Rediscovered Frontiers

by The Infamous Man

Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf are no strangers to adventure. They've teamed up with Sonic the Hedgehog and beat Eggman's cronies by themselves. But this latest adventure is turning out to be a strange one. An old PDA found in the forest spat out a holo-lynx that called herself Nicole, and she's begging for help to find her friends…

39. His World Part 4

The Destroyer.

The Source of All Evil.

The Prosecutor of the Heavens.

The Betrayer of the Heavens.

The Omega.

It had many names, and was the archetype that many figures of similar functions across the multiverse were based on. Nicole held this knowledge within her, gathered throughout her journey and recreation of the universes she had saved.

Now that it was in front of Nicole, splendent in its radiant yet horrible beauty, she could see what had helped to give birth to each of those godlike figures throughout history. What had carried over in their designs and functions.

She could see what the Ancients had called The End.

"Jani-Ca, are you alright?" The lynx asked as she and Sonic let go of the echidna, who was staring in disbelief at the broken sword in her right hand. "Did it…?"

"It broke the Sword of Light." Jani-Ca whispered in wonder and horror, her hand still clutching the handle. "It did it with just a finger…!"

"Don't lose your cool." Sonic's voice was calm, but even Nicole could see a look of worry pass through his eyes. It merely lasted for a second, however, as he returned to glaring at the mad god. "It wants to freak you out. It's a show off, and wants to make you think it's invincible."

"He makes it sound so simple…"

"Come now." The End's voice was almost… bemused as it floated an inch off of the artificial ground that had been created in the Chaos Force. The god flexed the fingers of its bottom right hand, the only one free of a weapon. "I have honored you with my true form. Let us do battle, however inevitable the outcome may b-.

Sonic was gone in the blink of an eye. A multi-colored streak shot straight at the End, who did not move to intercept him.

But Nicole knew Sonic.

He may rush into danger, but his actions were not always so straightforward as that.

Instead, the streak that was the hyper hedgehog circled around the End at the last moment and Sonic was behind the deity with a furious expression on his face.

"Oh?"

Sonic didn't make any wisecracks. Instead, he simply threw a punch at the deity's moon-like head.

Nicole's eyes thought it was playing tricks on her. The End didn't move, at least not in the traditional sense. Its wings didn't even budge as it seemed to shift into space a few feet forward, leaving afterimages behind it. Sonic's blow connected with the afterimage left in the place it was formerly at, which then disappeared as if it were smoke.

"Weak." The chakram in the End's top left hand spun around its finger, becoming a blur as it finished its taunt. "Very weak."

It flicked its hand, and the bladed disc few forward.

It was horizontal as it began to spin in a circle, the disc growing in size while the edges glowed an eerie magenta. The angle of its arc curled while Sonic glared at the mad god.

"Then I'll have to go all out!" Sonic curled into a ball and shot forward, Chaos energy rolling off of his bullet-like form as he mowed down each of the End's afterimages.

"That idiot!" Jani-Ca screamed as she pointed at the disc. "He's doing what it wants!"

Nicole cursed as she saw the disc circling around while speeding up, with its trajectory set to meet Sonic right before he could even touch The End.

"He's going too fast! He probably hasn't even noticed it yet!"

"Damn!" Nicole raised her arms and began to do what she could to slow the bladed weapon down.

In a shower of pixels, a car materialized before it was sliced in half.

She tried the same with a skyscraper, only for the steel and concrete to melt as the disc went through it like hot butter.

Thinking quickly, the holo-lynx instead materialized a spring right in front of Sonic. His spinning body bounced off of it and upwards, with him uncurling to glare at Nicole.

"Nicole! What the h-?" He stopped when she saw the chakram make contact with the spring.

It was sliced cleanly through, and without a doubt Sonic was imagining what would've happened if she hadn't assisted. His hands clenched into fists while the End caught the chakram lazily with his top left hand's index finger.

Jani-Ca did not waste any time as she dropped the handle of the Sword of Light and lifted her arms, her hands slowing in purple energy as she fired Chaos Blast after Chaos Blast.

The End merely chuckled as it unclurled its bottom right hand's fingers and shook the drum in its bottom left hand.

"It has been so long since I have played…"

The End hit its drum with its free hand. It played a discordant note, a drumbeat mixed with a funeral bell ringing out. Around it, black balls of energy outlined in red materialized around it before leaping forward, falling and bouncing on the nonexistent ground. They met the echidna's first energy blasts, and the deity followed it up by beating on its drum again with balls of energy outlined with white materializing. Again and again it beat on its drum, filling the space around it with the energy attacks.

"I'll focus on defending us!" Nicole ordered as she and the echidna flew to the left. "You need to keep attacking!"

The holo-lynx raised her arms and fired her own blasts of chaos energy, each of them meeting and bursting the End's attacks as they approached. The seconds between each volley shortened and from the sounds of the drum beats more would come.

It was as if each beat was a bark of the End's mocking laugh.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?!" The future daughter of Knuckles and Julie-Su cursed. "There's too many!"

Nicole knew that. There was no hope for them to land an attack in these circumstances.

But it would keep the End busy.

She could see the multi-colored streak of light weaving through each of the balls, circling around the mad god as it focused on its drum beats of destruction.

They grew faster and faster, until the nonexistent air began to swirl.

The End paused and looked around, seeming to have finally noticed what had happened.

"Ah… this trick you used against me while I feasted…"

Sonic was now above them, glaring down at the End before snapping his fingers.

The swirling air turned into a true whirlwind, sucking up the energy blasts with it while the End's form shook at the center. Nicole and Jani-Ca let out sighs of relief as they slowed down, no longer chased by the onslaught of orbs and watched as the End seemed to struggle while holding itself in place.

The End's attacks began to be pulled into the center, slamming into the Mad God's body. It did not howl in pain, but it did twitch at each blast that made contact.

"Hope that hurts!" Sonic cried out, a smirk forming on his face. "There's more where that come from!"

"This is not…" The End hissed before it flapped its wings. Within seconds it shot up, avoiding any more self-inflicted wounds as it soared above Sonic and reared back its top right arm. It spun the spear in hand before shouting, "…ENOUGH!"

It chucked the spear, and it became a bolt of pure purple energy. However, rather than going in a straight path forward it instead turned sharply to the left. Then, it went right. Up and down, left and right. There were no curves while it sailed towards Sonic, simply sharp angles as it rapidly changed direction. If it weren't for Nicole's current state of being, she wouldn't have seen any of this.

Nicole adjusted her perception of time as she saw the spear get within a couple of feet from Sonic, and his eyes widened when he saw it approaching. He only had an attosecond to twist his body out of the way, the spear's tip only grazing his quills before it sailed past him and embedded itself below.

"It's now focused on Sonic!" Nicole's eyes narrowed and she raised her arms. "Traditional attacks will not work. So I need to try…"

Pixels formed around the End, and it seemed confused for a second as it tried to piece together what was happening.

"…This."

The Holo-Lynx clenched her hands into fists.

Castle Acorn, a copy at least, was brought into existence. The home of her friend and a symbol of unity as well as stability whose stony walls full of history formed around The End. Occupying the same space as the mad god, fusing with it as the entire structure crashed into the unreal ground below.

Sonic flew beside her and Jani-Ca, his eyes never leaving the castle. "That won't hold it."

"I know." Nicole lowered her arms. "But it should give us some time t-."

She couldn't even finish the sentence.

Castle Acorn, magnificent and proud Castle Acorn, burst apart in a shower of stone and masonry. Its splendid riches and magnificent carpets burned into flames as they flew past the trio of new gods. The history of the Kingdom of Acorn melted into non-existence as the End shook off the rubble, floating once more and flapping its terrible wings.

It did not look even remotely worse for wear.

"You will pay for that insult, New God." It hissed in anger. "I promise this."

A sharp pain washed over Nicole's entire being.

She doubled over and clutched her head, her own form distorting as she cried out, "GAH!"

"Nicole?!" Sonic turned to face her, his eyes filled with worry.

Jani-Ca put her hand on the holo-lynx's shoulders and asked, "What's wrong?"

WARNING! WARNING!

TOTAL REALITY DEGRADATION IMMINENT!

CHANCES OF CYBER SPACE DATABASE CORRUPTION: 25%… 26%… 27%…

"N-No…! Not now…!"

It sounded like a heartbeat.

One that echoed throughout the white void of reality. The nonexistent floors, walls, and sky seemed to ripple as the two beats boomed into their ears. Sonic and Jani-Ca winced, fighting hard not to cover their ears at the noise.

"Well now." The End used its free arm to brush a speck of Castle Acorn off of its shoulder as it observed what was happening. "It appears that the center cannot hold for much longer."

"What are you talking about?!" Sonic growled out, preparing to attack once more.

