"Breaking News: Following the attack on the Death Egg, we have reports that the Space Colony ARK is in on course to crash with the planet. Approximately 6 minutes remain until all life is wiped."
The news anchor reported, her face remarkably calm despite announcing the end of the world.
"Our Emperor, Dr Robotnik, ensures us that there is nothing to worry about – and that the Empire will continue to live on for many prosperous years to come. Everything is under control."
She clasped her hands on top of the desk.
"All Empire operations will continue as normal – without alterations. Anyone found trying to stray from their designated positions will be punished accordingly."
There was only a brief pause, but it felt as though it lasted a lifetime.
"Long live the Robotnik Empire."
…
Miles' furrowed brows immediately gave away his uncertainty as he turned off the holographic broadcast emitting from his communicator. Jet latched onto this sign of vulnerability.
"Is that old man seriously that delusional?" The hawk scoffed. "You don't have any plans to save the world – I know you don't!"
Miles sighed, placing his device back in his lab coat pocket. "Then you know oh so very little." He said condescendingly, slowly shaking his head at the hawk.
Jet immediately stood, clinging to the jail cell bars – glaring at the fox that stood on the other side. "How did you guys even let this happen, huh? What major flaw in your security resulted in this mess?!"
"You simply do not understand Robotnik's genius." Miles shrugged. "But that will change – sooner or later."
The young fox's ears flickered as he felt a vibration in his pocket. He immediately took out his device again and read the message displayed on his screen.
It was from dad.
Sonic is in position. Shadow is neutralized. Everything will be taken care of.
Another message came through.
You didn't seriously doubt me, did you?
Miles smirked, putting the device away again. "But if you are so convinced that the world will meet its end… then what a shame you're spending your last 5 minutes in the company of a pathetic rebel… rather than your friends and family. I wonder what the Rogues are thinking now…"
Jet growled, and Miles turned his back to him.
"Maw will be here to collect you two very soon – Robotnikland has two slots prepared just for you." He informed them smugly. He then set off down the hall, walking slowly – allowing his mind to wonder.
Jet looked over his shoulder, back at the pink hedgehog. Amy was sat on a low bench against the far wall, her head hung low – staring at her cupped hands on her lap.
She hadn't even got the chance to say goodbye to Cream… or say she was sorry.
5:32
5:31
"I trust you." Knuckles said, dipping his head. "Do as you must…"
Sonic grinned. "Best decision you've made in your life, Knux." He told him. "You won't regret it."
"Knux, I'm leaving it to you to get everyone back on the shuttle – get out of here while you can, Shadow and I will catch up with you when we're done." Sonic instructed the echidna.
"Are you certain-?" Sonic cut him off.
"I am." The azure hedgehog nodded with a smile. "Remember Rouge too, yeah?"
The echidna turned his head, eyeing the bat's unconscious body. "Alright."
Sonic turned to Tangle, beckoning towards himself with his finger. "Pass that emerald over here, won't ya?"
"You got it!" She told him, stretching her tail to plop the emerald delicately at Sonic's feet. He was able to notice how her eyes shone – reignited with hope. She had faith in him, and perhaps that meant more than she realized.
It was pretty unremarkable compared to last time. Before, he and Shadow had transformed on top of a replica altar. Now though, the emerald was plopped awkwardly on the floor of the control room.
Sonic placed his hand atop the emerald, feeling a warmth surge up his arm. "Follow my lead, Shadow." He told him.
Without hesitation, the dark hedgehog placed his hand on the opposite side of the emerald – his eyes betrayed an uncertainty, and they were looking to Sonic for guidance.
"The Master Emerald is a massive pool of energy – we only need to absorb as much as our bodies can hold comfortably – those will be our Super Forms." Sonic explained. It was certainly weird to be speaking with a version of Shadow that had never done this before.
Shadow nodded in understanding. "Then let's get on with it."
The two closed their eyes.
The warmth rose in temperature, becoming a scolding burn that set his veins alight. Although the experience sounded painful, it was quite the opposite, healing even - as the energy worked to patch up Sonic's old wounds in an instant.
