Spoilers from included and/or represented works abound. Please read this fiction carefully.

The unified army woke up, successfully escaped the Cyber Dream.

-*yawns* "Oh, we survived. We escaped." Sonic got up. "Where's Nicole, Sally, Julie-Su and Volnutt now?"

"It's so refreshing, surviving a freak... sheet." NiGHTS responded.

"Why the live censor?" Boom!Sonic poked fun of the response.

"Alright, where's next?" Merlina stood back.

"Oh wait!" Sonic realized. "Nightmare Rose must have spotted us! Maybe Elise too!"

"Sonic? We've been spotted!?" Shadow heard it.

"Yeah! So we much pack our things and flee! The mooks will get us!" Sonic fled the storage.

"Oh my god." Mega Man got it.

The army panicked and taking their things to quickly get out. Meanwhile, Elise got the roboticized engineers into rebuilding the Grim Zeti. In the meantime, elsewhere inside the castle...

"Uhhh..." Julie-Su woke up. "Looks like... I got back."

Enerjak is walking past the prison cell which Julie-Su is in. The cyber-echidna then realized what's up and quickly jumped out, only to bounced back by a force field.

"Argh!"

"Huh? Why are you disrupting me?"

The two echidnas opposite the scene but in front of each other.

"You... wait..." Julie-Su squinted. "You look like..."

"Your Knuckles? I get it." Enerjak laughed. "I AM KNUCKLES. I alway remembered you. We shared the same world, same timeline, same ZONE."

"Knuckles!? This you... remember me!" Julie-Su rushed, only to be bounced off again.

"Digital spring, which bounces you against its face. It's a hybrid between a force field and a spring." Enerjak added. "You can't escape. You cannot."

"Knuckles! My Knuckles!" Julie-Su screamed. "Why would you imprison me!?"

"You can call me Enerjak now. I am now friend with a better Sonic... the one and only god we'll ever need. Even you." Enerjak revealed. "Oh, and thuis digital spring is created by my other friend, Tails, which you've been constantly calling as Miles."

"What have you become!" Julie-Su threw a tantrum. "First, Mobius became different, and now, the real you!"

"In hindsight, this me is who I should have been." Enerjak walked away.

"No! No... wait... now I know..." Julie-Su is enraged.

"What?" Enerjak scoffed.

"That monster of a Sonic... corrupted you!" Julie-Su then slumped down.

"Hmph. You'll understand one day." Enerjak took his leave.

Julie-Su simply groaned. "The monster will pay for it!"

Enerjak left the scene and went to the hedgehog.

"Julie-Su, can you hear me?" Volnutt's voice rang through.

"Child? I can!" Julie-Su responded.

"Good." Volnutt laughed. "The serum's working!"

"Hello! It's Scourge, the evil Sonic!" Scourge greeted Julie-Su through telepathic connection. "Where are you right now?"

"In prison." Julie-Su scoffed. "And Enerjak... he's actually MY Knuckles. That monster corrupted him."

"OMG! You distant relative has been converted into a part of Team Shatter!" Volnutt is shocked.

"Shatter hog... more like eldritch Sonic!" Scourge scoffed.

"I can't escape right now. There's digital spring bouncing back." Julie-Su showed the field. "Someone needs to do something."

Meanwhile, the unified army successfully got out of the storage, and Infinite decided to use the World Rings again.

"The army's coming for salvation. They are on their way." Scourge recalled. "As for me, I'm caged. About to become a test subject for the Reverie project."

"Well... I'm still out, spying inside. I'm also trying to contact the so-called CXA." Volnutt took out a note. "I have to find a way to contact them."

The note says: "Phantom Ruby and Paradox Prism may have been involved; Continuum Exploitation Authority is investigating the matter. If you see any irregularities beside this note, contact CXA"

Volnutt then told Julie-Su about the note.

"Continuum... Exploitation... Authority?" Julie-Su have no idea. "Never heard of that before."

Suddenly, a voice rang through the unified world.

"The Continuum Exploitation Authority condenms the abuse of the multiverses and the timestreams."

"Wait... CXA?" Julie-Su noticed.

"What!? They again?" The hedgehog noticed.

"The... CXA?" Volnutt heard it. "That's it! It's our chance!"

Miles appeared before Volnutt, who's outside. "Found you, who stole the serum!"

"Miles caught me!" Volnutt panicked. "Help! Help!"

It was a robotic copy of Tails, with nanomachine dual tails that morphs and shift. The robot kidnapped Volnutt, and flew with its tails as wings and its built-in jetpack. While Miles tuned into dreams to call Julie-Su and Scourge.