"H-He means… we're running out of time if this continues…" Nicole looked up, trying to ignore all the error messages and the pain. "…The Chaos Force is damaged now. Damaged near beyond repair. It was the energy that helped to keep the multiverse stable. T-The only thing keeping it together was t-the Prime Zone, but the Neo-Walkers were not finished with its reconstruction! If it falls apart…"

"Then so does the Chaos Force. Along with the White Space and Cyber Space along with it." Jani-Ca finished, glancing back at the Super Emeralds and Super Master Emerald. They were still spinning and glowing with energy, but the speed and light were diminishing. The gems themselves were even appearing to vibrate as if they were ready to blow up.

"I have said as much, haven't I?" The End's voice once again turned into its arrogant, bemused tone as it motioned to their surroundings. "Here you stand against me at the end of everything. This battle is merely a temporary amusement I'm allowing myself before I fulfill my purpose."

And Nicole knew that it wasn't lying. No, the End was merely stating a fact.

At the rate things were going, a complete Multiversal collapse was an inevitability. It didn't even need to do much at this point.

It could simply continue to hide. To laugh as they tried to stop the end of everything.

"The Ancients created me… created Enerjak… to stop this thing?"

If it wasn't for Sonic, would they even have lasted this long?

"What do we do? What do we…?

"What… what's happening…"

All three of their eyes widened at the sound of that voice.

It hadn't come from any of them.

"No." Sonic whispered as he looked up at the Cores lining the ceiling.

Nicole looked up as well and gasped at the warning message that appeared in her vision.

BASE CORE CONSCIOUSNESS: ONLINE

"Crap…" Jani-Ca cursed through gritted teeth. "They really are waking up!"

"Where am I?"

"Why can't I feel anything?"

"Lupe? Lupe, where are you?!"

"Is… is that Sonic?"

"Is that Nicole?!"

"A damn Echidna… she… she looks like Enerjak!"

"What on Mobius is that thing?!"

Voices, both familiar and unfamiliar, filled the air. Trillions of people… humans, mobians, Overlanders, and aliens of races she didn't have in her database all waking up and seeing the battlefield in front of them.

Not all of them were awake. Some of them still slumbered, blissfully unaware of the madness that was taking place.

But more than enough.

"Yes… This does feel appropriate!" The End chuckled as it pointed its spear. "An audience… Composed of the mewling meat that my Shadow had created. One that is here to see the New Gods die before the cessation of existence."

"Guys." Sonic whispered. "I need you to go to the emeralds."

"What?" Nicole and Jani-Ca asked at the same time, but the hyper hedgehog wasn't looking at them.

He was glaring at the End, not taking his eyes off of the deity.

"Both of you have the stuff needed to try and finish the job and fix everything. I've seen you make universes and junk. You can finish the job." Sonic slammed his right fist into his open left palm. "I'll keep dark, purple, and gruesome here busy until you do."

"You can't be serious." Jani-Ca bluntly said. "The three of us could barely keep up with that thing! What makes you think…?!"

"We only have one shot at this. To try and salvage what's left." A small grin formed on the hedgehog's face. "Besides, this is me we're talking about. I can buy you two more than enough time."

Nicole had been Sonic's friend for years. For lifetimes, even.

She knew when the hedgehog was truly confident in himself.

She also knew when he was lying through his teeth and grinning to hide his uncertainty for the sake of others.

"Sonic…" She muttered, reaching out to him. "You don't…"

"Please, Nicole." The joviality in Sonic's voice was now gone, replaced with grim acceptance. "Please."

For a second, Nicole didn't know what to say. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized one thing.

Sonic was willing to die if needed… just to save what was left.

Just like with the Quantum Dial, in a time that seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Okay." She whispered, closing her eyes and turning. "I'll… I'll try."

"I can see why Mom said all that stuff about you." Jani-Ca muttered. "…You better not die, Sonic."

Sonic didn't answer that. Instead, she heard the cutting of air as Sonic flew forward shouting, "Alright, ugly! LET'S DO THIS!"

Nicole opened her eyes and focused on the quickly approaching emeralds.

Above, they could hear the Cores that were awake cheering.

"GO GET HIM SONIC!"

"Show that monster what it means to mess with Mobius!"

"I have no idea what's going on and I don't care!"

"Glory upon the Hedgehog! He is as wonderful as the ancient scrolls of Azuria said he was!"

"Okay…" Jani-Ca spoke as her feet landed upon the surface of the Super Master Emerald. Nicole landed just opposite to her on the other side of the gem. "Okay… I can sense it. Aurora and the others managed to create the basic outline of the universe."

The holo-lynx closed her eyes and said, "Yes. But it's still incomplete."

It was like lines of code formed through energy. Each figure and each elemental symbol was drawn in a green flame that was rapidly being snuffed out. Perhaps it was done in an attempt to make the Prime Zone as one to one with its original shape as it had once been.

And on top of that, they had been working to maintain the structure of the Chaos Force!

"Then we don't have time to lose." Jani-Ca raised her arms as her hands were engulfed in purple flames. Her eyes began to glow white while purple flames outlined them. "The servers are the Seven Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos… The servers are the Seven…"

As the future daughter of Knuckles and Julie-Su prayed, Nicole focused on her own task.

The Neo-Walkers had begun the reconstruction of the Prime Zone. She could not take liberties or apply her own coding on top of their own. Nor could she start from scratch.

The work would be delicate, but she needed to move fast.

"Nicole."

Nicole's eyes widened. She recognized that voice.

"Bunnie…?"

"Ah'm gonna need a rundown of what the heck's goin' on here, hun."

---

"You are a fool." The End seemed like it was barely holding in a laugh as Sonic got closer to it. "You know you cannot win."

"Yeah, so I've been told." Sonic muttered to himself while curling into a ball. "But that hasn't stopped me before!"

The hedgehog knew that this was probably not going to go well. Sally often told him that he had a massive ego, but he couldn't deny reality. He wasn't Evil Sonic.

But he still had to try.

"Wait, didn't he rename himself…?"

No time to think about that now.

He could see the mad deity rearing back its spear-wielding arm, taking a second to aim at where he was going to be.

Big mistake.

Sonic willed himself to stop flying, landing on the ground that Merlin had created within the Chaos Force. His spin dash ground against the immaterial surface before speeding forward.

"What is he doing?!"

"He's going to get himself killed!"

"Guys, shut up! This is Sonic, remember? He's got a plan!"

The fact he now had an audience meant he couldn't afford to screw around.

The End threw its spear, and its wild trajectory threw Sonic off a bit like it had done just a few minutes ago. It was hard to keep track of. The fact it went in such sharp and random directions meant that he couldn't just leap out of the way. The thing would probably follow him if he changed course too early.

"Which means I need to wait until the last millisecond."

It was risky, but when wasn't anything in his life risky?

Sonic drew closer and closer to the god, and his distance from the purple light that was its spear grew shorter. His body was shaking in anticipation, and it took all his willpower to not break out of his curled position.

"Wait for it… wait for it…"

He heard the hiss as the otherworldly weapon cut through the Chaos Force, growing louder and louder until it was near deafening in his ears.

Sonic's eyes snapped open.

"NOW!"

Sonic tilted his body to the left and changed course. He heard the sound of the spear embedding itself into the ground, a low metallic whine as two unreal objects met. But that was soon replaced with the sound of his balled form drifting across the surface at supersonic speeds.

The hedgehog felt his own form begin to split apart, and knew in his trail were the afterimages of his past selves.

"Time for some payback!" He yelled before shooting forward.

"We have done this before." The End mocked as Sonic struck against one of its afterimages as it shifted forward. "The outcome will b-."

It didn't get to finish, as one of Sonic's past selves slammed into the deity's chest.

It was pushed back, breaking the line of afterimages it left before coming to a stop as Sonic's past self disappeared in a shower of glittering lights.

"YES!"

"He got that thing!"

"Keep going Sonic!"

"Heh!" Sonic chuckled as he uncurled from his ball form and rubbed his nose. "Not so high and mighty now, are ya?"

Despite saying that he wasn't relaxing.

"You dare…?" The End seemed to shake in rage. as its spear reappeared in its hand. "You dare to strike me?!"

It began to beat on its drum again, and the red and white balls of energy were launched around it. The hedgehog grimaced before he began to run.

The energy balls were dangerous, but manageable. They operated on a pattern, with even spaces between them. He ran underneath the balls that were ascending while sidestepping the ones that were descending.

But they were coming faster and faster.

"Think! What can you do? You've got more tricks with this form!"

He couldn't attack The End from a distance…

…Could he?

"I offer you mercy and you repay me with attacks and insults!" The End spat out, anger now in his voice rather than placid amusement. "This will not stand!"

"Hey, you're the one who decided he wanted to play around!" Sonic spat out as he looked down at his legs. Every time he kicked, even when he wasn't Super, there was usually a gust of air. Maybe he could use that. "Don't blame us for deciding we're going to play rough with the psycho that wants to kill everything!"

Sonic leapt up and began to fly in a circle. Raising his right leg, he swiped his foot forward again and again. Even to his own amazement, the kicks launched a multi-colored horizontal line at The End which raised its top right arm and spun its spear to block the attacks.

"Like it?! I call it the Sonic Boom!"

He made that up on the spot but it was as good a name as any!

