Space. Time. Reality.

A prism of endless possibilities where even the simplest of choices can create thousands of variables across the infinite canvas known as the multiverse. Some universes are so similar to others or perhaps even your own, that the difference may as well be inconsequential, but others are so radically contrasting, they defy mortal comprehension.

I am Uatu the Watcher.

It is both my eternal duty and curse to observe all that transpires upon the myriad of realities before me, never interfering, only witnessing, even when they are on the very precipice of Armageddon.

Such as this particular world, tuckered in its own corner of the multiverse, untainted from the rest of reality until now. The heroes of this world face a villain from beyond their own in a battle to regain their freedom. What both sides do not know is that no matter the victor, it will end in total cataclysm. A cataclysm that will engulf this world in its own chaos and reduce it to a lifeless void...

Let us begin our story... in the heart of war itself.

Final Fortress

The sounds of distant explosions made Sonic's ears twitch. He got up with a groan and rubbed his aching head, his blurry vision clearing by the second. Smoke filled his nose before he coughed a bit, having inhaled some of it.

When his vision finally cleared, he saw he was atop a platform onboard the Final Fortress. He looked around to see the ruined Tornado on fire, the smoldering wreckage still emitting smoke, with sparks from exposed circuitry dancing around at every random interval.

He widened his eyes at this and rushed towards the crash site at superspeed, "Tails!?" he called out, "Knuckles!?"

He heard a stray cough and ran towards it. It was Tails who was only now weakly starting to get up "Tails!" the speedster exclaimed, helping his friend up, "you ok!?"

"Yeah, I'm ok." the fox responded, holding his head, "head's a little spinny, though."

Sonic smirked, knowing his best friend was good before the sound of groaning metal made him and Tails turn their heads. They saw a piece of broken sheet metal rise in the air, a grunt accompanying the stressed metal. It was Knuckles, ever the showoff if need be.

The echidna tossed away the metal with a huff, letting it join the rest of the wreckage nearby and dusted his hands as he headed towards the pair.

"Knuckles!" Tails exclaimed, "are you alright?"

The echidna chuckled, "nothing I can't walk away from." he boasted while brushing off dust from his arms, "how about you guys?"

"We're alright." Sonic said, giving him a thumbs up before he turned to the wreckage of the Tornado and sighed. "Man, real sorry about your ride, Tails."

Tails dismissed his concern, "it's alright. I can always rebuild it."

Sonic smirked before his eyes caught wind of what was going beyond the horizon. He saw the Eggman fleet engaged in battle with G.U.N. fightercraft, artillery shells and missiles exploding across the air, hulls, and other fighters, creating a cacophony of booms that echoed for miles.

Sonic thinned his lips and sighed at the sight. He turned to Tails and Knuckles, "I didn't think I'd see a full scale war like this."

"Me neither," Knuckles said, rather mortified, "not even when Eggman had the Phantom Ruby were things this bad…"

Sonic furrowed his brow and clenched his fist at the sight of the epic battle going on in front of him, "then let's end this before it gets any worse." He said, turning to his best friends, "let's regroup with the others. No time to lose!"

Tails and Knuckles nodded as Sonic made haste, with both of them right behind them, running across the floating metallic fortress in the span of mere seconds. Throughout their sprint, they noticed that there were pretty much no robots guarding the area. Not even the intact anti-aircraft guns were online and firing upon encroaching fighters or even at them.

"It's like this place is a ghost town." Tails commented, unease in his voice.

"I'm disappointed." Knuckles added, "I was looking forward to turning some badniks to scrap metal."

All three then approached the entrance to the massive castle-like structure in the center of the ship, which was wide open just for them to run through deceptively large hallways that no longer looked like something out of a factory, but rather mirrored Gothic style architecture; in which it was both equal parts beautiful and eerie.

"Geez, talk about a redecoration," Sonic muttered, both in awe and creeped out by the scenery.

"This guy sure builds fast," Tails muttered.

"I don't like it," Knuckles added, "not only does it creep me out, but the aesthetic of the interior clashes with the outside. It just doesn't fit."

"Wow, Knux," Sonic said with a sneer, "that might be the most advanced sentence you've said."

The echidna snorted before Sonic continued, "And what's that about this place creeping you out? I thought you moved past being spooked by ghost stories?"

"Guys, the throne room is just up ahead!" Tails interrupted before they all began to slow down their running.

Eventually, the three would find themselves staring at a giant door in the center of the fortress, the massive halls lit only via artificial lights that resembled wooden torches of old. "So this is the place," Sonic muttered with his hands on his hips, "I mean, if you're gonna put your throne room on a ship, you might as well put a really big door."

