So here we are again in the next chapter of Trials of War and hopefully you're not reading this seven months after the last one again haha. The Battle of Metropolis is officially into full swing and folks, I am so excited to have made it here. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making it this far and without further ado, let's just begin.

Actually, a random note. But a long time ago, I mentioned doing Shade and the Nocturnus Clan, that would've happened in Hit 'Em Where They Live. Infinite would have also summoned them with the Phantom Ruby along with creating Phantom Chaos, but I opted not to do that as it felt rather superflous to the chapter and would've cluttered the narrative. Which is saying something for a fic that has A LOT of characters. So apologies for anyone who wanted Shade or for some reason Ix, but I don't think it's happening.

Trials of War: A Sonic Forces Rewrite

Chapter 38-

Before I Say Goodbye to You

The resistance still stood gathered around in the debriefing room before they had gone off to Mortar Canyon. Sonic was really jazzed up after the talk and was about to dash off to the upcoming

"Sonic, we can't just leave yet." Amy shook her head.

"What? Why?" Sonic asked her.

Arms crossed, Knuckles gave the hedgehog an inquisitive glance. "What exactly do you expect to do once you're in Metropolis, huh?"

Sonic just grinned. "Same as always. I run in, I kick butt, cause a little bit of chaos for egghead and win the war. Just like always."

"Okay, cool." Knuckles pursed his lips. "And do you know where anything is in Metropolis? What kind of chaos we're gonna get into or where any of the key locations or tricks Eggman will have up his sleeves?"

"Uh…"

Commander Tower sighed. "How is it that you are always the one to save the world?"

Topaz gave him a light elbow to the gut to which he shot her a short glare.

"Running in without a plan is a surefire way to give Eggman the victory that he needs." Amy shook her head.

Shadow nodded. "The doctor would be sure to separate us and pick us off like flies, one by one."

"Then it's no use going in blind." Silver shook his head. "What are we to do?"

Amy put her hand to her chin in thought. "Well, we're moving in with the entire fleet, forces will be on the ground of Metropolis of course. But a lot of us will be needed in the skies to take on what will undoubtedly be a superior air fleet."

"Are we going to have the manpower to make a proper assault in Metropolis?" Professor Pickle asked.

Knuckles and Amy furrowed their brows, sharing a concerned glance with one another.

"Of course you will!" A familiar, almost regal sounding voice spoke up.

All of them turned their attention and to their surprise was none other than Tikal who was sporting a slightly updated look. She wore the same outfit as before, however around her waist was a set of golden bangles with feathers hanging off of them. It didn't take a genius to remember that that was the old neckpiece that had adorned her father's neck and was the sign that he was chief of the Echidna tribe. But now it was placed firmly around her waist as a sort of belt. Standing dutifully at her side was none other than Chaos and behind were the likes of several warriors brandishing spears behind her. "The Warriors of the Knuckles Clan will be happy to assist you in your battle."

Knuckles was at a loss for words at this. "I- wow- you don't have to- I mean- this isn't your fight and…"

Tikal simply shook her head. "Nonsense." Her brow then furrowed with a type of determination that was quite unlike her. "The clan has a score to settle with Eggman after he unleashed Chaos upon us."

Her eyes then widened and she turned to the ancient water deity. "No offense of course, we're happy to have you back."

The ancient water deity went completely unwavered by that and simply patted Tikal on the head, to which she smiled.

She then turned her attention back to the resistance and to the utter shock and surprise of all of them, she kneeled before them. "Additionally, the Knuckles Clan is in gratitude to the resistance for their assistance in saving us from what would've been utter destruction."

One after another, the ancient echidna all began to kneel before them.

"We will follow your lead into battle, Commander Knuckles." She smiled at him.

"I- I- don't know what to say…" Knuckles gaped at the sight.

Amy smiled at him and lightly punched him in the shoulder. "How about thank you?"

"Um- r-right- yeah. Uh… Thanks, guys. We really appreciate the help!" Knuckles grinned, albeit still rather awkwardly.

Some of the others chuckled at this but it went ignored by the clan in question.

