A void of a dark purple color stretched seemingly into infinity. Bizarre, glitching shapes formed in the distance, only to dissipate again after seconds. Purple cubes flew through the air, sometimes forming platforms. On one of these platforms, once again, lay an unconscious human girl. But this time she wasn't alone. Next to her lay three hedgehogs, a bat, an inactive combat robot and a yellow fox with double tails. Groaning, and rubbing her hand against her throbbing head, Ruby sat up.
"Ow... what happened?" The girl looked around and froze when she realized that her journey had taken a curve back to the beginning.
"Oh no, I'm..." She looked away to the mobians and robot laying close by. "We all are here in this place. What did Infinite call it? Right, Null Space."
Ruby hurried to rouse her friends from their sleep. "Guys wake up. We are currently trapped by Infinite!"
Tails and Sonic stirred. So did the others. Omega´s artificial eyes lit up once he had booted himself back up. While he and the rest of Team Dark helped one another to get back on their feet, Ruby did the same to Silver, Tails and Sonic. The latter, massaging his also throbbing skull, let his eyes wander.
"So this is the purple void you woke up in after you were taken from home? Yeah, I can imagine nicer places to begin your otherworldly adventure."
The last sentence had a slightly joking undertone to it, Sonic´s attempt at bringing some levity after their intense battles inside the Death Egg and the gloom of their current location. It did help some, as Ruby sighed, but did so with a little smile. "You don't have to tell me that. But encountering you guys has more than made up for that."
"So wait, you´ve been here before, Ruby. And managed to escape this place," Silver said. "Think you can do it again?"
The person addressed was silent for a while. She thought back to what was essentially the beginning of her Mobius adventure.
"Well, at first I just wandered around for a bit until I used Petal Burst to fly toward another platform. That´s when I realized that my speed seemed to somehow… push against this place? Free me from its hold? At the very least I got the idea to escape this place with the speed of my Semblance. Which I did. Although it probably wasn't just that. I did found the green Chaos Emerald here. From what I have learned about them by now, its power must have been activated by my Aura, maybe even my strong desire to escape, when I completely activated my Semblance."
"So basically: Chaos Energy and Momentum are the key out of this place," Shadow summed it up.
"Hm, I wonder if maybe a Chaos Burst from Sonic and Ruby is enough to pierce the wall between dimensions," Tails wondered out loud to himself as he put his hand on his chin.
"Well, guess there is only one way to find out about that." Sonic offered a hand to Ruby. "What do you say, partner?"
Before the human girl could respond, Tails raised his hands.
"No guys, wait! We should think this more trough. Infinite may have given us a great chance by accident."
"That's what I wanted to say. Don't forget how I told you that Infinite caused my Chaos Emerald to disappear into a purple mist during our first encounter in Mystic Jungle. He most likely brought it into Null Space. And it's likely that he didn't do that just once." Shadow's statement made Sonic remember what the black hedgehog´s Phantom had said when he had took out the red Emerald. That the Eggman Empire would have access to the powerful crystals.
"The remaining Chaos Emeralds must be here in Null Space! That would explain why no one has seen them since the beginning of the war but Eggman has their powers all of a sudden!"
Shadow nodded at Sonic. Tails tapped the Miles Electric.
"Wait a minute... I want to try something out..." the fox murmured with concentration. The screen of his gadget showed only static but the fox didn't let himself be discouraged. After a few seconds his face brightened.
"I've got it! Come here everyone."
Everyone tried to gather around the little genius so they could stare at the Miles-Electric. Not an easy undertaking, especially given Omega's massive frame. But they somehow all managed.
Looking at the screen, they all saw that there was still just static. But few areas seemed to be… cleared up, for lack of better words. In each of these locations were different colored dots to be seen. There was one at the center with three dots: White, Green and Red.
"I guess these must be our Emeralds."
Tails nodded. "Indeed. When Ruby and I were alone, we tried to get into contact with our allies. Infinite apparently disrupted the signal but with Ruby´s Chaos Emerald we were able to get a clear one. Using that as an inspiration, I managed to get a clear reading of their Energies among the distorting ones from the Phantom Ruby. They truly seem to be able to counter the effect to some degree."