"I do call it a mercy!" The End swung its spear, twisting its body while raising its top left arm whose hand spun the chakram. "I have seen your memories, New God! I know what struggles you had endured as a mortal!"

Sonic's eyes narrowed. "You don't know anything!"

"Oh? I do not?" The deity threw the chakram forward. "I know plenty! Of the war that you have fought against due to the avarice of your enemy. Of their lust for power."

The hedgehog stopped his onslaught of Sonic Booms and kicked downwards, sinking just before the bladed disc could cut him in half.

"The gluttony was never ending. You saw their deep envy for everyone having what they could not. Their pride in thinking their way was the only one, their sloth in becoming anything better, and their never ending wrath. Oh how many have died due to these sins!"

Sonic leapt up and kicked the flat of the bladed disc. It spun in the air, but the hedgehog held onto the inner ring while trying to keep The End in its sight.

"You knew, deep down, that this war would not end. That even if you killed your foe, another would simply take their place." The End reared back its spear-wielding arm. Behind it, three other identical spears formed and hummed with glowing purple energy. "Deep in your heart… you yearned for me!"

"I didn't yearn for anything, least of all you!" Sonic protested, his head throbbing in anger.

He hated The End, because it was right.

Not completely. But he knew Eggman. That psycho wouldn't stop until he was dead. And when he was dead? It'd be like what happened when Robotnik died. Some other evil psycho would try and take his place to ruin everything for everyone. Maybe multiple evil jerks at once!

A part of him had wished that it could end, and he could live with Sally and his friends in peace. Without any fear of anything truly bad happening to them or the world.

But not like this.

The End threw its spear, and the other three shot forward as well. Sonic grit his teeth and leapt off the Chakram.

The first spear he moved to the right to avoid.

The second one he lifted his feet and began to run across its surface until the end. He stomped down, causing the weapon to spin in the air.

Reaching out with his left hand he grabbed the otherworldly spear and then swung it forward, smashing it against the two upcoming spears heading towards him.

Once it was done he boosted forward and twisted his body, kicking out forward while splitting himself. Dozens of Sonics shot forward, each of them ready to attack.

The End growled and reared back its top right hand. Its fingers curled into a fist.

Time seemed to slow as The End threw its punch and Sonic drew closer with his kick.

Unfortunately, The End had size to compliment its speed.

The deity's fist slammed against Sonic's head, and the hyper hedgehog could hear his skull crack while his teeth rattled from the impact.

He was flung to the side, practically spinning as he landed and rolled across the nonexistent ground.

"And when you learned of the existence of the Multiverse, you felt pity for them! You knew they all suffered a variation of your same struggle! Mothers and fathers turned into metal! Loved ones killed! Homes destroyed! Innocence lost! You wished for me to grant them mercy as well!"

"NO!"

"Come on, Sonic! Get up!"

Sonic came to a stop and groaned, putting his right hand on his head as he struggled to get up.

"Shut… up…!" He hissed and opened his eyes…

…only to find The End wasn't there anymore.

"SONIC WATCH OUT!"

An alien hand grabbed him from behind the head, lifting him as the hedgehog's hands reached to try and free himself from its grasp.

"The most amusing part of this, however, is that your secret yearning and prayers flattered me. So I granted you a gift." The End hissed. "Search within yourself, New God. See my generosity!"

"What the hell are you…?" Sonic paused.

Something… something the End said didn't sit right.

"Mom and dad… turned into metal?"

It… sounded right. But…

"Come to think of it…" Sonic's eyes widened. "I… I don't remember what they look like! A-And who died again?"

This wasn't right! He… he would remember what Mom and Dad looked like! They were his freakin' parents! And he'd remember if one of his friends died!

So why couldn't he remember their names or faces?!

Realization dawned on him, as did the horror.

"You… no…!"

"YES!" The End lifted him up with its arm…

…before slamming him into the ground.

"I gift upon you a taste of my mercy, New God! You shall witness, slowly but surely, the End you had craved within your heart!"

It then lifted him up and repeated the action again.

"Your painful memories shall fade, until nothing is left!"

And again.

"Until you are as empty as I, and welcome my final blow with a smile upon your face!"

And again.

"Sonic, please! You have to fight back!"

"Hedgehog… you have the power! You must endure!"

"Please don't give up!"

Sonic had to.

All those people were relying on him.

….but it was getting harder to connect faces to those voices.

"Nicole… Jani-Ca… please tell me I bought you two enough time…!"

---

"He's not goin' to last much longer, hun!"

"I know, Bunnie!" Nicole's brow was furrowed as her finger raced across the lines of ancient runes which acted as code for the prime universe. Tears were in the corners of her eyes as her fingers traced over each symbol, reigniting the green fire which flickered brightly before slowly dimming. The time between creating new code and refreshing the old ones created by the Neo-Walkers was growing shorter and shorter. "But… but I can't leave! If I do, then our home…!"

A part of her had been relieved to hear Bunnie D'Coolette, her friend, once again. She had felt such overwhelming sadness when she had left New Mobotropolis, overwhelmed by her feelings of helplessness after Antoine had suffered his injuries. A part of the holo-lynx had blamed herself, agonized over the possibility had she been in control of the city through the nanites then she would've noticed the rabbit leaving and would've been able to talk her out of it.

When Bunnie left, another piece of the Freedom Fighters' soul had been chipped away. It hurt even more knowing that she was likely going to her uncle to… reobtain her cybernetic limbs once more.

And now… she was back.

Under normal circumstances, Nicole would be laughing and crying while embracing her friend in a hug.

But nothing about this was 'normal'.

"It's gonna kill Sonic, Nicole!" Bunnie's disembodied voice cried out, and the holo-lynx restrained herself from flinching when she heard another deafening crack echoed through nonexistent space. "There's gotta be somethin' you can do!"

"Don't you think if we could do something, we would've?!" Jani-Ca snapped, glaring up at the core while sweat seemed to form across her brow. "I don't want anyone else to die, least of all him! But if we leave here, then all of this… all the people and universes that died… will have been for nothing!"

"And if what you've told us is true…" An older male voice spoke from above, and it only took her a millisecond to recognize it as Dimitri, the previous host of Enerjak's power before Knuckles and Jani-Ca. "Should he die, then this… entity… will come here to destroy your ritual anyways."

Jani-Ca's glare now focused entirely on the core of the older male echidna. Nicole could understand the girl's anger. Much like Aurora, the pain she had experienced thanks to her version of Knuckles could be traced back to the brother of Edmund.

She was even beginning to open her mouth to say something bitter and cruel at the other echidna.

But…

Nicole let out a small sob.

That caused the echidna to pause in her action and stare at her with wide-eyed amazement.

"I-I'm sorry…" She muttered, her hands shaking as she tried to continue working. Tried to block out the sound of her friend being beaten to death so close by. "I'm sorry! I-I just don't know what to do!"

Nicole bit her lip.

"I-I wanted… I wanted to save everyone. To save the multiverse… to save my home… to save Sally… but…" She sniffled. "…But everything is going wrong! So many people have died, and now I have to choose between saving my home and saving my friend?! What kind of choice is that?!"

She knew it was illogical. The life of Sonic the Hedgehog, one life, was insignificant compared to the billions whose lives she was trying to save right here and now. It was nothing compared to the scope of an entire universe.

It would be foolish of her to stop now and throw away all this work just to try and save him, and potentially die in the process.

But Sonic was her friend.

And that… that felt more precious, more real, than the cosmic forces she was wielding right now.

"Nicole…" Jani-Ca hesitated. "It's… it's never easy but…"

"I'm not like you." Nicole muttered, wiping away her tears. "I can't just ignore what's happening right next to me. If Sonic… if he were to die…"

Then that would be it.

There would be no hope.

No reason to keep on struggling.

"…Then let's not have that happen."

Nicole blinked in surprise and looked up. "What… what are you…"

"Come on, Sugah. If you've got the power of a god right now, ah think you could pull a few strings to help us save Sugah-Hog's bacon." If she could see Bunnie's face, she bet the rabbit was smiling. "Can't be that hard!"

"Easy for you to say!" Jani-Ca yelled. "We've never done anything like that before! And besides, only someone with our power can hurt that thin-!"

"Jani-Ca." Dimitri intoned, interrupting his many great times over niece. "One of the biggest mistakes I ever made, both as Enerjak and even as a mere echidna, was believing that it was all up to me. That I could never make a mistake. That everyone around me were fools that would hinder me. That only I could save the world. Perhaps… it is time for you to break that mentality that has plagued the cursed line that is Enerjak. No… not just Enerjak. But all of echidnakind."

The former Enerjak's words caused the future daughter of Knuckles and Julie-Su to fall silent.

Nicole's jaw dropped slightly before she shook her head. She could barely believe her ears! Was her friend serious?! "Y-You've seen what The End can do! If you fight it you could…!"

