6There was a flash of light…
and then I was somewhere…
...new?
...but familiar!
Green Hill Zone.
Marble Zone.
Metropolis
I met all these new friends…
Tails.
Antoine.
Rotor.
...Sally.
...but I already knew them all!
There was this huge fight, and then…
The Death Egg.
Robotnik.
Chaotic energies.
Writings on the wall.
"Hi, Sal."
...I needed more time to...
...save…
Sal-
Sally got killed.
Sally got killed.
Sally got killed.
Sally got robotici-
"SALLY!"
For a split second, Sonic feared he might once again hear those three fatal shots that prematurely ended Sally's life (had? would have? will?) before recalling the reset the universe had just gone over. "Right, ten second rewind!"
The Universe and the Chaotic-Powers-That-Be had given both of them another chance, and he no intention of wasting that chance.
Sonic acted as soon as the white light left his sight, smashing into his silver doppelganger before using it as a springboard, kicking off it and hitting the metal floor running, rushing towards the Acorn princess, flipping off Silver Sonic as he did. "No cheap shot for you!" Not this time.
Sally glanced back at the commotion, and Sonic nearly tripped over himself, green eyes locking on to blue.
By Aurora, he loved her.
"Sonic!" she yelled, "We're out of time! We got to- oop!" The Blue Blur wasted no time in sweeping her off her feet and carrying her bridal-style, her hands instinctively going over his kneck, something they were both used to, and Sally's words seemingly died in her throat for a moment.
.Sonic winked. "Way ahead you, Sal!" he grinned, before grimacing and letting the smile fade, scant new memories tainting his mood..
Sally got-
Racing down the hallway, Sonic took to the wall just as the Chipmunk in his arms cried out a warning, speeding over that damned turret a split second before it fired again, dispatching the pursuing Silver Sonic as it appeared in the hallway.
"Like I said, way ahead of you, Sal."
Under normal circumstances, Sonic would have spoken that line with heroic bravado and/or smugness.
He didn't. He kept his expression neutral, trying oh so hard to avoid thinking of that glimpse of the future he had seen-
Sally died.
Sally died.
Sally died.
Sally was-
He cut himself off.
Now's really not the time for that.
Consumed in his own silence, he didn't notice the princess staring at a two-word text screen behind them, and the two carried on.
Sonic halted at the next elevator, gently placing Sally down, stepping back and scanning their surroundings for possible threats while the princess plugged NICOLE into a nearby terminal. "Okay, it looks like most of the Death Egg's power is being directed to a deck below here. Any idea what it is, Nicole?"
The A.I. in the handheld computed the query for a moment before answering, to Sally's mild frustration.
_I'M AFRAID THE DOCTOR'S SYSTEM IS VERY SECURE. IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO JUST GET THAT MUCH INFORMATION. I NEED MORE TIME_
Sally sighed, before pressing the elevator button down, and with a ding, the lift doors opened. "Time which we don't have, unfortunately. We'll just go down and see what's taking up so much power." Damnit, we really don't have time for this. Moving towards, she made for the elevator's open doors, only to flinch back when Sonic sped past her and practically spun on the spot inside. "Hold it, hidden cannon inspection!"
She gave him a look before entering after he seemingly deemed it safe, and the doors closed. "...Hidden cannon?"
"Yeah," Sonic nodded, "Like the one in the hallway. Why?"
Glimpses of… something flashed rapidly through her mind, but she pushed them away before she could study them. "Nothing, just... pre-mission jitters."
Sonic frowned, but accepted her words, thankfully. "If you say so…"
The elevator let out a ding! and the doors opened. Exiting, the two Mobians finally beheld Eggman's coup de grâce.
Oh no…
Shit. Is that a-
His tongue moved faster than his thoughts, thankfully. "Yowza! That-"
Sally confirmed his suspicions. "That looks like a giant Roboticier!" And indeed it was (despite the last time he'd seen one being long ago, Sonic didn't forget what it looked like, he could never forget); it had all the makings of one, albeit on a massive scale and, worryingly, a miniature replica of the planet inside.
"A World Roboticizer, to be precise."
Both Freedom Fighters shifted into fighting stances as Doctor Eggman appeared from a chute above them, obviously tailored to his Egg Mobile, his iconic mad grin etched onto his mustache visage.
Under normal circumstances, Sonic would laugh, and mock the doctor for seemingly forgetting the fact that Mobius, and everyone on it, was rendered immune to the effects of the Roboticizer.
But now?
Sally got-
He wasn't laughing.
Lost in his mind for a moment, he missed the exchange of words shot between Sally and Robotnik, only refocusing when Eggman snapped his fingers "Yes, yes. Those bothersome Bem rewrote the rules of the game, but I change them back." He chuckled. "Surely you noticed that flash of light? The momentary disorientation? Hah! That was just Phase One!"
Sally scoffed. "You bluffing," she spat out, though even to Sonic, it sounded weak. As much as he hated admitting Eggman right…
"Everything did reset, didn't it..?"
Everything he saw was real.
Chaos damnit.
"Regardless, dear princess," Eggman sneered, "what happens when you try to Roboticize something that's already mechanical?"
...What?
