Chapter 11: One Year– One Hour– One Minute

The Void: Day 1

Despite its blank slate and a seemingly nonexistent horizon, Tails was overwhelmed by the sight. It was like staring into an empty canvas while carrying a box of a hundred different paint colors. The last time he was here was when the Time Eater abducted him, but now without its control over his fate, he could get to work on his training. Before they left, Tails was given a wristwatch from Dial powered by the equation. It could create any object as long as it already existed at one point in the world. That alone was more than they needed to get the ball rolling. Tails talked over with Knuckles with what they needed: Bedding, study rooms, training tracks, and more. All of it was just a press of a button away. They filled a large space within the blankness of the dimension just short of an hour. After that, it was time to get to work.

The other thing given to them before they left was the crystals Sonic picked up from the last trial. Supposedly, these things were to boost their training, but Tails wasn't able to get anything out of it. He touched, conducted, heated, and ran numerous experiments to no avail of what they were. Perhaps something was blocking them mentally from unlocking the powers from the crystal. "Knuckles?" Tails asked. "Did Dial say anything about how we go about these things?"

Knuckles shrugged as he stepped into a sparring ring with a punching bag hanging in the center. "Not that I remember." He bounced on his feet and thrust his fists into the tough bag. Tails sighed as he pushed aside the crystals for later.

"Guess we'll come back to those." Tails stretched his arms back as he stepped away from the desk he had been examining the gems on. "In the meantime, I have a favor to ask you." Tails flew into the ring and stepped between Knuckles and the bag. He raised his fists and smirked as he tried to replicate Knuckles' stance. "Teach me how to fight."

"Okay. Let's start." Knuckles bluntly said as he swiftly threw his fist across Tails' face in an instant, almost knocking the poor fox off his feet.

"Not like that!" Tails yelled. Knuckles was confused, he'd thought his approach was the right way to go about it. "Just…show me the basics, then after I get my form down, we can work on sparing."

"Alright," Knuckles said. He opened his hands and raised them in front. "Give me your best shots." Tails gulped as he broadened his stance. He struck the left palm first with lackluster form and speed. He kept alternating which hand he hit, but the results of each of them were the same. "Stop!" Knuckles lowered his hands. There was just something he couldn't get behind. It perplexed him more than anything else at this very moment. "Why do you want to do this?" He asked Tails. "It doesn't seem like you."

"Come on, you know why." Tails responded. Knuckles had a feeling of what he meant by that. It had to do with the apostles, especially those deer brothers. "If I'm going to be a part of this team, I'm not letting what happened that day happen again."

"Sure, you went through a lot then, but there've been worse days, and you never had to go this far to deal with them." Tails lowers his head and looks away from Knuckles. More fear creeps down his throat, forcing a clutter of feelings to be lodged deep inside. But he knew that he was in good company and with a good friend.

"I'm going to tell you something that you can never tell Sonic, ever." He spoke sternly, which compelled Knuckles to give all ears. "Before Dial picked you up, he had to stabilize me from my injuries first. It took longer than expected, and when I finally woke… he… he told me that I lost… a lot of blood. More than anyone should. For three minutes, he told me, that's how long I was dead for." Knuckles dropped the stiff posture in his body and his eyes bloomed with lament and guilt. "It was cold. So, so cold. I'm bound to be there again, but I can't let it take me when I'm this young. There's still so much I need to learn, but the dangers that await, I need to face them. It's either now or never."

Knuckles contemplates, still shaken by the confession. He was right, he had to take on his fears and troubles eventually. There was no choice but to be his mentor. "Ok. I'll teach you." Tails' face glows with excitement as he puts himself back into a fighting stance. "Let's not rush ourselves here. We got a lot of time to kill.

Edge of the Universe: Hidden Sanctuary

"I got it!" Sage exclaimed from the top of the temple. Sonic and Dial rushed up the stairs and hovered beside the ghost girl. She looked tired but overfilled with glee as she pointed to one of the plethora of monitors next to her. "I can force a connection between us and Eggman." Sonic and Dial both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Way to go, Sage!" Sonic cheered.

"I admit, it's pretty impressive you were able to manage such a task," Dial added. "Now let's get that message out and our time constraints will no longer be an issue."

"Yeah… about that." Sage's upbeat attitude slowly diminished as she started to break down the bad news of their big breakthrough. "It's not going to be that simple."

Dial twisted his head in perplexity. "Why?" He said with warines.

"Well, the hardware that he is supplied with isn't up to date, and we are trying to transmit a message from across the universe. Safe to say, we're going to be limited in our word choice." Sage explained.