The transformation was a pure rush that sent adrenaline into overdrive – allowing both hedgehogs to feel more alive than they ever had before.
Sonic's nerves sparked and danced as energy coursed through them – his heart pumped furiously, but each beat was steady and powerful.
He opened his eyes once the heat had burned through the tips of his quills, pulling them up towards the sky.
Sonic's red eyes met Shadow's.
The usually darker hedgehog was now a softer, pale yellow compared to Sonic's bright golden hue. Shadow couldn't even hide his shock – taking a moment to stare down at his arms in front of him, dazzled by how bright they shone.
"Heh – cool, right?" Sonic teased slightly, finding it a little funny how much stunned Shadow seemed to be.
Shadow shook his head, realizing he had been distracted. "We need to move!" His voice rose with urgency.
Surprisingly, Sonic found himself a lot calmer than he'd expected to be. Maybe that was because he had fought this battle once before. He knew they were going to win.
The two hedgehogs rose up into the air, casting a light down on the mobians below.
"We won't be long." Sonic assured his friends. "Now, get out of here quick – yeah?" Sonic reminded them with a grin. Despite himself, he found his gaze drifting towards Knuckles.
The echidna's mouth hung open – awestruck. Sonic resisted the urge to chuckle, but he did take the time to give him a wink.
Knuckles instantly blushed, and he made a feeble attempt to hide it by turning away and holding his head in his hands. As a result, he didn't even notice the teasing smirk Tangle sent his way.
The hedgehogs then set off towards their battle at blinding speeds.
Winning was the easy part. His only objective was to make sure Shadow made it out of the battle alive.
He could do that, right?
…
Sonic glanced down at the world far below his feet, and then back up towards the humongous, monstrous lizard that had attached itself to the ARK.
"Long time no see, ugly." Sonic remarked with a smile. The whole experience was slightly dizzying – he had never expected to even see this thing again, let alone fight it a second time.
"Shadow!" Sonic called to get his attention, remembering the guidance Eggman had given them during this battle long ago. "This thing's got gross swelling red areas on its body! If we hit those, we'll actually do some damage!"
"Understood!"
"Let's tag in one at a time so we can conserve our energy! Let me show you how it's done!" Sonic grinned widely, suddenly shooting forward through space towards the beast.
The first time, the Biolizard – or Finalhazard, as Sonic would find out this particular form of the creature was called – made no move to defend itself. Sonic rammed his body into the swelling – and it exploded into balls and sparkles of energy that scattered across the sky.
The beast shrieked, rearing its oversized head back before it drooped down in exhaustion.
This was only the beginning though.
"Your turn, Shads!" Sonic announced as soon as he flew back. Shadow wasted no time in flying ahead.
"Leave it to me!" He called. The hedgehog darted forward at a tremendous pace and dodged the sudden purple beam that shot towards him as though it were effortless. He had incredible control of his flight, able to swerve out of the way at the last moment before reaching the beast's tail.
Another spot was located there – Shadow headed into it at full force, and it promptly burst into energy fragments. It let out another roar of agony.
The whole time, Sonic was watching carefully with narrowed eyes – he wasn't going to allow Shadow to exhaust himself.
"I'm going in! You need rest!" Sonic told him. The other hedgehog hesitated only for a second but retreated backwards.
Sonic swiftly took his place, possessing the confidence that could only belong to a man who'd done this before. He burst straight ahead like a bullet – ducking right underneath the laser beam with an adrenaline-induced yell.
When his body collided with the swell on its neck – it erupted into pink and white energy sparks. The creature not only roared but choked in pain.
"Take that!" Sonic exclaimed, before flying back to create a distance between them.
…
4:27
4:26
4:25
The timer was even being displayed on the screens of the shuttle, which meant that somehow – the ARK had managed to hack into it. Whisper wondered just how many more screens back at home were also displaying the countdown.
Knuckles was plagued with many questions - the idea that someone could be artificially infused into a being like Shadow was weird enough to wrap his head around. But in Sonic's case... why the hell could he weild Chaos Energy so well? What gave him any connection? Was it simply because his ancestors had chosen him?