"Hun." Bunnie's voice lost its joviality, causing the holo-lynx to freeze. "Ah need to do this. Ah… ah already left Sugah-Hog… left Sugah-Twan… left all y'all so ah could try an' not feel like a burden. Ah… ah hate how ah left it. Ah hated it and even hated mahself for makin' that call. Ah wanted to be by all y'all's side, fightin' to save Sally-Girl... but ah never got that chance. And now? Y'all need me more than ever."

"Bunnie…"

"This ain't me tryin' to throw mahself a pity party, honey. Ah'm just sayin', ah need to do this. Ah need to save… to save all the people ah love…" Bunnie's voice began to crack, as if she wanted to cry yet couldn't. "Please, Nicole. Please let me do this. For Sally… for Sonic… for all our friends… for mah husband…"

Nicole's heart broke as she listened to those words. She… she knew how much Bunnie left had hurt Sonic and the others. She knew how much it would've hurt Antoine if she woke up. And a part of her did know that Bunnie must've felt terrible for leaving… but not to this degree.

She could feel her friend's sorrow and heartbreak… her self-loathing for her decisions. How much she must've agonized over it, wondering if she made the right decision, before the white that was the Genesis Wave hit her.

And now she saw this as her one chance to help her friends.

One that could lead to certain doom.

"I… I can't let you do this on your own…"

"She will not be alone." The firm voice of Monkey Khan, King of the Free People of the Dragon Kingdom declared. Nicole looked up to see the cores that composed the sky glowing. "Sonic the Hedgehog and the Freedom Fighters have more allies than they realize. And all of us are willing to lay down our lives for them."

"Yeah!"

"We dealt with Robotnik and Eggman! You think a freaky lookin' monster's going to scare us?!'

"None of us could imagine a more holy mission than this!"

"Maybe tone it down a notch… Still can't believe Sonic became a god to some aliens. Thought he was making that up…"

"Someone's gotta help Sonic maintain the cosmic balance, man. Might as well be us!"

"Guru, mate… now's not the time for that kind of talk…"

"Sonic helped all of us! It's time for us to return the favor!"

"We're all Freedom Fighters!"

"There's no bigger battle for freedom than this!"

Nicole's heart filled with something as she heard the roars and cheers of all the people above. All the people and species from distant lands that Sonic and her friends had helped throughout their long battle.

All of them were here, and all of them were united in this cause.

She then realized what was causing her heart to swell.

Hope.

"Thank you… thank you all. But…" She swallowed. "But… I don't know how you could help. You all don't have the power or the form to…"

"Nicole."

The holo-lynx looked back at Jani-Ca, and the frustrated expression on the echidna's face had vanished.

Now it had been replaced with a look of determination.

"I've got an idea. A trick my… my father used…"

---

Sonic let out a wheeze as his head was smashed against the ground once more.

It was probably thanks to his new state of being that he hadn't been turned into a mush of blood, bone, and quills.

It didn't stop everything from hurting, though. The ringing in his ears wasn't stopping either. His vision was blurry, dark around the edges as he stared into the white voice.

"Well? Aren't you going to thank me for my generosity?" The End asked, gripping his head tighter and causing the hedgehog to hiss in pain. The deity bright Sonic closer to its moon-like head and whispered. "It can just be between us. A private prayer to your god."

Sonic grinned weakly.

Then he spat on the stupid bleeding moon head.

"…A pity." The End threw the hedgehog onto the ground causing him to grunt. The hyper hedgehog was on his back, staring up before The End put its foot on his chest and began to press down. "It really is astonishing. You struggle even now, even as your memories turn to ash."

"S-Screw… you…" Sonic hissed as his hand gripped the mad god's foot, trying to push it off.

It… hurt trying to remember. The End wasn't lying. His head was mush and his memories felt like they were being eaten in his head.

He held onto what he could.

He remembered going on adventures with Tails.

He remembered seeing Station Square with Amy and the rest of the Freedom Fighters, but it was hard to remember the human… no, Overlander… who they visited the place with. For some reason that Overlander made him feel a sorrow he couldn't explain.

He remembered meeting Knuckles and saving Angel Island after convincing the Echidna he wasn't a threat.

He remembered the Chaotix, Big, Cheese, Cream, Vanilla, Blaze, Silver, and the Babylon Rogues. He even remembered Eggman.

And… and he remembered Sally.

But the memories… the details… they were slipping him by. Sally's hair kept changing for some reason. Stuff like whether Tails wore red shoes or blue got mixed up.

Moments were even harder to keep within his grasp.

"I'll never let it know." He glared at The End. "I won't give it the satisfaction."

"Feel honored, New God." The End twirled its spear before aiming its tips down at Sonic's head. "You're place within the story of existence has reached its end by my hand. By the true author of your existence,"

"Well your story… sucks…"

"Goodbye." The mad god brought down his spear…

…and a yellow beam of energy shot the deity's hand, flinging it back as the hand let go of the weapon. The spear twirled in the air before embedding itself into the ground behind the godlike being.

"WHAT?!" The End looked up. "Who dares…?!"

Clouds that shouldn't exist, yet did, formed in the void above. Sonic felt something grab his left hand before pulling, dragging him from under the deity's foot.

Just in time for a lightning bolt to shoot down and hit The End, who shook as cosmic lightning crackled across its form.

"What the…?!" Sonic looked up and blinked.

It was… a rabbit. But one without any fur. Rather it seemed to be made of smooth silver metal, but with yellow neon lights where her eyes and the inner parts of their ears would be. Their left hand had been transformed into what looked like the barrel of a canon, one emitting yellow Chaos energy which crackles with black dots along the edges.

He… he recognized the form.

He could feel her soul!

Sonic blinked… then grinned.

"Hey, Bunnie... What kept ya?"

Bunnie D'Coolette chuckled. "What can ah say? A gal can be fashionably late." She used her free hand to thumb behind her. "Plus…"

Sonic leaned to the side and his eyes widened as he saw what could best be described as a literal army.

Each of them were like Bunnie, silver forms with neon lights making out vague features.

Even with his fading memories, when he looked at each of them names and faces began to fill his head.

Monkey Khan.

Dulcy the Dragon.

Mobie and the Gorilla Army.

Barby Koala and the Downunda Freedom Fighters.

Guntiver the Arctic Wolf and the Arctic Freedom Fighters.

Lobo and the Wolf Pack.

And those were just the ones Sonic could see in the front!

"…Ah brought some friends. Hope you don't mind, Sugah-Hog!"

Sonic grinned, gripping Bunnie's hand as she helped him onto his feet. "Hey… the more the merrier!"

"What…?!" The End hissed, causing Sonic to look back at the mad god as it flapped its wings and dispersed the storm clouds that had formed over it. "How…? How do all of you have their energy…?"

Sonic glared at the deity.

He could say something witty. Something to mock this thing even more.

Instead…

"Alright guys… let's do it to it."

Everyone roared in approval as they ran forward, each step they took matching with the beating of his heart. Bunnie was right by his side, her arm cannon charging for another shot. Monkey Khan was flying on his cloud overhead, crouched down and ready to strike as bolts of energy crackles across the end of his staff. Behind them were all the other friends he had made throughout his years as the Hero of Mobius.

Even if he had all his memories, he'd probably need a bit to remember all of them.

They had come from all different corners of life.

All of them with their own ideologies, each of them having a different opinion of what it would take to save the world.

But all of them are here now, united just like they were when the Xorda invaded what seemed like centuries ago.

With the fate of reality itself hanging in the balance.

The End seemed to be flummoxed at their appearance before scoffing. "So… the other New God distributed the remains of this realm's disgusting energy amongst them. It will not be enough." It raised its bottom hands ready to beat upon its drum. "I shall show you the futility of…"

There was a puff of smoke on the being's left shoulder, and when it cleared it revealed a small silver ant with red neon highlights. Sonic could feel the playful wisdom radiating from the ant's core, and the hedgehog recognized it.

Archimedes the Fire Ant, Knuckles' mentor and friend.

"G'day, mate." The ant said playfully before he along with the End disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Then, in a second, the mad god was now only a few feet away from Sonic. "All yours, lad!"

"Thanks!" The hyper hedgehog curled into a ball and shot forward, nailing the End in the center of the chest. "Anyone else want a piece of this guy?!"

"Oh you know it, Sonic!" As he leapt off the deity's body, a glowing ball of red chaos energy with a black dotted outline smashed against its body. The End let out a grunt of frustration as the dragon flew to the left, continuing to pour out fire, and Bunnie flew to the right firing with her canon arm. "It's good to be fighting with you guys again!"

"Sho 'nuff, hun!" Bunnie laughed as she flew past the dragon. "Wish you kept in touch after the wedding!"

"Had some stuff I needed to work out!"

"What do you hope to accomplish with this?" The End shouted as he reared back his arm and threw his chakras. The disc spun, causing the dragon to yelp and fly into the sky as the weapon flew after her. "You are nothing but gnats! You cannot harm me in any way that matters!"

Despite fleeing the spinning disc, Dulcy turned her head to the End and her eyes shifted as if she were smiling in her new form. "Lying~!"

