SONIC RESURGENCE

by DarkShadowGames451

AU! Elements of the games, SatAM, Underground, OVA, and the Sonic X Anime apply into one separate universe. The villainous Dr. J. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik has teamed up with a powerful sorcerer that plans to take over the world of Mobius. Sonic must team up with a group of Freedom Fighters under the command of a royal princess straight from Sonic's mysterious past.

24. Chapter 22

Review Responses:

To H411OWED KN1GHT 64: While I enjoyed reading your thoughts on the matter, it is important to understand that I'm deconstructing the Japanese and Western takes on Sonic's character. Sonic in Japanese is seen as a Kami or spirit that isn't to be taken as a literal person, but as a force of good that helps people grow. Here, I'm having that take of him recontextualized given that Sonic is in a semi-realistic setting. He is a free spirit at heart, but he's also a teenager playing the hero who tends to act recklessly, which can cause kids to get into trouble. So, please, keep that in mind. And mind you, Sonic is a reluctant hero.

To Campcrystallake11: Dude, this is what I wanted as a review for so long. I appreciate everything that you told him regarding how the story stands with you. I know that RESURGENCE isn't a perfect tale. Far from it, and I can cringe at it sometimes. But the effort that I put into planning and writing means so much to me that I can't stop thinking about it as it goes on. This feels like something ripped straight out of a comic book, and I am so blessed that you took the time to look at what story that I'm trying to tell to the best of my abilities. And I'm not the only mind that came up with this, but it's hard to do it mostly on you're own, only for somebody to tell you what you're supposed to do. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for letting me know how you feel while still being respectful.

---

What must be done… …The servers are the seven Chaos.

Chaos is power. A power enriched by the heart.

The controller is the one who unifies the Chaos.

…Feel within… The sea of Chaos… And the ancient waves.

May the light of its power shine down eternally and protect us all.

---

Uncle Chuck's Apartment, New Mobotropolis, Acornia

Oliver Maurice "Sonic the Hedgehog" Cobalt lay on his bed in his new room, sulking as he held his new classical acoustic guitar. Due to the mandates passed by the Parliament which was approved by King Max, the Hero of Mobius was no longer granted access to Freedom HQ and was prohibited from holding any Chaos Emeralds until he was healed physically, mentally, and emotionally.

When he was permitted to leave Queen Alicia Memorial Hospital, Sir Charles and Rosie took the wheelchair-bound civilian back to Sir Charles' apartment where he would be given some time to relax without dealing with the constant sound of beeping from a monitor or having to be stuck in a plain white room. At the same time, doctors and nurses kept a close eye on the Azurite.

A business week (five days) has passed since then and despite Cream, Vanilla, and Amy's initial visits along with a phone call from Breezie, the Mobian blue hedgehog did not try to interact with the outside world or its inhabitants unless he was in the backyard. Having to be bound to a wheelchair nearly assassinated Sonic's overall self-confidence and pride. When he wasn't reading a book under the shade of a tree in the apartment's backyard, he silently closed himself off in his new room.

Lately, his somber mood got him back into music as a method to get through his current emotions. And while he would normally listen to music, the trauma of losing his childhood home was so great that it forced him to take out Catty Carilsle's birthday gift for him and strum through pain.

As Sonic played his guitar solemnly, he subconsciously strummed the notes for the national anthem for South Island, which was an ancient hymn that originated from Green Hill. He kept the tempo slow as a means to pay each note its respect that was due like Sonic was playing the tune as his way of mourning the people whose lives were lost.

People that were dependent on him. People that he had failed.

When he was finished, Sonic prepared to repeat the song for the fiftieth time when he heard a gentle knock on the door.

"Oliver? It's your uncle, may I come in?"

Sonic, who had nothing but a plain white t-shirt and white socks on his pawed feet, sat up from his bed while he made sure that the cast on his right leg was positioned correctly.

"...Come on in," A soft-spoken Sonic allowed verbally.

Opening the door, Sir Charles entered Sonic's semi-barren unlit room which indicated the boy's emotional state. The blinds were closed shut along with the window. The teenager's face was melancholy. The older blue-eyed scientist pitied his nephew. While he was happy that Sonic was safe and in one piece, he could see that the fight with Metallix had nearly broken his will and done extensive emotional damage. The excitable personality had all but left the younger blue hedgehog. Sir Charles could see it in Sonic's eyes as the shining emerald eyes that desired adventure were replaced with a pair of dull defeated green eyes. Without context, Sonic looked like a complete shut-in that only continued to withdraw from the outside world.

Sir Charles approached his nephew's bed, asking, "Good morning, Sonny Boy. How are you feeling today?"

Sonic decided to look towards his uncle's frame, but not directly into the old man's eyes.

"...Fine, I guess. Been better, though." Sonic barely shrugged, speaking in a low and soft-spoken tone.

Sir Charles nodded with a small saddened slight before sitting on top of Sonic's bed, saying, "Have you been getting enough sleep? You know it is not wise to stay up all night watching television or listening to music."

Sonic scowled, then looked up at the ceiling, then softly responded, "...I haven't been watchin' stuff since the international news outlets have been blastin' me. Besides, it's hard to catch some shut-eye these days. …I can still see him, staring at me. In my dreams, while I try to sleep."

Sir Charles frowned at this response as he thought to himself, '...He's getting worse than I thought.'

"Sonny, I understand that you're having a hard time…adjusting to recent developments. Times have been turbulent since King Max's return and the re-establishment of the kingdom." Explained Sir Charles.

"...I never thought this would happen to me in life. Never asked to be praised as a hero, but to think that the folks that I helped out just turned on me like that…" Sonic thought aloud bitterly, before shaking his a little with a light scowl never leaving his face. "Me allowin' Metal to exist was my fault, there's no point in hammerin' down on the freakin' obvious. But if I hadn't stopped Eggman all the times that I was around, there wouldn't be a Station Square or a planet to live on. I ain't askin' for worship nor for people to owe me, but it doesn't me that I should have the entire blame dumped on me! …This ain't even fair, man."

The older hedgehog placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder, saying "Easy, Oliver. You have to remain calm. Life can be cold, uncaring, and outright cruel. But this is what it is like to face the consequences of your actions. Regardless of intent, every decision we make is crucial. And sometimes, age does not factor in when people form opinions based on these decisions and the impression it leaves in individuals."

"But it never happened to me before! Why is this different from what I usually do?" The younger and cynical teenager questioned.

"That's because you're never around to see the aftermath of the crisis that you were present in." Sir Charles pointed out. "You run off, leaving everybody else to pick up the pieces. Not that you were entitled to help out with the cleanup, but there were cases where lives were lost during events in which you were involved. Or should I name a few situations?"

"You don't have to-"

"-Station Square, a thousand people drowned during the flood. In the Black Arms Incursion, the aliens killed hundreds of Mobians and Overlanders. Ah yes, then there's the city that was destroyed during the Nazo incident. Need I go on further? Because there's plen-"

"-Alright! Alright!" Sonic shouted, not wanting to hear any more of the details before sighing exasperatingly. "...I can see your point. …I didn't know about any of that, save for the last one. I'll admit, Never really paid attention to the news outlets."

"Well, you should pay attention to your surroundings." The Minister of Science said before letting out a sigh as he adjusted his glasses. "Look, I'm not saying to let public opinion dictate how you should live as a person. But you're not a radical vigilante operating on your own accord. Nor is this another one of your thrilling escapades with your friends. This is war, understand?"

Sonic nodded stiffly, remembering the magnitude of his situation as he thought to himself '...Right. That's what I've signed up for. A war.'

Sir Charles continued to speak, "In retrospect, I realize that something positive came out of us finding you around this time."

Sonic lightly snorted at this comment.

"Is that right? Why's that, Uncle Chuck?" Sonic asked flatly.

2Sir Charles' lips thinned at his nephew's blatant cynicism and sarcasm as he answered, "It's not hard to figure out when you think about it. These are the years that will shape you into the man that you're going to be for the rest of your life. Fortunately, you're still quite impressionable. And your impulsive and reckless nature shows that there's still plenty of room for you to grow up. Not only do you have to learn how to act accordingly on missions, but in other settings in life. Now that you're an Acornian, we cannot afford for what happened back on South Island to happen again. This line of work is not a choice, but an obligation to do the right thing. And that requires maturity. Accountability."

Sonic looked down at his bed in shame before Sir Charles said, "Hey, look at me."

The teenager did so, now looking at his uncle's light blue irises.

"Sonny, you're a bright and gifted young man. Saviturn saw to it that you were with his blessings. And I'm not just talking about your impeccable speed, either. You help people, inspiring them to better themselves and giving them hope. These are precious gifts. And they should be used earnestly. With the utmost responsibility. Always. Do you understand?"

Sonic's face softened as he allowed his uncle's words to echo through his mind for a moment before nodding.

"...Yeah, I think I do." The teenager nodded as he looked at his elder before Sir Charles smiled a little.

"That's great to hear!" Sir Charles said before standing up. "Glad that we had this talk. I'm going downstairs to check on our breakfast. Rosie will be here shortly to help you shower and get dressed."

Sonic's frown returned while his muzzle turned hot red out of embarrassment.

The blue hedgehog groaned, "Ugh! Don't remind me."

'Great. First I get a lecture, now I have to look forward to a forty-somethin'-year-old lady scrubbin' me down like I'm five! Is this some kind of cruel divine punishment? Fate is such a cruel mistress!' Sonic said as he placed a pillow over his face.

As Sir Charles proceeded to approach the door, Sir Charles then said, "Oh, before I forget, be sure to pick out casual clothing. We'll be going out this mid-morning."

The scarred-chested Sonic then gave the older pale blue hedgehog a puzzled glance.

"What for?" The emerald green-eyed Azurite asked.

"We're helping you pick out your support Mobini today." Sir Charles grinned.

Realizing that he had to go out in public in a wheelchair, Sonic placed his hands on his face.

He was surely not looking forward to today.

---

Lobo Maximum Security, Lycaeon, Lobonia

Upon his betrayal, Drago Wulfe had been thrown into the dankest and darkest of prisons that the United Wolf Pack Nation had. For the past month, the Mobian wolf barely survived on sips of water and scraps of meat that were left over from food that was consumed. Drago wasn't allowed to be out in the open, nor was he given any chance to interact with the outside world. Hell, he wasn't even given the chance to change clothes or shower.

He was the lowest of criminals, not worth the time of day.

If you were to ask the various citizens in the streets of the city, they would say that he deserved it for betraying his own pack and for attempting to usurp his tribe's current chief.

But in the deranged mind of Drago, the blame was shifted to his former second-in-command, Fiona Fox, that bitch of a sister that the stupid Waya tribe would dare call "chief", the spoiled brat from Knothole with her little entourage, and most notably, recently added blue rat that he had the displeasure of meeting. That included his friends as well.

It was these four factors that led Drago Wulfe to rot in the very same place that should be under his rule. His leadership!

Oh, if only he had the chance of escaping.

Unfortunately for Drago, he was chained to a wall, bounded by each limb so that he was not touching the ground. Even his neck had a metal collar bolted to the wall while he had a muzzle strapped on him. No different from a rabid animal.

Outside of the cell, two large male wolf guards holding their assault rifle blasters stood in place to fulfill their duties.

Now, why are there only two guards that are guarding the cell of one of Lobonia's most wanted criminals? Well, those guards are only needed for that particular area. The entire prison is built in a complex that is built underground. The floors where prisoners were being held were classified into categories "A-J". And thanks to Acornia's assistance in the nation's reconstruction, they were given state-of-the-art technology that made room for improving their security systems in certain facilities. Therefore, cameras and a high-tech operating system using computer tech were installed to help the faculty of over one hundred Mobians run the Maximum Security Prison in Lycaeon.

"Say, Kai," The younger, lengthy adult gray wolf spoke. "How's it going with the family? Word going around the streets saying you're going to be a father again."

The mature, burly, and taller brown Mobian wolf guard answered, "You'd be right, Pache. The wife is driving me crazy with the fits of her ever-shifting mood swings. But, it'll be worth it in the end. I'll just have to endure it until my twins arrive in the next two months."

The young gray wolf's eyes widened, as he said, "Twins!? Congratulations!"

"Thank you," The older brown wolf said with a smirk before slightly looking towards their inmate's chamber. "At least the nation and its citizens can rest easier with this lunatic behind bars. I want my kids to grow up without having to know what we suffered since our days fighting that wizard."

"True," Pache nodded as he said, "We have our ambassador, the Knothole Freedom Fighters, and that famous Azurite hedgehog to thank for that."

Kai grimaced, remembering the news regarding Sonic and his exploits. That included the recent incident involving South Islands destruction at the hands of one of the nefarious Dr. J. Ivo Robotnik. An enemy of Sonic himself, and the same one that tried to invade their borders. Needless to say, Kai was a part of the Mobian and Overlander populations that did not find Sonic appealing.

"I believe it was Chief Lupe that defeated the traitor, and for that, I'll give her thanks. And Acornia did offer them a serious numbers advantage. But personally, I believe that the Azurite and his allies' involvement in Freedom Fighter affairs was unnecessary." The older wolf expressed.

Pache furrowed his brow before deducing in the form of a question, "Kai…Do-Do you not like the hedgehog?"

"I'd be lying if I said that I found him appealing," Kai revealed. "I just find it strange that wherever there's a global crisis that involves that rotund and vile Overlander, he's at the heart of it. And no, I don't know the whole details, but I can't help but find that this reckless boy had some hand in it."

"But that doesn't make any sense, Kai. Overland is the hedgehog's arch-enemy, right? Why would he have a hand in any of the evil one's schemes?" Pache challenged as a question. "Acornia wouldn't have made him a Freedom Fighter if they deemed him untrustworthy.

The older wolf sighed before saying, "...I don't know. You call it some form of intuition, but that boy rubs me the wrong way. I'm not saying that he's a bad kid or anything. I can tell that this "Sonic" just wants to help, but everywhere that hedgehog goes, there's always trouble following closely behind him. Next thing we know, his adversary appears by our borders. And then, here comes the Azurite. Look, maybe it's the stress of the insane world events, but I don't want these problems near me or my family, I want to have peace in my life for once. Is that too much to ask?"

"...Woah. That's deep, man. I did not know it was like that." Pache swallowed lightly as he looked forward.

"It is so. And I'm not the only one who feels the same. You should look at the articles," Kai explained. "But I don't carry it to the extreme of hating the poor kid with a passion. There are other people, angrier people who can't stand him. Even if he managed to save the world, there are many who can't stand his attitude or his impulsive antics. And as you can see, he and an entire island filled with its occupants paid for his own actions."

