42 - The Half Truth - 42

11:30 AM

Several minutes of silence passed.

"..."

Even the other soldiers were starting to seem a little uncomfortable by the quiet.

"..."

Zonic was staring down on them like they were peasants. He was the same height as they were, yet it felt like he was standing upon a heavenly ivory tower. It was like he thought he was better than literally anyone or anything else, even the damn sun itself. No, maybe even the universe. He narrowed his dark green eyes down at them with an unimpressed expression. "...Well?" Zonic asked with a raised brow. "Introduce yourselves to my soldiers, if you would. It's the least you could do for being late."

Being late?

How were they late?

They came when Zespio and Zector came to pick them up, how faster could they have come? Sonic could feel irritation brew in the back of his brain. "Late?" He repeated with a flippant leer. "Sorry Napoleon, I didn't know we had a damn time limit. Excuse us for not rolling out the red carpet for you during our arrival to a place we didn't even know existed. But please," He gestured for Zonic to keep talking. "By all means, keep spouting more of that bullshit to your esteemed guests, private."

Everyone in the hall immediately turned their head towards the Mobian blue hedgehog with shocked expressions. They broke their own stances just to give him a, "Why the hell did you just say that?" look. Shadow internally cringed at this. While he had no right to say it outright since he himself was no better, he kinda wished Sonic would tone down the sass. He understood he didn't like his military twin, Shadow didn't either, but talking smack the moment they arrived wasn't a good decision. They were completely at these people's mercy, and Zonic could pull anything with all these soldiers at his disposal.

Zespio immediately walked right up to Sonic with an offended expression. "How dare you! That is our superior, and you will show respect-"

"Please," Zonic simply replied with an uninterested voice. "It's fine, I suppose I should have just introduced them myself. It isn't wise to depend on self-indulgent brats."

A vein appeared on Sonic's forehead as he threateningly stepped closer. "Haha...Bastard-"

Shadow immediately seized Sonic's arm. He gave him a stern look with his amber red irises, and just slowly shook his head. The hero just rolled his eyes and took a step backwards while crossing his arms. Fine, he'd let Shadow do the talking. The biohog sighed and glared at Zonic, as he basically started it for being rude the second they saw each other. "If allowed," He began tersely. "We'd like for you to start that sentence over with less childish sass. We didn't ask to be here, by the way."

Zonic only scoffed. "Hmph. Shadow prime, always the more rational of the two." He gestured for the other soldiers to give the two hedgehogs their full attention. "Officers," He announced loudly. "I ask that you ignore my derision of these two Mobians and forgive my unprofessionalism. Regardless of my own personal opinions, they are still two of the multiverse's most powerful living beings. They have saved their own reality of numerous formidable threats for decades, and are seen as heroes of their world." His voice sounded slightly less disrespectful when describing the two, so they were thankful for that at least. "They are stronger than even the highest ranking No Zone soldier—except for myself and General Zhadow, of course—" Okay that one was definitely a dig. Anytime he praised them, he took it right away in the next second. "And are not to be underestimated. They are special guests of ours, and as such, should be treated with immense respect. If they are in need of assistance of any kind, you are to see their requests through. Protect them with your very lives when necessary, and do not belittle or irritate them within or outside my presence. Should either of these primes complain to me of incompetence, a severe penalty will be bestowed." He slammed the tip of his baton on the floor. "I will not tolerate anything less than perfect behavior from all of you, because as you know, perfection in No Zone is key. Is that understood?"

They all saluted simultaneously. "Yes, sir!"

"Very good, at ease." Zonic placed his hands behind his back, his baton nonchalantly tapping against the back of his boots. "Return to your normal duties. All combative soldiers who took part in defending the HQ are to write and submit their reports to me by o five hundred." He waved a hand to shoo them all from his presence. "Dismissed."

They quickly bowed. "Yes, first lieutenant general."

Despite being dismissed and walking with a slightly more casual air, they all scattered about in perfect synchronization. Were they that well trained? Sonic hated how cool they and this world all seemed, because their boss certainly was not. He hated even more that someone so uncool would have his face and voice. Super big bummer, honestly. He continued to stay silent, though. He had nothing positive to say to this person, so he kept his mouth shut and let Shadow take over. As everyone else exited the hallway, the biohog showed his dissatisfaction with their not-so-warm welcome. "I'm going to ask you once and only once, not to insult Sonic in front of me again. While we do have questions that obviously require answers only you can give us, we can just as easily find a way back home without your help. You hate us so much, yet you evidently needed us to be here for weeks. If you want our cooperation," His eyes sharpened their glower at Zonic. "Watch your damn tone."

