Chapter 13: Lost Hope

Westopolis

This thing in front of them resonated a feeling so guttural it made Sonic want to throw up. The false Shadow struck him with a deep gaze, one with no life attached behind those eyes like it was some parasite sluggishly puppeteering a body. The headaches returned, forcing Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Eggman into disarray as their minds were cluttered with visions, more vivid than before.

Eggman remembered the fear he felt when he first met this thing in another lifetime, and it came to surface again tenfold. Shadow started to remember how it relentlessly craved destruction and the duels he had against it. Silver recalled when this thing tried to manipulate him to kill Sonic. And Sonic saw very little of his previous life that involved this monster, except for one instance: It killed him. It caught him off guard and it plunged a beam of piercing light through his chest, a sensation that felt too real now, to which Sonic checked his body to see if he was alright.

"I am Mephiles," It said. "I am the road to the final destination. I've seen the past, I'll cull the present, and I'll pave a new future." Mephiles extends both of his hands to the side, whirring to life a rooted power within. The surface of the nearby ground, crumbled debris, and cars darken and break down until a string of ascending dust remains. It has begun– the unraveling. "Witness the END!" Suddenly, a surge of dark purple waves shot out from Mephiles' hands, leveling the buildings into nothing, which expanded for hundreds of meters in an instant. The floor was now even as little was left standing after the blast.

Sonic, Shadow, Silver, Omega, Eggman, and Sage helplessly watch as Mephiles starts to float into the air, keeping his hands above his head. The flat ground rumbled as a stone peak erupted from below and raised into the limitless sky. Before anyone knew it, a temple was erected where there was once the center of the city. The sky turned red and clouds abnormally formed, blocking all light except for a few bolts of lightning that struck from above.

The fear in Shadow was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. The terror inside was pushing his motivation into the dirt. He knew that this was an impossible battle. "We need to retreat," Shadow said to the others, gathering their surprise. But with one look at Shadow's face, they saw that same fear, and they knew that things had taken a turn for the worst. Eggman and Sage had already left– snuck back into whatever concealment there was, leaving Sonic, Shadow, Omega, and Silver to book it as fast as they could.

Infinite and the apostles climb the stairs up the temple and meet Mephiles at its peak, where they were curious about what their next orders are. "So what comes next, Mephiles?" Infinite asked.

"You've done the best you could to retrieve my fragments, but alas, one more remains. Do not fret, there is no more you can do to help retrieve it. But I can do so myself. This temple will act as a gateway for me to pry into a forgotten time and return what is left of me. In the meantime, why don't you four have a little fun? I'll even boost your prowess to an even greater height." Having summoned four Chaos Emeralds, Mephiles distributes them equally among Infinite and the apostles. The energy resonates within them. They felt the power coursing through their bodies, giving them the strength to go beyond their already boundless feats. With newfound confidence, Elvira gleefully races down the temple and into the dying city. Infinite, after receiving permission from Mephiles, also flies into the city to act out his one final goal: Revenge on Dr. Eggman. Only Cain and Blair stay by, much to the puzzlement of Mephiles. "Don't you wish to test your new gifts?"

"We're thankful for your graciousness," Blair responded.

"But it might be wise to hold this keep since your efforts to unify aren't complete yet." Cain Added.

"Very well," Meplhiles turned to other matters as he left the deer brothers to guard the staircase leading to the peak of the temple. He formed a piece of a dark purple crystal and melted it into the sandy stone below. It abnormally formed a wide circle and glowed a bright violet as it conjured energy into Mephiles. His hands fidgeted as he stared into the sky. "Iblis!" He cried out. "No longer shall the barriers of time keep us apart. No longer shall the limits of death inflict those who live. Oblivion will fall!" Suddenly, a small white gateway spirals above Mephiles, slowly swirling in mass as it commences the start of a ritual.

Elsewhere, Sonic, Shadow, Omega, and Silver took refuge in a broken-down mall, catching their breath. "Just who was that?" Silver asked as he took a seat on a bench by a faulty fountain. He'd been fighting for hours, and his legs were killing him. "And why do I remember so much about him?"

