Episode Sixty-Five: Echoes of Mortality
Sonic gasps desperately for air, ruthlessly being throttled by Metal Sonic. The cold, calculated look in Metal Sonic's red, glowing eyes contrasts sharply with Sonic's struggle to break free. Sailor Mercury stands frozen in place, her mind unable to process the sheer speed of Metal Sonic's attack.
*Mercury: (thinking) "How… how is he this fast? How could he…? Sonic didn't even see it coming…"
Bunnie, however, does not freeze. Her instincts kick in immediately, and she leaps into action, her mechanical legs launching her forward. Her voice is raw with desperation as she charges at Metal Sonic.
*Bunnie: "GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Metal Sonic, without even turning his head, spins on one foot and delivers a devastating roundhouse kick directly to Bunnie's face. The impact is brutal — her eyes widen in shock before she's sent flying, her body crashing into the dirt. She doesn't move.
*Metal Sonic: (coldly) "Get the same as him."
Sailor Venus watches in horror, her hands trembling for a moment before she summons her courage. She conjures her Venus Love Me Chain, hurling it toward Metal Sonic with everything she has.
*Venus: (shouting) "You're not getting away with this!"
The orange chain of light wraps around Metal Sonic's arm, but before Venus can react, Metal Sonic yanks her toward him with terrifying ease. The force of the pull slams her face-first into the ground, the dirt kicking up around her as she gasps in pain. Her head throbs, and she struggles to catch her breath.
For a moment, the battlefield is eerily still. Metal Sonic stands over his fallen opponents, his grip on Sonic's throat unrelenting. Sonic's face is turning pale, his breath coming in short gasps, but then — through sheer willpower — he forces his free hand up. In one swift motion, Sonic curls into a Spin Dash and slams into Metal Sonic's chest. The impact sends Metal staggering backward, releasing Sonic from his grasp.
Sonic lands on the ground, coughing and clutching his throat, but there's no time to rest. He and Metal Sonic lock eyes, and in a split second, they're both in motion — blurring across the battlefield at super speed, crashing into each other in a dazzling display of power. The sound of their collisions echoes, creating shockwaves that ripple through the air.
And in Shamar, Princess Sally sits in a sterile hospital room, her hands trembling in her lap. The doctor stands before her, his expression grim. Sally's breathing is shallow, and her heart races in anticipation of the diagnosis. She needs answers, but as the doctor speaks, her world begins to fall apart.
*Sally: (pleading) "What can I do? How bad is it?"
The doctor looks down at his clipboard for a moment before speaking in a soft, measured tone.
*Doctor: "Princess Sally… your heart has sustained significant damage. The stress you've been under, combined with… other factors, has caused irreparable harm. The heart attack you suffered earlier today would have finished you had you not been brought in when you were."
Sally's eyes widen, and she stares at the doctor in disbelief. Her hands clench the fabric of her hospital gown, her voice trembling.
*Sally: (whispering) "A heart attack? But I… I'm only sixteen…"
The doctor hesitates before continuing, his voice full of regret.
*Doctor: "I'm afraid it's more than just the heart attack. You've been exposed to a form of radiation that's… corrosive. It's been rapidly affecting your cardiovascular system and more. The effects are cumulative, and it's already advanced beyond what we can treat."
Sally's face turns pale. She swallows hard, her heart pounding in her chest, each beat a painful reminder of what's happening to her body. The doctor continues, though his voice grows quieter, as if speaking the truth will only make it worse.
*Doctor: "Your life as a Freedom Fighter… is over. You'll experience constant cardiovascular pain, shortness of breath, and — eventually — loss of eyesight. The radiation has ravaged your body, and… you likely won't live past the age of 30."
Sally feels as though the world is collapsing around her. Her friends' voices echoed in her mind — Sonic, Bunnie, Rotor, all of them had begged her not to take this path. She hadn't listened. She was stubborn, she thought she could handle it. But now… now she realizes the terrible truth.
*Sally (thinking): "I… I didn't listen… I didn't…"
The full weight of the diagnosis crashes down on her, and for the first time, Sally breaks. She doesn't break as a leader, or a warrior — she breaks as a young girl, scared and lost, who is facing her own mortality. Tears spill down her face as she sobs uncontrollably, her body trembling.
*Sally: (crying) "I… I can't… I didn't mean for this…"
The doctor, seeing her pain, steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder. Sally reaches out, clinging to him as she cries, her grief overwhelming. Her body shakes with the force of her sobs, and the room feels suffocating.
Back at the battlefield, Venus slowly pushes herself up, her face bruised and her body aching. She looks to Bunnie, who is still unconscious, and then back to Sonic, who is locked in a high-speed battle with Metal Sonic. Determined, she runs over to Bunnie, shaking her awake.
*Venus: (urgently) "Bunnie! We have to help Sonic!"
Bunnie groans, her vision blurry as she regains consciousness. She forces herself to stand, her left arm cannon charging up as she prepares to fire.
*Bunnie: (gritting her teeth) "Let's hit him with everythin' we got, Venus!"
Venus nods, summoning her Venus Crescent Beam. The two attacks are launched simultaneously — Bunnie's powerful arm cannon and Venus' bright, golden-orange beam — but Metal Sonic moves too fast. He dodges the combined attack with ease, moving like a blur. Before the two can react, Metal Sonic extends his hand, pointing his fingers forward.