"My creation did a good job taking back that childish asshole." Miles commented on Volnutt's kidnapping. "Oh, and why can you hear me now? It's because you consumed a serum... designed by Amy herself!"

"You mean... Nightmare Rose!?" Julie-Su is shocked.

"Your Amy is Nightmare Rose, the Dragon Quarter? Damn." Scourge blurted. "But oh well... guess I see Volnutt in the nearby cage."

"Good. This is what you get for stealing our dream serum!" Miles laughed. "You will behold the power of the perfected Dreamweaver!"

"Dreamweaver!? NOOOOO!" Volnutt screamed in horror.

"That was close..." Miles hanged up the dream, cutting contact from Julie-Su and Scourge. "The CXA could invade at any time!"

Volnutt was brought to the castle.

"Ugh, Circler and Cubester messed up again, and we only found out few days later." Miles is disappointed. "They let the childish asshole escape!"

"Thanks goodness we got the serum before Volnutt's caught..." Julie-Su gasped.

"We're in the second floor. Still not yet caught." Sonic called.

"Hey, alt-Sonic! Our Volnutt has been caught! He's going to back to the cage near me!" Scourge reported. "Miles also found out the serum's stolen!"

"President... Miles!?" Sonic is shocked.

"That Enerjak guy which passed me earlier... he's my Knuckles. He remembers me, unlike his next life." Julie-Su reported. "He's... definitely corrupted by that monster of a Sonic."

"President Miles... is that why..." Sonic is horrified.

"Not your fault, Sonic." Zavok reassured. "Right now, we are going up. This place is spacious as hell, and it's only the second floor."

"Oh, right." Sonic sighed. "Infinite, activate the filter!"

Cue the cognitive filter, which masks the existence of the unified army from the mooks. The army walks toward the way leading up the third floor.

"How many floor is this castle?" Zeena sheered.

"Data is unknown. The mysterious hedgehog went so far as to obscure the castle to protect it from radars." Tails noted. "As a result, nothing but those trusted by the hedgehog can get it or get out. Even Cyber Dream cannot bypass the measure, as waking up would simply return to the body."

"Damn, I think the Chaos Council's collective intellect is impressive alone. Combined with the pragmatism of someone like Sonic..." Nine commented. "He's creative enough to redesign my villainous castle."

"Recreate?" The rest of New Yoke team confused.

"These pillars are from the Grim!" Nine clarified.

"Yeah yeah yeah, shut!" Gnarly Knuckles disrupted.

In the meantime, Elise returned to engineering site at the 6th floor.

"Zeti, rise!" Said the possessed.

The rebuilt Grim Zeti stood up, clearly fully-functional.

"Perfect." Elise smiled.

Suddenly, the nearby Eggforcers suddenly fought each other brutally. Elise clapped at the brief spectacle. "It's working just as designed!"

"Elise the Third. We owe you." The Grim Zeti bowed down.

"Elise! Elise!" Nightmare Rose called through dream.

"What?" Elise called.

"The resistance... they've escaped!" Nightmare Rose panicked. "They either went back up or went into the basement!"

"What else?" Elise asked.

"While I was checking the log to the exact spot... I found all seven World Rings on the spot, must have been by the resistance." Nightmare Rose realized. "Maybe... just maybe... that's a clue to find out where the resistance is."

"Why?" Elise continued.

"Sonic has the Phantom Ruby. I mean... our great Sonic, that is." Nightmare Rose explained. "The overclocked Ruby can turn illusions into forced reality without any cooldown whatsoever. It can be used to bypass the lack of compatibility of wholly different powers without vibrating anything. It's properties unleashed the Paradox Prism, giving birth to our Sonic."

"So you're saying that the World Rings can be affected?" Elise is surprised.

"Yes, and with those power, we can bypass some sort of filter obscuring existence, and locate the resistance." Nightmare Rose continued. "And in the same log I checked... also a Phantom Ruby. Must have been overclocked by the likes of Eggman and Tails, given how easily Infinite and that former rookie dealt with our Infinite-clone hydras."

"Those hydras can only be destroyed by the overclocked Ruby. oh!" Elise got it. "So the resistance has overclocked Rubies! Now we only need to locate the World Rings... because they're still holding it."

"Good. Now the plan is changed: we're locating the World Rings." Nightmare Rose went up to the top floor. "Meet me at the top floor. Specfically, the throne room."

The unified army on their way, also struck down some machines. They were able to bypass all the security thus far, and approaches the open gate to the main stairway leading to the third floor.

"3rd floor. Let's do this!" Sonic rushed, the army followed.

They all go upstairs and arrived at the 3rd floor... and suddenly, just as all has finished the stairs and entered, the doors slammed shut.

