Spoilers from included and/or represented works abound. Please read this fiction carefully.
"That dream sheep woke up before the ritual could proceed!?" The hedgehog is frustrated. "Amy! What's wrong with the machine!"
"Two words: divine emanations." Nightmare Rose revealed. "For context... we tried so hard to make sure no emanation gods aid the resistance. Now we have a whole bunch of them rebelling! At least we still have all the Hegemonies."
"The resistance survived because the Wisps came to aid. And they ended up surviving long enough to awaken two of the emanation gods, met up with demon pests that also emanate, and woke the Dreamweaver up before the ritual properly started!" Enerjak complained. "Our system were fine! The only error found are the emanation itself!"
"I checked, indeed, and aside from the emanations, the system worked perfectly. The emanations caused noise. It woke the dreamweaver up." Miles confirmed. "Two of them are Habaki Sakagami and Rindou Koga, two of the killers of Sixth Heaven: Mahamara. They are gods, brought themselves divine powers, and they chose that to help out the resistance and the demon pests that were Yatsukahagi."
"So those guinea pigs from emanating worlds joined the resistance, and their alliance led to the noises. This wouldn't have been possible if none of the resistance broke any tubes." Elise revealed a footage of Shadow breaking the tubes in 5th floor. "And the resistance would never have come so far if the Wisp didn't save them at all!"
"So in a way, it all trace back to... our two bots botching the Hyper-go-on hoard!" The hedgehog realized. "The Wisps survived because the attempt didn't go throughly!"
"Why don't we punish the two? Their mistakes allowed all this and Volnutt's escape to happen." Nightmare Rose suggested.
"How about I check in their status?" Miles suggested. "Maybe I can find and squash some bugs that caused them to make mistakes. Sonic, do you agree?"
"As much as I'd like to torture and then scrap, but yes, you go on. We have to make sure we try to take every advantage we can get without risking ourselves too much." The hedgehog agreed. "If there's no bug left and they still somehow mess up big time, or if there's some sort of 'redeeming' code that can't be properly squashed, then punishment is inevitable."
"Thanks, Sonic." Miles then walked away, immediately targeting Circler and Cubester. "C'mon, let me fix you..."
"My lord, I took the footage by myself. I can also confirm that the gods were able to quickly destroy our soldiers." Elise confirmed. "These gods and demons could prove dangerous. We must not let our guard down or be outwitted."
"Exactly. The faster the Metal Virus covers, the better. Time wasted could be used by the emanation gods and co. to crave the resistance a fight chance!" The hedgehog agreed. "Oh, of course, the Metal Virus will work. i feel it's time to check on the experiment."
The hedgehog and Elise came to Tangle and Whisper, who both by that point has fully succumbed and became Zombots. Their skins are metallic (again for Tangle), and their eyes became glowing magenta from the Sigma Virus.
"Yeah..." Tangle has become twisted, grinning with echoed voice. "It's time we go, Whisper..." *maniac laughter*
Using the two roboticizers behind them and prepared for, the two like mindless robots enteredit.
"Begin... Tangle Woman and Whisper Woman! Hyper-go-on compatible! Double Gear System equipped!" The hedgehog let out an evil laughter.
Morning, the 16th day...
"Where's the guys now?" Sonic asked Habaki about the Yatsukahagi.
"We were in separate areas when we were into coma. So we couldn't find anyone." Rindou confirmed. "We tried. Nobody was there."
"You were trapped elsewhere within the Cyber Dream?" Amy asked.
"Exactly! And it's full of egotistic demons fighting each other in cold blood, akin to a certain Law..." Habaki recalled.
"Which Law?" Classic Knuckles asked.
"That one... from a god known as Hajun. I think I saw him covered in metal shits." Habaki continued. "Because of his Law, people in my multiverse would simply kill each other regardless of any connection whatsoever. Same would go to other things ever. Exclusion and bloodshed, propagated by sheer egoism. That's what I think of the Manji Mandala - Muryou Taisuu."
"Fair point, honey." Rindou's eyes briefly turned red.
"Hey! Chili dogs have arrived!" The Robot Masters came holding the newly-cooked chili dogs. "We also have energy! And reserve?"
"Ok, ok, hmmm!" Sonic ate a chili dog for breakfast.
After the breakfast, it's time to go to the seventh floor. With the sixth floor taken over yesterday, the first five floors became compromised. The unified army went up to the way to the seventh floor. Sonic phased into and authorized.
