Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Fireworks exploded in the sky over the city of Soleanna, and its people celebrated as a large boat floated into the city's central lake. Aboard the boat was the city's princess, Elise, her handmaidens, and several dancers performing a ritualistic dance for the ceremony.

Elise waved to the crowds, as the boat arrived at a giant ceremonial torch in the center of the central lake.

As Elise and her handmaidens stepped off, one of them handed Elise a smaller, lit torch. Elise fully understood the importance of this small flame, having been part of Soleanna and its culture her entire life, and she accepted the torch.

But, as she peered into the torch, a mental image flashed in her head.

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Flames spread throughout all of Soleanna, burning everything and everyone to ashes. Elise helplessly floated above the fallen city as a large demonic beast rose from the flames and roared.

Elise was scared. Everything she knew was gone. This beast could never be stopped.

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"Lady Elise?" the closest handmaiden asked, snapping Elise out of her stupor. "Are you okay?"

Elise slowly exhaled, putting the mental image into the back of her mind. "It...it's alright."

She, her handmaidens, and the elder priest and his assistants all bowed respectfully before the torch in Elise's hands.

"We give thanks for the blessed flames. May we always continue to have peace." Elise prayed. "Sun of Soleanna, guide and watch over us with your eternal light..."

She stepped forward and poured out the sacred flames from her torch to a table-like stone in front of her. The sacred flames gracefully raced up the structure and reached the larger central torch, and the structure lit up into a controlled inferno. Surrounded by water, there was no way this fire could go out of control. Elise knew this well, given that the central torch was built on water for this exact reason.

The central torch burned bright, and the people celebrated. Elise turned and waved to the crowd as more fireworks exploded in the sky, but was nearly knocked off her feet when something descended from the sky and crashed into the ground, exploding. Several more came down and exploded similarly, and the people went into a panic.

Elise screamed, and two of her handmaidens held onto her to help her keep her balance. She then saw a massive technological ship overhead, and robots descended from it, surrounding them.

A smaller ship then descended before her, and atop it she saw a man dressed in black and red, already bowing. Was this his way of showing respect? Because the descending explosions and robots surrounding her proved otherwise.

When the smaller ship came to rest, the man rose to his full height.

"A pleasure to meet you at last, Princess of Soleanna." he said. Elise half-suspected his mustache was fake. There was no way it could possibly be that large naturally.

"I am Dr. Eggman." the man continued. "I've come here to obtain the secret of the Flames of Disaster from you, and to take the miracle gems that are the key to its secret--the Chaos Emeralds!"

Elise clutched the blue Chaos Emerald in her hands.

"Now, Princess." Eggman said gesturing behind him. "This way, please."

Elise backed away from Eggman, still clutching the Chaos Emerald. It was a sacred relic to Soleanna, and she knew she couldn't just hand it over that easily.

Before anyone could make a move, dust began kicking up, and their surroundings began to gain a blue-ish tint. Elise suspected this was the Chaos Emerald's power awakening--or something--but her hypothesis was disproven when the blue abruptly disappeared, and she saw a creature of the same hue standing on a ledge above her.

"My! That's a pretty snazzy performance there!" the creature said.

Elise gasped, and another mental image flashed in her head, if only briefly.

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A bipedal creature stood amongst the flames, gazing menacingly at her.

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"You?" Elise quietly said. "It can't be...!" She knew the creatures were significantly different designs, but their proportions were close enough to each other that it was entirely plausible this was the same one. Not to mention he had an identical stance to the one in her mental image.

The robots opened fire, and the creature leapt up as the ledge he was standing on was destroyed. He leapt down and effortlessly attacked the robots, destroying each one he came into contact with. Elise was astounded. How was it this fast?!

The creature stopped, with just one robot left teetering at an edge. It lightly tapped the robot with its foot, and the robot careened off the edge, likely to crash and explode. The creature then ran back to Elise.

"I'm Sonic!" it said, as it swept her off her feet and held her in its arms. "Sonic the Hedgehog!"

He started to run off, carrying Elise.

"Not that irritating hedgehog again! ATTACK!" Eggman said. Elise put together that Sonic and Eggman had some sort of rivalry with each other, but there was no time to dwell on it, as several missiles were launched, heading straight for them.

Elise shrieked as the missiles came too close for comfort, but Sonic was still able to outrun them.

Wait, outrun? How was Sonic this fast?!

As Sonic outran the missiles, another hedgehog stood on a rooftop. This was the one Elise had seen.

"I've finally found him..." the hedgehog said, clenching his fist. "The Iblis Trigger..."

"Um... Why are you helping me?" Elise dared to ask.

Sonic half-glanced at her. "No special reason."

Elise looked ahead, and gasped. "Sonic! More robots!"

"No sweat. I'll be done with them in no time!" Sonic said as he set her down and ran to destroy the robots. He destroyed one, tricked another into shooting a third, then destroyed the rest, all in the span of six seconds. He landed cleanly on his feet, dusted his hands off, and turned at the sound of Elise's shriek.

Eggman rapidly descended from the sky, landing on the ground right at Elise, and a large hand coming from the same small ship as before grabbed her. Sonic ran and leapt up, landing on the mechanical hand and trying to pry it open. With any luck, he might bust it or something, and he could get Elise out of Eggman's clutches and safely away from him.

But he couldn't get her free. Somehow, Eggman had actually figured out how to reinforce the stupid thing. Then again, Sonic is known for speed, not strength, so making Sonic unable to move something was easy, to an extent.

"It's no use, Sonic..." Elise said, watching him try to free her. She then got an idea, and managed to wrench her right arm free. She knew that would hurt for a while.

Sonic saw her wince. "You alright?"

"I'm fine." Elise responded, before putting the Chaos Emerald into his hand. "Here, take this. Get it out of here."

He accepted the Chaos Emerald. "But what about you?"

"I'll be okay, I promise. Go!"

Sonic hesitated for a moment, and that moment was just long enough for Eggman to pull out a stun blaster and shock Sonic with it. Sonic cried out in pain as he fell from the mechanical hand and crashed into the ground.

Eggman knew going after the Chaos Emerald now would possibly result in losing both Elise AND the Emerald, so he decided to simply take what he already had, and fled with Elise.

Sonic got back on his feet, scooping up the Chaos Emerald, and watched angrily as Eggman entered the larger ship and fled.

"Why did I let my guard down right there?" he spat to himself. "I can't let that happen again. Well, I suppose all I can do now is try to figure out why he wants her."

He then paused. "Ugh. That sounds creepy, taken out of context. Let's just not think about that again." He started to run off, only to come across Tails.

"Hey, Tails!" Sonic said, coming to a stop. "Long time no see!"

"I'm glad you're here, Sonic." Tails said. "People are telling me you tried to save Princess Elise from Dr. Eggman!"

"I did." Sonic said. "But then Eggman snatched her away when my guard was down."

"You're going to rescue her, aren't you?" Tails asked.

Sonic glanced at Tails. "Why wouldn't I? It's the only sensible answer."

Tails smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything different. Let's go!"

"Coming along?" Sonic asked. "Thanks. I could use the help. This will be a piece of cake with the two of us!"

Tails smiled, and the two of them took off after Eggman's aircraft.

The two of them arrived at Wave Ocean. As Tails flew overhead, Sonic ran down a cliffside before sliding across the water. Having a significant case of hydrophobia, it had taken time for Sonic to learn various ways to travel water unassisted. But he had figured out how to do so, and by this point had essentially mastered what Tails sometimes jokingly calls the "water slide".

Sonic breezed through Wave Ocean, destroying everything associated with Eggman in his path, from robots to supplies. He slid on the water again, glancing to his left and watching dolphins breach the surface of the ocean, before continuing on. He leapt up, destroyed another robot in his path, then ground on a rail going over the nearby pier. He made his way through a hole in a rock formation before skidding on the water again.

"WHOA!" Sonic shouted as he was caught off-guard AGAIN, this time when an orca emerged from the water. He ran along the pier, glancing back to see the orca relentlessly destroying it in an attempt to get to Sonic to likely eat him. Sonic leapt up and grabbed hold of the orca's dorsal fin.

"Tails!" Sonic shouted. "Keep this thing from getting out!"

Tails nodded and flew along the remaining parts of the pier, trying to find a switch or control of some kind that would close a nearby gate and prevent the orca from getting away. After clearing out a bunch of robots via explosives and some micro drones he creates as a hobby, he found the switch and pulled on it. The gate closed, with no possible way for the orca to get out. When Sonic got out of the area, he was partially relieved to see the orca wasn't chasing him.

The two got back together on the sand.

"Alright!" Sonic said. "Now that we got that taken care of, time to get back to Egghead and- HOW DID HE GET THAT FAR AWAY?!" He had been caught off-guard a third time, this time with Eggman getting away.

"There's no time to waste!" Tails said. "He's almost gotten away with her!"

"Wait right here, Tails!" Sonic said before boosting off. He knew he had to catch Eggman before he got away. He ran after the ship with Eggman in it as fast as he could, even ignoring the robots Eggman had left behind to stop him. He was so hyper-focused on catching Eggman that he was completely unaware of the robot coming at him until said robot drove its knee into Sonic's ribs.

Sonic flew headfirst into a palm tree. When he regained his bearings, he looked and saw Metal Sonic standing before him.

"It's YOU..." Sonic said. "Can't just stay down when a guy wants you to, can you?"

Tails descended. "Sonic, are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's this fake-out I'm worried about." Sonic said as he stood up. "He keeps looking for one-way tickets to Smashville. Not that I mind giving him those tickets, it's just a little concerning, y'know?"

"I get it. So, how are we going to deal with him?" Tails asked.

Metal Sonic then flew at them, slashing with his iron claws. Sonic and Tails both leapt safely out of the way, and Sonic spin-dashed into Metal Sonic.

"I'll keep him distracted, Tails! You look for a way to take him down!" Sonic said as he bolted around the area. Metal Sonic gave chase, and Tails flew about the area, looking for something that could help. He then got an idea.

"Sonic!" Tails called out. "Get Metal Sonic wet!"

Knowing what Tails was going for, Sonic skid along the water, making sure that a significant amount of it got into Metal Sonic before Sonic returned to the beach. Just when he thought Metal Sonic would reach him, the robot suddenly short-circuited and shut down. Metal Sonic tumbled end over end before crashing into a rock wall.

"Well, that's taken care of." Sonic said.

They then looked at the sky and saw that Eggman's ship was gone.

Sonic looked at the ground, and clenched his hands into fists. Five times now, in just an hour, Sonic had dropped his guard, and Eggman had capitalized on it four of those times.

"Sonic...?" Tails asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Sonic responded, relaxing his hands.

He then noticed a feather on the ground. When he picked it up, he recognized it as one of the feathers that was in Elise's hair. "I've misstepped like this before. It's no big deal. I know we'll rescue Elise. Let's get back to the city and regroup."

Tails nodded. "But what should we do about Metal Sonic?"

Sonic looked at the broken robot. "Let's bring him with us. Maybe we can get the right tech for you to reprogram him. After all, if WE control Metal Sonic, Eggman can't keep sending him after us."

"Alright. Help me carry him, okay?"

"Will do."

Sonic and Tails picked up Metal Sonic and began heading back to Soleanna.

When Sonic and Tails returned to Soleanna, they heard a commotion going on.

"You take care of Metal Sonic." Sonic told Tails. "I'll find out what happened."

Tails nodded and took Metal Sonic to a repair place while Sonic ran up to a crowd gathered at a building.

"What's going on?" Sonic asked an officer.

"There's a little girl on the roof right there!" the officer said, pointing. "We don't know how she got up there, but she can't get down safely!"

Sonic looked, and saw the girl. "No sweat. I'll handle this." He ran and leapt up the sides of the building the girl was on and the building next to it, and landed on the rooftop with the girl.

"Who are you?" Sonic asked.

"M-my name is Francesca..." the girl said.

"Why are you all the way up here?"

"I-I heard Eggman was going to the desert, so I just wanted to keep watch from a high place..." Francesca said. "But then, I-I got hungry and couldn't find a way to get down, so I called for help..."

Sonic carefully held her in his arms. "Here. I'll bring you back to the ground, and I'll get you some lunch. How does that sound?"

Francesca wiped her tears, and smiled. "Yeah... Th-that'd be nice..."

Sonic nodded and carefully leapt down, taking several little jumps from ledge to ledge rather than one big jump straight to the ground, so as to not scare Francesca even more than she already was. When the two arrived at the ground, the people cheered. Sonic carefully set Francesca down on the ground, and got her a chili dog.

"I've never had this before..." Francesca said.

Sonic smiled. "It's a personal favorite of mine. I imagine you'll like it quite a lot."

Francesca took a bite. "Mmm! It is good! Thank you!"

"No sweat. All in a day's work." Sonic said.

Francesca's mother came to her, and Sonic got back to Tails.

"How's he looking?" Sonic asked.

"I've got him fixed up. Just have to reprogram him so that he doesn't attack us upon awakening." Tails said.

"Think it can wait?" Sonic asked. "I heard Eggman was heading out to the desert. We need to head out there too in case that's where Elise is being held."

"I'm not sure where we could hide it." Tails said. "Besides, reprogramming a robot for me is about as easy as eating a chili dog is for you."

Sonic smirked. "In that case, it should only take a minute or so, right?"

"Not even." Tails said confidently.

Sonic watched as Tails worked on reprogramming Metal Sonic. It only took a minute, until he was finished.

"Alright. If I wrote the code correctly, Metal Sonic will obey our commands without question." Tails said.

"You gave him his own individuality, right?" Sonic asked. "Doesn't seem fair that he switches from one master to the next."

"I took that into account." Tails said. "Metal Sonic should be programmed to be loyal without question, if I wrote the code right. That means he still has individuality while still obeying us."

"Well, let's give it a whirl." Sonic said, giving a thumbs-up.

Tails nodded and activated Metal Sonic.

Slowly, the robot hedgehog arose.

"What is going on...? Who am I?" he asked.

"We're about to head out into a desert to save a kidnapped princess. And your name is Shard." Sonic said off the top of his head.

"Shard... And you say we are to rescue a kidnapped princess in a desert?"

"Yep! You want to come?"

Shard arose. "I will aid you. But might I ask, who are you?"

"I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!" the hedgehog responded without skipping a beat. "And this is Tails."

Tails waved.

"I will give you my full assistance, Sonic the Hedgehog. Together, we will venture into the desert and rescue the kidnapped princess."

"Sounds like a plan!" Sonic said. "C'mon, you two. Let's go!"

The three of them headed out towards the desert.

Elise sat by herself just inside the entrance to a pyramid. She calmly remembered her father's words.

"You're a good girl, Elise... Remember, be brave... Hold your heart close... Do not let anger consume you."

She heard footsteps rapidly approaching. She turned and saw Sonic, Tails, and a robot version of Sonic.

"Mr. Sonic!" Elise said. "You actually came!"

"Just call me Sonic." he responded, only for Elise to come up and hug him. After a few moments, he returned the hug. They remained like this for a brief moment before they let go.

"Now then, are you okay?" Sonic asked.

Elise smiled. "I'm okay. I'm glad that you came."

Sonic nodded. "I couldn't live with it if I didn't try to come back for you."

"Who are your two friends here?" Elise asked.

"This is Tails." Sonic said, patting Tails's shoulder. "And that's Shard, a robot we 'borrowed' from Eggman."

Shard bowed. "It is an honor to finally meet you, Your Highness."

Elise couldn't help but chuckle. "Just call me Elise."

"As you wish, Elise."

"Uhh, guys?" Tails said, pointing. Standing behind them was a large quadrupedal robot.

Eggman stood in front of the robot. "It looks like a rat has stuck its nose where it doesn't belong. Well, a hedgehog, to be more precise. It doesn't matter. The Princess is mine until I unlock the secret of the Flames of Disaster."

"You will not have the Princess." Shard boldly spoke.

"Metal Sonic?!" Eggman said, having finally noticed his prized robot opposing him. "What are you doing?!"

"Protecting Elise. She and Sonic the Hedgehog matter more to me than your toys."

"This changes nothing." Eggman said. "I will destroy all three of you and obtain the secret of the Flames of Disaster no matter what it may take! Onward, my Egg-Cerberus! Obliterate these pesky rodents!"

"Shard, keep Elise safe. Tails and I will handle the Egghead's new toy." Sonic commanded.

"I will do as you command, Sonic the Hedgehog." Shard said. He stood before Elise defensively, as Sonic and Tails ran at the Egg-Cerberus.

"So, this is Egg-Cerberus, huh? He doesn't really have anything to do with eggs." Sonic said. "Either way, it's time to put the dog down!"

Tails started to fly. "I'll provide a distraction while you find a way to attack it."

"Good thinking!" Sonic said.

As Sonic ran behind the Egg-Cerberus, Tails flew in a sporadic pattern in front of it, keeping the Egg-Cerberus's attention. Finding his opening, Sonic leapt up onto the Egg-Cerberus's back and grabbed hold of its head. The Egg-Cerberus reared its head back, trying to shake Sonic off. But the hedgehog held on tight, and managed to steer it straight into a wall. Sonic leapt off right as the collision happened, landing cleanly on the ground no worse for wear. The Egg-Cerberus leapt up onto a ledge before leaping back down, trying to crush Sonic. But Sonic easily got out of the way and leapt back onto Egg-Cerberus, but it shook Sonic off before it could be steered into a wall. Unfazed, Sonic ran behind it again, as Tails once again got the Egg-Cerberus's attention. This time, when Sonic got onto the Egg-Cerberus, he was successful in steering it into the wall again.

At this point the Egg-Cerberus was starting to malfunction, but it still got back up to charge at Sonic once more. Instead of running behind it has he had done the whole fight, Sonic instead leapt up and grabbed it by the head face-on this time. He steered the Egg-Cerberus into the wall with no issues, leaping off just before he would have been crushed.

As the Egg-Cerberus short-circuited and exploded, Sonic, Tails, Shard, and Elise high-tailed it out of there.

When they reached an oasis, they saw a large amount of Eggman's robots approaching.

Sonic sighed. "How long is this going to go on?"

"Let's split up." Tails suggested. "Shard and I will get their attention, and you take the Princess."

Sonic nodded. "Okay. You two be careful."

"Leave it to us!" Tails said. "Let's go, Shard!"

"As you command. We will diverge Eggman's army away from you."

Tails and Shard headed off.

Sonic carefully picked up Elise. "Hold on tight."

Elise nodded. "Okay."

Sonic took off running, but at a slower pace than usual due to holding Elise. He fought his way through the robots that came at him, thankful that Tails and Shard were distracting the majority of them. Sonic ran through the ruins, eventually making it safely out of the desert and into the plains.

After another minute, Sonic slowed down to a stop, and set Elise down. She looked at him and smiled.

"I have no words to express how grateful I am for your help..." Elise said.

"You don't need any." Sonic said. "Just the fact that you're safe is enough for me."

"...I guess so." Elise said after pondering it for a few moments. "So, I guess we- Oh! You're hurt!"

Sonic looked at the scrape on his arm. "It's nothing." he said, stretching his arm. He felt no pain from doing so, yet Elise insisted.

"Don't say that!" she said, gently taking hold of his arm and starting to wrap a small bandage around the scrape. Sonic stood there awkwardly as he waited for it to be finished.

After a few moments, it was over.

"I'm sorry..." Elise said. "It's all my fault."

"It's okay." Sonic said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I've made some bone-headed mistakes in my time. Today alone had a few, and none of them were your fault."

A purple butterfly then landed on Sonic's nose, and he and Elise looked at it curiously. After a few moments, the butterfly took off, and they watched it.

"Your smile." Sonic said. "That's all I need."

Elise looked at Sonic, and a smile started to form on her face.

"C'mon. Let's walk for a bit." Sonic said. Elise nodded, and they began walking.

"Eggman mentioned the Flames of Disaster. Is that why he's after you?" Sonic asked.

Elise nodded. "Yes. The name of the sun god our country honors is Solaris. It is told that Solaris's rage would destroy the world. His wrath comes in the form of the Flames of Disaster. 10 years ago, we almost faced the full force of his fury... I was a child then, so I don't remember it well. I lost my father, back then... And now that 'Dr. Eggman' is trying to cause the same disaster again... What can I do?"

Sonic pondered for a moment. "Y'know, usually when I start wallowing in things like this, I go for a run. It helps clear my head and look at something more clearly."

"Do you think I should, too?" Elise asked.

"Why not? Doesn't hurt to try, does it?"

"I suppose not."

"Then let's go. I'll go at a pace that allows you to keep up."

Elise smiled, and the two of them took off running through the meadow. True to his word, Sonic kept a consistent--albeit rather slow--pace, which allowed Elise to keep up with him without overextending herself. The two of them ran for a while, before eventually stopping to rest.

"Feels great, doesn't it?" Sonic asked.

"Yes..." Elise managed. "I...I've never run so fast before..."

"Nothing starts until you take action." Sonic said. "That's how I've always gotten by."

He extended his hand towards her. She took it, and he helped her to her feet.

After a while, the two of them returned to Soleanna. Sonic then stopped, and grabbed hold of Elise and leapt out of the way of a blast of energy.

"I've been looking for you." a hedgehog said, descending to the ground. "You're the Iblis Trigger. Your actions will condemn us all."

Sonic stood in front of Elise. "Who are you?"

"My name is Silver." the hedgehog responded. "For the future of the world, I will destroy you!"