Sonic turned to the princess at his side only to find she was staring off into nothing, horrified, and he got a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Sal? What's he talking about?"
"When- when I tricked him into Roboticizing my Automaton, it-"
Robotnik cackled, the simulation on the screen behind him suddenly rippling with detonations. "That's right, rodents! It detonates! All of G.U.N.'s forces, all of the United Federation, blown back to the Stone Age!
"And lets not forget New Mobotropolis!"
He WOULDN'T-
Wait.
"Dad…"
"Bunnie! And Nicole!" Sally, Like him, was frozen in fear, and neither of them could move. The princess recovered first, desperately trying to reason with the dictator, while Sonic began to shift, moving to take down the doctor once and for all-
Only to get hit by a wave of memories, that of which, Sonic realized in horror, were Sally's.
Her last memories, to be precise.
"Goodbye…"
His resolve hardened, and his fists clenched.
He knew what he had to do, now.
I have five minutes before the Death Egg fires.
Then he moved. In a mere moment, he went from stationary to nothing but a blue blur, whisking Sally of her feet (again), ignoring Egggman (he really, really wanted to take the Sword of Light and run Eggman through), and shooting down another hallway. Just in time as well, seeing as he dodged the blow Metal Sonic sent his way, . Behind them, Sonic could here the doctors fading, angry choice ordering them to be hunted down.
Come on, I know there's one here… Where are y- THERE!
An escape egg.
He'd used many over the years to escape from the doctor's exploding factories, bases, or airships.
What was once more, for old times?
Finally releasing Sally, she rounded on him, no doubt to question (or yell, both would make sense) him about his actions in the World Roboticizer chamber. "Sonic, what are you-"
He kissed her. Catching her off guard, she didn't detach herself for another few moments, and Sonic savored them.
Only when they parted did Sonic shove her into the escape pod's open doors, before slamming them shut, making sure to snatch NICOLE from her before he did so..
Sonic paused long enough to see the confused, livid, and betrayed look on her face, and something in him broke.
"See you later, Sal."
Then he ejected the pod, not waiting to watch it plummet back to Mobius.
Time to end this.
Eggman was lurking in the hallway when Sonic zipped passed him again, disappearing into the World Roboticizer chamber, before quickly prying a floorboard loose and jumping into the mechanical depths of the Death Egg, covering the hole before he could be spotted. Finally taking a breather, he brought up NICOLE and opened the handheld.
NICOLE, obviously, was also livid. _SONIC, WHAT DID YOU DO, SALLY WAS-_
Sonic let out a shuddering sigh. "Nicole, I know how to stop the Roboticizer." That shut the A.I. up for a moment, and Sonic explained what he (Sally) had planned.
NICOLE was silent for a few moments. _...IT WILL WORK. BUT YOU WILL-_
"Yeah, I know."
Above him, he could here Eggman returning, the thumps of SIlver Sonic and the faint jet-streams of Metal Sonic as the searched for him, and SOnic knew he was nearly out of time. PLugging NICOLE in, he watched as she activated and rerouted several programs, finishing in a moment, and he asked one last question.
"Hey, Nicole? You still have those videos you helped me with?"
_...YES.
Some time after his supposed death, his journey in space, and his subsequent return, Sonic realized that to leave his friends and family (and Sally) with nothing after his death was not something he was willing to subject them too. So, during one of his free days, he asked Nicole to help film several videos in case he died prematurely, one for the majority of his friends, and a few more personalized on for his family and close friends.
He hadn't expected to use them so soon.
"Could you make sure-"
_THEY WILL RECEIVE THEM._
Sonic sighed again, and watched as text rolled onto NICOLEs screen for the last time.
_ A.I DOWNLOAD TO NEW MOBOTROPOLIS SERVER: COMPLETE
_ BEAM INVERSE OVERRIDE: COMPLETE
_ GOODBYE, MY FRIEND
_ EXECUTE? Y | N
_ Y-
In the split second before the World Roboticizer fired, Sonic found himself reminiscing of his life. The people he'd seen, the places he'd went, the villains he'd fought…
...the ones he'd loved.
Despite it all, despite how it was all going to end, he couldn't find it in himself to regret anything.
He smiled, thinking of Sally, and their last kiss.
"Cya."
Then he was bathed in light.
"Hey.
So, uh, if you're hearing this, I'm probably dead.
Probably went down in style, hopefully, heheh!
But, yeah, I'm dead, which is why you're hearing this now. Nicole helped me film- thanks for that, by the way- so she should have this to you in… maybe a day after I die, tops?
Yeah.
So.
Wow, I am not good at this.
Guess it's cause I hide most of my inner thoughts inside my 'hero pose'- Hey, Nicole, don't laugh!- but, well.
Um...
Sal.
Sally.
Is it weird that I always hoped I'd marry you?
Like, I mean, even when we weren't dating, and we were mad at each other, I still felt this… pull, y'know?
Did you feel it too?
Not that I'll ever know anyways, I guess. Kinda dour, come'ta think it.
Anyways.
I thought, since I'm dead and all, that I might as well leave a copy of my annoying voice to listen to over and over again, yeah?
...You wouldn't get tired of me saying 'I love you' over and over again, would you?
Cause if not…
I love you.
...Cya, Sal."