Tails zoomed the screen out. Three additional dots appeared somewhere else among the depths of Null Space. A blue one, a cyan one and a yellow one.
"Wait, that´s only six. Didn´t you say that there are seven Emeralds?" Ruby asked.
"The last one is inside the Phantom Ruby reactor. I could clearly sense it," Shadow stated. "If we manage to return to reality we can take it as well."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let´s get them!"
"You all know I´m the last to say no to a jewel hunt, but how exactly are we to find the Emeralds and not get lost in all of… this." Rouge gestured to their void-like surrounding.
"Well, I can use the Miles-Electric for orientation. But I would need a Chaos Emerald as well. Meanwhile, Shadow and Omega should be able to locate the Emeralds by their Chaos Energies."
"Maybe we should split up then?" Silver offered. "It would save time and Shadow could, after finding his Chaos Emerald, use his ability and find the others via theirs."
The hedgehog in question thought about this. "Three search parties for the three missing Emeralds. It could work. Best would be if everyone stays in their location once they have found one of the gems. It would make it easier for me to find you, instead of creating a wild goose chase because everyone keeps moving."
"Sounds both reasonable and doable for me," Ruby said. The rest didn't seem to mind the plan as well.
"But who will go with who? Each team will need either Shadow, Omega or Tails."
"I wouldn't mind some alone time with Shadow over here. Even if it is a shame that Omega cant be with us to make Team Dark whole."
"DO NOT WORRY ROUGE. YOU TWO ARE MORE THEN CAPABLE IN HANDLING YOURSELF ON YOUR OWN WITHOUT MY ASSISTANCE. AND I´M POSITIVE THERE WILL BE MANY MORE INSTANCES OF US GOING ON MISSIONS TOGETHER ONCE THIS IS ALL OVER." The combat robot looked around. "NOW, WHO WANTS TO JOIN THIS UNIT?"
Ruby raised her arm. "I would. I could really use someone of your strength and defense, with my Aura being on the lower end."
"Would you mind if I joined you guys as well?" Silver asked.
"Nope!"
"NEGATIVE."
"Then I guess that just leaves me and you buddy," Sonic told to Tails. "The classic duo back together."
The fox smiled, however, it turned quickly into a frown. "We are lacking an Emerald though."
"Take mine." Ruby offered hers.
"Are you sure? Especially with what you just said about your Aura…"
The silver-eyed girl shrugged. "I´m sure it will be fine. I´ve got some solid support behind my back and managed dangerous situation trough most of my life without a Chaos Emerald. Beside, Sonic has more experience with them. I think he could utilize it better if it was among you two."
Tails hesitated for a bit. He thought about Ruby´s arguments, seeing the logic behind them.
"Alright, fine," he sighed. He took the white gemstone. "But you better come back fine."
"Heh, same goes to you." Ruby offered a fist bump, which Tails returned.
And so the established groups split up and went hunting for jewels.
"I think I see something."
Sonic and Tails had been flying trough Null Space for a while. The fox held the blue hedgehog's left hand with both of his own while the speedster used his free one to hold the Miles-Electric and give directions. It had finally led to Tails being able to see something in the purple nothingness. Sonic lowered the Miles-Electric and could see that they were closing in on a platform made of cubes. In contrast to the others, there seemed to be… something hovering there.
"Finally something. Infinite had said that Null Space would reflect his existence or something, but it's literally a void full of nothingness. Well, I guess it fits with the whole edgelord persona he has going on."
Tails made no comment. For some reason he had to think back to the moments were there had been unusual expression inside the masked one´s visible eye. During their first encounter and then during Metropolis. That brief of what could have been regret. And now with the inclusion of Null Space…
… Tails had the odd feeling something was amiss here. Yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He shook his head.
"You alright?" Sonic asked.
"...yeah, just thinking about some stuff. But let us first focus on gathering the Chaos Emeralds and then getting out from here."
They landed on the platform. Over its surface hovered a cluster of cubes. They looked like the ones Infinite would usually use for his illusions, but they constantly shifted their colors from red to a shade of purple different from the ones that made up the Null Space platforms. The cluster, roughly shaped like and orb, rotated slowly around its axis. Barely could be something yellow seen shining behind all the red and purple.