Silver started to levitate several objects around him, and hurled them at Sonic, who easily avoided them. Elise stayed out of the way as Sonic made his way through the floating objects and attacked Silver. The two brawled for a while, but Sonic was able to best Silver.

When Silver was down on the ground, catching his breath, Sonic stood before him. "Hey. Could you explain to me what's goi-"

Silver sent a telekinetic blast at Sonic, sending him into a pillar and knocking the wind out of him.

"That was cheap..." Sonic managed after a few moments.

Silver rolled his eyes. "Is this a joke? How could someone like YOU cause the destruction of our world?"

"What do you...mean...?" Sonic asked.

Silver shook his head. "It doesn't matter. For the sake of the future, the Iblis Trigger must be destroyed!"

Sonic worked the knots in his neck and leapt up to his feet. "Well, if you want to destroy me, you'll have to earn it!"

A large group of Eggman's robots then descended.

"Sonic!" Elise cried out.

Sonic turned to go and protect Elise, only to get blasted from behind by Silver.

"Don't you dare turn your back on me!" Silver said. "It's time I finally put an end to this!"

The trio then saw something pink flash by. Before they realized what was happening, a pink hedgehog was smashing the robots with a giant hammer. When the robots were out of the way, Amy stood between Sonic and Silver.

"Amy...?" Sonic managed as he got to his feet.

"Get out of my way, Amy!" Silver demanded. "This is my mission!"

"Absolutely not!" Amy defiantly spat at Silver.

Sonic smiled. "Thanks, Amy. I appreciate it."

Amy nodded. "Leave it to me."

Sonic turned to protect Elise, only to see more robots having left the area, one of them holding Elise in its clutches. Clenching his fists angrily, Sonic ran at the robots and leapt up to disintegrate them, but his attack was just shy of reaching the nearest one.

When he landed, he stared at the fleeing robots. Once again, his guard was dropped, and it had put Elise in danger.

As he started to run off, he found Tails.

"Sonic, Shard wants us to meet him at the town's warehouse. Apparently he received a message from Eggman meant for you!"

"Then let's go. I'm kinda curious what Egghead has to say." Sonic said.

When they arrived at the warehouse, they came across a large horde of Eggman's robots, and they made short work of them effortlessly.

Once the robots were destroyed, they came up to Shard.

"Hey Shard. Something about a message for me?" Sonic asked.

Shard nodded, and began projecting the message.

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

The recording ended.

"It's most definitely a trap." Tails said. "I don't think Eggman will honor his agreement."

"I'm going." Sonic said, surprising both Tails and Shard. "Elise has already fallen into Eggman's clutches multiple times. I won't let it happen again."

The three of them headed out to White Acropolis. Upon their arrival, Tails and Shard flew overhead while Sonic snowboarded down the mountain. At one point, a large snowball began rolling down the mountain right behind him, getting bigger and bigger. He was eventually able to outrun the snowball, diving through a hole in a rock wall, and the snowball crashed into it and exploded in a puff of white. Once Sonic came to a stop, he set the snowboard aside and continued forward on foot, eventually coming to Tails and Shard.

"The base should be around here." Sonic said.

Tails nodded. "Let's split up. Once one of us finds the base, we should send a signal of some kind."

Sonic and Shard nodded, and the three of them went in separate directions. After a while of running, searching, and robot-destroying, Sonic finally found the base. He grabbed the gun of a destroyed robot and fired it into the air, hoping they caught the signal. A minute later, they arrived, and stormed their way in.

"You're late." they heard. When they looked up, they saw Eggman above them.

"Where's Elise?" Sonic asked.

Eggman smirked. "My, aren't we impatient? The Princess is safe."

"Hand her over. Now." Sonic said, starting to step forward.

"Ah ah." Eggman said. "You better not move. Now, the Chaos Emerald."

"Elise first." Sonic demanded.

After a moment, Eggman shrugged and pressed a button. A door opened, and Elise came through, her steps a tad shaky.

"Elise, are you okay?" Sonic asked. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I'm fine." Elise said.

Sonic nodded. "That's all I needed to know."

"Are you two done flirting, yet?" Eggman asked. "You still have your portion of the bargain to uphold, Sonic."

Sonic looked up at Eggman. "Where do you want it?"

"Right there." Eggman said as pedestal rose up from the floor. Sonic pulled out the blue Chaos Emerald and placed it on the pedestal, which sank back into the floor, taking the Chaos Emerald with it.

"Why did you do that?" Elise asked.

"I've allowed you to be captured over and over." Sonic said. "I won't screw up again."

Elise looked at the floor, then back at Sonic. "You just did."

Sonic's eyes went wide. "What...?"

Elise then promptly vanished in front of Sonic. She had been a hologram the entire time. Sonic had been played yet again.

He'd had enough. He clenched his hands into fists and stared directly at Eggman. "WHERE IS SHE?!"

"As I have stated, Elise is safe. Thank you for your cooperation, Sonic." Eggman said.

Sonic leapt up to strangle Eggman, only to bounce harmlessly off the protective glass, landing on his feet.

"It's no use, Sonic." Eggman said. "Now, I will give you a personal demonstration of my greatest achievement--the Solaris prototype!"

He pushed a button, and the room Sonic, Tails, and Shard were in began to glow pink.

"Yes... Yes!" Eggman said. "It's working just as I planned! Goodbye, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

He pulled a lever, and the trio started to float uncontrollably. When the pink glow vanished, it took them with it.

They reappeared and landed on the floor.

"That was disorienting." Shard said as they got up.

"Boy, do I feel dizzy..." Tails added.

Sonic's focus was not on what they just went through, but on Eggman.

"Where are you, Eggman?!" he demanded. "Show yourself!"

He looked around, but Eggman was nowhere to be found. In fact, the entire place felt abandoned.

Sonic felt his heart pounding in his chest. He clenched his fists so tightly that he was certain his hands were as white as his gloves.

"No!" he shouted as he pounded the wall. "NO! IT CAN'T HAVE ENDED LIKE THIS!!!"

Tails came up to try and reassure Sonic. "Sonic, just calm do-"

Sonic ran off, desperate to try and find something, anything, that could prove to him that Elise was okay and not in Eggman's clutches. He left the base expecting the same snow-covered landscape, only to find everything engulfed in flames.

He was distraught. Were he and the others put into suspended animation? Or did something else happen?

He sat down on a discarded wooden box, trying to figure everything out. How did the world come to this? What did Eggman do?

Many more questions ran through his mind, but there was one thing that remained a constant thought in Sonic's mind.

He screwed up.

He had screwed up before, even earlier when trying to protect Elise. But this time was different. He had let his desire to protect Elise get into his head. He surrendered the last Chaos Emerald that Eggman needed right to him, and Eggman probably used them to end the world. He couldn't even see that Elise was a hologram once she had been returned.

He should have bailed. Not even that, he should've never gone in the first place. He should've listened when Tails said Eggman wouldn't honor his agreement.

But he didn't. He didn't see through Eggman's lies. He didn't figure out what Eggman wanted in time. He didn't protect Elise.

The world had ended. And it was all Sonic's fault.

Tails eventually found him, still sitting on the box. His head was lowered, and his eyes were closed. Tails had never seen Sonic look so defeated in his life.

"Sonic...?" Tails asked. "Are you okay...?"

"How can I be?" Sonic muttered. "The world ended and it's all my fault."

"It's not your fault, Sonic." Tails said, walking up to him. "Eggman was the one who lied to you. He was the one who used the machine and destroyed the world. You did nothing wrong."

"How can you say that to me after everything I've done?!" Sonic asked, raising his voice to a shout as he stood up and looked Tails in the eye. "Do you have any idea how many times I've let Elise get captured?! How many times my guard was dropped?! It must have been, like, five or six times in the last 24 hours ALONE!"

"But you kept getting back up." Tails said. "No matter how many times you were beaten down, you always got back up. You never stopped fighting, Sonic. You've always continued defending what's right."

"You don't get it, Tails." Sonic said. "I CAN'T do what's right this time. Just look at what we've gone through today. We tried to protect Elise from Eggman. We tried to stop this stupid damn plan he had. We tried to save the world. And guess what? WE LOST."

Sonic slumped down on the box, put his face in his hands, and began to cry. It was over. He lost. there was no way to try and salvage a win from this.

He continued crying until he felt himself being wrapped in a hug. When he opened his eyes, he saw Tails hugging him. Sonic returned the hug, embracing his best friend in the entire world.

"I'm here for you, Sonic..." Tails said. "No matter what happens... No matter what we go through... I will always stay by your side. I promise."

"Thank you..." Sonic managed through a cracked voice, still shedding tears.

The two of them held the embrace for a while.

When they returned to Shard, the three of them went looking for some kind of way to get back, or something like that, when suddenly the ground started to shake.

"Tails, find out what's going on!" Sonic said.

Tails nodded and flew up, surveying what was going on, and he saw it.

"Sonic!" he shouted. "A giant flaming monster has arisen from the ground!"

"It will destroy us unless we destroy it first." Shard said. "We must destroy it before resuming our quest."

Sonic nodded. As the trio took off towards the beast, Sonic finally saw what it was. "Solaris..."

Shard gave Sonic a strange look.

"Elise told me about the god of the sun that her people worshiped." Sonic explained. "That god was named Solaris. His fury must have been unleashed by Eggman."

He then stopped. "...Or by me. By failing to keep Elise safe. Maybe I am the 'Iblis Trigger' that Silver guy mentioned."

"But the god is named Solaris. Would that not make you the Solaris Trigger?"

Sonic's eyes widened. He had mistaken this creature for the sun god.

This isn't Solaris. This is Iblis.

This is what Silver had claimed he released. It all made perfect sense.

"No, it doesn't." Sonic said, answering Shard's question. "And we're going to prove Silver wrong! We'll beat Iblis!"

The trio continued on, even more motivated than before to defeat Iblis. With Shard dealing the heavier damage with powerful energy blasts, Sonic and Tails distracted Iblis whenever possible and even dealt some damage of their own. Upon the end of the fight, Iblis disappeared into the lava below.

The trio celebrated. But just as they were about to head back, Sonic heard something.

"Looks like we stopped it for now." The voice was female, but he didn't recognize it.

"But it'll rise up from its ashes again." That voice was definitely Silver's.

Sonic called out to the others. "Hang on guys, stop for a moment. Someone else is here."

"What is it?" Tails asked.

Sonic gestured with his hand. "Follow me."

The three of them came up to the voices they were hearing. They saw Silver and a purple-and-white feline.

Silver pounded a wall. "What's the point of all this?! It'll never end!"

"Calm down, Silver." the feline said.

"Then tell me what we should do!" Silver spat. "How can we completely destroy Iblis?!"

The feline didn't respond.

"By knowing the truth, of course." an obtruding voice said.

All five of them looked up and saw a black hedgehog.

Tails's eyes went wide. "Isn't th-"

Sonic covered Tails's mouth with his hand. "Quiet!" he hissed.

Nobody noticed Sonic, Tails, and Shard. The black hedgehog continued.

"Just as a flower comes from a seed, or a chicken comes from an egg, everything has an origin." he said. "You need to find the being originally responsible for this catastrophe."

Silver turned towards him. "Is that really the answer to our problem? Tell me, do you know who it is?"

The black hedgehog turned and started to walk away. "I will show you."

He, Silver, and the feline left; and Sonic, Tails, and Shard followed, being careful to not alert them.

They arrived back at the Eggman base they had left earlier. Sonic was quite confused as the black hedgehog led Silver and the feline into a room with a large monitor. "To fix this present timeline, you need to change the past." he explained.

Silver shook his head. "Impossible."

The black hedgehog turned to Silver. "With my help, it is not. Because I have the power to travel through time."

Silver's eyes widened.

"In order to change the past, you must eliminate the individual who has awakened Iblis. The Iblis Trigger."

Silver hesitated. "If I eliminate that guy, will our world be saved?"

The black hedgehog nodded. "The Day of Disaster... Here are records of this event I have come across."

He pulled up a few articles on the monitor. "This was when Iblis was freed, and his flames were released into the world."

Silver and the feline looked at the articles.

"And you have this being to blame." the black hedgehog said, pulling out the purple Chaos Emerald. He gave it to Silver, who peered into it. He perceived Sonic standing among the flames.

"I see it." Silver said. "So that blue hedgehog's the Iblis Trigger?"

The feline narrowed her eyes a little, thinking. "Blue hedgehog..."

Silver returned the Chaos Emerald to the black hedgehog.

"I'll send us back in time to the point when the Iblis Trigger was alive." the black hedgehog said, as he generated an orb of violet magic, which grew to envelop the three of them. When it vanished, it took all three of them with it, back in time.

Sonic, Tails, and Shard then entered.

As Tails went up to the monitor, Shard spoke to Sonic.

"That hedgehog bore a significant similarity to that of Shadow the Hedgehog." Shard said. "But I cannot determine his identity."

Sonic shook his head. "Something about him was really off-putting..."

"This is terrible!" Tails said as he pulled up more articles related to the ones the black hedgehog had brought up previously.

Sonic came up.

"According to the data, the Princess died when she was kidnapped by Eggman! Apparently Eggman's battleship exploded!" Tails said. "The date of this incident was...two days after the Festival of the Sun!"

Sonic's brow furrowed deeply. "We have to go back in time like Silver did and get Elise out of there. Now. I don't care what it takes."

Tails looked at Sonic. "...Do you need a moment...?"

Sonic relaxed his hands, having only just realized they were balled into fists. "Probably."

He started to walk out, only to come across a familiar hedgehog and bat.

"Oh! Look who's here." Rouge said. "I didn't expect to see you guys."

Tails turned. "Rouge! Shadow!"

"Hi. Long time no see." Rouge said, waving.

The five of them stood outside the base, looking at the desolated world.

"This is the distant future, far removed from our own timeline." Shadow explained.

"Yeah. From what I heard Silver say, I kinda figured." Sonic said. "Can you skip to the part where we figure out how to get back?"

Shadow glared at Sonic.

"He's had a rough day." Tails explained. "Don't hold it against him."

"How are we to return to the timeline we came from?" Shard asked.

"You need a space-time rift, but this requires a lot of energy." Shadow said.

"I see." Sonic said. "You mean using your Chaos Control will be able to send us back to the present?"

"Yes, but that alone is insufficient." Shadow said. "Should we collect two of the Chaos Emeralds, that will be enough for us to be able to return."

Sonic folded his arms across his chest. "Well, we've already seen someone get away with one of the Emeralds, so that leaves six left here."

"You two search the east side of the city. Shadow and I will handle the west side." Rouge said. "Good luck, you three."

Sonic ran through the burning city, being careful to avoid the constantly-falling debris and explosions. Along the way, fiery beasts likely coming from Iblis appeared to try and stop him, but he made short work of them as he leapt from building to building. He eventually found himself on what appeared to be a rooftop courtyard after sliding down a fallen support beam. He then leapt upwards, narrowly avoiding being crushed by a large chunk of debris, and leapt through a broken window before bursting his way through and finding himself on a bridge-like structure.

"There has to be a Chaos Emerald around here." Sonic said. "But I can't seem to sense where it is."

He ran across the bridge-like structure and went into another building before making his way up. He ended up finding several flying chunks of cars, debris, et cetera.

"What's going on HERE?!" Sonic asked, alarmed. "Don't tell me Iblis is at it again!"

He leapt to the debris and--to his lack of surprise--found more fire creatures to kick. So he did just that as he leapt from debris chunk to debris chunk, navigating his way through. At one point he got slammed into from behind by a flying car, but shook it off.

He eventually found himself on the main freeway going through the city, only to see the reason why there was so much flying debris--there was a massive fire tornado. How it was created was beyond Sonic. But it wasn't time for thinking, it was time for running. So he did just that, taking off running away from the fire tornado as fast as he could, eventually managing to get away from it as it died down.

When Sonic met up with Tails and Shard, indicating his search had turned up empty, Tails pointed out that he had discovered two Chaos Emeralds's signals, and they went to where the signals were found.

"You guys are so slow." Rouge said rather slyly.

Sonic was having none of it. "Watch it, Rouge. Just because we're working together doesn't mean you can talk smack about how we work."

Rouge shrugged. "Fine. Anyways, look."

She pulled out the green Chaos Emerald.

"You've already found one!" Tails said enthusiastically.

Rouge smiled. "I may not look it, but I'm a real treasure hunter."

"Have you guys discovered anything?" Shadow asked.

"I received a signal indicating there's two Chaos Emeralds here. You already have one, but...the other one is way out that way." Tails said, pointing.

"You mean we've got to go through there?" Rouge asked.

"If that's where the signal came from, then that's where we're going." Sonic said.

Shadow nodded, and they took off.

Sonic ran along the stone structures, destroying whatever fire creatures spawned in his way. He found himself at a lava pit before leaping up above. He then found a passageway in the stone, and found himself back at the lava before leaping up along the stone platforms floating along the lavafall that was filling it up. He then made his way over to the volcano, and went inside. He destroyed more fire creatures, only to come to the next room and find it pitch black except for the lava below. He carefully made his way along that room before busting his way out and finding Shard.

"Shard, can you continue the search inside the volcano for me? I'll look elsewhere."

"As you wish, Sonic the Hedgehog." Shard said, as he went into the volcano. He few through the volcano, seemingly unaffected by the lack of light. He made his way up, making short work of the fire creatures that spawned in his way, and fully mapped out the volcano's interior.

When they met up again, Tails's Chaos Emerald radar was going wild. The other Chaos Emerald had to be nearby.

As they looked around the chamber they were in, Iblis appeared from the lava.

"Not again!" Sonic said, exasperated. Iblis spewed flames at him, and he leapt aside to avoid them as he met up with the others.

"He's too far." Shadow said. "We have to draw him in somehow."

Stalactites fell from the ceiling, crashing into the lava and making semi-stable platforms for the group to make their way upon them.

Iblis dipped down into the lava, and Sonic instinctively knew he was preparing to leap out of the lava and crush him.

"Shadow!" Sonic said. "The Chaos Emerald!"

Shadow nodded and called upon the green Chaos Emerald's power to strike at Iblis right as he leapt from the lava. Upon Iblis striking in the same manner as before, Shadow yet again struck him with the Chaos Emerald's power. Tails began to send out flying explosives to distract Iblis while Shard made his way over to blast the fiery beast. The ruse was successful, and Iblis was struck a third time. Iblis then angrily smashed itself down into the platforms as a means to crush all of them. They got out of the way with only Rouge suffering some minor burn marks.

"The beast is dazed!" Shard said. "Strike now!"

Sonic charged up before running headfirst at Iblis. Shadow hurled the green Chaos Emerald to him, and he caught it right as he leapt into the air. He called upon the Chaos Emerald's power and struck Iblis head on, causing it to rear up before collapsing into the lava while the team got out of range of the lava splash Iblis's body created.

After that whole fiasco, Sonic came across the cyan Chaos Emerald. He took hold of it and went to Shadow.

"The time has come." Shadow said.

Sonic nodded, and handed him the green Chaos Emerald.

The two then held the Emeralds up, their wishes identical.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" they both called out, and the Chaos Emeralds reacted, creating a portal back to the past.

Sonic, Tails, and Shard went through, appearing back at Soleanna.

"We have returned intact." Shard said.

Sonic went up and found a newspaper. When he read it, he confirmed that they had returned to the present, on the same day. After asking around about Eggman's location, he took off towards it, Tails and Shard close behind.

He found himself at a railroad of sorts. He found a train that was clearly out of control, and sped off to stop the train, leaping off of platforms and cranes and destroying Eggman mechs, confirming that Eggman was here as he eventually reaching the train. When close enough, he took off at top speed to get close and closer to the train. What he found was that bomb after bomb was loaded on the train, and every so often one of them would fall off and detonate. But Sonic was able to get close enough and climb on-board the train.

From there, he stopped the train and relentlessly looked through until he found Elise. Once he did, he got her off and started to get out of there with her.

"Sonic, I knew you'd come back for me!" Elise said.

"Not exactly the time for pleasantries." Sonic said. "We can talk more once you're safe."

Elise nodded, as Sonic picked her up and carried her off the train, only to find himself being attacked by Silver AGAIN. He set down Elise and turned to face him.

"This time there will be no more interruptions!" Silver said as he charged up another energy blast. "The Iblis Trigger MUST DIE."

As they prepared to battle, Sonic glanced over his shoulder and saw Eggman approaching on his aircraft.

"You strike first." Sonic said to Silver. "After all, you're the one going through this effort to find me."

Silver took the bait, firing an energy blast at Sonic. Sonic leapt up right as the blast hit him, using the blast to launch himself at Eggman before he could capture Elise again.

"Sonic!" Eggman said, shocked. "How did you get back?!"

"If you so much as TOUCH Elise again, I will personally STRANGLE YOU." Sonic said, clenching his fist in Eggman's face.

Eggman gulped nervously.

"Good. We're on the same page." Sonic said as he prepared to leap off, only to be abruptly hit with another telekinetic blast by Silver, and fell to the ground.

"SILVER, CUT IT OUT!!!" Sonic snapped angrily as he got up. "I'M TRYING TO SAVE A DAMN PRINCESS RIGHT NOW!!!"

"I will finally finish this!" Silver said, not caring in the slightest about Elise. "Time to-"

Silver then took a roundhouse to the jaw as he flew several yards, crashing into the ground.