Slowly, Zonic smirked.

"Ha," He chuckled and walked past them easily. "Too easy." Was all he replied with. "Follow me and do not stray from my direction, that's an order."

Sonic couldn't keep quiet anymore. "We ain't your soldiers, ya damn clone."

Zonic simply shrugged as he continued walking. "Up to you. Follow, or don't. I don't care."

A very annoyed laugh came from Sonic as he turned to Shadow. "Can I please punch his teeth down his throat and make him swallow 'em?"

"As much as I love the phrasing of that," Shadow responded slyly, always loving whenever Sonic acted more volatile than usual. "I don't feel like invoking the wrath of an entire hi-tech military force that isn't GUN. GUN soldiers are easy to take down, but these guys," He trailed off with an unsure tone as he glared at his boyfriend's twin down the hall. "They're a whole different league, more organized and more powerful than any army I've ever seen. While I'd like to introduce your twin's face into the concrete floor just as much as you do, we need answers. So," He tugged on the back of one of Sonic's quills. "Behave."

Sonic gawked at him. "Me!? He's the asshole!"

"I know he is, but you're also better than him, right? So be the bigger person."

The hero grimaced with a disgusted look. "Dude, fuck that-"

Shadow suddenly leaned closer with a suggestive smile. "Do it for me?"

Blushing a little, Sonic looked away and pouted. "Fine, whatever...But only 'cause you're cute."

With Sonic behind him, Shadow followed after the arrogant first lieutenant general. They realized that they were returning back to the grand office they were in before, the general's apparently. It's hard to believe that there was someone higher up than Zonic. Considering how much ego the guy had, one would think he ran the place himself and no one else. As they entered back inside of the office, Zonic stood beside the desk on the right. He had one of those weird super thin smartphones in his hand, which was odd since he was still in that heavily armored black uniform. They were surprised he didn't crush the fragile looking device with his hardened gloves. As he tapped at the screen with a bored expression in one hand, he used the other to tap a few hidden buttons that were installed within the armor. His uniform was suddenly digitized into the more formal attire they saw back in Angel Island, that forest green uniform. It was amazing how their supreme technology could just do that. Now dressed less for battle and more for militant conferences, the blue soldier briefly glanced at the two Mobians who were watching him carefully.

Zonic looked back down at his phone and continued to use his thumb to scroll. Was he allowed to be on his phone like that at this time? "You may sit, if you wish. My superior will arrive shortly, as he had other...more important matters to attend to. Once he is here, we will both be able to explain to you exactly what's been happening to you and your reality for the last month." He then looked up from his phone and glared at them harshly with a more aggressive tone. "And do not disrespect him in the slightest degree, or I'll have both your heads." Sonic was going to move his lips for a comeback, but bit his tongue and just sat down in one of white chairs at the coffee table. Shadow did the same on the other side and crossed his legs, his expression already tired.

This was going to be a long day.

"It looked as if you were all at war, what's more important than defending your HQ?" Shadow asked with a challenging resonance.

"If you must know, Shadow prime," Zonic curtly retorted without looking from his phone's screen. "While we were defending the HQ from that battleship, my superior was attacking the actual threat: The owner of that said battleship. He discovered that the battleship was oddly completely empty of a captain or personnel to run the ship, only equipped with weapons. He decided to investigate that himself. That too, will be explained to you when he arrives. What you witnessed here today has to do with your reality as well. However, you both must understand something vital. Regardless of your distaste for me, you cannot show that same crassness to my leader." He gave them both a strong stare, not one meant to antagonize them, but to warn them. "Heed this warning in a way I know you two can understand: Don't. Fuck. With the general. Do that, and I promise you'll return home in one piece." Sonic continued not to say anything, but he did stare at Zonic with a tensive glare. Zonic caught this and shared his glare right back. "There a problem, Sonic prime?"

No, Shadow asked him to play nice. He'd do so, so he said nothing. "..."

Zonic chuckled again. "Hmph. You keep your pet on a leash rather well, Shadow prime."

Shadow immediately stood up and began to take a few steps forward towards the twin. "And I told you not to insult him again in my presence." He confronted him fearlessly. "If you'd like us to leave, we'll happily do so. This has been nothing but a waste of time, anyway." He briefly looked over at the windows, all of which were void of the metallic shudders that were barricaded before. "Shame we couldn't enjoy the wonder of your precious hi-tech city, your disgusting attitude ruined our short-lived visit."

