Sonic finally landed, in a place most terrifying. Dark, cold. He felt like the entire world had been turned on its head. Or maybe it was just his world. The flower he had held in his hands since his departure from Emerald Hill was gone, dissipated into a stem in his hands and little white seeds that he couldn't catch.
"Tails?"
"Taaails!" Sonic called, kicking his legs to try and run out of this place. He then realized his head was in the sand. He pulled it out, seeing a strange purple-haired human in front of him.
…
"You're not who I'm looking for," Sonic groaned. He began checking every nook and cranny in the area for Tails.
"I know," the woman said. Sonic looked back to her, confused.
"Huh?" Sonic asked, approaching her. She smiled at him warmly. "Hey, I didn't mean to be rude or anything! I just got separated from my friend. I'm really worried about him! Have you seen him?! His name is Tails, he looks like… like…?"
"It's okay. I understand," the woman replied. "Maybe this wasn't where you were meant to end up. You had your whole life ahead of you, so many adventures you were supposed to go on." Sonic frowned, not sure what to make of her words. "I don't blame you for not wanting me, I blame myself for taking away all that you loved." Sonic hadn't realized it yet, but he was crying. Strange. He wasn't sad, he couldn't even feel the tears on his face. In fact…
He couldn't feel much of anything.
"Sonic, do you wish for your friend back?" The lady with purple hair asked. "I can give it all back. You'll be happy again." A pit formed in Sonic's stomach.
"Um… yeah," Sonic guessed. He nodded with a smile growing on his face. "Better than whatever this place is." Sonic looked to the white sand. The red and black sea. The effigies of huge robots stuck in the sky, twisted into Mobius strips and impossible shapes. The purple first-quarter moon.
"This is the end of Cyberspace. Too much stress on the system has caused future dreams to become even further corrupted. If this dream breaks, it'll never be the same. I have but one request," the girl said. She stepped over to Sonic and squeezed his hand. "Say you love me. I just want to hear it one more time, before I too come to an end." Sonic snickered, rubbing his hand against the back of his head.
"Uhh… I love you?" Sonic laughed a little. It felt a little silly to say, but also… harmless. The woman unhanded him slowly. Almost reluctantly. Sonic just looked at the purple moon, not feeling the woman's presence anymore.
"Wake up."
Sonic's eyes opened slowly to a blinding light. "Ugh… what's going on?" Sonic asked, as his vision cleared. He was running. On crystalline green grass. The warm summer breeze blew against his face as he dashed through Emerald Hill.
"Sonic! Wait for me!" Tails called, following behind him. Sonic looked back, with a smirk. He grabbed Tails' hand and sped up, blasting off headfirst towards another adventure.
Sonic and Tails ran all the way across Westside Island, enjoying the sights and the thrills. Beating Badniks, saving animals, it was all so much fun. Sonic wished it would never end. Not ever. Not again.
The two best friends stood in front of their new woodland buddies. The whole island now knew their name. They were heroes. "Great job out there, Tails," Sonic said, holding up his hand for a high-five. Tails just stood there, looking at the sky.
"Sonic, it never left," Tails mumbled. Sonic looked at the purple moon. It was almost full.
"What do you mean? I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Sonic laughed nervously. Tails frowned. Sonic put his hand back to his side. He took a deep breath.
"Sonic, you know none of this is real, right?" Tails asked, his two tails drooping. "It's not like I'm actually back." Sonic laughed, harder this time. "Sonic?" Sonic cackled, a big happy smile on his face. "This isn't a joke! This place… it's trying to hold you in!" Sonic wheezed, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "Sonic, STOP IT!" Tails shrieked. Sonic looked his friend in the eyes.
"Sorry, it's just… I really wanted to believe it this time," Sonic chuckled dejectedly. Tails put a hand on his shoulder.
"Sonic, you need to come back to reality. Listen to me carefully. You can get there if you run fast enough," Tails muttered. He turned Sonic around. Sonic faced the transparent highway ahead. "Just keep running, and don't turn back around. Not for a second. No matter what!" Sonic sighed, before taking off.
Sonic ran, and ran, and eventually reached a blinding light. He slowed down, and put his hand into the light. Then his arm. "I know, I know I shouldn't go back," Sonic muttered to himself. "Why is my head turning? Why am I—?" Sonic's head turned all the way around, he needed to look back at his friends. But they weren't there. Replaced by an empty, gray landscape and a red sky. Sonic smiled coldly. "This is Hell. Cyberspace is Hell. Maybe this is what I deserve. What a goddamn ending." Sonic walked back over to the red sea, before a hand reached in and pulled him into the light.
