, he uses his powers to create a bridge of debris and crosses to a nearby elevated roadway. Zero follows him across the bridge, but stumbles on several of the precarious footholds. When a sudden eruption sends a plume of lava at Silver, he redirects it without any need to think. Zero only barely avoids being singed when Silver allows the flow to resume as normal without warning. He glares with annoyance at his friend. Their travels go on much like this.

After a long trek, Silver comes to a halt atop a mostly intact skyscraper. They stand in front of the tower's roof entrance door. His voice still lacking any emotion, he announces, "This is it. We're here."

Zero approaches behind him. He fared much worse in the journey. Various parts of his body either have singed fur or are coated in ash. He has a few minor injuries as well. He says sarcastically, "That's too bad. I was having so much fun on that little hike." He steps up to Silver and asks more seriously, but still with annoyance, "But where exactly is here? You haven't told me anything yet."

With his gaze locked forward, Silver explains, "This was where Blaze and I lived. This was our shelter from the chaos. This is where she'll be now."

The annoyance drains off of Zero's face. "Oh, I see…" He hesitates on what to say next. "Are you sure you're ready to go in there? Is seeing her again what you really want right now?"

Silver nods steadfastly. "More than anything." With that, he steps forward and swings the door open. He leaps over the side of the stairwell inside and lands in a room below.

He finds himself in a makeshift living quarter. Two hammocks hang from the roof, and various supplies are stacked on shelves. Silver calls, "Blaze!?" But nobody's there, and there's no response.

Zero comes down the stairs. "There's no one here."

Silver shakes his head as some semblance of emotion finally returns to him. "If she's not here, she must be out on a task. I know! We had a signal!"

Zero sighs. "Silver, you should consider the possibility that—"

Silver ignores him and leaps back up the stairs to the roof. Back outside he gathers his focus, then uses his powers to funnel an enormous spout of lava into the air. Sounding proud of himself, Silver says, "There. That will do it. She'll see it for sure and come running."

Zero makes it back out and joins Silver. "Silver, what happens if she's not coming?"

"Why wouldn't she? The lava plume would be visible anywhere in the city, and she and I agreed to coming running if either of us ever saw it."

Zero sighs. "Silver…I know you like to be an optimist, but we have no actual reason to believe she's here."

"Of course she's here. She was erased from time, just like this city. If the city's here, so is she."

Zero says under his breath, "We don't know if that's how things work here…"

—–—

Enough time has passed that Zero now sits back against a wall to rest. Silver still stands resolutely, looking at the burning expanse. But his expression has changed. A look of sadness has made it to his face as he slowly accepts the inevitable. He turns around and goes back inside. He walks down the stairs this time.

Zero hesitates, then follows. He finds Silver silently facing the opposite wall when he gets to the bottom of steps. He takes a deep breath. "Silver, I don't think we should spend any more time here. We need to get moving and learn why the Temporal Sapphires led us here." When Silver doesn't move or respond, he walks up behind him and puts a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. He notices that Silver's holding something in his hands.

Silver moves the object so Zero can see it. It's a featureless ragdoll. Currently, it's stained by ash and soot to a dark gray color, but it looks like it used to be a pristine white. Silver says in an emotionless tone, "Blaze found this toy soon after we met. She decided that she would make it her mission to find the little girl who had lost her precious doll. We both knew the obvious truth; that whoever once owned that doll was long gone, but neither of us wanted to admit it. As much as she called me the naïve one, she could be naïve as well. This doll became so much more than lost toy to us. It was a symbol. It was a reminder to never give up hope. I may have refused to give up hope in that dark timeline, but it was only because I had Blaze there to remind me of what was important and how even the smallest actions could make big impacts. Like reuniting a girl with her doll." He goes silent again.

"Silver…"

With his voice giving way, Silver says, "Blaze was always there for me. She always had my back. She always knew what I needed." He collapses to a kneel, now facing the floor, and drops the doll. "I thought I had put this whole need for her behind me while we were in Soleanna, but the prospect of meeting her again threw all that progress away." A tear falls to the floor from his eye. "I'm experiencing that pain of losing her for the third time now." His hand clenches at dirt and debris on ground in frustration. "It's no use! I'll never be able to escape the loss!"

Zero kneels down to Silver's level and picks the doll up. "Maybe that's true. Great losses, we carry with us forever. You can accept the loss, just as you learned how to in Soleanna, but that doesn't mean the pain goes away. Blaze was an integral part of who you were, and now she's gone. That means a part of you is missing. That pain will always be there. It's a constant companion, for better or for worse. Nobody thinks any less of you for feeling the pain of that loss. Least of all, me."

Silver looks up at Zero. "You don't?"