"Limited?" Dial spoke as his nerves were on the edge of popping. He wanted this job done with no issues and no delays. He wanted the Time Eater DEAD. "How limited?" Sage did the math in her head, narrowing down the length and the letters with each variable added. A slime number came to her mind.

"Twelve characters." She stated. "That's the most I can guarantee." Dial took a step back. Doubt, denial, and questions flare up inside him. He casted away the truth as a lie. He didn't believe that this was the extent that they were held.

"Then find a way to get more. I'm not accepting any less."

"I can't. Even with the best equipment, it's impossible from where we stand."

"That's ridiculous. What kind of super AI are you if you can't muster a simple task?" His curt comment struck a nerve within Sage. She just about had it with all the berating and impatience from Dial.

"I have my limitations," She responded. "But I know one thing for certain: We wouldn't have this problem if you just let me return to the planet." Sage snaps her fingers. "I would get a connection just like that"

"We wouldn't have had this problem in the first place if it wasn't for you and your fatuous creator's meddling. You had no right to stick your noses where they shouldn't be."

"Will you two knock it off and just hear each other out!?" Sonic came running between them, trying to diffuse the fuss. "We're not getting anywhere with all this petty drama. We are where we are now and there is no changing that. So let's figure out a plan, together." His efforts seemed to have worked, as Dial and Sage calmed down and took deep breaths.

"He's right," Sage said. "We won't solve this if we're our own worst enemy. So, Dial, is there anything else that you can think of that can boost our connection?"

There was, in fact, a way they could, but it was a touchy matter to Dial. "I might. If you were able to hook up your equipment to the equation, there is a possibility that it could offer a better connection."

"See, was that so hard?" Sonic talked with an indication of snark in his voice. "We'll meet you there. Lead the way." He told Dial. The time guardian hesitantly opens a gateway in the form of a grand double door constructed from golden frames and polished wood. It opened and on the other side was the river-like nebula known as the equation. Dial walked in first, but Sage quickly pulled Sonic aside to talk with him before they followed.

"This is our best chance to act on our plan. He'll lead us right to where we need to be." Sonic was still concerned about whether this was the right thing to do now. It came with a great risk to her life and the trust of their guardian.

"Are you sure you're still up to this?" Sonic asked. "There's still time to back out." It crossed Sage's mind, but she wasn't about to back down now. She was curious about who Dial really was and whether he spoke the truth. She nodded to Sonic, indicating her commitment to the plan. Set on their goal, they walked through the doorway to follow Dial to the equation.

The Void: Day 16

Knuckles' teaching was restless, but Tails was more than motivated to keep pushing forward now. He always knew that Knuckles was a great fighter, but after days spent sparing him, he truly got to see the master that he was in combat. He was sharp and clever in his moves and it showed that it was his true nature to be in battle. Through his lessons, Tails developed the foundation of his own fighting style. He moved like flowing water, or the thin wind, redirecting and getting swift jabs in through capitalization of predictable moves. He used his nimble essence to guide himself into preferable positions, but he was still the novice, and he still failed to beat Knuckles in a fight.

He fell onto his butt, panting and drenched in sweat that oiled his fur. Today they've been at it for four hours already, and Knuckles sensed that a break was needed. "Let's call it for now, we can continue a little later today." He exited the ring, but Tails remained to catch his breath and formulate his thoughts. He was obsessed over what he was doing wrong and how he could fix his mistakes next time. He was a quick learner and he had no intention of giving up now. "Hey." Knuckles spoke up, getting Tails' attention. "Come over here and help me out with something." Tails wiped the sweat off and flew over to Knuckles, who was eyeing the crystal they brought in. "Have you figured anything else out about these things?"

"I tried collecting more data from them, but it's strange, I don't get any readings when I scan them." Tails thought about it more, referring back to some of the things Dial said. "Maybe this is what Dial meant by 'understand the universe' or 'unlocking your potential'. Maybe once we figure that out, we can use the crystals."

"I noticed the crystal Sonic had was drained of its color. Do you think-"

"It wouldn't surprise me if he already subconsciously had an understanding." Tails said. "That being said, we'll have to integrate more routines other than sparing. Exercises revolving around knowledge of our reality will have to be put in place."

"Great." Knuckles sarcastically remarked. "Guess I should've known I would have to deal with this."