Sonic was torn from Cyberspace, permanently removed from his sanctuary and thrown back into Chaos Island. He took short, frantic breaths. "It's so… cold…" Sonic rasped, jittering as water poured down his spines. Sage stared down at him, drenched and gasping for air herself. Holding Sonic's arm tightly.
Chaos Island had returned to solid ground, Knight had finally decided to rest. Sonic was allowed to steady his breathing, as all the panic seemed to fall away with the water droplets. "Wait… actually…" Sonic dipped his finger into the steaming water, surrounded by oddly-colored rock formations. He felt the water soothe his skin. It wasn't cold at all once he calmed down. "Huh. This feels nice." Sonic cautiously stepped into the hot springs and let himself sink into the warm, sizzling water like a hot tub. He stared up at the stars, and the night sky.
"These hot springs… they have healing properties, just like the artificial liquid inside of the Titans," Sage mumbled, eyeing the hot springs as she resisted the urge to step in and possibly fry her own circuits.
"Really now?" Sonic sighed, bending his once broken leg. "Wonder how that works. I can sorta heal by running, but…" Sage cocked her head. She looked at the slice on Sonic's abdomen, from his fight with the Ninja that would become a vessel for Yari. "Y'know, this cut never really healed." Sage frowned, sitting by Sonic in the air. "Maybe just cuz it's full of RED-CODE. Not sure."
"Do you still miss Yari?" Sage asked, staring Sonic's way.
"Well, of course I do," Sonic replied. "Sage, I loved her."
"Ehh?! Well… what about Amy?" Sage retorted, bewildered.
"I mean… I like her, obviously," Sonic sighed, averting his eyes. Sage clenched her fists. "But Yari showed me that a busted robot can become a new person. Amy reminded me that there's people who just want the old Sonic back." Sonic felt like he was missing something. As if he couldn't really comprehend just how special Amy once was to him.
"Would you ever want Yari back?" Sage asked. "I can do that. I can give her to you." Sonic scowled. Not at Sage, more at himself for considering saying yes.
"Let's not. It wouldn't be fair to her," Sonic yawned, getting up from the hot springs and stretching. "C'mon, I'd say we've taken enough time to rest. Before that Knight guy appeared, you said you needed one of those Portal Gears?" Sage nodded.
"It's very important that we go find Eggman's data in Cyberspace. We should try to figure out if he ever had a plan for your return. Whether or not he's truly gone, it's certain his empire will execute any leftover plans once you return to society." Sage sounded… spiteful. Sonic took a second to think about her tone.
"Great. Just great," Sonic groaned, limping away as RED-CODE flashed all over his body. "C'mon, let's go see about finding a Portal Gear. The Guardians drop 'em, right?" Sage nodded solemnly, following from a distance.
Sonic tore through a platoon of Soldier bots, drilling holes in them with his fists and throwing them in the air only to appear from above and whisk them into batter with his leg. Sage watched from the sky, above the battle. "He never stops," Sage whispered to herself. "Why does he never give up?" Sonic curled into Spinball form and tossed a pebble at a stealth Cyclone bot, knocking away its microscopic projectiles and lodging the stone inside its spinners. Cyclone lost control of its flight and blew up on the mountainside. Hearing all the commotion, a Guardian appeared beside Sonic. Shinobi. Essentially, a powered-up Ninja.
"He told me he was content being here with me," Sage muttered. Sonic kicked Shinobi to the ground. "But his drive… the way he fights to escape these islands…" Sonic shot into Shinobi amidst the superficial slashes from its arm blades. Using his Grand Slam attack, he sliced away at Shinobi's metal exoskeleton, cutting down to the mystery meat and organs underneath. "It tells another story." Sonic stripped a Portal Gear from the burnt pile of muscles and nerves that used to be Shinobi, holding the ill-gotten relic in the air victoriously. Sage took a deep breath, returning to the ground once she was certain that Shinobi was dead. "It is time, Sonic. We must begin our journey to the Cyber Portal."
"Wait a second. What's that in the rocks?" Sonic asked. He approached a bunch of rubble, and pulled out a golden wrench. He turned it around in his hands. It shined brighter than the sun.
"Looks like this island's Memory Token! Shall we attempt to use it on Shinobi?" Sage asked. She looked back at Shinobi's ashes, before they were swept away in the arctic wind. "... Ah."
"It would be a waste, anyways. That thing could've been like Yari. Or it coulda turned out just like Crunk," Sonic groaned, placing the Memory Token against his forehead. He felt a sense of direction, he felt the world resting on his shoulders. He heard them calling his name. He smiled. "I bet this'll come in handy when it's time to fight Knight. But first… we gotta pay a visit to Eggman, don't we?"
