"Are you sure you saw the Egg Fleet flying over Angel Island, Tails?" asked a blue hedgehog standing on the wing of a red biplane, his arms crossed over his chest. He has emerald green eyes and wears white gloves and red sneakers with gold buckles on the side.
"Not only did I see it, Sonic," assured a yellow fox piloting the plane. He has two tails, light blue eyes, white gloves fastened with a black garter, and shoes that are half white and red. "Knuckles sent a signal asking for reinforcements, and you know he never asks for help."
"If knucklehead needs help, then it's serious," Sonic muttered, determined to help his Echidna friend. "Pedal to the metal, Tails. We have to get to Angel Island right now!"
"Right away!" Tails exclaimed as he put the plane in full gear. Soon, they arrived at Angel Island, a floating island where the Master Emerald usually rested, being protected by Knuckles, a red echidna with giant white boxing gloves, his knuckles being larger than most -his name is Knuckles for a reason- and military-style shoes that combined the colors green and yellow. The echidna was fighting off several of Dr. Eggman's machines while simultaneously trying to protect the Master Emerald.
"Stupid soulless machines…" growls Knuckles, ready for another round against Eggman's robots. "You are nothing against me! I swore I would protect this Emerald with everything I have, and that's just what I'm going to do!”
Knuckles lets out a warrior cry and launches himself to continue destroying robots. Despite his efforts, more and more were arriving, and the echidna was well outnumbered. He wouldn't give up, but deep down, he hoped that Sonic and Tails would come soon... thank Chaos, his prayers were answered. A blue ball drops from the sky, slamming into a robot before moving around the area and smashing most of the robots surrounding Knuckles. The ball straightened up and revealed Sonic, who stood beside the echidna in a battle pose.
"Hey, knucklehead!" mocks the hedgehog, analyzing his plan of attack while his eyes rove the battlefield. "Hope I'm not late for the party!"
"Haven't missed much, hedgehog," Knuckles answered, taking a moment to recover his strength. "Just the idiot that is Eggman is trying to take the Master Emerald."
"It's been a long while since ol' Egghead's bothered you, eh?" Sonic said, receiving a smile in response. "I guess he's trying to feed his machines with the Emerald's power again."
"If that's the case, we'd be in trouble," Tails says from the comm, the fox still circling the area in his plane. He spots an open space to land the Tornado, and once he does so, he pulls out a gun and aims at some nearby robots.
The energy bullets easily pierce the metal hides of the Egg Pawns, taking them out. He ran over to Sonic and Knuckles, taking a few more out before joining them.
"What do you guys say?" Sonic asks rhetorically with a smirk, stretching his limbs. "Shall we show Eggman what happens when he messes with one of us?"
"Oh, you don't have to ask me twice," Knuckles replied, slamming his fists together and cracking them.
"Let's do it!" Tails nods, spinning his two tails like a helicopter and hovering above the ground.
"Alright," Sonic said, positioning himself to run. "Eggman wants to get fast? Let's get fast!"
Team Sonic -as they call themselves- bolts towards the army of robots. Knuckles easily smashed the machines with his fists, while Sonic and Tails spun around with a move called Spin Dash, destroying the robots, and Tails took a few shots with his weapon when he had the chance. Once every bot had been bopped, they noticed something strange. The Master Emerald was still atop the altar. Knuckles had noticed this before, and it baffled him. Why would Eggman attack Angel Island if he wasn't planning on taking the Master Emerald? The team’s ears twitch when they hear a beep, and they look around for the source. They couldn't see where it was coming from until Tails noticed that one of the machines wasn't destroyed, looking directly at them.
"It's a trap!" Tails yelled, scrambling away.
Too late.
BOOM!
The machine exploded, knocking Tails and Knuckles to the ground unconscious. Sonic narrowly avoided the explosion thanks to his super speed. But as soon as he saw that he left his friends behind, he instantly regretted it.
'What the hell is wrong with me?' Sonic thought, rushing over to his fallen friends with worry. 'I know I usually act on instinct, but I never leave my friends behind! Why was the first thing I thought, 'Oh, just run and save yourself from the explosion; everything will be fine!'?! Well done, brain, well done...'