Bunnie turned as she flew, aiming her canon at the disc and firing. "Keep layin' on him, guys!"

"Gladly!" Monkey Khan flew next to Sonic, his staff glowing with chaos-infused electricity. "I will need you for this."

The hedgehog grinned. "I like the way you think!"

Sonic leapt up, curling into a ball before the monkey yelled and hit him with his staff. The chaos-infused electricity crackled around Sonic's mostly invulnerable form, understanding that its master wanted to aid the hedgehog rather than harm him. He shot forward, slamming against the mad god's body before bouncing back at the monkey. Khan batted with his staff against Sonic again, pushing the End further back with each electricity-infused blow.

The monkey screamed as he turned his arm and slammed the side of his staff against the curled-up hedgehog ball one final time, causing it to shoot out and sail over the End's head and against the flat of the chakram. The bladed disc stopped trying to follow Dulcy and spun in the air while Sonic bounced back, uncurling himself and gasping as he skid to a stop next to the king of the free people.

"You were enjoying that way too much." Sonic said with a tired smirk while Monkey Khan chuckled.

"Consider us even for what happened with Sally."

"Oh don't start, Khan."

The End growled and flapped its wings. "I tire of…!"

Before it could finish the rest of its monologue, the air behind it shimmered behind it as the silver and brown-neon highlighted form of Erna Ermine appeared behind it and drop-kicked the top right wing.

"Shut up and fight!" The ermine hissed as more of Sonic's friends rushed forward.

"I'm so sick of this thing going on and on about how great and powerful it is!" Barby Koala shouted as she uppercutted the End's right side. "Let's show it what happens when you mess with the Freedom Fighters!"

Walt Wallaby complimented his fellow Downunda Freedom Fighter's blow with one on the mad god's left side. "Crikey, and I thought our lives couldn't get weirder!"

"I remember when we used to just be activists…" Guntiver the Arctic Wolf muttered while pulling back the End's bottom left arm.

Lobo of the Wolf Pack, husband of Lupe Wolf, laughed as he used his right arm lock the End's top left arm while using his left to stab the mad god in the shoulder using a knife he generated. "Look at it this way, friend! You'll have stories to brag about when we're back on Mobius. My wife and children may still be sleeping, but when they wake up the Wolf Pack will have a new legend to tell for generations to come!"

The knife snapped against The End's skin, but Sonic could see a small scratch against its once spotless armor.

"You insects!" The End roared, flapping his wings and causing a shockwave to echo out. Sonic and the others cried out as they were flung back, the former assaulted of the deity flew away as it began to fly up. "I do not need to humor you! I will destroy you a-!"

An orange neon tongue wrapped around its midsection, and the god of destruction was slammed right back down to the ground.

"GAH!"

"Got you~!" The clam sang in a sing-song voice

"Wait, who…" Sonic squinted and saw that the origin of the tongue was a silver clam. He searched his fading memories… and came up with nothing. He didn't even have a vague recollection of who this mobian was!

"Oh!" Sonic turned his head and saw a little silver nerb with a neon blue Mohawk nodding. "That's Bivalve!"

"Bivalve?"

"Yup!" The nerb lifted his arms to his face, pushing up glasses that weren't even there anymore, as he explained. "Bivalve Clam of the Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters! Our teams have been coordinating to expel the Eggman Empire's forces for a while now. We've met a couple of times, and had some radical chess matches!"

"…Cool." Sonic scratched his head. Had he ever met this guy before?

Before he could embarrass himself any further Bunnie flew next to him and patted his shoulder. "Glad to have ya, Napoleon! Now why don't ya run to yer princess before she wonders where you are!"

"Of course!" With that, the little nerb ran off without looking back.

Sonic raised an eyebrow at Bunnie, who shrugged. "Don't sweat it, hun. You were in space when the rest of us met the Nerb Freedom Fighters."

The hedgehog chuckled and put his hand on his forehead. "Man…"

People he hadn't even met were here to help him, Nicole, and Jani-Ca

All of them… believed in them. All of them were here ready to fist-fight with a god to try and help save reality.

It was humbling, and that was just putting it lightly.

He then lowered his hand and looked at Bunnie, his smile turning into a sad frown. "Bunnie, I…"

She shook her head. "Sugah-Hog… ah know. Ah'm sorry I left y'all like that. But ah didn't…" She sighed. "…when this is all over, we can talk about it. You, me, an' Sugah-Twan. Alright?"

"…Yeah."

He wanted to say so much to her. To talk about why she left them all, how she could've thought that any of what happened with Antoine was her fault, and how she was still cool even without her robian limbs. But she was right. They didn't have the time.

So he could only say what was in his heart right now.

"…It's good to have you back."

"Thanks, Sugah-Hog."

"GRAAH!" The End's scream cut their conversation short, and they watched as it tore up the tongue wrapped around it before grabbing onto the remains of the appendage leading to Bivalve with its free hand. "I have had enough of this foolishness!"

It swung the poor clam around before throwing it at the army, nailing Mobie in the center of his chest.

"I will see you all dead f-!"

The roar of engines was heard as a massive shadow raced over the army. Sonic couldn't help but grin as he saw it was a spaceship in the form of his own blue-quilled head.

The side of it opened, revealing dozens of aliens clad in bulky blue power armor wielding giant silver guns. Each of them wore a helmet, one that looked like a vague interpretation of his own head but with shining blue visors.

"FOR THE HEDGEHOG!" Their commander shouted while pointing with his own handgun. "FIRE!"

Bullets of pure chaos rained down at the End, who spun his spear while using his own wings to shield himself from each blast.

"Ah really did think you were messin' with us when you talked about 'em." His rabbit friend said bluntly while Sonic laughed.

"Yeah! They were…" His smile began to fade as he searched his memories. "They were…"

Great. He couldn't even remember why a bunch of aliens started worshipping him!

"Sonic?" Bunnie asked, her voice filled with concern as she stared at him. "A-Are your memories…?"

"Yeah." Sonic's brow furrowed. "I'm trying to fight it, Bunnie, but the more I stop focusing on it…"

How long until he couldn't even remember who she was? An hour? A couple of minutes?

It was maddening to even think about, and yet he couldn't stop.

Bunnie was silent for a few seconds before shaking her head. "…Just try, Sugah. Try hard to focus on those you love. And… even if that monster makes you forget everythin' in your head…"

She didn't finish, as the ground began to shake before it rippled like water and a massive form burst out.

A giant whale with dark blue neon highlights.

"Well look at that!" Bunnie whistled as it floated over the End which only now seemed to register the giant shadow over it. "Looks like Fluke joined the party!"

As if on cue, the giant whale slammed on top of the mad god.

And that's when dread creeped back into the hedgehog's mind.

"No!" He shouted, racing forward. "Fluke, get off of it right…!"

Too late.

The blue whale's eyes widened before its silvery form cracked and then burst, spreading out everywhere while the End had its arms raised and unfurled its wings.

"NO!" Sonic screamed while the army of familiar and unfamiliar faces beneath him gasped or cried out in pain and sorrow, watching as the silver globules that were once Fluke disintegrated into the air.

"ENOUGH!"

It reared back its spear arm and chucked it. The hedgehog raced forward, reaching out with his left arm towards the shaft.

But he was too late. The unpredictable flight of the spear changed, and it flew to the left then right…

…and then hit its mark, going right through Lobo's chest.

"LOBO!" In a flash, Sonic was right by his side and held onto the dying wolf. "No… please no…!"

Lobo had so many friends back on Mobius. Lupe… his… his kid… or kids…

"DAMN IT! NO!"

"Sonic…" Lobo croaked out. "Please… tell Lupe… tell my children… that I'm sorry… that I loved them…. that I wish I could've…"

But he didn't get to finish as the remains of his soul turned to ash and flew in nonexistent wind.

"ALL OF YOU! ALL OF YOU ANTS ARE NOT WORTHY!"The End screamed as its form began to grow and shift. From six feet to ten and then thirty. Continuing to grow until they were truly the size of ants compared to it!

The moon that was its head cracked horizontally, opening like an obscene maw of jagged teeth made of stone. Drool of black material composed of the souls it had consumed flying out as it spoke.

"I tire of this game! I tire of your resistance against the inevitable!"

It lifted its foot and then smashed it down, destroying the alien ship that had plagued it mere minutes ago.

Dozens of lives snuffed out in the blink of an eye, each one of them cursing the destroyer deity.

"MY WILL SHALL BE DONE!"

---

"We're out of time."

Jani-Ca spoke those words in a voice completely hollow.

It was the voice of defeat. One that could not deny the simple reality in front of them.

And Nicole could not deny it either.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks as the symbols of fire disappeared far too quickly for her to replace or even copy them. The structures that the Neo-Walkers created were like sand slipping through her fingers, and even with all her abilities she couldn't stop it!

"There… there has to be a way." She stated, even if she didn't believe it. "This couldn't have been for nothing!"

The echidna across from her looked down, tears forming in the corners of her own eyes as she said, "Nicole… We… we tried. But we need to face facts. We can't…" Her face scrunched up as she sobbed out, "…We can't save the Prime Dimension or the Chaos Force or anyone!"