"Who else dares to try and defend the Iblis Trigger?!" Silver demanded, only to lay eyes upon a black hedgehog. "Wait... Mephiles, why are you getting in my way?!"

"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog." Shadow responded. He glanced back at Sonic, who nodded.

With Shadow dealing with Silver, Sonic picked up Elise and took off back to Soleanna, only to come across a floating fortress-like robot.

"You won't get away that easily, Sonic!" Eggman said. "I'll eliminate you, and then I'll take back the Princess once and for all!"

Sonic leapt behind a large rock, and set down Elise. "Stay here. No matter what." Sonic said.

"Okay... Be careful." Elise said, hugging Sonic.

Sonic returned the hug. "I'll come back, and we'll get outta here, Elise. I promise."

With that exchange done, Sonic took off towards the robot. It was large and powerful, but Sonic was able to able to thwart it with little effort. After a short while, it started to malfunction, and started to fall from the air right as Sonic turned his back on it.

"Sonic, look out!" Elise called out. "The fortress is crashing!"

Sonic looked, and saw the robot falling. He turned and bolted towards the rock Elise was behind, picked her up, and then sped away as the robot crashed and exploded.

Once they were safely away, Sonic set Elise down, and they both laid down on the grass, looking at the sky.

"Finally, a chance to rest." Sonic said, giving an exaggerated sigh, bringing up a light giggle from Elise.

"You know... I owe you a lot, Sonic." Elise said after a few moments of silence.

"I'm glad for that." Sonic responded. "But I don't think you should."

Elise looked confused. "...Why not?"

Sonic took a breath. He was finally going to reveal what he'd been going through to Elise.

"Well... I've let you get captured or just let my guard down in general a lot today." he confided. "I look away for a few moments, and suddenly Eggman's got you in his clutches again. Heck, ten minutes ago I threatened to strangle him if he got a hold of you again."

Elise shuddered. "I wouldn't have wanted to see that..."

Sonic shrugged. "Yeah, I'd probably regret it later on. But it's Eggman, so he'll probably be fine."

The two of them started laughing.

"In any case, hopefully we can put this behind us, right? Y'know, with all the crazy things that happened today?" Sonic asked.

"I'd like that." Elise said. "Maybe we can go somewhere to eat when all this is over."

Sonic sat up. "Will they have chili dogs?"

Elise smiled and sat up as well. "I'll make sure we get chili dogs, if that's what you want."

Sonic stood up. "Sounds great! Let's get back to Soleanna and- You gotta be kidding me."

Elise's smile faded as she stood up. "What's wrong?"

"Eggman's mechs are chasing us. Again." Sonic said. "Look like the chili dogs will have to wait."

Elise turned around and saw the mechs. "Let's get out of here."

Sonic nodded, picked up Elise, and took off into the jungle.

Sonic ran up a large tree that had been broken in half, carrying Elise. Eggman's robots chased them inside, and Sonic made short work of them as he went down the inside of the tree before leaping through an opening and over a lake and landing on the other side. From there, he destroyed the mechs in his way and proceeded through. He and Elise grabbed hold of a vine that swung them over a waterfall and onto a large log. Sonic ran across the log and into a cave. More mechs were destroyed, and Sonic burst through the cave before running up a cliffside and landing at the top of a tall tree. Sonic easily made his way down and swung from a vine across the lake, and continued running as they made it to the other side of the forest.

"It look like we've lost them." Elise said. "Does that mean we're heading back now?"

"In a bit." Sonic said, before abruptly turning right. Elise was confused until they came to a clearing that had a cherry blossom tree on the edge of a lake. In the distance they could see the palace. Small plant life was everywhere.

"It's so beautiful!" Elise said. "I've never seen so many flowers before!"

Some of the small petals fell from the tree and floated by the two of them in the breeze.

"Sonic, have you visited wonderful places like this before?" Elise asked.

Sonic smiled. "A few, yeah."

"Once Eggman is defeated, you're going to leave, aren't you?"

Sonic's face fell. Though he had to save her an excruciating amount of times, he had grown to care for Elise. She almost seemed like a little sister to him.

Elise knelt down and gently tilted Sonic's head up so he was looking at her.

"Hey..." she softly spoke. "It's okay. Though I've been frightened many times, I've also enjoyed this adventure. It allowed me to be something other than a Princess. I was able to be myself. Just...a girl. My title as a princess meant little because of what was going on. You've given me the best day of my life."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Sounds to me like being a Princess isn't that easy."

"It isn't, sometimes." Elise said as they looked out to the palace in the distance. "But I love this country. Everyone in the castle, the children, ALL my citizens, really."

She exhaled. "The very same love my late father and mother had..."

-----------------------

"Don't cry, Elise." her father gently said, as he slowly ran his fingers through her hair. "Become a strong queen, who doesn't cry... No matter what happens..."

Elise was a little confused. For just a moment, she thought this meant she wasn't supposed to cry. About anything. Ever. But then she realized her father had meant that she couldn't just get overemotional over every little thing. There were some things she could cry about, but not everything. She had to remain composed when on the throne. It made sense to her right then.

-----------------------

"And so, I do my best to protect my country. I understand everything my parents said to me now." Elise said. "Sonic, if you leave here to go on another adventure... Remember this place."

Sonic smiled. "Definitely."

Elise trembled, abruptly turning away and garnering Sonic's concern.

"Elise?" he asked.

"I'm fine..." Elise responded. But in her head, she knew she wasn't.

"I mustn't cry... I can't..." she thought to herself. After a few moments, she turned and hugged Sonic tight. After a moment, he returned the hug.

"It's okay..." Sonic said. "I'll come back. I promise."

Elise rubbed her eyes, and the two of them enjoyed the scenery for a little longer.

The Egg Carrier arrived over the city.

"Princess Elise, ruler of Soleanna." Eggman broadcasted. "By refusing to negotiate with me, you have forced me to take drastic actions. Meet me at the specified point ALONE at 4 o'clock today. Failure to do so will result in my leveling of this city so that nothing but ashes remain!"

"Miss Elise...!" one of the handmaidens said.

Elise looked at the battleship from the palace. "I cannot allow harm to come to my people. It is my duty as Princess of Soleanna to protect those people. I will go. There is no other choice."

Tails caught wind of Elise going to Eggman by herself, and knew he had to take action. He headed to Wave Ocean to try and catch up to the Egg Carrier. Having remembered the same route he and Sonic took the last time they were here, he went along that same route, flying past the obstacles with ease. The orcas he and Sonic had contained there hadn't been released, not to his surprise, and he double-checked to make sure they were still okay before pressing on. He was getting closer.

"You've wasted so much of my time." Eggman said to Elise. "If you had cooperated with me earlier, I wouldn't have had to do this."

"What are you trying to do?" Elise asked. "Why do you wish to revive the Flames of Disaster?"

Eggman avoided the question. "Did your parents ever disclose to you anything about Solaris? Solaris's secrets are in his eternal flames. His power...can change time, and even manipulate the fabric of time itself."

He held out his hands in front of him, and clenched them into fists. "I wish to obtain this power, and dominate EVERYTHING in this world, creating a single glorious nation--Eggman Land! Stretching out across all borders, from the past all the way to the future!"

Elise rolled her eyes. What a narcissist. "You wish to rule over time? Ridiculous. It's impossible for you to have control of every single moment in history. You'd be dead long before conquering even half of them."

"Which is why I intend to entrust my work to a past version of myself before my time has come." Eggman swiftly responded. "That ways, I remain firmly in control, forever. And the secret to do so...it remains dormant in you, Princess."

He went over and began pressing buttons on the control board. "The Princess of Soleanna and the seven Chaos Emeralds... Once I have everything, the fate of the whole world will change. And one of the beautiful gems is just ahead."

When he finished loading the coordinates into the computer, the Egg Carrier acknowledged the new destination and changed course.

"Finally..." Eggman said. "Now, let's go collect that Chaos Emerald."

Tails saw the Egg Carrier change course, and headed back to Soleanna as fast as he could to get Sonic and Shard. The three of them took off to intercept the Egg Carrier, but along the way they encountered Eggman's mechs. Just as they were about to destroy the mechs, a green glow suddenly enveloped them.

Silver landed, sending the mechs flying. They crashed down and exploded.

When they were done for, Silver turned to Sonic.

"I know, I know." Sonic said. "Nothing can distract you from destroying the Iblis Trigger. Just hit me with your power and get it over with already."

Silver shook his head. "Circumstances have changed. I need to rescue the Princess."

"Convenient." Sonic said. "That's exactly what I'm heading out to do."

"Then we should stick together, since our goals are the same." Silver said.

Sonic nodded, and the four of them took off. They fought their way through an ancient castle filled with Eggman's mechs. Seemed like they arrived in the nick of time, as the Egg Carrier was just arriving. They dealt with the mechs and made their way upward.

There was a strange water area next where the water flowed towards the sky, so Silver, Tails, and Shard flew ahead while Sonic ran through it at top speed, running across and leaping to and from the platforms, eventually reaching the end.

As the Egg Carrier arrived at the place where the last Chaos Emerald was, the alarm suddenly went off. When Eggman tried to figure out what was going on, he found out that the engines were malfunctioning.

"No!" Eggman said. "This can't be happening! I worked so hard to get to this point!"

He frantically tried to send the Egg Carrier into a controlled dive to the water--because thankfully Eggman had thought of making it capable of floating on water during its construction--but the ship was completely unresponsive. And it was on a direct crash course with the cliffside.

Eggman's cross-timeline empire was over before it could ever begin.

They all saw the Egg Carrier on its crash course. Sonic immediately took off running.

"Sonic, no! You'll get yourself killed!" Tails called out.

Sonic completely ignored Tails's remark, but he only got about twenty steps in before the Egg Carrier exploded.

He came to a complete stop, sinking to his knees. The Egg Carrier was destroyed. Elise was dead.

It was over.

He failed.

He couldn't save Elise. And now, because he had put Elise at the safest place he could think of--the palace--she had been taken by Eggman and died in the Egg Carrier's explosion.

This was how the world ended. And Sonic knew it from his revelation back in the future--it was all his fault.

Tails half-expected Sonic to cry out in anguish, but...nothing.

Sonic was absolutely silent. Nothing came out of his mouth.

After several moments, Silver's eyes widened. "There's still a way to change this!"

"Whatever it is, we're doing it." Sonic said as he immediately stood up. "I'm done failing to protect Elise."

Silver nodded. "I'm glad you're all in, even if you don't even know the plan yet. If we return to an earlier point in time, we'll be able to save her."

Sonic pulled out the cyan Chaos Emerald, and Silver pulled out the white Chaos Emerald.

The two then held the Emeralds up, their wishes identical.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" they both called out, and the Chaos Emeralds reacted, creating a portal back to the past.

Sonic looked at the portal, before giving Silver the cyan Chaos Emerald. "I can handle this myself. Besides, you've got somewhere to go, right?"

Silver looked at Sonic curiously.

Sonic turned back to the portal. "I'll make sure to change Elise's fate. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. And, in turn, that should change your future, too. Thank you, Silver."

Silver nodded. "Go on. Save Elise. Save the future."

Sonic gave a thumbs-up, before leaping into the portal.

When he came out, he found himself back in Soleanna. As he was about to leave for the soon-to-be crash site, he heard the bong of a bell in the clock tower. When he looked, it was noon. He had approximately four and a half hours to prepare himself.

He took off to Eggman's base, where the Egg Carrier was, and quickly infiltrated it, destroying whatever robots saw him. When he got further into the base and found a large door that he assumed led to the Egg Carrier's landing area, he methodically looked for some kind of switch to open it. Upon finding the switch, he instead discovered another room with more robots to destroy. As he glanced out the window, he discovered that the base--or at least this section of it--was underwater. The room looked rather beautiful, with the blue-ish tint the water gave it, but he had no time to admire the view. He had to find the Egg Carrier, ASAP.

As soon as he went into the next area, he heard a computer voice call out "Intruder in area 2. Intruder in area 2."

"Yeah, I know, lady." Sonic said. "But I'm kinda in a hurry."

As he pressed on, several large doors closed.

"Area shutdown system activated." the computer voice called out.

"You gotta be kidding me." Sonic said, as he took off and burst through the closing doors.

"Intruder passing area 3. Intruder passing area 3."

"Can someone just turn you off already? We get it!" Sonic said, rolling his eyes. As he continued on, he destroyed more robots. He swore that he was getting closer, and then started counting down.

"Five, four, three, two, one..."

"Area shutdown system activated." the computer voice called out.

Sonic was starting to lose his patience. The computer was this predictable, and even more annoying. He blasted his way through the robots with little effort, finally making his way to the Egg Carrier.

"Thrust increasing. Engine output at maximum. Course plotted. Gate open. Lifting off!"

Sonic ran along the railing above, managing to catch onto the tailfin of the Egg Carrier.

As the Egg Carrier arrived at the place where the last Chaos Emerald was, the alarm suddenly went off. When Eggman tried to figure out what was going on, he found out that the engines were malfunctioning.

"No!" Eggman said. "This can't be happening! I worked so hard to get to this point!"

He frantically tried to send the Egg Carrier into a controlled dive to the water--because thankfully Eggman had thought of making it capable of floating on water during its construction--but the ship was completely unresponsive. And it was on a direct crash course with the cliffside.

Eggman's cross-timeline empire was over before it could ever begin.

Sonic burst in. "EGGMAN."

Eggman tensed up, immediately turning to Sonic. "L-look, i-it's not what it looks like! S-she came to me!"

"I'm not buying it." Sonic said, starting to walk up to Eggman.

"It's true." Elise interjected. "I chose to come here so that my people could be safe."

"I understand. In any case, let's finish this, Eggman." Sonic said. Elise stayed in the cockpit as Sonic and Eggman took to the exterior of the Egg Carrier for their final battle.

Eggman's personal aircraft hooked itself up to a mechanical beast and swooped down to strike Sonic. But he was having none of it as he leapt up and grabbed it by its horn, steering it into as many containers of explosives as he could find. When he landed on the Egg Carrier's exterior, he saw that Eggman himself was exposed. Once Eggman got close enough, Sonic leapt up and struck him head-on.

How interesting that the heaviest hit Sonic ever dealt on Eggman had almost nothing to do with his technology. Eggman was sent flying out of his flying craft like a ragdoll. He somehow managed to avoid all the debris from the Egg Carrier, and managed to activate a hidden jetpack on his outfit and get away.

Sonic was about to chase after Eggman when the Egg Carrier shook. He had no time to chase the doctor, he had to get to safety with Elise. He returned to her and picked her up as usual. Pieces of the Egg Carrier broke apart, and Sonic and Elise leapt through an opening the crumbling ship had made. He leapt from debris piece to debris piece, and leapt up.

He was unable to reach the nearby ledge, but an engine exploding behind him sent him and Elise rocketing into the air, with just enough velocity to reach the ledge. The two tumbled helplessly for a while, before coming to a stop.

Sonic immediately got back up, his first thought being Elise. He came over to her, and she was laying on her back, arms spread out, a smile on her face. When she opened her eyes, he held out his hand, and she took it, allowing him to help her sit up.

Elise then started giggling. Sonic was a little confused, until they started to come to him as well. He couldn't help it.

The two of them went from giggling to a full-on laughing fit. They didn't know why, but it just felt absolutely necessary.

When the laughing fit came to an end, the two of them sat next to each other, looking out at the ocean.

"You want to get those chili dogs now?" Elise asked after a few minutes.

"That sounds amazing right now." Sonic said.

Elise smiled and held her arms out. Sonic picked her up, and they sped off to Soleanna.

Eggman was going to come back another day, that much was certain.

But the battle was over.

Sonic and Elise had won.

Chapter Text

An alarm rang out loudly in a snowy military base. Search lights were pointed everywhere.

Robots were dispatched to deal with the incoming threat--a black hedgehog approaching swiftly. He effortlessly trashed the robots, leaping over an armored gateway.

The hedgehog dipped out of the way of a search light, and his comm went off.

"Transmission from HQ." the message said. "There's an SOS coming from Dr. Eggman's base. Our last communication with our agent was 26 hours ago. We expect an immediate rescue, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Understood." Shadow responded. "Initiating the mission now."

He warped away, heading out towards Eggman's base. Along the way, he destroyed the robots in his way without so much as a sideways glance. This was just everyday work for him. He found the entrance to the base, and activated the switch needed to open it. When he went in, he came across a feminine bat.

"Shadow, why you?" the bat asked.

"It's a request from the President." Shadow neutrally responded before escorting her out of the area. He hijacked a buggy and used it to destroy the searchlights, before busting his way out.

"Don't you want to know what this is?" the bat asked, showing the scepter she was holding.

Shadow turned to her. "My assignment was to rescue you, Rouge. Nothing more."

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Fine. With you, it's always business."

The ground began to shake, and a massive robot landed in front of them.

"Seems like they don't want us to leave." Rouge said.

Shadow got into a battle stance. "Let's get this over with."

The giant robot charged, but Shadow effortlessly grabbed its horn an was able to steer it into the wall. It reared back from the collision and charged at Shadow again, only to be met with the same result. When it tried again, Shadow again grabbed its horn, but the robot shook him off before Shadow could steer it into a wall again. Shadow quickly grabbed the horn again before the giant robot could regain its bearings, and again slammed it into the wall.

Eventually, the robot malfunctioned from crashing into the wall so many times, and collapsed.

Shadow nodded. "We're done here."

He and Rouge then left via a warp system in the base, reappearing elsewhere.

Rouge looked at a digital map of a city on the monitor. "Ah, Soleanna... The city of water. It has a constitutional monarchy, you know. The primary industries are tourism and crafting precision machinery."

Shadow turned to a painting on the wall, as did Rouge a moment later. The painting displayed a young woman, likely in her late teens.

"The current sovereign is Princess Elise the Third." Rouge said.

Shadow folded his arms across his chest. "Why does Eggman's base lead to an odd place like this?"

Rouge shrugged. "How should I know? I just followed my orders and retrieved the item."

Shadow remained silent.

"Anyway, I have a little favor to ask of you." Rouge continued. "Could you escort me to the GUN rendezvous point?"

"Where's the rendezvous point?" Shadow asked.

"It's the ancient castle of Soleanna, in Kingdom Valley." Rouge said, pointing to its location on the digital map.

As they left the base to head out, Rouge got a message.

"Rouge, respond." the message said. "I've prepared the means to go to Kingdom Valley. Go to the forest cave immediately!"

The two left the area and headed straight for Kingdom Valley.

"What a faraway place to set the extraction point." Shadow said upon their arrival. They made their way over, then split up to look for three keys to open the door leading to the exact extraction point. Rouge flew throughout the castle, diligently looking for the keys. She found all three easily, and opened the door for Shadow to get through.

Shadow continued progress towards the rendezvous, trashing as many Eggman robots as they could find in the process. They easily breached through the castle and reached the rendezvous point.

Upon their arrival, there was no one there.

"Didn't the President say they had the means to get here?" Shadow asked. "Where are they?"

"They'll be along shortly." Rouge said. "In the meantime, how about a little history lesson about this place? I've done my research."

Shadow had nothing better to do until GUN got there. "Go on."

"The former king of Soleanna used to reside in this castle." Rouge said. "But a major accident occurred 10 years ago, and no one's lived here since."

That got Shadow's attention. "Accident?"

"I read that a prototype energy engine failed, which caused the accident." Rouge explained. "I think the name of the plan was the Solaris Project."

Shadow brought a hand to his chin. This information was certainly making him curious.

"You're exactly right." an all too familiar voice said.

A small aircraft descended, and a man dressed in red and black made his presence known.

"It was an ambitious project named after their eternal sun god." the man continued.

Rouge's eyes widened. "Doctor Eggman!"

"It's been a while, my dear Rouge." Eggman said. "And of course, Shadow. Now, if you'd be so kind as to hand back the Scepter of Darkness you took from me."

Rouge shook her head. "We were on orders from the President to retrieve the Scepter."

"This isn't the President's country." Eggman countered. "Whatever laws you're abiding by do not apply here. If you won't hand over the Scepter of Darkness, I'll take it back by force."

Several robots landed, surrounding them. They opened fire, and Shadow and Rouge leapt out of the way. Rouge flew above everyone, clutching the Scepter. Eggman reacted quickly, using one of the mechanical arms on his aircraft to sucker punch Rouge down to the ground. This caused her to lose her grip on the Scepter of Darkness.

Shadow instantly took action, running over and transitioning into a sliding catch, and Rouge landed in his arms.

"Nice save." Rouge said.

"No!" Eggman shouted. "The Scepter of Darkness! Someone catch it!"

Shadow, Rouge, and the robots all dived for it, but they got in each other's way, and the Scepter of Darkness crashed to the ground entirely untouched. All of the robots then began crackling with purple electricity. Shadow went to retrieve the Scepter, only for a black aura to emanate from the Scepter.

"Shadow, get back!" Rouge called.

A beam of dark energy erupted from the Scepter, encircling the group.

"It's no use!" Eggman said. "Pull back, pull back, pull back!"

Eggman fled, but the robots were unable to. The dark energy continued circling the area before heading straight down. Shadow leapt back as the dark energy dove into the ground.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the black aura returned, and Shadow watched as his shadow was seemingly sucked into the aura. From the aura rose a figure mirroring Shadow in physical attributes, save for no mouth. Except for the demonic green eyes, all the color was completely de-saturated. Shadow felt like he was looking at a black-and-white photograph.

