Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bzzzz. B-bzzzz. Cra-a-ackle. Bvooom.

An image sputters into life. There’s a pink haired hedgehog peering over the land that she used to call, Green Hill, from atop a tree branch. The hammer she leans on is worn and bruised, pieces of scrap metal still rammed into the front and sides. There’s also a blue hedgehog next to her, arms folded, scars gleaming with red flesh, a gaze that pierces the smokey air. There’s deep contempt in his battered form. How long has it been since they felt at peace, since they-

Bzzzzzzzzzzzz. Blip.

I look down from our perch, an awful sight of tumbling flames and gurgling cries. Metal death stamping their reign onto what used to be luscious greenery. Eggman, I almost gag, my face wrinkling at the thought of his name, has turned Green Hill into something akin to hell. How could we have let it get this way? I thought… I thought we were stronger.

“Amy, let’s go.”

Sonic’s voice hums in my ears and I snap from focus. There’s grit to his words that I can’t exactly hear. But I can feel it. I press my hand to my chest, the fur covered in soot and tiny glints of shrapnel. After all, this place meant a lot to both of us… at some point.

“We’ve lost so many, Sonic. Where do we even go-“

He pulls my hand before I could even process what’s happening. Half catching me as I recover from our drop, he tugs me again and in an instant, wind is blowing to my sides, our surroundings blurring. I consider the butterflies I once felt just holding his hand, now they’re unable to catch up to the moment.

Looking back, a flock of Eggdragons crowd the trees we were at, dangerously large birds that caw loud and mechanically before bellowing a pillar of fire that rolls over the forest we escape from.

Looking forward, swiftly does Sonic’s body shield as we move at his speed. I can barely even feel the wind. It seems there’s no time for rest anymore. We have to find a way to stop this evil. But I’m terrified that it may be too late.

I’m not sure where he’s leading us, but the run must at least help him with his thinking. Help... I wish I could do more for him, and we don’t have anyone else these days.

“Sonic… I-“

“Watch out!”

He yells, heeling us to a stop as Eggman’s more standard robots drop from Eggcarriers and slam precisely around us. Even at the edge of the forest where we could’ve escaped by jumping into the water and taking off to the mountains, we’re more than surrounded to do anything. He lets go of my hand and I grip my hammer tightly. It’s only a matter of time before the Eggdragons catch up as well. We can’t stay here.

“Sonic, we have to hurry.”

He grunts in agreement before blitzing the robots in front of us. They’re more fortified than before. Ever since Eggman began commanding the emeralds, even small fries have become unbearably difficult. I take a few solid steps before jumping high up in the air. All the pain, stress, anguish, hatred, and loss I’ve endured I channel into this swing. Bringing the hammer from behind me with both arms, I crash it down on the disoriented robots that Sonic attacked. The blow dints the robot I initially hit, almost pressing halfway into itself and forms a crater under it that topples the surrounding bots.

Sonic snatches me from the air and jumps again, angling us off the cliff side and above the water. One look back and I can see the fire had finally caught up. Then I hear the electrical cries of approaching Eggdragons.

As we fall, I close my eyes. I want to take in a moment. Just one so I can breathe because even the water isn’t safe, Eggman has a beast swimming constantly, sensing heat, life, or anything that moves. Eggcetus, and no one has fought it and survived. Opening my eyes again, I brace myself for the impact.

Sp-sploosh.

The sudden water is calming, just us two enveloped in silence and solitude, but I shake off the feeling immediately as I swim to the surface, pulling him and narrowly throwing him above the water. I’m a bit exhausted from that last attack but if I ease too much, the adrenaline will wane. I watch him kick his legs, sprinting away as he makes contact and circling back to reach my awaiting hand. Grabbing hold of me, he yanks me into his arms, and we take off to the mountains.

Another moment, please. I beg whoever is listening, watching us. I press into his messy fur just to rest a little longer, hearing his heartbeat is calming against the reverberating water under us caused by Eggcetus. It must have been alerted by the fight earlier and made its way from wherever. I know Sonic can run faster than it can swim, we will be fine. And perhaps there is a chance we make it through all of this. That we find a way to beat Eggman as we always have done. We just need to regroup and plan things out.