"My guess is that it is Solaris or another fragment of him," Sonic said with confidence. He was sure that the one they saw was the one Dial was talking about. "But if anything, I'm assuming it is another fragment. If it was Solaris, our reality would unravel."

"How do you know any of that?"

"I kinda bounced around a lot of places, ones farther away than you can imagine. I met someone who knew what we were facing, and get this, he's a keeper of time." Silver and Shadow's faces sparked with a mix of confusion, disbelief, and slight disdain, especially from Shadow. "The point is that we still have time to stop this."

"Maybe all of this could've been prevented if you'd just been here from the start," Shadow growled as he stepped closer to Sonic, walking up into his face. "That thing merged TWICE! It was weak, we had it on the run several times. If you were here when we had it cornered, it would've been destroyed."

"You don't know that-"

"You don't get it! All these gods, these higher beings you get yourself tangled up in, where are they now? Why aren't they down here helping us!?" Shadow yelled in Sonic's face. "We've hit another dead end, and soon, we won't have any more chances. If you've really found the keeper of time, then tell him to revert all of this."

Sonic was tired of Shadow's constant barrage, so he tried walking past him to move away from the topic of the conversation. "I'm sorry, that just isn't possible." As starts to move past him, Shadow tightly grabs Sonic's arm without turning, keeping him in place.

"And you've just accepted that?" He once again growled. "You, of all people, were told that something isn't possible, and you went along with it? Tell that to the survivors who lost their families, friends, and more. I don't care what excuse that 'timekeeper' has to say, drag his ass down here and make him bring everyone who lost their lives back. Have him bring her back."

Sonic pondered who he was talking about. "Who are you talking about? Maria." The room went silent as Shadow looked away from Sonic, hiding his emotion. Sonic looked around and saw the tension in everyone. Silver, and even Omega, looked distraught. Then it finally clicked for Sonic. Shadow and Omega were here, which meant… "No…" Sonic felt the weight of the world fall onto his heart as he fell onto the ground. "She can't be-"

"She is…" Shadow's tone softened as he saw the distress overwhelming Sonic. "She gave her life to save me." Shadow clenched his hands as tight as he could and gritted his teeth. "We should've been ready for this. If we were, then maybe…"

"That doesn't matter now." Silver spoke up as he hopped back on his feet. "We're here now. We can still put a stop to this. Rouge knew that if one of us were to fall… it would be over. I've made some mistakes since this all began. We all did, but I'm done letting them hold me back. It's time we make up for the lives that were lost. Rouge would want nothing more." That little speech made a big enough push for Sonic to calm his nerves and rise. He was right, this wasn't over.

Meanwhile, Eggman and Sage escaped into a back alley, where they hid under the cover of night. The doctor was out of breath as he wheezed air in and out of his failing lungs. He'd never run so fast in his life before. Sage floats over to him and pats his back until he regains himself. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"I think I might have a hemorrhaged lung." He straightened his back and felt a sharp pain spread across his body. Sage looks over him intently for a brief moment before reporting.

"My diagnostics indicate you don't have a-"

"Just stating a feeling, I know I'm ok." He interrupted as he turned his head to look outside the alley and see the state that the city had endured. "Now what to do about this whole mess?"

"If only you got my message, we could've prevented all this," Sage said. Eggman's face drops as he realizes his critical mistake. That text that appeared in his base wasn't him losing his mind, it was Sage. She tried to warn him, but he didn't listen.

"Well… You see I did." Eggman decided it was best to rip the bandaid off now than to wait.

"What?" Sage couldn't believe what she was hearing and was baffled at what Eggman was implying. "But you couldn't have. If you did, you would've known to destroy the Time Eater." Eggman looked back at her, and his face said it all, completely guilty. Sage started to experience something rooted in her coding that she never knew she had: anger. She noticed it during some of her interactions with Dial, but now it felt like it was about to erupt. "You did see it. How could you not realize what it meant?"

"I wasn't thinking straight. I thought you were gone." He tried reasoning.

