Blaze looked off into the distance towards the direction of Eggman's base, watching for when Sonic will appear. She knew he would arrive quickly, but she was terrified that Silver's timeline might come true if Sonic didn't make it in time. But that's crazy talk, right? Sonic is the fastest thing alive.

"Uh, guys?" Silver suddenly said, pointing up at the sky.

Blaze and Amy both looked up to see what he was trying to show them. Both of their eyes widened. Eggman's battleship was coming their way.

"Under the trees!" Amy ran towards the forest. "Quick!"

The three of them took cover under the large branches of the trees in the forest nearby, hoping Eggman wouldn't notice them from above. Then again, the mad doctor has power detectors, so he could easily find them since Blaze possessed a Sol Emerald with Iblis inside it at that moment. Blaze knew they were screwed. Was there a way to avoid the ruined future? Why would the prophecy lie?

"Hey guys!" A familiar voice greeted. Sonic came from behind them, his trademark grin on his face. He looked completely fine, to everyone's relief.

"Sonic!" Amy tackle hugged him with a cry.

"A-Amy?" The blue hedgehog's eyes widened. He thought Blaze was with Tails and Knuckles. He didn't expect the feline to run into Amy. Then again, Amy's always searching for the blue blur, so the chances of her running into Blaze aren't so slim after all. "Get off of me—!"

"I've been looking for you forever!" The pink hedgehog held onto him even more tightly.

"Amy," Blaze sighed with a slight smile, "You know we need to hurry."

Silver wanted to add onto Blaze's comment, but he decided not to say a word. He didn't want Sonic to immediately scold him.

That's when Sonic did notice the white hedgehog. He pushed Amy off of him and walked towards Silver. Silver gulped, not knowing how to apologize.

"Hey," Sonic smiled teasingly at him, folding his arms. "I'm assuming you're not gonna try to kill me again?"

Silver let a small laugh escape him.

"Y-yeah, uh," he scratched the back of his neck, blushing with embarrassment. "It was a misunderstanding, I'll explain later when we're not in a rush."

The two hedgehogs exchanged a fist bump. Amy smiled, happy she won't have to get super protective again. But she made herself a mental note to remain on guard, just in case.

"Speaking of which," Blaze stepped forward, "What do we do? Anyone have any ideas? The doctor is almost right above us."

The four friends looked up, noticing the red ship through the leaves of the trees.

"I got one," Sonic said. He held out a blue Chaos Emerald. It was a good thing he took one when he stopped by Tails's home after all. He looked at Silver. "Do you have one?"

Silver nodded with a smile and held out the clear Chaos Emerald.

"Amy," Sonic turned to her, "You go back to Tails and Knuckles. Tell them where— or when— we are, heheh. Don't come looking for us, we'll come back as soon as we're done. Guard the Emeralds we collected so far, okay?"

"Alright!" Amy smiled, glad to be of use. She began to run off. "I'll see you later, my dear Sonikku!"

Sonic placed his hand on his face, shaking his head with disappointment. Silver smiled a bit.

"She likes you?" He asked.

"Too much," Sonic sighed. He then turned to Blaze. "And you're gonna come with us, okay?"

The purple feline nodded, stepping back a bit.

Sonic and Silver faced each other and nodded. They held up their Chaos Emeralds.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" They shouted in unison.

The Emeralds glowed and caused a light purple vortex to open up.

"Go, go, go!" Sonic shouted, looking up. The Egg Fleet was much closer now. "Before Eggman notices and follows us!"

Silver nodded and jumped into the portal. Blaze followed. Sonic looked back one last time to make sure the coast was clear, and then followed his two friends into it. The portal closed, leaving the forest with nobody in it.

A new timeline— the true timeline— was created.

• • •

In the nearby desert that was a few miles away from Wave Ocean, Shadow, Rouge, and Omega were making their way to a temple that housed a Chaos Emerald. The trio stopped for a minute, looking ahead at the building in the distance. Everything around them was the same sandy color as, well, the sand itself, and the sky was bright blue, even thought it was way past noon at this point. Then again, that's how summer is; there's more daylight than nighttime. In the sand, there was a nearly unnoticeable trail of dark shadows, similar to Mephiles's smoke. It led straight to the temple.

Rouge turned her head towards Shadow, who was still looking into the distance.

"It seems Mephiles headed for those ruins," the white bat pointed. "Probably to look for the Chaos Emerald that's supposed to be there."

"There's no doubt in my mind," Shadow said, not even looking back. "He apparently needs the Chaos Emeralds to join with Iblis again."

"I will seal him before that," Omega said with confidence. Despite his voice being monotonic and robotic, he sounded very determined.

"We have to get there first, of course," Rouge teasingly smiled at the robot.