The gray wolf slowly nodded as he resumed his duties with his partner.

Suddenly, the two wolves' ears picked up the slightest sound of something dropping on the ground to the right of Kai.

Three bounces of the sphere object, causing the younger Mobian wolf to ask, "Hey! Did you hear something?"

Kai walked over to the object with Pache following close behind him.

"Well, what is it?" Pache inquired.

Kai inspected the sphere object, then narrowed his eyes as he said, "This looks like some sort of pellet! Pache, alert the others! We have an intru-"

Before the older guard could finish his sentence, the two wolves were covered in a cloud of faintly colored smoke.

The two males began coughing up a storm, with Pache saying, "Damn it! Smokescreen!"

While the two were distracted, a loud thud could be heard as the vent lid that was over Kai's right came off overhead. From there, a soft sound echoed through the hallway which didn't go unnoticed as Kai and Pache held their guns in the direction of the noise.

"Don't move! Take a step and you're dead!" Pache barked.

The figure that was shrouded in shadow, who seemed to have a small floating object next to him remained still.

"Raise your hands to where we can see them," Kai ordered.

The figure tilted his head slightly, snorted, then did so casually.

Pache growled, saying, "The gumption of this guy."

Kai ignored his partner as he moved forward cautiously, instructing the intruder, "Now put your hands over your head nice and easy."

Unfortunately for the pair of wolves, they were unable to see both the smirk that the intruder had on his face nor could they see the two sharp knives that he was pulling from the holsters of his combat vest.

As the wolves approached the shadowy figure, only to fall to the ground dead as two knives were lodged in their necks. One for each guard.

Once the guards were taken care of, the figure's floating next to it shifted into that of a gun. From there, the cameras that surrounded the area were immediately destroyed as they were hit by dark lasers before the object reverted back to its original state.

As the cloud subsided, two figures were revealed.

The intruder took the appearance of a black-furred male Mobian jackal. He had a white fur pattern on his back that resembled a ribcage, a bushy tail with five white tips, and long, white, stiff dreadlocks. His muzzle is white and protruded with cheek tufts, and the jackal had a black nose and noticeable fangs. A notable feature about the intruder was that he had complete heterochromia, with his right eye being blue and his left eye being yellow. There is a large white scar across the right eye. He wore a white collar around his neck, a black and red combat vest, and black gloves with silver designs on the backs, covering his sharp claws. He also wears pointed, metal, and black hi-tops with red soles.

Next to the jackal happened to be a creature that resembled a Chao, except that it was three-eyed purple and red while possessing bat-like wings on its back. Over its head was a floating starfish-like appendage that was reminiscent of Black Doom's third eye as its own separate organism.

The intruder was known as Zero the Hunter, with his Black Arms/Chao hybrid companion and weapon, Nyx the Devil Chao.

While collecting the keys to Drago's chamber, Nyx hissed at the guards while Zero spat at the ground where the bleeding wolves laid.

"Arrogant hounds. Didn't even offer me a real challenge." Zero said. "It was harder for me to break inside of the prison than the damn place."

The jackal then opened the chamber's door after unlocking it with the stolen keys. The sound of the door swinging open immediately caused the imprisoned white wolf to raise his head as he noticed the jackal and the Black Arms/Chao hybrid moving close to him.

The initial response to the stranger was him moving and thrashing about like an enraged beast. Zero couldn't tell if his target's defense mechanism or if he was acting unhinged due to him being locked up and deprived of the proper amount of food and water.

'...Poor bastard looks like hell.' Zero dryly observed before pinching his nose from the wretched odor that Drago Wulfe had. '...Ugh! And he smells like hell too! Better get him out of here to earn some level of trust.'

"Nyx! To me, girl!" The jackal said while whistling, prompting the hybrid to fly towards her master.

The hunter took out an azure handle with a crimson gem at the center of the hilt before it formed a vibrating curved blade that resembled a scimitar.

This weapon prompted the thrashing taller Mobian to stop moving as he watched intensively. And in the blink of an eye, Drago found himself freed of the literal shackles that kept him in the hole he was thrown in by his sister.

From there, Nyx floated to Drago's neck and fired at the collar, finally freeing Drago from his remaining restraint.

The wolf fell to his knees from fatigue, relatively puzzled by the intruder's actions.

"W-Why did you-" The wolf stuttered, only for the jackal to respond.

"-Free you?" Zero said. "It's simple, I've been hired to bust you out of here."

"W-What!?" Drago barked before coughing. "Shit! …Who on Mobius would want to get me outta here?"

"A mutual associate of ours." Zero said cryptically. "Some call him a genius. He believes himself to be the most brilliant of geniuses."

The gears in Drago's mind began to turn for a moment before his hardened face loosened up as a moment of realization came to the criminal.

'...That brilliant fat bastard!' The white wolf grinned as he then looked back at the black jackal.

"...Why should I trust you? It's bad enough I had it rough trying to take down my bitch of a sister with her little Freedom Fighter friends, but my own Chaos damned squad kicked me to the curb at the last minute! The last thing I need is for some unknown runt and his floating pet freak to screw me over." Drago inquired while baring his fangs in an overly aggressive manner.

Nyx hissed at the Mobian wolf while her three eyes glowed red, only for her master to shush her as he stared into the eyes of his target.

"You don't have a reason to trust me," Zero shrugged while speaking in an even tone. "I'm a mercenary for hire. I have played both sides of two potential clients to get the best deal. And I have swindled people out of a ton of cash. But let's look at it from a different perspective. I'm pretty sure that destroying the cameras has raised a red flag for the men monitoring the surveillance system. And if that doesn't raise any suspicion, you being free from your chamber and the two dead soldiers on the ground with murder weapons protruding from their necks definitely will."

Drago snarled in aggravation, thinking to himself, 'Fuck! He's right! Lupe would surely execute me if I'm captured at the crime scene!'

"From the way I see it, you only have two options. Take a gamble with me and flee with your body and life intact, or take a risk with an even greater chance of death." Zero the Hunter concluded with his eyes making direct contact with no signs of backing down. "The choice is yours, Wulfe."

The two male canids glared at each other for a few seconds, waiting to see which one would give in.

Just when Drago was about to open his mouth, both men's ears twitched as the alarms began to ring. From there, two turrets were deployed from the walls of the hallways and were aimed at Zero and Drago.

"...Aw, shit!" The white wolf cursed under his breath. "We're dead!"

The turrets began firing their rounds, Zero took his high-frequency scimitar and proceeded to cut all of the bullets that were aimed to kill Nyx, Drago, and himself with relative ease, stunning the former Destructix leader.

'Holy…!' Drago thought to himself.

From there, Nyx flew past the two canids with her third eye glowing red. From there, the Black Arms/Chao hybrid fired an eye laser that incinerated both turrets just as skillfully.

Turning back to the target, Zero then asked Drago, "So, what's it going to be? Whatever you choose, I'm getting paid regardless."

Rolling his eyes, the younger but taller and muscular wolf said, "Figured as much. So, how are we going get out of here? I can hear some of the prison's foot flunkies heading our way."

Zero then stuck his hand out forward and a round orange gemstone with a red spiral attached to his glove started a glow, then soon enough what appeared to be a portal had been made, looking like a shattered piece of glass or mirror with a red glowing hue on the edges and corners.

Drago stared at the portal, then asked while pointing at the tear in reality, "Uh, what the hell is that?"

"Our way out," Zero said, pointing at the obvious as Nyx passed through the portal without a care in the world. "This portal will not stay open for very long, so this is your last chance. Either come along or we're coming back to get your remains."

As the jackal crossed through the portal himself, the hallway's door opened, revealing most of the police force in Lycaeon with Chief Lupe leading the charge.

"A'CHAKA!" Lupe bellowed as she and the other soldiers rushed towards him. "GET BACK HERE! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO ESCAPE!"

Seeing that he had no other choice, the white wolf leaped into the mysterious portal while shouting, "Fuck it!"

And just like that, Drago Wulfe successfully escaped from prison, leaving the ambassador of the United Wolf Pack Nation to create a large dent in the walls of the hallway that led to an empty cell.

---

Oxen' Pets, New Mobotroplis, Acornia

'...It's official. This is the worst.' Sonic mentally groaned as Rosey pushed the wheelchair that he was currently sitting on.

Right now, Sonic was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt with a pair of white accented lines tracing down his arms, a pair of black sweatpants with the same white lines traveling down the sides of the pant legs, and a pair of white low-top sneakers that were crispy clean as if they were bought fresh from the shoe store which matched his white gloves.

Or rather, Sonic only had the left shoe on. After all, his right foot was still covered in a cast.

To better obscure himself from the public eye and save face person, he wore his hood and kept his head low. However, while Sir Charles, Rosie, and Sonic passed by a few of the civilians, the younger blue hedgehog's ears twitched as he overheard the locals whispering amongst themselves.

"Hey, isn't that Sir Charles?"

"Yeah, I think. And I think that's the nanny of the House of Acorn."

"But who is she pushing? You know, the bloke with the cast on his leg?"

"Call me daft, but he kind of looks like Sonic."

"There's no way! That can't be right…can it?"

"It is. I saw his face!"

"Oh, that's right! The news did say he and a few other Freedom Fighters were injured during the you-know-what incident. I wasn't expecting him to be scathed."

"Damn. I guess it's true. I swear, I didn't think someone like him would break a leg. Literally, I mean."

"Tell me about it, I thought those things were invincible. Poor kid."

Grumbling at the unwanted attention and the various eyes focused on him, Sonic adjusted his hood to try and hide his face more effectively.

"Let this be over soon," Sonic repeated in whispers as a bit of his anxiety began to surface with his good leg shaking slightly.

Rosie gave her lover's nephew a comforting smile as she said, "Don't worry, dear. We're almost there."

"Don't go babying him, darling. Oliver has to get used to interacting with people again." Sir Charles said, disregarding Sonic's immature nature at the moment.

"I'm right here, ya know," Sonic muttered as he came up in front of a small pet shop.

It was a small yellow brick store with a large painted sign on the window, displaying a Mobian Ox that read "Oxen Pets" while "a family-run shop" was painted in a smaller font compared to the main sign. At the store door, an open sign was hung.

When the three entered the store and moved to the front of the shop, Sonic saw that the person attending the register was in the form of a gray-furred Mobian ox who was roughly around his early twenties in age. He had violet-colored irises, reasonably long horns, and a small tuft of hair on top of his head. Being a staff member of the shop, the young adult ox had on a dark green colored collared shirt with a red name tag that had the name "Mike" printed on it.

"Michael! Good day to you, young man!" Sir Charles greeted, while Rosie waved at the young Mobian as she pushed Sonic in his wheelchair.

"Ah, Sir Charles, Ms. Rosie! Great to see the two of you today!" Mike responded happily. "You just missed my parents. They went out of town to visit my aunt and uncle over in Furville."

"Oh, it's not a hassle. You can tell them that we visited when they come back." Rosie assured.

The young adult ox nodded while looking at the younger hedgehog trying to remain silent and hidden from view as best he could.

"Hey, is that really…you know who?" Mike asked sensitively with caution.

Sir Charles and Rosie nodded, with the older hedgehog saying, "Yes, this is my nephew. He was born as Oliver, but he prefers to be called Sonic."

Looking at his apprehensive nephew, Sir Charles introduced Mike to Sonic, saying, "Sonic, this is Mike O'Hirn. His father and mother helped with the reconstruction of the kingdom after Sally expelled Naugus from our land."

Sonic lifted his hood up slightly and gave the older ox a ghost of a smile out of instinct.

"Yo,"

The older ox could tell that it was forced. He's seen the famous (now infamous in other parts of the world) Sonic the Hedgehog and many times, Mike could see the pain and negative effects recent events had caused him. No longer did the glint of excitement shined in his eyes.

"H-Hi, uh…" Mike managed to blurt out before catching himself to retain his professionalism. "I mean, it's an honor to meet you, Sonic. Sorry about…that."

Sonic awkwardly nodded silently.

"Hey man, listen. If it means anything, my family and I appreciate what you've done for the planet. We were visiting Station Square a few years ago when the giant water monster flooded the place. Fortunately, we managed to evacuate to higher ground before any of us could drown. And though people did die that day, that monster could have flooded the entire world if you hadn't stepped up to the plate and beaten it. It sucks that nobody seems to remember that a young guy like you wasn't obligated to do what you do at the time of the flood and that old space station falling from orbit. Block out the naysayers and their slander, you'll always be a hero in my book." Mike said out of genuine care.

Sonic could feel the muscles on his face contort into a heartfelt smile form but said nothing. Instead, he nodded while giving him a thumb's up as his way of saying thanks, a gesture that Mike could tell.

"Anyway," Mike said, focusing back on the reason why the group came, Mike clasped his hands together. "Let's go look at some options for support Mobinies, shall we?"

Mike moved out of the register station as the group followed the young O'Hirn into another room where among the many sections of the various pets and pet items were present. A few more staff members were seen who waved and smiled at the group. As Sonic was pushed around in his wheelchair by his former nanny, he saw the various Mobinis such as Flickies, dragons, eagles, deer, boar, condors, bears, and other exotic animals. There was even a Chao Garden that they passed by, which caught Sonic's eye for a second.

Seeing that Sonic was looking over that direction, Mike asked, "See something that interests you, Sonic?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, I couldn't help but notice that you got a snazzy Chao Garden setup." Sonic commented.

"Are you familiar with raising Chao, Oliver?" Rosie questioned with an eyebrow raised.

Sonic flashed a small grin while lightly chuckling as a means to give an answer, reminiscing on the times he spent nurturing infant Chao during his adventures stopping Chaos and stopping the Eclipse Cannon.

"Arf! Arf!"

Sonic's ears flickered upward along with his uncle's as Mike, Sir Charles, Rosie, and Sonic turned to the source of the loud barking. Over at the canid section, Sonic spotted a recently fully matured cream and brown St. Dane with brown irises in a pen, trailing back and forth excitedly as he panted with his tongue.

"Oh! Charles, look at him~!" Rosie cooed as she had her lover pay attention to the Mobini barking at them with his tail wagging back and forth. "He's so adorable~!"

Sir Charles nodded with a grin as he said, "Heh heh! That, he is. Quite the lively one, as well."

Sonic did nothing but stared at the hound out of curiosity. Something drew the young hedgehog to the Mobini. Sure, he had raised Chao and saved a ton of woodland critters, but he could tell that this one was special to him. Gazing at his red collar, Sonic read the name of the dog out loud.