The holo-lynx wanted to scream.

She wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

"I tried! I tried to keep the structure intact!" Jani-Ca's hands shook as she looked upon the purple fire enveloping them. "I gave what worked to all those people so they could become Prelates and help Sonic! So they could use the positive energy of the Chaos Force while I tried to repair what was broken and degrading! But… it's too much!" She let out a sob. "How long? How long was everything just fundamentally broken?! It's like the Walkers paved over the cracks, and this wave along with The End were the final blow!"

Nicole wanted to argue that it wasn't broken. That it was their home and they just needed to accept it all, flaws and all! That they could make it work!

"But the evidence…"

The structures of the Prime Dimension that the Neo-Walkers attempted to keep… It was like a flawed building on a shaky foundation. One that kept being built level by level despite parts failing and breaking.

And if she tried working without pieces of their code?

It all fell apart.

It just couldn't work.

"Ni-Col… the Ancients… so many people have died for our one chance!" Nicole's hands clenched into fists before slamming down, destroying what little code remained. "DAMN IT!"

Sonic had been counting on her! Her friends needed her! Sally needed her more than ever, and she couldn't do the one thing she had been born to do?!

"This… this isn't fair…!"

And it wasn't just fair to her! So many people would never see their loved ones again! All their lives… their wants and desires and hopes and dreams would be utterly erased.

All thanks to Eggman.

All thanks to the End.

All thanks to utterly selfish and mad creatures themselves as more important than others.

"It… it can't end like this…" She looked at Jani-Ca and said, "I'm so sorry. I wanted… I wanted to save your parents and…!"

"I know, Nicole." Jani-Ca wiped her eyes and muttered, "I know… but… you tried. We all tried. And…"

"…Do not cry."

The soft voice caused the two godlike entities to turn and see the silver prelate form of Dimitri hovering away from the Master Emerald, continuing to stare at the planet-sized form of the End as the army of Prelates led by Sonic futily tried to beat against it.

The former Enerjak had his head down while his hands clenched into fists.

"There is a way." His hands shook before relaxing. "Both of you… you tried in earnest to save what came before. But… if you cannot save the past…" He turned to them and said, "…You can create a future. A fresh start."

Nicole's brow furrowed as she tried to decipher the message. What was the echidna…?

Then, realization hit her.

"You… you think we need to stop recreating Mobius?"

The former Enerjak nodded. "Yes." He turned to Jani-Ca. "And give birth to something from the remains of the Chaos Force."

"That's…" Jani-Ca muttered, her eyes widened as she looked at her hands. "But the Chaos Force is…!"

"Stop. That is the trap you are falling in, my descendent." He shook his head. "You think that the Chaos Force as you knew it is needed. But one of the fundamental laws of energy is that it cannot be created or destroyed…."

"…It can only be transformed or transferred…" Nicole muttered, blinking in disbelief. "You… actually believe…?"

"Yes. I do."

"Why?" Jani-Ca asked her ancestor, who stared back at her. "Why are you telling me to do this!? You of all people should…!"

"Because the mistakes of our past cannot be ignored." Dimitri's shoulders sagged. "I… I know that more than anyone. I had been corrupted by the hatred and lust for power from the Enerjaks of the past. My sins created ripples that cursed my descendants… that cursed you in your universe, Jani-Ca. And now all those past mistakes… all those little inconsistencies and flaws baked into our very reality have caused all of this." He motioned his arm to their surroundings. "You cannot save it, no matter how hard you try. You can create a vague copy, but it will always be haunted by what came before."

Dimitri looked down.

"There is only one way… and both of you know it."

Those words shook Nicole down to her core.

She couldn't save Mobius. Trying to make a vague copy of the prime dimension she knew from scratch… it was doomed to failure, because she'd try so hard to make it as close as possible to what came before.

And it just wouldn't work. The structure would be too flawed. It would collapse in on itself sooner or later.

"But… to create something new…"

It would need to be a universe that would grow with time. Structured, but ever evolving thanks to how vague it all was.

Undefinable, while still being familiar.

One filled with endless possibilities.

Nicole ran the calculations in her head.

It… was possible.

But…

"I… I don't want it to end like this." She whispered, looking at Dimitri with tears in her eyes. "This is our home…"

"My dear." The former Enerjak said softly. "Home is where your friends and families are. This universe… Mobius… is just a place. But it will still be in all your hearts."

The three stayed quiet for a second, the sounds of battle growing closer and closer all the while.

"…Yeah. Alright." Jani-Ca let out a shaky breath as she flew close to Enerjak. "I worked it out in my head. I know what I need to do."

"What is she talking about?"

Dimitri looked her in her eyes and a great sadness was apparent in his own. "It doesn't…"

"I only have one thing to give to make this work." Jani-Ca let out a shaky breath. "This… is the only way."

"…" Dimitri hesitated before putting his hands on top of Jani-Ca's. "…Then you shall not do it alone. Let this be the redemption of the name of Enerjak."

They both closed their eyes… and began to pray.

"The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The liberator uses the Chaos to save all."

And as they finished their prayer, Dimitri became globules of pure purple energy.

Ones that did not emit the energy of the Chaos Force.

Nicole's eyes widened. It was certainly chaos energy, but it was… different. There was no classification for it inside her records.

And now… Jani-Ca was emitting it.

"…Goodbye, Dimitri." The future daughter of Knuckles and Julie-Su muttered sadly as the energy that was once her ancestor mixed with her own. She then looked at Nicole and gave her a small sad smile. "Make sure my mom and… and dad have a nice home to go back to, okay?"

"No…" Cold realization washed over the holo-lynx as her eyes widened. "Jani-Ca, you can't…"

"And there can't be any more Walkers. We got into this mess thanks to them. I don't want gods messing with people like they did. You got to promise me that."

"There has to be another way!"

The daughter of a dark future chuckled, but it wasn't one devoid of hope. No, it was one of relief.

Even as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Come on. I ain't saying goodbye or anything like that. You… Sonic… mom… and dad…?" She flew up, her entire body glowing in purple energy. "I'll see you guys soon!"

And with that, she flew towards the End.

A glowing bullet representing an unknown future.

Nicole closed her eyes and clenched her hands into fists…. Before opening them and glaring in determination.

It was time to create something new.

"Goodbye for now, Jani-Ca."

---

"Come on!" Sonic screamed as he pushed against the massive fist which the End threw at them. "Keep pushing, guys! Nicole and Jani-Ca need more time!"

"We're tryin'!" Bunnie shouted, firing up at the deity's head. "But it ain't doin' much good!"

It certainly felt like it. All of them were fighting against the End, silver facsimiles of his friends and strangers flying around the god and striking at it with energy blasts or the weapons they had created. Each of them barely even making a scratch, and while Sonic tried to prevent the limbs and weapons from striking any of them he was not fast enough in some cases.

It had even destroyed many of the still sleeping cores.

And with each death, the vague memories he had of them left too. It was horrible, like pieces of his soul just being torn out as easily as tissue paper. But even if he couldn't remember them… he could feel their loss. The sorrow he felt remained, knowing he lost something but not remembering what.

Trying to protect what was left was pushing him now.

"Of course it won't!" The End shot back, mad joy dripping from each word. "This has always been the outcome! What hope did any of you have fighting against me?! Against the End that comes for all?!"

It swiped its arm, destroying another spaceship that had been filled with the Bem lead by Ceneca-9009, a friend he had apparently made while he was in space.

And as soon as that ship was destroyed, so were whatever memories he had of that alien.

"It would have been simpler if you had supported me! Accepted my judgement and ending for all of you! If you had thanked and appreciated all that I bring!"

A swing of its spear sliced the Downunda Freedom Fighters and Arctic Freedom Fighters in Half. Some of them grimaced in pain while others continued to glare at the mad god in defiance even in their last seconds of existence.

The End continued to rave as it swatted Sonic aside. The hedgehog screamed as he twisted in the unreal space. "Instead you defy my vision! You defy me!"

It flapped its wings, scattering what remained of their army and leaving it alone. Its horrid teeth clashed while it continued to rave.

"I AM THE END!"

It raised its bottom arms, ready to beat on its drum.

"I AM INEVITABLE!"

It raised its right hand and Sonic flew towards it, its teeth gritting as he turned up the energy within him.

"I AM…!"

Time slowed to a crawl as Sonic felt something behind him.

He turned and saw Jani-Ca fly next to him, now merely an outline of purple energy he did not recognize.

She smiled sadly at him.

"See you later, Sonic."

"Jani-Ca…"

Then, time resumed and that brilliant bullet struck the swirling void that was inside the End's midsection.

The End's form shifted and rippled, the swirling void stopping before gold and purple energy began to erupt.

The mad god's head reared back before screaming, "GRAAAAAAHHH!"

It was a scream of pain unlike any Sonic had ever heard before. Trillions of voices crying out in anguish.

The End took a step back clutching at the fountain of energy that was escaping it.

