-Chapter 178-

Future Problems

Soleanna

At the hotel, little by little, Silver, Blaze, and Lara-Su were able to get themselves under control and walk off the disruptor's effects. This left the group to debate how to rescue Elise.

"I can't believe he rebuilt that damn Disruptor," Knuckles cursed.

"Honestly, I can," Sonic admitted. "What kind of bad guy would he be without a cheap advantage?"

"Taking that thing out will have to wait," Sally cut in. "Elise is our priority. If Robotnik gets the secret of the Flames of Disaster out of her, we're done for."

It was at that moment they heard a familiar cackle, and looked to see Bokkun at the window.

"Oh get lost, Bokkun!" Shard snapped. "There's gotta be someone else on the planet you can annoy."

"That's all I am to you?" Bokkun asked, offended. "Annoying? I'm Lady Agatha and the doctor's personal messenger bot, and I'm annoying?"

"What do you want, you little pest?" Sonic demanded. "What does Eggman want that he'd dust you off to deliver a message?"

"Here," Bokkun muttered bitterly as he pulled out a monitor, Robotnik's face flickering onto it.

"Sonic the Hedgehog. If you want me to return the Princess, you must give me your Chaos Emerald. Meet me at my base in White Acropolis."

The message ended, beginning to beep as Bokkun flew off with a laugh. The group sighed in boredom before Sonic grabbed the monitor and threw it into the canal. It exploded, kicking up a massive splash.

"So… trap?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," Amy agreed.

"No question." Tails nodded.

"Definitely," said Sally.

"Either way, I'm going," Sonic decided. "Since Eggman went to the trouble of telling me where Elise is, I think I should thank him personally."

"Not alone you're not," Knuckles insisted. "Especially with that damn weapon back in his grasp."

"Wasn't planning on it. You and Tails are more than welcome to come with."

"Alright then," Tails nodded.

"The rest of us will work on the Chaos Emerald angle," Sally decided. "He has to want them for a reason. All the more motivation to get them first."

"Exactly," Sonic agreed. "Also, if things go pear-shaped, you can get Elise out."

"Good luck, you three," Sally told them.

The trio quickly stood up and headed out. Silver stood up with an effort, going to look out the window and over the city.

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?" he said thoughtfully. "When you stay here long enough, you start to fool yourself into thinking this is how it's always gonna be."

He turned to face the others, sighing.

"Then you remember what this place'll look like when it's on fire and... you realize you'll do whatever it takes to keep from watching it burn again."

"I don't know what future you hail from," Sally began, "but it will never come to pass. None of us will let it."

-X-

Outside the hotel, Chris managed to stop Sonic before he got too far.

"Sonic, hang on," he said. "Aunt Laura finally finished the first two Power Gems for the Custom Shoes."

Sonic blinked. "That was fast."

"I popped over to Station Square to pick them up for you. Here."

Chris held out a small box.

"Tell Laura I said thanks," Sonic took the box. "Now, I gotta motor."

"Good luck Sonic," Chris said as Sonic hurried off.

White Acropolis Peaks

In record time, Team Sonic arrived at the White Acropolis Peaks. Security was sparse, and the searchlights were turned off. It was clear Robotnik not only expected them, but wanted them to come in.

"Seriously?" Knuckles asked. "Why not just put up a big neon sign that says 'Come in! Wipe your feet before the trap door opens!'"

"It can't be that easy," Tails insisted.

"It never is," Sonic told him.

They headed forward, slowly and carefully.

"No Badniks, no cyberized baddies…" Knuckles muttered.

Suddenly, something jumped out of the shadows, tackling him to the ground.

"Never mind!"

Knuckles kicked him off. Mordred looked at them, hissing.

"You again?" Sonic let out.

"I may have failed at the desert, but I can still get the glory by killing you here!" Mordred declared. "The doctor will be so proud, he'll have to give me a promotion!"

"I got this guy!" Knuckles assured. "Go for the Princess!"

Sonic and Tails were about to head off, Knuckles facing off with Mordred. He leapt at them, only for a jolt of electricity to shift through his body and drop him to the ground, unable to move.

"W-what?" Mordred gasped. "Doctor, why are you-?"

Robotnik's voice then began playing over a loudspeaker.

"Mordred, what exactly gave you the right to deal with Sonic without my consent in the first place? Just because you're more valuable to me than a pawn does not make you a player." He let out a sigh. "There are few things I hate more than a minion who takes it upon himself to make executive decisions."

Knuckles looked at the fallen cyberized goon, gave him a kick, then turned to the others.