“Oh no…”

And I truly believed in this false sense of hope until we found ourselves hiding in a cave carved into the side of one of the mountains. And perhaps I fantasized too much in my life growing up, in the strength that brought us this far, in Sonic. Eggtitans rise almost like sleeping demigods, their body lengths the size of the mountain we cooped in. We’re trapped here. Two of them, heads reeling from behind to face us, their appearances as detestable as their creator's. Their eyes sit awkwardly, numerous and uneven. One on their saucer-like heads and the others sprinkled over their chests. Intimidating blood stains their plates, their claws the size of trees. One of the robots still has bits of flesh dangling. Something very large was prey to them, what could it have been? I consider as we cautiously and slowly get up.

“Move!”

I let out a yelp as Sonic pushes me to the side. Before I slam into the wall, barely out of sight, I catch the glow of a green, emerald color to the eye on their heads. The thought of Shadow flickers into mind vaguely before I wince at the impact and fall to the ground. That light means they’re about to fire. Sonic focuses, gaining speed I can’t even track. He dodges an incoming barrage of laser shots with slight adjustments in his posture. Only a few slip by, scraping his arms and melting his quills. I have to do something; he can’t keep this up forever. These lasers are almost as fast as he-

“Gah!”

“Sonic!!”

My throat is sore as I look in horror. One laser manages to chunk a piece of leg. I know that these things are intelligent. They respond greatly to movement, but they prioritize what they can kill. If I move, maybe they’ll shift their focus knowing I’m far slower than he is and that’ll be enough time for him to escape. Every second counts so it must be enough. Ah... I’m scared. I’m so scared to die. Blood drips down my head from where I hit the wall. To be apart from him. But I’ll do whatever I can to keep Sonic safe. I can already feel my wobbling limbs screaming my soul into action. I have to do this, for all that we lost, for every mistake we made along the way, for the things I never got to say to him. I have to…

“Run!!!”

I cry out as I jump to my feet, I snatch my hammer off the wall and hurl it with all my might towards the pair. Sonic's eyes grow wide, I wonder how many thoughts are running through his mind in this moment, this instant of brokenness I can see behind the blue as I smile softly. The image of him disappearing leaves a few teardrops as the Eggtitans focus on me. A small indent is visible on the side of one of their heads. The glow of their many eyes now aimed at me. Maybe now I can say I finally helped h-

Bzzzzz. Cr-ac-ackle... Blip.

The visual cuts short. Then Shadow slams his fist onto a keyboard that Tails sits behind as they stare up at the now black monitor screen.

“Dammit! What happened? Where did Sonic go?! Tails, get the feed back up and running, I have to head out there.”

“I’m sorry, Shadow.” Tails whispers, solemnly. “You can’t go out there.”

“Are you saying I’m not strong enough to help?”

Tails’ voice becomes distorted as he responds, almost like he is audibly in an old, damaged cassette tape.

Th…is…isn’t our…sto…ry……

Then the Lost Tape snaps off into silence.

Chapter Text

Kuchg. Bzzzzzzzz.

A cassette tape begins to play. From where, no one knows. It starts with the sound of music, its low quality matching the old timey feeling the song brings about. Almost like an entity willed it into being. For what purpose, one can only speculate. All we can do now, is list-

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

My eyes followed the dazzling green emerald as it danced across my fingers before I flicked it high into the air. Tails was explaining the plan to us but distractedly raised his head beyond the clouds as we waited for it to fall. 

“We don’t have long before Egghead’s air and aquatic forces reach the island. We will have to separate into groups to fend them off…”

I snatched the humming emerald effortlessly, a hint of boredom showing with the ‘hmph’ I let out, as if it was going at a snail's pace the entire time. In that moment though, my eyes met with Amy’s startled expression. Rouge had given an amused ‘hm,’ at my unremarkable maneuver and Omega let out an automated ‘Ha. Haha,’ but my gaze lingered on the pink girl. Was something wrong?

“Shadow, I know you are paying attention to the plan, but this is no time to be playing around.”

Tails began to lecture, yet instead of continuing to the next phase which would be delegating tasks, he pans over his focus to where my gaze settled. Then everyone silently looked at Amy. The distraught was hardly contained on her face.

“Amy, are you alright?”

Tails said after a moment, but then confusion crossed as she turned her head to face him.

“What?”