"What...? What just happened?" Rouge asked. "What's going on?"

The newly-formed hedgehog laughed. His voice alone was creepy.

"Oh, how ironic fate can be!" he said. "I would never have believed I would be resurrected through YOUR shade!"

He then bowed. "I thank you, Shadow the Hedgehog!"

Shadow was visibly disturbed. "Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

The hedgehog began walking slowly towards Shadow. His arms and head hung limp, and his walk was zombie-like. "I'm Mephiles. Mephiles the Dark."

Shadow gave no response, as Mephiles walked closer.

"What, did you forget me?" Mephiles asked. He continued coming even closer, and Shadow took a step back.

Mephiles lifted his head just enough to look Shadow in the eye. "I owe much to you, Shadow. Oh, yes."

He created an orb of dark energy, and Shadow leapt back. Mephiles lifted his head higher, staring ominously at Shadow and Rouge. "What you gave to me, I now return to you. A ONE-WAY TICKET TO OBLIVION."

The dark energy orb expanded to surround the three of them, and they were all teleported away.

Shadow and Rouge appeared inside a broken, rusted building.

Rouge looked out the window. "What is this place?"

Shadow looked as well, and they saw the city was in just as bad a condition as the building they were in.

"It seems we've been teleported to another location." he noted.

"Well, let's find out where we are." Rouge said. As she headed off, Shadow looked out at the ruined city.

"Mephiles..." he said to himself. "Who is he...?"

He caught up to Rouge, and they looked in a database to find out where they were.

"I'm in." Rouge said once she got the monitor up and running. She began typing, searching for their location, and she found it.

"Did you get it?" Shadow asked.

Rouge nodded. "I've pinpointed our location. It's..."

She then looked at the monitor. "No... That's not possible! We're back in the Doctor's base, but how can that be?"

Shadow pointed at the date in the upper right corner. "Look." he said. "It's not WHERE we are...it's WHEN."

Rouge scoured the computer for more information. "It looks as though 200 years have passed since that Mephiles character sent us away. Maybe more, depending on when this database was last updated."

Shadow was silent for several moments.

"Well, at least we know we've arrived in the future." Rouge said. "That means Mephiles has the power to control time."

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

They then heard a voice from what sounded like the next room over.

"This is terrible!" the voice said.

Shadow and Rouge followed the voice, and came across Sonic, Tails, and a seemingly-reprogrammed Metal Sonic.

"Oh! Look who's here." Rouge said. "I didn't expect to see you guys."

Tails turned. "Rouge! Shadow!"

"Hi. Long time no see." Rouge said, waving.

The five of them stood outside the base, looking at the desolated world.

"This is the distant future, far removed from our own timeline." Shadow explained.

"Yeah. From what I heard Silver say, I kinda figured." Sonic said. "Can you skip to the part where we figure out how to get back?"

Shadow glared at Sonic.

"He's had a rough day." Tails explained. "Don't hold it against him."

"How are we to return to the timeline we came from?" Metal Sonic asked.

"You need a space-time rift, but this requires a lot of energy." Shadow said.

"I see." Sonic said. "You mean using your Chaos Control will be able to send us back to the present?"

"Yes, but that alone is insufficient." Shadow said. "Should we collect two of the Chaos Emeralds, that will be enough for us to be able to return."

Sonic folded his arms across his chest. "Well, we've already seen someone get away with one of the Emeralds, so that leaves six left here."

"You two search the east side of the city. Shadow and I will handle the west side." Rouge said. "Good luck, you three."

Shadow ran along the ruins of the city, destroying as many fire creatures as he could find. He ran through a burning building before leaping up and grinding on a rail and attacking more fire creatures, before leaping up between two buildings. He found himself dangerously close to a fiery tornado before he noticed it was moving in a different direction. Putting it out of his mind, he pressed onward.

Rouged giggled. "My precious Chaos Emerald. You are all so beautiful. Your mysterious brilliance..."

"Rouge. There's something there." Shadow said. When Rouge looked, she too saw a broken-down robot.

Her eyes went wide. "Omega? What's he doing here?"

The two of them walked up. Shadow went behind Omega and began to look into his current status. "It seems he's in standby mode."

Rouge was distraught. "What could have possibly happened to create this future?"

As they thought on that, Rouge's comm went off, and she answered it. "Yes, this is Rouge."

"We've found something." Tails said. "We're just outside the eastern side of the city."

"Understood. We'll be there in a minute." Rouge responded before the comms were cut.

She turned to Shadow. "It looks like Sonic and his friends have found something, too. Let's go."

Shadow looked at Omega.

Rouge shook her head and placed her hand on his shoulder. "It's not like we can do anything for Omega now."

Shadow sighed. "Yeah..."

He turned and left. Rouge followed, a concerned look on her face.

"You guys are so slow." Rouge said rather slyly.

Sonic was having none of it. "Watch it, Rouge. Just because we're working together doesn't mean you can talk smack about how we work."

Rouge shrugged. "Fine. Anyways, look."

She pulled out the green Chaos Emerald.

"You've already found one!" Tails said enthusiastically.

Rouge smiled. "Well, I may not look it, but I'm a real treasure hunter."

"Have you guys discovered anything?" Shadow asked.

"I received a signal indicating there's two Chaos Emeralds here. You already have one, but...the other one is way out that way." Tails said, pointing.

"You mean we've got to go through there?" Rouge asked.

"If that's where the signal came from, then that's where we're going." Sonic said.

Shadow nodded, and they took off.

Shadow ran along the side of the volcano, before leaping over a canyon. Several fiery monsters emerged, but he effortlessly swatted them aside before ducking behind a boulder to avoid a spurt of lava.

"The crust's energy is out of control..." he noted. "Is it because of the Chaos Emeralds?"

When the lava spurt was over, he continued on, avoiding the burning rocks falling from above. He continued making his way along the side of a volcano, then leapt from stone platform to stone platform in a lava river. A large horde of fiery monsters appeared, and Shadow took his time to ensure they were all defeated. He then burst through a wall, and made his way into the volcano before trouncing another horde of fire beasts. He then entered a room that was dimly lit despite the lava below. When a fiery monster ambushed him from behind, it was suddenly blown up by Rouge.

"Leave this section to me, Shadow." Rouge said. "You go on and head elsewhere."

Shadow nodded, and headed in another direction as Rouge dealt with all the troubles of that room.

When the group met up again, Tails's Chaos Emerald radar was going wild. The other Chaos Emerald had to be nearby.

As they looked around the chamber they were in, Iblis appeared from the lava.

"Not again!" Sonic said, exasperated. Iblis spewed flames at him, and he leapt aside to avoid them as he met up with the others.

"He's too far." Shadow said. "We have to draw him in somehow."

Stalactites fell from the ceiling, crashing into the lava and making semi-stable platforms for the group to make their way upon them.

Iblis dipped down into the lava, and Sonic instinctively knew he was preparing to leap out of the lava and crush him.

"Shadow!" Sonic said. "The Chaos Emerald!"

Shadow nodded and called upon the green Chaos Emerald's power to strike at Iblis right as he leapt from the lava. Upon Iblis striking in the same manner as before, Shadow yet again struck him with the Chaos Emerald's power. Tails began to send out flying explosives to distract Iblis while Shard made his way over to blast the fiery beast. The ruse was successful, and Iblis was struck a third time. Iblis then angrily smashed itself down into the platforms as a means to crush all of them. They got out of the way with only Rouge suffering some minor burn marks.

"The beast is dazed!" Metal Sonic said. "Strike now!"

Sonic charged up before running headfirst at Iblis. Shadow hurled the green Chaos Emerald to him, and he caught it right as he leapt into the air. He called upon the Chaos Emerald's power and struck Iblis head on, causing it to rear up before collapsing into the lava while the team got out of range of the lava splash Iblis's body created.

After that whole fiasco, Sonic came across the cyan Chaos Emerald. He took hold of it and went to Shadow.

"The time has come." Shadow said.

Sonic nodded, and handed him the green Chaos Emerald.

The two then held the Emeralds up, their wishes identical.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" they both called out, and the Chaos Emeralds reacted, creating a portal back to the past.

Sonic, Tails, and Metal Sonic went through, and Rouge was about to jump up before something flashed behind them.

Mephiles appeared, menacingly glaring at him.

"Rouge, go." Shadow said, giving her the green Chaos Emerald. "I will handle Mephiles myself."

Rouge hesitated, but went through the portal. Shadow charged at Mephiles as the portal closed behind him.

Rouge reappeared in Soleanna, the green Chaos Emerald in her hand.

Her comm suddenly went off as she collected her bearings. "Agent Rouge? Report your status immediately. Have you retrieved the Scepter of Darkness?"

She couldn't figure out how to tell that Eggman ambushed her and broke the damn thing. "Well... I'll provide a full report shortly. Right now, I have a priority situation to deal with. I need to contact E-123 'Omega' immediately."

"E-123 is in the jungle at the moment. You will find him there."

"Understood." Rouge said. "Going there now."

When the connection was severed, Rouge headed off. She saw several Eggman robots and gracefully flew past them, planting remote explosives on each one before detonating them all at once.

After the robots were cleared, Rouge continued on, eventually finding Omega.

"This is a charming place." she remarked once she found him.

Omega turned to see Rouge, and the treasure hunter waved.

"Hi, long time no see." she said with a smile.

"Rouge the Bat." Omega responded. "State your reason for your arrival here."

Rouge explained the story.

"Situation understood. What would you like me to do?" Omega asked.

Rouge pulled out the green Chaos Emerald. "Take this, and deliver it to Shadow."

Omega reached to Rouge and carefully took the Chaos Emerald out of her hand, inspecting it. He then placed it in a compartment in his chestplate. "System reactivation countdown initiated. Backup power source and spare magazines secured. Command program priority changed. New mission: Shadow Support. External access no longer permitted. Confirmed."

Rouge nodded. "I'm counting on you."

Omega then turned and walked off.

Shadow caught up to Mephiles.

"So, decided to void your return ticket now, did you?" Mephiles asked coldly.

Shadow answered Mephiles's question with two of his own. "Why are you here? Did you ruin this world?"

Mephiles cocked his head. "The answer's yes...AND no. Perhaps it's better to show you."

With a snap of his fingers, Mephiles pulled up a projection. Shadow's eyes went wide upon seeing it.

"Yes, that's you." Mephiles explained. "After the world was devastated by Iblis's flames, what do you think happened? A search for the guilty. 'Who did this', you may ask? Humanity wasn't just jealous of your power. They FEARED it."

Shadow couldn't believe Mephiles's words. And yet the projection he was seeing--that of an unconscious, imprisoned Shadow--was genuine.

"They used this incident as an excuse to hunt you down." Mephiles continued. "Come with me, Shadow. Let us punish this foolish world of humanity. It's only fair to give back what was intended for you. You have every right to want JUSTICE."

Shadow scoffed. "That's absurd. Whatever it is you want to do, you can do it ALONE." This answer confused and slightly angered Mephiles.

"You forgive humanity this FOLLY, then?" he asked, gesturing to the projection.

"I determine my OWN destiny." Shadow stated, boldly refusing Mephiles's offer for revenge.

Mephiles decided he'd had enough. His body transformed, becoming a more crystalline version of his previous body, and one that radiated much more power than Shadow believed at first.

"Such foolishness." Mephiles said as a swarm of demonic beasts similar in shade rapidly approached. "Very well. Let's see if you can...entertain me."

"Don't bother to try and deceive me. I know who I am!" Shadow said as he charged at the swarm. He destroyed them rapidly, as they all fell before his might.

Mephiles was slightly amused as he summoned more beasts with barely a wave of his hand. "It doesn't matter how many of them you defeat, you know."

Shadow was not amused as he soldiered on, defeating more and more beasts. It started to tire him, until Mephiles vanished and came out from the ground to strike him. With the reaction time befitting the Ultimate Life Form, Shadow delivered a roundhouse to Mephiles, which drove him back.

"What?! Shadow! You...! You think you're so clever, don't you?" Mephiles said as he hovered in the center of the cavern. "Dance, my shadows, dance!"

Shadow tore through them, and struck Mephiles several times. Eventually, Mephiles seemed to be beaten. But just as Shadow opened his mouth to demand answers, Mephiles sent him flying with a large blast of dark energy. Shadow slammed into a stone pillar, which knocked the wind out of him. He collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. But when Mephiles was about to give the finishing blow, he too was interrupted, this time by a storm of bullets.

Shadow instantly knew who fired those bullets. "Omega!"

"Now is the designated time." Omega stated. "I shall assist."

"Great timing, Omega!" Shadow said after he got up, having caught his breath during the distraction. "Now, let's give Mephiles what's coming to him!"

As the three of them tangled in battle, Omega provided heavy fire to support Shadow, shooting missiles everywhere to destroy the demonic beasts Mephiles brought back.

"Shadow. Rouge asked me to support you." he said as they fought Mephiles and his beasts. With Omega's help, the beasts went down effortlessly before they took on Mephiles himself.

"You're just a nuisance, ROBOT." Mephiles said as he blasted them back. To prove even a robot could be powerful, Omega continued battering Mephiles as hard as he could. For a while, nothing Mephiles could do could reach Omega, and he we eventually defeated.

He shakily got up to his feet, then summoned a portal.

"You may have defeated me here, but this is not the end." Mephiles said as he went through the portal.

"Mephiles!" Shadow barked as he and Omega chased him through.

They reappeared back in Soleanna. Shadow immediately looked around.

Omega comfirmed what Shadow suspected. "It appears Mephiles is no longer here. I will assist in pursuing him."

Shadow nodded. His comm then went off.

"Agent Shadow." the message said. "We've lost contact with Agent Rouge. Head to the warehouse district immediately."

"Understood." Shadow said before severing the connection and heading off. When they arrived, they found Rouge casually standing there.

"Hi." she said, waving. "It seems like Eggman's machines are looking for you. What did you do this time?"

Shadow closed his eyes. "Nothing. Their target is probably Mephiles."

"What is Eggman up to?" Omega asked. "Who is Mephiles?"

"I'm gonna ask him directly." Shadow said, starting to head off.

Rouge started to catch up. "Hey, wait a sec!"

Shadow turned to look at her. "I can handle this alone. You keep track of Mephiles."

Rouge scoffed as he left. "Hmph. He finally shows up again and then he leaves before even saying 'Hello'. Well, it seems his little trip hasn't changed him."

She then opened up her comms. "This is Rouge. GUN HQ?"

"This is HQ. Do you have a request, Agent Rouge?"

"Yes, pull all available data on an item called the Scepter of Darkness for me." Rouge said.

When the person on the other end confirmed her request, she severed the connection.

Shadow found out about Eggman traveling by train, and took off at high speed to get to the station before the train could leave. When he saw the train already leaving, he continued apace to catch up.

"You're just wasting your time!" Shadow heard over the loudspeaker. "You're never going to catch me!"

Shadow quickly set up an electric barrier which caused the train to come to a screeching halt. Once the train stopped, Shadow Started to bash at the wall of the train, but the barrier dropped before Shadow could get inside. Undeterred, he sped to the next barrier and activated it. Once again, he battered against the wall of the train before it sped off again. He then found a bike with a machine gun on it, and fired at the train as he sped alongside it. Once the train came to a complete stop, unable to press on, Shadow leapt up and smashed his way through the roof, landing cleanly inside.

"Wouldn't the door have been easier?" Eggman asked as he turned around, unamused. "So, what do you want now?"

"Who is Mephiles?" Shadow asked. "And why are you trying to capture him?"

Eggman stood up. "If you want to know, you should go find him yourself. But here's a hint... It's all linked to the Soleanna disaster 10 years ago."

"The Solaris Project." Shadow breathed.

Eggman turned to shadow, gently running his thumb and index finger through his mustache. "Indeed. When you capture Mephiles, you must bring him to me. Then I'll tell you the truth about Solaris."

He went back to his chair and sat down. Shadow pondered this for a moment, before nodding and heading off.

"Sonic, I knew you'd come back for me!" Elise said.

"Not exactly the time for pleasantries." Sonic said. "We can talk more once you're safe."

Elise nodded, as Sonic picked her up and carried her off the train, only to find himself being attacked by Silver AGAIN.

"This time there will be no more interruptions!" Silver said as he charged up another energy blast. "The Iblis Trigger MUST DIE."

As they prepared to battle, Sonic glanced over his shoulder and saw Eggman approaching on his aircraft.

"You strike first." Sonic said to Silver. "After all, you're the one going through this effort to find me."

Silver took the bait, firing an energy blast at Sonic. Sonic leapt up right as the blast hit him, using the blast to launch himself at Eggman before he could capture Elise again.

"Sonic!" Eggman said, shocked. "How did you get back?!"

"If you so much as TOUCH Elise again, I will personally STRANGLE YOU." Sonic said, clenching his fist in Eggman's face.

Eggman gulped nervously.

"Good. We're on the same page." Sonic said as he prepared to leap off, only to be abruptly hit with another telekinetic blast by Silver, and fell to the ground.

"SILVER, CUT IT OUT!!!" Sonic snapped angrily as he got up. "I'M TRYING TO SAVE A DAMN PRINCESS RIGHT NOW!!!"

"I will finally finish this!" Silver said, not caring in the slightest about Elise. "Time to-"

Silver then took a roundhouse to the jaw as he flew several yards, crashing into the ground.

"Who else dares to try and defend the Iblis Trigger?!" Silver demanded, only to lay eyes upon a black hedgehog. "Wait... Mephiles, why are you getting in my way?!"

"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog." Shadow responded. He glanced back at Sonic, who nodded.

With Shadow dealing with Silver, Sonic picked up Elise and took off back to Soleanna.

"Don't get in my way!" Silver said. He levitated several objects to hurl them at Shadow, but Shadow effortlessly swatted them aside and bashed at Silver repeatedly. The two exchanged blasts of energy back and forth. Upon the fight's seeming conclusion, both were tiring, yet Silver was clearly defeated by Shadow.

Undeterred, Silver tried one last strike at Shadow, but Shadow expertly leapt out of the way and roundhoused Silver in the back of the head.

"You..." Silver managed as he got up.

"Don't bother." Shadow responded.

"I won't give up...!" Silver said. "It all depends on me! Can't lose...! Not when I'm so close!"

To Shadow's surprise, Silver pulled out the blue Chaos Emerald. He had no idea about this, but he then realized it was his ONE CHANCE to stop Silver's antics.

"Silver, stop!" Shadow said. "You don't need to continue fighting like this! I have a lead for the answers you're looking for!"

"Do you?!" Silver demanded. "Or are you just saying that to deter me?!"

"Mephiles isn't trying to help you create a better future... He's trying to eliminate the past." Shadow said.

"What...? What are you talking about?" Silver asked.

"To discover what happened, we must see what took place 10 years ago." Shadow said, pulling out the green Chaos Emerald.

"Are you sure about this...?" Silver asked.

"I speak the truth, and you know it."

"...Very well."

The two then held the Emeralds up, their wishes identical.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" they both called out, and the Chaos Emeralds reacted, creating a portal back to the past.

When it opened, the two then leapt through.

"An electromagnetic pulse has just been generated!" an engineer said. "Injecting decompression agent!"

But when the engineer did so, nothing happened.

"No...! The level's not dropping!" he continued. "A spatial meltdown is inevitable! My Lord, it's too late! We've got to take shelter!"

The King of Soleanna slammed his hands down on the metal operating structure in front of the tube. "Why, Solaris? Why do you refuse to listen to my voice?"

"Father!" he heard. A young girl ran into the room a moment later.

"Elise!" the King cried out.

The tube began to fracture. Reacting fast, the King covered Elise with his own body as the tube exploded.

When Shadow and Silver appeared inside the base, they heard an explosion. They ran in the direction of the explosion, and found the source of the explosion. Scattered equipment and dead bodies were everywhere. Shadow came to the King of Soleanna, who was still covering Elise.

"Is that...?" Silver asked, looking at a glowing flame above where the tube containing it once stood.

The glowing flame then went out, revealing a sphere. The sphere's bottom half then broke and liquified, while what was left turned into smoke and glowed red.

"That flame..." Silver said. "It's Iblis!"

"And the black shadow is the original Mephiles." Shadow said.

"That's Mephiles?!"

The flame and shadow then headed off.

"They're escaping!" Silver said.

"We'll have to split up." Shadow said. "I'll pursue Mephiles."

"Okay." Silver said. "Then leave Iblis to me!"

They were about to head off when the King weakly cried out. "Wait...!"

The two immediately turned to the King, who raised his arm to reveal the Scepter of Darkness. "Seal it with this..."

Shadow carefully took the Scepter out of the King's hand.

"Hurry!" Silver said.

Shadow nodded, and the two headed off as the King cradled the unconscious Elise in his arms.

Shadow and Silver tore through the lab, destroying fire and shadow beasts that appeared in their way. They were relentless in their search, though the beasts frequently distracted them. They came across a large door that was well-reinforced.

"There must be a switch to the door somewhere." Silver said. "Leave this to me."

Silver used his telekinesis to fling bombs and spiked balls at the beasts. Once he finally found the switch, the two then split up. Shadow followed the trail of shadows that he knew would lead him to Mephiles. He easily destroyed the beasts in his way, as he continued his chase. He knew he was getting closer when the colors began to desaturate around him, and he took off at high speed to catch up. Eventually, he finally came across Mephiles.

Shadow pulled out the green Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!"