"Do you think he could give us any more reason to think this is a trap?"

"I don't care," Sonic snapped. "We're not walking out of here without Elise. Whatever he dishes out, we can take."

"Then we keep heading deeper," Tails agreed.

They headed in, soon arriving in an open room.

"My apologies for Mordred," came Robotnik's voice. "Cyberization doesn't always ensure total loyalty and obedience."

They looked up to see him standing from an upper viewing area.

"Where's Elise?" Sonic demanded.

"My, aren't we impatient."

He stepped aside to reveal Elise strapped to a chair.

"Sonic!" Elise cried. "Get out of here! It's a-"

"Trap, we know," Sonic replied. "And we don't care."

"And you came to rescue the Princess anyway," Robotnik remarked. "How touching. Foolish, but touching."

"At least he knows the difference between good and evil, right and wrong!" Elise snapped, giving Robotnik a dirty look. "Unlike some people."

Robotnik scoffed. "I know the difference. I just don't care."

He pressed a button, a capsule rising from the ground by Sonic and co.'s feet.

"Now, take the Chaos Emerald, and place it there. I know there's one in the amulet the Princess threw to you."

Sonic closed his hand around the Amulet.

"How could you possibly know that?"

Robotnik raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think you and yours are the only ones with an Emerald Radar?"

"Don't give it to him!" Elise cried.

"Sorry, Elise," Sonic sighed. "Don't have much choice."

He opened it, popping the blue Emerald out before tossing it into the capsule. As it receded, Knuckles sighed.

"Alright, Eggman. Spring the trap and get it over with. What's it gonna be? Missile rain? Gas chamber?"

"So close, but wrong." Robotnik smiled wickedly before pressing a button. "It's this!"

A pink force field generated from the ceiling, surrounding Sonic, Tails and Knuckles.

"You get to experience my Solaris prototype firsthand! Consider yourselves lucky."

"No!" Elise screamed.

Panic hit the trio, all three trying everything to break through the forcefield.

"This is what the Duke's experiments were for!" Robotnik went on. "With this machine, I'll be able to control the flow of time itself!"

He threw a switch, sucking Team Sonic upward. They screamed as the force field disappeared along with them. Elise gasped in shock before Robotnik turned to her.

"Rest assured, they're not dead... yet. They've just been teleported by my glorious invention to another time. Who knows when they'll end up? It could be the distant past or far future. But my machine still requires some fine-tuning. And that, Princess, is why I require the Flames of Disaster. You either have them, or you know where to find them. And one way or another, I'll find out."

Elise steeled herself, looking Robotnik dead in the eye

"I will never give you what you want."

"Everyone has their breaking point, Princess," Robotnik replied calmly. "So, you would be wise to remain on my 'good' side."

Crisis City, 200 years in the Future...

A purple orb began to manifest, depositing Shadow, Rouge, and Hope on the ground. All three looked around, finding themselves in the middle of a burning ruin of a city.

"Wha- Where are we?" Hope asked.

"Only one way to find out." Rouge decided.

They looked around, soon coming across the computer Mephiles led Team Silver to earlier. Hope hacked into the database, looking it over before recoiling in shock. As she stepped back, Rouge, confused, looked it over

"No... that's not possible…" she let out. "We're still in the Doctor's base. But how can that be?"

"Unless it's not where we are," Shadow realized. "It's when. It seems we've traveled through time."

"Yes…" Rouge looked it over. "Approximately two hundred years. Maybe more, depending on when this database was last updated. Well, at least we know we've arrived in the future. That means this Mephiles character has the power to control time."

"His power feels very similar to my own Chaos Control." Shadow mused.

Hope looked around the ruined city, beginning to hyperventilate as she took in the lava-filled, blasted landscape.

"Then... this really is Mobius's future?" She shook her head, hands going to it. "No... it can't be! I won't believe it! This…" She collapsed to her knees. "This can't be the way the world ends…"

Shadow bent down, gently pulling Hope into a hug.

"Easy, Hope," he soothed. "Whatever events caused this future, they haven't happened for us, yet. We can prevent it from happening."

Hope hugged him for a minute, breathing heavily before calming down Hope: Yeah... yeah, you're right.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light just below them. The members of Team Dark all shielded their eyes as a trio of thuds dropped to the ground.

"Ugh…" Sonic's voice let out, "what happened?"

Team Dark approached the edge, finding the members of Team Sonic picking themselves up off the ground.

"Well, we're alive," Tails insisted. "That's a good thing."