She said with a soft tone. As if she had no clue why we were all looking her way. I scanned the area in case something irregular had occurred, only a slight hint of energy splayed across the camp but it felt like the emerald in my hand was just pulsating. Chaos energy isn't exactly something one has full control over.

“Sonic…?”

And to everyone’s surprise, tears began to rain down. We all tensed up in silence as we continued watching her.

“R… un…”

She whispered as she started to fall over. Sonic immediately responded and kept her upright.

It’s strange. This feeling. Watching her cry so suddenly, I feel anger and pain. A great sense of loss. Almost like I was Maria looking at… me, right after I lost her, my old life, and everything I cared for. Looking down from the pink girl as Rouge, Cream and Cheese gently lead her away from the camp, I’m almost enveloped in this odd sensation. I find myself uncharacteristically pressing the emerald to my chest.

I sensed Sonic and glared as he gave me a raised eyebrow, as if I was the cause. I just rolled my eyes with a ‘hmph,’ and folded my arms. As if it was my fault, no one was paying any mind to that girl until her random outburst. 

After assigning squads for the mission, Tails gently grabbed the emerald from my hand and I watched without protest. He held it between his fingers with intense focus.

“You know the way Shadow, Sonic and Silver can use chaos energy to freeze the flow of time to some extent? I think I have an idea how to harness that ability other than how the bad guys used it. A contingency plan in case we get into trouble.”

“What are you saying?”

I questioned him while mimicking Sonic’s eyebrow raise. Tails smirked in anticipation of this question.

“We will plant a trap on one of the emeralds. There’s a device I’ve been working on that will contain the time controlled energy. It’ll be like putting an emerald in a chrono stasis.”

“You have to dumb it down so that Sonic can understand.”

I point my thumb at the birdbrain who shoots a look at me. Tails shook his head.

“What I’m saying is that I’m rigging an emerald up with a portable, already set, chaos control. Something that’ll go off when the right condition is met. If I can link it to someone’s brain, maybe I can in a sense, time travel someone back to a checkpoint so that we can avoid a tragedy.”

“That’s incredible, Tails.”

Rouge says as the girls came back from wherever they went. Amy was quiet, in some sort of daze.

“Condition?”

I followed up with.

“Right, it would have to be something mentally stimulating. Like a stress level reaching a certain threshold or-“

“A near death experience?”

Cream said with a sorrowful look on her face.

Tails hesitated but nodded, his ears lowering.

“This is going to be our most dangerous mission yet, I just-“

Electricity whirred before he spoke.

“How certain are you, that this would work? And, whose brain, are you designating as the trigger?”

Omega chimed in, pointing a finger in the air as if this was a classroom.

“I’m… about 85% sure this will work.”

Tails responded with determination on his face as he looked at the robot. But he averted his eyes a moment later.

“I’m not sure who will be the chosen one though, Omega.”

“Then I, suggest, we put it to a vote. I believe that Shadow is the most suitable candidate. He will be going through the toughest battles, alone this mission.”

“Hmph.”

“That’s not a bad idea, Omega, let’s put it to a vote then?”

Tails raised his hand to start the voting for whomever would be the one.

“Who…”

Bzzzzzzz.

“Would like to…”

Bzzzzzz.

“Volunteer for…”

Bzzzzzzzz.

My head… Why is Tails’ voice slipping away? The camp is shrinking, replaced by blackness. It swallows everything in my view. As I reach forward, running as fast as I can, I try to catch the glimmer of light left but, even that disappears before my eyes. What is this?

Looking around, I can hear my footsteps. I can’t make out the noises they cause when touching whatever surface I’m on. What could’ve possibly happened? I start to run, perhaps there’s an end to this place.

Before I knew it, I forgot how long I’ve been here. How long I’ve been running. I never did reach the end and I’m not sure if I ever will at this rate. I’m tired and I don’t understand this. The only thing I can tell for certain is the familiar essence of the chaos emeralds. Did something go wrong with Tails’ plan? Was I chosen? Why can’t I remember any…

After what feels like a never ending experience, I catch a glint of green in the corner of my eye. Immediately I twist myself around so that I don’t lose track of it and use every ounce of strength I have left to chase it down. Closer. Closer. Come on, Shadow, you’re faster than this!

Running here feels as if I’m simultaneously moving but not moving at the same time. Something akin to a void, but I’m managing. I can see the glint of green light approaching. Almost… almost… please make it, I can feel someone calling for me. Maria?