"WHAT… IS… THIS?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!"

It was grasping at the energy, trying futility to stop its escape. The bottom left hand dropped the drum and both of them tried to cover the hole created by the echidna.

Sonic could see it though.

The energy that was escaping… it wasn't the Chaos Force.

"It's something else…"

The white void they were in was now coloring it. It was like someone was painting it with purple and specks of gold like stars that shined even in darkness.

And… he could see Jani-Ca.

A ghostly outline of her that smiled before disappearing into the void.

Becoming one with this unknown energy.

"Sugah, what is this?" Bunnie asked him while flying in front of him, "What did you do?"

"I…" He shook his head and glared at it. "I don't know. But we can't waste this chance."

"No, we cannot."

Both of them looked back and saw Nicole flying towards them, a ball of white light with lines of golden code swirling around it in rings.

Her face showed she was exhausted, yet those eyes were still full with determination.

"The End is now losing its power. And that power, born from all that death…" She held the ball up. "…will create something new."

"You mean Mobius?" Sonic asked, only for Nicole to shake her head.

"It won't be Mobius. I cannot make it like it once was." She looked at Sonic and Bunnie sadly. "But… we will have a home again. Our friends will be alive."

Sonic closed his eyes.

He… he failed.

He couldn't save Mobius.

All those memories… all those places and people… they would be lost and there was nothing they could do about it.

He was angry. He wanted to scream.

He was sad. He wanted to cry.

And yet… what Nicole said….

"They will have a future…" Sonic muttered before opening his eyes, "And we'll be together."

"Of course, Sugah-Hog." Bunnie placed her hand on his shoulder. She whispered softly to him, "Sooner or later. No matter how far apart we may be."

"Alright." Sonic looked back at The End, who was feebly trying to swat at the army of Mobius. "No time to lose."

Nicole nodded and flew forward. "I will keep it distracted!"

"You mean we will!" Bunnie shouted while flying with the holo-lynx. "You've got this, Sonic!"

Nicole closed her eyes before, in a shower of pixels, she grew as massive as the End.

It roared in anger as it grabbed at the Holo-Lynx who glared at it before rearing back her right fist and punching the mad god across its moon face with her fist.

The remnants of Mobius, led by Bunnie D'Coolette, cried out as they flew up, striking once more at their end.

Sonic held the seed of the new universe in his hands, looking down at it.

This was it.

No time to screw up.

Sonic took a deep breath…

…and flew.

Colors became a blur.

Energy crackled and fizzled around him as he became pure speed.

The past was becoming nothing and the future was now unclear.

There was only this moment in time.

Nothing else mattered.

Sonic let out a cry as he thrust his hands forward with the new universe…

And smashed through the End's fingers, causing it to touch the energies of what came before.

There was a heartbeat.

And then…

…a big bang.

Sonic couldn't hear anything as he was flung back, his ears ringing and white filling his vision. He blinked it all away before he saw…

…Stars.

Stars were pouring out of the End as it began to shrink, flying out like someone had opened a faucet. The purple and golden energy that had been their surroundings had no disappeared, creating a black void.

As stars dotted the blackness, he could see planetoids forming around them. Time was moving rapidly, far quicker than he could've possibly predicted. Days, years, and millennia flowed quickly. Some of the planets contained life and some without.

"I can't believe I'm actually seeing this…" Sonic muttered to himself before seeing Nicole shrink and fly to him with Bunnie and the remains of their army. She was saying something but he couldn't hear, so he shook his head and asked, "What?"

"It's done, Sonic." Nicole said, tears in her eyes. "The new universe."

"Yeah…" He looked at Bunnie, at the remains of all those still alive, and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. We… we tried to…"

"We know, Sugah-Hog." Bunnie shook her head. "You tried… an' we were there with you. None of us blame you for what happened."

The remains of Mobius sounded off their own agreements, some of them choking up as if they wanted to cry.

But no one said anything out of anger.

She took his and Nicole's hand in each of their own.

"Thank you… for everythin'."

"N-No…! No…!" The End whined like a small child as it shrank. "You… You can't do this to me…!"

Sonic glared at it. It had now been reduced to the human-like size it had once been as the final star it belched out floated behind it and began to grow into a sun. Its yellow surface glowed with flames as the mad god struggled to right itself.

"Hold on a sec, guys. I'll be right back."

Sonic let go of Bunnie's hand and flew towards the End, glaring at it while crossing his arms.

It looked up at him and weakly asked, "Why… why aren't you afraid…?"

"Because I never fear the fall." Sonic flew backwards. "Do you?"

The hyper hedgehog then sped forward, kicking out with his right leg before it made contact with the End's head. It screamed in agony as it tried to use its wings to fly away. But it was too weak, and the pain it was experiencing too great. Sonic then crouched down and kicked off of the End, who screamed before it made contact with the hot plasma of the sun.

Sonic watched as it struggled against the concentrated energy and hot plasma, reaching out before being pulled back in. Its wings and armor melted as its futility reached out before disappearing into the matter.

The hedgehog said nothing as he watched all this happen.

"Good riddance."

The sun shifted and bubbled before spitting out a jagged crystal chunk that glowed yellow, green, purple, red, and blue. It spun into space as it flew away into the cosmos unknown, pulsing with energy of time and space.

"Something I can worry about later."

Sonic turned around and flew back to Nicole and the others, smiling at them. "Sorry. Let's get you guys home."

Nicole nodded as she closed her eyes. Glowing cores materialized in the air around them, the remnants of Mobius that were awake stared at them in wonder.

"Once time has caught up to a close proximination to what you know as the 'present', your souls will be transferred into the bodies crafted here in this new universe." She smiled at them. "There will be some disorientation, and for that I apologize."

"Don't worry about it." Bunnie waved her off. "Anythin' would be a cakewalk compared to…" She pointed to the sun. "All of that."

"Guess so." Sonic laughed before looking at the cores.

Specifically the ones that contained the friends that had been with him during that adventure with a hero from another dimension.

Sonic smiled sadly.

"You guys go on ahead. Me and Nicole will catch up."

Bunnie flew forward… and pulled Sonic into a hug.

"Don't forget… we'll always be in your heart, Sugah-Hog."

The hedgehog stiffened for a second, his eyes growing wide, before hugging his friend back.

"Yeah. Goodbye, Bunnie."

With that, Nicole raised her hands and typed on translucent keyboards. Bunnie and the prelates turned back into cores, flying alongside the cores still sleeping. They created a river in the sky, flying towards their new home.

It was… beautiful.

Sonic let out a shaky breath before looking at Nicole. "Nicole… what about the past? If this isn't Mobius then…"

"I created a faximile. One with a history similar enough to the one we knew, based on my memories and the data I obtained. But…" She hesitated before one core floated towards them. "…what do we do about him?"

There was no need to explain who he was.

Sonic stared at the core that contained the madman who helped kickstart all of this.

His fate now rested in their hands.

But…

"…I said no one else dies, Nicole." He whispered. "Not even him."

"But…"

"I know. He's a lunatic. A madman who hurt and killed so many people. I know that more than anyone." Sonic shook his head. "But I'm tired, Nicole. I can't bear to see anyone else die. I can't make that call. I…" He looked down. "…I just want there to be life, not death."

Nicole bit her lip. She obviously wanted to argue, but at the same time she also agreed.

There had been too much death.

They were both burned out.

And as much as they both wanted to do it deep down… they couldn't.

"…Then what can we do?" Nicole asked, and Sonic tapped his head.

"All my memories of Mobius are disappearing…. But I do kinda remember that other place Eggman made with that other scientist guy. He acted different in those memories, which is why it was kinda like whiplash then he acted like his usual self. I think those memories are still in my subconscious, y'know? So maybe…"

"…We can have him only have those memories. That way he can act like that version." Nicole muttered, her eyes wide in amazement. "Yes, that is possible. But…" She shifted uncomfortably while looking at the Core. "What we'll be doing is…"

"Yeah. I know." Sonic sighed. "But our other option isn't something either of us are going to be doing."

"…People will still be hurt."

"But way less than before. And you guys will stop him."

Nicole looked at him sadly. "Sonic…"

"I'm losing my memories, Nicole. I'll practically be a blank slate when we all go there. I'll basically be a new person." It broke Sonic's heart to say this, but it was true. It was something he and Nicole needed to accept. "Just… be sure to tell my new self that I was cool." He chuckled before his smile turned into a frown. "And when you guys rescue Sally… Tell her I love her. That I always loved her."

Even though it was becoming harder and harder to remember her face…

"…Of course." Nicole's eyes blinked away tears before she hugged Sonic, pulling him tightly to herself and he returned the gesture. "Of course I will."

They stayed like that for a few moments before letting go reluctantly, Nicole turning and tapping on the surface of Eggman's core. In a few seconds, it floated up and flew towards its new home where its new body would soon be waiting.

"Now what?" He asked as Nicole materialized keyboards around herself. "Bringing the other Zones out of White Space?"