Shadow looked around the area to find a faster means of transportation. He smiled to himself a little when he found an old car of some sort. Why was a car in the desert? He may never know. Maybe someone just came here but then never came back— or maybe it was convenience.

"Wait, why the heck did someone leave a car out here?" Rouge muttered to herself when she saw what Shadow was looking at.

"Death," Omega decided. "This person must have died. I will look for the body—"

"Omega," Rouge stared wide-eyed at him, horrified but smiling with disbelief. "What the actual f—"

"Let's just get in," Shadow said, cutting Rouge off. "It looks functional. It might get us all there faster since running on sand isn't exactly ideal."

The trio rushed to the car. Omega sat in the back, and Rouge sat in between him and Shadow, who was in the driver's seat.

"Omega," Shadow turned to face his robot friend, "Shoot at any strange looking figures that appear. Mephiles might want to stop us from getting to him."

"Roger," Omega understood, getting his shooters ready.

"I'll keep watch from the sides, then," Rouge informed the two.

"Alright," Shadow nodded. He then turned on the car and pushed the gas pedal down with his foot.

The black hedgehog drove across the sand, and Omega shot any of Mephiles's shadowy monsters that appeared. Rouge noticed there were pillars rising from the sand, and they all lead to the temple. It was a wild ride to say the least.

The trio rode to the ruins as fast as the car could drive. Who knows if Mephiles already got the Chaos Emerald or not? They had to hurry. They couldn't risk anything.

As soon as the team made it to their destination, they quickly hopped out of the vehicle and rushed inside the temple. More creatures were inside ready to attack, but with Omega's shooters, Shadow's chaos abilities, and Rouge's stealthy moves and attacks, the three of them made it past the monsters just fine.

After several minutes of getting through the temple's obstacles, the trio finally burst through the doorway of an empty room with steps leading up to where a Chaos Emerald was supposed to be placed. Up on the steps was none other than Shadow's crystallized doppelgänger, holding the yellow Chaos Emerald in his hand.

"Mephiles!" Shadow exclaimed, clenching his fists.

Mephiles turned around, giving his three guests a cold stare. His unusually bright electric green eyes pierced into Shadow's.

"I was expecting you sooner," Mephiles said. "As you must know, you're already too late."

Shadow glared at his enemy with angry eyes. Rouge stood close by, also frowning at the crystal hedgehog.

"But," Mephiles stepped forward, holding out his free hand towards the hedgehog, "There's still time for you to change your mind."

Rouge glanced at Shadow, a little alarmed. She knew what Mephiles was going for. He's trying to manipulate her friend into joining him. She opened her mouth to speak, but Mephiles continued talking.

"Join me, Shadow," Mephiles tried to tempt the hedgehog once again. "Let us teach this world a lesson and rewrite the future."

"Don't try to deceive me," Shadow said in a low voice.

Mephiles, confused with Shadow's response, lowered his outstretched arm.

"What?"

"You have no desire for revenge," the black hedgehog pointed at Mephiles. "You only crave destruction! Your only lust is to fuel Iblis until there is nothing left of time itself!"

Rouge's eyes widened. Shadow definitely knew a lot more about Mephiles than she did since he's encountered him more. When she heard what Shadow said, she glared at Mephiles.

Is he trying to destroy time entirely? She asked herself.

"It's a pity, Shadow the Hedgehog," Mephiles shook his head. He levitated the yellow Chaos Emerald into the air. "It is truly a shame that you wish to go against me."

Suddenly, an invisible force pushed the trio back. Shadow flipped over backwards, but he landed right back on his feet, sliding backwards as the force kept pushing him, Rouge, and Omega. The black hedgehog quickly stood back up when he saw the floor turn dark.

"I'll make you regret this, Shadow the Hedgehog," Mephiles levitated higher off the ground.

Little shadowy creatures similar to the ones when Shadow fought Mephiles the first time appeared, cackling creepily. The black hedgehog looked up at his target, who was flying higher.

"You won't escape, Mephiles!" He exclaimed.

Shadow tried to look around for any resources that can help him. Then he saw all the pillars rising from the ground; they weren't touching the ceiling, meaning they weren't holding the temple up. He wondered if breaking those pillars would help.

"Rouge, Omega," he turned to them, "Let's start breaking these pillars onto him and see if it helps us somehow."

"On it," Rouge nodded, flying to the other side of the room to kick some pillars down from there.

"Roger," Omega responded, immediately beginning to shoot at the pillars.

Meanwhile, Shadow went for Mephiles's little creatures, using his homing attacks to get rid of them. Eventually, two larger shadow monsters appeared and targeted the black hedgehog, who was trying to find a way to reach Mephiles.

"Uh oh!" Rouge exclaimed as one of the larger creatures rose from the ground right under her. "That doesn't look too good!"

Omega began shooting at the monster that rose from under the white bat.