Edge of the Universe: The Equation

The equipment was all moved from the sanctuary to the equation relatively quickly. It was a perfect scenario for Sage to enter the equation, but there was one problem: Dial. He had been observing everything like a hawk. He didn't even bother speaking, and just simply waited for Sage to make progress with a better connection. She looked on at the equation with a multitude of feelings. The beauty of it, as it represented all knowledge and information through its colorful streams. The horror of it, as it held all the dangers ever known and would tear any mortal who entered to shreds. But that was why she would be the one who would enter it. She just needed Dial to look somewhere else for a minute while she commenced the search inside.

That answer lay with Sonic, as he caught on quickly once Sage nodded to him, signaling that the plan was ready to start. The hedgehog knew there was no going back now and stepped toward Dial. "I need to ask you something." Dial turned his head away from Sage and stared at Sonic. "About that episode you mentioned I had. What was that about?"

Dial sighed. "You don't want to know."

"Then why bring it up in the first place? Come on, just tell me what's going on with me." It seemed like that was enough for Sage to make her move. She wasn't going to risk transferring her whole self into the equation to raise suspicion, but she would leave an image of herself behind to make it look like she was still there. She hesitated to move in, still afraid of what would happen to her if she stayed too long, but her inquisition drowned out the rest of her logicality. She thought of making a backup of herself, but there wasn't enough time to spare until Dial finished talking to Sonic.

The Equation

Sage quickly detached herself from her mirror image and traversed into the streams of the equation. A surge of invasive info squirmed through her mind, engulfing her thoughts and pushing them down while an endless spiral took over. She ran countless algorithms to keep herself on top of the overwhelming data, reciting her name, family, and friends to keep her identity intact. But this wasn't a task of endurance, she needed to find the answers she was looking for. She scanned across the infinite data around her, focusing on a small segment that stood out to her. A cloud of stored data containing all of history. Bingo, it would be there that she would find the truth.

Fifty-five seconds left. Her processors had already shown signs of scattering. She put into overdrive her search. She looked through history, skimming past millions to billions of years within nanoseconds to the beginning of time where she saw two figures at the concentrated point of the universe. One she knew was Dial, but the other she had no clue who it was. They were the same size and stature as Dial but had a more angelic form. Two silver wings with bladed feathers on each of them. It had a bluish glow to its white glasslike body, and its eye was a ball of red energy. She listened in as the two talked. "What do you think of adding this function to here? Can you make out the quotient, Solaris?" Dial asked.

"It wouldn't look pretty," Solaris responded. "I think if you allowed the expressions to flow on their own, we could conceive a more vast environment."

"Then there wouldn't be much reason or order. But… if you think it can work, then I guess it can." The little scribble of mathematical symbols in front of them is pushed forward and into the equation, which looks narrower and less flourishing. It gives it a more vibrant glow as its streams expand. "It looks beautiful." Dial stared in awe. Solaris on the other hand looked…dissatisfied.

"Yes, but something's not right. See the end of the current?" Solaris pointed to where the equation ended, showing a cutoff of the color. Dark and grey silk festers and fades into nothing. "We need to fix that, soon."

"It is by design, remember?" Dial told Solaris. "All things come to an end eventually, but what is for them is elegance and attraction."

"That was your decision, to add the variable of death," Solaris said.

"It adds value to life. It can be measured and treasured."

"Life shouldn't have to be hindered by an end. Why not let it strive without a barrier to conceal it? Eternity for all things. We have the same vision for what the equation should be, but your approach to perfecting it impedes my efforts."

"Most mortals can not handle eternity. The only constant is suffering in a meaningless slate."

"Suffering is a reminder of being alive. The mortals that carry a greater will shall move past it with prime endeavor." Dial shifts his concerns to Solaris, he sensed something was wrong with him.

"Are you feeling alright? You're not talking like yourself." Solaris looked away from Dial and clenched his hands in anger.

"I know what you did…" Solaris growled.

"What?"

"We've worked on perfecting the universe for eons. I was proud to call you my friend, and I hoped that you would say the same. But… how dare you regulate me to that… thing!" Solaris said with disdain. He reached into his chest and pulled out a sphere of coiling variables that shaped a skull. "Did you think I wouldn't notice when you put this disgusting trinket in me? Why?"

"Not just you, but also me. We don't deserve to be the sole rulers of the universe forever. One day, there will be mortals who will inherit our titles and be entrusted to supervise the equation." Dial explained.

"You've finally lost your mind." Solaris spat venom toward Dial. "A mortal?! How naive are you? Do you really expect me to go along with this?" Solaris takes the variable of death and crushes it with his hand. "No… I will not stand for this madness. This restriction you call 'law'. If you will not stand down and let me take control, I will rewrite all with force."