The Chaos Emerald reacted, encasing Mephiles in chaos energy.

"What...?" the infant Mephiles cried out. "Stop...!"

The Scepter of Darkness floated in the air, glowing, and Mephiles started to float into the air as well. "Who... Who are...you...?"

"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Shadow..." Mephiles managed as he started to get sucked into the Scepter of Darkness. "Your face... Your form... I will remember... Your death...certain... You...will die!"

At that, the Scepter fully sucked Mephiles inside. It returned to Shadow's hands, and he left the base. Once outside, he saw Silver carrying the young Elise.

"Did you do it?" Silver asked.

"Yes." Shadow said. "And you?"

Silver nodded. "...Yes. The 'Flames' are properly sealed. It's done."

He carefully set Elise down, letting her rest beneath a tree. He then noticed Shadow setting down the Scepter of Darkness next to her.

"You're going to leave it behind?" Silver asked.

"Yes. I already know what becomes of it in the future." Shadow said. "It's time to return."

"Yes, of...course." Silver said hesitantly.

The two then held the Emeralds up, their wishes identical.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" they both called out, and the Chaos Emeralds reacted, creating a portal back to the future. Shadow leapt through, but Silver hesitated, watching the sleeping Elise. He turned to go through the portal, but heard her mumble "Father". He slowly walked back to her, and bent down on one knee.

He placed the blue Chaos Emerald into her hands. "It's a lucky charm."

She moved slightly in her sleep, but didn't appear to wake up.

Silver smiled slightly. "Keep it safe."

He then turned and leapt through the portal.

Shadow appeared back in Soleanna in the present.

"You're back sooner than I expected. Omega is still in pursuit of Mephiles." Rouge said. "So, where's the kid? What did you find 10 years ago?"

"I need you to access GUN's database." Shadow said. "Specifically, find out what materials the Scepter of Darkness was made from. Because that is our key to sealing Mephiles."

Rouge's eyes went wide. "You found a way...? I'll look for the information you need immediately."

They headed to the GUN base in Soleanna, and Rouge sifted through the files about the Scepter of Darkness until she found what she was looking for.

"It doesn't appear to have specific materials, but it's mentioned that if four pillars surrounding a fountain in the northernmost part of Soleanna are lit with a black flame, the Scepter will appear."

"My Chaos power will do the job well enough." Shadow said. "Let's go."

The two of them found the fountain, and Shadow lit the pillars. The four flames then shot up above the fountain and collided, creating another Scepter of Darkness. It slowly floated to Shadow's hands, before coming to rest in them.

"Now we have the means to seal Mephiles." Shadow said.

"Agent Shadow." the comms went off. "E-123 'Omega' has engaged Mephiles. Head to Wave Ocean immediately!"

The connection was severed, and Shadow and Rouge took off for Wave Ocean. They destroyed the fire and shadow beasts that tried to slow them down, as they continued to search for Omega.

"Did he change location...?" Rouge asked.

"I doubt it." Shadow said. "He's here. I know it."

They continued on.

"Mephiles detected." Omega said as he fired missiles at some fire and shadow beasts. "Position K31. Pursue and engage."

He headed toward the location, destroying whatever beasts he found along the way. Nothing deterred him.

"Hahaha! Welcome, Omega." he heard. "It won't take much for me to deal with you."

Omega opened fire on Mephiles, who began to tire after being unable to fight back.

When Omega stopped, Mephiles looked at the robot. "This only proves you were created to stop Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form."

Omega looked confused.

"Don't tell me you didn't know." Mephiles said. "You may have been programmed by humanity, but what you did to Shadow in the future, that was YOUR choice... You captured him, of your own volition."

Omega furiously opened fire at Mephiles, not stopping until Mephiles turned into dust and disappeared.

Rouge and Shadow walked up.

"What just happened?" Rouge asked.

Omega was silent.

"Omega?" Shadow asked.

Omega didn't move. "Shadow."

Now it was Shadow's turn to be silent, as Omega slowly turned towards him. "The one that defeats and seals you in the future...is me."

Shadow's eyes went wide. He didn't want to believe this. He couldn't believe this.

"No!" Rouge said defiantly. "That's not possible! I don't believe it! I WON'T believe it! Shadow's ALWAYS here to defend the world!"

"Eventually, when something or someone is seen as too powerful...it is seen as a threat. And then the world becomes its enemy." Omega said.

Shadow turned and walked away.

Rouge noticed. "Shadow?"

Shadow didn't stop, so she ran to catch up with him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

He looked at her. "Rouge...?"

"Even if you truly do believe everyone in the world will be against you... Know that I'll always remain by your side." Rouge said.

Shadow contemplated Rouge's words. She was willing to turn against the world if it meant staying by his side.

He exhaled, closed his eyes, and wrapped his arms around Rouge, returning her hug.

"I will..." he softly said.

When the trio returned to Soleanna, they found the citizens being attacked by fire and shadow beasts. Working together, they were able to drive back and destroy every last beast without civilian casualties.

After that was done, they were personally thanked by Lord Regis, who was governing the city in the stead of the abducted Princess Elise. When Shadow explained their situation, Lord Regis granted them access to the gateway that led to the desert, and the trio headed off.

Shadow, Rouge, and Omega arrived at the desert.

"Mephiles appears to have headed for those ruins." Rouge said, pointing. "He's probably looking for the Chaos Emerald that's supposed to be there."

"There's no doubt in my mind." Shadow said. "His movement shows he's seeking the Chaos Emeralds. No doubt he needs all seven in order to join with Iblis again."

"I will seal him before that." Omega said, and they headed off. They made their way into the ruins, destroying the fire and shadow beasts that tried to stop them. When they came across a closed door, Omega headed off to find the switch, destroying more beasts as he hovered over the sand waves constantly rising up. He found the switch and returned to Shadow and Rouge. They continued on, flying over more sand waves and destroying the fire and shadow beasts. They ventured deeper into the ruins, and eventually came across Mephiles.

"Mephiles!" Shadow said.

Mephiles slowly turned around, holding the yellow Chaos Emerald. "I was expecting you sooner. As you must know, you're already too late. But there's still time for you to change your mind. Join me, Shadow. Let us teach this world a lesson, and rewrite the future."

Shadow was having none of it. "Don't try to deceive me."

"What?" Mephiles was shocked by Shadow's iron will.

"You have no desire for revenge. You only crave DESTRUCTION" Shadow stated. "Your only lust is to fuel Iblis until there is nothing left of time itself!"

"It's a pity, Shadow the Hedgehog." Mephiles said as the yellow Chaos Emerald hovered above him. "Truly a shame that you wish to go against me!"

A powerful gust of energy sent them back, but they all held their ground.

"I'll make sure you regret this, Shadow the Hedgehog!" Mephiles said as he attacked the trio with several large shadow beasts. They easily destroyed the beasts, and when Mephiles reemerged, they all struck him. Mephiles then summoned a swarm of shadow beasts to slow them down. While they did, it was only barely. When Mephiles reemerged again to strike behind their backs, they avoided his attack and laid waste to him.

"I am...forever... I am...invincible..." Mephiles said as he melted into the same black liquid Shadow recognized.

Shadow held out the Scepter of Darkness, and it floated into the air as Mephiles was sucked itnside. Just when everything seemed to be alright, the Scepter suddenly exploded.

They stood in shock as Mephiles re-formed his body, clearly delighted at their failure. "The 'I' of now absorbed your power through your shadow in the past. What may have worked 10 years ago, no longer does!"

Mephiles attacked them, sending them crashing onto the ancient floor of the ruins. The green and yellow Chaos Emeralds then appeared, floating above Mephiles as a massive horde of clones appeared all around them.

"You must realize now that you cannot hope to stop me with your LIMITED power." Mephiles said, relishing in his victory.

Shadow looked Mephiles in the eye as he, Rouge, and Omega stood up. "So you say..." Shadow said.

"It's futile. The world will betray you." Mephiles said. "Why fight at all? Why risk your life for those who will persecute you later?"

Shadow's left hand reached for his right wrist. "If the world chooses to become my enemy..."

Shadow's Right Inhibitor Ring came off, and his right hand reached for his left wrist. "I will fight like I always have!"

His Left inhibitor Ring came off, joining the other on the floor.

The Mephiles clones closed in on the trio.

Shadow concentrated, then unleashed his true, unrestricted power, ripping through the Mephiles clones as if they didn't even exist.

The world needed to prepare itself.

Shadow, Rouge, and Omega were ready.

Chapter Text

A grey hedgehog floated above the ruined city. This world was devastated long before he was born. A harsh, bleak place, where everyone lived in eternal darkness. Life was a struggle, and people lived without hope.

How did this happen?

No one could answer directly. But they always pointed...to the flames.

These flames. They burn away at the world, destroying everything in their path. They come from an eternal life form that no one can truly defeat.

The Flames of Disaster known as Iblis...

"Silver!" the grey hedgehog heard.

When he turned, he saw a purple-and-white feline rapidly approaching.

"Blaze! What's wrong?" Silver asked.

"He's appeared again!" Blaze said.

Silver instantly flew off, and Blaze quickly leapt from building to building to keep up.

The two made their way to a fire tornado that seemed to never be snuffed out, and Silver used his telekinesis to create floating platforms for Blaze to cross easily as he flew to Iblis, destroying all the fire beasts in their way. They then went up the side of a fallen building, and nearly getting hit with debris flying out of the fire tornado before making their way to where Blaze saw Iblis.

Iblis roared, but Silver and Blaze stood their ground.

"Come on, you monster!" Silver shouted.

Iblis roared again, and Silver started to levitate large objects. "Iblis! Today, it will be finished!"

He hurled the objects at Iblis, who blocked them harmlessly. Iblis then sent a barrage of flaming rocks, which battered at Silver until he could find a spot to avoid them.

"His weak spot is the armored head." Blaze said. "Aim for that, Silver!"

Nodding, Silver began aiming at Iblis's head. He landed several hits in before Iblis picked up a giant piece of a freeway, slamming it down on the platform Silver and Blaze were standing on. Silver hurled more objects with his telekinesis, but took hits from another barrage of flaming rocks. Before he could gather himself again, Iblis slammed a building onto him, then pelted him with more flaming rocks. Silver sent enough of the flaming rocks back at Silver to destroy the stone covering of Iblis's head, and Iblis recoiled.

"Is it over?" Silver asked.

"It's not over yet! Don't let your guard down, Silver!" Blaze said.

Iblis began spewing flames, then pulled out another piece of a building to smash Silver and Blaze with. More flames came, and Silver was hit head-on. Eventually, Silver got the last hit in, and Iblis melted down into the lava.

"Looks like we stopped it for now." Blaze said.

"But it'll rise up from its ashes again." Silver instantly shot back.

Blaze didn't respond, and Silver pounded a wall. "What's the point of all this?! It'll never end!"

"Calm down, Silver." the feline said.

"Then tell me what we should do!" Silver spat. "How can we completely destroy Iblis?!"

Blaze didn't respond.

"By knowing the truth, of course." an obtruding voice said.

Both of them looked up and saw a black hedgehog.

"Just as a flower comes from a seed, or a chicken comes from an egg, everything has an origin." the black hedgehog said. "You need to find the being originally responsible for this catastrophe."

Silver turned towards him. "Is that really the answer to our problem? Tell me, do you know who it is?"

The black hedgehog turned and started to walk away. "I will show you."

Seeing no other option, they followed him.

The black hedgehog led Silver and Blaze into a room with a large monitor. "To fix this present timeline, you need to change the past." he explained.

Silver shook his head. "Impossible."

The black hedgehog turned to Silver. "With my help, it is not. Because I have the power to travel through time."

Silver's eyes widened.

"In order to change the past, you must eliminate the individual who has awakened Iblis. The Iblis Trigger."

Silver hesitated. "If I eliminate that guy, will our world be saved?"

The black hedgehog nodded. "The Day of Disaster... Here are records of this event I have come across."

He pulled up a few articles on the monitor. "This was when Iblis was freed, and his flames were released into the world."

Silver and Blaze looked at the articles.

"And you have this being to blame." the black hedgehog said, pulling out a gem. He gave it to Silver, who peered into it. He perceived a blue hedgehog standing among the flames.

"I see it." Silver said. "So that blue hedgehog's the Iblis Trigger?"

Blaze narrowed her eyes a little, thinking. "Blue hedgehog..."

Silver returned the Chaos Emerald to the black hedgehog.

"I'll send us back in time to the point when the Iblis Trigger was alive." the black hedgehog said, as he generated an orb of violet magic, which grew to envelop the three of them. When it vanished, it took all three of them with it, back in time.

Silver emerged in the middle of surroundings he didn't recognize.

"Where am I?" he asked, glancing around.

He then realized he was alone.

"Blaze? BLAZE!"

No response. Silver exhaled. "I guess we all got separated." he said to himself.

He took a proper look around, taking in the scenery. It looked different to the point where he almost thought it was another world entirely.

"This is so unbelievable..." he mused. "Is this really what the past looked like...?"

He walked up to a tree, gently running his hand along its trunk. "Nothing like this exists in the future... When the Iblis Trigger is eliminated, I can truly enjoy it. But for now, I have a job to do. I must fight for the future."

He ran off on the nearby path, hoping to find somebody who could potentially provide answers. The first person he talked to admitted she didn't see anyone suspicious, but that could mean the Iblis Trigger was hiding somewhere. No doubt they knew of Silver's intentions if that was the case. He pressed on.

The second person thought the Iblis Trigger was a kind of meat. Silver facepalmed.

He pressed on further, and the next person said that he was wandering around the forest they were in as a kid and found himself in a jungle-like area. When Silver asked where it was, he was told it was beyond a lake. Perhaps that was where the Iblis Trigger is.

With this newfound information, Silver headed off to the lake, going through it and finding himself at the jungle-like area the third person talked about.

He scoured the jungle, carefully searching for the Iblis Trigger. Surely among all the greenery, a blue hedgehog would be easy to spot.

...Were it even here.

During his search, he came across some violent mechs and destroyed them by using his telekinesis to trash them. He then rode on the back of a turtle for a short while to catch his breath, then traversed through what appeared to be some ruins, continuing to demolish any mechs that tried to attack him.

But the Iblis Trigger did not show himself. Growing frustrated, Silver searched even more diligently.

Blaze walked along a beachfront, looking at her surroundings.

"So, this is the past..." she mused to herself. "It's quite beautiful. I only wish Silver was with me right now so he could see it too. Though, perhaps he is doing some exploration of his own. I hope he is okay. He can get insecure sometimes, when he's alone."

She then turned, as her thoughts went somewhere less pleasant.

"The Iblis Trigger..." she said. "Blue hedgehog..."

A sudden realization struck her, and she realized she needed to find Silver, FAST. She took off running, when mechs surrounded her. Her hands set aflame, she tore into the mechs with searing ferocity, letting nothing stand in her way.

As she leapt from the various structures protruding from the water, she noticed a marine creature giving chase, likely wanting to eat her.

"Ugh, why now?" she asked. It gave chase, but it was no match for her as she sped away from it with ease.

As Silver went through a town, he heard a voice.

"Why did I let my guard down right there?" the voice spat to itself. "I can't let that happen again. Well, I suppose all I can do now is try to figure out why he wants her."

A moment of silence. Then, the voice spoke again. "Ugh. That sounds creepy, taken out of context. Let's just not think about that again."

When Silver got closer, he saw that it was none other than the one he was looking for. The blue hedgehog.

"I've finally found him... The Iblis Trigger." he said before attempting to get closer. But before he could get close enough to strike, he heard another voice, one much closer.

"Now I've got you, Sonic!" the voice said, and Silver felt himself being abruptly grabbed by the voice's owner, a pink hedgehog.

"It's about time I finally caught you again!" the pink hedgehog said, holding on despite his attempts to shove her off.

Silver prepared to use his telekinesis. "Let go of me!"

She immediately froze, slowly looked at Silver, and let go and backed up several steps as fast as possible. "Agh! You're not Sonic! Ugh, why does this keep happening?! First I did it to Shadow, and now you! I think I may need to get my eyes checked..."

Reorienting himself, Silver looked at where the Iblis Trigger was, only to see nothing. He scowled. "Of course he's gone..."

"Did you miss someone because of me...?" the pink hedgehog asked.

"Yeah... But it's okay. I'm sure the guy I'm looking for is still on the island. I'll find him again."

She smiled. "Maybe I can help you! If nothing else, it'll be atonement for mistaking you for Sonic."

Silver rubbed the back of his head. "You don't...REALLY need to do that."

"I'd feel better about it if I did." she insisted. "Besides, two heads are better than one when looking for someone!"

"I...can't argue with that."

"Then it's settled! We'll find both Sonic and the guy you were looking for!" the pink hedgehog said. "I'm Amy Rose. What's your name?"

He couldn't help but smile a little at her enthusiasm. "...Silver."

"Nice to meet you, Silver! Now, let's get going!" Amy said, and the two of them left.

After asking around town, Silver figured out that this Sonic character was headed for the desert. Well, that's one out of two so far. Might as well track him down now so that he doesn't constantly have two people to search for. He then found out that he needed a pass to get to the desert, and begrudgingly headed off to find Lord Regis. But just as he did, more mechs appeared. Lord Regis said they were from a man by the name of "Dr. Eggman", and begged for them to take care of the mechs. They agreed. Amy pulled out a massive hammer, Silver prepared his telekinesis, and the two of them made short work of the mechs, tearing them apart and smashing them. Eventually, all the mechs were destroyed, and a very grateful Lord Regis gave them the pass to the desert. And so, off they went.

"Hmm..." Amy said. "I sense Sonic's presence here."

"You have psychic powers too?" Silver asked.

"Nope. Call it my girlish intuition." Amy responded. "But I do use tarot cards, if that's closer to what you're talking about."

"I...guess. I've used those, once." he admitted. That was actually how he had started on this journey--when he used a deck of tarot cards he found once, the cards had told him that he would save the future, and bring an end to Iblis.

That was how he interpreted it, that is.

"Really? Wow! I thought I was the only one still doing that!" Amy said excitedly.

Silver smiled, then took a moment to notice the surroundings they were in. The desert looked very nice. He'd only ever seen sand before earlier that day, but never THIS MUCH.

"This looks so beautiful..." he breathed.

"You mean this desert?" Amy asked.

Silver shook his head. "Not just the desert. EVERYTHING. It's all just so great here, isn't it? The sky is gorgeous, and everyone's happy..."

He wanted to keep that happiness alive, no matter what. Starting with Amy's.

"Let's go. You said this Sonic is somewhere near here, right?"

"Mhm! I can always feel when he's nearby!" Amy said.

"Well then, you take the lead!" Silver said, and the two of them took off, eventually finding themselves inside a temple. Once inside, they let Amy's instincts guide them through, towards where Sonic was.

"I feel it. Sonic was definitely here." Amy said. They continued on, finding more mechs to demolish. As they got further, the amount of sand in some rooms began to drastically increase, and they got through quickly only to be blasted at by more mechs.

Silver was started to get tired of the repetitiveness of the cycle, but right as Amy also began to complain about the amount of mechs, it was over.

They searched the temple fully, no longer fettered by mechs, but there was no sign of Sonic or the Iblis Trigger anywhere.

As they returned to the town, Silver saw him. He'd finally found the Iblis Trigger.

He began to float in the air as he sent a telekinetic blast at the Trigger, who picked up the woman by his side and nimbly leapt out of the way.

Silver scowled. Clearly, assassination from a distance wouldn't work. He had to do it the old fashioned way.

"I've been looking for you." Silver said, descending to the ground. "You're the Iblis Trigger. Your actions will condemn us all."

The Trigger stood in front of the woman. "Who are you?"

"My name is Silver." he responded. "For the future of the world, I will destroy you!"

Silver started to levitate several objects around him, and hurled them at the Trigger, who easily avoided them. The woman stayed out of the way as the Trigger made his way through the floating objects and attacked Silver. The two brawled for a while, but the Trigger was somehow was able to best Silver.

When Silver was down on the ground, catching his breath, the Trigger stood before him. "Hey. Could you explain to me what's goi-"

Silver sent a telekinetic blast at him, sending him into a pillar and knocking the wind out of him.

"That was cheap..." the Trigger managed after a few moments.

Silver rolled his eyes. "Is this a joke? How could someone like YOU cause the destruction of our world?"

"What do you...mean...?" the Trigger asked.

Silver shook his head. "It doesn't matter. For the sake of the future, the Iblis Trigger must be destroyed!"

The Trigger worked the knots in his neck and leapt up to his feet. "Well, if you want to destroy me, you'll have to earn it!"

A large group of robots then descended.

"Sonic!" Elise cried out.

The Trigger turned to go and protect the woman, only to get blasted from behind by Silver.

"Don't you dare turn your back on me!" Silver said. "It's time I finally put an end to this!"

The trio then saw something pink flash by. Before they realized what was happening, Amy was smashing the robots with her hammer. When the robots were out of the way, she stood between the Trigger and Silver.

"Amy...?" the Trigger managed as he got to his feet.

"Get out of my way, Amy!" Silver demanded. "This is my mission!"

"Absolutely not!" Amy defiantly spat at Silver.

The Trigger smiled. "Thanks, Amy. I appreciate it."

Amy nodded. "Leave it to me."

The Trigger turned to protect the woman, only to see more robots having left the area, one of them holding the woman in its clutches. Clenching his fists angrily, the Trigger ran at the robots and leapt up to disintegrate them, but his attack was just shy of reaching the nearest one.