"Alright, doesn't look like it will be as easy for us as it will be for Ruby during her first stay."
They tried destroying the cubes with Tails´ Double-Wispon, but it didn't work. The cluster just shifted slightly, yet refused to give up the Chaos Emerald completely.
Sonic sighed. "Great, mind games it is then. It probably won´t be regular illusions, considering the odd coloration."
"Yeah…" Tails looked at the hovering formation with an uneasy feeling in his gut. "I think it would be best if only I try to take the Emerald."
When Sonic opened his mouth to protest, the fox quickly added, "I want you to stay guard and pull me away from that thing if something goes wrong."
The hedgehog wanted to offer himself instead of Tails. He was worried about his little bro getting in danger. But then he remembered that Tails had been bravely facing danger ever since their first encounter and had been constantly growing ever since. Even when Infinite defeated him and forced him to run, the little fox had managed to pull himself together and overcome his fear of the masked foe and the potential loss of his friends.
It also reminded Sonic of what Amy had told him: …I… was worried about you. Still am. You always throw yourself into danger, and this time it had lasting consequences. While Eggman decided to just taunt you with his victory, thanks to his ego, it could have all taken a different turn. I know you want to save the world, something I always admired about you…
Yeah, his friends were constantly worried about him when he went ahead to confront danger. Yet they often let him do his things because they trusted him. Guess it was Sonic´s turn in being worried about a friend and yet remain confident in their abilities.
"If you are absolutely sure... then do it Tails."
Sonic laid a hand on the younger mobian´s shoulder. The fox gave a grateful smile and nod at the confidence his oldest and closest friend gave him.
They got in position. Tails took a stance in front of the cluster, Sonic directly behind him and ready to grab him by the shoulders to pull him away. The fox´s hand was just inches away from the rotating cubes. He waited for a right moment to strike, maybe there would some form of opening appear. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, so without further to do, Tails´ hand jutted forward to…
The buildings of a massive city rose around Tails. They all had the Eggman logo on them and vents that constantly pumped toxic gases into the atmosphere. It formed a stuffy air that made it difficult to breathe. Tails coughed and held his hand over his mouth to somehow block the fumes from his airways. He staggered around a few times, confused as to what the sudden appearance of the city meant.
"What exactly is all of this?"
"Your fault."
Confused, Tails turned around at the sound of the voice and saw himself confronted with… himself? Just a few meters away from the fox stood a version of him that resembled his form when the Deadly Six had robotized him.
But more sinister. The fur was colored in mottled gray tones and showed heavy stitches. The visible eye was of a cybernetic nature, similar to Cinder´s.
"What?" From all the things Tails had expected, it certainly wasn't… this. Staying on his guard, even if his heart was pumping wildly, the fox watched as his Double stepped closer, the clanks of his footsteps on the metallic surface of the ground by almost drowned by the noise of heavy industrial mechanisms in the distance.
"Come on, you heard me. And you should be smart enough to know what I mean. Or is your intelligence as exaggerated as your courage?"
Tails' brow furrowed as he heard those words.
Oh, I can see what's going on here. Infinite has prepared a personal hell for anyone who wants the Chaos Emeralds."
The fox flinched as his doppelganger let out a cynical laugh. It felt very uncomfortable to see himself so... distorted.
"Of course," said the copy. "Of course you would blame it on Infinite, on someone else. You really don't want to face the fact that it is only YOU who drags others down and disappointing them."
The false Tails started pacing around as he gestured at the surroundings. "How many places like these exist now because of you? How many people may have ended up like this-" The Double pointed at himself, "-or will end up like this because of your cowardice?"
"This is about the day where I ran away when Infinite defeated Sonic, isn't it?"
"How clever of you to word it in a way like it sounds you couldn't have done anything at all! If you hadn't run away, if you had just stood by Sonic´s side, then he would have won. He would have defeated Infinite and stopped Eggman´s takeover before it even started! So many people wouldn't have suffered!"