"...Muttski, huh?" Sonic spoke with a small grin.

"Oh yeah!" Mike said as he approached Muttski's dog pen. "This fella is Muttski. His father was a St. Bernard that served as one of the king's knight's royal rescue dogs. The mother was a Great Dane that was used as a hunting Mobini. He came along as a result of a little breeding project his parents' owners conducted."

"Really? How did he end up in a place like this if his parents were basically super-dogs needed for specific tasks?" Sonic questioned.

Mike's face fell a little as he explained, "Muttski was the runt of the pack of puppies, therefore, he was an easy target to bully around by the rest of his siblings. Seeing that Muttski was the weakest link, he was sent to us to raise with other dogs before he could be killed or neglected as a puppy by his family."

Rosie gasped as she said while looking at the dog, "Oh, you poor thing."

"That's the life of certain Mobinis, unfortunately." Sir Charles said grimly while shaking his head.

Sonic's brows furrowed, yet kept his gloomy thoughts to himself.

"Thankfully, my parents and I managed to raise him to be loving and caring to the other animals and people that interact with him. He's a really good boy." Mike said as he opened the pen's small gate, allowing Muttski to walk out, Mike bent down and scratched the pooch's chin. "You're a good boy aren't you, Muttski?"

Muttski responded by barking happily before licking the Mobian ox's left cheek.

The ox chuckled while saying, "Yeah, you're a good boy. Ha ha ha! Alright, Muttski! That's enough! Down boy!"

Muttski then turned to the older couple and barked at them with delight, while Sir Charles and Rosie petted the fully matured canine.

Sonic continued to stare at Muttski as he thought to himself, '...He doesn't seem so bad. Maybe I can make this work.'

By the time Muttski approached Sonic, the dog immediately took a liking to him as the injured hedgehog patted the St. Dane crossbreed on the head. As a means to show his affection, Muttski licked his hand multiple times before barking at Sonic while wagging his tail.

Sonic's smile grew brighter, now closely resembling his former happier self than before.

Mike crossed his arms, saying, "Would you look at that? Muttski seems to have taken a liking to you guys. I have never seen him this excited in a while."

"I wonder why no one has taken him in? He appears to be well-behaved." Rosie questioned.

"Well, he's quite large for his species. Even as the youngest of his kin. It's quite expensive to care for dogs like Muttski." Mike explained. "So, what do you guys think?"

Sir Charles and Rosie turned to Sonic, who was still scratching behind the dog's ear.

"Well, Sonny boy? Do you want to keep him? I don't mind helping to take care of him, but he'll be your responsibility." Sir Charles asked.

Sonic gave Sir Charles a thumb's up, saying, "I'll take him, Uncle."

Mike grinned, saying, "Awesome! You won't regret this, Sonic."

Sonic nodded, looking at the dog, concluding, "Yeah, Muttski and I will get along just fine. Won't we buddy?"

"Arf! Arf!" Muttski barked happily.

"Att boy! Welcome to the family, Muttski!" Sonic welcomed.

---

Coliseum, New Mobotropolis, Acornia

Upon the request being approved by the king himself, Shadow the Hedgehog and Necalli, or Knuckles the Echidna, were able to use the empty stadium as a means to train and test their abilities under the supervision of Princess Sally. With her were E-123 Ω (Omega), Rouge the Bat, Bunnie Rabbot, and Antoine D'Coolette.

The girls in the group got along quite well. Rouge found Bunnie's style of fashion to be appealing, which brought joy to the cyborg Mobian. The bat bonded with Sally's mutual dislike of Fiona Fox.

It was here where Rouge explained that during her early career as a jewel thief had out-foxed her in during a heist for the same rare pearl necklace both girls laid eyes on. This sparked a feud that lasted throughout their teens years until Rouge eventually went clean due to the proposition GUN gave her; stay behind bars a ton of charges she accumulated throughout her criminal career, or use her honed skills in infiltration to benefit the United Federation as a special operative with her criminal history cleared as if nothing happened.

When Antoine asked why she accepted the deal, Rouge stated that the pay was good, she gained certain immunities through the government, and she retained her freedom to some extent.

Antoine and Bunnie remained speechless at the bat's shamelessness of her selfish reasoning, but Sally knew that this was a throw-away comment but decided to not press the bat on the matter.

Meanwhile, Shadow and Knuckles were out on the field while the rest had front-row seats to see the two begin their training and test their abilities against one another.

"Well, doesn't this place look festive?" Rouge quipped while admiring the spaciousness of the open stadium. "It's much bigger than any sports stadium that I've seen in the Federation."

"It is a structure built for special events such as sports and concerts, but it is also used as a training ground by us and other military units of the kingdom," Sally explained, giving Rouge a smile.

"Consider this bat impressed," Rouge said while looking at the lights and the vibrant colors that the interior of the stadium possessed.

"So, who do ya'll think will win? Ahm bettin' it's Knuckles." Bunnie said.

Antoine agreed with a nod, saying, "I have been seeing what our red friend iz capable of during our mission in Lobonia. He iz very formidable."

Turning to Sally, Bunnie asked her best friend, "Who are you bettin' on, Sally-girl? Knuckles, or Mr. tall, dark, an' mysterious?"

Sally rolled her eyes, then glanced at the two Mobians while thinking out loud.

"...I'm taking a claim on any bets, but I'm not sure how this match-up would turn out," Sally answered honestly. "Knuckles' strength has been mentioned to be unrivaled while possessing the same kind of potential as Sonic's speed. Though, I haven't seen a scenario where he has displayed that alleged potential. But we have reports of Shadow at the height of his power both when the Space Colony ARK fell towards the planet and when he wiped out the Black Aliens that invaded. And according to Sonic himself, Shadow is his only equal in terms of speed. Other than that, the extent of both of their abilities is a mystery. Based on that information, it can go either way."

"THAT IS A FAIR ASSESSMENT FOR A PERSON WITH LITTLE INFORMATION," Omega said, getting everybody's attention.

"I hate to admit it, Knuckie is skilled in close-quarter combat. If it wasn't for the additional self-defense that GUN provided me on top of my own personal martial arts, he would have killed me the first time when he struck me with one of his punches. And those hands of his can turn boulders into rubble. The lug's no slouch and has proven to use his wits in fights as well. He's fast enough to anticipate Big Blue and counterattack with ease. But what Shadow has over Knuckie is that he has greater versatility with his Chaos powers giving him a greater advantage in raged attacks and his previous mention speed." Rouge explained.

Sally and Antoine raised an eyebrow while both having amused smiles.

Bunnie snorted, muttering, "...Knuckie?"

"Oh, that's just an old pet name that I call him. At one point, we used to be very close like that." Rouge casually responded. "But that's in the past."

'...But that doesn't stop me from having a soft spot for that Knucklehead.' Rouge thought to herself while briefly looking at the guardian.

"Pardon me, Madam. What do you mean when you say, "versatility"?"

Placing the back of her left gloved hand toward her mouth, Rouge let out a faux laugh, saying, "Now, now. That would be telling. Why don't we let these boys quench your curiosity."

With that being said, two-thirds of Team Dark and a few of the Freedom Fighters resumed watching the two Mobians stare at each other.

Shadow, wearing his green military flak jacket, had his arms folded while the brown shawl-wearing Knuckles bumped his gloved spiked fists together.

"...You know, it's funny." Knuckles commented while smirking as he showed his sharp teeth. "Outside of our group fights, this is the first time that you and I ever had a battle in single combat."

"Agreed. When I merged with the blue hedgehog and parted from our combined being, I acquired the memories of his past skirmishes with you as if I were present in his place. You seemed to have given him enough of a challenge that it left an impression on him. It has piqued my curiosity from time to time whenever the thought comes up." Shadow nodded evenly.

'That's right, they used Chaos Control to unify into a single entity. That was how Sonic and Shadow took out that Nazo creature.' Knuckles thought to himself before speaking to the Mobian/Black Arms hybrid.

"You think I was a formidable opponent back then? I've improved drastically since my last real scrap with Sonic. And if we're being honest here, I've been itching to see how I fare against someone like you. Especially how I am now." Knuckles eagerly expressed as he looked at his hands that were surging with red electricity.

Shadow closed his eyes while thinking back to Sonic's memory of Knuckles being struck by Nazo's backhand before the echidna was sent to a mountain back on South Island four months ago.

'...That must be the reason behind his motivation. …Given what we're up against, I will not fault him on it.' The Ultimate Lifeform mentally stated before staring directly into the echidna's eyes.

"How are we going to do this, Shadow? Anything works for me." Knuckles said, offering Shadow free reigns over the rules as he bumped his fists together two times like a boxer.

"No killing blows. I will not use any firearms. Chaos attacks and other special abilities are allowed." Shadow listed.

"That's fine by me, it's not like any bullet could harm me anymore." Knuckles snorted, flashing his sharp teeth once again in a Sonic-like manner. "Are knock-outs allowed?"

"It doesn't matter to me, the purpose of this match is to see how far we've come and to know where to go from there compared to the power of that machine and its cursed magic," Shadow said, hardening his expression at the mere thought of Metallix.

Knuckles did the same thing, grimacing at the memory of Sonic's broken body upon finding out what had occurred on South Island.

"...Don't remind me. That oversized tin can and his maker has hell to pay for what they've done." The red echidna grunted. "How much time do we have to do this?"

"You can come at me anytime," Shadow answered, unfolding arms. "Though, I will caution you, red echidna. I'm not going to make this sparring session easy for you. You will be treated as if you were an enemy, no differently from the blue hedgehog."

"Good to know," Knuckles smirked yet again as he got that of a basic boxing stance. "I'd be insulted if you didn't!"

Without any warning, Knuckles lunged at Shadow with a straight punch aimed at the fifty-four-year-old immortal's face. Thankfully, Shadow managed to block the punch with his left forearm, creating a large shockwave that sent a draft that caused the spectators in the front row to yelp as a small crater formed under the black hedgehog.

'...That was from one punch alone!?' The Freedom Fighters thought.

Rouge smirked at this, already knowing how much power Knuckles can dish out when he's serious against a strong opponent.

Shadow kept a level head but was mildly astonished by the amount of force that Knuckles was currently using.

'...If I was an average Mobian like the fox kit or the pink hedgehog, that punch would have destroyed me.' The GUN agent grimly realized.

Knuckles went to deck Shadow in the forehead, but the hedgehog sidestepped his red opponent and smashed his nose with a back fist using his left hand. And while Shadow was successful in landing a front kick to Knuckles' forehead, the guardian managed to catch one of the legs Shadow used to execute one of his signature sidekicks with his right hand. When he tossed the leg down while Shadow was caught off guard, Knuckles threw a quick left hook that sent Shadow reeling back three feet as he slid on his Jet Shoes.

Seeing that his current approach of offense wasn't working, Shadow decided to change things up by warping out of his opponent's sight for a moment.

Using Chaos Attack, Shadow reappeared behind Knuckles to land a flying kick diagonally from behind him, and the attack was successful. As Shadow appeared and dashed forward in a lunge, Knuckles turned around quickly enough and stunned him by sending a shockwave through punching the ground with enough force generated by his inner potential energy surging in one hand.

Knuckles struck Shadow with a strong straight cross with his right hand (Deep Impact) and uppercut him with both of his fists together, injuring Shadow's chin. But before Knuckles could continue his assault, Shadow blocked one of Knuckles' punches once more before snapping his fingers to emit a flash of light to stun Knuckles through the invocation of Chaos Control.

'Oh no!' Knuckles thought to himself before a fist was slammed into his face by Shadow.

The black hedgehog then proceeded to kick the red echidna which sent him five feet upwards, then completed his combo by finally landing that sidekick he wanted which threw Knuckles seven feet away from Shadow.

Taking his left hand, Shadow charged a yellow bolt of Chaos Energy from his hand before chucking it at Knuckles, shouting, "Chaos Spear!"

Knuckles, however, managed to roll into a ball to recover from the attack before punching the incoming bolt of concentrated Chaos Energy at him, causing the ground ten feet away from him to combust and damage the battlefield with a scorch mark.

Over at the stands, Sally took out her computer and prompted NICOLE to record the battle while adding on to the files she had created to contain information regarding new Freedom Fighters and associates, which include both Shadow and Knuckles respectively. Needless to say, the princess was impressed with both of their abilities so far.

Bunnie voiced her opinion saying, "Hoo boy! Thus iz better than watchin' uh sideshow at uh rodeo!"

"I could barely see zem move. Zey are fastair zan my eyes could be keeping up." Antoine expressed, rubbing his eyes with his hands.

From there, Sally said, "Hold on, Ant. NICOLE, could you project a holo screen for the others?"

"Affirmative, Sally." The AI spoke through the handheld as a light blue construct beamed from the screen and created a large projection for her friends and the rest of Team Dark.

Rouge whistled, saying, "That's what I call upscaled quality! Thanks for the tech support, Princess."

Sally nodded then said, "I can see why Tails described both of them as rivals to Sonic. They are both capable of anticipating and reacting to similar speeds to him. Both of them are extraordinarily impressive in their own rights."

"You talk as if they're already done," Rouge said while flashing a coy smile. "They're just warming up."

"What?" Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine said at the same time before the princess continued with, "But this was supposed to be a spar."

Rouge shook her head at the Knothole Freedom Fighters, saying, "You guys must think that Big Blue is the only one with destructive power. Boy, you guys haven't seen anything yet."

While the girls in the Acornian militia's mouths parted open, the wild imagination regarding chaotically powerful beings like Metallix caused Antoine's old anxiety to resurface as he began to sweat.

"U-Um, w-what iz it a-are you saying to us?" The Mobian coyote stuttered while trying to keep his calm composure."

The former E-Series machine answered for his comrade, stating, "WHAT ROUGE IS IMPLYING IS THAT KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA AND SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG HAVE YET TO UNLEASH THEIR TRUE POWER. I CAN ATTEST TO THIS AS I HAVE DONE BATTLE WITH KNUCKLES HIMSELF ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS AND HAVE DATA FILES ON THE FEATS SHADOW HAS PERFORMED THROUGHOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP."

This prompted the Freedom Fighters to refocus on the spar between the two powerful fighters as Rouge giggled to herself about their reactions.

"Not bad, Shadow. Your kicks did more damage than Sonic's legs." Knuckles commented while rubbing one of his cheeks with his left hand.

Shadow pointed out, "While there is an edge to him, I'm not nearly as soft as he can be. And neither are you."