Tangle was jumping up and down, hands against the glass of the window. "YOU TWO CAN DO IT!" She encouraged, even though she knew full well they couldn't hear her. "WE BELIEVE IN YOU! SHOW THAT LIZARD WHO'S BOSS!"
Knuckles folded his arms, grimacing to himself.
In his last bout with Shadow, Knuckles had tried to do so much more against the hedgehog – but with every attempt, that echidna's voice came back – and he found most of his attempts blocked. It was a wonder he had been able to activate those wings.
Even trying to calm Shadow down had been way more of a struggle than it should have been, it was as though a wall had been purposefully put in place – making it more difficult.
"Stop!" The girl's voice had begged in his ear. "You don't need to resort to this!"
Was that seriously still the case now? Knuckles felt as though he should be fighting alongside them – but he doubted that echidna girl was going to let him be of any use.
"Did I do something wrong?" Knuckles thought to himself, hoping that the girl would answer.
...
Shadow launched himself forward, and Sonic couldn't even imagine the thoughts that must be rushing through his head – to be fighting his prototype, to be doing all he could to rectify his mistakes and fulfil Maria's wish… it was a lot.
Instead of shooting out two purple beams of energy, a third was shot out – a move that even Sonic didn't expect. Shadow didn't notice it in time, and he was suddenly flung backwards – letting out a small grunt.
"Shadow!" Sonic yelled for him, flying up. "You okay?!"
"Of course, I am!" Shadow snapped impatiently. "Focus on recharging!"
Sonic clenched his teeth in concern for the other hedgehog, but he knew Shadow was relentless once his mind was set on something. Shadow tried again, spinning in the air and avoiding all the beams that were attempting to hit him.
Shadow managed to reach the large spot that had formed near its belly and caused it to rupture – light and energy being released around them.
"Taggin' in! Make sure you're getting enough rest!" Sonic exclaimed, wasting no time in moving the battle along. He sped past Shadow, but was distracted as he focused his attention on the other hedgehog to make sure he was okay.
"Sonic! Look out-!" Shadow shouted, and Sonic gasped when he saw that the creature had shot out its pink eggs, and several were headed straight for him.
Before Sonic could even process it, he found Shadow's arm wrapping itself around his waist – pulling Sonic out of the way and into safety.
Shadow then promptly shoved him forward down a clear path towards the swelling atop the creature's head.
Finalhazard bellowed a mighty roar.
…
3:17
3:16
3:15
Rouge's body lay across the backseats of the shuttle. She slowly opened her eyes, allowing light to carefully filter in. It took a lot of effort, but she fought to sit up – gasping in surprise.
The first sight she was met with was the glass of the window – and through it, she saw the figures of two golden hedgehogs soaring through space – fighting with their lives.
"YES!" Tangle cheered with a fist pump as they landed another hit on the beast.
Rouge's gaze quickly flitted to the screen past Whisper's head, eyes widening when she saw how low the timer was.
"You're awake?"
The bat's ears perked up at the sound of Knuckles' voice. She gulped when she saw his fierce glare, his eyes containing a level of disgust she wasn't sure she'd ever seen before.
"I don't want to hear a word from you until we're back on the planet." He warned her, and Rouge knew that he was only going to tell her once.
Rouge held her tongue and gazed upon the battle outside – the fight that would determine the fate of all life as they knew it.
…
"Sonic, Are you alright?" Shadow asked as soon as Sonic made it back.
"Don't worry about me!" Sonic told him. "This creature's almost at his limit, let's push through!"
Shadow nodded firmly – making his way back. Eggs were being flung out towards him at a rapid pace, the aim of them erratic and unpredictable – forcing Shadow to twist himself around them – or straight up warp to avoid others.
With each dodge, he inched closer and closer. He finally made it to Finalhazard's back, and broke its swelling path.
The monster was officially desperate, repeatedly letting out screams and howls of agony and exhaustion.
"I think I can finish this off in one more hit!" Sonic told Shadow determinedly.
"Then allow me to aid you!" Shadow said to Sonic's surprise. He watched as the hedgehog's super form glowed brighter where he hovered. Shadow extended his arms out – and Chaos Spears began to emit rapidly from his entire body.