*Metal Sonic: "Venus Crescent Beam."
Venus' eyes widen in horror as she watches her own attack being copied and fired back at them. The beam of light hurtles toward her, too fast to dodge. Just before it hits, Bunnie leaps in front of her, taking the full brunt of the attack. The impact sends Bunnie flying, her body crashing into the ground, incapacitated.
*Venus: (horrified) "No! He… he copied my attack!"
Sailor Mercury, who had been paralyzed with fear, suddenly feels something inside her snap. The fear that had gripped her heart is replaced by fury. Her eyes glow with determination, and with a scream, she unleashes her power. The entire battlefield is flash-frozen in an instant, the ground and air coated in a thick layer of ice.
*Mercury: (furiously) "YOU WILL NOT HURT MY SONIC OR ANYONE ELSE!"
Mercury rockets toward Metal Sonic, riding a stream of ice like a tidal wave. She slams into him with all her power, her icy blasts crashing into his metal frame. But Metal Sonic remains calm, his voice chillingly indifferent.
*Metal Sonic: "Data has been copied."
In one swift motion, Metal Sonic seizes Mercury by her face, throwing her to the ground. His hand glows with icy energy, and he begins to force a blast of freezing air down her throat, aiming to freeze her from the inside out. Mercury screams, her breath turning to ice as she struggles to break free.
Sonic, seeing Mercury in danger, is filled with a fury unlike anything he's ever felt. With a burst of speed, he launches himself at Metal Sonic, delivering a powerful kick to his side. The impact sends Metal Sonic flying away from Mercury, who tumbles along the ground, coughing out frigid air.
Sonic doesn't stop. He charges at Metal Sonic, his fists moving faster than the eye can see. Blow after blow lands with incredible force, each one cracking Metal Sonic's armor. The battle reaches its climax as Sonic hurls Metal Sonic into the air and summons his ultimate move.
"SONIC WIND!"
The air around them begins to swell, a powerful vacuum forming as the pressure builds. Mercury, Venus, and Bunnie watch in awe as the sky itself seems to bend under the force of Sonic's attack. The air finally depressurizes, creating a swirling vortex that rips through the battlefield, shredding Metal Sonic's body into pieces. Metal Sonic, barely functional, uses the last of his strength to escape the vortex, flying away at maximum speed, his body severely damaged. As the dust settles, Sonic rushes to Mercury's side, his heart pounding with worry.
*Sonic: (concerned) "Ami! Ami, are you okay?!"
Mercury, still in shock, slowly nods, her eyes wide with awe.
*Mercury: (softly) "That… that technique… Sonic, it was… incredible."
Bunnie and Venus begin to stir, groaning as they recover from their injuries. Though the battle is over, they know that Metal Sonic will return — and next time, they may not be so lucky.
And on the Sky Patrol, Silver sits alone in his quarters, his face drawn with worry. He drums his fingers nervously on the desk, lost in thought. The door creaks open, and Rotor steps inside, his expression equally concerned.
*Rotor: (gently) "Silver, what's on your mind?"
Silver sighs, his gaze distant as he speaks.
*Silver: "I'm worried about Sally. That Warp Ring… there were still a large number of them when I was growing up. In my time, we found them. We used them. And the people who used them paid the price."
Rotor's face pales as Silver explains the corrosive effects of Warp Ring radiation, especially for those who aren't tied to the Chaos Force.
*Silver: "People who use Warp Rings… the radiation eats them alive. Slowly, but surely. They were created by abusing Chaos energy, and that results in a horrific corrosive side-effect. Only those with a natural connection to Chaos energy can use them without suffering the consequences. And with the relentless drive she's been on, Sally has been using that Warp Ring far too much and far too long."
Rotor's breath catches in his throat as the realization sinks in. Sally, one of his closest friends, has been using the Warp Ring repeatedly — and now, her life is in danger.
*Rotor: (quietly) "Oh no… Sally…"
The weight of the revelation hangs heavy in the air, both of them fully understanding the gravity of the situation.
Sally sits alone in her hospital bed in Shamar, her hands trembling as she holds a photograph in her lap. It's a picture of her and her friends, taken after the successful attack on the EggDome last year. In the image, they're all smiling — Sonic, Amy Rose, Bunnie, Antoine, Rotor, Tails, and Sally herself, beaming with hope and pride. She stares at the photograph for a long moment, her vision blurring with tears. Slowly, the weight of everything she's lost begins to settle in — the life she once had, the future she dreamed of, all slipping through her fingers. The room feels suffocating, the walls closing in as despair grips her heart. Sally's hands begin to tremble more violently, and finally, she lets out a scream — a raw, primal cry of anguish that echoes through the room.
*Sally: (screaming) "NOOOOOOO!"
Her scream is filled with all the pain and fear she's kept hidden, all the regret and sorrow crashing down on her at once. She collapses back onto the bed, sobbing uncontrollably as the photograph slips from her hands, fluttering gently to the floor. The camera lingers on the image — her smiling face, full of hope and promise — now lying discarded, a symbol of everything she's lost.