Tikal rose and smiled. "Of course. Now, how shall we proceed?"

One by one, the other echidna rose and listened intently to the battle plans.

Shadow spoke up again. "Eggman has kept Metropolis largely in tact, no major renovations, no true adjustments to the city, the only real additions are the fortress around it-"

"Dude, are you still talking about that? We already handled it!" Tangle asked.

"We did?" Big asked confusedly.

Tangle chuckled. "I mean, we handled talking about it. The others will get past that no problem."

Nose pinched and eyes screwed shut in annoyance, Shadow let out an exasperated sigh. "And the Studiopolis Zone that he built among the fortress."

"Been there, done that." Corvin noted. He and Rhythm snickered and shared a fist bump at that.

"Oh, you guys too?" The younger Sonic asked. "I guess you were the ones that made such a big mess over there."

Celeste chuckled. "Guilty."

"Yes, I know." Shadow groaned. "Every time you guys made mess of things the doctor was sure to have a long winded rant about it…"

He paused for a moment then smirked. "Good job. But moving on… The Doctor has left the city largely in tact, save for a few rather unsightly banners and the like. The tower in the center of the city that is the highest point in the city, the city hall, has been converted to the base of operations for the Eggman Empire, hence Metropolis being the capital of his empire. He spends most of his time there, it's where the former generals were kept and where he has kept the Queen of Soleanna."

"The Queen of Soleanna?!" Tails gaped. "How in the world did he manage that?"

Charmy paled. "Uh…"

"Doesn't matter!" Vector cut in. "If that's where queeny is then you can bet that me and the boys are headin' right?"

Espio nodded. "Yes, it was my failure during that battle that resulted in her capture. I would like to make amends for that."

Silver then stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Then count me in too. I owe her that much as well."

"And who said you were going down there alone?" Blaze asked him. She stepped up to Silver and held his hand. "I will be joining you on that mission as well."

Knuckles chuckled. "I know a couple of guards that would love to get their queen back too."

Amy nodded and smirked. "I'll contact the Soleanna Guard before we leave."

"But what about us?!" The younger Sonic asked her.

"I will accompany you on the outside, but once we're in the city, I'll converge with Silver and The Chaotix to join them for their mission." Blaze confirmed.

Sonic slumped a little at that but then smiled. "Well if she's going off, then I'll be going off too. You mentioned those generals right? Who's left?! I'll catch any of them! Heck, I'll fight Infinite himself!"

"You leave Infinite to me." Shadow growled, tiny flecks of Chaos Energy rolling off of his shoulders and into the sky. "I've got a score to settle with my dear old brother."

There was a certain venom in his voice that couldn't be ignored. So of course, that was how Omega stepped up to him.

"Shadow, you will need my superior firepower on hand if you wish to take him on. Allow me to make the first move and eliminate the worst of the doctor's threats."

Shadow nodded and put a hand on Omega's shoulder. "Alright."

"You two have got another thing coming if you think I'm letting you go alone to fight that monster again!" Rouge shouted and crossed over to them. "I'm coming too."

Shadow smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it without you."

"Okay, cool! But what about me?!" The younger Sonic shouted. "Gimme something good! Someone, something! I want some action! If you've got Infinite then who does that leave for me?"

Celeste shrugged. "Uh… Starline?"

"That dork in the toupee? He's still around?!" The kid asked.

"Yeah, uh… I can't remember the last time I saw him it was uh…"

"The last confrontation that our group had with Starline was on the Death Egg, this unit had assumed that he simply perished in the explosion."

"Oh, he's alive." Espio growled.

Sonic threw his arms up in the air in frustration. "Fine, I'll take the dork in the toupee."

His older counterpart chuckled and patted him on the back while the younger one crossed his arms and pouted.

"What else do we know about Metropolis?" Amy asked Shadow.

"The doctor also has five towers across the city in a pentagonal formation. Each of them act as communication towers to his robot armies across the planet. Get rid of those and his armies will begin to fall across the planet and with that? We win the war."

"We'll need teams to take on those towers then." Amy noted.