When he landed, he stared at the fleeing robots, before taking off after them.

Silver was about to pursue again, when Amy stopped him.

"Was Sonic really the one you were looking for?" she asked. "Were you planning to kill him?"

Silver exhaled. The cat was out of the bag for this one. "He's responsible for destroying my world." he said. "If he is eliminated, my world can be saved."

"That's crazy! Sonic would never do that!" Amy interjected, clearly offended at the idea that Sonic could do such a thing.

"In the near future, his actions will cause the devastation of my world." Silver said, hoping to get Amy to see the truth. "So I must-"

"No!" Amy shouted. There was a moment of silence before she continued. "I don't believe it. Sonic has the purest heart out of anyone I could ever know. And even if all that stuff about wrecking the world WAS true, I would still stand by Sonic's side, even if everyone in the whole world thought he was evil."

With that said, she ran off to catch up to Sonic, leaving Silver questioning and second-guessing his mission.

Still not knowing where Blaze was, Silver decided to sit at the pier for a while, watching the water and thinking about this path he was put on.

"So this is where you are." he heard. "I've been looking for you."

He turned and saw Blaze, but didn't respond. This was unusual behavior for someone like him, and she took notice.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she came up and sat next to him.

He sighed. "Well... I've just...been thinking."

"About?"

"...Is what we're doing really the right thing? Killing someone to save the entire world?"

She thought for a moment. "...Whether it's right or wrong, I can't say. But what I do know is if we don't take this chance, the future will remain exactly as it is."

Silver stood up. "Someone mentioned a 'Dr. Eggman' to me at one point. Maybe he can help us figure out how to find the Iblis Trigger."

After learning of the base's location in White Acropolis, the two of them headed out.

The two of them arrived at the location called White Acropolis, and began making their way to the base. During the search, an out of control snowball barreled towards them. They managed to get away from it by diving through a hole in a rock wall that was too small for the giant snowball to follow them through, only to find themselves among a horde of mechs. After trashing the mechs and taking a breather, they resumed their search for the base. Along the way, Silver took out the searchlights before they could be spotted. After a long while, they eventually found the base. However, more mechs stood in their way. While Blaze incinerated some of them, Silver hurled objects at others. Defeating the mechs and avoiding the spotlights simultaneously proved to be a challenge for the two of them, but they managed to do so successfully, and arrived at the base.

Silver scowled. "We might have arrived too late."

The ground then shook, putting both of them on high alert.

A massive fortress-like mech appeared, and launched missiles in all directions. Silver caught several of them with his telekinesis and hurled them back, which tore at the metal plating. Some of the usual mechs appeared, but Blaze handled them as Silver continued tackling the giant mech. Eventually, one of its four leg-like appendages was destroyed. Then another, when Silver bombarded it with explosives. The mech began to malfunction, before reorienting itself and firing homing lasers at Silver.

"It's almost destroyed!" Blaze said as a third appendage crumbled.

Silver wasn't fast enough to evade the homing lasers this time, but he was still able to deliver the final blow, as the final appendage fell. It flew up, then began its self-destruct sequence and tried to crash into Silver and Blaze. The two of them scrambled to get out of the way, and the mech crashed into the ground and exploded.

As they regained their bearings, they noticed a faint glow in the wreckage. Silver dug through it and recovered a blue gem.

"What is this...?" Silver asked.

"It's a Chaos Emerald." Blaze said. "It's said this gem can transform your thoughts into power."

"Mephiles had one, right?"

Blaze nodded. "Collect all seven, and a miracle can happen. Perhaps you could keep it for now, as a lucky charm."

She surveyed the rest of the area to ensure nothing would get the jump on them, as Silver looked at the Chaos Emerald.

"It transforms your thoughts into power..." he mused.

Amy snuck her way through the base. "Hmm... Sonic has to be here, right?"

She quickly ducked around a corner as a group of mechs patrolled by.

"...There seems to be a lot of them. Maybe I should just get out of here..." she said as she turned and headed in another direction.

"Is someone out there?" someone suddenly said.

Amy turned. "Huh? Who said that?"

She turned to look, and saw a door. In the window of the door, she saw a teenage girl.

"How did you get in here?" Amy asked. "Did Eggman capture you?"

The girl nodded. "Can you help me out?"

Amy pulled out her hammer. "Sure thing. Stand back!"

The girl backed up, and Amy smashed the door down with her hammer. An alarm then went off. "Prisoner has escaped form Cell Block C-17. All patrolling guards, begin searching immediately."

"Let's get out of here before we're swarmed!" Amy said, and the two of them took off running.

Before they could reach the exit, they were swarmed. The girl held back as Amy smashed her way through them, and the two of them managed to make their way out. Despite being chased fervently, they managed to get away, and made their way to the town.

"I'm glad I found you. Who knows what would have happened to you?" Amy said.

The girl nodded. "Thank you, for rescuing me."

Amy smiled. "I'm Amy. Amy Rose."

The girl curtsied. "My name is Elise."

Amy thought for a moment... "Elise... Wait, you wouldn't happen to be THE Princess of Soleanna, right?"

Elise nodded.

"You are? Wow!" Amy was very excited to meet Elise in person. The two of them had a pleasant chat about Elise's day-to-day life. Elise didn't think Amy would find much of it interesting, but she was quite surprised by Amy's intrigue.

Eggman's mechs then approached.

"They're still coming?!" Amy said as she pulled out her hammer. "These guys just don't give up!"

She scoured the town, destroying the robots when they closed in on her.

"Let's get to my palace! We'll be safer there!" Elise said, and she and Amy took off for that direction.

Once they were at the palace, they took a breath of relief. But the fighting wasn't over, as mechs surrounded them.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Amy shouted angrily.

Eggman then appeared. "After all that effort, I finally have you again, Princess." he said.

Despite the thrashing Amy gave to the mechs, Eggman managed to capture Elise and flee with her.

Silver and Blaze arrived at the town, and found Mephiles waiting for them.

"Mephiles." Silver said. "Tell me. Who is the Iblis Trigger? Why does he want to destroy the world?"

"Why does that matter to you?" Mephiles asked.

"Because what if I end up killing the wrong person?" Silver asked. "If I have a clearer idea of who the Iblis Trigger is, I can get it done without worrying about making a potential mistake."

"You know who the Iblis Trigger is." Mephiles said. "Unless you complete your task, your future will remain the same...forever."

Silver didn't respond.

"He's currently at the terminal station. It's now or never if you want this."

Silver shook his head, and he and Blaze took off. They sneaked their way past the guards and headed for the terminal station. When they arrived, they began getting shot at by mechs. Silver levitated crates and other objects in front of them to block enemy fire before hurtling the crates at them. He made his way through conveyor belts and cranes and the like, continuing to trash any mechs that came his way.

Eventually, he made his way to a pair of train tracks, and narrowly dodged the incoming trains before finally making it to Sonic the Hedgehog, the Iblis Trigger. He was carrying a girl.

Silver threw a telekinetic blast, which Sonic leapt out of the way of. He set down the girl and turned to face Silver.

"This time there will be no more interruptions!" Silver said as he charged up another energy blast. "The Iblis Trigger MUST DIE."

As they prepared to battle, Sonic glanced over his shoulder and saw Eggman approaching on his aircraft.

"You strike first." Sonic said to Silver. "After all, you're the one going through this effort to find me."

Well, since Sonic asked so nicely, who was Silver to deny him? He fired an energy blast at Sonic. Sonic leapt up right as the blast hit him, using the blast to launch himself at Eggman before he could capture Elise again.

"Sonic!" Eggman said, shocked. "How did you get back?!"

"If you so much as TOUCH Elise again, I will personally STRANGLE YOU." Sonic said, clenching his fist in Eggman's face.

Eggman gulped nervously.

"Good. We're on the same page." Sonic said as he prepared to leap off, only to be abruptly hit with another telekinetic blast by Silver, and fell to the ground.

"SILVER, CUT IT OUT!!!" Sonic snapped angrily as he got up. "I'M TRYING TO SAVE A DAMN PRINCESS RIGHT NOW!!!"

"I will finally finish this!" Silver said, charging another blast. "Time to-"

Silver then took a roundhouse to the jaw as he flew several yards, crashing into the ground.

"Who else dares to try and defend the Iblis Trigger?!" Silver demanded, only to lay eyes upon a black hedgehog. "Wait... Mephiles, why are you getting in my way?!"

"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog." Shadow responded. He glanced back at Sonic, who nodded.

"Don't get in my way!" Silver said. He levitated several objects to hurl them at Shadow, but Shadow effortlessly swatted them aside and bashed at Silver repeatedly. The two exchanged blasts of energy back and forth. Upon the fight's seeming conclusion, both were tiring, yet Silver was clearly defeated by Shadow.

Undeterred, Silver tried one last strike at Shadow, but Shadow expertly leapt out of the way and roundhoused Silver in the back of the head.

"You..." Silver managed as he got up.

"Don't bother." Shadow responded.

"I won't give up...!" Silver said. "It all depends on me! Can't lose...! Not when I'm so close!"

He pulled out the Chaos Emerald and prepared to use its power.

"Silver, stop!" Shadow said. "You don't need to continue fighting like this! I have a lead for the answers you're looking for!"

"Do you?!" Silver demanded. "Or are you just saying that to deter me?!"

"Mephiles isn't trying to help you create a better future... He's trying to eliminate the past." Shadow said.

"What...? What are you talking about?" Silver asked.

"To discover what happened, we must see what took place 10 years ago." Shadow said, pulling out the green Chaos Emerald.

"Are you sure about this...?" Silver asked.

"I speak the truth, and you know it."

"...Very well."

The two then held the Emeralds up, their wishes identical.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" they both called out, and the Chaos Emeralds reacted, creating a portal back to the past.

When it opened, the two then leapt through.

"An electromagnetic pulse has just been generated!" an engineer said. "Injecting decompression agent!"

But when the engineer did so, nothing happened.

"No...! The level's not dropping!" he continued. "A spatial meltdown is inevitable! My Lord, it's too late! We've got to take shelter!"

The King of Soleanna slammed his hands down on the metal operating structure in front of the tube. "Why, Solaris? Why do you refuse to listen to my voice?"

"Father!" he heard. A young girl ran into the room a moment later.

"Elise!" the King cried out.

The tube began to fracture. Reacting fast, the King covered Elise with his own body as the tube exploded.

When Shadow and Silver appeared inside the base, they heard an explosion. They ran in the direction of the explosion, and found the source of the explosion. Scattered equipment and dead bodies were everywhere. Shadow came to the King of Soleanna, who was still covering Elise.

"Is that...?" Silver asked, looking at a glowing flame above where the tube containing it once stood.

The glowing flame then went out, revealing a sphere. The sphere's bottom half then broke and liquified, while what was left turned into smoke and glowed red.

"That flame..." Silver said. "It's Iblis!"

"And the black shadow is the original Mephiles." Shadow said.

"That's Mephiles?!"

The flame and shadow then headed off.

"They're escaping!" Silver said.

"We'll have to split up." Shadow said. "I'll pursue Mephiles."

"Okay." Silver said. "Then leave Iblis to me!"

They were about to head off when the King weakly cried out. "Wait...!"

The two immediately turned to the King, who raised his arm to reveal a silver and purple scepter. "Seal it with this..."

Shadow carefully took the Scepter out of the King's hand.

"Hurry!" Silver said.

Shadow nodded, and the two headed off as the King cradled the unconscious Elise in his arms.

Shadow and Silver tore through the lab, destroying fire and shadow beasts that appeared in their way.  They were relentless in their search, though the beasts frequently distracted them. They came across a large door that was well-reinforced.

"There must be a switch to the door somewhere." Silver said. "Leave this to me."

Silver used his telekinesis to fling bombs and spiked balls at the beasts. Once he finally found the switch, the two then split up. Silver followed the trail of flames that he knew would lead him to Iblis. He easily destroyed the beasts in his way, as he continued his chase. He knew he was getting closer when the colors began to brighten around him, and he took off to catch up. Eventually, he finally came across Iblis.

"It's time, Iblis!" Silver said as he used his power to hold Iblis in place.

He then heard someone approaching.

"What are you doing here?" Silver asked as he turned and saw the King of Soleanna.

"I have my duty..." the King managed as he brought the young Elise, unconscious in his arms. "This Living Flame has been entrusted to the royal family. The Flames of Disaster will awaken if nothing is done! That...must not happen."

Silver nodded, as the King brought Elise up to Iblis. He gently rested her down, then pulled out the grey Chaos Emerald. It floated in the air above Elise, and the King stared right at the still-captured Iblis.

"Eternal Sun!" the King said. "The Living Flame that has been entrusted to the royal family! Fall into slumber with a royal soul!"

Iblis was sucked into the grey Chaos Emerald, then concealed within Elise.

Silver released his telekinetic hold. It was over. Iblis was sealed.

The King carefully picked up Elise, and gave her to Silver.

"I'm sorry, but... Can you take her to a safe place...?" the King asked, his injuries beginning to catch up to him.

Silver tried to help him stand. "I'll get you both out of here." he said. "I'll make sure your wounds are tended to."

"I was hit with the full force of the Eternal Sun, to shield her..." the King managed. "I will not last much longer..."

"I've fought to change the future for too long for things like this to happen." Silver insisted.

The King gently bent down, and placed Elise in Silver's arms.

"Should you find a way to bring me back from the dead..." he said. "I will not object to seeing my life returned to me. But now...is not that time..."

He carefully sat down, leaning against the altar and caressing Elise's cheek.

"You're a good girl, Elise..." he softly said. "Remember, be brave... Hold your heart close... Do not let anger consume you. Otherwise the flames inside you will be unleashed... Become a strong queen who loves her people, no matter what happens. And...live...happily..."

His hand slowly dropped from Elise's cheek. He rested himself on the floor against the altar, and his heart beat its last.

Silver lowered his head, closing his eyes. After minute or so, he got up and left, carrying Elise. When he was outside, he waited for Shadow.

Eventually, Shadow arrived, carrying the scepter given to him by the late King.

"Did you do it?" Silver asked.

"Yes." Shadow said. "And you?"

Silver nodded. "...Yes. The 'Flames' are properly sealed. It's done."

He carefully set Elise down, letting her rest beneath a tree. He then noticed Shadow setting down the Scepter of Darkness next to her.

"You're going to leave it behind?" Silver asked.

"Yes. I already know what becomes of it in the future." Shadow said. "It's time to return."

"Yes, of...course." Silver said hesitantly.

The two then held the Emeralds up, their wishes identical.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" they both called out, and the Chaos Emeralds reacted, creating a portal back to the future. Shadow leapt through, but Silver hesitated, watching the sleeping Elise. He turned to go through the portal, but heard her mumble "Father". He slowly walked back to her, and bent down on one knee.

He placed the blue Chaos Emerald into her hands. "It's a lucky charm."

She moved slightly in her sleep, but didn't appear to wake up.

Silver smiled slightly. "Keep it safe."

He then turned and leapt through the portal.

When he emerged in the present, he saw Blaze waiting for him.

"What did you see?" she asked.

"The Iblis Trigger...wasn't Sonic the Hedgehog." Silver said.

Blaze tilted her head. "I see... Then who was it?"

Before Silver could respond, they heard a crowd of people.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"The princess left for Dr. Eggman's base in response to his earlier threat." Blaze said.

"What threat? When?"

"A short while ago."

"Then... Wait a minute, what if his ultimate objective was to release Iblis?"

Blaze's eyes went wide, and they took off to chase after Eggman.

They found Sonic and two of his friends being ambushed by mechs. Silver trapped the mechs in his psychokinesis.

He landed, sending the mechs flying. They crashed down and exploded.

When they were done for, Silver turned to Sonic.

"I know, I know." Sonic said. "Nothing can distract you from destroying the Iblis Trigger. Just hit me with your power and get it over with already."

Silver shook his head. "Circumstances have changed. I need to rescue the Princess."

"Convenient." Sonic said. "That's exactly what I'm heading out to do."

"Then we should stick together, since our goals are the same." Silver said.

Sonic nodded, and the four of them took off. They fought their way through an ancient castle filled with Eggman's mechs. Seemed like they arrived in the nick of time, as the Egg Carrier was just arriving. They dealt with the mechs and made their way upward.

There was a strange water area next where the water flowed towards the sky, so Silver and Sonic's friends flew ahead while Sonic ran through it at top speed, running across and leaping to and from the platforms, eventually reaching the end.

They all saw the Egg Carrier on its crash course. Sonic immediately took off running.

"Sonic, no! You'll get yourself killed!" Tails called out.

Sonic completely ignored Tails's remark, but he only got about twenty steps in before the Egg Carrier exploded.

He came to a complete stop, sinking to his knees.

After several moments of silence, Silver's eyes widened. It wasn't over. "There's still a way to change this!"

"Whatever it is, we're doing it." Sonic said as he immediately stood up. "I'm done failing to protect Elise."

Silver nodded. "I'm glad you're all in, even if you don't even know the plan yet. If we return to an earlier point in time, we'll be able to save her."

Sonic pulled out the cyan Chaos Emerald, and Silver pulled out the white Chaos Emerald.

The two then held the Emeralds up, their wishes identical.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" they both called out, and the Chaos Emeralds reacted, creating a portal back to the past.

Sonic looked at the portal, before giving Silver the cyan Chaos Emerald. "I can handle this myself. Besides, you've got somewhere to go, right?"

Silver looked at Sonic curiously.

Sonic turned back to the portal. "I'll make sure to change Elise's fate. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. And, in turn, that should change your future, too. Thank you, Silver."

Silver nodded. "Go on. Save Elise. Save the future."

Sonic gave a thumbs-up, before leaping into the portal.

After a few moments, Blaze nodded. "Shall we be off, now?"

"Yes... Come on. Let's go home, and put an end to all this." Silver answered. He used the Chaos Emeralds to alter the destination of the portal, and then he and Blaze leapt through.

They arrived. Silver looked at the Chaos Emeralds in his hands.

"I know how to save our world, Blaze." Silver said. "We don't have to change the past."

"We don't?" she asked.

"I'm sure of it." Silver said. "The late King showed me."

"Then you have a plan?"

Silver nodded.

"Well then, let's hurry. I sense his flames."

They headed off, Chaos Emeralds in hands.

They made their way across stone platforms bobbing along in the lava within a volcano and desecrating the flame beasts that appeared and attacked them. As they drew closer to Iblis, more of them appeared.

"No matter how many of you come, it's a waste of time!" Silver said as he tricked the flame beasts into setting off explosives that eradicated them. Blaze opted for a more direct approach, choosing to literally fight fire with fire and create even hotter flames than they could.

Eventually, they reached a giant ball of flame.

"Is that Iblis...?" Silver asked.

Blaze looked at it, eyes narrowed. "Only one way to find out."

As they made their way close, it let out flame waves at regular intervals, which they avoided. Eventually, Silver was able to get atop the giant ball of flame.

"Let's go!" he said as he channeled his psychokinesis through it, and the ball cooled and crumbled.

Silver shook his head. "That wasn't it."

"But he is nearby. I can feel it."

He followed her, and they finally reached Iblis.

"C'mon, Iblis! This time, I'll finally stop you!" Silver shouted out. This was nothing like their last encounter. This was very different.

Iblis hurled many molten rocks, which Silver caught with his psychokinesis and hurled back.

"It looks like he's getting closer to his final form, if he even has one." Blaze said.

"All the more reason to stop him, here and now." Silver responded. Iblis then responded by sending out several waves of flame, which Silver and Blaze avoided. Silver then leapt up and sent his psychokinesis surging through Iblis. Iblis threw Silver back, then retreated to regain his bearings before attempting to destroy the foothold they had. But Silver caught the giant flame ball and hurled it back. It collided with Iblis, who was left reeling from it. More flame waves followed, and Silver managed to get his psychokinesis surging through Iblis again.

Once more, a giant flame ball came. Silver flung it back, and Iblis collapsed into the lava and sunk into it.

Silver caught his breath, as Iblis reverted to his true form. He shot up into the air, sending lava drops raining in all directions.

"Chaos Emeralds, lend me your power!" Silver said, grasping them. "Eternal Sun! The Living Flame that has been entrusted to the royal family! Fall into slumber with my soul, Iblis! You cursed Flames of Disaster!"

The Chaos Emeralds reacted, and the flames started to be sucked in, but it wasn't enough.

"No...! Why won't it accept me as the vessel?" Silver asked, straining to keep his hold.

Blaze placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'll take Iblis. Don't worry. My soul is already alit with flames. I will be accepted."

She took the Chaos Emeralds, and Silver's hold broke. She stepped forward with the Chaos Emeralds. "Eternal Sun!" she called out. "The Living Flame that has been entrusted to the royal family! Seal yourself within my soul, and be bound unto my will!"

Her hold on Iblis was formed, and he started to be sucked into her.

"Blaze...! Don't go!" Silver said, reaching out to her.

"Oh, Silver. You're still so naive." Blaze said, looking back at him with a smile. "I'm not going anywhere."

Iblis was fully sucked into Blaze, and she started to rise into the air, the Chaos Emeralds dropping to the ground and coming to a stop at Silver's feet.

She fully embraced Iblis, binding him to herself. Her lavender fur turned a bright pink, and her purple outfit turned red similarly. Wings of fire formed upon her back.

Blaze had become Burning Blaze.