"No. I don't. Now there's nothing I can tell you right now that you haven't already been told by me, Ryu, or Spark. Maybe you're feeling that pain all over again, but that also means you already know how to cope with it." He helps Silver back up to his feet. "But I also don't want you thinking you have to force anything. Feel that pain right now if that's what you think you need. I'm here for you to support you through it." He puts the doll back in Silver's hands. "Blaze is too, if only in spirit."

Silver reaches for Zero and embraces him in a tight hug as he sobs. Zero hugs him back.

Their emotional breakthrough is cut short when the entire room rumbles and shakes. Silver and Zero take a glance at each other, then run for the roof. They look out to the lava below, which has become much more active. Something moves beneath the lava's surface.

Silver is mortified. He backs away slowly as he says through the last of his tears, "No… No… No… Not you…" He shouts at the top of his lungs in a combination of despair and rage, "Why are you here and not her!?"

Zero demands, "Silver, what is it?"

A massive worm-like creature breaches the lava. It glows as if it itself is made from lava and flames with a shell of nearly molten rock. It has piercing green eyes and its face is surrounded by rocky horns. It roars a monstrous cry that echoes through the city.

With determination and focus returning to his face, Silver states, "It's the reason for all of this. It's the Flames of Disaster. It's Iblis."

Iblis rams itself into the tower Silver and Zero are standing atop. Zero shouts, "Silver, we need to make a break for it!" When Silver doesn't immediately respond, Zero grabs him by the arm and lunges off the roof with Silver in tow. They land on a partially collapsed building across the way.

Once they're safe, Zero keels over. He complains, "Whatever it is that's making me sick, that worm is making things a lot worse right now."

Silver watches intensely as the building that once housed his hideout sinks into the lava, joining countless buildings before it. Silver clenches the ragdoll still in his hand. "Not once did Iblis ever attack us there. At our home. This is personal now."

Zero asks, "How do we fight it?"

Silver ignores him entirely and lunges straight into a fight.

Zero sighs. He pulls out a Sapphire in preparation to battle and instantly notices that it's glowing brighter than ever. "So, I'm not the only one reacting to Iblis." He looks to the monster. "What are you hiding?"

Silver has landed on a segment of road that remains above the lava. He tracks the ripple patterns in the lava that mark Iblis' location. The moment the beast breaks the surface, Silver lifts up everything he can Around him. Debris, molten rocks, destroyed cars, and more float in the air around him for just a moment before he flings it in a rapid barrage at Iblis' face.

Several objects from the first half of the barrage hit their mark, but Iblis dives back down beneath the lava for protection before it all impacts.

Zero has leapt down from above and lands next to Silver. "Great job! Now what can I do to help beat this worm?"

Silver gives Zero a quick critical glance, then asserts, "Help by staying out of my way." He begins to glow fiercely with the turquoise aura of his psychic powers. Zero steps back in surprise, but doesn't leave Silver's side.

Iblis' head emerges once more. Its eyes seem to lock in on Silver. It swims forward. Zero realizes, "It's attracted to the light that Silver's putting off!" Then Iblis leaps and Zero realizes in terror that it's lunging right for them.

But before he can flee, Silver causes the ground in front of him to upheave, creating a physical barrier between him and the beast. Iblis crashes into the wall of ground and becomes momentarily lodged into it.

Zero cheers, "All right!"

Silver isn't ready to celebrate yet. He shouts, "This will end it!" Without even needing to check his surroundings, he holds each of his arms towards a skyscraper on either of him. His aura flares to life even more powerful than before as the entirety of the two buildings also become cloaked. He begins to pull down and he shouts in strain, "Yaaaaah!" With all the strength he can muster, he sends the two giant towers collapsing down towards Iblis.

Zero is an awe. "What power…" Then he realizes that the buildings falling towards Iblis also means they're falling towards him. "Silver, let's move it!" Silver is too focused on manipulating the buildings to heed Zero's warning. Instead, Zero grabs hold of Silver and yanks him away. He leaps up to an overpass above and behind them.

As they land, they watch the buildings crush Iblis beneath them, burying the monster under hundreds of tons of debris.

Zero cheers, "You did it, Silver! That was amazing! So much power!" But then he looks to the rubble-covered spot where they were just standing. "But you also could have killed us."

Silver comments bluntly, "I warned you to stay out of the way."

Before Zero can object further, there's a loud rumbling and strong shaking from the pile of rubble. Zero and Silver look to it in surprise.

The rubble begins to melt down into lava. A form rises from the molten wreckage. It's Iblis again, but completely transformed. The mixture of molten and solid rubble has been absorbed into its body, giving it an even more monstrous appearance. It now has a vaguely humanoid form, with four arms made of lava, and a thick, legless base. It roars.