"I'd love to take a crack at one of those towers!" Mighty grinned as he knocked his fists together in anticipation for the upcoming fight. "What do you say, Ray? You wanna let that rotten old egg know that it was good old double trouble that took him out like old times?"

Ray gave an enthusiastic nod at that. "Let's make it happen!"

"Alright, you two have got that." Knuckles said.

"Me and Cheese are gonna go for one of the others then, Mr. Knuckles!" Cream announced to which the tiny Chao agreed.

Vanilla, while supportive of her daughter, paled at the idea of her going in there with just Cheese. She gave a rather shaky smile in support though.

Luckily, this went noticed by Big who put a hand on both Cream and Vanilla's shoulders. "How about I come with you guys to give you a hand?"

"Sure, Big! It'll be just like old times." Cream smiled.

Vanilla breathed a light sigh of relief and mouthed a thank you to the cat who simply gave her a nod.

Cream then looked to Amy and asked. "Do you want to come, Miss Amy?"

Amy sighed. "I'd love to get Team Rose back together again, but not this time. Knuckles and I have a date with the flagship and the air battle that's sure to give us a headache."

"I'll be joining you guys on the Tornado." Tails added. "I don't think Eggman is gonna cut us any sort of slack and we need as many hands up there as possible."

"Okay, but there are still towers to be taken care of." Fierro frowned. "Beta Squad will be sure to take the third one."

She paused for a moment and then added, "And Celeste, you'll be joining us for that mission. I'm comfortable with my team but I'd rather get some backup."

Celeste nodded. "Sure thing."

"Then Topaz and I will overthrow another one of the towers." COmmander Tower declared. "I have stood on the sidelines of this war for far too long and would greatly enjoy showing Eggman what the Commander and Luietenant of GUN can do."

Topaz put a firm hand on his shoulder and grinned at him. "We'll give him hell."

Tangle then smiled. "Then I guess I'll take the last and I'll go with uh…"

She looked around and it seemed that all of the major fighters seemed to be doing something already.

"We'll have a team with you, don't worry." Amy nodded.

"Yeah, if nobody got me then I know that the uh.. Team, the team! They got me!" She pumped her fist in the air.

She got a couple chuckles at that.

Knuckles sighed. "With that, there's only one thing left to do."

Everyone turned their attention to Sonic who was leaning against a box with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Who me?" He asked, a playful smirk splayed across his face.

Knuckles laughed. "You know where you're headed, don't you?"

Sonic laughed. "Do you even need to say it? Of course I do!"

Knuckles nodded. "Then I guess it's settled. Let's win the war everyone!"

~Trials of War~

In the present day, Sonic, Tails, Blaze and Omega watched the field go down around Metropolis.

"Yeah!" The small hedgehog whooped. "Now, that's what I'm talking about!"

Blaze grinned too. "I knew they would be able to do it."

"Phase One: Complete. Mission Set. Commencing Phase 2." Omega declared.

With that, the giant robot then began marching off towards the city.

"Oh come on, tin can! That's quite the way for you to say goodbye!" Sonic yelled.

Omega stopped and turned around. He took in the trio before him and for a few moments he said nothing.

"This unit owes you thanks." Omega finally said, putting a hand to his chest. "You made satisfactory travel companions and partners in battle."

Tails smiled. "Aw… Omega…"

"Not as remarkable as Team Dark of course, but adequate nonetheless."

"And the moment's gone." Sonic chuckled. "Get out of here, big guy and kick Infinite's butt for us!"

Omega began to turn away but let them know one thing. "This unit will be sure to make the first move and eliminate the enemy with no mercy."

"That's the spirit!" Sonic shouted.

Once he was gone, that left Sonic and Tails alone with Blaze.

"Well… I was not part of this group for very long, but I must say I really enjoyed the time that we shared together." Blaze smiled at them.

Tails nodded. "We really couldn't have gotten this far without you, thank you for your help."

Sonic nodded. "You weren't half bad out there, Blaze. Not as good as me, but you were pretty good."

Blaze was slightly taken aback for a moment, before she just let out a laugh that was quickly joined by the two smaller children.

She then knelt down to them both and scooped them into a hug. "Take care of yourselves out there, both of you."