"Huh?" Sonic noticed.

"Sonic! The doors are closed!"

Several doors on the way, including every single one right after the entry, has closed as well, trapping the unified army in a spacious yet dark room.

"This room has a lot of room for every single one of us." Big the Cat cringed.

"It's so dark..." Amy drooped.

"What's going on?" Silver looked around.

A projection illuminated the whole room in a harsh bluish tint.

"That was quick." Elise giggles in the projection.

Silhouettes of the team and Elise appeared, with their respective eyes glowing in respective colors.

"We found you." Miles showed up. "My cunning fox brain took so little to do the job."

"President Miles! What!?" The Superstars panicked.

"You're brought by an AI that put the mind into coma? What a mess." Miles acting out-of-character. "This is real Sonic, and we're a team. We rule over this unified world... for now. And what better way to spot you was to find the World Rings you stole!"

Infinite turned off the cognitive filter.

"That's better, because now we can see the physical part of you." Nightmare Rose smirked. "And as for Cyber Dream... You must have consumed the serum I designed."

"Not you again!" Sonic roared.

"Acting like a werehog? No, it doesn't make any difference." Enerjak scoffed in his tribal attire.

"Sally, Nicole, Julie-Su, Scourge! We've been caught!" Sage called. "They bypassed the cognition filter!"

"What!?" Julie-Su is shocked. "Why did you call me so fast?"

Nightmare Rose simply blocked with her Dreamweave, cutting out the contact this time around.

"Guys, you need to call the outside forces!" Sage can't hear from dream now. "Guys? Girls?"

"Ugh, stealing our serum..." Nightmare Rose disappeared from the projection.

"I'm going to end you all... with me as the player!" Miles laughed, before the projection disappeared.

"MILES!" Sonic screamed.

"He... h-he's corrupted! By the mysterious hedgehog!" Silver panicked. "He technically survived, but converted into the friend of the hedgehog!"

"What!?" The rest of the army shocked.

Slowly, the light turned on dimly, just enough to partially illuminate the room. Then a Genesis Portal appeared at the top of the other side of the room.

"Look! Genesis Portal!" Shadow noticed.

"Why so contrived?" Boom!Sonic squinted.

The robotic copy of Tails, with nanomachine dual tails that morphs and shift - the same one that kidnapped Volnutt earlier - emerged down from the portal which then closed. The robot has the appearance in the line of the Grim robots Nine used to create (and by extension, the Chaos Council's Chao Sonic). The nanomachine tails, the ears and the general build and size make it vaguely resemble Tails himself.

"It look like... Something I created, but me!?" Nine is scared.

"Grim... what?" Prime!Rouge stepped back.

"It looks like... me!?" Tails is shocked.

The visor in it is yellow with light eyes for expression. Just like the Grim robots.

"Grim... Tails." Boom!Stick in disbelief.

Meanwhile...

"Volnutt!" Scourge found the child on the cage nearby.

"Damn it! We got scolded again!" Cubester is raging.

"Ugh... Who opened this cage and freed that asshole!" Circler bruh. "Should've kept an eye for longer."

"I dunno, but guess we'll have to use cameras to watch the cages." Cubester shrugged.

The two left, leaving Scourge and a depressed Volnutt, among other captives in other cages.

"Volnutt... please." Scourge sighed. "Oh..."

"I think I'm done for." Volnutt slumped down. "We're next. We so happens to be the next two subjects. And the security will improve over time... we're doomed."

"I really hope Julie-Su and the army do good... we cannot contact with the latter anymore." Scourge sighed. "The false Amy actually blocked the communication."

"I'm sending your regards. I'll help us." Julie-Su declared. "I want to get out. Save home. Save everything."

"Where's Sally and Nicole?" Scourge groaned.

"Next up: Scourge the Hedgehog!" Nightmare Rose arrived.

The Dragon Quarter opened the cage, and cuffed Scourge. She brought him into the next room, to get consumed by the mutilated Dreamweaver.

"Goodbye... Volnutt... Julie-Su... everyone." Scourge left the waiting room.

Volnutt suddenly crying in his own cage, fearing that when Scourge is rejected and he's next, he might not be allowed to see Roll and Tron again. Julie-Su can hear the sobbing... so can Sally and Nicole.

"Crying under fear of denying reunion and fear of vain sacrifice..." The robian booted up, and immediately received. "Nicole... What's up with everyone?"

"I have recorded everything after we left the Cyber Dream." Nicole appears as the holo-lynx now chained near and around Sally. "Sally... poor Scourge."

"Where exactly are we now?" Sally asked seriously. "I'm serious. We need to do something."

"Girls..." A somewhat familiar voice called the two.

To be continued...