Zero says with shock, "What's up with the transformation?"

Silver, angered by Iblis' reappearance, explains, "What we saw before was Iblis' initial form. The form it takes whenever it was defeated and forced to regenerate. This is its further evolution. It's one step closer to its ultimate form." He shakes his head in frustration. "But I don't get it! Iblis should be forced back after taking a beating like that. To evolve now isn't possible. It takes time!"

Zero reminds Silver, "Don't forget, we're outside of time. Anything is possible here."

Silver swipes a hand down. "It doesn't matter! I'll just beat it again!" He thrusts his arms out and calls a variety of objects to create a floating path before him, leading up towards Iblis. He bounds up the path, leaping from one floating object to the next.

Zero sees no choice but to follow on Silver's path.

As Silver reaches an altitude level with Iblis' face, he shouts, "You cursed Flames of Disaster! You never learn! I will defeat you as many times as it takes! I will do anything it takes to stop you! I will not give up, and therefore I cannot lose! Take this!" Silver claps his hands together. As he does so, two chunks of buildings from either side of Iblis slam into the monster, sandwiching it.

With Iblis immobilized, Silver thrusts an arm forward and sends much of the debris forming his bridge forward at Iblis' face. This includes a wrecked car that Zero was standing on. Zero is just barely able to leap off and land safely on a nearby building.

Before the barrage of debris can hit their mark, Iblis breathes fire at them, melting them into slag. The molten material continues to fly forward and are absorbed into the body of flames. Iblis then reaches up with two of its arms and crushes its restraints. It roars again, then lets itself sink into the lava.

Silver shouts with anger, "Iblis!" He tries to pursue the path the creature leaves as it moves through the lava, but even that quickly disappears. Silver lowers down and lands. His fists are clenched in frustration.

Zero jumps down next to him. "What happened? Why did it run away?"

Silver shakes his head. "I don't know. I've never seen Iblis flee before. It's one thing when Blaze and I would force it to regenerate, but this wasn't that."

Zero pulls out a Sapphire and observes its dimming glow. "I don't know why, but the Sapphires seem to want us to go to Iblis. Perhaps even beat it. We have to find a way to follow it."

"I don't care what the rocks say, I'm going after Iblis regardless." He looks off in the distance. "And I know exactly where it'll be going." Silver floats off quickly over the sea of lava.

Zero complains, "Wait up!" He quickly jumps from one foothold to the next in a bid to keep up.

—–—

Flame Core, White Space — Timeless

Silver has led Zero to a vast volcanic wasteland. It's now night. Rocky cliffs and canyons covered in rivers and pools of lava stretch on as far as the eye can see. A smattering of dead trees is the only sign of life. In the distance, a massive volcano continuously pours lava down its side, possibly the source of all the lava both here and in the city.

Zero asks in dismay, "What is this place?"

Silver answers briefly, "It is the Flame Core. Legend says that this was the birthplace of the Flames of Disaster. This is where the Iblis Trigger unleashed the flames upon the world. This is where Iblis takes refuge to this day."

Zero notices the Sapphire in his hand start to glow brighter. He looks up and shouts, "Silver, look!" Off in the distance, moving out from behind the volcano, is Iblis, towering almost as tall as the mountain itself.

Once again, Iblis has taken on a new appearance. It is now even more humanoid than before, losing its bulky base in favor of legs with stumps for feet, and now only possessing two arms. The rocky armor now covers much more of its body and is much smoother and less disorderly. Many spikes come out from the back of the armor.

Silver says under his breath in frustration, "This is the furthest I've ever seen Iblis evolve. It was in this form when Blaze sacrificed herself to stop it." He clenches a fist. "I can't let it evolve any further, or it will enter its perfect form."

Before Zero can object to Silver's usage of I over we, Iblis' head turns to directly face them. Despite the large distance between them, it is somehow looking directly at them. It roars so loudly that even the ground beneath Silver and Zero shakes.

In some sort of animalistic response, Silver bears a fang and lets out a grunt that almost sounds more like a growl.

Zero looks to his friend with worry but thinks better of saying anything.

Silver and Iblis' staring match comes to an end when Iblis allows itself to sink into the lava. Silver declares, "It knows the same thing I do. Only one of us will survive in this timeless void."

Zero decides it's time to correct Silver. "No, two of us. You and me."

Silver doesn't respond. Instead, he moves forward, stepping up the edge of the cliff before them. Between the cliff and the volcano, there is nothing but lava. Silver kneels down and puts his palm to the ground. His body is enveloped by his psychic aura. The ground beneath him as well. "Here I come, Iblis."