They almost looked like shooting stars blasting through space – travelling in an instant and colliding with all the eggs, exploding them as soon as Finalhazard was able to produce them.
"Shadow! Don't waste your…" Sonic trailed off, realizing that Shadow likely couldn't even hear him anymore. He had to be fast, he couldn't let Shadow shoot off energy like that for much longer.
Sonic burst towards the lizard, faster than his mind could even think. Sonic opened up his hand, harnessing his energy and concentrating it into his palm. The glowing ball in his hand grew steadily larger the closer he got.
"YOU'RE THROUGH!" Sonic yelled, thrusting the ball of light into the top of the beast's neck.
The chaos energy expanded, bathing the creature and the entire area around them in a scorching light. The monster's cries rung out across the starlit sky.
Sonic and Shadow fell beside each other, hovering and waiting as they watched the energy die down.
The horrifying experiment was left with its head dangling low, areas of its body suddenly breaking down and bursting into white explosions. Some small, some big – but it was all causing the beast's body to break apart as beams of light seeped through.
The remains of its body cracked apart and disintegrated into white, sparkling dust.
…
1:01
1:00
0:59
Tangle's heart skipped a beat. "Oh my gosh…" She covered her mouth with her hand. "Did they- did they win?"
She didn't need to wait for a confirmation, the answer was clear.
"THEY DID IT!" Tangle jumped for joy, squealing excitedly and beaming a smile. She grabbed hold of Knuckles' shoulder and shook him excitedly. "THEY SAVED THE WORLD! THEY DID IT!"
Tangle's happiness was infectious, and Knuckles found himself grinning beside her. "I… think they did-"
Rouge's shoulders finally relaxed, sighing shakily in relief – allowing herself to lean back on the leather seat.
Whisper smiled softly from the pilot's seat.
Then she noticed something was wrong, and her joy faded instantly.
"The lizard may be vanquished – but look!" She pointed out the window. "The ARK is still moving towards the planet – perhaps even faster than before…"
Everyone's attention turned to look through the glass again, their hearts relentlessly pounding in their chests. "Oh no…" Tangle's voice cracked. "What's happening now…?"
Knuckles narrowed is eyes to focus on the two hedgehogs. He saw them position themselves in the way of the ARK's collision course – their hands raised up.
No… they couldn't be, could they?
"They're… I think they're going to perform a Chaos Control…" Knuckles said. "To get the ARK away from the planet…"
"Can a Chaos Control that powerful even be done?" Whisper asked quietly.
"I don't know… but it looks like they're going to try."
…
The two hedgehog's flew themselves towards the ARK, gathering their strength – concentrating as much energy as they could muster to flow through their veins.
Sonic stared at Shadow. The other hedgehog had entered a pure state of concentration, one that could not be broken.
Shadow could hear her voice – loudly and clearly in his head.
"Shadow, I beg of you…"
"Maria…" Shadow spoke softly, garnering Sonic's attention as Shadow looked startled for a moment.
"… give them a chance to be happy."
"Sonic – we aren't going to be able to perform a Chaos Control like this with the power that we have! I'll have to remove my inhibitor rings – so that I can use my full power!" Shadow called to him.
"Alright." Sonic said, feeling his throat dry up.
He couldn't let Shadow fall again. He had to be careful about this.
The two were fast approaching the space station, their bodies quivering with energy they were working up to use.
"Now, Shadow!" Sonic shouted.
They held up both of their hands, and the two hedgehog's faced each other – forming a shining ball of Chaos Energy together between them.
It quickly grew, expanding to way beyond their size.
Shadow slipped off the rings around his wrists.
"CHAOS CONTROL!" They yelled.
The light wrapped itself around the ARK – crackling wildly and fiercely, shooting off in different directions.
They could no longer see the ARK as it was consumed by the energy.
Had they done it? Had they succeeded?
The light suddenly fizzled out, turning blue for a brief flash.
The ARK was gone – moved far, far away.
Space became quiet again.
Sonic gasped for breath, and his head immediately turned around – looking everywhere around him.