To underline this statement, the figures of more mobians and humans appeared from the smog, all of them as disfigured as Tails´ Double. All their faces stared at the fox with worn-out bitterness and silent accusations.
The young mobian shuffled around nervously as the mob started to close in around him. With the massive amount of eyes staring at him, Tails couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. It reminded him too much of the lonely days when he was bullied.
"I... I know it wasn't my best moment. And that it had dire consequences. But I'm trying to do better and help others. Like Ruby, when she-"
"Ruby?" the doppelganger giggled. The crowd laughed mockingly. "I beg you. Ruby helped YOU. Without her, you would still be tinkering with an inactive Omega, too cowardly to face the Eggman Empire and the disappointment of the Resistance. Ruby helped you come out of your shell and yet you couldn't stop it that Cinder made her suffer. You can't help anyone, you're nothing but a burden!"
The mod got even closer around Tails. The fox didn't want to let on that these words were getting under his skin. Yes, he hadn't been able to be there for Ruby and Sonic at crucial moments.
But... they still stuck by him.
Sonic hadn't been angry with him for fleeing, on the contrary. He was just happy that he was okay. And Ruby, who he didn't know that long compared to other people, had become one of his closest friends. And the two of them trusted that he could solve things on his own. Your decisions here in null space confirmed this.
Tails stared resolutely at his copy. "You're right that I've made mistakes. And I admit that I'm not perfect. And yet my friends believe in me. Only if I listen to you now and give up, only then will I disappoint them. Only then will I truly be a coward. But it won't come to that!"
The copy growled and raised its cannon arm. Tails flew over the shot and spindashed into his distorted doppelganger. It exploded into glitches that spread to the surrounding. Everything was drowned in buzzing sound… and suddenly Tails found himself back inside Null Space, yellow Chaos Emerald in hand.
"Are you okay? You had been standing there for a while with an empty yet sorta intense look in your eyes. Everything… alright?"
"I- actually, yes." Tails looked at the Chaos Emerald. "I´m just genuinely surprised that there wasn't more to it."
He explained what he had experienced when touching the cluster.
"Huh, that… yeah, I too would have thought that there would have been some sort of boss battle. But hey, we got one Emerald. Hopefully the others will have an easy time as well."
Tails thought about the stuff that he was confronted with and some off the burdens his allies carry with them. "I hope so too…"
Rouge and Shadow flew trough Null Space similar how Tails and Sonic had done so. The Ultimate Lifeform used his ability to sense Chaos Energy to direct them to the closest Chaos Emerald. Their flight experienced some difficulty due to dark purple cubes appearing and clumping together. The projectiles came rapidly at the duo and Rouge would either have to dodge them or let Shadow shoot them down with Chaos Spears. Despite this, they too found a platform where there was another Chaos Emerald surrounded by special cubes. They landed and examined the cluster. Briefly there could be the crystalline surface of something blue be seen.
"What do you think that is?"
"Definitely a security measure against potential thieves," answered Shadow Rouge's question. He looked at her. "Just wondering if Infinite implemented it specifically because of you."
The bat rolled its eyes. "And everyone says you don't have a sense of humor. If only they knew what kind of comments I have to put up with from you."
A brief flash of a faint grin appeared on the black hedgehog´s mouth. "Like you´re any better." He became quickly serious. "But from what we have gathered from previous fights with Infinite, these cubes will most likely cause some form of mental manipulation."
"… so maybe something like what you´ve experienced in Mystic Jungle?"
"Most likely something along the lines. But I´m going to try anyway."
The black hedgehog got in position to grab the Chaos Emerald. Rouge stopped him by laying a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait, stop! Are you sure? After what Infinite did…"
"I know. But I won´t let that stop me. If that freak thinks he can be another foe to taunt me with my past… well, he is wrong."
Rouge knew she should push harder against her friend´s objective. To try in his stead. But she recognized the intense, determined look in his eye. He wouldn't let himself be pushed down by Infinite. And he wouldn't let her experience any of the reality manipulator´s mind games. She sighed.
"Good luck," was all she said and let go of his shoulder. Shadow acknowledged it with a nod and proceeded to grab the Chaos Emerald…
A ruined city stretched out beneath a red sky. A comet towered up in front of Shadow, the massive rock connected to the earth via several tentacles consisting of a dark mass.