Zero's eyes go wide as he realizes Silver's plan. He rushes to his friend to try to talk him out of it, but it's too late. Just as Zero reaches Silver, the ground beneath both of them springs out from the force exerted by Silver's powers. The two of them are launched into the air in an arc towards the volcano's peak. Zero screams and flails in terror, while Silver stoically soars. Silver's aim was perfect, and they enter the volcano through its top.

—–—

Silver and Zero are now walking through a subterranean lava tube. Magma flows by them in a small stream. Parts of the walls, floor, and roof of the tunnel have large purple crystals growing out of them. The crystals cast an eerie light across the otherwise dim chamber.

Zero reaches out for a crystal, but quickly retreats, having thought better of it. He says, "These crystals. There's a power surging from them. A malevolence like only one I have felt before." He shudders at the thought. "They're like Mephiles…"

Silver points out, "Mephiles and Iblis are two sides of the same coin. They are intrinsically linked. When I first encountered Mephiles, his only desire was to merge with Iblis and become whole again. An area so thoroughly infected by Iblis would show traces of Mephiles' power."

Zero considers this. "Could it be possible that Mephiles' goal is to come here and merge with Iblis to regain his true form?"

Silver shakes his head. "I don't think so. Isn't this where Mephiles was trapped before Eggman released him as the Time Eater? I doubt he wants to come back at all. Besides, in the original timeline, Mephiles could have traveled to my time at any moment he wished and merged with Iblis there, but he didn't. Instead, he enacted a master scheme that involved manipulating everyone like pawns, all so that he could kill Sonic at just the right time, turning Sonic into the Iblis Trigger."

Zero pauses for a moment. "When you told me the story of that timeline, I never considered that. It makes no sense. Why manipulate Iblis into appearing when it already existed in the future? For a time entity like himself, that shouldn't be hard."

"I suspect that there's a reason Mephiles couldn't merge with Iblis in my time. The best I could figure is that Iblis from my time was initially released when Princess Elise died, and that's not what Mephiles needed. For some reason, the seal on Iblis only fully broke when Elise cried. The merging was only possible when Iblis was completely freed from its seal."

Zero surmises, "That would mean that this Iblis isn't compatible with Mephiles either. That's a relief. It means we hopefully won't have to contend with Mephiles' full power."

"It doesn't make a difference. I will destroy Iblis all the same."

Zero hangs his head, having hoped he got Silver's mind off of Iblis.

Tremors suddenly rock the ground. Zero and Silver look to each other and exclaim, "Iblis!" They rush forward into a chamber at the end of the tunnel.

Beyond the tunnel is a massive open chamber. In its center, floating above the magma lake, is a massive burning orb of rock and lava. Silver and Zero come to a halt as they stare at the orb. Zero asks, "What is it…?"

"It's Iblis, and it's entering its final and ultimate form. I have to destroy that cocoon!" He rushes forward without any further thought. But as he approaches the orb, a wall of flames pulses out from it and catches Silver, flinging him back.

Zero catches him. "You okay?"

Silver grunts and stands back up. He doesn't so much as stop for a breath before charging forward again, only to be hit by the next pulse of fire. Silver is battered and burned, but he gets right back up.

Zero pleads, "Please be more careful, Silver. You can't avoid those attacks. They're too widespread."

Silver glances at Zero for just amount, before making his next attack run. This time he thrusts out a hand and uses psychokinesis to float a large, flat rock in front of him. As he floats forward, the rock serves as a shield and protects him from Iblis' next pulse. As Silver approaches the magma pool, there's another pulse, but he remains shielded. Once he makes it to the edge of the pool, he reorients the rock to use it as a platform. He jumps to it, then off of it. He lunges for the orb and lands atop it.

Zero cheers, "Yeah!"

Silver gathers his power and thrusts a palm down on the orb's surface. He's about to pump his psychic energies straight into the rocky shell. But before his palm makes contact, the entire thing shakes. Silver freezes mid-motion, his palm hovering just an inch above the surface. He says in horror, "I'm too late…"

Another pulse tosses him aside. Zero lunges forward and catches Silver, pulling him away from the edge of the magma. Zero asks, "Silver, what's happening?"

Silver looks up at him with clear terror in his eyes. "We lost. Iblis is about to emerge more powerful than he ever was in the erased timeline."

With another pulse of flames, the rocky shell of the orb cracks and explodes away. There's a blinding flash of orange light. A shrieking roar pierces through the chamber.

Just as the light of the flash is subsiding enough to look again, there's a tremendous crash. The walls and roof of the chamber explode outwards to make room for something much larger than Iblis was before. The entire upper portion of the volcano has been completely destroyed. Silver and Zero now stand in a caldera, the bottom of which is below the level of the lava ocean, with its brim only just above. At several lower points around the crater's edge, lava begins to spill over.