"Scan indicates that this entity consists of numerous shadows," the robot informed his teammates after he scanned one of the creatures. "Still, I believe it can be destroyed."

"Then let's knock some pillars onto them," Shadow slightly grinned at the idea.

Rouge smiled, already knocking down one of the them onto the beast while Omega was distracting it with his attacks. Shadow dealt with the other creature, which didn't take him too long since he's fought Mephiles's minions before and had a decent idea on where their weak spots were.

After both of the giants were dealt with, the floor beneath the trio's feet became normal again.

Shadow looked up and saw Mephiles levitating lower, coming closer to the ground. Without hesitation, the black hedgehog once again used his homing attack on his rocky doppelgänger, trying to deal as much damage to him as possible.

Mephiles quickly knocked him back, preparing another attack. He levitated higher so Shadow couldn't reach him.

"Rouge!" Shadow shouted. "Give me a lift!"

"Gotcha!" Rouge nodded, already flying over to him.

The white bat grabbed a hold of the black hedgehog's hands and lifted him up higher off the ground.

"Throw me at him," Shadow ordered.

With that, Rouge swung him and let him go, flinging him at Mephiles. Shadow roundhouse kicked his doppelgänger in the head multiple times when he got close, knocking Mephiles towards ground. Omega began shooting at Mephiles once the crystal hedgehog got into his range, dealing more damage to the enemy.

Finally, after what seemed like forever to the trio, Mephiles finally fell to the ground and stumbled. He stared coldly at Shadow as he began sinking into the floor, melting into a dark puddle. He was back in his original state.

Shadow looked back at Rouge and nodded to her. The white bat nodded back as she quickly handed the new Scepter of Darkness— which looked kind of messy, but still had the correct properties— to the hedgehog. Shadow took it and held it in front of him as he faced the small dark pool. The black hedgehog took a quick, sharp breath before beginning his attempt at sealing his doppelgänger into the scepter to finish him once and for all.

It's working, Shadow's red eyes widened as he saw Mephiles's liquid form being absorbed into the hollow artifact.

The relief was soon cut short when the Scepter of Darkness exploded into a bright light as Mephiles finished entering it. The darkness was released once again, and the remains of the scepter were scattered all over the temple floor.

Rouge's eyes widened as she glanced back and forth between the shattered pieces of the artifact on the ground and Mephiles swirling into his crystallized form again.

"It's destroyed!" She exclaimed, looking over at Shadow with desperate eyes, hoping he had a second plan.

Shadow jerked his head back to face her. He was breathing heavily, trying to process what had just happened.

But this worked before, he thought to himself. This worked the first time. Why is he suddenly able to break out of something made to seal him?

Mephiles laughed evilly as he swirled back into his crystal form. The process was very disturbing, especially since the evil hedgehog's neck twisted in a full three-hundred-sixty degree rotation. Everything spun back into place, making uncomfortable sounds as it did.

"The 'I' of now absorbed your power through your shadow in the past," Mephiles stared right into Shadow's eyes.

The black hedgehog's red eyes widened with the realization. Mephiles gained his look through absorbing his shade. Because he took on the form of Shadow, Mephiles is resistant to being trapped inside the Scepter of Darkness again.

I'm an idiot! Shadow wanted to exclaim.

"What may have worked many years ago," Mephiles continued, "No longer does!"

The crystallized hedgehog then released shock waves, knocking Shadow, Rouge, and Omega backward and down onto the ground. Mephiles pulled Shadow's green Chaos Emerald towards him, claiming the miracle gem as it flew to him. The green and yellow Chaos Emeralds floated and created an infinity sign. Hundreds of copies of Mephiles appeared, all surrounding the heroes who were just getting up from the ground.

"You must realize now that you cannot hope to stop me with your limited power," Mephiles stepped forward, the other clones standing behind him. "You have tried twice, but at what cost? I am still here. You have failed."

"So you say," Shadow grunted, getting up from his knee to stand up.

Mephiles raised his brows, almost impressed that the hedgehog was still determined to stop him.

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

At that moment, Mephiles thought he had talked through to Shadow. The black hedgehog just stared at the ground for a few seconds. He turned back to see Rouge and Omega walking over to him. Rouge's teal eyes looked desperate, and even though Omega's eyes don't show emotion, Shadow could still tell that the robot wanted Shadow to keep pushing to victory.

The black hedgehog turned back to face Mephiles, frowning. His red eyes sparked with determination as he began to remove one of his inhibitor rings, the very things that helped the hedgehog limit his powers so he wouldn't become out of control.

"If the world chooses to become my enemy," Shadow stared into Mephiles's eyes as the inhibitor ring fell to the ground. He began to unfasten the other. "I will fight like I always have!"

The Mephiles copies immediately swarmed Shadow, Rouge, and Omega without warning. However, Shadow, now able to use his powers without limitations, unleashed a large yellow aura, allowing him and his two friends to plow through the clones of his enemy.