Where was Shadow-?
The hedgehog looked down below… and saw that Shadow was already falling.
The glow surrounding him was quickly fading, as was his pale golden hue.
"Shadow!" Sonic cried out, immediately flying down in pursuit – reaching out his hand.
Sonic could just about hear Shadow's ragged breathing, and the words that he mumbled to himself – each words growing feebler than the last.
"Maria... this is what you wanted, right? This is my promise I made to you..."
"SHADOW!" Sonic called to him again at the top of his lungs.
Shadow closed his eyes.
Sonic could feel the power of his own form beginning to slip away. He ignored the feeling, trying to make himself travel faster despite losing the energy to propel himself. Sonic clenched his teeth and reached out his hand.
Shadow was smiling to himself – like a man who'd finally found peace.
"Do whatever it takes to put an end to it. You can't lose focus. Don't put anything unnecessarily in jeopardy because you're trying to save me, got it?" Shadow's voice from his dream echoed in Sonic's head.
He ignored it.
Shadow deserved the chance to live a life – no matter what timeline it was. Sonic knew it was possible for Shadow to find a place in the world, to find people that would love and cherish him, to discover his destiny-
If his Shadow had all that, then this Shadow could have it too.
Sonic felt a sudden icy chill on his legs take over, his super form slowly fading away from him.
He was so close, though! So close to reaching Shadow!
Just a little further-!
Shadow's eyes flickered open, and they widened when he saw the other hedgehog was reaching for him. The dark hedgehog quickly realized that Sonic's power was draining.
There wasn't enough time.
With the last ounces of strength he could muster, Shadow pushed the blue hedgehog away as soon as he was in reach.
"Shadow!" Sonic begged. "Let me help you!"
Shadow's words barely drifted into Sonic's ears. "Go- You have… a life to live-"
Sonic should have listened.
"So do you!" Sonic exclaimed, surprising himself when he felt tears brimming the edges of his eyes. The hedgehog quickly blinked them away, reaching out his arm as far as he could again.
Shadow fell into unconsciousness.
Sonic's golden fur watered down completely into blue, with Sonic's hand barely being able to brush against Shadow's fingertips before he slipped away from his grasp.
The blue hedgehog lost control of himself entirely, beginning a descent that he wouldn't be able to prevent.
Sonic was falling too.
Sonic didn't usually feel tired after using his form, but he must have been pushing himself to the limit – clinging onto it as long as possible in hopes that he'd actually reach Shadow this time.
Now they were both on their way to die.
"Sorry guys…" Sonic whispered.
He felt Knuckles' warm embrace, he remembered what it was like to stare into his intense, purple gaze. The way he smiled and laughed… the way he was always up for a thrill and a challenge… the way he defended those he cared about, no matter what.
Amy wore a beaming smile, skipping around him excitedly as she could talk for hours about her latest adventures – sharing her world with him.
Tails looked up at him eagerly – all the awe and joy in the world in his eyes as he called Sonic his big brother.
He'd let them down.
Sonic's eyes shut.
…
"Where did they… where did they go-?" Tangle asked worriedly. "It looked they were flying down towards Mobius…"
Knuckles frowned with concern. "A Chaos Control that size… it must have drained their energies, their bodies can't be capable of performing such a-"
The echidna was cut off by a sharp pain shooting through his head. He held his hand up to his forehead, grimacing.
Sonic's golden fur watered down completely into blue, with Sonic's hand barely being able to brush against Shadow's fingertips before he slipped away from his grasp.
The blue hedgehog lost control of himself entirely, beginning a descent that he wouldn't be able to prevent.
Sonic was falling too.
Knuckles gasped – how had that-? Had he somehow been able to see what had just happened with the hedgehog?
Knuckles looked towards the Master Emerald – and saw it glowing bright.
Was it trying to tell him-?
Sonic needed his help.
Knuckles felt a sudden rush of determination and fury course through him. In response to this, his body became surrounded in a green aura – his eyes becoming luminescent to match. Knuckles' breathing became more rapid.
"Knuckles, are you okay-?" Tangle asked with concern.