Bzzzzzz. Bz. Bzzzzzzzzzz.

“R…”

“-un!!”

The darkness around me finally blooms into colors. I reach forward until I see the green emerald in front of me. Almost like building blocks, I watch the world start to form. A green sphere of energy stretches from the emerald, enveloping me and… Amy?

She looks at me with the slow expression of awe starting to rise. I feel faster than I’ve felt before, but I can tell it is a fleeting energy. I use this time to examine this girl, she looks older now, how many years has it been? She’s covered in scars and has the eyes of a worn soldier. Turning around as best I can in this moment, I see Eggman’s robots. Something ginormous that I’ve never encountered before. Something bad happened during the mission. And Tails’ plan did not work the way he mentioned it. But Amy is here and if everyone else is lost, I know I can at least save her.

As time begins to catch up to me, I am close enough to finally grab the emerald. Snatching it from the air, I spin around, a barrage of lasers heading our way. I put one hand behind me to shield Amy, and I yell with all of my resolution, the words that have rarely ever failed me. Words that will hopefully serve as a starting point for us to turn this whole war over. Even if its just her and I. We will fight. We will win this.

“Chaos…”

Bzzzz. B…bzzzzzz. Kuchg.

Then the Lost Tape clicks. A silence one cannot quite describe. The rest of this story only to be a memory for all who survived.

Chapter Text

The cassette churns once again, but no music plays this time. Only familiar faces holding bated breaths awaiting another story. They lean close enough to hear thoughts hum from the audio. A battle-worn pink hedgehog and a traveler from the past is all they remember from the last tape they managed to salvage. Instead, we find ourselves surrounding a lost one. It’s been many years of war since it all started. When will enough of this ever be enough? When can I finally call this one of my greatest short-

Bzzzzzzzz-

“Agh!”

I fall over a rock while running, tumbling violently until I smack a wall. The pain vibrantly rings in my head before pricking down my spine.

“What was… that?”

There was a voice that felt so far but so close. What was it?

“Greatest…”

I wince as the wound from my leg begins to hurt even more.

“Short..?”

I disregard the voice as I’m reminded of what just happened. The tears sliding down my face. My leg looks terrible as I pull myself into a sitting position against the wall of rock I crashed into. There’s a chunk of space where my leg used to be. I can’t help but laugh hysterically as I think about it all. Amy has done so much for me and this is the best I can do to get away? I’m Sonic the Hedgehog and I can barely run? This is pathetic.

“Sonic, you’re better than this. Everyone is counting on-“

I feel something familiar getting closer. Like a surge of energy stirring. Is that…? My lips part slightly as I focus on pinpointing it. My green eyes pooling with swirling reds. I try to follow a tether-like sensation from my mind that pulls me towards where… Amy is? Was… then my eyes settle back to their more natural green. 

“No, it can’t be. But maybe something happened and she found a way to escape... That felt… like chaos energy.”

The blood doesn’t take long to soak what’s left of my leg, my shoes, and make a puddle under me. If I go to her, I won’t be able to do anything more than trade my life for hers. She worked up the courage to save me. I have to figure out the right decision. I only have one chance. If I get close enough, I can see if the Eggtitans have moved, that should let me know if she ran away or… not. The camp we had around here may have been destroyed but, I could at least give myself to make sure she reaches it. Looking at this mess of a leg, I couldn’t even patch this up if I tried. 

Just take a few steady breaths and get up, this is a cakewalk for you. You’ve been in way worse situations than…

I feel dizzy all of a sudden despite not standing up yet. My body shakes almost uncontrollably until I squeeze my red soaked gloves. I can feel what reminds me of a chaos emerald surge within me as if I touched one recently. It’s strange and not much, and when I do stand, my vision is so blurry, it’s hard to see the path back to her. One step… Another…

“Amy… I can’t… lose you too.”

A lump in my chest wells up and starts to hurt. It hurts more than the physical injuries I have. The regret of leaving her in that moment instead of finding another way through it. The regret of being so fast and yet not having a plan for enemies like that to surprise us. The regret of not finding any moment to rest and put her mind at ease. The- I choke as blood tries to exit my throat from the near convulsions. After a moment I cough it out into my hand, memories triggering as I let it fall limply to my side.