She held her hands high, then brought them down, and the molten lava began retreating into the ground. She continued like this, until the lava ocean on the planet was no more. She then floated back down, and looked at Silver.

"How do I look?" she asked.

He ran up and hugged her tightly, and she returned it.

"We've saved the world, Silver." Blaze said, reverting back to her usual form. "Now, let's fix it."

Silver nodded, smiling, and they left.

Their long struggle to defeat Iblis and save their world had finally come to an end.

Now, their next chapter was to begin.

Chapter Text

"An electromagnetic pulse has just been generated!" an engineer said. "Injecting decompression agent!"

But when the engineer did so, nothing happened.

"No...! The level's not dropping!" he continued. "A spatial meltdown is inevitable! My Lord, it's too late! We've got to take shelter!"

The King of Soleanna slammed his hands down on the metal operating structure in front of the tube. "Why, Solaris? Why do you refuse to listen to my voice?"

"Father!" he heard. A young girl ran into the room a moment later.

"Elise!" the King cried out.

The tube began to fracture. Reacting fast, the King covered Elise with his own body as the tube exploded.

When Shadow and Silver appeared inside the base, they heard an explosion. They ran in the direction of the explosion, and found the source of the explosion. Scattered equipment and dead bodies were everywhere. Shadow came to the King of Soleanna, who was still covering Elise.

"Is that...?" Silver asked, looking at a glowing flame above where the tube containing it once stood.

The glowing flame then went out, revealing a sphere. The sphere's bottom half then broke and liquified, while what was left turned into smoke and glowed red.

"That flame..." Silver said. "It's Iblis!"

"And the black shadow is the original Mephiles." Shadow said.

"That's Mephiles?!"

The flame and shadow then headed off.

"They're escaping!" Silver said.

"We'll have to split up." Shadow said. "I'll pursue Mephiles."

"Okay." Silver said. "Then leave Iblis to me!"

They were about to head off when the King weakly cried out. "Wait...!"

The two immediately turned to the King, who raised his arm to reveal the Scepter of Darkness. "Seal it with this..."

Shadow carefully took the Scepter out of the King's hand.

"Hurry!" Silver said.

Shadow nodded, and the two headed off as the King cradled the unconscious Elise in his arms.

Shadow and Silver tore through the lab, destroying fire and shadow beasts that appeared in their way. They were relentless in their search, though the beasts frequently distracted them. They came across a large door that was well-reinforced.

"There must be a switch to the door somewhere." Silver said. "Leave this to me."

Silver used his telekinesis to fling bombs and spiked balls at the beasts. Once he finally found the switch, the two then split up. Shadow followed the trail of shadows that he knew would lead him to Mephiles. He easily destroyed the beasts in his way, as he continued his chase. He knew he was getting closer when the colors began to desaturate around him, and he took off at high speed to catch up. Eventually, he finally came across Mephiles.

Shadow pulled out the green Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!"

The Chaos Emerald reacted, encasing Mephiles in chaos energy.

"What...?" the infant Mephiles cried out. "Stop...!"

The Scepter of Darkness floated in the air, glowing, and Mephiles started to float into the air as well. "Who... Who are...you...?"

"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Shadow..." Mephiles managed as he started to get sucked into the Scepter of Darkness. "Your face... Your form... I will remember... Your death...certain... You...will die!"

At that, the Scepter fully sucked Mephiles inside.

For ten years, Mephiles remained bound to the Scepter of Darkness. For ten years, he patiently waited for his release.

And then, it happened.

Shadow continued progress towards the rendezvous, trashing as many Eggman robots as they could find in the process. They easily breached through the castle and reached the rendezvous point.

Upon their arrival, there was no one there.

"Didn't the President say they had the means to get here?" Shadow asked. "Where are they?"

"They'll be along shortly." Rouge said. "In the meantime, how about a little history lesson about this place? I've done my research."

Shadow had nothing better to do until GUN got there. "Go on."

"The former king of Soleanna used to reside in this castle." Rouge said. "But a major accident occurred 10 years ago, and no one's lived here since."

That got Shadow's attention. "Accident?"

"I read that a prototype energy engine failed, which caused the accident." Rouge explained. "I think the name of the plan was the Solaris Project."

Shadow brought a hand to his chin. This information was certainly making him curious.

"You're exactly right." an all too familiar voice said.

A small aircraft descended, and a man dressed in red and black made his presence known.

"It was an ambitious project named after their eternal sun god." the man continued.

Rouge's eyes widened. "Doctor Eggman!"

"It's been a while, my dear Rouge." Eggman said. "And of course, Shadow. Now, if you'd be so kind as to hand back the Scepter of Darkness you took from me."

Rouge shook her head. "We were on orders from the President to retrieve the Scepter."

"This isn't the President's country." Eggman countered. "Whatever laws you're abiding by do not apply here. If you won't hand over the Scepter of Darkness, I'll take it back by force."

Several robots landed, surrounding them. They opened fire, and Shadow and Rouge leapt out of the way. Rouge flew above everyone, clutching the Scepter. Eggman reacted quickly, using one of the mechanical arms on his aircraft to sucker punch Rouge down to the ground. This caused her to lose her grip on the Scepter of Darkness.

Shadow instantly took action, running over and transitioning into a sliding catch, and Rouge landed in his arms.

"Nice save." Rouge said.

"No!" Eggman shouted. "The Scepter of Darkness! Someone catch it!"

Shadow, Rouge, and the robots all dived for it, but they got in each other's way, and the Scepter of Darkness crashed to the ground entirely untouched. All of the robots then began crackling with purple electricity. Shadow went to retrieve the Scepter, only for a black aura to emanate from the Scepter.

"Shadow, get back!" Rouge called.

A beam of dark energy erupted from the Scepter, encircling the group.

"It's no use!" Eggman said. "Pull back, pull back, pull back!"

Eggman fled, but the robots were unable to. The dark energy continued circling the area before heading straight down. Shadow leapt back as the dark energy dove into the ground.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the black aura returned, and Shadow watched as his shadow was seemingly sucked into the aura. From the aura rose Mephiles, mimicking Shadow in physical attributes, save for no mouth. Except for the demonic green eyes, all the color was completely de-saturated. Shadow felt like he was looking at a black-and-white photograph.

"What...? What just happened?" Rouge asked. "What's going on?"

Mephiles laughed. His voice alone was creepy.

"Oh, how ironic fate can be!" he said. "I would never have believed I would be resurrected through YOUR shade!"

He then bowed. "I thank you, Shadow the Hedgehog!"

Shadow was visibly disturbed. "Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

Mephiles began walking slowly towards Shadow. His arms and head hung limp, and his walk was zombie-like. "I'm Mephiles. Mephiles the Dark."

Shadow gave no response, as Mephiles walked closer.

"What, did you forget me?" Mephiles asked. He continued coming even closer, and Shadow took a step back.

Mephiles lifted his head just enough to look Shadow in the eye. "I owe much to you, Shadow. Oh, yes."

He created an orb of dark energy, and Shadow leapt back. Mephiles lifted his head higher, staring ominously at Shadow and Rouge. "What you gave to me, I now return to you. A ONE-WAY TICKET TO OBLIVION."

The dark energy orb expanded to surround the three of them, and they were all teleported away.

When Mephiles appeared in the distant future, he found himself in a computer room. In the room was also a purple gem. He went through the computer, searching for something that could help him on reuniting with Iblis.

He then found articles regarding the Day of Disaster. A fiery explosion caused by a crashing battleship was the deciding factor.

His mind went a mile a minute as his plan slowly came together. Additional files said the purple gem he had was one of the seven Chaos Emeralds. They could transform thoughts into power.

Brilliant.

He used the Chaos Emerald to dip back in time, and he found out all he could about Princess Elise, the bearer of Iblis. He learned of what could release her, and devised a plan as to how.

With this information, he returned to the future and began to plan on how he would reunite with Iblis before hearing voices.

"Looks like we stopped it for now." one voice said.

"But it'll rise up from its ashes again." the other voice instantly shot back.

As Mephiles silently approached, he saw a purple feline and a grey hedgehog.

Perfect.

The grey hedgehog pounded a wall. "What's the point of all this?! It'll never end!"

"Calm down, Silver." the feline said.

"Then tell me what we should do!" Silver spat. "How can we completely destroy Iblis?!"

The feline didn't respond. This was Mephiles's chance.

"By knowing the truth, of course." he said, his presence now known.

Both of them looked up and saw a black hedgehog.

"Just as a flower comes from a seed, or a chicken comes from an egg, everything has an origin." Mephiles said. "You need to find the being originally responsible for this catastrophe."

Silver turned towards him. "Is that really the answer to our problem? Tell me, do you know who it is?"

Mephiles had him wrapped around his finger. Pathetic, naive being. So easily deceived.

He turned and started to walk away, goading Silver into following. "I will show you."

Seeing no other option, they followed him.

The black hedgehog led Silver and Blaze into a room with a large monitor. "To fix this present timeline, you need to change the past." he explained.

Silver shook his head. "Impossible."

The black hedgehog turned to Silver. "With my help, it is not. Because I have the power to travel through time."

Silver's eyes widened.

"In order to change the past, you must eliminate the individual who has awakened Iblis. The Iblis Trigger."

Silver hesitated. "If I eliminate that guy, will our world be saved?"

The black hedgehog nodded. "The Day of Disaster... Here are records of this event I have come across."

He pulled up the articles he'd gone over on the monitor. "This was when Iblis was freed, and his flames were released into the world."

Silver and Blaze looked at the articles.

"And you have this being to blame." Mephiles said, pulling out the Chaos Emerald. He gave it to Silver, who peered into it. He perceived a blue hedgehog standing among the flames.

"I see it." Silver said. "So that blue hedgehog's the Iblis Trigger?"

Blaze narrowed her eyes a little, thinking. "Blue hedgehog..."

Silver returned the Chaos Emerald to the black hedgehog.

"I'll send us back in time to the point when the Iblis Trigger was alive." Mephiles said, as he generated an orb of violet magic, which grew to envelop the three of them. When it vanished, it took all three of them with it, back in time.

Mephiles carefully followed Silver and Blaze, making sure they never escaped his sight while also making sure they didn't know he was following them. He returned to the twon ahead of them. With some time to spare, he headed out to find the blue hedgehog. Once his location was discerned, he returned. When Silver and Blaze eventually returned, they found him waiting for them.

"Mephiles." Silver said. "Tell me. Who is the Iblis Trigger? Why does he want to destroy the world?"

"Why does that matter to you?" Mephiles asked, intentionally dodging the question.

"Because what if I end up killing the wrong person?" Silver asked. "If I have a clearer idea of who the Iblis Trigger is, I can get it done without worrying about making a potential mistake."

"You know who the Iblis Trigger is." Mephiles said. "Unless you complete your task, your future will remain the same...forever."

Silver didn't respond.

"He's currently at the terminal station. It's now or never if you want this."

Silver shook his head, and he and Blaze took off. As he followed them, Mephiles started to wonder if perhaps Silver wasn't the right one for the task after all.

His goal remained the same, but he began to shift how he'd get there.

He then remembered a certain someone from the future, and warped there.

"The time has come." Shadow said.

Sonic nodded, and handed him the green Chaos Emerald.

The two then held the Emeralds up, their wishes identical.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" they both called out, and the Chaos Emeralds reacted, creating a portal back to the past.

Sonic, Tails, and Metal Sonic went through, and Rouge was about to jump up before something flashed behind them.

Mephiles appeared, menacingly glaring at him.

"Rouge, go." Shadow said, giving her the green Chaos Emerald. "I will handle Mephiles myself."

Rouge hesitated, but went through the portal. Shadow charged at Mephiles as the portal closed behind him.

"So, decided to void your return ticket now, did you?" Mephiles asked coldly.

Shadow answered Mephiles's question with two of his own. "Why are you here? Did you ruin this world?"

Mephiles cocked his head. "The answer's yes...AND no. Perhaps it's better to show you."

With a snap of his fingers, Mephiles pulled up a projection. Shadow's eyes went wide upon seeing it.

"Yes, that's you." Mephiles explained. "After the world was devastated by Iblis's flames, what do you think happened? A search for the guilty. 'Who did this', you may ask? Humanity wasn't just jealous of your power. They FEARED it."

Shadow couldn't believe Mephiles's words. And yet the projection he was seeing--that of an unconscious, imprisoned Shadow--was genuine.

"They used this incident as an excuse to hunt you down." Mephiles continued. "Come with me, Shadow. Let us punish this foolish world of humanity. It's only fair to give back what was intended for you. You have every right to want JUSTICE."

Shadow scoffed. "That's absurd. Whatever it is you want to do, you can do it ALONE." This answer confused and slightly angered Mephiles.

"You forgive humanity this FOLLY, then?" he asked, gesturing to the projection.

"I determine my OWN destiny." Shadow stated, boldly refusing Mephiles's offer for revenge.

Mephiles realized he couldn't break Shadow that easily. He'd have to find another way.

His body transformed, becoming a more crystalline version of his previous body, and one that radiated much more power than Shadow believed at first.

"Such foolishness." Mephiles said as a swarm of demonic beasts similar in shade rapidly approached. "Very well. Let's see if you can...entertain me."

"Don't bother to try and deceive me. I know who I am!" Shadow said as he charged at the swarm. He destroyed them rapidly, as they all fell before his might.

Mephiles was slightly amused as he summoned more beasts with barely a wave of his hand. "It doesn't matter how many of them you defeat, you know."

Shadow was not amused as he soldiered on, defeating more and more beasts. It started to tire him, until Mephiles vanished and came out from the ground to strike him. With the reaction time befitting the Ultimate Life Form, Shadow delivered a roundhouse to Mephiles, which drove him back.

"What?! Shadow! You...! You think you're so clever, don't you?" Mephiles said as he hovered in the center of the cavern. "Dance, my shadows, dance!"

Shadow tore through them, and struck Mephiles several times. Eventually, Mephiles seemed to be beaten. But just as Shadow opened his mouth to demand answers, Mephiles sent him flying with a large blast of dark energy. Shadow slammed into a stone pillar, which knocked the wind out of him. He collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. But when Mephiles was about to give the finishing blow, he too was interrupted, this time by a storm of bullets.

Shadow instantly knew who fired those bullets. "Omega!"

"Now is the designated time." Omega stated. "I shall assist."

"Great timing, Omega!" Shadow said after he got up, having caught his breath during the distraction. "Now, let's give Mephiles what's coming to him!"

As the three of them tangled in battle, Omega provided heavy fire to support Shadow, shooting missiles everywhere to destroy the demonic beasts Mephiles brought back.

"Shadow. Rouge asked me to support you." he said as they fought Mephiles and his beasts. With Omega's help, the beasts went down effortlessly before they took on Mephiles himself.

"You're just a nuisance, ROBOT." Mephiles said as he blasted them back. To prove even a robot could be powerful, Omega continued battering Mephiles as hard as he could. For a while, nothing Mephiles could do could reach Omega, and he we eventually defeated.

He shakily got up to his feet, then summoned a portal.

"You may have defeated me here, but this is not the end." Mephiles said as he went through the portal.

"Mephiles!" Shadow barked as he and Omega chased him through.

When they emerged in the present, Mephiles let Omega chase him through the beach, sending shadow beasts at Omega just for the hell of it.

"Mephiles detected." Omega said as he fired missiles at some fire and shadow beasts. "Position K31. Pursue and engage."

He headed toward the location, destroying whatever beasts he found along the way. Nothing deterred him.

"Hahaha! Welcome, Omega." he heard. "It won't take much for me to deal with you."

Omega opened fire on Mephiles, who began to tire after being unable to fight back.

When Omega stopped, Mephiles looked at the robot. "This only proves you were created to stop Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form."

Omega looked confused.

"Don't tell me you didn't know." Mephiles said. "You may have been programmed by humanity, but what you did to Shadow in the future, that was YOUR choice... You captured him, of your own volition."

Omega furiously opened fire at Mephiles, not stopping until Mephiles turned into dust and disappeared.

He reappeared at an ancient temple in the desert. It was time to begin searching for the Chaos Emeralds. He already had one, and it was time to find the other six.

Once inside, his found the yellow Chaos Emerald. As he picked it up, he heard Shadow from behind him.

"Mephiles!" Shadow said.

Mephiles slowly turned around, holding the yellow Chaos Emerald. "I was expecting you sooner. As you must know, you're already too late. But there's still time for you to change your mind. Join me, Shadow. Let us teach this world a lesson, and rewrite the future."

Shadow was having none of it. "Don't try to deceive me."

"What?" Mephiles was shocked by Shadow's iron will.

"You have no desire for revenge. You only crave DESTRUCTION" Shadow stated. "Your only lust is to fuel Iblis until there is nothing left of time itself!"

"It's a pity, Shadow the Hedgehog." Mephiles said as the yellow Chaos Emerald hovered above him. "Truly a shame that you wish to go against me!"

A powerful gust of energy sent them back, but they all held their ground.

"I'll make sure you regret this, Shadow the Hedgehog!" Mephiles said as he attacked the trio with several large shadow beasts. They easily destroyed the beasts, and when Mephiles reemerged, they all struck him. Mephiles then summoned a swarm of shadow beasts to slow them down. While they did, it was only barely. When Mephiles reemerged again to strike behind their backs, they avoided his attack and laid waste to him.

"I am...forever... I am...invincible..." Mephiles said as he melted into the same black liquid Shadow recognized.

Shadow held out the Scepter of Darkness, and it floated into the air as Mephiles was sucked itnside. Just when everything seemed to be alright, the Scepter suddenly exploded.

They stood in shock as Mephiles re-formed his body, clearly delighted at their failure. "The 'I' of now absorbed your power through your shadow in the past. What may have worked 10 years ago, no longer does!"

Mephiles attacked them, sending them crashing onto the ancient floor of the ruins. The green and yellow Chaos Emeralds then appeared, floating above Mephiles as a massive horde of clones appeared all around them.

"You must realize now that you cannot hope to stop me with your LIMITED power." Mephiles said, relishing in his victory.

Shadow looked Mephiles in the eye as he, Rouge, and Omega stood up. "So you say..." Shadow said.

"It's futile. The world will betray you." Mephiles said. "Why fight at all? Why risk your life for those who will persecute you later?"

Shadow's left hand reached for his right wrist. "If the world chooses to become my enemy..."

Shadow's Right Inhibitor Ring came off, and his right hand reached for his left wrist. "I will fight like I always have!"

His Left inhibitor Ring came off, joining the other on the floor.

The Mephiles clones closed in on the trio.

Shadow concentrated, then unleashed his true, unrestricted power, ripping through the Mephiles clones as if they didn't even exist.

Mephiles already had what he was looking for here, and he warped away before Shadow could reach him.

The other Chaos Emeralds took little to no effort to find, thanks to the ones he had discerning their locations.

All that was left was to eliminate the final obstacle in his path. The one being who had a real possibility of defeating him.

His end would ensure Mephiles would fulfill his plan and reunite with Iblis.

Chapter Text

As Sonic sped around a corner, Elise in his arms, he could see Soleanna in the distance. They were close. Sonic licked his lips, already able to almost taste the chili dogs.

A flash of light suddenly appeared, blinding Sonic and Elise. As they reached up to shield their eyes, Sonic tripped and dropped Elise, and they tumbled to the ground.

"Too bright...!" Elise cried out as they struggled to get to their feet while still shielding their eyes.

Mephiles slowly appeared, his hand outstretched. He was the source of the light, which vanished the moment he retracted his arm.

He calmly walked up to Sonic and Elise, who were reorienting themselves.

As Sonic got up to his feet, Mephiles placed his hand on his back. A muffled BOOM could be heard, and Sonic's body went rigid, his eyes widening.

When Elise was able to fully see, she saw the rigid Sonic collapse on the ground.

"Sonic...?" she said worriedly as she gently shook him. "Sonic, what's going on...?"

No response. She shook him a little harder. "Sonic...! Sonic!"

As she began to fear the worst, she noticed Mephiles.

"Oh, how the mighty shall fall when they believe there is no harm..." Mephiles said.

Elise's brow furrowed. "What did you do to him...?"

Mephlies gave no response to Elise, the answer already right in front of her.

She slowly stood up, staring him in the eye. "You did this, didn't you...? You killed him..."

Mephiles tilted his head nonchalantly, still not responding.

"He did nothing bad! He saved my life, multiple times!" Elise said, her voice starting to raise. "So tell me, why did he have to die?!"

Mephiles straightened his head, returning Elise's relentless stare. "It was necessary."

"Necessary?! What part of any of this is necessary?!" Elise demanded, gesturing to Sonic. "He didn't do anything to you! For all I know, he never even MET you!"

"Your flame burns bright for him." Mephiles noted. "I wonder... How bright DOES it burn?"

"Bright enough to avenge him." Elise said. "I will kill you."

"You misunderstand." Mephiles said. "I am Mephiles the Dark. Sonic was the strongest being to exist in this era. Yet now he is no more."

Elise lost it. With a loud shout, her hands ignited, and she fired flames at Mephiles. But before they could reach him, her body contorted, and the flames disappeared. As Elise crumbled to the ground, her body starting to glow, Mephiles laughed. It was finally complete.

A blast of wind shot out in all directions, buffeting Mephiles lightly as a bright orange flame erupted into the sky from Elise.

"What's...happening...to me...?!" she managed as she tried to hold on.