"The Black Comet?" the Ultimate Lifeform wondered. "What does that mean? Why am I shown this? Do I have to fight some effigy of Black Doom?"
"Oh of course you would immediately think of fighting and destroying."
Shadow couldn't stop himself from gasping when he heard the voice. What he perceived as reality briefly glided and a very familiar face appeared in front of him. One that the power of the Phantom Ruby had already been used against the Ultimate Life Form.
"Maria..." No wound or leak of blood ruined the blonde girl's dress, no taunting reminder of what Shadow did in Mystic Jungle. But her blue eyes, otherwise so clear and open and friendly, looked at Shadow with intense hatred and disgust.
It was all so wrong and obviously a trick yet it didn't stop Shadow from feeling like a heavy weight was bound to his heart. He tried to cover up these feelings by growling, "When is Infinite going to stop with this mockery of you."
Maria simply waved those words off dismissively.
"And more aggression and anger. G.U.N. was right about you being a danger to humanity. I just wish that I had never sacrificed my life for you."
Shadow actually flinched at that. Too many nights he had told himself similar words until he had manged to become better. However, hearing how his sister-figure was now saying them, it felt like a punch in the gut. It…
"No… you´re not… this isn't real."
"The Phantom Ruby can manipulate reality and perception, Shadow. At that point, what does it matter what is real and what isn´t?" She waved at their surrounding. "This is what could have been easily been real. You wanted to make humanity suffer, in contempt for what they have done. Not caring for all the other lifeforms living on the planet. Or that I never would have wanted you to do such horrible things! There are many humans that could be someones Maria but you never cared! It was all about you!"
Shadow tried to shake those words off. "No, I had amnesia and-"
"And what? Most people instinctively sense where their morals lie, even if they can no longer remember them. But you have helped Black Doom several times, being seriously tempted by him. I guess you hate people more than you care about me. You most likely hated me too, after all I was just another weak little human. When we destroy things, we are foolish and evil. But when you act the exact same way, you do it as a form of `divine judgment´. Because you are the Ultimate Lifeform. Yeah right," the false Maria spat. Despite her rant, tears were glistening in her eyes and she hugged herself, covering the spot where Shadow had wounded the Phantom of her, like she wanted to protect herself from another attack. For a long time there was nothing but silence. Then, in softest tone Shadow has ever spoken, he said: "You´re right. I did many horrible things and even acted hypocritical. My trauma, but also my pride, it caused a lot of suffering. I guess even after all these years I still struggle with it. Even when I got the truth about me, even when I had people to fall back on, I still acted… difficult. How Infinite tricked me and made me act is a sign of this, I guess. But I am still trying. Because I have learned why Maria cared so much about this planet. Why it and its people are worth protecting."
Despite everything, despite all the harsh words he had heard, and the memories they forced him to relive, Shadow allowed himself to smile.
"I wish you could have experienced for yourself. All the different places and people the world has to offer. Rouge, Omega, Sonic, Amy, Tails, Ruby and many others... Maria would have loved to meet them all and help them." Shadow's smile faded as he lowered his head and closed his eyes. "But I accepted that next best thing to this is to experience it for both of us and do my best to make amends for my mistakes."
Shadow expected a barrage of more taunting and contemptuous words, but all he heard was a buzzing noise. He opened his eyes.
He found himself in Null Space again, the blue Chaos Emerald in his hand.
"Shadow?" Rouge asked from behind him. "How did it go?"
"…I´m fine."
The bat noticed immediately from his tone of voice that the exact opposite was true. She knew not to push it, not during a situation like this. It didn't mean she would offer her friend no comfort at all.
"Hey, when this is over, how about we just hang out at the Headquarters. Go and do whatever we want, maybe over a cup of coffee beans?"
To her relief, Shadow relaxed a little and said: "Heh… I might just take up on that offer."
Ruby ducked her head under another dark purple cube. More rose from the depths beneath her and Omega's platform and clustered together. The blobs flew towards them. Silver, who had previously dodged some projectiles in the air, flew in front of them and protected them with a shield of psychokinetic energy.