"I'd love for you to go back to la la land and out of my God damn reality," Zonic hissed back. "However," His tone shifted to sound more indifferent once more. "My superior wouldn't appreciate that. You're both tougher than you look, you can handle a few jabs."

Before Shadow could say anything back, a portal opened before them from across the room.

From within it, they saw a black helicopter that had just landed on a helipad, sitting atop the highest peak of a skyscraper. Strong winds blew from within the portal, causing the temperature in the room to drop from the brisk breezes. A black, steel toed boot that looked similar to Zonic's stepped into the office and out of the portal. Before them stood a male Mobian-like hedgehog, wearing a long navy blue military trench coat. They wore a pair of white gloves that were red on the palms, golden rings wrapped around the wrists. Several medals were pinned to their chest, and there were more than Zonic had. They glinted as they fully entered the room, the portal behind them closing slowly. White chest fur stuck out of the collar of the trench coat, and red stripes lined their upturned quills. He had a pink tinted plastic bag in his hand, a sweet aroma drifted from it. He wore a pair of black tinted, tactical military sunglasses, hiding his eyes. A pair of ominous dark red orbs glowed from behind them, hiding half of the new arrival's face. A tan muzzle met the two hedgehogs, a disinterested frown planted firmly on it.

A near identical twin of Shadow the Hedgehog, was now in the room with them.

"You're late, too." Zonic said still without looking from his phone.

Silence.

The only thing anyone could hear, was slightly gruff breathing from the Shadow lookalike. "..."

Okay, this was...awkward.

Sonic looked back and forth between Shadow and this newcomer with baited breath, who looked exactly the same. It was freaky enough seeing his own twin, but one of his boyfriend? Yeah, today would be a long day indeed. That's when Zonic made an annoyed sigh and took his eyes off of his phone to glower at the Shadow twin. "Damn it-Will you introduce yourself to them already? We're wasting time, here. You and I both have a very busy schedule today." Those eerie dark orbs glowing from behind the shades directed their attention to Zonic the second he spoke. The blue furred soldier just scowled. "General, for God's sake-" In one swift motion, Zonic's superior appeared right in front of him in the blink of an eye. He roughly gripped his jaw with one hand, before consummating a deep kiss on his fawn lips, silencing his complaints instantly. "...!" Zonic clutched his hand against his phone tightly, stiffening his body in shock at what was happening. His muzzle was a deep red, but he couldn't push him away. He tried to place his hand on his wrist, attempting to make him stop embarrassing him like this, but his hold on him was too strong. Shadow's lookalike seized Zonic's collar, lifting him from the floor. Continuing the kiss and keeping his hold on Zonic, his superior walked towards the white sofa, and broke the connection by rudely shoving Zonic down onto the furniture. Lightly gasping with an understandably completely flustered face, Zonic gave his superior a death glare. His superior nonchalantly dropped the pink tinted plastic bag on the fish-tank coffee table, knowing very well how much the blue soldier was seething at the moment.

Shadow's lookalike readjusted his shades. "..." He walked back over to the front of the desk and bent down to pick up Zonic's phone. He scrolled through it a couple times, before carelessly tossing it over at his subordinate. Zonic caught it, still incredibly humiliated from what was just done to him in front of company. His superior walked behind the grand desk, before sitting in the chair, crossing his legs and raising them up on the desk's surface. He folded his hands in his lap, and his sunglasses glinted menacingly. "...So," A deep voice flowed from his lips, once that sounded exactly like Shadow's. "These are the primes."

...Needless to say, Sonic and Shadow, the latter of whom sat back down in his designated seat, were a little stunned by what they just witnessed.

They just saw their own twins kiss each other, the same way they would themselves.

Were they together, too? And as hostile as that kiss was, and as irate as Zonic seemed at the moment, his eyes had a strange sense of submissiveness. Did he secretly enjoy that? He was keeping his eyesight away from his superior, fixing his collar, smoothing out his uniform and putting his phone in his coat pocket silently while gritting his teeth. Sonic was enjoying every second of this, smirking directly at his twin. Looks like he was learning what Sonic learned as a teen the hard way: There was always a bigger fish, and that Shadow lookalike just proved that to them all in seconds. Zonic was quite the pistol, but if he was a pistol, then this guy was a damn anti-tank rifle. There was indeed someone in this world who couldn't care less for his attitude or his authority complex, and wasn't afraid to smack it down with a simple slice of humble pie. Dark red glowing orbs directed their line of sight to Zonic, causing him to flinch upright in his seat.