"Yes. First will be Blaze's and Mega Man's Zones, followed by the Perpendicular Zone so that the Zone Cops can continue their duties. The others will follow." She frowned and said, "That's odd. A divergent Zone has already formed."

"Yeah. Probably because of that big gem thing the sun spat out after eating the End." Sonic pointed at the sun. "So there's now a universe where it spat that thing out and where it didn't."

"Time is moving a bit slower in that universe… I suppose it won't be a problem…" Nicole muttered to herself before tapping at the keyboards once more. "Alright. Now we just need to wait for time to catch up so that I may implement the sequence of events that will create a similar but different copy of our history so tha-."

Nicole didn't even get to finish that sentence.

A beam of red energy shot out, blasting through the right portion of her head which spat out black, white, and hot pink pixels.

"NO!" Sonic shouted, catching the holo-lynx as she crumpled to the ground. Her left eye was wide in shock and terror as it stared up at him. "Nicole! Nicole, please no!"

"E-ERROR! ERROR! S-SonKRSCH!" Nicole spat out, her voice switching between normal and robotic randomly. "DATA CORRUP-I'm trying to…DATA STORED FOR RECOVERY…!"

"HAHAHAHA!" The mad laugh echoed throughout space. "Fool! YOU UTTER FOOL! YOU INSIGNIFICANT GNAT!"

"You…" Sonic said through clenched teeth as he stared at the sun.

The surface bubbled before something rose from within.

It looked vaguely like the face of a laughing baby, one formed from plasma with purple fire for eyes.

The End laughed madly. "You cannot kill your End! Your sin may have weakened me, but I will consume! I will destroy! I will devour planet after planet of this obscene new universe until I eat the new iteration of my former captors!"

It shifted its form, each movement sounding like a bone cracking, until it became a purple moon.

"They will weep and wonder why, before I search for your new home!"

It turned and then began to flee.

"Centuries… millenniums… eons! It matters not! I WILL FIND THEM!"

"Bastard…!" Sonic hissed out, only for Nicole to reach up and cup his face.

"S-S-Sonic… P-P-Please… yo-KRSCH need to listen to mmmmmeeee." The holo-lynx turned his face so he looked at her. Her one remaining eye was crying while the inside of her head glowed with pixels. "M-M-Memory is corrupted… I cannot restore… reboot… our history… N-N-Needs to start… with natural progression."

"…Then that means…"

"N-No natural place… for New Mobotropolis…" Nicole muttered in anguish. "W-Will return… once time and space are stable… My m-m-memory will recover if given enough time so echidnas will be returned. But all cores will be inserted into their bodies which shall grow up in this new timeline…"

Sonic wasn't the smartest guy, but he could piece together what Nicole was trying to say.

New Mobotropolis… their former home… will return sooner or later. Nicole's memory would return too, so the echidnas would come back. But Bunnie and everyone that will be reborn… they will basically be new people. With no memory of their former home. All they'll know is the life they lived in this new world and the history that came with it.

"N-N-need help, Sonic. Need base form…" The remains of Nicole's face scrunched up. "M-Memory… corrupted… help…"

"Don't worry." Sonic cupped Nicole's hand with his left and guided it to his temple. "I still remember it."

She smiled. "I-I can't… help you remember… everything. But I can give you… something."

Flashes appeared in Sonic's head.

Snippets of memories.

Of him eating chili dogs with Uncle Chuck at his restaurant.

Of him holding Tails as a baby.

Hanging out on the couch with his mom, dad, and Muttski telling them all about his adventure with the Chao.

He, Sally, the other Freedom Fighters, and the Chaotix cheering outside the gates of New Mobotropolis after beating back Eggman once again.

Him and Sally hanging by the lake, deciding to try being a couple after spending so much time split apart.

Him kissing Sally…

He smiled at Nicole as she glowed for a second before bursting into a shower of pixels. When he blinked, he was holding her PDA body.

SONIC…

…I HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO CREATE AND STORE A MESSAGE WITH MY CORRUPTED FILES.

THE END WILL ENCOUNTER THE ANCIENTS AGAIN, WITH ALL PROBABILITY POINTING TO THEM ESCAPING TO THE NEW PLANET EARTH.

THEY WILL CAPTURE IT AGAIN.

IF, FOR WHATEVER REASON, IT'S RESTRAINTS ARE BROKEN ENOUGH…

"The world will need to know." Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I get it."

I HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR MEMORIES FROM THE SUPER GENESIS WAVE UNTIL NOW. ADDING THEM AND MY FILES THAT WILL BE RESTORED FOR ADDITIONAL CONTEXT.

"They will want the full story."

Sonic took a deep breath.

"Alright, Nicole. Hit record."

---

"…So here I am. Talking to Nicole, who won't remember much when she gets there. Will probably be wondering how she got to… wherever she appears. Really hope you weren't too hard on her."

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing else I can say besides that."

"I wanted to save our home. To save everyone. But… I had to deal with the cards I was dealt."

"I can only hope that the people who are alive are able to live that life to the fullest."

"Those who were born in this new world… and those who had been alive on Mobius."

"Life's way too short and way too fast."

"You know that more than anyone."

"Please… I can only ask you guys this."

"Please keep on living. Make sure that thing doesn't escape."

"And if it does… beat it."

"I know you can do it."

"I'm just sorry that I can't be there to help you all do it."

"But if I know me as well as I do, he'll need some help."

"And Sal…"

"Before everything goes dark, I need to tell you this."

"I love you."

"Keep on running. Keep on living. Don't slow down for anyone or anything, least of all me."

"…Catch you on the flip side, Sal."

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

END RECORDING

Sally collapsed on legs that might as well have been made of jelly.

She was now on her hands and knees, oil tears dripping onto the floor beneath her.

Sonic… her Sonic… this… this was his goodbye.

His final words.

"He's gone."

Even if he touched the PDA… what would it even bring back?

Shards of memories?

Memories the Sonic here wouldn't have context for?

"He's really… really gone…!"

A sorrow unlike any other filled her heart.

And that sorrow transformed into a cry that she let out without shame.

The robian open her eyes, swimming in tears, and saw Nicole staring at her in a similar state.

They hugged each other, tightly and without shame.

And soon… Tangle and Whisper joined them, the lemur's tail wrapping around them like a cocoon.

The lemur was crying herself.

Uncle Chuck silently wept in his chair, Muttski whining as if he were crying himself. Mach was next to the old inventor, staring at the scene in silent wonder but even his shoulders were slumped and his head bowed. Harvey Who and Silver looked away, tears forming in their own eyes. However, Larry Lynx put a hand on Silver's shoulder.

Elias was hugging both Lyco and Leeta, his mad rants having subsided as he glared at the floor.

Nobody said anything at that moment.

Nothing needed to be said.

But one thought went through Sally Acorn's head.

"Goodbye… Sonic…"

---

Restoration HQ was a madhouse.

Lanolin was outside with several Restoration members, trying futility to keep order as the civilians in the base and even some Restoration members ran around in panic.

"What was that thing?! What the heck was that thing?!"

"Sonic turned into a god and still couldn't beat it!"

"PEOPLE! PLEASE!"

"When did our lives become a comic book?!"

"It's coming back?! What the hell are we going to do!"

"Everyone, go back to your duties! We're the Restoration, damn it! We can't just…!"

"Where the hell is Sonic?!"

Jewel the Beetle rubbed her temples as she sat in her chair, utterly exhausted.

This was not how she expected her day to go.

"I remember when I was running a mineral museum… things were way simpler back then."

Managing the museum, cleaning the rocks, and occasionally patching up Tangle. Those were the only things she dealt with.

There was no running a huge organization, no dealing with Eggman, no questioning of the nature of her own existence, and no threat of a completely insane destroyer deity coming to finish the job of wiping out reality.

Nice and simple.

"Maybe I should go back to doing that when all this is over."

She heard the sound of crackling electricity before the door was slammed open.

Everyone outside had become quiet as a single red and black quilled figure entered the room.

Shadow the Hedgehog placed his hands on her desk and glared at her. "I want answers. Now."

Rouge the Bat followed in through the door and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, hun. Couldn't tell him to wait so you could get ready.

She could even see E-123 Omega lumbering towards them, ignoring the frightened Restoration members around him who tried to get out of his way.

Jewel groaned and slammed her face on the desk.

She was absolutely going on vacation to a beach after this.

Not bothering to lift her head up she raised her hand and pointed to a chair.

"You might as well sit down. This is going to take a while."

---

To Be Continued…

---

Notes: Well there you go, guys! I hope all you slathering Sonic fans who have been wondering where the hell Sonic is in this Sonic fanfic got your hedgehog fix!

Meanwhile I. Am. EXHAUSTED!

This chapter was a balls to the wall cosmic battle I don't want to repeat for a LONG time. Balls to the wall Gurren Lagann-inspired action! Character deaths! It even had me put on a bad Grant Morrison meta textual impression here!

Some of it might not have worked out but I hope you all had fun.

And next chapter we return to our regularly scheduled programming!

Be sure to leave your thoughts and add to the TV Tropes page!

Until next time…