"There's no arguing about that." Knuckles nodded as he bumped his fists together again. "Let's skip the warmup. I got a new trick that I came up with, and I've been meaning to test it out."

"Okay, show me." Shadow allowed while crossing his arms.

Knuckles balled his fists together before crossing his arms in the form of an "x".

"Heat Break!" The echidna cried.

Focusing on his inner hidden potential, Knuckles began to emit red lightning from his body and irises, much like Sonic's recently discovered blue lightning. From there, Knuckles surrounded himself in a dark red and violet aura after two violet orbs circled him. However, instead of keeping that aura to empower his entire body, Knuckles channeled the power around him and moved it directly to his fists which began to spark with red electricity before being shrouded in heat.

Taking one hand, Knuckles crashed his fist into the ground. But instead of a standard shockwave, Knuckles' seismic attack manipulated the earth beneath the echidna, shaping it into super-heated spikes that protrude to skewer the target.

And the target happened to be Shadow the Hedgehog.

"Oh, mah stars! Hay can make thuh earth move around!?" Bunnie cried.

Rouge giggled at the cyborg, saying, "Why not? If Sonic can control the wind, Knuckles can control the earth."

Shadow jumped in the air before activating the hover feature of his Jet Shoes by applying its thrusters.

"What the hell!? Since when can he-" Shadow questioned before a red blur rushed above him as Knuckles swung his fists downwards in a spike-slam, executing a Meteor Punch that sent Shadow sprawling into the ground.

This resulted in a giant tremor that shook the entire stadium, causing the others besides the unflinching Omega.

Thankfully, Shadow managed to land on his feet while rubbing the reasonably-sized bruise on the top of his that Knuckles inflicted upon him.

"D-Damn it!" Shadow groaned as he slowly got up from the attack. The black hedgehog realized out loud, "T-The echidna can still move fast? But I could have sworn that he was using-!"

Sensing his opponent dashing toward him, Shadow used Chaos Control to warp out of the way of a Knuckles using the Drill Claw attack.

Knuckles, the rest of Team Dark, and the Freedom Fighters looked around the battlefield. They eventually found him floating with his Jet Shoes thirty feet above them.

"Looks lahk Shadow's keepin' his distance." Bunnie pointed out in the stands.

Antoine nodded in agreement, saying, "Zat would be a wise decision."

"I wonder what was that red light that surrounded him," Sally said loud enough for Rouge to hear.

"It seemed to be his Maximum Heat," Rouge answered as he crossed her legs. "But I never seen him use it like that before."

"I'm sorry? Maximum Heat?" Sally inquired to the agent with the other Freedom Fighter looking at the remaining members of Team Dark.

"THE MAXIMUM HEAT ATTACK IS AN ABILITY THAT KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA USES TO INCREASE THE PHENOMENAL POWER THAT HE ALREADY HAS, NO DIFFERENT TO SONIC AND SHADOW'S LIGHTSPEED ATTACK," Omega explained, showing Knuckles' normal technique in the past in a small red projection using his eyes.

"Rouge, you said that Knuckles was using that power differently." Sally reminded her new colleague.

The former jewel thief stated, "Knuckie usually cloaks his whole body with whatever energy that's from his body to enhance his power at the cost of his speed being reduced. I still don't think it's Chaos Energy, though I forget to ask him about it. Anyway, he would then unleash a powerful flurry of strikes while gliding in the air."

Sally nodded as the chipmunk saw her digital friend on the handheld's screen add data from the information collected, saying, "I guess that makes sense if the potential energy he's storing inside of him increases Knuckles' density."

"W-What iz he doing, now!?" Antoine questioned in a shout, causing everybody to refocus back to the battlefield.

Slamming one of his fists into the ground yet again while applying Chaos Energy this time around, Knuckles manipulated the earth from under him to a greater extent. Out of nowhere, two rows of three fifteen feet tall pillars sprung up from the ground, shocking everybody that watched except Omega.

"Since when!?" Rouge shouted in bewilderment as she looked at Knuckles' greater use of geokinesis. "Since when!?"

"Wait, y'all dun told us that Knuckles could move stone! Ya mean to tell us that ya'll didn't know he could make stuff with it?" Bunnie asked as she turned to Rouge.

Rouge loudly responded, saying, "Look, I've seen the guy tear slabs of concrete and gravel and chuck it like they were sports balls! But that's it! The moron never told me that he could shape the earth to his will, let alone show it to me!"

As the others continued to watch Knuckles used his retained agility to swiftly jump and climb from pillar to pillar using his hands' spikes to get closer to his opponent. Shadow took this time to think about Knuckles' new ability until he figured out a possible answer.

'...So that's what he did. The red echidna did use the Maximum Heat Attack, but not on his whole body. That's why he was able to keep up with me. Clever.' Shadow thought to himself as he conjured another bolt of yellow Chaos Energy from his hand in the air.

As the bolt of yellow turned a chaotic red as it shaped into a construct of an energy javelin; the Chaos Lance.

'...I'll have to keep my distance until you're worn down!' Shadow declared with his attack charged enough.

Tossing the attack, the Chaos Lance was split into six smaller red bolts of energy that were launched at Knuckles. The echidna used his speed to avoid these bolts of energy, causing the smaller lances to detonate upon colliding with one pillar that shattered. Shadow kept this up for four more pillars, destroying them with his advanced version of Chaos Spear.

Down to his second-to-last pillar, Knuckles saw Shadow readying himself to launch another Chaos Lance while hanging on one spiked hand that was in the pillar.

Knuckles extended his right fist which was coated in the red and purple aura and channeled green Chaos Energy from the space between his spikes. From there, sparks of green electricity were generated for a few seconds.

"Take this!" Knuckles shouted before firing a blast that quickly split off into a volley of arcing emerald-colored electric arrows that intercepted Shadow's Chaos Lances upon being tossed, resulting in explosions of green and red.

This attack was the Knuckles Tribe's mystical attack, the Thunder Arrow.

When the smoke obscured Shadow's vision, Knuckles had the opportunity to launch himself in the air in pursuit of Shadow. Sensing Knuckles approach him as a spiky ball, Shadow dove at Knuckles with an attack of his one as he curled into a ball himself and spun.

The two of them began to clash in mid-air, both striking against each other using the Homing Attack, creating a large surge of red and orange electricity that struck the ground and scorched it each time they rammed into one another.

After ten clashes, the two jumped back to the last pillars that were near one another as they stood on opposite ends.

Knuckles stood on the left while Shadow stood on the right.

"Whut on Mobius is them boys up to?" The Southern cyborg beauty questioned while in the front row seats of the stadium.

"Zey seems to be talking again. It iz too bad zat we cannot hear zem." Said Antoine.

"Hopefully they don't go overboard," Sally commented. "It's a good thing that we cleared out the place for today. Still, civilians in the area surrounding the stadium may mistake the tremors for an earthquake. We don't want any more commotions to startle them into a panic."

Omega responded, saying "I CAN RATIONALIZE YOUR REASONING, PRINCESS. UNFORTUNATELY, THE TWO COMBATANTS HAPPENED TO BE TWO INDIVIDUALS WITH THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE ABILITIES IN THE WORLD."

"He's right you know," Rouge smirked. "But I wouldn't worry too much about them. It looks like they are going to wrap things up."

"You surprise me, red echidna. What were those blasts of Chaos Energy you spawned? They functioned similarly to my Chaos Lance." Shadow questioned.

"It was an ancient technique that my people's guardians were required to learn at a certain age as a means of defending the Master Emerald. My father showed it to me when I was young before he died. It's called the Thunder Arrow."

"...I see." Shadow understood with a nod as he crossed his arms. "It's strong enough to match a stronger version of my Chaos Spear. I wouldn't doubt that you knew the function of this Thunder Arrow in the past, but you weren't powerful enough to handle the amount of energy needed to use it."

Knuckles said nothing, confirming Shadow's inference.

"Knuckles. That skill of yours. You called it Heat Break, right?" Shadow recalled. "Can it get any stronger?"

"I may have a higher state of it," Knuckles stated. "Why?"

"We're going to end this with one last attack," Shadow said matter of factly. "I'm going to take off one of my Inhibitor Rings and charge with a punch. That's one-fourth of my full power unrestrained without burning through my stamina. I want to see how strong your Heat Break is at its pinnacle.

Knuckles nodded, unconsciously tapping into the burning element within his soul as his right hand's heat immediately burst into flames.

This was Heat Break: Maximum Fire.

"Ready when you are Shadow." Knuckles said as he cocked back his blazing right fist.

Shadow nodded, taking off his left wrist's Inhibitor Ring and placing it in one of his flak jacket's pockets, causing an orange aura to cloak his left arm and spark with electricity.

In a great leap, the two Mobian met each other while slamming their fists into each other in a bright clash of punches. Much to their astonishment, their attacks were evenly matched.

In a couple of seconds, the collision of Chaos and fiery potential energy resulted in a great explosion that shattered the remaining pillars that Knuckles erected. The blast radius, fortunately, was small enough that it was contained within an eighth of the battlefield.

When the smoke emerged, the Freedom Fighters and the rest of Team Dark saw Shadow and Knuckles relatively well (albeit with minor scratches and bruises).

"So much for not going overboard." The princess muttered out loud.

"...It's a tie?" Bunnie quired, tilting her head.

"It appeared to be so." Antoine said, looking at the battlefield after moving his hands from his eyes.

'Zank Chaos it iz over…' The Coyote sighed mentally.

The two stood up and inspected their arms.

Shadow saw that there was no damage and placed his green Inhibitor Ring back on his left.

Knuckles, however, held his right arm while feeling the strain and exhaustion from the attack.

'Damn! I'm at my limit. Now I can't use this arm for a while.' Knuckles mentally grunted, cradling his burnt arm.

Shadow approached his opponent, then said, "You've grown stronger since our battle against that creature four months ago. Which is good. But…"

"...It's not enough against him, is it?" Knuckles asked with a frown on his face.

Shadow scowled while thinking about Metallix.

"Not even close. At least we have an idea of where the two of us are currently." Shadow said while thinking out loud. "You're physically stronger than me and can take a lot more punishment than I. But I still have the speed and utility advantage with my Chaos powers. And with your new Heat Break and Thunder Arrow abilities, you could match my Chaos form at your current peak. We just have to work on limiting the drawbacks of the former ability."

"...We?" Knuckles echoed in mild surprise. "You're willing to help me out?"

"Normally, I'd leave you to your own devices. But these are desperate times, Knuckles. Times that we will need all the help that we're going to get if we are to survive the peril ahead. I've learned from my past experiences." Shadow said as he recalled the ARK falling to Mobius, Metal Overlord nearly taking over the entire world, the Black Comet approaching the planet, and Nazo nearly stealing the Chaos Emeralds along with the Master Emerald. "As an ally and a user of Chaos, I am fully capable of teaching you what I know to assist your training if you allow me."

Knuckles then saw the black hedgehog offer a handshake. The echidna sensed that the former antagonist had a vast amount of sincerity in him. Because of this, the echidna met Shadow halfway and took the hedgehog's left hand with his own left hand while smiling at Shadow.

"I'd be honored to be under your tutelage, Shadow," Knuckles answered.

Shadow smiled, saying, "Hmph! You chose well."

---

-Timeskip, Two Days Later, Civic Center, New Mobotropolis, Acornia-

Sonic did not enjoy his visit to the therapist yesterday. Just the thought of a guy who was licensed and hired to poke and prod into his mind and feelings rubbed him the wrong way. It made him rather skittish.

His therapist was…okay, to say the least. His name was Dr. Ron Bartholomew or Dr. Bart, as Sonic called him. The Mobian was a large middle-aged Great Dane with dark brown fur, graying messy hair, a pair of eyeglasses, a red turtleneck, brown trousers, and black loafers.

The session went nowhere, to say the least. Sonic barely answered any question that was given to him by the professional. The Blue Blur used tactics such as his famous charisma, snarky quips, and deflections to divert the attention away from himself. The Mobian hound shook his head internally from these attempts, having seen all of the teenager's methods. And while he'll admit that the Azurite seemed bright and full of energy, he could immediately tell that here, Sonic's eyes were dull and bangs under them. The smile he had worn on his face was stiff and artificial. And during Sonic's responses, Dr. Bart could hear and see the cynicism etched in his tone and body language, which were the long things he jotted down outside his physical symptoms of depression.

Needless to say, a phone call from Sir Charles later and the two decided to expedite Sonic's inclusion in Dr. Bart's group therapy.

Hence, Sonic arrived at the civic center.

As the hedgehog wheeled himself over to one of the multi-purpose rooms assigned to him. The hedgehog then knocked on the closed door, prompting the familiar face of Dr. Ron Bartholomew, who smiled at the teenager's hooded appearance.

"Good to see you, Oliver, you arrived just in time, come in."

Much to Sonic's surprise, he spotted a familiar middle-aged male Mongoose. But instead of wearing his knightly attire, he was in his civilian clothing in the form of a basic white collared shirt, red trousers, and a pair of tan work boots.

"...Sir Arthur?" Sonic uttered in shock.

"Welcome to the group, kid," Arthur frowned while not bothering to look at him. "Get used to these walls. You're going to be seeing them for a while."

Sonic paused when he smelled the air and found a familiar foul stench coming from the mongoose's mouth.

'...Has he been drinking?' The hedgehog pondered.

Sonic slowly turned his head back to his therapist as he heard Dr. Bart introduced him to the other patients.

"Oliver, these people are on their road to healing, much like yourself." Dr. Bart stated, going over everybody present.

Looking over to where Arthur was sitting, Dr. Bart said, "You're probably already acquainted with Arthur Mongoose."

The Mongoose didn't even stare at the teenager but snorted loudly.

Sonic's face dimmed in irritation as he thought to himself, '...How charmin'.'

Dr. Bart said, pointing his hand toward another seat where a young adult Mobian pig wearing a green and white business suit and black shoes occupied,, "Here, we have Hamlin Porker. He's a few years older than you but around your generation."

The pig casually greeted, "Long time no see, Oliver."

"...You know who I am?" Sonic asked while blinking in surprise.

"Uh, duh. Did you think that you were friends with The Original Four? There were more of us out on the field than you realize," Hamlin revealed. "The handful of children that made it to Knothole during that night and reached it sometime after were all trained to take arms and fight for our kingdom. I and the others would have been a part of a great body of field members of Freedom Fighters today …At least, that was the plan before she passed."

"Huh? Before for who?" Sonic asked out of curiosity.

"...Mina." Arthur said out of bitterness and sadness. "He's talking about my daughter, Mina."