"Introduce us." Was all the Shadow lookalike requested of his subordinate. His voice didn't intend to be intimidating or even demanding. If anything, it sounded rather casual and even mundane, but it did the exact opposite effect.

Intensely exasperated, Zonic cleared his throat and tried his best to look more professional, even while blushing like a fool. With a heavy, irritated sigh, he began carefully. "...Sonic and Shadow prime, this is my superior, General Zhadow the Hedgehog. Leader and general of the entirety of No Zone Corps, warden of No Zone Prison and virtually the most powerful shadow political figure in all of No Zone, despite only being the shadow to Parallel City's mayor. While he is not at all a world leader, he has just as much influence and authority as one due to our massive military and several international business dealings." That was a mouthful, but he was forced to say all that every single time he was tasked with introducing his boss to a trusted ally. He took a second of breath before continuing, still with a very annoyed expression. "General Zhadow, this is Sonic and Shadow prime. They are two of the most prevalent Chaos Born in the multiverse, the Divine Pyramid, and are somewhat formidable."

A surprising small snort came from the one known as General Zhadow. "'Somewhat'? Didn't they reveal your identity and kick your ass so badly that you had to resort to using a rocket launcher? Don't inflate yourself too much, rookie."

Sonic burst out loud with laughter. "PFFT! Oh, I like this guy!"

"Illiterates," Zonic hissed in return, glaring at Sonic mostly. "If you knew anything about No Zone, you'd know that using weapons on our targets is a mercy. If I had gone full hand-to-hand combat on you two dunces, you'd both be corpses."

Zhadow simply tapped his fingers together. "Rookie, have you eaten today?" He suddenly asked.

Zonic blinked. "Err, not yet. There was an attack, I didn't have time to. Why?"

"Eat a donut."

"What?" His subordinate was put off by this sudden order. "But-"

"Eat." Zhadow insisted with a calm voice.

"Sir-"

Zhadow lowered his sunglasses a little to reveal his glowing dark red eyes. "Eat." His expression was neutral, as was his tone, yet something about the way he spoke just now said otherwise. "I made sure I got your favorite, simple glaze." He added while properly keeping his shades on the bridge of his nose.

Sonic slowly looked over at Shadow across the coffee table and whispered the words, "This guy is intense."

A few more veins appeared on Zonic's head, but he slowly exhaled and decided not to feed anymore into this futile argument. "...Fine." He pulled the pink plastic bag over and opened it up. As he dug in and pulled out pink boxes filled with sweets, he relayed one last thing. "We're having a talk when we leave for lunch this afternoon."

"Mmn." Zhadow carelessly responded. "Anyway," He directed his attention to Sonic and Shadow. "You two," He suddenly began to smirk a little. "How interesting...You're the only people I know that managed to push Zonic that far. He hasn't returned home battered like that in years. Even if you technically lost, I must thank you. He needed that beating, good for training. Pain helps people grow."

Sonic then looked at Shadow with a look. The biohog frowned back. "What?"

The hero shrugged and suddenly stared at the ceiling. "I dunno, he just...sounds like somebody I know...Couldn't tell ya who."

"Shut up, faker."

A dark chuckle emanated from the general. "You're more like us than Zonic gave you credit for. I had a feeling he underestimated you, something I adamantly taught him not to do." He ignored the fact that Zonic was still glowering holes into his face from across the room.

"Yeah, um," Sonic cut in with a sheepish smile. "So y'all are a thing...? Like us?"

"Indeed," Zhadow replied easily. "We felt it was futile to hide it from you. It's illegal to date within the workplace but," He shrugged. "I own this work place, so it's an open secret amongst the other soldiers. Most other Sonic and Shadow templates are in an intimate relationship of some kind, just as you two are."

Shadow furrowed his brows. "What do you mean 'other Sonic and Shadow templates'? And for that matter, how do you two exist? Why do you look exactly like us, what is this world and why are you suggesting there's more clones of us?"

Zonic scoffed as he nibbled his glazed donut. "First off, don't you dare insult us by calling any of us clones of you." He crossed his legs as he continued to eat small bites. "You two must understand, we all live in a multiverse. Meaning, there are other worlds and realities beyond your own that exist. Some before your time, some after. Meaning that there are other Sonics, Shadows, Rouges, Robotniks and etcetera. You two are not the only Sonic and Shadow that exist, and never will be. General Zhadow and I are an example of this. And FYI, both us and this reality are older than both of you and Mobius." He placed his gloved fingers underneath the edge of the coffee table and pressed a button. A metallic tray of two cups of coffee digitized before them, causing Sonic and Shadow to stare in amazement. Piping hot plastic cups of coffee were now right there on the table, real and filled with the aroma of fresh ground beans. Shadow's nose wrinkled though...The beans didn't smell natural. What kind of coffee was that? Zonic took a cup and began to sip. "All entities of any reality are completely different from you, which again, includes us. We are nothing like you," He spat with distaste. "We have our own lives, biologies and personalities. The only thing we all share with each other are superficial similarities and Chaotic Blood."