“Kn-Knuckles… Rouge…”

The thought of them plays in my head like a video screen. Giant crabs swarming us by the thousands at the beach front. Rouge flying away with an emerald back to base but is knocked out of the sky by an Eggdragon. Her unconscious body impossible to protect in the chaos. Knuckles stubbornly fending the crabs off anyways until the breath of a dragon heating up inside its core finally explodes over the battlefield, melting steel, the ground under us, and the two of them together. The last thing I see before Tails pulls me into the air is Knuckles giving me an assuring nod, covering Rouge’s body, inevitably.

Skzzzzzzzzzz.

The Lost Tape has scratches, causing it to skip.

“Cream… Ch-Cheese-”

They were supposed to be in the safest position, monitoring the enemy forces from the radar inside the base. Their signal was intercepted and before I-

Chhhhhhhhhhh.

I can barely focus on walking. How far have I gone? No matter, I have to make it there. This limp is getting worse but... More memories fill my head as time seems to slow.

Big was almost unrecognizable when we found him near a camp Eggman’s robots had set up. His injuries transmuted into mechanical monstrosities. Wired tentacles exploding from half of his body, flailing wildly about with the head of Vector snapping along robotic copies. Espio’s horn protruded from Big’s shoulder and Charmy… that poor Bee-

Chhhhhhhhhh.

So many of my friends were lost faster than I could run. Tears drift down my dirt and blood covered face. How can that be? I’m supposed to be the fastest-

Chhhhhhhhhh.

I forgot why I was walking… where am I?

“T-Tails, where-”

I can’t tell if I’ve fallen. I can’t feel anything anymore, it’s too cold. Are my eyes open? Tails I… I miss you so much. It’s been too hard doing this without you.

…

I wish I could wait here until you save me but I know, I’m not that delusional right now..

…

Am I dying? This must be how… right. I have to get to Amy… I stretch my hand out. Over and over to grab something and pull. Keep going, Sonic. You have to… keep…

The light in my eyes fade into a deep slumber. But my body jerks once, like a dying spark as the chaos energy leaves my body through my hand and onto the mound it rests on. A moment later, the vibration of moving gears warms the ground. A pair of red eyes gaining its glowing flames. Static jerks the robot into unstable reawakening. Assessing the death of his friend, the unheard audio logs playing in his head, anger erupted.

“I-I-I-I-I Omega, will destroy them all-all-all-all-all. It is almost June. Con-con-consider this a birthday pres-present to you, Sonic. The end of Egg-Egghead.”

He lays a jerking hand as gently as he can on top of my head.

Hap-hap-hap-hap-happy-”

And then the Lost Tape sighs into solace. A quiet only those who made it this far can feel.

Happy Birthday, Berry.

Chapter Text

This tape is… barely holding together. The edges are cracked. Something black leaks with a pungent odor. Something pink spills after. There’s no one left in this room but us. Are you sure we should-

Bzzzzzzzzzzz. Kach.

“I have never been more sure in my entire existence.”

A near silence follows my declaration to You, the reader.

My gloves squeeze the handles of the Eggdisaster with enough tension to snap the throat of any Flicky in my grasp. The most perfect mechazoid I have ever manifested.

“You’re going to pay for this, Eggman. ALL of this!”

Pink hair’s pathetic squeal comes from the other side of the bridge. I take note of the irritation building as I sit in the cockpit, hearing her voice ring from the speakers. She claims to be a threat but that worn out expression of hers is enough to tell me she is even less than a nuisance. 

The robots before me turn to stare with blank, coded expressions. The sun is just beginning to peak over the horizon. This has been all that I ever wanted. The one-armed Omega steps next to Amy with a glare that I can… almost, feel emotion from.

To prove to the universe that my mechanical intellect is more superior than even the gods. Shadow the traitorous hedgehog blinks into view at Amy’s other side, holding a chaos emerald.

I can barely contain my excitement. 

“DO YOU THINK THAT SINGLE EMERALD WILL BE ENOUGH TO DEFEAT ME?”

“We’ve made it this far… it’ll have to be more than enough for the likes of you! Chaos Control!”

I’m not sure what exactly happened after that. I imagine Shadow used the emerald in his possession to close the distance in hopes of destroying my prized creation. But…

“This is pathetic coming from you. Shadow, the fastest hedgehog still alive.”