The hedgehog turned his gaze to the sky. The Egg Fleet stopped sending robots, but the fact Eggman wasn't taunting him from his ship was pretty suspicious. There was no doubt about it: the evil genius was up to something, but it had to be big if he was being that careful. Eggman's latest folly was creating a guy who could alter reality at will, and he didn't even take full advantage of that power. What was he planning now?
'Whatever it is, I'll stop it,' Sonic thought with determination. 'It won't be the first time, and I know it sure as hell won't be the last, but I have to be careful... something tells me that if I don't play my cards right, things could end badly for me, and for the whole world.'
Sonic carried Tails and Knuckles up the altar and laid them atop the Master Emerald, hoping the infinite energy emanating from it would heal them. Sonic redirected his gaze to the group of ships, focusing on the largest. He jumped from where he was, and he noticed a bounce spring nearby. He smirks, aiming for the spring and slamming hard onto it. The spring launches the hedgehog into the sky, his momentum carrying him to the ship's deck he aimed for. Sonic immediately went on the defensive, but he was surprised not to find an army of robots waiting for him, like on other occasions.
'What's the plan this time, Egghead?' Muses the hedgehog. 'Why don't you even have your security on deck?'
Sonic kept a careful eye out as he walked into the ship. Usually, he’d use his super speed and run through the whole place site in seconds until he found Eggman, kick his ass, then get out before the ship blew up. But Sonic had to be careful because he had no clue what Eggman was planning this time. As he crept around the hallways, one thing caught his attention: an open door to a lab.
"What the hell?" Sonic murmurs, cautiously entering the room. There was a giant computer built into the wall and a deactivated digital keyboard below it. The room was dark, but Sonic could still see what he was looking at. He approached an unfinished machine in the middle with seven empty slots around it that would fit a large gem.
'The Chaos Emeralds!' Sonic thought, instantly recognizing the shape of the holes. 'He wants to power up this machine, but for what? What's the point?'
"What are you up to now, Ivo?" Sonic asked out loud, surprising himself that he'd called the doctor by his real name and not his usual nickname.
"I'm glad you asked, Sonic!"
The hedgehog quickly recognized the voice, and the lights flicked on. Eggman appeared behind Sonic, his hands held behind his back as he stood with a sinister smile.
"Greetings, hedgehog!" the doctor greets, causing Sonic to growl. "Are you just passing through, or did you come to see how my masterpiece is progressing?"
"Your masterpiece, huh?" Sonic scoffed, causing the doctor to frown slightly. "Well, I'd like to say I'm just passing through, but seeing what you're up to bothers me."
"Oh, this beauty is just the beginning, Sonic," Eggman smiles, walking over to the machine and laying a hand against the side of the capsule. "You see, after the disappointing fall of my Empire, I realized the sad truth that I have refused to admit so much: I cannot defeat you, no matter how hard I try."
Sonic blinked in disbelief. "Wait a minute, are you… giving up?"
"Well, yes, but actually no," Continues the doctor. "You see, I discovered that there are worlds beyond this one. I'm not talking about planets; I'm talking about dimensions. Realities that go beyond what you can even imagine."
"This machine will allow me to travel to another reality, one where you don't exist, where the Eggman Empire can prevail without issue! Of course, that means we will never see each other ever again. I admit that, despite all my defeats and humiliations, I'll miss you, Sonic the Hedgehog. But once the machine is ready, you won't know anything about me, just like you've always wanted."
Something strange began to grow inside Sonic... Fear, maybe? No, he was always afraid, but he was willing to face death itself if necessary. No, what was growing inside him was something else... it was... anger...
"No... You can't be serious..." Sonic growled, his gaze seemingly trying to penetrate Eggman's soul.
"I've never been as serious as I am now, Sonic," Eggman clarified with an indifferent look.
"Oh, don't tell me!" Sonic exclaims sarcastically, his fury beginning to bubble. "I've spent my whole life chasing a fat, broke man with delusions of grandeur who has all the potential to do incredible things but wastes it on ridiculous and dangerous schemes that do more damage than they repair. Yet you have the nerve to say you plan on bringing that misery to others on worlds that don't know you exist and can't defend themselves from the human scavenger you are, Robotnik?!"
This side of Sonic was new to the doctor, and oddly enough, it was also painful. As long as he's known him, Sonic's only made mean jokes and ridiculous nicknames, accompanied by a beating that always sent him flying...