"Of course." Tails smiled.

"Yeah, we'll be sure to get out of there in one piece." Sonic nodded.

Blaze gave them another tight squeeze at that before she finally pulled away, looked at the two younger boys again and smiled.

"Stay safe."

With that she turned away from them and began to run out towards the city.

This left Sonic and Tails alone and for a moment, the two weren't really sure what to say. After everything that they had been through in this war, they were finally standing here at the final battle.

From everything that went down on westside island to being flung into what was now not his future but a separate timeline entirely, the two started on their adventure in the burning sunset to the Mystic Jungle to fix Omega. They traveled above and beyond the atmosphere, freed some prisoners and gained a friend in the princess of the Sol Dimension. They got lost and found the root of Tails' issues. And then they got into the biggest trouble possible in the frigid north only to be saved by the Sonic of this timeline.

"Pretty crazy, huh?" Sonic asked him.

Tails blinked. "What?"

"All of this stuff we've been through. We went all over the world and now here we are at the final battle." He laughed. "Definitely one of my crazier adventures."

Tails chuckled. "I don't know what the future holds for you, but I have no doubt it's only gonna get weirder."

"Considering all the craziness I've seen here, I have no doubt." The hedgehog laughed. "Still, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world."

Tails was surprised at this. "What? But I-"

"Yeah, I know." Sonic nodded. "And we went through all the bad stuff, but the important thing is that you pushed ahead and made it here today. You could've gone home when I told you to, but you didn't and I'm proud of you."

The river that flowed from the fox's eyes burst forth in an instant at the words. But Sonic knew and had immediately wrapped him in a hug as the fox just cried and cried all his sorrows away for a few moments. The war had been so rough on the kid and he had tried his hardest but he ended up making it through to the end and Sonic really couldn't be prouder.

"I… I… I'm sorry. I've been so terrible to you through all of this." Tails finally choked up. "I took us all over the world on this silly wild goose chase just to find Sonic when we should've been on the frontlines the whole time. You were right. After we fixed Omega, we should've gone back to the fight but it was because of me that we just wasted so much time."

Sonic simply wagged a finger at him. "Don't worry about it, kid. It's in the past. And even if all that stuff did happen, it wasn't just for nothing because it did get us these…"

With that, Sonic pulled out one of the five Chaos Emeralds that they had. It glowed with mystical, wondrous power that put the kit a little more at ease.

"None of those lame-os in the resistance did that, not even the other me." Sonic grinned. "So we still have something to show for all of this."

Tails sniffled. "Y-yeah…"

"And you can cheer up, Tails." Sonic smiled. "You're a lot braver than you think for making it here to fight in this battle. I know you're gonna make me proud when you go up there. So just give it your all and don't forget what we've learned okay?"

Tails nodded. "R-right. I'm gonna go up there, I'm gonna be brave. I'm gonna fight and we're gonna win."

"Heck yeah!" Sonic grinned and offered a fist up to him.

Tails laughed and returned the fist bump to him.

Tails then smiled and gave Sonic one last hug. "Take care, Sonic. We're gonna win and after that, you'll go back home right where you belong."

Sonic nodded. "Of course we are, you got me fighting here after all."

Tails laughed and pulled away. He lightly punched the hedgehog in the arm to which the two laughed again.

When the laughter ended, the kid waved Sonic off and began to fly up towards the ships advancing on the city.

Sonic waved at him before he soon got into his own stance. He splayed his arms out wide and spread his legs so that his left was firmly on the ground, a little bit in front of his right which was slightly up, ready to run at a moment's notice.

It was time.

~Trials of War~

"Well… Looks like this is it, Celeste." Sonic grinned as the two began walking into the city. "We're heading out into the final battle. You ready?"

Celeste let out a nervous chuckle. "About as ready as I can be, I guess."

Sonic was still grinning now. "Hey, you're gonna be fine. Just remember everything I taught 'ya and you'll take out that tower no problem. Trust me."

Celeste nodded. "Right, no pressure. Just save the world time. Made it this far, and I can do the rest."