"Older than us, huh?" Sonic mused.

"You're twenty-three, right?" Zonic asked sarcastically. "I'm a year older than you."

"Wow! And you're still a whiny little bitch, that's crazy-"

A dangerous glint appeared in Zonic's eyes. "I'll mount your severed head on my damn desk."

Sonic sneered just as perilously. "I'll shove that donut through your freakin' colon."

Zhadow decided to interject. "And that's enough of that," He pointed at his subordinate, instantly snatching Zonic's attention. "First lieutenant general. Third degree penalty."

Zonic scowled at this. "Penalty for what? I'm the Overseer anyway, this technically doesn't even involve you! All Shadow templates aren't inherently Chaos Born until they forge a relationship with their reality's Sonic. I may be your inferior in this reality, but you're my inferior on the Divine Pyramid. I don't have to allow you to be considered a Chaos Born, you know!"

"Well according to the spirits, I officially am a Chaos Born and I'm feeling pretty involved." He kindly retorted with a challenging tone. "That said, your attitude is derailing this conversation, one that holds immensely vital information." He frowned at him. "Do your job, and that's an order."

"Oh to hell with this shit." The first lieutenant general growled. "You're all fools if you think I'm gonna let you humiliate me and tell me my own duties. I'm done with this garbage dump of a 'conversation', and I don't give a good damn about your penalties. Fire me and dishonorably discharge me for all I care." Zonic suddenly slammed his cup of coffee on the table, and left his unfinished donut in the pink box of baked goods. "Look," He glared at Sonic and Shadow. "You wanna know the real truth? All of us in this room are designated as Chaos Born. Chaos Born are a race of beings who are spawned from the chaotic deities known as the Divine Spirits. There are four in total, and are responsible for the multiverse, our realities, your super forms, and us existing. They are known as the Divine Quadrant, and are the supreme beings of this multiverse. I am the Overseer of Chaos Born, AKA—The All Seeing Eye of Chaos Born, meaning it's my duty to watch over any and all Chaos Born that exist within the multiverse. All ten thousand of them, including you two dunderheads." He pointed at them with an angry finger. "Chaos Born are nothing but powerful tyrants who destroy their own worlds for pure entertainment and subjugation. Their only purpose is to purge and breed, and it's only a matter of time before you two do the exact same thing!"

Sonic narrowed his eyes with a frown. "But...what are you talking about? You, Eggman, Infinite, why are all of you saying we're going to destroy everything? We wouldn't do that-"

"Because it's in your blood, Sonic prime." Zonic stressed. "Chaotic Blood commands the mentality of a Chaos Born, meaning you'll become an overlord whether you like it or not. The spirits call the blood, and the blood listens. You don't have a choice in the matter. The Divine Spirits are the ones who control everything, and whatever they say goes. If they want you to pillage your entire planet while breeding with Shadow prime for shits and giggles, you'll do it simply because they asked." He marched over to Zhadow's desk and began abruptly taking random papers and documents from the drawers. "Your super forms are the reason why your world's Eggman was terrified of you. That demon that possessed you that I exorcized? That's one of the four Divine Spirits, Fleetway. That's why he was so powerful, and he wasn't even using a fraction of his power that day. Super Sonic or Super Shadow, they're all the Divine Spirits. You've been using their powers since you were a mere child and you didn't even know it. You saw the cave in Christmas Island, didn't you?" He asked rhetorically. "They spawned you, molded you, let you live freely because they allowed it. You preach that freedom bullshit like its gospel when you don't even realize you've never been truly free!" He tucked the documents in his arm and began walking away from the desk, his voice beyond wrathful. "I don't know why the spirits are reluctant in turning you into their puppets like all the others, but nevertheless, I'm forced to enable and watch it all happen like everyone else!" He yelled. "That's why I fucking despise you, both of you. You're both nothing but pawns in their games and I have to watch it like a trainwreck! Infinite the Jackal may have been a lying, corrupt, controlling, murderous fiend, but he was telling you the truth when he said you were a threat to your own home. You're both nothing but blood thirsty monsters." He began stepping out of the automatic doors. "There's your fucking explanation."