Now, that same hedgehog was opening old wounds that the doctor thought he had healed or even forgotten so long ago, and now they were being reopened. Anger began to course through his being, but the feeling of defeat and helplessness grew stronger. Perhaps because Eggman- Robotnik, knew Sonic was right; he was just human scum that no one could ever accept, no matter how hard he tried.
"But you know something, Eggman? No more. I'm done playing this stupid game that's been going on for the last 20 years!" Sonic exclaims, his voice deadly serious.
He closed his eyes, concentrating, letting the Chaos power course through his body. Seven sparkling Emeralds -the Chaos Emeralds- appear around him. The jewels enter his body, his blue fur turns golden, and an aura of the same color surrounds him, his eyes turning red.
"And I'll start right here, destroying your damn device!" Super Sonic yelled as he stepped over to the machine.
Big mistake.
"Gotcha," Eggman smirked and pressed a button, which activated the machine Sonic was over. A capsule -like the one Shadow had been sent to Earth by Maria in- slid up around the super hedgehog. But that didn't scare him, as he let out a burst of Chaos energy... that was absorbed by the device.
Sonic arches a brow, confused as to why the machine wasn't destroyed. He looks around until Eggman's malicious laugh catches his attention. When the hedgehog saw the doctor laughing as if he'd been told the best joke of his life, his confused look changed to despair and terror.
He fell into the lion's den, and he hadn't realized it.
"Tricking you was even easier than I thought!" Eggman exclaims, still laughing madly.
"What the hell did you do?!" Sonic exclaims, slamming a super charged fist against the glass of the capsule, which did nothing, much to the super hog's growing horror.
"Nothing, and that's the best part of all!" The doctor announces, cackling with glee. "Of course I know about other dimensions, but did you think I was foolish enough to let this world go? Oh, of course not, Sonic. I'm an evil genius, and honestly, I'm surprised you didn't see it coming. I'm not traveling to another world, hedgehog. You are!"
Sonic's look of horror turned back to anger, and he started pounding his fists against his cell, desperate to get out. Eggman's satisfaction at seeing his worst enemy defeated grew. But it was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Tails and Knuckles.
"Sonic!" Tails exclaims, rushing to the machine when he sees his best friend locked inside.
The super hog stopped trying to get out and stared at his friend. The look of despair Tails held… it broke Sonic’s heart.
"This is the part where we say goodbye, Sonic... Forever!" Eggman announced, laughing like a madman as he pressed a button.
"NO!" Tails and Knuckles yelled, the latter punching Eggman and knocking him out instantly.
Tails desperately tried to open the capsule, and Sonic tried to look for a way out. He flinches as he feels the power of the Chaos Emeralds leave his body, and his fur goes back to blue. The seven emeralds float around him, darkening little by little as their power is drained. A swirling white portal appeared behind him and began to suck in the machine - with Sonic and the Emeralds. Knuckles joined Tails, trying to open the pod, but to no avail. Sonic looked at his friends sadly, but he smiled weakly and touched the window of the capsule, drawing the attention of the fox and the echidna.
"Hey, it's okay," Sonic says, his voice almost cracking. "You guys did what you could, but this thing won't open..."
"No! Sonic! We can't give up!" Tails exclaims, frantically trying to open the machine as tears fall down his cheeks.
Knuckles, however, stopped trying. He touched Tails's shoulder, and when the minor turned to see him, the echidna shook his head, indicating that Sonic couldn’t be saved. Tail refused to believe it and kept trying, but Knuckles grabbed him by the waist and pulled the fox away from the machine, tears falling from his eyes.
"NO! KNUCKLES, LET ME GO!!" Tails screams, squirming in the echidna’s grasp. "WE HAVE TO SAVE HIM!”
"Tails," Sonic's voice draws the young fox's attention to the capsule, and he sees his best friend looking at him with a sad gaze and smile. "It's okay. Everything will be fine. I'm not leaving forever..."
The portal was already pulling Sonic and the Emeralds in. He had to finish talking to his friends if this was the last time he saw them.
"I will return!" the hedgehog states, looking at his two friends with determination. "No matter how long it takes, no matter what the cost, no matter what I find, I'll be back, I promise!"
The last thing Sonic heard was Tails screaming "NO!" before he's pulled into the portal. A single tear falls from his eye, and this world goes white. He barely has time to register his body hitting the ground, and he rolls across a grassy terrain. His head slams into something hard, and the last thing he sees before blacking out is the blue sky.