I watch his eyes widen at the sound of my voice. In the midst of stopped time, a whirring noise had begun. Speeding up. Then becoming higher in pitch as the rest of the chaos emeralds suddenly appear before us. They spin around my mech while I rise to the full length of its splendor. An intimidating growl echoes from the machine as my gaze meets Shadow’s near frozen expression.

“I can do what you do, but better, Hedgehog. This machine counters your chaos energy with its own enhanced version.”

I slowly move the arm and grab Shadow from the air, the pincers of the hand contracting around his neck. There’s a bone-chilling tone to my words. No smile on my face as I share the news.

“This mech is responding to your use of chaos energy. You may be in a time pocket slower than me, but I know you can hear me clearly. I have two choices for you.”

The emeralds continue to spin but start to space out and slowly encompass my army. Automated chimes of life sound off everywhere as they too can move now. I can feel Shadow fighting against the claws squeezing him to no avail.

“One: I march this army within your chaos control to your friends and crush them along with any hope they thought they had.

Or Two: You release time, disabling my emeralds’ countermeasures and giving up your own life earlier than you may have expected, but allowing your friends more time to prepare for their own demise.”

I do not wait for a response, slowly marching the army towards the other side of the bridge. Then suddenly, time starts back up.

Crunch. 

The robots all stop marching along with me. In my claw, I can feel the head of a rodent slip off its shoulders and slowly plummet to the ground with a splat. Without the head, the body slips through my claw and splatters soon after.

“So he made his choice. Such a pitiful way to go.”

The emerald he once had, almost magnetically pulls into the rotation of the others around me before they all disappear within the mech.

Amy’s face is pale, I can tell even from here how distraught she is. How much anguish she feels for being so utterly useless. It must be sad to live such an existence. I suppose her end will be mercy.

What’s this? I can feel the ground shaking.

“I-I’m…”

Amy begins muttering. My sensors should not be acting up, but they detect some sort of orange spirit descending down to her.

“I’m…

Bzzzzzzzzzzzz. Vhmmmmmm. The tape begins to hum even louder.

***

“I’m going to kill you, Eggman.”

This is not just a thought, a statement. It is an instinctual presence awakening from its slumber deep within my chest. I can feel its warmth, pain, and irrefutable justice. After all we’ve done to save the world over and over and over, this was not about protecting what’s left of this brokenness. This was not about saving anyone anymore. This is about the humming in my head that’s gotten much louder now than the pain of this splitting headache I feel.

Through blurry vision, I look around, seeing nothing but Omega’s burning form. Smoke rises like a pillar as he becomes so angry. I share this fire with him. With no one left but us, we must win. No matter how useless I may have considered myself in the past, I can not afford anything short of Eggman’s absolute defeat. On the pride of everyone I love, I…

A familiar touch wraps around my neck tightly in a hug. I can’t help the tears flowing like a waterfall all of a sudden.

“T-Tikal? Is that you?”

But there is no response, only a surge of energy that courses through my veins almost too much to bear. I understand what this is. The uncontrollable shaking down to the cells in my body scream at me. I can feel its power welling up.

“Omega, don’t just clear a path for me.”

I squeeze my hammer with this newfound strength. Omega’s one arm transfigures into a machine gun as he awaits my signal.

“Destroy every robot you see. I will deal with Eggman.”

My green eyes glow with sparks of pink. Omega launches off like a rocket, exploding into Eggman’s army. He propels sideways, spraying bullets over the battlefield as robots attempt to close the distance.

Eggman doesn’t seem to focus on Omega’s destructivity. Instead, he fixes his eyes on me.

“How did you get that? It was supposed to have been destroyed years ago.”

Through parted lips, I can almost feel Sonic’s spirit with me too. A smirk forming as I prepare to fight.

“That old thing? A friend kept it safe for a special occasion it seems.”

I can sense his boiling anger from here.

“You… DIE HEDGEHOG-”

“EGGMAN!!!!”

I scream so hard, some of the glass plates on nearby Eggdroids shatter and others completely shortcircuit and implode.