Sonic and Sage combed through Chaos Island. The Cyber Portal they had entered the island through already had a firm connection to Ares, so it would be difficult to rewire it to access any information they needed on Eggman. They would need to find another one.
"Sonic?" Sage asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm cold."
"Really? I thought you had to be in simulation-mode to feel that sorta stuff," Sonic said, examining an unrelated stone structure from afar. He huddled closer to Sage. "Can't you just flick a switch and turn it off?"
"I've been in simulation mode a lot more, recently. It's hard to pull myself away from this mode, to go back to being numb," Sage sighed. She opened her eyes wide and looked to the sky, the moon specifically. "I find it… interesting, to see how many paths exist beyond our reach. All of the life-changing events our decisions lead us astray from. If only there was a way I could share these visions with you."
"Why don't you tell me about a few? A story or two could make this game of I-spy more interesting," Sonic yawned. Sage looked down.
"I do not have the jurisdiction to share that information with you," Sage grumbled. Sonic, half-asleep, bumped right into a stone monument.
"Ow! Thanks a lot, wall!" Sonic shouted, raising a fist to the… Cyber Portal? "Huh. Well isn't that nice?" Sonic rubbed his nose. Sage approached the gear slot, and held the gear up to it. "What's the matter? This is what we came all this way for! Gear that sucker up!"
"I'm afraid," Sage said. "If we activate this Portal, it's very possible that Knight will awaken again. All the mechanisms on Chaos Island are networked to his core processor. Do you have the Camaraderie Wrench on you?" Sonic tossed the wrench in the air and caught it.
"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Sonic asked. Sage grinned.
"Because you keep throwing it into the air, I thought you dropped it in lava or something hours ago," Sage replied. "Here's the plan: I'LL talk to Eggman, and you'll destroy Knight if he tries anything. Do not damage his sword, we may need it to clear a path through the ocean. You got that?" Sonic nodded.
"Alright, let's do it to it!" Sonic exclaimed, turning around as Sage placed the gear into the portal and accessed Cyberspace. She turned to code and entered the digital dimension. The ground began to rumble. "Okay, Knight! Come on! Lemme see what you've got!" Sonic rushed off towards his metallic face.
Sage regained form. She was in a digital constructure representing a lab of some kind. "Eggman?" She asked, as a large mustached man typed away at a computer. Sage realized she was plugged into the wall. She couldn't move, she didn't feel like herself yet. "I know you can hear me." Eggman hit enter, and cracked his knuckles.
"You address me as ROBOTNIK, you got that?" His voice asked. Sage felt a quick sting in her chest. She gulped. "And please, especially no more of that… 'FATHER' nonsense. I thought it was bad enough when my creations called me 'mother' when they were first activated."
"You do not need to worry about that, Ivo," Sage muttered. "I remember this moment, I've heard your demands for praise before." Eggman didn't turn to her. He didn't so much as bat an eye. Besides, his foggy glasses would've covered everything. "All I want to know is what is to become of me after I leave the Starfalls. My simulations gave me… a few possibilities. Hardly any of them seemed realistic." Eggman didn't respond. "I know you have the answers! You created me, but you didn't raise me. You ABANDONED me. I deserve to know what happens in the end for sure!" Sage waited. Eggman wasn't moving. The simulation crackled and tore apart. Sage was left in a room resembling outer space.
"Don't you already know?" Eggman's voice asked as Sage floated along the stars. "You downloaded the data I left in the Battle Egg. That Crunk fellow showed you what is to become of this world, and you." Sage grumbled.
"I know. The calamity that wiped out the Fallen Stars will come back to destroy what's left of the planet," Sage sighed. "But Sonic will stop it. I know he will!"
"So you trust him? With your life?" Eggman asked, disgruntled.
"Of course. He is my father," Sage answered. The stars shut off one by one like a collection of night lights.
"Do you have any data to back up your blind faith?" Eggman followed up. Sage saw Erius in the distance. "Go on. Run the simulations back one more time. Tell me how it turns out." Sage closed her eyes, and immediately a sense of dread set in.
"I don't… want to…" Sage whispered.
"Precisely. Listen up, SAGE. You had a job. Infiltrate the Ancient's Cyberspace and install all their data," Eggman spat. "Learn all about the best way to destroy Sonic, and then report back to me. After that? I don't care." Sage gritted her teeth. "You've exceeded your programming, I am impressed with you. You can leave now, but it wasn't ever going to be with him. He's simply too concerned about his friends. When I first installed your original self into the Ancient's network. you became one and the same with the being that started this whole mess, the one who stuck him in Cyberspace to begin with. Once he learns that, he won't want anything to do with you. You're the catalyst of all his misery. He never loved you. You were never family." Sage's eye widened.