But while Zero is surveying the surroundings, Silver's eyes are locked above. Floating above it all is Iblis' new form. Where it was gigantic before, it is now at least double the size. Its main body is made entirely of a bright yellow-orange lava. The shape has almost an ethereal quality to it. Its two long arms float separate from it on either side of its body. In the center of its body floats a separate orb of flame and rock. Behind its back are two immense, detached, skeletal wings made of rock. A web of fire spreads between the rock-bones, filling the wings and giving it a demonic appearance.

Silver says with disbelief, "The body of Solaris…"

Zero asks, "Silver, can we fight it…?"

Silver asserts, "I don't have the luxury of asking that question." Silver dashes up as fast as his powers will carry him. As he climbs in elevation, he captures as many objects as he can grab with psychokinesis. Boulders, balls of hardening lava, and chunks of crystals enter an orbit around Silver. Once he reaches Iblis' level, he unleashes a barrage and fires off the objects in rapid succession at the fiery core at Iblis' center.

Iblis flaps its great wings, creating a wall of flames so hot that it burns away anything Silver throws into it. Silver just barely manages to teleport dash up and over the wall.

Silver says to himself, "This small stuff isn't going to cut it. I'm going to go big." He holds his arms out to either side of him and begins to gather materials from the surrounding area. He compacts all the debris into one mass above him, forming a wedge shape.

As Silver's doing this, Zero looks on in awe at the incredible mass his friend is manipulating. He says to himself, "Silver's true power is incredible." He thinks back to earlier when Silver was toppling entire buildings with just a single thought. "He has so much strength, but he rarely taps into his full potential…" His eyes widen as he understands the reason. "Because it would be too dangerous… He has to constantly make sure he keeps himself in check or others could get hurt…" Zero looks down at his own hands. "He's just like me…" He looks back to Silver and realizes, "He needs cover while he's preparing that attack. It's my turn to get in on the action. Looks like I'm going to have to fight." He leaps first to the brim of the caldera, then to a pillar of rock rising above the lava, and then to a cliff above it all. He takes a moment to fight off a wave of nausea, then pulls out a Sapphire. He leaps again, this time at Iblis. "Time Control!" But nothing happens. Zero's eyes go wide. "I forgot! No time, no Time Control! Aaaah!"

He's too committed to his leap to stop. As he flies towards Iblis, the monster sends a large fireball in his direction. Zero attempts to punch through it, but it makes no difference. The fireball strikes him. Zero plummets. He's only just barely able to grab ahold of the cliff he leapt off of. Now he dangles over the lava ocean beneath him with barely any grip to hold him. He shouts, "Silver, help me!"

Silver is shouting in effort as he continues to increase the mass of the now giant spike he holds above Iblis. Iblis tries to stop him with orbs of fire, but Silver knocks them away with pieces of rock on the way to join the mass above.

Zero shouts again, "Silver, I can't hold on for long! Help!"

Silver glances down at Zero, but quickly looks back up, refusing to allow his concentration to break. "I'm sorry! I can't! I can't save you and deliver the final blow! This could be my only chance! I need to destroy Iblis!"

Zero pleads, "Silver!"

"Blaze sacrificed herself to stop Iblis! I can't dishonor her memory! I have to do this, Zero! There's no other way!"

Zero's fingers slip ever closer to the edge. "Silver, is this what Blaze would have wanted? What ever happened to that naïve optimist who always thought there was a way?"

Zero's words cause Silver to tense up. He looks down to Zero, and instead of seeing Zero hanging, he sees Blaze for just a moment. Blaze's final words to him echo in his head, "You're still so naïve… But…I-I've always liked that about you…"

"No…" Silver begins to shake as he grapples with himself. He thinks of Blaze's ragdoll, and everything it represented. He looks back to Iblis, then down to Zero again. Silver screams in frustration, then releases his hold on the giant spike he was assembling. It immediately falls apart, collapsing down onto to Iblis. The debris peppers the monster but does little substantial damage.

Silver levitates as fast as he can down towards Zero. Just as Zero's grip fails, his hand is met by Silver, and he's pulled up.

Zero breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Silver."

Silver is panting from the sheer exertion of his attempt to defeat Iblis. "I had always promised Blaze that I would be willing to sacrifice her if it meant stopping Iblis. She made me promise her that. The choice had never really been mine though. In the end, she forced me to sacrifice her to stop Iblis. What I just realized is that I could never choose to sacrifice a friend. I'm sorry, Zero. I let Iblis put me in a dark headspace, and you almost died because of it."