"I thought I could trust you. I thought you would listen. But this," Sage pointed to the desolate city. "You did this. You told me we could conquer the world– not destroy it!"

Eggman took a deep breath in, finally recovering from the long run he made here. He needed to lay down everything to her. "Sage, I'm not a good person." He started to open up. "What you see out there, I've probably done worse. It's my lack of limits that allow me to commit to my true goal of building Eggmanland. That's just who I am. But you know what the real truth behind all this is?" Eggman had gotten her attention, and he was about to tell her, but something sinister echoed nearby.

"Eggman, I know you're here somewhere." A harrowing voice called to him, one which both of them recognized as Infinite. They watched in horror as an ominous red glow grew closer to the alley. "It's my turn to run the experiment." Eggman and Sage frantically looked around for a way to escape, but the only way out was forward, where Infinite was undoubtedly coming from. Eggman saw how hopeless the situation was and tried to shoo Sage away, who could easily hide herself from Infinite's sight.

"You need to hide!" Eggman ushered her away, trying his best to convince her to leave. "I know what he can do to me but I can't stand to know what he'll do to you."

"I can't leave you!" Sage tried to beg. "We can find a way out if we keep looking." Sage resumed her search for a way out, but Eggman knew that it was futile. He looked to one of the buttons on his jacket, which when pressed, would forcibly transfer Sage into a dormant state that would keep her safe. It was his only way to be content with his situation.

"I'm sorry," He said as he pressed the button. "Plug your ears and try not to listen." Sage turned around and saw what Eggman did. She cried out as she disappeared and transferred into a small storage drive safely concealed on Eggman's person.

"Found you." Eggman stood confidently as he faced Infinite, who had just entered the alley. The jackal fidgets his claws with anticipation as he stares at Eggman. "I remember how it felt when you made room in my chest to fit the Phantom Ruby. Four agonizing hours under a blinding light as you carved my will away. I went along because I thought you would unleash my full potential, but you were never close to achieving that."

"Will you stop moaning about and get it over with, you disgraceful excuse for a tool." That last remark sent Infinite over the edge, as he lunged forward and pinned Eggman to the grimy floor. The jackal's eyes salivated with an intense desire to rip Eggman apart, but it left him distracted enough for Eggman to reach down to his waist and unholster a plasma pistol, which he attempted to fire off at Infinite's head. The jackal narrowly tilted his head enough to avoid a lethal shot, but the width of the blast was enough to scorch the left side of his face, messing up his eye badly. Infinite knocks the pistol away and runs his claws down Eggman's chest, gouging deeply. He ran out of patience to mock and just wanted to get it done with.

In the storage drive, Sage started to hear the screams from her father inside her empty compartment: a blacked-out canvas that stretched endlessly. She crouched down and hid her head close to her chest, covering her ears to block the sounds. No matter how hard she squeezed, the torture could not go unheard. She had already tried to get out, but Eggman had rigged the compartment to keep her trapped. She could do nothing but listen. For minutes it went on, but for Sage, those minutes were processed slowly. Every second means two minutes, and every minute means half an hour. It was maddening.

Infinite was exhausted after what he did to the doctor. His wounds were deep and his blood formed ponds inside the potholes on the ground. But the doctor still lived. Infinite stood up, seeing that Eggman had no chance of walking away from this. He felt if he ended him now, it would be mercy. No, he would let him bleed. The jackal got what he wanted. He flew away to find more entertainment somewhere else. Eggman, with the last of his strength, pressed the same button on his jacket to release Sage from the drive. She frantically hovers above him, trying to close the wounds, but alas, her holographic form prevents her. "No, no, no!" She screamed as digital tears trickled down her cheeks. "Father, please don't go!"

Eggman smiled as he weakly reached his hand to her face. Despite it passing through at first, he angles his hand steadily enough to align it on her cheek. "Infinite won't have a reason to search my base, now that I'm gone. Go there and enter this code. It'll give you the edge you need to take them down. My one final gift to you." Eggman releases a small chip from his goggles and gives it to Sage. She reads it and recognizes the numbers as the same as her birth date.