He was not about to lose his first friend.
Everything bubbled into one aggressive, steaming concoction – his frustration, his panic, his fear – it all rose to the surface and came out in the form of bolts of energy that shot out and surrounded him.
The echidna's body flickered from sight.
…
Somehow, Knuckles emerged again in space – and he was staring down at the hedgehogs that were plummeting dangerously close to the atmosphere.
Knuckles shot out a thin beam of energy that coiled around Sonic's waist like a rope, and managed to do the same for Shadow. From the corner of his eye, he saw two golden rings also floating down. The string holding Shadow broke into another piece to grab the rings, allowing Knuckles to pull all three of them towards him.
For the moment, Knuckles bit the rings and held them in his mouth while he carried a hedgehog in each arm.
He found himself able to disappear effortlessly.
…
"Knuckles!" Tangle exhaled in relief once he came back. "You managed to get them!" She smiled in relief. "Are they okay-?"
"I need to check." Knuckles said, thankfully there was still enough empty seats in the large shuttle to lay the two hedgehogs across. Sonic lay across one aisle, with Shadow on the other. Knuckles removed the rings from his mouth and set them aside on an empty seat.
Knuckles bent down by Sonic's side, pressing the side of his head against Sonic's chest, and listening out for a heartbeat.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The echidna smiled, his shoulders relaxing – while it was a little on the fast side, Sonic was most assuredly alive.
"Umm…" Tangle hummed with uncertainty. She had just checked Shadow's heartbeat, and whatever she had heard clearly worried her. "It's slow and really irregular… I'm not sure what to-"
"Thank you, Tangle-" Knuckles told her quickly, acknowledging her help. He rushed to Shadow's side, pressing his ear against his chest and listening out for each heart pump.
… Thump thump.
…
…
Thump.
That was a disturbingly long time to go without a heartbeat. There was something odd about Shadow now – before, Shadow's energy signatures had been strong, yes – but now – being in Shadow's presence felt like bells were being rang in the echidna's head.
It was… a lot. Too much, almost. Why was Shadow giving such a strong signal all of a sudden?
Knuckles' eyes drifted towards the hedgehog's wrists, seeing they were absent of his usual rings.
Did that have anything to do with-? No, it couldn't. Unless… well, that was the only thing that had changed along with his energy signature, maybe the two could be linked. It didn't hurt to try.
Knuckles placed one ring on Shadow's left wrist, and Knuckles saw it shine briefly. The same occurred with the right.
Just like that, the loud noises in Knuckles' head ceased. Had that cured the problem?
He listened out for Shadow's heartbeat yet again.
…. Thump…. Thump.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
It was back on track. Knuckles sighed as the tension faded from his body. "They're okay now." Knuckles said as he slowly stood back up. "They're both going to make it."
He stared at Sonic for a moment, glad to see him at peace - despite everything that he had just endured. Knuckles couldn't quite put into words how impressive that battle had been...
Tangle broke out into a smile, and then laughed uneasily. "Can I… say we won now, or will that be jinxing it?"
"I… don't think we have anything else to worry about." Knuckles responded hesitantly.
The lemur immediately jumped at the chance to celebrate. She immediately surprised Knuckles with her strength as he found himself being lifted off the ground – swung around as she held him in a tight hug.
She giggled loudly. "We did it! We did it! We actually saved the world!"
She set Knuckles down before he could panic too much, but he was very startled – his fur bristling as an after-effect of the contact.
"Well, technically Sonic and Shadow were the ones that saved the world." Tangle admitted, before placing her hands on her hips proudly. "But we were also there too! That's something, right?" She grinned.
"I guess-" Knuckles said awkwardly. "But we all contributed." He reminded her. "You and Whisper fought the lizard, remember?"
"That's true! And we whooped butt!" She enthused. The lemur then bounded over to the quiet wolf that sat in the pilot's seat, wrapping her arms around the wolf's shoulders. "We did it, girl! We saved the world!"
Whisper quietly gasped at being touched, and her muscles tensed. "Yes… the threat is no more."
"Victory certainly feels great, aye?" She let go, not hugging Whisper for too long – much to the wolf's relief.