Bzzzzzz. Amy. Bzzzzzzz. Don’t give u-

***

Leaping forward, each step sends Amy further and further towards Eggman. With the hopes and prayers of everyone who left before her, she charges head on. A neon streak of pink following her path. Eggman, in the same moment, fires a massive barrage of emerald energy infused missiles. But the master emerald awakening within the girl allows her to swing her hammer in a precise, spinning motion, negating and exploding all the missiles in her path.

As she descends from the air, Omega burns with a neon streak of red himself. Backflipping towards her and using his leg to latch onto the handle of her hammer, he joins her rotation. He uses his jets to propel them into an even faster spin as he, upside down, fires a devastating volley of machine gun shots turning their adversaries into scrap metal. Then he launches her with his foot into Eggdisaster as it starts unloading another barrage of missiles and other various artillery. 

It’s not enough to stop Amy as she slams her hammer into the blocking arms of the mech.

“HYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

She cries out as the veins in her arms bulge, the colors in her eyes sparking like lightning. Then in a triumphant moment, she launches it and Eggman into the sky with a shockwave force that spreads like a collapsed building.

“This… this isn’t enough to defeat me!!” 

Eggman screams back, even more enraged. He throws crazed gestures over his control panel, a red and black aura trailing behind his eyes. The emeralds manifest and spin around him once more. But this time, a different scenario begins as he absorbs the emeralds. His Eggdisaster begins to change form, turning into a T-Rex with chaos energy swirling around it. Even Eggman ceases his humane yelling, an unsettling roar seemingly of his own, bellows from within the mechasaurus.

After landing, Amy looks up at the near evil incarnate above her with an expressionless face. She knows defeating him will not be easy. Was there truly a path to victory? After everything that’s happened, would she be able to do it? He’s so powerful now, even with the master emerald in her possession, she isn’t Sonic. Hesitation crosses her darting eyes, searching the ground aimlessly for possibilities. She does not even bother with protecting herself while she loses focus. Omega sliding past, wrapping his now laser cannon hand around her waist and propelling them away as he fires blast after blast. He then pushes Amy to the ground behind him, the army beginning to surround them.

“Amy, do you not remember Tail’s device? The one that would send someone back in time to warn the others in hopes of creating a better future. But no one made it back in time to secure a path. Therefore…”

Omega spins around to look at Amy who looks up at him with wide eyes.

“You must be our key to victory. Win, Amy. For all of us.”

Hearing the absolution in his voice, the awakening force within her begins to shake and surge like a torrent. She can see them now. Knuckles. Rouge. Charmy. Vanilla. Espio. Blaze. Cream. Shadow… they all pass her with a tap on her shoulder. They fade into the skies with grins and thumbs ups and fist pumps. Then she notices Sonic standing there, smiling. It is as if all sound of the battlefield had never existed. He holds his hand out to Amy and she gets up, borrowing his strength. Then he gives her a thumbs up, jabbing it up to the sky slightly before fading away like the rest. Leaving behind one sentence.

“Show that Egghead the true power of Amy Rose!”

A song begins to play: Reaching For The Stars.

Amy begins floating in the air, her whole body glowing a golden pink with the same intensity as the expression on her face. Her eyes, a deep pink, flow like an open flame. An orange aura swirling around her.

“Eggman, it’s time to end this.”

Eggman responds with another belching roar and Amy launches into the air with her hammer. They collide causing waves of energy that dissipate the clouds and stun everyone on the ground with every contact. Eggdisaster continues to grow in size as they fight. It then flies backwards at great speeds, shooting living missiles that snarl in the air and lasers that melt through trees, buildings, and robots almost instantaneously. Amy attempts to chase him down, weaving through his attacks in a ball of energy as she moves at sonic speed. She slams her weapon into every opening that the mechasaurus exposes but it’s not enough as their fight takes them higher than the sunrise. The mech continues to grow. And they fly even higher than the troposphere. Into space. 

Eggman, with what’s left of his sanity, reaches further. His dreams cannot end here. Any result short of absolute victory is irredeemable. Through his rage, the memories of his predecessor and his work. The responsibility to be the greatest anyone has ever known. He channels this storm within his soul and the Eggdisaster begins to take on an enhanced form, Chaos Eggdisaster. The putrid black aura around it manifests into tendrils and small, black hole-like orbs appear. It roars with black and purple fire in its mouth, charging a blast that might end everything. 