Zhadow tried to stop him. "Zonic-"

"You can consider our lunch date canceled. I'll be in the Room of Realities, and I don't want to be interrupted. Do not talk to me unless you're coming to fire me."

The doors slammed shut.

Afternoon, 12:20 PM

"..." Zhadow only sighed in return as he stared at the pink box of untouched donuts. He didn't even give him the other coffee before he left, he could tell he was more angry than usual.

Sonic stared at the now closed doors with a conflicted frown. That's why he hated them so much? The hero scratched behind his head and looked downwards. Zonic never once lied to either of them since they met him, why would he lie now? He had to have been telling the truth, but if he was being truthful, so was Eggman and Infinite. They couldn't deny this anymore. People with their own faces, were telling them the same thing their enemies have been trying to get through to them for a month. They had the blood of a race that was evidently very dangerous, and they couldn't look away from the truth anymore. Shadow was also just as conflicted, not knowing how to process this information. He had already been told that he had the blood of an alien dictator, now he had the blood of yet another as well? This was a little too much to take in.

The biohog spoke up to break the silence in the room, looking at his own military twin for answers. "...I'm assuming everything he said is true."

Zhadow nodded firmly. "Yes, it is. And he's somewhat correct, this is actually none of my business. But considering how long we've been together, I became recognized as Chaos Born. Before long, the spirits decided that I should aid him in certain Overseer affairs, such as this one." He shrugged, that's just how it was. "Like he said, whatever they say goes."

"But I still don't get it." Sonic was unsatisfied with that. "You're sayin' our super forms are deities? Gods? Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds? We are our super forms, not the other way around. I mean, I don't see anybody else when I go Super."

Zhadow then slowly took off his shades.

Woah.

His eyes were...scary. "Tell me," He began with a question of his own. "What super form do you use the most?"

The hero blinked at that question, was it not obvious? "Not counting that whole werehog thing or the Arabian Nights incident, I only use Super Sonic. That's the only form Shadow and I-"

"Wrong." Zhadow interrupted him immediately. "You have three others, only one of which you've never used before."

"Dude," Sonic scowled in frustration. "What are you saying?"

"Sonic prime," He took his feet off of the desk and stood up gradually with a grunt. He walked over to the white couch and sat down to talk with them more personally. His presence up close was a little unnerving, as both hedgehogs realized the pupils in his dark red eyes were sharp like a cat's. Why? Shadow's didn't look like that. "There are thousands of Chaos Born, but very, very few of them are strong like you both are. This also means there's even fewer that can fully utilize the power of chaos abilities. The Divine Spirits are the ones who created chaos energy, and spread it throughout the multiverse strategically. They made every single world by hand, spawning living creatures within them all with careful detail. They made us, they made you. When you use a super form, you're using their power. That demon possessing you was doing the same thing the other forms do to you when you transform. To transform into a super form, you summon them with the emeralds. Once summoned, Super Sonic possesses you when you transform. In order to use their powers, their spirit must fuse with your soul, possessing your body and using you as a host."

Sonic made an uncomfortable expression. He had no idea that's what's truly been happening this entire time. "Possessing me...? But I...I don't..."

Zhadow saw that he was finally starting to get it. "Your super forms are not completely you, and in some cases, such as the demon, they're not you at all. They take over your body and just use you as Zonic said: a puppet."

"But that's not true!" Sonic suddenly exclaimed. "I'm...I'm me. Every time I use Super Sonic, I'm still me."

"That's because the spirit of that form allows you to keep control."

That's when both his and Shadow's eyes widened.

"...You did, because I allowed you to see him through my eyes. You still don't get it, do you? My host lost full control the moment he ran from that fox child. He will never breach my power again. Right now, he's taking a long, deep, sleep. One that he will not wake from until I allow it. I'm in control, Project Shadow, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. He told you to run for a reason."

...

...He was right.

That day, Fleetway completely toyed with Shadow's emotions into thinking Sonic was there. And Sonic can attest to the fact that he did mentally and physically try to fight for control several times that day, before fully losing dominance after he warned Tails in Green Hill. Sonic knew he wouldn't be able to keep whatever it was that was using his body in check, that's why he told everyone to run away from him. He almost completely forgot about that, kinda because he wanted to forget about that. But he couldn't, because this was only a tiny piece of the truth. A truth he never wanted to admit.