Tangle looked around for more people she could hug and squeeze, but she could only see the bat. Rouge couldn't face anyone; her head was turned – looking out of the window.
The lemur… kind of felt bad for her, but there was a lot that needed to be sorted between them.
Tangle clasped her hands together. "What's next, Red Riot?" She asked Knuckles eagerly.
"Next?" Knuckles tilted his head. "Obvious, isn't it? We're going home – and getting some much needed rest." He told her. "I feel exhausted…"
"Really?" Tangle asked in shock. "Because I'm like- so hyper right now that I don't think I could sit still at all! Like- hello? We saved the world! The entire world! I'm just like all my favourite comic book heroes now!"
Knuckles did find himself smiling slightly, it was impossible not to. "I might find myself smiling more once I've slept a bit."
"Fair, fair!" Tangle nodded. "What about you, Whisper?" Tangle asked, wanting to include her. "Hyper, or tired?"
"… Tired."
"Man! Ya'll are sleepyheads!" Tangle laughed. "Guess you guys really need to get back on the island, huh? I'll sort things out with Lanolin, make sure she knows what's going on." Tangle said.
"I'll find these two a place to rest." Knuckles tilted his heads towards the hedgehog. "You and I will have a talk in the morning." His tone was edged with a growl as he spoke to Rouge.
The bat nodded awkwardly since she had been told not to speak yet.
"Aye, aye-" Tangle interrupted. "Let's try and get rid of any bad vibes, shall we? We just saved the world! We actually succeeded in something! Isn't that worth trying to celebrate?"
"Hmph." Knuckles smiled in amusement. "After all our failures? Yeah... I suppose it is."
Shadow flew back out of the portal, landing ungracefully on the floor. Silver peered down at the other hedgehog. "You good…?"
"Fine." Shadow's voice was muffled, but he quickly stood up from the floor afterwards. "If Sonic dies, don't blame me."
"What-?"
"He's going to do something stupid; I know it – he's going to ignore everything I told him."
"Uh-"
"Has Metal Sonic arrived yet?"
Silver blinked a few times as he attempted to process the sudden change of topic. "Um, no – not yet."
"Hmph." Shadow folded his arms.
"So… like, what's going on with Sonic?" Silver asked him.
"An alternate version of me is giving him trouble." Shadow said. "I fear he's going to put himself in danger trying to save me, he already tried to before."
"Oh! Right!" Silver's eyes lit up. "I heard the story – how you were after revenge, but then you became a good guy, and then you and Sonic defeated the giant lizard, and then you fell to the planet, and everyone thought you were dead BUT THEN turns out Eggman saved you, but you had amnesia and THEN the aliens came and-!"
"Silver." Shadow interrupted with annoyance. "I do not need my life story recounted to me."
"Right… sorry-" Silver sunk into his seat. Although he'd be too embarrassed to admit, he did find Shadow to very cool in a lot of ways.
"Is Knuckles still moping?" Shadow changed the subject.
"Well… I guess? He hasn't moved or anything, he's just sat there – looking out the window... sadly-"
Shadow sighed. "As long as he isn't being a hinderance, he can sit and sulk all he likes."
Even though Silver did find him cool, he also thought Shadow could be pretty mean – that or just entirely oblivious to other's feelings. "Well, since we have nothing to do right now – I'm going to sit with him and make sure he's okay. That will let you do whatever you deem to be productive."
"If that is how you wish to spend your time – do as you wish. I've already said that I believe he won't listen to us – only his friends know him well enough."
"Well, I'm going to give a go at helping him out anyway." Silver insisted.
"Whatever." Shadow rolled his eyes.
"What do we do once Tikal and Metal get back?" Silver asked Shadow.
"We find Tails."
Silver tilted his head. "You don't want to go after Rouge or Omega?" He asked in surprise.
"They are more than capable of handling themselves for a bit longer." Shadow told Silver. "They aren't incompetent."
"Of course, I know that! I'm just surprised, is all-"
"I need Tails to try and make sense of some things for me, and it would be most beneficial for Knuckles to have his support."