"Speed Force move stuffs through space-time, always. It allows me to speed up my components and jack it up without compromising or depleting any vital workings. It made me faster and stronger." Sonic explained the Speed Force. "Speed Force comes from a different multiverse, and it's the Suicide Squad who told me about it all."
Habaki and Rindou awkwardly looked at the Suicide Squad. Harley cringed, while Boomerang simply shrugs.
"Alright, can we move on please?" Deadshot just walks. "Harkness, Boomer. Sharky, too. Let's go."
The army together arrived at the 7th floor, where a bunch of Eggforcers and Roboticized Masters are guarding. Some of the latter already survived the encounter yesterday in the lower level.
"I can destroy them with one shot. I need sonic though." Mega Man patted Sonic.
"Well? We can do it ourselves." Habaki pulled out his sword.
One swing later, and over a dozen of Roboticized Masters were instantly destroyed, releasing a bunch of animal friends. This horrified the robot guards.
"Oh no! Two gods are standing beside the resistance!" Amy Woman panicked. "Everyone! Do something!"
Half of the mooks fled, while the other half attacked valiantly. However, Sonic and Mega Man did quick work with the enhanced Spin Dash Blast, while the divine couple proved they could freely and effortlessly destroy the robots in one go without breaking as much of a sweat. Understandably, nearly all the attacking mooks were destroyed.
"Thank you. That's so much easier." Sonic then entered deeper into the 7th floor. "These are the lowest of the office zones, according to our look at the castle so far."
Merlina floats down, and poached a comic book from a corrupted Badnik. It's Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog #252.
"Sir Sonic, look!" Merlina called.
Sonic bounced down, and immediately took the comic. "Huh. Archie's issue #252." *opens the page* "Oh, the first Super Genesis Wave. I have to read-"
"Look out, some mooks are onto us." Infinity warned the entire army.
"Dude, you're saying... we're being watched?" Vyse heard it.
Cue the corrupted Eggforcers ambushing the area, surrounding Sonic. However, he was able to blitz off and break two-third of them, and Merlina conjured the Deathcalibur to strike the remaining one-third. And the comic was thrown up and then landed back on Sonic.
"Cool! Neat! I'll take it!" Sonic then gave the issue to the army. "Guys, we can show Sally and Nicole, and even alternative Shadow, the next time we're asleep!"
"If we survive, that is." Fou Lu replied, behind Ryu-4. "Ok. Noted."
"Wait..." Habaki found something elsewhere within the area. "There's... the Record of the Throne!?"
The couple took up a rough sketch of the Record of the Throne, showing the entire lineup of Heaven-eras. Clockwise from top lines up the first six Heavens - or eras in general - the Hegemony Gods. The center shows the Seventh Heaven, the one Habaki and Rindou may have been taken from, grafted inside the lotus, covered by cherry blossoms. The sketch is colored accordingly, matching the theme and the respective eras.
"This must be an illustration of the Record." Rindou took up the sketch. "We're going to show the Yatsukahagi the sketch once we meet them again."
"You..." A cyborg tenrec out of hiding. "You finally came to help me. How long did it take, Sonic!"
"Surge!?" Sonic heard it.
"No! I can tell it by emanation! This isn't the real deal, hedgehog!" Habaki warned Sonic. "If it was, it wouldn't block off any of my emanation right now! I feel the Phantom Ruby's powers, not the reality as you just heard it!"
'Surge the Tenrec' completely disappeared. Turns out, it is indeed an illusion.
"Phew, that was close." Sonic sighed.
"My emanation getting interfered by the Phantom Ruby effects. It's trying to limit our power as we survives." Rindou noted. "So yeah... I agree with you. The overclocked Phantom Ruby is dangerously overpowered, especially if it forcibly bypass the incompatibility of other different powers, like the Paradox Prism you told me about."
"And I thought the overclocked Ruby was only it... didn't expect how easily it affected the Prism..." Nine sighed.
The army moved on to the gateway to upstairs. Sonic phased again, the gate are authorized and opened, and everyone arrives at the eigth floor.
"Ok, seven floors done!" Sonic came to the office. "The second-level office."
"Why don't we just... drop from Delphinus and..." Bass complained.
"We tried!" Habaki rebutted. "I and Rindou leapt up to the rooftop, with the help of Kajiri Kamui Kagura. But once we landed, the mysterious hedgehog's mooks kidnapped us, bypassed our emanations and dumped us straight to the tubes!"