Zhadow continued. "That was barely even half of a single iota as to what Fleetway could do, because he knew that using that form would physically destroy your body if he used too much power. If there's no body, there's no super form. You know what you're capable of as Super Sonic, and that's what Fleetway is, times a thousand. Maybe even a million. That demon is a God, and one of the four gods that created Chaos Born. Super Sonic, the Gold One, is also one of them, and only allows you to have nearly full autonomy when you transform." He made a distrusted expression. "As for the others...they're far worse. You remember that text you saw in the caves of your home island, right?" Zhadow asked, watching Sonic nod slowly.

"'To the child who slumbers here, always remember the Divine Quadrant. The gold one, the dark one, the demon and the angel. If you wish for courage, look for the auric sun. If you wish for acceptance, look for the melancholy moon. If you wish for madness, look for your mind's pandemonium. If you wish for true love, look for your heart's perfection. If you are ever lost, look to their eyes for guidance.' Look," Shadow tapped his fingers on some of the text, and they began to glow in specific colors. The one that spoke of the 'gold one' was glowing gold. The 'dark one' text was glowing a dark blue, almost black. The 'demon' text was glowing scarlet red. The 'angel' text was glowing white, with small bits of other bright colors around it. "The gold one," Shadow repeated slowly before glancing at Sonic. "If you were born here, is it talking about Super Sonic?"

The blue hero resorted to holding his head with one hand, he was getting a little...spacey from all this information. "So...our super forms are Gods, and there's four of them. And you're saying I used three of them? When did I use the third one?"

Zhadow took a few moments to answer. "...Do you remember the Angel Island incident back when you were a preteen?"

Sonic wasn't ready for this answer, he knew he wasn't. "Of course I do, that's where I met Knuckles. But," He frowned. "The ending of it is kinda weird...Not me, him or Tails can ever remember how we beat Eggman that day. I don't think even Eggman remembers, either."

"That's because you used another super form, one that you weren't supposed to use yet."

Sonic squinted his eyes. "W-What?"

"With the Super Emeralds, you used Hyper Sonic. Hyper Sonic, the Light One, is the most powerful form you have, and the strongest of the Divine Quadrant. But that power in the hands of a small child was too much for you to handle. You accidentally caused a time rift when you defeated Robotnik prime, which is why neither you or your friends completely remember that day."

Now Shadow had to cut in on this one, and he nudged Sonic with a frown. "The hell are Super Emeralds? And why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I-I don't know!" Sonic replied with a sweat drop. "I don't...I-I don't remember..." He made a guilty expression. "Hyper...it sounds familiar but every time I think of that word-"

An otherworldly Mobian-like figure cradled the tiny blue hedgehog kit in his arms, humming an angelic tune while watching the sun set on the horizon. The child was fast asleep, and the unknown figure smiled down upon the baby lovingly.

Who...was this person?

Did they take care of him?

Were they the reason why he survived?

Why couldn't he remember this before?

"..." Sonic was in a fantastical daze, his eyes half lidded when that word was brought up. It was like tiny stars and constellations appeared in his eyes, he was truly lost at the moment in the best possible way. Daydreaming about his years as an infant was such an ethereal feeling. Though Sonic's expression was empty, not at all smiling and even drowsy, he looked...Happy. He was never able to remember before, why could he only remember now?

Hyper...that name was so...lovely. He couldn't remember why, though.

Shadow was shocked by this reaction. "Sonic?" He tried to touch his arm. "Hey," He shook him a little. "Snap out of it."

Sonic suddenly winced and shook his head. "I'm fine..." He mumbled. "Fine...I'm fine."

Zhadow watched this curiously. "That's the same reaction every Sonic has when Zonic explains their purpose to them. That word 'Hyper' always causes a dreamlike trigger..."

Shadow whipped his head at his twin. "But why? And what is 'Hyper'?"

The No Zone general averted his eyes. "...Neither I or Zonic are allowed to tell you. The spirits explicitly told us we could explain the basics to you, nothing more."

"Then why are we even here?!" Shadow yelled and angrily, absolutely done with this conversation and this visit. "You've both done nothing but insult us, piss us off and tell us cryptic nonsense that gave us both a migraine. What do you want from us?"