Zero grins at him. "You're going to be hearing a whole lot about that from me later, but for now, let's focus on the problem at hand. Let's defeat Iblis. Together."

Silver shakes his head. "After that last attempt, I'm spent. I don't have enough energy left to try that again. I couldn't lift nearly enough material."

Zero chuckles confidently. "Who needs thousands of tons of rock, when you have one super strong Hedgehog?"

Silver looks at zero with surprise. "What are you thinking?"

"That core is its weak spot, right? Throw me at it with everything you've got. I'll take care of the rest."

"That sounds…dangerous."

"More dangerous than dangling over molten lava, seconds away from slipping?"

Silver responds frankly, "Probably."

"Okay, you got me. Maybe it is. But I still want to try."

Silver pulls out Blaze's ragdoll and squeezes it in his hand for comfort. He says to himself, "Never give up hope…" He looks back to Zero, "Okay. Let's do it."

Zero takes a deep breath to ready himself. "Okay, just have to worry about the massive walls of flame…"

Silver cracks a grin. "I think I have an idea that could help with that."

Zero nods, implicitly trusting Silver. He turns towards Iblis and prepares to jump. "Okay, just catch me and add as much force as you can to my jump."

Silver nods.

"Here we go!" He leaps with all the strength his legs can muster. It's such a powerful jump that it cracks the ground where he just stood.

Silver instantly thrusts a hand forward, and with that motion, surrounds Zero in his psychic aura. Zero is propelled forward even faster, having been psychokinetically flung forward. As he flies, rocks from beneath him float to him and surround him in a ball.

As Zero gets close to Iblis, the monster defends itself with another pulse of intensely hot flames. The flames cause the rocks surrounding Zero to melt away, but Zero himself emerges unharmed as he continues his ballistic trajectory towards Iblis' core. Zero is flying with a fist outstretched straight ahead. He's moving so fast that he leaves a trail through the air behind him.

He impacts the fiery core of Iblis like a bullet. Zero flies clean in one side, then clean out the next, only for the entire core to shatter into a thousand pieces a second later.

Iblis shrieks in what can only be an intense pain. Its entire body begins to lose cohesion and the rock, lava, and fire breaks apart and falls into the lava below.

Silver cheers, but quickly realizes their major mistake. Zero keeps on flying away with no way to stop. "I've got you!" Silver leaps forward and levitates as fast as he can. He's not able to catch up with Zero's extreme velocity before he would fall into the molten lake, but he is able to get close enough to reach out and catch Zero with his psychic powers. Silver sets them both down on a nearby cliff.

Zero breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you, friend. I didn't panic there because I knew you would save me."

Silver smiles. "I could only save you because you saved me from myself first." He gives Zero a playful jab in the side.

Zero laughs and returns the gesture. But he miscalculated his strength and knocks Silver clean off the cliff. Fortunately, Silver is able to float back up. They both just laugh together.

The two hedgehogs stare off at the writhing section of lava where Iblis fell. It's a beautiful sight how the brightly glowing lava seems to dance about. Zero asks, "Is he gone now?"

Silver shakes his head. "I'm afraid not. Iblis could never be truly defeated. Only held back. After a defeat this bad, it will take a long time for it to regenerate, but I'm afraid this world will never be completely free of it. That's a truth I know all too well."

Zero nods. "That's why you became so obsessed with defeating Iblis. It was the unobtainable goal you dedicated your past life to fulfilling. This was one big book that was left unfinished. Combine that with Blaze's sacrifice, and all you could do was focus on stopping Iblis, even if only temporarily."

Silver nods. "Yeah, that about sums it up. Being in this place again was not good for me. But I think I've overcome it now. Thanks to you, I have closure now."

Zero grins.

Then something unexpected comes into their view. A massive blue gem raises from the lava where Iblis fell. It glows with the same energy as the Temporal Sapphires.

Silver and Zero say in unison, "The Core Sapphire!?"

Silver asks, "How is that here?"

Zero recalls Chronos' last words to them. "My final gift to you…the Core Sapphire… Find it… I have hidden it where the Chronophage will never…uncover it… I believe in you two…"

Zero looks to Silver. "You remember what Chronos said? He hid it for us to find. This must be where he hid it."

Silver nods. "You're right. White Space must have been the one place where Mephiles would never find it. The place he would never think to look, never wishing to return."

The giant sapphire floats towards the two hedgehogs. It stops in front of them, then the voice of Chronos announces directly in their minds, "Silver and Zero, the Core Sapphire is yours."

Silver and Zero's eyes widen. "Chronos!?"

"Alas, I am but an imprint of Chronos' consciousness, left to offer you guidance when you uncovered the Core Sapphire. It is the Sapphire itself that speaks to you now."