Sonic, still wearing his hooded red jacket, looked down a bit.

"Because of the people we lost on that same day, the extended operatives like us to work in the sidelines until the Day Of Reckoning where any and every one was needed on the battlefield. After the king's return, the Freedom Fighters' field operatives dropped, reduced to only allowing the Original Four to go out on missions. That was until you and your other friends came along." Hamlin finished, taking a bitter undertone. "Meanwhile, the rest of us were forced to retire by the order of the king and take menial jobs. We were out in the trenches and fought for our lives and our country, yet never got acknowledged for doing our part."

Sonic flinched a bit before thinking to himself, '...Was this what Sally meant when she was talking about her past mistakes?'

Next off, Dr. Bart directed Sonic's focus to a female light blue Mobian beetle with a lighter exoskeleton and rainbow highlights. She wore a pink jacket with a matching pink miniskirt, white gloves, navy cufflinks, navy stockings, and pink high heels.

"This is Jennifer Stone, but everyone calls her Jewel." The therapist stated.

The beetle, who sat on the folded chair, quietly looked at the hedgehog's face as shyly waved at him.

"H-Hi!" The girl squeaked lightly, resisting the urge to hide in her carapace.

"Yo," Sonic said, giving the pink eye colored girl a peace sign using his left hand.

Dr. Bart then said as he turned Sonic's wheelchair around, "And lastly, but certainly Randal Atticus, but you know him better as Rotor."

"Rotor!?" Sonic repeated out of shock as he saw the large walrus, who was now muscular like a weightlifter.

"Hey, Sonic. It's been a hot minute, huh?" The mechanic stated, now sporting a pair of black-fingered yellow gloves, yellow goggles, and a pair of black and white shoes with yellow cuffs.

"Dude! I can barely even recognize you! You got so swoll!" Sonic shouted out of impulse while pointing to the walrus' fit form. "...What happened to you?"

Rotor rubbed his neck sheepishly, saying, "The craziness of last month got me so stressed out, I started to do things to clear my head. Apart from this, I started working on myself; changing my diet, stretching, exercising, and lifting weights. All of that resulted in my new look."

Sonic nodded before saying, " While I get that, how come you're over here?"

"We've all got stuff to work on, Sonic. And stuff like this takes time." Rotor stated cryptically. "I'm no different."

'I wonder what he means by that? Come to think of it, outside of Antoine, I don't really know a whole lot about Rotor. Come to think of it, where are his parents?' Sonic pondered in his mind.

"Now that all of you have been officially introduced, let's all share a little bit about ourselves before we start with our daily activities." The Mobian Great Dane said. "Do remember that what will be said here stays in this room. It is a confidential meeting, of course. So please keep these sessions to yourselves. Now, who would like to go first, hm?"

Hamlin raised his hand, prompting the doctor to call on him to go first.

"As the doctor said, my name is Hamlin Porker. I'm in my early twenties. I work at The Acorn Press as a reporter. I am an aspiring novelist." The pig said with pride before taking a deep breath while he made his soft-spoken confession. "...And I struggle with an inferiority complex."

The others, besides Sonic, clapped for the pig for sharing with the group.

"Very good, Hamlin. That was wonderful. Thanks for sharing." Praised the doctor. "Who would like to share next?"

When looking around, he saw that Rotor raised his clawed hand.

"Yes, Randal?"

The twenty-year-old walrus stated, "Hi, again. I'm Randal, but I prefer the name Rotor. I am one of the Original Four. Outside of my work as the mechanic of the militia, I am currently trying to start a business with a friend of mine. And…I am a survivor of domestic abuse. I ha-have problems with my father."

Sonic's lips parted in shock, not believing what his comrade had told him.

'...Abuse!? He was abused as a kid!?' Sonic thought to himself. 'How did I miss this!? The others have had to know about this. There's no way they were blind about it. …Goes to show how much that I know about them, huh?'

As the others clapped, Dr. Bart said, "A job well done, Randal. You've come a long way since coming here on your first day. Thank you. Okay, who's up next?"

The shy beetle slowly raised her hand, catching everybody's attention.

"Oh? Jennifer! What a lovely surprise! Do go on and share something with us." Dr. Bart said with an encouraging smile.

"Um, hello. M-My name's Jewel," Beetle said loudly enough for everybody to hear her despite her naturally quiet voice.

Sonic mentally noted, 'Huh. Her demeanor kind of reminds me of Sonar a little bit.'

The girl continued, poking her index fingers together, "...I, um…I'm in my twenties, too. I run… a jewelry shop that my mother passed on to me. I-I have trouble going outside. Meeting new people. And I-I…I have high anxiety."

Dr. Bart clapped along with everyone else (Sonic included).

"Astounding job, Jennifer! You managed to overcome your fears and let out your true feelings! That is a success!" The doctor noted, prompting the young adult to blush pink from her muzzle.

Turning to Arthur, Dr. Bartholomew asked in a lower, caring, and cautious tone, "Arthur, are you feeling like sharing today? You don't have to-"

The dark brown Great Dane's sentence was interrupted by a hand that was raised by the knight as he said, "-No, I'll do it."

Dr. Bartholomew nodded, allowing the older man to speak to the group.

"I'm Arthur Mongoose," Arthur stoically said, recalling his past. "I was born in Lazuciel, the capital of the fallen Azuron Kingdom. I was a part of the last monarch's elite guard, Order of the Azure before my motherland was decimated. I eventually fled and took refuge in Mobotropolis and started anew. I swore allegiance to the king of this land, was knighted, found love, and discovered the joys of fatherhood."

Sonic found himself listening carefully, now knowing that the older knight was connected to him in a certain way. The young blue hedgehog could see the bitterness in the mammal's face festering as a hardened expression appeared.

"...And then, one day, just like in Azuron, I lost everything." The Mongoose spat as his eyes were closed. "And it wasn't even like the Great War or the coup. Instead, little by little, I was stripped of my home, my love, and the very pride and joy that I swore to always protect. In fact, today would have been her fifteenth birthday if she was still with us. Now, I find that my home has been restored and my king has returned. Although, it doesn't fill the gaping hole that was left by my family's passing due to my failures. Nothing does, not even the bottle that I have indulged in for years. So, I sit here with all of you today because I've realized that I have a problem. I've had one for a very long time. And I want to better myself, for my new home and to move on from this pain. Thank you."

This prompted an even louder round of applause from the group, with Sonic joining in. If one could look, one could see that Jewel and Rotor shedding a few tears from the heartfelt yet somber speech from the older Mobian.

"That was powerful, Arthur. I knew you could share, but I never thought it would be to this extent. Simply inspiring, sir." Dr. Bart applauded as he soon turned to Sonic. "Oliver? Do you feel up to sharing today?"

Sonic fell quiet, not knowing what he could possibly contribute. But each time he tried to dig deep into a certain mental vault that he had stored and locked away subconsciously, his calm was turned into an immediate panic as flashes of flames, hellish grins, and a silhouette of somebody getting impaled would bombard his mind to the point where it nearly sent him on the edge of insanity.

So, he refused to even entertain the notion for the sake of not having a mental breakdown.

Sonic leaned against his wheelchair with his hood on with an impassive expression as his arms rested on his thighs, folded inward.

"...Pass." The blue hedgehog said softly, averting his eyes to the floor.

The other patients looked at Sonic, though not out of scrutiny. Rotor appeared the most concerned out of the four of them.

Dr. Bart knew that the teenager would be reluctant to reveal anything. But the teenager's previous interactions with the group proved useful to him. If Sonic continued to attend his weekly visits in group therapy, the Mobian could properly examine him. Potentially, the therapist could diagnose Sonic to get to treating the young man's condition so long as he stayed on track.

"That's alright, Oliver. This is only your first day. A few of these people have been here for years." Dr. Bart said to Sonic, prompting the injured wheelchair-bound teen to look directly at him. "As you continue your path of healing, you'll eventually find yourself opening up little by little. It'll only be a matter of time before the opportunity will arise. But you will have to be the one to yearn to take initiative."

Sonic nodded silently before the doctor moved on to other activities with the rest of the group.

-Timeskip, Two Hours Later, New Mobotropolis-

Sonic kept himself scarce around the citizens of New Mobotropolis as he rolled himself in the least populated streets of the city. The time spent with the group therapy session didn't help him at all. At least, not in his opinion. As a matter of fact, he was the first one to head out of the door. While he felt for his group mates and their troubles, the constant talk of "healthy living" and "road to recovery" quickly got on his nerves.

Yes! He was a normal guy just like any other person on Mobius. And guys tend to have issues as they go through the great race that Sonic calls life. But that doesn't mean he's crazy!

Metallix's power caught him off guard and left him relatively shaken, he could admit that. The hero had lost his old home, South Island. Not to mention, having his leg nearly shattered did tremendous damage to the boy's pride, set a shock to his body for over a month, and slowly sent his emotions spiraling into a decline. But could you blame him? All of these things happened so fast in rapid succession that even he couldn't keep up. But, that doesn't mean that he wasn't mentally sound!

Sonic was fine! Nothing was wrong with him!

All he needed to do was ride the wave and play in the stupid group therapy for a little while and get his leg fixed up, and presto! He'd be back in the fight to help his friends find the rest of the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald shards in no time!

But how was the hedgehog going to go about speeding the physical healing process of his broken leg? His healing factor was great, but the acceleration wasn't nearly as fast to solely rely on thanks to the severity of the injury. The teen was desperate, but not even he would stoop so low as to take any drugs so that was ruled out. And due to his experience with Ixis Magick, Sonic refused to deal with any sort of magic or spells.

Sonic thought about it long and hard as he slowly navigated around the city until his eyes lit up with an idea.

"Ha, ha! Who needs magic when you have Chaos!" Sonic thought while snapping his gloved middle finger and thumb. "...Aw, man! I forgot the king forced me to fork over the blue Emerald! …Guess I got to ask around for a favor then. Dang it."

Sonic then took out a phone made of a blend of fiberglass and titanium. Its design was reminiscent of a Kyocera DuraXE flip phone and was primarily blue and grey with yellow frames on the body and around the screen. It had a blue silhouette of Sonic's head on the back with a white outline and the buttons had yellow outlines that resembled gold rings while the larger button in the center resembled a Red Star Ring.

This specific model was a phone created for Sonic, aptly named the 32X Neptune.

After pressing a few buttons, the phone rang before an elderly man's voice spoke on the other line.

"Hey, Uncle. …Yeah, I stayed the whole time." Sonic answered, speaking with Sir Charles. "It was alright. Still somethin' I gotta get used to. …I know he's just tryin' to help and all. Can I stay outside for a little bit? …'Cause I wanna meet up with a few friends. …Oh, ya know, Knuckles, Amy, possibly Shadow. …Well, I don't wanna bother the others since…ya know. Freedom Fighter business? …Look, I'll see them some other time soon, okay? Just not now. Yes, I promise. Hedgehog's honor. …Okay, I will. Love you too, old man. Heh heh, okay, see ya later."

Sonic sighed as he put the phone back in his jacket pocket. As he found himself crossing the street and made it near the entrance to the park, a voice called out to him as he was passing by the gate.

"Oliver?"

Sonic stopped to see Princess Sally. The teen noticed that the chipmunk's auburn hair grew in length, with it now reaching down past her neck and to her upper back. She wore a white shirt that showed off her midriff over a baby blue vest, white bottoms with a black leather belt wrapped around her waist, a black choker, baby blue gloves with small thin black cuffs, and baby blue boots with a holster on the right boot that held NICOLE's handheld hardware in it.

Sonic's initial reaction was to frown. While he understood why Sally ultimately made the choice to push her father into being barred from the team, it did hurt him. Not to mention that the girl blatantly used information that was privately disclosed to her ears against him which led to the very mandate that was placed on the blue hedgehog. By no means does Sonic hate Sally. It wasn't in his heart, for one, and for some strange reason, there was something about the girl that he couldn't bring himself to hate.

It was a warm, weird feeling, but he disregarded it as his soft spot for the princess was replaced by a heightened sense of unease and weariness.

After all, after his break up with Breezie, Sonic swore to never allow himself to be used by anybody ever again.

"Good mornin', Princess." Sonic nodded formally, prompting the girl's initially bright smile to thin as she could clearly see that her old friend was not too excited to see her. "Been a hot minute, huh?"

'...Something's wrong.' The girl concluded before trying to approach a conversation with Sonic in a civil and friendly manner once more.

"Yes, it has. It's good to see you up and about." Sally expressed before explaining herself. "I heard you were allowed to leave the hospital. I planned to visit you sooner, but-"

"-It's fine." Sonic said abruptly, holding out a hand from one of his armrests. "No need to explain yourself. When you're needed elsewhere, you gotta do what you gotta do. Am I right?"

Sally hesitated for a second before awkwardly nodding, saying, "R-Right…"

"Let's talk elsewhere," Sally advised, prompting Sonic to nod as he followed her to a nearby tree away from most of the citizens.

The girl looked at the cast on the teenager's leg, noticing how stiff and uncomfortable it looked on Sonic. She did this for a split second before staring back onto Sonic's eyes.

"...How's your leg? Is it getting any better?" The princess asked delicately.

Sonic bluntly made his disdain for the cast known, saying, "It's fine, I guess. It's still swollen, so I can't really feel it half the time. I can't stand this stupid cast, though. What are you doin' out here? Is it an off-day for ya?"

The field leader shook her head stating, "No, I just came back from the coliseum a few hours ago. I've been light sparring with Amy recently. She packs quite a punch as a hand-to-hand combatant."

Sonic gasped in shock as he retreated to his mind.

'...Okay, what!? Since when did Amy and Sally get all buddy-buddy? I've only been knocked out for over a month! What the heck did I miss!? It's like I don't even know what's happenin' anymore! It's like I'm bein' left out of the adventure!' Sonic thought to himself. 'What's next, is Knuckles gonna start hangin' out with Shadow? '

Sonic blinked for a few seconds before responding, slowly saying, "...That's great to hear, ya know? The two of you, gettin' along and stuff…"

The two fell silent for a moment, neither looking at the other as there was obvious tension between the pair over an unspoken issue. Sally, of course, being the more outgoing of the two, decided to speak first once more.

"You know, this won't last forever, Sonic," Sally reassured. "It'll take time, but you're going to get past this. You just have to be patient for a while."

Sonic closed his eyes and took a deep breath before evenly saying, "For an average Mobian, a few weeks is a long time. But they have other devices for them to keep themselves busy and pass the time relatively quickly. But I ain't average, Princess. My perception of time is unlike any normal person out there. I can feel myself weakening every moment because I haven't been able to run."