"Are you threatening me?" Dial's voice turned cold. "I hold the power here. I was the one who started all of this before you showed up." A ghastly aura emitted around both of them, but before a brawl between the two gods could break out, Solaris turned his back on Dial and started to float away into the galaxies ahead.

"You may have dominion over me, but the restriction you set in place will be your downfall." Dial instantly knew what Solaris was getting at.

"You wouldn't."

"I will endlessly manifest in your 'ideal' world, where you'll be helpless to chase me down. I will unravel everything you've built up and remake it under my own image. Then you will understand how my way is better." Within a blip of white light, Solaris disappears out of sight, leaving Dial all alone. Sage was told that Dial and Solaris constructed the worlds they lived in, but something troubling was discovered in this conversation: Solaris has rid himself of the concept of death. Was it even possible to destroy him and his fragments knowing that this was the case? Why would Dial hide this from him? All of that information glided through Sage's mind at an accelerated rate, leaving her with thirty seconds left.

She decided to keep looking for moments in history where Dial and Solaris interacted. She fast-forwarded many years later, where Dial had a weakened Solaris cornered in a vacuum of darkness. Solaris was but a white flame, flickering away from existence. "You ought to give those mortals credit. Those three hedgehogs held you back considerably well." Dial chanted. Solaris had no mouth, but he was aware of Dial's presence. He bolstered his flame in anger but it frailed and dimmed down after a few brief seconds. "And now you're being blown out. Life and death won't apply to you anymore after your existence has been snuffed out." Dial scoops up Solaris into his palm and looks at him with pity. "But, my friend, I can't bear to see you go." Dial takes his free hand and pierces into Solaris' flame. He divides him and plucks out an orange fire that he tosses through a portal into the white void, leaving a ghoulish cloud of purple smoke that Dial later splits into three different fragments. A ruby with black ripped patterns, a grotesque cocoon, and an orb of smoke with a pair of blank white eyes.

Sage watched in horror as Dial spread these fragments out of the darkness and into the new timeline of the world, saving a part of Solaris. From the distance, Sage hears a friendly voice call out to her. "Sage! Come back!" It was Sonic, yelling from outside the equation. Sage checked how much time she had left: Ten seconds! She had to leave, but she wanted to go deeper in and discover more, but her rationality returned to her as Sonic's cries for her pestered her enough for her to dart upwards and attempt to return. She felt her mind erasing and etching rapidly, and her physical body fluttered in and out of existence. With each microsecond, the pain increases the toll on her body, but the end is within sight, as she breaks through the threshold between the equation and returns to the normal universe.

Edge of the Universe

She was not met with all welcome eyes, however, as Dial awaited her with an aggravated demeanor. "You have a lot of nerve to pull off what you did." Dial held Sonic by his ear, twisting it out of discipline.

"Sorry Sage, turns out I'm not that great at distracting through conversation." Sonic apologized.

"Go ahead, tell him what you saw." Dial beckoned Sage to be open and reveal everything.

"Sonic, the fragments of Solaris, the ones that gave power to Infinite and the apostles, they only exist because of Dial. He was the one who created them." Sonic's eyes widened and he looked up at Dial with betrayal flooding his face. He broke free from his grip and confronted him.

"You?!" He lashed out. "I don't understand. Didn't you want Solaris to be destroyed?"

"It wasn't-... It's not that simple. For eons, I've called him friend. He was the only one who stood by my side. I couldn't force myself to make that choice."

"Despite the danger he presented?! That choice now costs all the lives that have been lost, and it almost cost my best friend his life too!" Sonic yelled.

"If your friend lost who they were and turned to darkness, would you have the strength to 'do what is right?'" Dial snapped, making Sonic take a step back and ponder the thought. Could he? If Knuckles, Amy, or Tails ever conceded to evil and threatened everything, could he make that choice? The anger between the three died down as the silence consumed the space around them. No one was right. No one could make judgment. All they had was each other to work with, and even then they've failed. The mistrust, secrets, and plotting sunk the alliance each of them had worked so hard to maintain. Dial sighed and turned his head to the equation. He sat down and watched the vibrant streams in silence. This is all he had left to remember his broken friendship. Sonic, seeing the pain inside Dial, walks next to him and sits down, admiring the equation with him. "I'm… sorry I bit your head off." Dial apologized.

"Sorry we went behind your back. We just wanted to know the truth."

"You do not need to say sorry. It's my fault that it came down to this when I should've been more open. You should've known all the details from the start." Dial hesitates in his mind, but speaks up with confidence directly toward Sonic. "When I brought you here for the first time, your physical form had detached from itself into two new directions. One part of you was in the past, and another was in the future. I was scared. I didn't know what would happen if three different versions of you in three different sections of time would cause a paradox, so I sealed them away in the crystal you absorbed earlier. They are bound to you once again, but cannot be fully utilized until you've discovered your calling."