"Yeah, just gotta keep running and do your thing. Trust your instincts, they've gotten you this far and they'll get you to the end."

He smiled and offered a fist to her. "You're gonna do great, Cel. I know it."

Celeste nodded and returned the fist bump.

"See you on the other side." Sonic grinned. And with that, he gave the girl a two finger salute before boosting off into the warzone as the ships moved in and the tornado began to fly above head.

Everyone was getting into position now and it was time to win the war.

With that, Celeste took in a deep breathe and extended her grappling hook into the city. She had to find the Betas and begin this fight.

~Trials of War~

Outside of the city, a masked figure stood overlooking the battle. Their pale cream colored ttail swished readily behind her in anticipation for the battle ahead. The resistance, for all it was worth had finally made their move on Metropolis.

They stepped into the city, their strange Wispon at their side and transformed into it's blue cube hammer formation. It was time, and they'd do whatever they could to help the oncoming battle.

And… We're gonna end it here. This was a much shorter chapter and a little bit of calm before the storm to set the stage for the final battle. Ininitially this was going to be part of a much longer chapter, but as I was writing these scenes I just felt that they were better on their own.

As you can see from this chapter, I have a hell of a lot of work to do for the next one so hopefully it won't take another year haha. Maybe I can actually start the battle for Metropolis before the fifth anniversary of this story.

Hard to believe that we're approaching five years, but as always thank you from the bottom of my heart for every follow, favorite and review that this story gets. It means the world to me.

And before I get into the review replies, while the title of the next one is still subject to change, I will see you all next time in Chapter 39: "A Battle for the Generations" and the true start of the battle for Metropolis. So until then, it's time for the review replies…

The Sensational SpiderDom321:

Time really has flown by but we're finally here at the end of it all.

Sonic and Celeste are great together and I was happy to give the two one last one on one before it all went down.

Lmfao we've more than talked about your thoughts on Frontiers. It's fine haha.

Everyone seems to really like the speech scene and I'm glad to hear that it went so well. Moss was in fact included in Viemigos as part of the cameo as well as some of the characters from Unleashed. It was a good time.

Appreciate the support, man. Thanks.

Qwerty123as:

Welp. You have your answer.

SuperSilverNova:

Well you unintentionally reviewed on my birthday so thanks for that lol. I'm full of surprises though, I've gotta keep you on your toes. Updates in two weeks and updates in seven months lol.

Getting a cinematic feel for that scene was definitely part of my intention and I'm glad that it came off as well as it did. While I do mostly imagine this as a game, I can't deny that some of the stuff does make me think of animation as well. Would still make for a cool cutscene, but y'know. Cinematography is in fact cool, man.

Omega wanting to commit genocide is one of his most adorable qualities hahaha.

Tails has simply run out of patience haha.

It has in fact been five years. Time flies, but we made it.

Well… Metropolitan Highway will be next time haha. But still thank you. Metropolitan Highway is definitely one of the better levels of the game and I think that everyone will have fun with what I'm going to do with it.

Thanks so much!

DreamyMirastone:

Just in time too haha. I'm super flattered that you think that this was my best one yet, thanks. You have no idea how long I have waited to write Eggman giving his smug victory speech only for the resistance to blow a hole in the wall and arrive during the middle of it, truly a moment I've been waiting forever for and one that felt so good to write. Well, this entire arc has a lot of moments I've been waiting a long time to write but still haha. This arc is gonna be fun.

As you can see, Tails isn't fully there yet and he has his slips, but he's getting there. Definitely will continue to be addressed here.

The beginning of the end, hard to imagine we're here! The plan is still to go all the way with this story and I'm not stopping anytime soon. Hearing you say all of that really means a lot thank you, and I really appreciate the patience.

Here's to that update 3 hype! As I said, inject that trailer directly into my veins haha. I definitely enjoyed Prime and Superstars does look cool. Fast Friends Forever is also really nice. I've seen people refer to the current era of Sonic as the Renaissance Era and while we're still only at the very beginning of this new era, I definitely think that it's definitely worthy of that name because WOW.

Anyway folks, it's been fun. Until next time and hopefully sooner rather than later but,

RR