Pointing at his leg, then the wheelchair, he continued, "This, to me, is hell. Utter torment. A while, to you, feels like an eternity to me. So, I apologize if I seem to be as impatient as a toddler."

Sally furrowed her eyebrows, at the last comment, saying, "I didn't say that!"

"No you didn't, but I know when I'm being spoken to as if I am one." Sonic shot back evenly. "Your father and Uncle Chuck are one thing, but I ain't taking it from anybody else, Sally. Not even from you."

"Hey! I didn't mean it like-!" Sally paused before sighing, trying not to let her emotions overcome her logical mind and sense of reasoning as she shook her head and tried to de-escalate the situation. "I'll admit that my phrasing was in poor taste. But you know that it wasn't my intent for those words to come off as such. And I don't appreciate this foul attitude that you're giving me."

Sonic tilted his head to the left slightly, then recentered as he nodded.

"Fair enough," The hedgehog admitted before narrowing his eyes ever so slightly to where his eyes pierced through Sally's soul with his haunting gaze. "And while on the topic of that, let's just get cut to the chase and settle this matter. Understand the why of it, but I don't appreciate my words being used against me."

"What are you talking abou-?"

"-I know about the meetin', Princess." Sonic flatly clarified, causing her to freeze. "Your dad filled me in on some things which included my status being revoked, certain things that were said, and who was involved in it."

Sally, while she wasn't too surprised at the reveal, still felt her throat dry as guilt began to boil. But then, the chipmunk remembered what Knuckles and Shadow told her and Tails before her resolve returned.

"...It had to be done, Sonic," Sally responded firmly but low enough for her to mean business. "You didn't give much of a choice. I wish things were different right now, but my father, the Freedom Fighters, your friends, and even myself, all stand by what was adjourned by the council. And even at this very moment, you're proving to us that we made the right call."

Sonic remained silent for a moment, then asked in a saddened, "...You think I'm crazy, too?"

"Nobody said that you're clinically insane, Sonic." Sally frowned, crossing her arms as her face softened a bit. "But I worry about your mental state. We all do. Tails, especially. But for whatever reason, you're too stubborn to admit it."

Sonic groaned, "For the last time, nothin' is wrong with me!"

Sally tilted her head this time, not buying the hedgehog's words.

"Who are you trying to convince here? Me, or yourself?" Sally asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer.

Sonic let out an exasperated sigh before placing his left gloved hand on his left cheek.

"...Anyway, would you happen to know where Knuckles maybe?" Sonic asked, which earned Sonic a raised eyebrow from the princess.

"...I may know where he could be. But why would you ask?" Sally questioned back, giving her childhood friend "The Look".

Sonic chose to strategically shift his head away from Sally to avoid shrinking from her deadly gaze.

"N-No reason. Just wanted to talk to one of my best buds." Sonic stuttered before whistling.

Sally's face fell in a deadpan manner, thinking to herself, '...He's up to something. Why would he suddenly want to see Knuckles when it's abundantly clear that he's been avoiding everybody since he was discharged from the hospital? He didn't even bother asking how everybody was doing, let alone how my day was going.'

Suddenly, Sally looked at Sonic's broken leg, remembered one of Knuckles' abilities that he used to heal others, and then put two and two together.

"...I know what you're up to," Sally stated.

"Come again?" Sonic asked, turning back and staring at the princess.

"I know what you're trying to do," Sally spoke again, now looking at Sonic with an aura of disapproval and disappointment surrounding her as she placed her hands on her hips. "It's not going to work."

Sonic gave her a cynical smirk, saying, "What? Does your magic let ya read minds or somethin'?"

"It doesn't take a tactician or a magic user to figure out when somebody's being desperate." Sally countered back with her own smirk.

Sonic winced at her comeback, then shook it off. "Fine, you caught me. Look, are you going to tell me or not? Cause if not, I'll get out of your hair and search the long way."

Much to Sonic's surprise, Sally said, "Oh, no. I'll tell you where I've last seen him. I just hope that you wouldn't go through with it. I thought that perhaps you were better than that."

Sonic shook his head for ten seconds, saying, "You don't understand. This thing has to come off me! I have to run again! I can't stay like this any longer!"

"Oh, good grief, Oliver! "Your leg will heal properly! It's just a cast!" Sally said with frustration.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE DAMN CAST!" Sonic shouted in an outburst, prompting Sally to swiftly go silent as she jumped a bit. "...I can still hear him! Whispering in my ears as I sleep at night! Every time when I'm in the dark, I swear I can see his eyes following my every movement! There are nights when I dream that everybody I know and love was slaughtered because I was too slow to stop him! That…thing haunts me, taunting me every single day since that incident! And…And…!"

Sonic took his time to breathe as he and Sally realized other people were looking in their direction. The blue hedgehog also found that tears ran down his cheeks, so he wiped his face off with his long sleeve.

"Sonic, I didn't know that this was affecting you this badly-"

"-Of course, you didn't," Sonic said, cutting her off. "That's 'cause I didn't want anybody to see how I feel. Call this selfish, I ain't denyin' it to be. But I need my leg to be healed as soon as possible. My freedom isn't just for my leisure, it helps others. And I'll be damned if I allow ANY of my friends to die on my watch while I still have the power to save and protect them."

Now, it all made sense to the princess. It wasn't just a hero complex or a need to seek thrills. It was clear to Sally that her friend has some sort of abandonment issue. And Sonic was afraid of losing his friends. However, she could also see the flaws behind this logic.

"...Okay, I'll tell you where he is." Sally relented, causing Sonic to gaze at her in awe. "But you have to remember this. Even with all of the power in the world, nobody, not even the Fastest Thing Alive can save everyone. Trust me, I understand that more than you realize. And Knuckles doesn't strike me as a person who would allow you to take shortcuts."

Sonic turned away from Sally, sighing as he said, "...I know, Red. I know. But I have to at least try."

Sally thought to herself, concluded, '...Daddy's right. There's no convincing him. He's going to have to learn his lesson the hard way. This won't end well.'

Sally sighed before telling Sonic the echidna's location, sending Sonic on his way after he thanked her and apologized for his composure.

-Twenty Minutes Later, With Knuckles-

Sonic felt like complete garbage right now. He knew that he was in the wrong, deep down. Sally was correct. He shouldn't be trying to use his friends to serve his own agenda. Sure, he just wanted his leg to be healed. But it wasn't about the leg, but the principle behind it.

But he couldn't sit idly by. Metallix, Eggman, and/or Eggman could strike at any given moment, and with each passing day, his power was decreasing. His body was weakening slowly from the lack of constant running. If they were to survive, he had to speed up the process to get himself back in the action.

Surely, Knuckles could understand. Chaos, Sonic hoped so.

Within twenty minutes after he parted ways with the princess, Sonic eventually found Knuckles around a local Chao Garden where he stood in front of a fountain.

Sonic smirked, thinking, '...Bingo!'

As Sonic wheeled towards the echidna's direction, Sonic shouted, "Hey, Knucklehead!"

The echidna turned around from the fountain, only to find his old friend up and about.

The older teen folded his arms while a toothy grin formed on his face.

"Well, I'll be damned! Look who's back from the dead." Knuckles said, walking over to his wheelchair-bound friend. "How have you been, Hedgehog?"

Sonic chuckled a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his covered neck as he said, "I've been better, Knux..."

"That's fair. I don't think you've ever broken any of your legs before. But enough about that. Have you visited Tails yet?" Knuckles questioned. "He's been meaning to see you for a minute, but he knows that you had business to take care of. You know, with therapy and such."

Hearing Tails' name struck a guilty chord in Sonic. Much like Sally, he wasn't angry or upset with the kid. That was his little brother and his best friend. But much like with Sally, he was still hurt at the fact that he had been a part of the meeting regarding where he stood in the Freedom Fighters. Yet again, this feeling of distrust felt misplaced, after all, it was his own fault for not saying anything about his feelings beforehand. But how could he? He needed to stay strong for Tails, he was his older brother. Just as everybody else looked up to and depended on him, he had to remain on top of his game at all times. Just the thought of the complexity of this matter hurt Sonic's head and caused him to be ashamed of his actions at the same time.

Sonic slowly shook his hooded head, saying, "...To be honest, I haven't seen the guy since I came back from the hospital. The only people that saw since…you know, were Cream, Ms. Vanilla, Ames, Rotor, and the princess. And I wasn't lookin' to really speak with Sally, I just ran into her before I got here."

Knuckles' eyes widened as he said, "What?"

Sonic winced at this, already seeing that the larger echidna was not taking his answer well.

"Sonic, you need to go and speak to Tails as soon as you get the chance. For some reason, that kid thinks that he's on your shit list or something, so he's afraid of even approaching your direction."

Sonic gasped before face palming and letting out a groan, saying, "No! You're serious!? Why would Tails think I have anything against him?"

"I don't know, but you better get to fixing that soon, Sonic. He's a nervous wreck." Knuckles ordered sternly, with Sonic nodding his head in agreement.

"I will as soon as I can. Promise." Sonic answered before moving on to his main objective after an awkward pause. "...Knuckles, do you think you can help me out with something?"

Knuckles could tell that something was off with the blue hedgehog from the hint of shame and meekness that was in his soft and low tone.

The guardian tilted his head, asking "What's the problem?"

"I can feel my body's energy slippin' away. I think it's been like that since I've been admitted to the hospital a month ago. It may have somethin' to do with me not being able to run." Sonic explained, bearing lifting his broken leg in its stiffen state. "Do you think you can do that healin' thing? As you did with Tails so that I can at least get me out of this cast?"

Knuckles glanced at Sonic's broken leg, the back at the hedgehog himself before giving a straight answer, "...No."

"What? Aw, Come on, Knux! I know you can do it."

"Hedgehog, I'm not going to help you cheat your way back to the Freedom Fighters." Knuckles said plain and simple while glaring at him. "And frankly, I'm insulted that you think I'd do it because we're friends."

"Wait a sec, it's not about the team!" Sonic interjected. "I can live with the fact that I ain't a part of the cool kids club anymore. And I'm still plannin' on following through with the therapy! I gave the king my word! I just want to at least walk again with my own two feet until I can run properly."

The guardian could see that the green-eyed teenager was telling the truth, but it didn't deter him from standing his ground, answering "My answer is still no."

"Why not?" Sonic asked, pressing forward.

"You already know that answer, Hedgehog. It's not about the leg, it's about you." Knuckles answered flatly with a bit of an edge to her tone.

Sonic's attitude flared as he inquired, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Knuckles heatedly shot back, "Figure it out. Now, leave me alone. I don't want to see your face for the rest of the day. And don't you dare forget your promise about Tails. Because if you do, I'll come over there and break your other leg."

And with that, Knuckles left a fuming yet quietly guilty Sonic sitting by himself while leaning his head against the back of his wheelchair.

'...Real smooth, Hedgehog. Real smooth. Guess I got to find Shadow next.'

-An Hour Later, With Shadow-

Unbeknownst to a lot of Sonic's friends, he and Shadow can sense each other's presence much better than anybody else ever since they merged and separated via Chaos Control. And while he proved so much easier to track down, having to wheel himself over to where the Lake of Rings was located.

Sonic found himself panting as he realized that he was tiring a lot more than he usually did.

'Damn, I'm losing more power than I thought.' Sonic thought to himself before Shadow and the lake came into view as he traveled along the dirt road.

Shadow felt Sonic's presence closing in on him ever-so closer. He internally groaned as he heard the blue hedgehog call out his name.

"Shadow! Hey, Shadow!"

'...Oh great, he's up.' Shadow thought as he grunted. 'What the hell does he want?'

As Sonic finally got closer, the teenager huffed as he ran a marathon.

"Woo! Man…I'm gettin' out of shape!" Sonic huffed before saying, "Shadow, buddy! How's it hangin'?"

Not even bothering to look at his former rival, Shadow said, "Why are you here, blue hedgehog?"

"Oh, you know. I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I would come and see my equal." Sonic answered casually.

Shadow turned to the wheelchair-bound hero with a leer, saying, "Don't bullshit me. The first person that you would see is the fox kit, and I haven't sensed you traveling over to his location since you got out of the hospital. You want something, that's what this is about."

Sonic instinctively reeled backwards, having realized that he's been found out.

'I should have known he'd figure it out, but not this quickly. Damn it, why am I afraid?' Sonic pondered as his heart raced as if he was a fearful child.

"Well, uh…"

"Out with it, or get lost." Shadow barked, crossing his arms.

"Could you use Chaos Control to fix my leg?" Sonic blurted out, getting this question off his chest.

Shadow, looking at his leg, then back to Sonic, inquired, "...That's it? You have a Chaos Emerald, don't you? Why can't you do it?"

"The Freedom Fighters took it from me when I was hospitalized. And even if I had one, I ain't that experienced in using Chaos Control with the same kind of precision as you are. So, I figured I would come and find you for help." Sonic reasoned.

"And why would you think that I would agree to help you?" Shadow queried. "Metallix was ultimately your doing because you were too soft to finish the job when he nearly took over the world. Once again, people suffered because of your recklessness! And once again, I am being dragged into your mess as we figure out how to solve your problem!"

Sonic lowered his head, saying, "...I didn't mean for things to get out of hand like this."

Shadow looked at Sonic as he walked over to him and got in his face.

"At this point, blue hedgehog, your intentions don't matter. An entire population was wiped off the face of the planet. Your being temporarily immobile is the least of your concerns. And a quick-fix plan isn't going to do you or the rest of the world any favors. If you want my help, then let me give you a word of advice. You want to do right by everybody? Then look inward, not outward. Now get out of my sight before I toss you into the lake!"

Sonic turned his wheelchair around and rolled away as he grumbled in his mind, 'Fine. You're no help anyway.'

Sonic barely had enough time to lean his wheelchair to the side as a Chaos Spear was thrown and vaporized a tree.

'I can hear you, dumbass!' Shadow told him, causing Sonic to learn that either Shadow and himself share a telepathic link, or that the half-Black Arms could basically read his mind.

-Another Hour Later, With Amy-

The hooded Sonic verbally cursed himself a storm quietly as he headed back into town. He ended up going to his Uncle's chili dog stand to try and calm his nerves. But because his energy was waning considerably, he only ordered one to avoid gaining weight since he cannot burn fat as easily as he did being immobilized for the time being.

"Dang it! Those two are the only Chaos users that I know!" Sonic groaned out loud. "Now what am I gonna do?"