The trio had, like the other groups, been flying trough Null Space. Silver had lifted himself trough the air thanks to his abilities and Ruby took a ride on Omega´s shoulders, who used his jets. But the sudden appearance of the dark purple cube projectiles had forced them to land on an empty platform to better protect themselves. They wandered around, jumping from one construct of regular purple cubes after the other, still made progress with their search. After Ruby and Omega shot down the recent wave of attacks, the latter said: "CHAOS EMERALD IS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY."
"Which direction exactly? All this attacking and jumping around from platform to platform got me a little confused."
Omega pointed straight ahead. With some effort, Ruby and Silver's eyes managed to see something in the distance. The group moved toward it. The ground they stood on extended forward in front of them while behind the trio the cubes fell into the abyss. Finally, they´ve gotten close enough to see a new platform with a cluster of cubes hovering over its surface.
"Let me guess: The Chaos Emerald is inside this thing over there."
"AFFIRMATIVE."
Mobian and human both groaned. Nevertheless they continued onward. Or wanted to. But the ground stopped extending in front of them.
"Guess we have to fly/jump again."
This time Omega flew alone and Silver carried Ruby with him in the grip of his psychokinesis. Their flight wasn't as easy as they had hoped. Cube projectiles reappeared, but the trio shot them down with ease. The main problem lay elsewhere. A vortex of blocks and purple energies was beneath them, trying to suck them in. The suction pulled them down, slowing their flight considerably. But the group fought with all their determination not to sink and reached the platform. Silver's turquoise glow faded and he held his throbbing head.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked worriedly.
"Yeah, yeah, that was just a little tiring. Just give me a few minutes."
"WE HAVE BEEN FIGHTING NON-STOP SINCE ARRIVING ON THE DEATH EGG. YOUR INFERIOR MEAT BAG BODIES MUST BE TIRED."
"We´re fine, Omega. I don't know Silver too well but he must be though enough if he can keep up with Sonic and Shadow in a battle against Infinite. And me… I can keep going as long as I have Aura. Well, I can keep going even without it if the situation requires it."
"STILL, ALLOW ME TO PROCEED FROM HERE." The last of the E-Series pointed at the cube cluster. "LOOKING AT THIS PHENOMENA, IT IS VERY REMINISCENT OF THE CUBES INFINITE IS KNOWN TO USE FOR CAUSING NEGATIVE IMPACT ON AN ORGANICS PSYCHE. SINCE I DON NOT HAVE THE DISADVANTAGE OF POSSESSING A HORMONE-FILLED MEAT LUMP FOR PROCESSING, I WILL TRY TO RETRIEVE THE CHAOS EMERALD."
"But wait, Omega, we don't know if-"
The robot went ahead and tried to grab the cyan gem inside the cluster. Once he came in contact with the cubes, he started to twitch wildly as he suffered from short circuits and malfunctions. Error Messages appeared in front of Omega´s view and he was forced to shut his systems down to avoid and overload. His red eyes dimmed and he fell over backwards inactive.
"-they can still affect you," Ruby weakly finished her sentence. Silver rubbed his forehead in mild frustration.
"Okay, that didn't go well. But Omega is right that we will most likely have to struggle with some illusions if we want to get the Emerald."
Ruby thought about it. She remembered all too well what the Phantom Ruby had shown her when she came into contact with the red cubes. The terror they had unleashed in her. But...
She looked from Silver to Omega. "I... I think I should." The hedgehog opened his mouth, but Ruby continued. "Listen, Omega is defenseless at the moment and the same probably applies to the one who loses himself in the illusions. And who knows what other surprises there are in store for him. You are better suited as a guardian than a huntress-in-training with a limited amount of Aura. You can defend us better with your psychokinesis and, in an emergency, if someone falls down, you can pick us up again."
Silver sighed in defeat. Just like when Sonic and Shadow had argued against his idea of immediately destroying the Grimm Facility of the Death Egg, he could see the logic of his ally´s argument as well.
"Just promise me that you will be fine."