Zero sighs. "That's too bad. We could really use Chronos right now. Even Janice would be nice."

Silver asks, "Chronos was never able to tell us what Time Eater really was. We've figured out most of it, but not all. Can you tell us more?"

"Yes. That was the main reason I was left behind. Before you can defeat the Mind of Solaris, you must know his full story."

Zero suggests, "Then you can start by explaining what Solaris is in the first place."

"Solaris was a Lord of Time, much like Chronos and Janice. Solaris was Chronos' original apprentice. But he made the mistake of thinking of himself as a god. While the Lords of Time and Chaos are gods by any mortal definition, they do not seek the power and worship that comes with the title. Solaris had a perverse attitude, and sought the worship of mortals, as well as further power. He attempted to usurp Chronos and gain sole dominion over time."

Silver laughs. "What's with all of Chronos' apprentices betraying him?"

"When Chronos stopped Solaris' bid for power, he created a new world with a separate flow of time to act as Solaris' prison. But even the barriers between dimensions was not enough to hold Solaris. A portion of the entity leaked out, back into your world. This was the Flame of Hope. Just as Solaris had wanted, he became a god to the people of Soleanna, who discovered the Flame of Hope. When the ruler of Soleanna made an ill-fated decision to harness the powers of the Flame, he forcefully pulled Solaris from his prison realm back into yours, separating his mind from body in the process, and creating Mephiles and Iblis. You know the story from there, as you partook in it. When Sonic and Princess Elise snuffed the Flames of Hope, it should have erased Solaris from existence. And it did, to an extent. The timeline that Solaris had wrecked collapsed into White Space."

Zero points out, "But Mephiles still survived somehow as the Time Eater."

"Yes. As you have witnessed firsthand in your battle against Iblis, an entity as powerful and intrinsic to time as Solaris cannot be wholly erased. A certain echo remains here in White Space. The echo of Mephiles was the Chronophage. The Time Eater. It would have remained trapped in its new White Space prison, had it not been for the one known as Dr. Eggman."

Silver realizes, "Eggman said that the black hole he accidently opened left a fissure in spacetime leading to White Space!"

"And so Eggman unleashed the evil of Mephiles upon the world once more. But the Chronophage was but an echo. A remnant of a much greater being. While still powerful, its mind was clouded, and its strength diminished. It fell under the control of Dr. Eggman, but was defeated by the combined strength of two Sonics. Despite what was believed, that was not the end of the Chronophage. Much like Iblis, Mephiles, no matter the form, could never be completely defeated. He just takes time to regenerate. Once the Chronophage had done that, it returned to attack the timeline, this time with a will of its own. All it had was a basic instinct, but it was enough for it to find a Temporal Sapphire and use it to regain some of its lost strength."

Silver shivers. "That's when it attacked me and ate my timeline."

"The raw temporal energy of the Sapphires was enough to begin the restoration of Mephiles' lost power, eventually even allowing it to return to Mephiles' initial form. The more Sapphires Mephiles collects, the closer he will become to regaining his original powers."

Zero shakes his head in disbelief. "All those times we've fought Mephiles so far, and he wasn't even back at full power yet. That's scary."

Silver asks, "But beyond getting back his original powers, what are Mephiles' plans now? It's not like he can rejoin with Iblis like he did originally."

"That is an answer I cannot provide. Mephiles is a mind beyond the comprehension of even Chronos. He knows something that we do not."

Zero and Silver both shiver at the terrifying implications.

"But that changes nothing. Mephiles must be defeated all the same. Find the remaining Sapphires and use their powers, as well as that of the Core Sapphire, in order to put a stop to Mephiles. End this threat once and for all."

Zero nods. "We will do whatever it takes."

Silver agrees, "There's no stopping us!"

Zero hesitates, "Well…except for the fact that we still need to find a way out of White Space."

"Leave this pocket of erased time, and you will find your exit."

—–—

Silver and Zero have returned to White Space. They find the two Eggmans lying on the floor and bantering. Classic Eggman asks, "What if I invaded a magical world of dreams and took the almighty gem that powers it all?"

Eggman responds with annoyance, "Oddly specific that you would say that, but, fails. Didn't even get close, really."

Classic Eggman grumbles with annoyance of his own. He suddenly sits up and exclaims, "How about I travel back in time and enlist the help of myself! The pesky Hedgehog could never hope to defeat two of me. It's perfect!"

Eggman sits up and looks to his younger self with concern.

Realization slowly dawns on Classic Eggman. He lets himself fall back to the ground and sighs. "Right. Fails." He groans. "Maybe I'll just get lucky and some sort of gemstone of infinite power will fall on my doorstep, enhance my robots, and allow me to manipulate reality."