"Good thing once you woke back up, you just... popped your arsenal back to your inventory." A few monster hunters commented.
"Exactly." Rindou hinted her bow.
"TOP WARNING! Gods are intruding!" More Badniks emerged from the literal shadows.
The unified army easily crushed the Badniks, only for them to turn back to normal as fast as a blink of an eye.
"What!?" Kiryu is shocked.
"C'mon!" Luke repeatedly punched a Badnik.
"They're here to distract us!" Sonic quickly blitzed to knock the Badniks down. "Everyone, move ahead!"
The army finally comes to the way to the ninth floor. Sonic phased into the authorization, while Nine had the Zeti shut down a Badnik.
"Everyone! This is the 9th floor!" Sonic waved.
"Now!" Mega Man slided with the Speed Gear.
The whole army entered, and the gate shutted, permanently crushing a passing Badnik chasing by.
"Ok, why did these Badniks regenerate so fast?" Nine prying the Badnik open. "Huh. Wait..."
"Huh?" The army turned by.
"Those Badniks... powered by..." Nine spotted a Phantom Ruby on the inside.
"Phantom Rubies!?" Eggman is shocked.
"According to Nicole and as suggested by Sage, a Phantom Ruby is originally Master Emerald from a then soon-to-be-destroyed world, timeline, zone, and so. It is turned by some powerful beings to shift space-time with illusions, such as the Ancients of Sally's original world."
"Indeed. So could it be..." Sage shivers.
"That mysterious impersonator... managed to mass-produce Phantom Rubies, and used them to power those Badniks we just escaped!?" The Eggmen panicked.
"The canon's falling apart because of the Hyper Genesis Wave!" Boom!Sonic complained. "How can we survive all this long enough to save- wait. I think I could tell the literal audience-"
Boom!Sticks shushed. "Quiet. The mysterious Sonic clone would notice the readers."
"Let's go. Throw the Badnik out. There's a big window over there." Classic Vector pointed to the outside.
Cue Zavok dropping the Badnik down to the land. The army then walked the New Yoke-inspired hallway, which has the way to the 10th floor as a part.
"Hey, hedgehog, since you're just like the evil one..." Harley teased Sonic. "Whaccha do if he torture you directly? Just asking, of course."
"I can't answer that. He may become eldritch by the time he meet me." Sonic refuted.
"I think he is technically eldritch already, because he abused the Phantom Ruby." Blaze shrugged. "That coming from my inter-dimensional words. So you know..."
The army arrived at the way to the 10th floor. Sonic phased by the gate, and was about to put his face to the biometrics. However...
"Sonic! Sonic! Are your allies ok?" The voice of Prime!Shadow rang on the head. "I'm warning you, other Sonic. If you want to save everything... kill Shatter. He's not only the one responsible for everything... if he's not stopped, he'll end up dooming all of existence. From beyond."
"Shadow the accented? Wait... I can hear you outside of dream worlds now." Sonic heard it. "What's about his name?"
"He goes by Shatter, but any attempt to confirm the real name would only lead to our torture." Prime!Shadow replied. "But... well, you will have to kill him at the end. Otherwise, he'll get his way no matter what, and all of existence will be shattered!"
"Uh... I'm not sure if Shatter is just an alias or it's the real name, but of course, we're on our way!" Sonic replied. "Oh, and did you talk to the so-called Yatsukahagi about their current whereabouts?"
"You mean Tai-Atziluth? They're in the test tubes on the higher floors!" Prime!Shadow revealed. "They were to be test subjects, just like... some expedition or something!"
"Wait... you mean... the Eastern Expedition that Habaki and Rindou mentioned!?" Sonic is shocked. "They're..."
"Go see for yourself. It'll only further prove Shatter is evil beyond measure." Prime!Shadow suggested. "And don't trust his friends either... They're actually brainwashed or corrupted into his friends."
"Even President Miles!? But he tried to protect his kingdom he built by himself and thrived! He even had Project Shadic!" Sonic recalled. "He was planning to work with you!"
"Yeah, but I'm afraid he's definitely brainwashed. He forgot about his now-fallen kingdom. He serves for Shatter now." Prime!Shadow sighed. "Avenge him and his project. Kill Shatter."
Not long after, the gate opened. Sonic then told everyone about the conversation he just had with Prime!Shadow, from the whereabouts of Yatsukahagi/Tai-Atziluth to the states of things (and Miles).
To be continued...