Ruby smiled, genuinely moved by the time traveler´s concern. She hoped it masked her nervousness and uncertainty regarding her own plan well. "I-I´m sure I will be."
Taking a deep breath, Ruby took position in front of the hovering cluster and reached out…
She found herself standing on top of Beacon Tower. Around her she saw the surroundings laying in shambles. Fire and smoke was billowing into the stormy sky. The roar of Grimm could be heard, but not a single sound of humans and Faunus trying to defend themselves against the dark creatures. In fact, Ruby saw no sign of life anywhere, just the scurrying black spots of soulless shadows in the distance.
"All of this because of you."
Ruby was startled at hearing that voice. "Pyrrha?"
Embers and ash flew from the fires. They concentrated over the tower and descended downward in front of Ruby. They condensed into a humanoid cloud that glowed orange and formed into the red-haired fighter. It hurt seeing her, especially with the usually kind green eyes looking so bitterly at the fifteen year old. Still, she tried to brace herself. If her experience with Infinite and the stories she heard from the others was anything to go by, she knew that all of this was just about trying to break her.
"I… I´m sorry for not being fast enough to save you."
"Do you really think this is just about me? Look around you, Ruby. You didn't just fail me. You left everyone to their fate. Everyone suffered under the Grimm and yet you just disappeared to have your little adventure. But life isn't just about the adventure, especially not that of a huntress. It is specifically about saving people." The false Pyrrha took out her spear and pointed it at Ruby. "Something YOU failed at."
The copy could have sent its weapon straight through Ruby's body, those words hurt just as much. But the silver-eyed girl tried to stand her ground.
"You're right. I was able to save you and many others. Even with my mother's disappearance, I still had a, I guess, romanticized view of the hunter's life. But after everything I've experienced, I now have a better idea of what it really means."
"And what does it mean? Beating up beat guys? Defeating Cinder won´t bring me or anyone else back that has lost their life."
Ruby thought about the rather empty feeling she had after bringing the deranged Fall Maiden down.
"No. I may have stopped Cinder from causing more harm, but you´re right: That won´t bring you back. And I know that. It hurts to think about the people I wanted to help but couldn't. But... that doesn't mean I'm going to stop protecting those who need help. Now this goal is more important to me than ever before."
Faster than Ruby would have expected, the fake Pyrrha stepped forward and pressed the tip of her weapon against her throat.
"So what? Does that mean it's perfectly okay for you to fail and disappoint others?"
Ruby thought about what Shadow had said after Operation Big Wave: `Yes, there will be hurdles on your way, but you shouldn't let that stop you. Instead, use it as further motivation to further improve yourself and continue fighting on.´
"No. Unfortunately, I will probably fail at things in the future. But I will use every single failure to improve myself and not give up!"
Green changed into the hateful red of a Grimm.
"You have no idea what agony the future hold for you!" The spear pierced trough Ruby´s throat. Or wanted to. Where the silver-eyed girl had been standing just a few seconds before were just some rose petals dancing in the air. The huntress-in-training manifested herself behind the twisted caricature and attacked it with her scythe. It exploded and…
Left Ruby standing back in Null Space. She looked surprised at the cyan colored gem inside her hand.
"You did it, Ruby!" Silver cheered in relief.
"I-"
"ALL SYSTEMS RESTARTED." Omega sat up as he produced a Windows sound. "WHAT DID I MISS?"
After a while the groups were reunited thanks to Shadow. The hedgehog seemed upset about something, but he didn't seem to want to talk about it.
"We have everything we need. Now do we use Chaos Control to escape?" Silver asked.
"So I would like to try the theory of whether our special attack can get us out of here," said Sonic, nodding towards Ruby.
"Why not?" she said. "It couldn't hurt and would help blow off some steam after this whole thing."
Sonic and Tails gave the young human a concerned sideways glance, but made a mental note to talk to her about it later. In the here and now the hedgehog took a starting position.
"Are you ready partner?"
Ruby stood next to him. "You can bet on."
They started running. The platform expanded in front of them while behind them their friends struggled to fly after them. The speedster duo became faster and faster. Rose petals swirled around Ruby and bluish Chaos Energy around Sonic. He held out a hand.