"Calling?" Sonic asked.

"You are the first mortal that has ever moved inside my suspended animation. You excelled at every lesson I gave you, that no mere mortal can ever hope to achieve. You, Sonic… are destined to become what I am… a Starweaver."

"What? Are you feeling alright? Did you hit your head? Because… you'd have to be kidding if you weren't. Me? A Starweaver? I can't do the things you can." Sonic tried denying what Dial was proposing, but Dial kept insisting that what he was saying was true.

"You're closer than you think. You just need to get used to the powers you've reintegrated back into your body." Sonic stood up, gazing into the equation and past it, thinking that all of this could be his. "I'm not immortal, not by any means. Once I die, Solaris will seek the opportunity to rewrite the equation and destroy all. You need to be there when that happens."

"This is all too much. What happens to me if I do accept? Will I ever see my friends and my home ever again?"

"You'll be the one who guides them. You'll never truly leave them." Dial stands up and walks away, directing his stance back at Sage. "I was too harsh on you most of all. To enter the equation like you did and escape in one piece is truly remarkable. There's no need to keep pushing you further. Send the message to your father however you like." Sage took in his genuine words and acknowledged the sign of respect that came with them. She nods and comes up with a short sentence within 12 characters that might deter Eggman. 'Destroy Time'. She quickly tells both Sonic and Dial what she sent and suggests that a contingency should be put in place.

"Is there no other way we can get on the planet without your help?" Sage asked Dial.

"I still need to send your other friends back as soon as they come back from the void."

"Then we'll have to find another way." Sonic kept looking out into space. If the way ahead really led into the galaxy, then perhaps there was a plan. "Dial, point to me which direction our home is." Dial points to a far blip of white light in the distance. No doubt that was the galaxy where Sonic's home was. "I have a really stupid idea that just might work. I'll have to go beyond my top speed. Beyond which nothing has ever gone before."

"You aren't thinking-"

"Yes I am!" Sonic interrupted Dial.

"Take me with you then!" Sage hollered. "I'll upload myself into a flash drive you can carry with you." Sonic gave her a warm smile and an ecstatic thumbs-up. Dial was still dumbfounded that this was their best approach.

"This has to be the worst idea ever conceived. Can you go that fast to get there in time?"

Sonic snags a flash drive that Sage had uploaded herself in. He holds onto her tightly and stretches his limbs before stepping back to get a good distance for his initial run. "I'll maintain my speed in a vacuum for most of the time. I just have to give it everything that I have."

"Surely you have your limits," Dial said.

"Limits? Ha! I'll show you my limit." Sonic concentrates as he winds himself into a ball, preparing for a usual spindash. He keeps curling back as he pushes harder to increase the speed at which he's spinning. The energy inside him pours out into his quills, causing them to glow. His quills create enough energy to chip away the ground below him, scraping away and digging himself into an arched hole. A blue mist forms rapidly around him, and soon enough, the speed Sonic was generating couldn't be contained. He launches forward, disappearing in almost an instant. A loud boom and shockwave rocks the area and nearly knocks over Dial. He holds his hand over his hat to keep it from blowing off. Dial watches as Sonic becomes a blip in space, traversing across at a rate that he had never seen before.

"Good luck," Dial said.

The Void: Day 108

Tracking time was a mess to deal with. There was no cycle of light or any other way to keep track of time, so they had to create calendars, clocks, and dark chambers as bedrooms. Trying to sleep in an eternal light would be impossible. Tails had gotten better in his sparring, he even got a few clean hits on Knuckles last time they were in the ring. But that still wasn't getting them anywhere with absorbing the crystals they brought. He laid in bed, his white eyes glowing within the lightless room. He kept wondering what they were supposed to do. Almost half of their days were up, and they still weren't any closer to figuring out the crystals than they were the first day.

Then it hit him. All this time Dial kept reiterating that they find a way to 'understand the universe' or 'what the universe meant to them.' It was never always about getting stronger, but to find the meaning within themselves. It was about them, not just the study of how the universe around them worked. It made sense that Sonic had all of that figured out sooner than the rest of them. He always looked on at life with a smile on his face and an open heart, always moving forward. But Tails had yet to figure out what his life meant to him. What was his grand purpose? It kept him awake for hours. But there was still time. If they just discovered this about themselves, maybe then, will the crystals open up to them.

To be continued…

Next Up: The Form of the End!