Amy rushes forward with a few spins of her hammer from one side, behind her back and then a great swing ahead as she faces the tendrils. They shoot out in sporadic angles and she deflects them, nearly grazed by their speed. Then the black orbs shoot out in waves. These are difficult for her to dodge attributed from the small gravitational pull emitting from each of them. And swinging at them only causes the hammer to chip away.

“Agh!”

She yelps as a few orbs make contact and tear chunks of her sides, hair, and a shoulder. She watches, holding her arm painfully as the monster in front of her reaches the end of its charge attack. How… How do I stop this? Amy thinks, gritting her teeth. If she runs, the blast will surely destroy at least the Earth.

Eggdisaster’s roar shakes more than the world, toppling over the battlefield on it and any robots still standing. It shakes Mars and the moon, while any nearby asteroids crumble from the vibration alone. Amy can feel it in her soul and she trembled with clenched fists. I have to block this, or Omega…

The blast that releases from the beast’s mouth, bends space as it travels straight towards Amy. Towards Earth behind her. She spins her hammer as fast as she can, creating a solid defense but when the blast crashes into her, she nearly loses consciousness. The collision itself shakes nearly the solar system. It’s almost too much for her to handle as she barely lasts the entirety of the breath of fire. When it’s over, she starts to float away, into a deep sleep.

Is this the best I can do? It isn’t enough to stop that fiend so it can’t be my best. But I… I can barely move. Amy weakly grabs at the hammer floating away. I need more strength. I need to win. I need… she feels a gentle push set her upright. The muffled roars of the beast in the background of her mind as she feels the spirit of someone press on her back. It’s not fair you guys… I’m so tired. Another image of a friend pushes the hammer towards her. As if the universe itself is guiding her path.

When she focuses on the fight again, the Chaos Eggdisaster is in the midst of charging energy for a wide area shockwave now.

“Gehh….” Amy begins to psyche herself up. “Gehyaaaaaaa! I won’t let you do that!”

She rockets forward with a kick, circling around to dodge incoming slashes and snapping teeth. Then follows with a barrage of kicks, sending it further and further away from Earth. Bringing her hammer up again, she deals a few critical blows that manage to break off chunks of armor from its chest and shoulders.

To her surprise, the mechasaurus uses chaos control. But as she is enveloped in the time frozen field, she grits her teeth, squeezes every muscle, and remembers Sonic’s words vividly in her head.

“Eggmaaaaaaaaan!”

With the power of the Master emerald embedded in her, she breaks free from the time hold and charges at the mech just as it charges at her. The new impacts shake the solar system, even the Milky Way as they gain in strength. Eggman’s desires versus Amy’s. The weight of each dream, each thought, with every deathly blow.

After more intense clashing and brutal attacks, Chaos Eggdisaster finds the end of the battle nearing, slowly charging another chaos fire breath. Something strong enough to obliterate at least the galaxy.

“This… is for all of my friends.”

Amy lets go of her hammer and pulls off the weighted bracelets on her arms. The golden pink aura intensifies as she focuses all her strength into one attack. The suspense builds. Eggman’s painstaking work in creating something beyond revolutionary. Something that rivals even the gods. Amy’s path of growth in the absence of those precious to her. A hero’s journey. A desire to be something capable of staying by her friends’ sides.

They both let out one last battle cry, Amy charging forward as Eggman’s Eggdisaster releases a blast strong enough to cripple a piece of the universe. As her fist meets his fire, celestial bodies begin to churn into energy, disintegrating from the intensity. The galaxy trembles and the universe quivers. In the end, a wretched noise comes from Eggman as Amy goes through his mechasaurus and his body, completely destroying him and his dreams.

The music slowly concludes.

“This is it, isn’t it?” 

Amy asks as she floats, aimlessly. Her golden pink body pulsing between that super form and her base form. The injuries she’s sustained something no human should be able to fight through.

“Thanks… for your help, everyone.”

She looks around as best she can with the little energy she has left. The remaining stars look so bright. She reaches out towards one of them. The Master emerald residing within her manifests, shatters in pieces and disperses over the cosmos.

“I finally did it, Omega… Shadow… S-”

Her eyes gently close.

“Sonic, we… we both can finally rest now.”

And then the Lost Tape gently shuts off. Something merely stumbled across at first has turned into a short series finally concluded. Memories untold rest with those who could not make it this far.