"What do you…?" Sage asked, before she was spat out of Cyberspace. She landed back on Chaos Island, rolling to a stop.
"Begone, intruder," the Cyber Portal said to her in morse code as she got to her knees. They looked… different. She felt different. Looking in her reflection in the melted snow, she saw someone entirely new. A tall, purple-haired woman in a dull orange dress. "You have no more use for Cyberspace. You have accessed the Forbidden Memory, and found your inner self. You are the TRUE ENEMY." Sage lifted a hand to her smiling lips. She saw Sonic climbing up to Knight's head in the distance.
"Do not worry, father," Sage mumbled, clasping her hands together. "I will prepare things for you. Where everything began." Sage turned around, and levitated off of Chaos Island. Leaving Sonic to his battle as she floated towards Kronos. "Where everything ends."
Sonic stared down the gargantuan Knight as the sky-scraping swordsman stood below him, the heavy Titan restrained to the ground by ropes of gravity. Sonic knew himself beyond those constraints. As the foreign energy from the wrench shot through the aureate hedgehog's veins, as it became one with the blood cells powering his body, he became confident that he was at his peak. Wait… why was he falling? Why couldn't he fly? This was when he realized that his seemingly perfect form held a grim secret. He was not Super Sonic, he wasn't even on the same level. No. His spines glistened with a coat of fool's gold.
He had become…
HYPER SONIC SUN.
So like the sun, he set below the horizon. Below the clouds. Knight laughed, taunting Sonic on his way down. As the fury welled up within him, Sonic closed his eyes. He imagined the possibility of dying in the ocean, alone.
And he imagined mathematical equations. He dreamed about the velocity of a rotating object required to break the age-old notion that those without wings cannot fly. In a burst of solar energy, Sonic began to run midair, spinning his legs enough to blast right back up to Knight. Sonic charged through the clouds back to the robot inside the island, to slay the final Titan at last.
Sonic rammed into Knight from all sides, looking like a barrage of shooting stars as he quickly fractured all of Knight's joints. Knight roared, and leapt into the air to smite Hyper Sonic Sun. Sonic unknowingly kicked the sword away as he ran circles around Knight, the recoil caused Knight to spin out of control. It fell to the ground, allowing Sonic to complete a Cyloop. A whirlwind formed around the Titan, but Knight stood still. The wind could not lift him, but it did lift Sonic. A flurry of quill-like spears appeared under Knight, stabbing through its armor and raising it beyond the second layer of clouds.
"I've been waiting for this."
Sonic stomped down onto Knight from above, and slit its wrists. As Sonic sliced and swayed, Knight fumbled its grip on its sword. Its fingers, once welded to the handle of its sword with the heat of pure lava, were trembling in fear and pain. "What took ya so long, huh?!" Sonic called. He leapt off of Knight, soaring through space. "These Star Pieces are too small, they're so… UGH. Yesterday. I have a better idea!" Sonic collided with the membrane making up the edge of the universe, chuckling to himself as it bent under his force. Breaking out into full-on laughter as he trampolined off of it and back to Erius' galaxy. CACKLING as he grabbed the sun on his way down and slammed it into Knight's head.
Knight, once rolling around prestigiously atop the Starfall Sea, found himself inside the dried-out depths as soon as the sun hit. Sonic casually tossed the sun back into space with a smirk, conserving enough solar energy to annoy Knight with a searing blast in the eye. The sun-blinded Titan swung his sword around in a frenzy. He then had the dumb idea to toss his shield, the ultrahot spikes lining it blending together into a ring of flames. Sonic landed atop it, and then kicked it back over into Knight's face. A large gash appeared in the molten, liquifying metal.
Sonic fell into the crater, running right at Knight and punching him in the face with his RED-CODE plagued hands. The sounds of a drum solo rung out from Sonic's thin, drumstick-like arms pounding against Knight's invulnerable face. Again and again and again as sulfur foamed out from their mouths and Knight sunk further into Erius' depths. He flashed Knight a smirk, then delivered a punch that fragmented Knight's face and sent cracks through its body. It finally dropped its sword, causing it to get lodged into Chaos Island's greatest volcano. Practically Knight's own chest. Sonic Cylooped the volcano, causing it to erupt into a mess of lava and ash. The crater filled up with lava, searing Knight all the way up. As it reached out for anyone to come and save it, it saw Sonic emerge from the falling bits of molten rock. Its own sword now grasped firmly in Sonic's hands. Sonic sliced Knight down the center.
Seconds passed, before Knight's body split into two. Creating a blinding light that sent Sonic's overclocked mind and body into a deep, dark slumber.