Sonic sulked for a bit as he finished the last of his chili dog.

"Sonic, is that you?"

The hedgehog instinctively jolted by the sound of a familiar feminine voice. Sighing, he begrudgingly turned his head to see Amy Rose. But much to his shock, it seemed that the happy-go-lucky and loving pink hedgehog had a complete makeover.

For one, Amy's quills were long enough to reach past her neck and to her shoulders. Her three bangs have also gotten noticeably longer. As for her attire, she wore a red sweater with a white stripe going down the middle and a white collar, black leggings under a white skirt that reached past her knees, she kept her golden ring bracelets around her wrists with matching golden earrings hanging from her ears, her red hairband, white gloves, and decided to wear boots that had longer tops that reached past her ankles.

"Woah," Sonic said, impressed with Amy's new look, giving her a thumbs up. "Amy, you look great!"

Amy giggled as she blushed lightly, saying, "Oh! I didn't think you would notice. Bunnie, Sophie, and Sally took me shopping two weeks ago, and I thought I could spice up my wardrobe a little."

Sonic's smile faded as he remembered Sally's words to him.

'...Right, they're all friends now. I missed a whole lot.' Sonic thought to himself as he averted his eyes to the concrete floor. '...It's like I'm being left out.'

"Hey, are you okay?" Amy asked, appearing concerned as the teen snapped out of his thoughts. "You seem under the weather."

"Who? Me?" Sonic said before forcing his signature toothy grin. "I'm alright! Just got tired of bein' cooped up in the house and thought that I'd take a day to roam in the city."

"That's good to hear. I told you that you'd have to get out of your room sooner or later!" Amy said, placing her hands on her hips. "Since you're here, do you want to hang out?"

Sonic blinked at the girl before sending her a faux glare, asking, "This isn't a trap, is it?"

Amy snorted before raising her hands, stating, "No, dummy. This isn't a date. We have already settled that after the whole Breezie thing. We're just hanging out as friends, okay?"

Sonic stared at the pink hedgehog, astounded at what he heard. It's like he was in the presence of a different person.

"U-Uh, sure thing!" Sonic said, brightening up since he hadn't really hung out with his friend like a normal person for ages. "What do you have in mind, Ames?"

"Well, I know this cute little vendor nearby," Amy said as she took the handles of Sonic's wheelchair Amy's movement caused Sonic to yelp from her going behind him so quickly. "Trust me, you'll love it! Their frozen deserts are out of this world! And their froyos are to die for! Tee hee!"

The next thing that he knew, Sonic was sitting across from Amy as she was enjoying her frozen yogurt. The hero of Mobius himself had gotten a chocolate smoothie to hopefully calm his nerves.

'...This is got to be a dream. Amy's actually being pleasant this time around. No declarin' her love for me, gushin' about marriage, she hasn't even tried kissin' on me! She's treatin' me like a normal guy. Amy hasn't been this chill since we met Shadow. This feels…nice. And yet, like Tails, she's comin' along just fine without me…' Sonic analyzed in a bittersweet manner.

"Sonic? Sonic!" Amy called out, waving her hand across her love interest's face. "Yoohoo~!"

"Huh?" Sonic uttered as he blinked. "Oh, sorry about that. Could you repeat what you were saying, Amy?"

Playfully rolling her eyes, she asked, "I said, how was your day?"

"My day? Well, um… it could be better, but I'm sure that the rest of it won't be so bad." Sonic answered honestly as he took a sip of his smoothie.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully, this could cheer you up." Amy said kindly while giving him a smile. "I miss having you around."

Sonic lightly chuckled, saying, "Thanks, I missed you guys too. It's been rough goin' through what I'm goin' through. But I'm sure I ain't the only one."

"Yeah, it has been pretty tough," Amy nodded in agreement. "Dr, Eggman and Metal really stirred up quite the mess. All of us had to put in more time in preparing ourselves in case another incident occurs. The whole country is pretty stressed about it. Not that I can fault them…"

Not wanting the cheer mood to be squandered, Sonic moved the conversation along, saying, "Say, I heard you and Sally have been workin' out together."

Amy's face perked up with excitement, saying, "Yeah! Having Sally around to help me get back into practicing my kickboxing. I even picked up some new tricks from here too! I can't just solely rely on my Piko Piko Hammer, you know."

Sonic, while genuinely happy that Amy's going the distance, started to feel envious regarding her growth compared to his regression. He wanted his friends to improve themselves, there was no doubt about that. And they have done so in the past by his side. But now, it was as if they moved past him and were starting to move further out his reach.

They were outpacing him.

The blue hedgehog mentally shook his head, pushing his darker thoughts as he dived back into the conversation.

"That's great news! Keep up the good work! And who knows? Pretty soon, you'll be able to square up against folks like Rouge!" Sonic said with a smile.

"Really? You think I can take Rouge on in a fist fight?" Amy said with her eyes sparkling.

Sonic, seeing that the over enthusiasm of him complimenting his friend, awkwardly laughed but said, "It'll take some time and practice, but knowing how dedicated you can be when you put your mind to it, I can see it happenin'."

Amy cheered for a bit before looking at Sonic's face. Particularly, his eyes. Amy knew Sonic for a long time, technically meeting him six months before he ran into Tails on Westside Island. With that being said, the fortune teller could see that his emerald green eyes had lost their luster, now being dull and nearly lifeless. And as the old saying goes, the eyes is the window to the soul.

This caused her perky attitude to flatten momentarily as one thing had been made certainly to the female Mobian.

Something was definitely wrong with Sonic.

"...Sonic?" Amy asked, getting his attention.

"Hm? What's up, Amy?" The teenager asked.

"Something's wrong." Amy stated, prompting Sonic's fake grin to fall. "I can see it in your eyes. You want to be happy, but I can tell that you're not. I can feel that you're unhappy."

"Amy…I…"

"Sonic, you know me. I don't like it when somebody that I care about is suffering." Amy reminded him. "It drives me crazy. If something is making you uncomfortable, then I am going to make it my business to know. So you might as well tell me what's bothering you. I might be able to help."

The pink hedgehog's words only made the tremendous amount of guilt that was festering inside him churn greater. And just when they were having such a good time. Still, if Amy was offering to help, he might as well tell her the truth. Who knows? She may actually go through with it.

'...Who am I kidding? I already know this heading. Might as well come clean.' Sonic groaned.

"...My leg." Sonic finally croaked, causing Amy to pay immediate attention to his choice of words. "My leg is what's been bothering me."

Amy remained silent. For some reason, Sonic's previous sentence prompted her to freeze. In spite of this, Sonic continued speaking.

"I've been losing power, Amy. I don't know when it started exactly, but since I can't run, all of the energy that I've built up is leaving me at a fast rate. It's gettin' harder for me to move regularly since my body's been accustomed to it." Sonic explained before the guilt appeared in full force. "Since I see things at a different time usually, waitin' on my leg to heal naturally is takin' an entity for me, so I've been askin' folks for help fix my leg so that I can at least stand and walk again. But all that I've ended up doin' is pissin' people off before gettin' the boot!"

Amy kept quiet, now looking at the table while she was processing what Sonic was saying to hear along with other things that were going through her mind.

"I-I know how selfish this sounds, and this pains me to ask, but don't know what else to do or who to turn to! But I can't live like this! Okay? I just can't!" Sonic expressed, sounding desperate and on the verge of breaking down. "If you can fix my leg, I'll owe you big time! You can have as many dates as you-"

"STOP!" Amy harshly said, holding out her hand as she swiftly put an end to Sonic's desperate rambling.

Sonic's regret reached an all-time high as he realized what he was about to say in his impulsive and dire desire to feel normal again.

While glaring at the blue hedgehog, Amy said in a low and stern tone, "...Don't you dare finish that sentence, Sonic the Hedgehog."

Sonic wanted to apologize while raising a hand, but Amy cut him off again.

"DON'T." The girl heatedly growled which Sonic flinched at. "Just be quiet before I hurt you! I need time to gather my thoughts."

Amy got up and walked off for a few minutes to get some air, leaving Sonic to immediately drop his head on the table that he was sharing with Amy.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Sonic muttered to himself. "What the hell were you thinking!? That was the worst thing you could tell her! Forget the freakin' leg, now your friendship's now on the line cause you couldn't keep your mouth shut! UGH!"

The hero of Mobius sulked on the table for more than five minutes, not even bothering to look up. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Amy managed to calm down enough for her to finally speak to the downtrodden teenager.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Amy sat back down and spoke to Sonic as he still had his head down.

"Hey! If you're going to talk to someone, you look at them!" Amy growled.

Sonic responded by lifting his head pitifully. Staring at the pink hedgehog wasn't the rose-tinted image of a charismatic yet energetic hero, but a defeated and shaken boy. He was insecure, selfish, and dare she say, cowardly. This was a far cry from the boy that saved her from Metal Sonic. No, this was a teenage boy at his lowest point.

"...Amy, I'm so sorry." Sonic tried speaking, only for Amy to immediately respond.

"I should slap the daylights out of you for even thinking about saying that to me." Amy sharply whispered. "Tch I should have listened to Sally."

"W-What? What about the princess?" Sonic questioned nervously.

"She has a name, you know." Amy said with a glare. "And Sally told me what you were up to. But I didn't believe her. At least, I didn't want to believe her. I thought you were enough of a standup guy to not try and weasel your way out of healing yourself. But I guess there's a first time for everything!"

Sonic averted his eyes to the table, particularly, his smoothie while remaining silent.

"You know what's disheartening about this? Me, over a month ago, would have jumped at the chance if it meant a date with you. Back then, I was only focused on what I wanted and not what everyone else wanted. But even so, I had a clear understanding of right and wrong." Amy said, still angry but had a tone of hurt in her voice as well. "I know why you want it back, Sonic. It's not about the thrills, the team, or the adventure. Even so, are you seriously that desperate to heal your leg that you'd go against your better nature?"

Sonic merely lowered his hooded head, not knowing how to answer that question. He had been beaten yet again.

"And don't think I didn't notice how you've been avoiding everybody else. I heard what happened at the meeting and you know what? I also agree with them. You've been acting strangely ever since that Nazo incident." Amy brought up, which differently got Sonic's attention. "All that we were trying to do is help, but you keep on shutting us out like you're Shadow. How's that fair to any of us?"

Sonic tried to defend himself, saying," …I didn't want to worry you guys about my problems."

"Well," Amy continued as she pointed at him. "I got a newsflash for you, buster! You befriended us! So whatever problems you have automatically become ours. Eggman is a prime example of that! How are we supposed to stay friends if you don't tell us things? Do you even consider how we feel?"

"Of course I do!" Sonic blurted out with a frown.

"Then why haven't you visited Tails? Or seen any of the others?" Amy challenged. "Or better yet, were you even going to see them if you hadn't gotten anyone to try to fix your leg at all?"

"YES!" Sonic shouted before his voice grew soft. "I was going to…eventually. Look, I already heard from Knuckles what was going on with Tails. And I'm going to have a talk with him. I don't have anything against him."

"Good, he needs to know that." Amy nodded in satisfaction. "He was only doing what he thought was right. He cares about you, ya know. We all do."

Sonic nodded, saying, "I know."

"And we want you to be happy, too."

"...I know." Sonic repeated softly.

"Then why can't you see that what you're doing to yourself is hurting us?" Amy asked with a sad frown.

Sonic froze for a long time, shocked by the revelation that Amy gave him.

…Was he hurting them? But how? All that he was doing was keeping his own issues away from them. They didn't need to worry about him. He was fine, so long as he was strong enough to protect his friends, everything should be fine. How had he been failing who he cared for the most? How long had he been failing them?

Chaos, what was he doing?

"...Have I ever told you why I fell in love with you in the first place?" Amy suddenly asked.

Sonic raised his head silently, but slowly shook it negatively.

"It's because you managed to save me and my original home," Amy revealed. "Against all odds, you conquered time, stopped Dr. Eggman, and managed to beat a nasty robot that was designed to be faster and stronger than you and still come out on top. You stole my heart away because of your courage, intuitive mind, and strong will. Honest to Chaos, I thought that you can do anything if you tried."

Sonic's eyes widened at this mature answer that came from the younger hedgehog.

"But right now, I don't know who I'm staring at right now because you're not the same guy that I befriend and love. The Sonic I know wouldn't cheat his way out of a situation. He'd face it head-on. And he definitely wouldn't be treating his friends horribly as you are right now." Amy said with a light glare, causing Sonic to falter.

"This isn't just about power, it's about being vulnerable." Amy stated. "Well, let me tell you something, Sonic the Hedgehog. I've been vulnerable my whole life. Even now, I'm still vulnerable. But you know what? I'm proud of it! It makes me who I am, and it gives me the strength to love and cherish things every single day. There's nothing to feel ashamed of being vulnerable."

Amy Rose got up from her chair and said, "What Metal has done to you is horrible, and I'll never forgive him for that. But I'm not going to pity you over it, either. You've never lost a fight before, did you? So maybe learning how to be vulnerable for once in your life could you some good. Hopefully, you'll come to your senses and understand what actually matters to you. Because if you can't, then I don't think we could be friends anymore."

With that, Amy bid Sonic a nice day and left him alone once again.

At this point, Sonic was so emotionally stressed that he just wanted to go home. He wheeled himself away from a table and headed towards a busy street. And with a quick wave of a hand, Sonic was placed in a cab and was driven home.

On his way back, one thought repeated in his mind.

'…I messed up.'

---

Lobonia Outskirts, Lobonia

Zero the Hunter, and Drago Wulfe were on the run. As it turns out, the teleportation device, now known to the white wolf as the Warp Topaz, had been depowered by the energy field that the United Wolf Pack Nation's generator had up in case foreign objects such as weapons or hacking devices were detected. This caused the two canids to land outside of the city rather than at their desired destination.

Fortunately for them, Nyx the Devil Arms' shapeshifting abilities weren't strictly weapons based as she used her DNA to transform into the shape of a Black Volt. Because of this, both men were able to get a two-day head start from the police.

And by no means was the ride smooth sailing. The Lycaeon Police Department managed to catch up with them within fifteen minutes. This forced the runaways on a chase which they took to the canyon's tunnel pathways. Unfortunately for the officers, many would lose their lives from their encounter with the gang from Nyx's blasts and the swipe from Zero's high-frequency scimitar.

More than fifteen people died because of this.

Thankfully for the two criminals, they managed to eventually evade law enforcement altogether as they traveled along the Great Canyon.