The flames finally left her, forming a sphere above her as she remained on the ground, just close enough to cling to Sonic.

Mephiles laughed triumphantly. "Finally, the seal is broken! At long last, I'll be able to join with you! IBLIS!!!"

The Chaos Emeralds appeared, floating around Mephiles. "Now, Chaos Emeralds... It's time for the final curtain call!"

In the desert temple, the trio of Team Dark recuperated from the desecration of the Mephiles clones.

As Shadow reconnected his Inhibitor Rings to his wrists, they heard a boom of thunder outside. When they went outside to see what was going on, they saw a storm brewing unnaturally fast.

"Mephiles..." Shadow said.

An opening was torn in the clouds. Mephiles appeared in the opening, the Chaos Emeralds orbiting him. The flames of Iblis surrounded him, and he embraced it, reuniting with Iblis.

A bright flash of light appeared when they merged, consuming everything.

When the light cleared, everyone collected their bearings. Somehow, despite being separated by space and time, they were all united. Even a familiar red echidna had been brought to this strange place.

"What's going on?" Knuckles asked. "One moment I'm guarding the Master Emerald, the next I'm here. ...Wherever 'here' even is."

"Where ARE we?" Amy asked.

"This is all so confusing..." Silver said.

Rouge took a step forward. "It's all because of Solaris."

"It seems we were all caught by the spacial distortion." Eggman added.

They all looked up, and saw the light above them that was Solaris.

"Iblis's seal has been broken, due to Mephiles's manipulation." Eggman continued.

They then noticed Elise and Sonic, the latter of whom remained still.

"Sonic...?" Amy said, her voice nearly a whisper as they all came up.

"No..." Tails said. "You don't think... No, it can't be. Shard, scan him for a pulse."

Shard nodded and scanned Sonic's body, but nothing came up.

"No pulse detected." Shard said, confirming everyone's fears.

Amy sunk to her knees, and everyone else closed their eyes and lowered their heads.

The truth has been revealed.

Sonic the Hedgehog is dead.

After a while, Eggman looked up at the light and scoffed. "Mephiles played us all for fools! His plan all along was to cause the Princess to be so consumed with vengeance that she'd lash out."

"So that's why he wanted Sonic dead so badly..." Silver said.

The light then roared, and everyone looked up at it.

"Solaris!" Silver exclaimed.

Eggman's brow furrowed. "This creature will consume all existing timelines, and time itself will collapse and disappear into nothingness."

"The instability of time caused this... That's why we're here." Shadow said.

"It won't remain for much longer." Eggman quickly responded. "And once it does collapse, we're all done for."

"Well, then, why are we standing around here?" Knuckles asked. "There's no time to waste! We've got to defeat it NOW!"

"Do you even know what you're saying?" Shadow asked. "I've dealt with Mephiles firsthand. He can travel through time at will. If you defeat him, he'll simply travel back through time and defeat you before you reach the one from your time."

Eggman's brow furrowed.

Silver nodded. "I've dealt with him too. And he's probably even stronger now that he's merged with Iblis."

"So what?!" Knuckles demanded. "Just because he's a little tougher now, all of a sudden he can't be beaten?!"

"You don't have the SLIGHTEST clue what we've been through!" Silver spat. "He can worm his way into your head and make you into his puppet!"

Eggman's brow furrrowed further, his hands clenching into fists.

"Or leave you without the will to fight." Shadow added. "It's only thanks to Rouge that I'm even bothering to care about any of this."

"Well, that Mephiles guy isn't here!" Knuckles responded. "He merged with...whatever it was that you said. So what's stopping us from taking it head-on?"

"Solaris probably knows what we're going to do. And even if it doesn't, how can we be sure our attacks will DO anything?" Silver responded.

"Why are you so afraid to face him when you say you've dealt with him before?!" Knuckles demanded.

"BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT WE DO!!!" Eggman shouted at the top of his lungs, silencing everyone. After a few moments, he looked up at the light. "Solaris is a transcendent life form that exists in the past, present, and future. Defeating it here, now, wouldn't do a damn thing."

Silver shook his head. "No. I won't give up. There HAS to be a way. If you say it exists in the past, present, and future...I'll destroy them all at once!"

"If that's even possible, there's no way we can pull it off." Shadow said, before looking at Sonic. "After all, HE is no longer alive."

After a moment, Amy pulled out her tarot cards.

"Amy...?" Silver asked.

"There has to be a way out. There HAS to." Amy responded. She shuffled the cards before doing a four-card spread. It revealed Seven of Swords, Rebirth, Three of Wands, and The Sun. After looking at them for a moment, Amy finally discerned what they meant, and gasped.

"What is it? What do they say?" Silver asked, his eyes widening.

"We have to get the Chaos Emeralds!" Amy said as she gathered her cards and put them away. "It's the only way to bring Sonic back!"

"They transform thoughts into power..." Silver said. "Of course! If we gather all of them and wish for Sonic to be brought back to life, the Chaos Emeralds will grant our wish!"

He then looked at Elise. "And I can think of no one else more deserving of that honor."

"Me...?" Elise asked.

Silver nodded. "You were the vessel chosen to seal Iblis. You have a connection to the Chaos Emeralds that runs deeper than any other human. You should be the one to bring Sonic back with Chaos Control."

"But...how?" Elise asked. "I've never used it before."

"Simply make your wish known, and then call out 'Chaos Control'." Shadow said. "The Emeralds will grant your wish if you do this."

Elise exhaled, then nodded. "Alright... I'll do it."

Eggman scanned the place they were in. "Solaris flung the Chaos Emeralds into the distant corners of this distorted world."

"It'd be fastest if we all split up." Tails added. "We need to bring Sonic back before we and everything in existence are erased."

They all nodded, and headed out. Amy paused momentarily to look at Elise still cradling Sonic.

"Watch over him." she said. Elise nodded, and Amy departed to catch up.

The search was tiring but relentless.

Tails and Knuckles made their way through the city ruins, with Tails flying above the fire and shadow beasts and Knuckles giving them a good beatdown. After tireless searching, they found the yellow Chaos Emerald.

Omega and Eggman flew over a chasm as Omega opened fire on every fire beast in sight, before climbing up a wall and destroying more fire beasts as well as the few shadow beasts that were there. From there, they saw Tails obtaining the yellow Chaos Emerald before heading down to blow up more shadow beasts that had appeared. Eventually, Eggman identified the location of the grey Chaos Emerald, and Omega retrieved it.

Shard made his way through the forest, tearing the shadow beasts apart as he advanced. He knew it was nearby. Having been already programmed to identify them in any situation, it took very little time at all for him to find the blue Chaos Emerald.

Silver and Blaze found themselves surrounded by fire beasts, but they were able to destroy them by using Silver's telekinesis to turn their fiery attacks back at them, before Blaze's powered-up fire attacks finished them off. They explored the desert ruins diligently, not stopping until they found the green Chaos Emerald.

Rouge searched the beach, leaping from rock formation to rock formation and flying over the fire beasts she encountered. Eventually, she found the cyan Chaos Emerald and prepared to return.

Amy scoured the snow-covered hills, carefully making her way around the fire and shadow beasts before entering a base of operations half-covered in the snow. After taking out the beasts in her way, she found the purple Chaos Emerald.

Shadow sped through the ruins of the castle, tearing apart the fire and shadow beasts in his way. His search was relentless, not stopping until he located the red Chaos Emerald.

Everyone gathered around Sonic, the Chaos Emerald surrounding him.

Elise got down on her knees, her hands together in prayer. "Oh Chaos Emeralds, gems of miracles. Please heed my call."

The Chaos Emeralds began to glow slightly more, as if listening to Elise.

"I wish to save this world." she continued. "I wish to cleanse my father's sin. And...I wish to talk to Sonic, once again!"

The lifeless Sonic and the Chaos Emeralds floated into the air, and began to glow even more.

Elise stood up, looking at him. "You have given me so many things... Now it is my time to return the favor. I care not what happens to me. But please heed my voice."

Her hands, still together in prayer, clung together tightly. "CHAOS...CONTROL!"

The Chaos Emeralds reacted, and a blinding light erupted from them. When it vanished, Super Sonic was floating in front of them.

He slowly landed on the floor, and looked up at Elise. She smiled, then sank to her knees and wrapped her arms around him, and he returned her hug.

"Thank you, Elise..." Super Sonic said.

When they broke the hug, Elise stood up and stepped aside, allowing Shadow and Silver to come up.

"We'll finally beat Solaris once and for all." Silver said.

Shadow nodded. "Lend us your power, so that we may fight at your side."

Super Sonic nodded, and held out his hands towards Shadow and Silver. They did the same, and Super Sonic sent the power of the Chaos Emeralds through them.

Shadow became Super Shadow, and Silver became Super Silver.

After a moment, they looked up at Solaris and took off, flying to him as the others looked on with hope.

The Super Hedgehogs faced against Solaris.

"That body of light is the sign of a super-dimensional life form. Standard attacks won't work on him! He eats dimensions for lunch!" Eggman said.

"A super-dimensional being... Heh. This might even be a fair fight!" Super Shadow said.

"Possibly. But you do have a way to lower his guard." Eggman responded. "There should be something that's anchoring him to this dimension."

"You mean the fact that this is the only dimension that exists?" Super Sonic asked.

"No, you twit!" Eggman said. "I was REFERRING to the light shells that can be seen on his body. If all of those are destroyed, that might increase your odds of defeating him!"

Super Sonic nodded. "Alright then! Let's bring in the heavy firepower! All you, Shadow!"

"Understood." Super Shadow said before unleashing a barrage of Chaos Spears all over Solaris, who reacted by sending fire and shadow attacks at them, but Super Silver was able to catch them and turn them back at him before they could strike. Super Sonic then charged forward and struck Solaris, leaving him open to a seemingly never-ending barrage of Chaos Spears from Super Shadow, and the light shells on Solaris's arms crumbled and vanished after some time.

Solaris again tried to attack them, but Super Silver rendered his attacks ineffective. "Now's your chance, Sonic!" Super Silver called out.

"Alright, now it's my turn!" Super Sonic said. "Let's have some fun, Solaris!"

He charged forward and struck the light shell on Solaris's chest, but was unable to strike a second time before Solaris swatted him back. But after some careful aiming, he was able to quickly slip between Solaris's arms and deliver another blow on the light shell, which then crumbled and vanished as Sonic flew back to view the damage done.

To his delight, all of the light shells were gone, and the three Super Hedgehogs rained hell on Solaris, rendering him unable to react. Eventually, he stopped moving.

Super Silver took a breath. "Is it over?"

Solaris's body then convulsed, and began to transform.

Super Shadow clenched his hands into fists. "No, it's not over..."

"I guess it's not gonna be that easy." Super Sonic said, as the transformation completed.

"Ngh... Is it impossible to defeat a super-dimensional being after all?" Eggman asked.

Elise's eyes went wide. "No... Something's different... I can feel a large, powerful consciousness coming from Solaris!"

"What? A consciousness?" Eggman asked. "Hmm..."

He then snapped his fingers. "That's it! If we can't stop his form, we can still stop his consciousness!"

"Look!" Amy said, pointing. "There's a strange thing in the middle of Solaris! Is that the source of his consciousness?"

"Only one way to find out." Super Shadow said before unleashing a barrage of Chaos Spears against it.

"Shadow... We saw that when we sealed Mephiles and Iblis. Remember?" Super Silver said. "It fizzled out before splitting in two!"

Super Shadow nodded. "They became Iblis and Mephiles... That must have reformed when they reunited."

"Well then, what are you waiting for?" Knuckles asked. "Smack it!"

"Oh, don't you worry, Knuckles, we intend to!" Super Sonic said.

"This is the root of all our problems..." Super Silver said. "We will defeat you, Solaris!"

Solaris tried to blast away the Super Hedgehogs as his attacks grew more erratic. Super Silver was unable to hold back all of them, and the trio were blasted. From the ensuing explosion, they emerged, with Super Sonic front and center.

"The present day, the here and now that you've stolen..." Super Sonic said. "Time to take it back!"

He flew in for an attack, got blasted back with a laser attack, but was able to get a strike in. Super Shadow quickly followed up on that with a Chaos Blast, sending Solaris reeling. Super Silver fended off a fire attack, turning it against Solaris, and the cycle continued on until Solaris finally stopped attacking. His body slowly disappeared, and light began to spread all over the time-space rift. As the others cheered, the Super Hedgehogs returned to them. They faced the light, which enveloped everything in sight.

When the light vanished, only three things remained. Sonic, Elise, and a tiny white flame.

"Did you destroy it...?" Elise asked once they collected their bearings.

A bunch of tiny white particles appeared, and Sonic shook his head. "...No. We only reverted him back. That is the true Solaris."

The particles surrounded the white flame, before glowing brightly.

-----------------------

The King of Soleanna stood before the flame of Solaris, with little Elise at his side.

"Look, Elise." he said calmly. "This is Solaris, the flame of hope."

"It's so beautiful..." she said.

The King smiled. "When the flame has grown large enough, our world will change. Solaris will allow us to control time and move through history. People will be able to rectify past mistakes and avoid bitter fate."

Elise looked at him. "Will we be able to see Mama?"

He smiled warmly and hugged her. "Yes, Elise. We'll both be able to see your mother once again."

She reached up and held his hand, and they walked away. Elise turned back to look at the flame once more, and the King noticed. They looked at it for a moment longer, before leaving.

-----------------------

Sonic and Elise approached the tiny flame.

"This is where everything began." Elise said. "Who knew such a tiny flame could bring such devastation?"

She slowly walked up and placed her hand on the barrier surrounding the flame, before gently picking it up.

"If we put out this flame, Solaris will never exist, and we'll never have to worry about the Flames of Disaster." Elise said. "We can prevent it all, with this."

Sonic nodded, then noticed Elise's face lose its smile. "Elise...?"

She slowly exhaled, turning to him. "I... It's just... Our encounter... You and I will never meet. It will never have happened. I... I know this has to be done, but I don't want to lose what we have..."

Her hands trembled, as she continued. "I don't want to lose the only friend I ever had..."

Sonic remained silent, for a moment. Then, his eyes lit up. "You won't."

"What...?" Elise asked.

"You don't have to put out the flame." Sonic said. "There's another way. Instead of putting out the flame...embrace it. We can save the world AND still remember each other."

Her hands shaking, Elise put the flame of Solaris back onto its pedestal before sinking to her knees and hugging Sonic as tightly as she could. He returned it, gently rubbing her back as she sobbed.

When she finished, he gently wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

"Sonic..." she breathed.

"It's okay, Elise." Sonic said, smiling. "I'll be right here with you, as you save the world."

She slowly stood up, and they walked up to the flame. Elise slowly reached out towards the flame, but instead of picking it up, she put her hand into the flame. She felt the searing heat of the flame, yet she was unharmed.

Eventually, her hand caught fire. The flame of Solaris left the pedestal and began to spread over Elise's body, and when she looked at herself, she saw that her entire body was engulfed in Solaris's flame. She felt blisteringly hot, but she felt no pain.

Her outfit changed, in the flames. Her dress extended greatly, altering itself to accommodate for her physique. A swooping, silver crown in the design of the feathers adorned on her head appeared, perfectly fitting her. To finish the alterations, a flowing white cape with a blue underside appeared, draping down her back. On the white side was the crest of Soleanna.

Then, the flames disappeared inside her.

Sonic whistled. "Not bad."

"Hehe... Thanks." Elise said, getting a look at herself.

"So, I take it Solaris is inside of you now?" he asked.

"I...guess so." Elise said, clenching and unclenching her hand.

"Alright. Let's test it out, by bringing the others back."

"Okay. Let's see..." Elise extended her hand forward, and a glow of light appeared, bringing back everyone that was present during the battle against Solaris.

Tails gasped. "We're back...!"

Amy squealed, as everyone celebrated.

"Looks like it works." Sonic said, smiling.

Elise nodded. "It does."

He folded his arms on his chest, glancing up at her. "You ready to bring everything back?"

She looked down at him, giving him a taste of his own smirk. "I sure am."

"What do you mean 'bring everything back'?" Silver asked. "Did you...?"

"Yes. I was the one who brought you all back." Elise said. "I absorbed the flame of Solaris, and I now have its power."

"So, you became one with Solaris?" Eggman asked, and Elise nodded.

"Then that would make you a goddess." Eggman noted. "Wouldn't it?"

She put a hand to her chin. "I suppose so... I never thought about it like that."

"Then use that power." Silver said. "Save our world, once and for all."

Elise put her hands together, and a glowing light emerged from them, and the void they were in transformed back into the world that Solaris had erased.

They found themselves in the palace of Soleanna.

"Miss Elise...?" they heard. When they turned, they saw one of her handmaidens. "Is that you?"

She nodded. "Yes. It's me."

"What happened?"

"Solaris tried to destroy the world. But I took his power and undid the damage." Elise said. "I guess you could say I have become a goddess."

The handmaiden smiled. "How very wonderful, Miss Elise. Or...should I say, Divine One?"

Elise smiled, shaking her head. "Whatever you wish to call me."

Her eyes then went wide, as she saw her father, and she ran up and hugged him. "Father..." she breathed.

The King of Soleanna gently wrapped his arms around her. "Elise..."

Nobody said anything for several moments. Eventually, they slowly let go of each other.

He turned to Silver. "You have found a way to return my life to me... Thank you."

Silver shook his head. "Don't thank me. Thank her."

He looked at Elise, as did the King.

"Elise..." the King said. "It was you who brought me back...? My dear girl..."

Elise giggled lightly. "I now bear the flames of Solaris within me, Father. I've become more than just a princess. I'm a goddess, now."

"A goddess..." the King said. "Oh, how you've grown... You've become so much more than I ever imagined you would."

They then saw a very familiar woman come through the doorway.

"Esola...? What's going on...?" the woman asked.

Elise found herself short of breath. Here, before everyone, stood her mother, Queen Elise the Second.

Elise the Second then saw Elise the Third. "Are you...?"

Elise the Third nodded. "Yes... It's me, Mother..."

She came up to her, and they hugged.

"It's been so long..." Elise the Second said. "When I passed, I never once thought I would return to life... And you... You hold such power within you... Could it be that you have Solaris within you?"

Elise the Third nodded. "Solaris attempted to destroy the world. But I restored it with his power. Solaris lives on in me."

Sonic exhaled. "Mind if we talk about all of this over some lunch? I'm practically starving over here."

King Esola smiled. "Yes, lunch sounds quite pleasant right now."

They all headed out to find a place to eat at.

"...and then she put her hand into Solaris's flame, and it turned her into, well, what you see now." Sonic said, finishing the tale of what everyone had gone through the past few days before popping the last bite of chili dog into his mouth.

"I knew she would grow to become a strong queen, but I never imagined she would accomplish that..." Elise the Second said.

"Take it from me, Your Majesty. People can surprise you pretty often." Sonic said, reaching for another chili dog on the large plateful at the center of the table.

Elise the Third laughed a little. "Sonic, you've already had four!"

"Hey, can't exactly blame me, can you? I never pass up having one of these." Sonic responded as he picked one up.

"I desire sustenance in the form of: Chili Dog." Omega said. "But I am unable to obtain it."

"Can't you scan one or something? Here." Sonic said, holding his chili dog up to Omega.

"A logical suggestion. Commencing scan of chili dog." Omega said, before scanning the chili dog in Sonic's hand. When it was finished, Omega processed the data of the chili dog.

"Well? What do you think?"

"...Holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-"

Eggman smacked him on top of his head.

"Ow." Omega said.

"So, how was it?" Sonic asked before taking a bite of the chili dog in his hand.

"Exceptional. Satisfaction achieved." Omega said.

"Even a robot enjoys chili dogs..." King Esola mused. "Fascinating."

Shadow nodded. "I prefer to save any moments to have one for special occasions, such as now."

"That's quite the understatement, calling saving the world from a god of time a 'special occasion'. Blaze said, as she passed a chili dog to Silver before getting one for herself.

"Then what WOULD you call it?" Knuckles asked.

Blaze thought for a moment, then shrugged.

"Pay it no mind." Rouge said. "After all, we're here to enjoy ourselves, aren't we?"

Amy nodded as she let Shard scan her chili dog. "Whether you call it a special occasion or anything else, what matters is that we're all here in the first place."

"Exactly." Sonic said.

"So, what are we going to do once we're done here?" Tails asked.

"Honestly?" Sonic asked. "No idea. I think I might hang around here for a while."

"Rouge, Omega, and I have other missions from GUN that we must attend to." Shadow said.

"Blaze and I were thinking of returning to our future, and seeing what it's like there now that the Flames of Disaster are properly contained." Silver said.

"I've got to get back to the Master Emerald once we're done here." Knuckles said. "The distortion of time and space and whatnot kinda kept me away from my duties."

"It sounds like all of you have plans." Elise the Second said. "Though I do hope you will all return for the ceremony when my daughter ascends to the throne."

"We'll be there." Silver said. "All of us."

Elise the Third smiled. "I'm so happy to hear that."

The group all enjoyed their lunch together. Once the chili dogs were finished, they parted ways, but not before Sonic, Shadow, and Silver were formally knighted in the palace by King Esola and Queen Elise the Second.

Upon Elise the Third's ascendance to the throne as queen, everyone returned as promised. The ceremony was bountiful, and everyone celebrated the rise of their new goddess.

The future waited for no one. But the heroes and their goddess had all the time in the world to prepare.