Zhadow ignored his increase in volume and kept his own tone calm and collected. "...Zonic will never admit it, but No Zone requires your assistance. That jackal...that ugly weakling, what was his name...?" The commander crossed his arms with a tightened frown. "Damn it, what was it...He was so pathetic, I barely remember...Oh yes," He snapped his fingers. "That 'Infinite' guy, we've seen the damage he's done to your world and to you two. He caused both of your deaths and we sincerely apologize for this negligence. Zonic didn't have access to his monitors to be able to watch you, so we had no idea what had happened until it was too late. Not only that, but we weren't allowed to stop Robotnik prime from taking the ruby. We still don't know why that is, they wouldn't tell us." He could see that they became even more confused when he mentioned monitors. "Nevermind that. When Infinite disappeared from Mobius, he appeared in other realities, including here. He left strange gems in every single reality he touched, and caused massive damage." Gems? That caused the two Mobian hedgehogs to narrow their eyes harshly. That wasn't good. "The spirits instructed us to have you come here, tell you the basics of Chaos Born lore and have you assist us in stopping our world from being destroyed as well."

"Destroyed?" Shadow repeated. "Destroyed by what?"

"We have a Robotnik in this world, same as you do. He was the former warden and general of No Zone, Warden Zobotnik." That explains the odd insignia on that battleship. Shadow's assumption was right, there was another Robotnik here too. "During that little attack he did to the HQ earlier, I decided to use this diversion to pay a visit to the man himself. I couldn't take him down, he was too guarded by one of those strange gems...one similar to the Phantom Ruby Infinite had in his chest in your world. He's using that to protect himself, and to cause a bunch of damage to my city. We can fight back as long as we want, but it's only a matter of time before my men are ragged and we start gaining casualties. He's already wreaked havoc in plenty of other cities in our reality and I will not let him destroy another."

"So you just forced us here to ask us for help." Sonic deadpanned.

The leader of No Zone shook his head. "You don't understand. We were forced to force you into helping us. Again, whatever the spirits say goes."

The hero asked a question he knew both himself and Shadow were thinking. "And if you don't do what they say?"

This made Zhadow flatten his lips, this answer wasn't going to be very fair. "Well, let's break it down. They're powerful Gods. And I'm not talking about Chaos the God of Destruction level of gods, they're far stronger than that. Frankly, they'd easily turn him into a glorified water slide. They're responsible for creating chaos energy, gave the Black Arms chaos energy, created the Master Emerald and the smaller emeralds for the Echidnas to guard for centuries, literally have any ability you can think of at their disposal via chaos energy, spawned thousands of different realities that created an entire multiverse, and an entire race of chaos wielders like you." After he laid it all out, he had a very fated tone. There wasn't anything else he could say to drive home that these deities weren't anything to trifle with. "They're not enemies you fought as a teenager, Sonic prime. They are all one million times stronger than any enemy you've ever faced or will ever face, so...You tell me. You saw what the Scarlet One, Fleetway, can do with such an abysmal amount of power. Take a wild guess as to what happens when you disobey them. Besides," His voice grew rather glum. "Zonic has shown me what happens to Chaos Born who don't obey their creators...Something I'm also not supposed to tell you, but I think you can fill in the blanks."

Both Mobian hedgehogs gawked. They gave Black Doom chaos energy? They created the Master Emerald? They did all that? Shadow was told that Black Doom mastered chaos energy thousands of years ago, and Knuckles told Sonic that the echidnas guarded the emeralds with their very lives for eons. Everything they were being told...made everything else seem like a lie. Okay, okay, calm down. Take a breath. Sonic made a very big sigh. "So these Divine Spirits...They sound like the real bad guys to me."

"I'm not at liberty to confirm nor deny that." What a very politician-way of answering. "I'll just say...you're not the only people Zonic despises. If it's any consolation, I've heard Zonic mention that the Gold One and the Light One are a lot more merciful and cooperative than Fleetway and the Dark One. He's observed that they don't influence your personality when they possess you, and they never mean Chaos Born any harm. Honestly, he makes it sound like the spirits are always fighting, for lack of a better term. None of them are ever in agreement with each other when it comes to Chaos Born, so it seems that half of them aren't all bad." He shrugged at this though, it didn't help the situation and he knew this. "Regardless, the Divine Spirits created the Phantom Ruby. They want it back, and they want Infinite to stop ruining their multiverse. They want you to find and eliminate Infinite, but they also want you to restore the realities he damaged first."

"That thing is theirs, too?" Sonic sucked his teeth. "Makes sense, I guess...And I'm assuming that's an ultimatum, too?"

Zhadow stood up from his seat and turned away from them, his hands holding his shades behind his back. "Like I said, if you'd like to get another visit from Fleetway, or worse, someone else, that's up to you. Zonic and I have learned that going against their wishes brings nothing but misfortune. That's all I'm allowed to say on that, and I can only ask that you obey their orders and help us. Wouldn't want to see two Chaos Born with so much potential die before the real fight even begins."

Shadow took note of that last part.

"Die...?"

42 - END - 42