Eggman laughs. "As if that would ever happen."

Classic Eggman sighs. "I know…" He sits back up and grins smugly. "But hey, that's something you haven't tried yet!" He thrusts a fist celebratorily. "That's a win in my book!"

Zero announces, "Ahem."

The two Eggmans leap up in surprise. Classic Eggman exclaims in disbelief, "You're alive!?"

Silver chuckles. "No thanks to your help."

Eggman objects, "Hey! We were standing guard! We made sure that no one followed you in."

Classic Eggman adds, "We were also keeping an eye out for any exits from this place."

Zero points behind them. "Oh yeah? So, what's that?"

They turn around to see an ornate door with no wall around it has appeared behind them. They both shout, "A door!"

Eggman exclaims, "I told you I saw a door somewhere!"

Classic Eggman shouts, "You nitwit, you said it was me who saw the door!"

"Either way, I still saw it! After all, everything you see, I have seen."

Classic Eggman shakes his head in disapproval.

They both run for the door and open it, revealing it to lead to a hallway, despite being a door not attached to a wall. They run in.

Silver and Zero look to each other, then head for the door as well. Zero stops for just a moment as he fights with one last wave of nausea. He asks, "Core Sapphire, why is it that I feel sick in here?"

"That is a sign that your connection to the Sapphires is growing stronger. You are developing an extra-temporal sense. Your body knows that you're in a timeline that isn't meant to exist."

Zero nods. "That's why it got worse in the city. Especially when I was near Iblis, a being that should be completely erased."

Silver grins at Zero. "It sounds to me like you're getting more powerful. And that's without Aleph's influence."

Zero nods. "Maybe I am, but I sure don't feel like it." He rubs his stomach to comfort it. "Come on, let's get out of here." They walk into the door.

The hallway on the either side is monochrome, with colors ranging from white to gray to black. It has a gothic design to it, looking like the inside of an old mansion. A series of glass panes separate the hall in two. On the far end are two doors.

Each Eggman points to one side of the divider and shouts, "That's my exit!" They each run to their respective side, then stop and look at each other through the glass. If it wasn't for their differences in appearance, it would be like one was looking in a mirror.

Eggman takes a deep breath. "Well…I guess this is it."

Classic Eggman nods. "Indeed, it is, my mustachioed friend."

"I would say it's been nice knowing you, but can one truly know themself?"

"Oh ho. Very deep. Very deep indeed." He grins. "Well, I guess I'll go and hope for that gem of infinite power."

Eggman chuckles. "And hey, if that doesn't pan out, I can always hope for that gem of infinite power to up on my doorstep." He laughs again. "In the meantime, I think I'll be doing some research into the legend of the Lost Hex. I've always thought there was potential for a power grab there."

"As my parting gift to you, I won't be stealing that plan."

"And as my parting gift to you, I'll make sure to steal your cyberspace plan."

"Why thank you." He pauses. "Hey, wait a second…"

Eggman laughs. "I'm only joking!" He adds under his breath, "For now…"

The two Eggmans bow at each other, and go their separate ways, each one taking a door. They disappear into the bright light on the side of either door.

Zero sighs. "Do you think returning them was really the right choice? They are villains, after all."

Silver shrugs, "I don't know if we had much of a choice."

"True. But we do have a choice now. And the Core Sapphire can tell us exactly where to go next. It's time we finish finding the Sapphires and take this fight to Mephiles. We finally have a leg up on him."

Silver nods. "And I feel more ready to fight him now than I have since he first messed with our memories." He clenches a fist in determination and looks forward. "No longer will I let Blaze's memory hold me back. Instead, it will inspire me to move forward and never give up hope. Before I only coped with Blaze's erasure. Now I've accepted that Blaze is gone. I may never see her again, but I can still save the world in her memory and repay the debt I owe her. So long, Blaze the Cat."

—–—

? ? ?

A grand and majestic palace of pristine white overlooks the ocean. On a balcony atop the highest tower, someone sits outside watching the magnificent sunset. They take a sip of tea, but find it to be cold. A snap of their fingers creates a flame which warms the tea. The figure then happily drinks the steaming tea.

A koala wearing a blue butler's uniform comes running out on to the balcony. "Your highness, I'm terribly sorry for bothering you, but it's important!"

A familiar voice answers, "What is it?"

"The Sol Emeralds! They're behaving unusually!"

The figure reluctantly puts down her tea and stands up. "Then we could all be in danger." Visible clearly for the first time, the figure is actually Blaze the Cat.

Imperial Palace, Sol Dimension — August 25th, 2 A.E.

To Be Continued…