Silver slowly nodded. "Yeah, I agree with that. We'll find Tails first then. Although… discussing this makes me wonder why Metal chose to find you of all people…"
"I suppose we'll find out when he gets back." Shadow said, turning his back to Silver. "I'm going to investigate the carriages, just in case anything has been hidden."
"I've checked everything pretty thoroughly, but… you're welcome to look, I suppose." Silver said.
Shadow didn't acknowledge the statement with a response, walking to the door on the far end and swiftly exiting the carriage.
Pachacamac sighed, waving away the dark purple cloud in front of his face – having just seen everything he needed to. "I knew that senile fool wasn't going to do his job properly. Embarrassing oversights…" The echidna muttered.
He was sat atop a dark crystal throne than shone pink and purple in the light. The whole throne room of his castle consisted of the same material – leaving the walls shiny and clear enough to see your reflection through them.
"It doesn't matter though, right?" One of his guards brought up, adorned in a sharp and rocky crystal army. His fur was a dark shade of orange. "As long as we can prompt Knuckles into using his powers-"
"I'm tired of staying silent, sir!" One of the echidnas stepped forward with ebony fur and dark red eyes. He came before the throne and went down on his knees. "I bet for another chance to use the Master Emerald! Please, please! It's been so long… since I've felt its power… coursing through me-!" His voice trembled with excitement.
"Enough." Pachacamac growled. "I have lost track of the number of times you have asked, and the answer will always be no. Knuckles is the vessel we need."
"But I've had experience!" The dark echidna insisted.
"And all you have to show for it are scars… permanent damage that has scarred your body, even in death."
The echidna looked down at the dark green vein patterns that bulged out from his skin and up his arms. "I'll… I'll learn to control it better! I promise!"
Pachacamac closed his eyes and sighed. "Paricia – fall back in line, or I will kill you myself."
"Please, please don't! My great leader-!"
"Now."
Paricia got up and stumbled back into formation alongside the other guards. Pachacamac wore similar attire to them – armour made of dark crystals, but his were all longer and shinier, especially noticeable in the shoulder pads – evidently designed to look stronger than everyone else's.
"Now that the seal is broken, Sonic will be able to make progress faster than before – we cannot allow that to happen if we want to see our plan come to fruition." He told his loyal echidna followers.
"Tikal is our issue – she is straying Knuckles from the path we have laid for him." The Chieftain said. "We are running out of time, and I cannot be having her interfere anymore…"
"Are you suggesting…?" The orange echidna spoke up.
"The girl needs to die. I don't care how; I just need it done." Pachacamac said. "Only then will Knuckles be able to listen to us."
"He's a stupid candidate for a vessel! He's incompetent! Too soft!" Paricia snapped suddenly, the echidna beside him immediately placing a hand over his mouth.
"Once we're done with him… those flaws will be long gone. We'll make him perfect." Pachacamac spoke confidently.
"After all... we won't settle for anything less."
Arc 2 finale completed! Hope you enjoyed! :)
SA2 nostalgia, anyone? Sonic tried to save Shadow's life but turns out - trying that also almost got him killed! But Knuckles saved the boys thankfully - what a ride, and what will Shadow surviving mean for the story? In other news - Shadow and Silver catch each other up and... oh? What's up with Pachacamac? Who's Paricia? What the heck do they want with Knuckles?
Find out in Arc 3 ;)
The climax was more-so last chapter, and I like to think this as more of the resolution - but with a big battle. Really hope you enjoyed this one! Let me know what you thought in a review! It would mean a lot to me! :) I can only hope you got a satisfying end to the saga.
Thank you all so very much for the support! I'll see you all for arc 3 on February 6th!
Is that too long of a wait somehow? Then find me on Tumblr! I will post bonus content and previews as well as other dumb shit. Feel free to get in touch and send me questions!
Links on this site are a bit iffy unfortunately but I go by the user handle caffeine-clouds! :) Search and you'll find!
Thank ya'll so, so much for the support so far! It has meant so much to me that I can share this goofy little story and have people enjoy it so much. Love ya'll!
But for now though, I'll be seeing ya'll later!