"I can't go on without you."

"Sage… the truth is… I don't deserve you. You developed feelings for others that I can't understand. Because that's who I am. Be the person you want to be, and even if I won't be there to see it, I'll still be proud." Eggman's hand fell as his face turned pale. Just like that, it was over. Sage kept trying to pound on his chest in a vain attempt to wake him, but it was already too late. The notorious Doctor Eggman was gone.

Edge of the Universe

Dial observed the situation of the world through the reflection of a mirror. He watches as Mephiles ascends higher into the air to concentrate on the spiraling white gateway. Dial was all too familiar with what that gateway was, and he was desperate enough to think of anything to stop its inception. He thought to interfere, but with the fragments all together to form Mephiles, the risk of instantly destroying the universe from his mere presence was staggering.

Suddenly, Mephiles snaps his head to face forward in the mirror, like he knows someone is watching. Like he knew Dial was watching. "Have you missed me, old friend?" He mocked. "Soon I will rejuvenate to my true form. The impasses you've set to stop me will soon fall. By then, there will be nothing to avert me from the equation. Not even you." Dial throws a fit of rage by grabbing the mirror and slamming it into the ground, shattering it instantly. He started to wonder what would happen if he did have to fight Solaris if he was fully restored. Could he win? They've never had to do it in the history of their entire existence, but with how intimidating Solaris could become, Dial held doubts that he could win.

Then something strange happened. The door that leads into the void, clicked as the door knob turned. The wooden frame swung out as two colorless crystals were thrown at his feet. He looks up at the blinding white background to see two blacked-out figures approaching with confidence. One fox and one echidna, brandishing a smile. Tails was taller and had slightly longer fur on his tails and face. Knuckles gained a bit more muscle and sported a new pair of gloves with metal tips around the front. "You're back! And just in time. There's more trouble in your world." Dial said.

"Glad to be back." Tails commented as he looked around for his best friend, only to find them nowhere nearby. "Where is Sonic and Sage?"

"They found their own way down. But there is no time to waste, let's get you back now."

"Wait just a second." Knuckles stopped Dial. "There's somewhere else we'd like you to bring us before we go to the city."

"There is no time. Where else would you need to be?" Tails kept his smile up as he took out what seemed to be the Chaos Emerald Radar. He pointed out four signals in Westopolis, while the last three were relatively close by. He specifically emphasized those three emeralds. "Think you can bring us close to these signatures?"

Westopolis

Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Omega tried formulating a plan to launch a counterattack. Shadow pointed out that before Mephiles had merged, he was in possession of four Chaos Emeralds. If they were able to get their hands on them, they could use their power to tip the scale in their favor. Sonic wanted to delay whatever Mehpiles was doing to give Tails and Knuckles enough time to come back if they were finished in the void, so he volunteered himself to confront him first. There was the obvious flaw when it came down to who was going to protect Mephiles, as both Infinite and the apostles could be guarding the temple. Omega was confident that he could solo the apostles and elected Shadow and Silver to face Infinite. There was a disagreement, considering Omega was missing an arm, and that there had to be a better way to approach the temple without engaging in a massive skirmish. They just didn't have the time.

Out of nowhere, a flickering red ghost appeared next to them and was soon revealed to be Sage, who had just casually popped into existence. "Eggman robot detected! Engaging!" Omega shouted as he revved up his machine gun, but before he could fire, Sonic put himself in front of the bot.

"Wait! She's not a robot, she's an AI."

"Is she an Eggman or non-Eggman AI?"

"Uhh… Eggman AI…" Sonic hesitated to say.

"Then its annihilation is permitted!"

Shadow also stepped in front of Omega and slowly pushed down his arm. "It's fine, this one seems to be on our side for now. My question is how did you find us."

"Your robot friend is Eggman tech, it wasn't hard tracking him down and finding you here." She struggled to get the words out as her eyes started to water. Sonic looked up at Sage and saw the sadness plaguing her eyes.