It was time to finish his mission.

• • •

Amy quickly rushed back to Tails's cottage, remembering what Sonic told her to do. She also kept looking behind her to make sure no one was trying to follow her, since Eggman was still out there on his battleship.

The pink hedgehog ran along the coast, seeing Soleanna in the distance. She smiled. She was close.

That's when Amy saw a large shadow come into her view. She looked up and saw Eggman's battleship. A small yelp escaped her mouth, and she booked it to Tails's place as fast as she could. She hoped Eggman wasn't after her.

Eventually Amy reached her fox friend's home, and thankfully no one was on her tail. The pink hedgehog quickly knocked on the door. As expected, Tails answered.

"Hey Amy!" The fox greeted. He looked around, only for his smile to drop. "Wait, where's Blaze? And what about Sonic?"

"Sonic told me to tell you not to worry about them," Amy walked in. "He, Blaze, and a new friend are trying to fix something real quick."

Knuckles overheard, and he immediately walked over to the pink hedgehog.

"A new friend?" He asked, frowning.

"His name's Silver," Amy laughed nervously. "Not sure if you've seen him around or not. Most likely not, though, haha.."

Tails and Knuckles immediately exchanged glances, eyes wide.

"Wait," Tails shook his head. "Is this Silver guy a gray-white hedgehog with psychokinetic powers by chance?"

Amy blinked twice. They know him?

"Uh, yeah, actually," she scratched the back of her neck.

"Crap!" Knuckles punched his fist into his palm with anger. "He attacked Sonic earlier!"

Tails quickly nodded to confirm the echidna's statement. "We saw it happen!"

Amy frowned. Sonic told her to let them know he's okay. What if they doubt her?

"Guys," she begged, "I saw the same thing and was just as mad as you! But Sonic told me to tell you not to worry! And I did say Silver's a friend, didn't I?"

"Then explain why this Silver guy attacked Sonic," Knuckles folded his arms. "I need the whole story, and I need to know why Sonic didn't just kick his butt back."

Amy took a deep breath.

"It was a misunderstanding," she explained what she recalled. "He was manipulated by someone, I can't remember if he mentioned this person's name or not... But apparently, this person told him to kill Sonic, because that would save the future from turning into some sort of destroyed post-apocalyptic place. He said that Shadow ran into him and showed him the truth, so Silver's on our side now." The pink hedgehog smiled to herself. "And Sonic forgave him for it. So now they and Blaze went to go try to solve Silver's situation."

Tails and Knuckles looked at each other with wide eyes. They knew Amy was telling the truth as soon as they heard the description of this future from where the white hedgehog came from, as they were there themselves. They even saw this Silver guy talking to a figure that looked surprisingly similar to Shadow, so that could've been the manipulator.

"If you say so," Tails smiled.

"Wait, really?" Amy smiled back. "I thought I'd need to explain more to you guys."

"Nah," Knuckles shrugged, arms still folded. "Tails and I ended up in the future with Sonic and even met up with Shadow and Rouge somehow. It's just as you said that hedgehog described— fire and destruction everywhere."

"And if Sonic was willing to forgive the misunderstanding, then so am I," Tails beamed. "Anyway, is that all he wanted to tell us, or is there more?"

Amy smiled wider, happy that she didn't have to worry too much about any of her friends trying to kill each other anymore. She couldn't imagine what it would've been like if Knuckles ended up meeting Silver without the explanation the pink hedgehog just gave. The red echidna would've probably been at his throat by the time Sonic or anybody else who knew the reasoning behind Silver's attacks was able to defend the white hedgehog.

"Sonic also said to guard the Chaos Emeralds and Sol Emeralds," Amy remembered. "Eggman's fleet is still out there, most likely looking for them. But I don't want him to terrorize Soleanna again like on the first night..."

Knuckles walked to the door and opened it.

"Knuckles, what are you doing?" Tails asked.

"You two stay here and guard the Emeralds like Sonic said," he looked back at his friends. "I'm gonna go make sure Egghead doesn't attack the city."

"Be careful," Amy pleaded.

Knuckles smirked.

"Bold of you to assume I won't be," the echidna replied.

Tails frowned a little with a smile. "Actually, I don't think that's a bold assumption at all. If anything, it'd be bold of someone to assume you would be careful."

Knuckles stared blankly at the young fox, blinking slowly.

"Gotta ruin my moment, huh?" He smiled a little.

Tails laughed.

"Had to," he chuckled. "Alright, for real though, don't do anything stupid."

"Fine, I won't," Knuckles snickered a little.

With that, the red echidna was out the door, leaving Tails and Amy to keep the miracle gems safe and away from the mad doctor's grasp— or from anyone with bad intentions, for that matter.

• • •