"But where are we?" Knuckles questioned.

"The question isn't where," Rouge called down to the trio. "It's when."

The trio looked up in surprise.

"Rouge!" Sonic exclaimed. "Shadow, Hope!"

"Y'know, I'm not even surprised you're here," Shadow deadpanned. "You always show up when things go south."

Once they had climbed up, Shadow got to explaining.

"What you see here is Mobius, in the year 3437."

"This is the future?" Knuckles asked. "Eggman's got some nerve dropping us here."

Sonic looked it over.

"Sweet mother of Aurora…" he let out. "This is the future Silver comes from? No wonder he was desperate enough to believe killing me would change it."

"Hang on, what?" Shadow asked. "Who wants to kill you?"

Alternating between them, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles explained the situation with Silver and Robotnik's latest plan.

"Whoa... you guys have been busy," Rouge let out.

"I can't believe Eggman would-" Hope paused. "Actually, I can believe it."

"Just... what happened here?" Tails questioned.

"That, my friends, is a long story."

They all whirled around, seeing a visibly aged Mammoth Mogul wearing tattered rags.

"You?" Sonic exclaimed.

"Yes, me."

They were on the defensive immediately.

"Calm yourselves," Mogul insisted. "I'm not here to fight."

"You honestly expect us to believe that?" Knuckles demanded. "You're a megalomaniac who openly admitted to so many atrocities."

"All of which I have had... ample time to reconsider... and regret. That's the only good that came out of Iblis' release."

They took that in for a few minutes. Hope was the first to relax, taking a step forward.

"Mogul…" she began, "what happened to the world?"

"Iblis happened," Mogul told her. "A being of eternal flame, unleashed on the 14th of November, two days after the Sun Festival."

"Two days…" Knuckles let out. "The 14th... Sonic, for us, that's tomorrow."

"Who or what set him loose?" Tails asked.

"It wasn't either," Mogul corrected. "It was an event. The death of Princess Elise in a horrific crash of the Egg Carrier. She and Robotnik both perished, and the flames followed soon after."

"So all of this began when the Princess died on Eggman's faulty battleship…" Hope realized.

Sonic reeled back, shaking his head.

"I can't let that happen…" he insisted. "We gotta get back to the past. NOW!"

"I'm afraid it is not that simple," Mogul said. "The Little Planet was destroyed a long time ago, and the Time Stones with it. Returning to the past is all but impossible, especially now that Onyx Island has fallen."

Knuckles blinked. "Onyx Island?"

"What Angel Island is known as now." Mogul clarified.

"What do you mean, it's fallen?" Shadow asked.

Mogul looked down.

"When Kathryn used Chaos Control to send her protégé to the past, it alerted the foul beast to her presence. She fought bravely and valiantly, but her age got to her. I did what I could ease her suffering, but... I fear that the last of the Freedom Fighters... is not long for this world."

They froze up at that.

"Kat…" Hope gasped. "Oh Aurora, no…"

Knuckles scowled before pacing, Sonic doing the same.

"Chaos Control…" Shadow perked. "Then the Master Emerald is still intact. It's our only shot of getting back to the past."

"If you insist on this, you may want to hurry," said Mogul. "The gem has seen better days. You can take my boat. I have no further use for it."

At that moment, they heard a low roar, before a massive serpent-like creature burst from the lava, heading right for them.

"Holy-!" Rouge exclaimed.

"That thing…" Tails perked. "It's gotta be Iblis!"

"Indeed," Mogul stood before them. "Get to the boat. I will buy you as much time as I can."

"Mogul, if you stay here, you're gonna-!" Hope began.

"Die by his hands?" Mogul suggested. "After this long a lifetime, I have no fear of that. Now go! Prevent this future! Save us all…"

Shadow took Hope's hand.

"His heart's decided, Hope," he said. "We can't change that."

"C'mon, we gotta go!" Sonic insisted.

They hurried off at that.

"Alright, you oversized candle," Mogul declared. "Time for you to be extinguished."

Mogul fought valiantly with his Chaos energy and Ixian magic, but in the end, he just couldn't hold the demon off forever. Iblis landed a solid blow that shattered the Chaos Emerald in his chest. Almost instantly, the ravages of time hit Mogul. He began to age rapidly, then with a sigh, he turned to dust, blowing away in a soft breeze. Iblis roared triumphantly before leaping back into the lava and swimming away...

Author's Note:

Mogul's last act was a noble one. Sonic and co. better hurry and get back to the past.

Please R&R. Until next time!