Sonic: I get that you're a war veteran, *dodges a punch* But is such a training even effective against alloyans?
Skimming past a flurry of bullets, Sonic dashed parallel to the ground like a high speed bullet himself.
Arriving at his opponent he launched a barrage of sword slashes followed by a quick spin kick before returning back to where he once was.
Standing opposite him, the opponent blocked his attacks with a minigun type of weapon with a shield like layer on its barrels.
His opponent was Sova, one of the senior soldiers of Silver's fleet, a 45 year old Mobian Raccon clad in heavy armor and having a strength that is comparable to Amy or knuckles.
Sova: Of course it works, those lower level metal heads don't use much of their brains and the middle level one usually are just too prideful.
Brushing off the attacks like mosquito bites, Sova stood his ground like a wall of tungsten. Despite Sonic's relentless attacks, he failed to land a proper hit onto Sova.
The battle begins resumed Sova used his range to his advantage and again begin bombarding Sonic with a shower of bullets, making him move around constantly while staying stationary himself.
Sonic: The same trick won't get you anywhere.
Changing his direction mid air, Sonic warped himself above and leaned forward into ball while enhancing his half metal body with another layer of chaos energy by mimicking the sky blue emerald's ability to grant himself high damage reduction.
He crashed onto the heavy soldier like a cannonball, Making him recoil back from the impact as he grabbed the sword he tossed earlier and aimed for the Neck.
The raccon giggles, The gun's handle changing as he inserted his hand into the trigger slot. The minigun then became a gauntlet with the explosive force of the missile and crashed into Sonic who parries it to the side.
Just reflecting the gauntlet made Sonic's arm creak and he couldn't help but grow more cautious as his senses picked up another attack coming his way.
Using the Gauntlet like a shield, Sova didn't give Sonic a inch of space and instantly used his other hand to throw a bunch of small bombs with detonated right in their faces as the two created distance between them.
Sonic: Just what a expected from a veteran, you have your own share of tricks it seems.
Sova: Same for you blue boy, I haven't seen someone do the things you do except general Shadow.
Meanwhile Silver is looking at them from some distance away alongside a bunch of other soldiers while Petro makes a recording and scan of Sonic's movements.
Petro: The muscles have grew more flexible but maintain their toughness, the viru- no, the Corruption is no longer spreading but rather moving to his will.
Silver: His movements and speed loving personality sometimes even shock me a little, It's his first time against a juggernaut soldier but he isn't at any disadvantage.
Petro: There is also the report request and a message from sir prowler that came a hour ago, The ring force tests have shown result but it's very slow process with the person's own support.
Petro handed Silver a report from tails that basically said that at current speed it will take about a mouth to reach a basic level of movement and that he needs to meet Sonic himself.
Silver: * a hand on his chin* I see.. Tell them we will be landing at the Hope field Tommorow, so he better send a driver or something to pick us up.
Petro: But what about him sire? *Points at Sonic* A alloyan will make quite uproar in the protected territories.
Silver: I got that covered. Now focus on your work.
Leaving the butler to his work, Silver left for a place in airship as they fly above the sea between the eggman empire and Former republic of Acorn as they make their way to the new capital of mobian people.
Being one of most untouched places from the Virus, the Eggman HQ is now officially the new capital. It's also Tails's new Research lab.
*****
Sonic: Well that was pathetic.
The sparing is now filled with cracks and holes as Sonic stood on the broken minigun with his blade pointed at Sova's neck as he lay down on his chest.
Sova: Not even a word of encouragement?
Sonic: You expect some guy to say *sarcasm* "Oh i won, why don't we just let you leave?"
Sova: For once I agree with those thorny words of yours, I should train for some insults.
Sonic: See you later then bud, Add the gun cost to the tab.
Sova: What tab you are brok-
Not listening to anything Sova had to say, Sonic left for his small cell with the shard of master emerald in hand.
While he may not show it, The mental fatigue have been piling up from weeks of constant activity and lack of sleep.
Unable to hold it any longer, He activated the cell safety protocols as he prepares himself for what could possibly be either a great rest and chance or a quick death with regrets.
His hand clutches onto the shard as felt himself fading to the darkness of sleeps, Hardening his resolve, he finally let himself drift away.
Opening his weakly Sonic found himself floating into a space and being pulled through something like tunnels.
He felt it again, the powers he once possessed, the lost connection to the king's necklace and the Phantom ruby he once owned.