"Sage? What's wrong?" Sage couldn't contain herself, and tears quickly rolled down again as she began to weep. She pulled out the chip that Eggman gave her and showed it to them.

"This was all that he left me. Why? Why couldn't I just be with him a little longer." The others in the room started to piece together what she was talking about. It was a conclusion that none of them wanted to believe, but it needed confirmation.

"What happened to Eggman?" Sonic walked close to her, trying to get her to calm down. It worked for a moment, as Sage briefly held back her tears.

"Infinite got to him. There was nothing he could do to save himself. There was nothing I could do." Sonic couldn't describe what he'd felt after she confirmed their suspicions. It wasn't dread, relief, or anything good or bad, but just emptiness. It felt anticlimactic that that's how it ends for the doctor. No final send-off to the heroes, no grand departure, just gone in a moment. It felt wrong to have it end like that. All those years they've known each other to have it cut off so suddenly. "But I'm not done yet. With this chip, I'm going to use whatever left he has for me against those monsters. If you four are preparing for a battle, then count me in too."

"So where does that chip come into play?" Shadow asked.

"At one of his bases. I'll make a detour there, get what I need, and meet back up with you when I'm ready."

Shadow leaned over to Omega and whispered to him. "Follow her there and keep an eye out on her."

"Are you sure? I might try to destroy her if she does anything remotely suspicious."

"That's why I want you to go. She's still an Eggman construct and should be monitored like one. Just make sure she doesn't find any means to betray us after this is all over."

Suddenly, footsteps start approaching from the entrance of the mall. Everyone in the room goes silent as they peer their heads down the escalator. It was too dark both inside and outside to see anything distinctive, but they knew that there were at least two people there. They hid behind cover and were ready to get the jump on them as soon as they walked up the escalator, with Sonic being the closest one there. His eyes could barely see through the shrubbery he hid behind, and as one of the figures walked by, he could still barely discern anything from them. Nevertheless, he was the first to jump out and attempt to attack the figure, but before he could land a hit, the figure reacted quicker than him and dodged the attack, to which the figure then jumped on Sonic and wrapped its legs around his neck, slamming him to the ground in a chokehold. The hedgehog struggled for air as he was pinned down.

"Sonic?" The figure holding Sonic in the chokehold suddenly releases their grip on his neck, letting him free. He stands back up and his eyes widen as he sees a familiar face. "What were you doing behind that bush?" Tails questioned the hedgehog.

"What's going on here?" The other figure reveals himself as Knuckles says as he runs up the escalator. Shadow, Silver, Omega, and Sage all get out of hiding as they realize it was just a false alarm.

"Where have you two been?" Silver asked.

"It's a long story," Tails responded. "But… it's good seeing you all again." Tails lunges forward and hugs Sonic. Sonic then remembered how long both Tails and Knuckles were in the void for. That one year in there must've left them completely changed, which was something Sonic had several questions about.

"You've grown," Sonic commented.

"In more ways than just height." Tails looks back at Knuckles. "Both of us have."

"I'd say. That chokehold you had on me was no joke. Don't tell me that blockhead over there taught you that." Sonic also looked at Knuckles, to which the echidna humbly smiled and gestured at Tails.

"I taught him a few things, but that one was something he came up with on his own." Sonic looked on at Tails with the most proud look imaginable. Knuckles, on the other hand, looked pressed about their surroundings and the state of the city. "Things look really rough here. We don't have much more time left it seems."

"Luckily, we didn't come back empty-handed." Tails beckoned to Knuckles to show them, and the echidna compiled by taking out the remaining three Chaos Emeralds and showing them off to the rest. "We made a slight pivot in our routing using this." Tails revealed the Chaos Emerald Radar and waved it around. "I think these will immensely help out, what do you think? Did you have any other intentions in mind?"

Sonic smirked as he looked back at Shadow and Silver. He started to get a good feeling things were going to turn around for them. "Funny you should ask, because I think we were just about ready to commence a plan of our own."

To be continued…

Up Next: The Duel Against the Warlock!