"Chaos..."
Ruby grabbed it.
"...Burst!"
…
Infinite stood over Cinder's motionless form with his arms crossed and shook his head in disappointment. He then froze and looked at the where he had sucked his enemies into Null Space. The air there warped and glitched until a rift made of purple mist opened up. The Chaos Burst shoot out from it, the others appearing behind it before Null Space closed itself. Infinite wanted to attack them, but then he realized that the trajectory of the Chaos Burst was making it fly directly toward the Phantom Ruby Reactor. He teleported in front of the structure and gathered his strength.
"You shall not pa-ARGH!" The Chaos Burst crashed into him and the special attack burrowed itself and the masked foe into the reactor.
It exploded. Omega stood over the others, shielding them from the force of the explosion and shrapnel. The unconscious Cinder was narrowly missed by flying pieces of metal. Sonic, Ruby, with a shattered Aura, and Infinite flew out of the destroyed reactor.
The latter crashed into the ground. With a pounding head, the jackal got up. He looked down at the Phantom Ruby on his chest, its glow dim and flickering in an unstable manner.
Shadow pulled out his gun while his other hand formed a Chaos Spear. He aimed both at Infinite.
"Don´t move." The Ultimate Lifeform´s voice was deadly low. Infinite just hissed.
"Fool, I´ve got enough energy left to-"
He disrupted himself by teleporting himself and Cinder away. Shadow cursed and fired his weapons in frustration.
But this didn't last long. A light turned everything red and alarm sirens sounded.
"Ow, now what?" Ruby asked, holding her aching head. She and Sonic hadn't survived the crash in the reactor as easily as Infinite and were still clearly dazed.
"With the reactor gone, it's probably a small security measure to catch whoever destroyed it off guard," Rouge suspected.
"Luckily it's not a problem for us. Ruby had told me how she and Tails contacted the rest of the Resistance to withdraw because of the overwhelming power of the Death Egg´s security system. It´s only us up here. But I´m sure not for long," Silver said. He pulled said girl and Sonic towards him and the rest of the group and asked, "Shadow?"
The black hedgehog stared in frustration for a moment at the spot where Infinite was, then he shook his head and focused on more important things.
"Got it, Silver. Everyone, get as close together as possible."
The group did as ordered and Shadow took out the red Chaos Emerald.
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
The Death Egg, a massive space station, flew large, powerful and dangerous in the vacuum of space. At least until a huge explosion destroyed it. But before that, something had shot out of its surface and was heading towards Mobius.
It was a huge escape pod into which Infinite had teleported herself and the still unconscious Cinder. He carefully lay her down and checked something on a nearby screen. While there was only a small room for the two generals of the Eggman Empire, the rest of the escape pod served as transport for the source of the Grimm factories. After Infinite made sure the cargo was undamaged, the jackal's golden eye fell on the Phantom Ruby. Its glow was still faint, but its flickering had stabilized to a regular pulsation. Like a malicious little heartbeat. The jackals fist clenched into a fist and he punched the wall in frustration.
And here we have the final part of the Death Egg Arc. Took longer than I anticipated but it is finally done. After this there will be a shorter chapter to show the heroes and villains reaction and recovery from this mission. And after that… well, you will see.
To Guest: Yeah, there could have been done more with the bosses and especially Nightmare Eggman. But maybe there will be a Sonic Dream Team 2 one day that could improve where the first part lacked.
To Guest: A pretty cool idea. I have to see if I can implement it.
To SuperSaiyanFever: Well, there was a reason to keep him and the crew longer around but in the end you were kinda right.
To Grand Chaos Master: I assume that a guy that manages to defeat Sonic on the first try and helps Eggman take over the world, and can also bridge dimensional barriers between realities in this version, needs to be powerful. Can´t say much on the Dragon Ball part, was never too deep into that franchise.
To Monster King: Thank you.
To quirky2023: Huh, I thought the swear count in RWBY was more extreme than that. To be fair, I too think I could have done better with some of the previous chapters, as mentioned above, this Arc felt a little drawn out. But I couldn't come up creatively with a different way. I do hope you like this chapter and the future ones.