"I can't wait to knock it down!" Knuckles said, clamming his fists together before his left ear twitched at the sound of encroaching footsteps. He turned to the source to see Silver the Hedgehog approaching, behind him were Blaze the Cat and….

"SONIC!"

Amy Rose…

The pink hedgehog rushed to the blue blur at speeds that surprised even him and wrapped him in a hug that felt more like a vice grip, "I'm so glad you're ok!"

Sonic strained under the hug before responding, "O-of course I am, Amy," he grunted, trying to wriggle his way out, "can you let go of me, now?"

Amy's ears perked up, "Oh!" she exclaimed as she let go of him with an awkward giggle, "Sorry…"

"It's alright." Sonic sheepishly chuckled. The interaction between them made everyone either roll their eyes or grin with amusement. The hedgehog then recomposed himself, "good to see you guys are alright."

"It helped that there weren't any guards," Blaze said with a hint of curiosity, "it was just a clear shot from the landing zone to here."

"No robot scrapping for you guys either, huh?" Knuckles asked, receiving a nod from the cat, "I wonder why…"

"It's because he wants to fight us at our best."

Everyone turned to the source of the voice and saw Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, and E-123 Omega emerging from the shadows, their frames illuminated by the artificial lights and Omega's footsteps only now making noise and echoing through the corridors as if on cue. Shadow continued, "It'll feed his ego to know he beat us that way. No distractions, no scuffles, just us at our top performance."

Sonic harrumphed, "Well, that's certainly a mistake he isn't going to make again," he cockily said, brushing his nose and stretching his arms, "we know all his tricks, this time."

"And he no doubt knows ours." Shadow retorted, bringing his blue rival's cocky attitude down a peg, "We can't afford even a single moment of hesitation or lollygagging this time, so take things seriously."

The blue blur folded his arms across his chest, "I can be serious, Shadow," he reassured with a smile, "I just like to get all my "lollygagging" out of my system before I get in a big fight."

The black hedgehog grimaced, "Stop fooling around and stay focused," he grumbled before turning to the massive door, "we'll need to get through this door."

"Something tells me it isn't exactly unlocked," Rouge observed before Omega stepped in front of her.

"PREPARING EXPLOSIVES." he boomed, as several rocket launchers emerged from his chassis, making everyone back up in fear before Shadow stepped in front of him without any hint of fear, "No need to go guns blazing already, Omega. It's best to conserve your ammunition for the coming battle." He calmly said in front of the walking armory.

The robot stared at him for a second or two before all his launchers retracted back into his chassis, "YOUR REASONING IS LOGICAL."

Everyone sighed in relief at that.

Shadow continued, "we're going to use a different type of brute force for this one." He then turned to Knuckles and simply motioned his head to the door when he made eye contact with him. If one could look closely, there was an ever so slight smirk on his face as he said this.

The red echidna grinned, "now you're speaking my language!" He eagerly said, slamming his fists together and walked to the door. He reeled a fist back for a few seconds, winding it up and then…

BLAM

The door was sent flying off its hinges and landing with a clunk that echoed across the halls. Knuckles dusted his gloves off with a smile, "You're welcome," he said to his friends, receiving no response.

"Let's move!" Shadow ordered.

The Resistance then immediately rushed towards the now open chambers before stopping in the center of the room as the dust settled. They stared at a large throne at the wall, but next to it, was who they were after.

The figure was dressed in a green cloak staring out from the massive window that showed the battle, the sounds of distant explosions piercing any potential silence as the tension in the room grew.

The figure then turned around, allowing everyone to see his metal faceplate, gauntlets, and boots. A green tunic covered his body, which connected to his green cape with large golden buckles and topped off by a brown belt; a pistol holster on its side. His faceplate was covered in the shadow of his hood, but from what can be seen, it held an emotion that could best be described as a scowl, with the eye holes being exposed and showing the figure's eyes beneath all that metal - if those were not present, one would be forgiven for thinking there was no man beneath such a appearance that was clearly designed to bring fear and intimidation.

Of course, they all knew this figure was no man. He was far above that description.

He was Doctor Victor von Doom.

Ruler of Latveria… and now the ruler of Mobius.

Doom took a few steps forward, hands behind his back as he ignored the rubble from the doors as though they didn't exist.

Despite his intimidating presence that would bring anyone else to their knees, none of the band of rebels dared back down. In bravery or perhaps foolishness, they stared at him with an unyielding resolve. In response to all of this, the monarch simply crossed his arms and spoke, his voice echoing with a metal reverb thanks to his faceplace.

"I saved your world… and this is how you repay me?"