Drago barked, "Oi, Jackal! We've been riding in the air for like, an hour and forty-five minutes! Where are we even going!?"

"Our rendezvous point!" Zero responded as he looked at the GPS on one of the many smart devices that he had on his wrist. "We should be getting picked up right about now!"

"What do you mean by tha-?" Drago asked before noticing that a large shadow was being cast over their heads.

Zero smirked as the small trio was in the presence of Dr. Robotnik's Egg Carrier. When they got near enough, a draw bridge opened from the front of the carrier, allowing the three to enter the ship with ease.

As Drago and Zero got off of the Devil Arms, Nyx changed back to her original Chao-like form. The three ended up traveling on an elevator until they found themselves walking to the corridor. And upon passing through it, the two were greeted by a large rotund Overlander mad scientist who welcomed them back into their control room of the Egg Carrier.

"Gentlemen, welcome back!" Dr. Robotnik grinned with his signature charismatic flair. "I do hope that the journey wasn't too hectic."

"The mission was fine, Robotnik." Zero said, rolling his eyes. "I expect my payment as soon as possible."

The doctor then accessed his digital wallet and sent ten figures worth of mobium into the mercenary's bank account, saying, "Already sent, as promised. Thanks again for your services, Zero."

Eggman directed his attention to the Devil Arms floating towards the jackal and said, "I see that my little pet project is serving you well."

"Nyx is doing just fine," The mercenary said as he patted the Black Arms/Chao crossbreed on the head.

The gears inside the brain of the former gang leader began to turn until a revelation struck him.

"Wait, Zero?" Drago said as he turned to the jackal. "As in Zero the Hunter? The Ultimate Mercenary?"

"The same," The gruff Mobian jackal droned in a flat tone.

"Ahem," Dr. Robotnik cleared his throat while directing the noise towards Drago, getting the large wolf's attention. "You may be wondering why I've had Zero the Hunter bring you back despite the setback that your former cohorts caused you."

The white wolf growled, having been reminded of the Destructix's betrayal.

"Currently, I'm working on an extensive project that needs more than one person. And I can see you being a perfect addition to this project." Eggman explained cryptically as he slowly paced back and forth in front of Drago.

"What would you need a C-Class crook like me for?" Drago questioned. "You got one of the best mercs in the field."

"That is true, but where you lack the brilliant talent and honed skills of Zero, you make up for in pure determination and motivation. These are valuable attributes to the kind of business that I deal with." Dr. Robotnik answered casually. "Tell me, don't you want to get even with your former associates? Rule the nation that should be rightfully yours?"

Drago clenched his pawed hands into fists as he said with venom. "...More than anything!"

"I'm glad to hear, because this project, if the proper conditions are met positively, could prove beneficial to you." The doctor said as he walked over to a nearby table and grabbed a file with the Eggman's emblem stamped on it while a header was written above it. "The jargon may be too much for you to comprehend, but the basics should be enough for you to understand the potential of this ongoing endeavor."

The white wolf took the file and skimmed through its contents before gasping in awe. A sinister grin formed on the wolf's muzzle.

"...No way! This shit here, no this is insane! What even is this?" Drago asked, looking at the mad scientist.

"This is an idea that just came to me." Eggman said, placing a hand on the Mobian wolf's shoulder. "I aim to rule this world, but a certain blue thorn on my side has been keeping me from achieving that goal. But recently, I realized that I cannot do this alone, now that he's joined forces with another powerful faction. So, I decided to fight fire with fire. I am recruiting an elite team: a gathering of some of the most ambitious and talented people in the underground who I can rely on to follow my orders. And when all goes well, I will reward them with high-ranking positions as the world is subjected to my rule!"

As he finished his monologue, he walked away from Drago (and Zero and Nyx) as he dramatically turned to him, and cracked a toothy grin.

"This, Drago Wulf, is the Egg Bosses Initiative!"

To Be Continued…

---

Author's Notes: Hey guys, DSG451 is back with a hefty chapter of RESURGENCE for all of you!

OC characters! (Yes, there are original characters, but they will be very few of them in this story.)

The first RESURGENCE exclusive character is the husband of Illumina (Sonic Shuffle) and the son of the Chaos Gods themselves, Saviturn.

His name is both a reference to the planet Saturn, the Sega Saturn, and is a very loose reference to the speedster character, Savitar.

Based on the Hindu God of Motion (Savitr), Stillness, and the Sun, Saviturn is a newly introduced god that is responsible for the laws of physics, evolution, and the deity responsible for the spark of life known as Sol Energy and the ever-encompassing Sol Force. Sol Energy in the RESURGENCE continuity isn't the Power of Flame (Blaze's pyrokinesis), but there's a connection. See, because he is the god of mutations, he leaves an imprint on mortals' souls which grants individuals their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and in some cases, mutant abilities (e.i., Sonic's inherent speed and greater ability to use his potential, Tails' second tail and genius, Knuckles' inherent strength and deep connection to the Master Emerald, Shadow's connection to the Chaos Emeralds, Amy's inherent connection to magic, etc.).

Saviturn was a trickster who fell in love with Illumina after meeting her several times in Maginaryworld, the realm of dreams and imagination and the domain of the Precioustone from Sonic Shuffle. But one day, she lost faith in dreams, causing her to split into two different beings. This caused all living mortals and gods to be plagued by nightmares. Distraught by the events of Illumina's fission, Saviturn raced around Maginaryworld as he took it upon himself to reunite his love's two halves as quickly as possible, then vowed to always stay at her side to help Illumina protect the Precioustone and her. Out of gratitude and touched by his devotion to her, Illumina declared his love for the first Quickster, and eventually agreed to marry him. This sparked the first marriage in creation, leading to the couple's birth of many stars.

Saviturn (and Illumina) is also the progenitor/s of the Djinn, the father of the Mother Wisp, and something called Aether (Light) Magic. This power will be explained a little later.

Speaking of the Wisps, they may have a greater purpose for the RESUREGENCE multiverse that will be explained later. For now, all you need to know is that they are not aliens from another planet.

Kai and Pache are one-off characters, so don't worry about them.

Lastly, Nyx the Devil Chao. The idea of a Devil Chao is inspired by the Post-Genesis Wave's Dark Arms and their abilities. The only difference is that instead of a cross between Wisps and Black Arms DNA, Nyx resulted from an experiment Dr. Eggman had been conducting on infant Chao since the events of Shadow the Hedgehog. The hybrid prototype (Nyx) was eventually given to Zero the Hunter (Infinite pre-Phantom Ruby) as a means to test her intelligence, strength, speed, and durability.

Zero is a mix between pre-War Infinite from Sonic Forces and the Archie human (Overlander) character, Hunter from the Pre-Genesis Wave continuity. Still, I'm trying to map out his characterization. However, he will appropriately have a vendetta against Shadow with a satisfying payoff as the base game should have the proper build-up instead of just being another baddie that didn't quite stick the landing as Sonic and Co. sent him to the Shadow Realm. He's still based on a pre-existing character despite being a fusion of two characters.

Stepping away from OCs, let's talk about Sonic's character currently. Right now, Sonic is under the weather emotionally and mentally. He's a bit more jaded while still retaining his character. I'm trying not to have him express too much of his internal feelings while staying true to how he is supposed to act according to his Japanese/Game counterpart. After all, he may sound like his SatAM and Archie counterparts, but he's still a variant of the Japanese/Game counterpart that we know. He doesn't like to make people worry about him and solely focuses on the needs of others despite being a reluctant hero. He values friendship so highly that, at times, he might focus on the safety of friends more than the safety of other people in general. And because of this, the idea of everyone agreeing for Sonic to be benched from the action not only seems like a sort of betrayal, but the information provided by Sally of his personal feelings and thoughts may cause him to withdraw from interacting with nearly everybody.

And Sonic's selfish attempts to try and weasel his way back to the physical condition that he's used are a representation of his mind's desperation screaming at Sonic to flee from the state of vulnerability that Metallix has left him in. Sonic's not usually the one who would try and manipulate a person, but the freedom (his speed) that he used to have through his legs was something that he was associated with for most of his life. Without it, Sonic felt like his life was utterly meaningless. Sonic wouldn't have an identity. Not to mention that it would leave him completely vulnerable. As Amy pointed out, that's not Sonic's nature, but that's the point. He's stripped of his role on the team, his childhood home is gone, he isolated himself from most of his friends, a decently large population of the world hates him, and he's left with a broken leg. Sonic is at the lowest point of his life.

This is the start of Sonic's road of self-discovery, finding out who he really is and what defines him as a person. What is truly important to him in life.

This is why I had Uncle Chuck give his nephew the "Power and Responsibility" talk, Uncle Ben style. It may be too much on the nose, but I think instilling this kind of philosophy in someone like Sonic, who lived his life acting irresponsibly despite the good deeds he's done for the world, would do the character well since he's now obligated to help the people he has sworn to protect as a Freedom Fighter, who under the Royal Council and the king himself. He's not able to act as recklessly as he has been in the past (City Escape, Sonic Adventure 2).

And you know what, Sonic's starting to realize that while he was out cold, everybody is starting to progress to the point where he can't keep up with the others. This scares him because much like with Breezie, he's fearing that he'll wake up one day to see that all of the people in his life would one day leave him high and dry while they live their best lives without him.

Moving on, here are some fanmade attacks!

HUGE SHOUT OUT TO TheBlueInk for the original concept of the concepts listed. They come from them, so they are credited. Just know that they will work differently than their interpretation of the ability.

Heat Break (RESURGENCE): When he builds up his potential energy, Knuckles becomes surrounded by an aura of intense heat before channeling it to his fists. The heat covers his fists, and he can dish out powerful heat-based punches. This is a perfected version of the Maximum Heat Attack that is channeled through his hands instead of throughout his body.

Heat Break: Maximum Fire (RESURGENCE): When Knuckles combines it with the coursing potential energy that surges as red lightning through his body, he increases the power of his Heat Break power. In this state, he produces hot flames. He can not only project powerful fireballs upon his hands lighting them aflame but also concentrate the fire into a single fist to dish out a fierce, flaming strike that combusts on impact. While Knuckles is undoubtedly formidable in this state, it puts a lot of stress on his body, and he will be left exhausted if he uses it for too long.

Mind you, the lightning that Sonic and Knuckles possess is not Chaos Energy but is a result of Saviturn granting them gifts (their super speed and super strength and the ability to tap into their hidden potential to increase their powers).

Also, Shadow and Knuckles' sparring match is to show where Knuckles stands amongst his peers in the Japanese/SEGA/Game cast. Physically speaking, he is the strongest of the group, as fast as Tails, and could react fast enough to catch both Sonic and Shadow off guard. Although he is more spiritually in tune with Chaos Energy thanks to his connection to the Master Emerald, Shadow has more versatility and experience using Chaos Energy longer in an offensive and defensive manner. Also, the version of Thunder Arrow that Knuckles uses is based on the Archie Comics' interpretation. Though, it's as strong as Shadow's Chaos Lance.

Due to Shadow retaining memories from Sonic's past, due to being Shadic, he has grown to respect Knuckles enough to want to help him. His past experiences have also been a factor to be more willing to help others.

On top of Knuckles and Shadow, their conversations with Sonic have been handled the way that they were because both would never allow him to get away with anything they believe him to be wrong about. And while Knuckles acts like a stern old brother, Shadow almost is like an elder cousin/relative given his age. And Shadow would especially not sugarcoat the situation to the blue hedgehog because Shadow himself isn't nice and because he has so much respect for him despite being decades his junior.

It's a similar situation to his conversation with Sally at the start of it, except Sally now has an entire outlook on Sonic as a person now. She overcame her fear and chose to not spare Sonic's feelings due to him being in the wrong and at the lowest point in his life without completely shattering the hedgehog. This, I believe, is where she finally lets go of the idea that her old friend wasn't the person that was left behind, but rather an outsider who has no idea what he had lost in his dark past. But Sally also knows what he was experiencing, given what was recounted by Sir Arthur in the group therapy session. All she could do to help Sonic was to give him advice and hope for the best that he could see reason and soon.

And this brings me to Amy Rose. This is where her character stands from now on. Does she love Sonic? Yes, and she'll never stop loving Sonic. But due to his actions in this chapter, I'm going with a characterization of Amy that is in line with her Japanese interpretation from Sonic Frontiers. And what I mean by this is that Amy's going to take a step back from simply chasing after Sonic's affections and find herself. This is my intended direction for her. And don't you worry, you'll be seeing more of Amy Rose and her interactions with Sally very soon because I have plans for them and a certain team coming back together. Anyway, Amy's anger here is justified, and her putting Sonic's friendship with her on the line over his mistake is how serious she felt on the matter, which is supposed to be a wake-up call on how poorly Sonic is handling his new life. This is a reverse situation, as previously, Amy was the one who was out of line with how she was treating her friends as well.

But don't worry, Sonic's going to spend his time making things right with his pals.

Now, why aren't the other Freedom Fighters having character progression outside of both Rotor and Sally herself? Well, because this is a story that centers around the Game cast interacting with another aspect of their world, the reimagined DIC/Archie world. Not the other way around. We're exploring Sonic's relationship with his friends that he knew longer than we are seeing him getting to know from his lost history. That doesn't mean that we won't see him interact with the Freedom Fighters and their world more, but the Game cast is still a focus.

Sonic's phone was modeled after an old Kyocera DuraXE flip phone. Its name, 32X-Neptune was based on both the official name and the codename for the Sega 32X.

Oh, and Hamlin is from the Archie Comics who has a similar history here, Jewel is from the IDW continuity, Arthur was already introduced but confirms that Mina Mongoose and her mother from the Archie Comics were alive at one point before both passing away and Rotor's real name in this continuity is Randal Atticus. And yes, in the future, there will be a story tackling his inner demons and past.

Lastly, there will be a version of the Egg Bosses coming to the RESURGENCE continuity. They'll appear during the last part of the story during its middle act. I'm taking the time to establish members of the group as if they were an evil version of the Avengers. Why? Because they are going to act as the opposing side to both the GUN and the Freedom Fighters. They may or might be members that appeared either in this story or in any part of the Sonic series. So, be on the lookout for them.

Anyway, please leave your comments, questions, concerns, and criticisms in the Reviews. Tell me what you like, dislike, what could be better, and what you enjoy about the saga and/or story so far by writing a detailed review for me. What are your favorite moments? Who do you like to see more of? Let me know these things, guys! It helps me grow as a writer, and I enjoy reading your thoughts on my work.

Anyway, I'll see you guys later!

-DarkShadowGames451