Suddenly he felt something dig into his soul, like a being sewed by a needle and string like a torn cloth.
The pain was intense, almost enough to make give in within just a sec until he felt a power repel the strings away, it was the shard in his hand.
As soon as the pain faded away, he found himself sitting on a desk with a stamp in hand and bunch of paper placed onto the table.
He could see two knights in mediaeval style armor standing and the gate of the room with a halberd in their hands as they guard and cautiously scan anything that moves.
A bunch of information drilled into his brain as he felt himself being put on a 3D film with a 100x speed option enabled.
Sonic: Is this what those idle game characters feel? It hurts more than being hit by a missile.
It turns out that even when he left the false world, everyone and everything here remained as it is. Just he himself changed a little to more of his subjects imagination of him.
The flow of time was also quite messed up, while he had escaped for only weeks, over 5 months have already passed in this world.
Sonic: *looks around* I have to act quick.. but first.. *proceeds to sleep*
-Seven hours later-
A purple furred figure with a royal silk robe and a pink quilled hedgehog together made their way to the Sonic's working quarters only to find him sleeping on the desk while Snoring loudly.
The knights slowly turned to them in a bit of fear and a knelt, the two figures didn't bother talking and just told them to leave.
Amy: Is he seriously sleeping? *Cracking her knuckles* I remember him saying that he would work with diligence.
Blaze: I mean he looked quite tired and exhausted yesterday, he couldn't even walk to the bedroom and had to be carried in by the servants.
Amy: Lazy dumbass, we are over here moving places like slaves*pure utterly shameless lies* and he just sleeps with the desk instead of us.
Waking up by the constant banter, Sonic slowly opened his eye to see his queens arguing about whether to punish him and not.
Seeing the warmth and care radiating out of them he smiled internally before his eyes burst open in shock.
He saw threads, not physical literal threads but a almost invisible connected to their bodies or rather it would be better to say it was their souls that were connected.
He could see a similar purple thread near his heart but it seemed cut and instead a green thread was connected to him that went to his hand.
Sonic: 'The shard!? I knew it was a good idea grabbing onto it.'
It didn't even take Sonic a moment to understand what the threads were, They were the shackles keeping the first generation of alloyans or converted mobian one could say, chained into the false reality.
He now saw the once beautiful world as a endless prison where he was nothing but a puppet, he was it's warden and the highest beings were it's nodes.
The sense of joy and suffering he experienced in his memories were nothing but a simulation and the reality almost hit Sonic straight on.
But he couldn't help but laugh and laugh, He laughed like madman that even blaze and Amy could help but stare at him in confusion.
Sonic: hah haha..ha., Sorry about that, I just hit a.. funny boy that's right!
Amy: Atleast try to make a good excuse if you are making one but i wouldn't mind you laughing like that every now or then.
Blaze: Same here.. you should laugh a little often.
Sonic: *standing up from the desk he walked to them* Can you two do me a favour?
A plan brewed in his mind as he saw a chance he wanted to take even if it meant risking his own life, a plan to save most if not of his friends.
*****
Inside the royal court of the Camalot, many people sat on the seats of the assembly type of building as they wait for the remaining people to show up.
Most of Sonic's friends were here, from the freedom fighters to his own alternate version, from the blates of avalon bounty hunters to his family members.
All present under the same roof at the same time, The reason? Nobody except Sonic knew but they trusted him enough to come at a single word of urgency.
Finally the last few arrived including knuckles and Shadow who had to leave their work to come as quickly as possible as for the instant summon.
Tails: Does anybody know why he called us for? He has just been standing there, looking at us again and shaking his head for the past 20 something minutes.
Despite the fading patience of his friends, Sonic couldn't help but shake his head in regret. Many of them like knuckles and tails didn't have a string and that meant they were created by the hivemind and not the real ones but he was quite determined to save them as well.
Sonic: *pulling out argus from the necklace* Argus.. you can sever everything right? (Read the first fanfic to understand who argus is.)
Argus: Of course, even the fabrics of reality are nothing but mere twigs in front of someone like me.
Sonic: *inwardly smiling* Good. I just have one request for you, No matter what happens, no matter who unfolds. For the next few minutes.. you will do as I say without a single word.
Argus: But-
Sonic: Trust me, the others must not know before it happens or it will all be for naught.
Saying his words, Sonic no longer waited, All of his truly dear friends and allies were here under one roof, all for just one moment.
He grasped Argus's hilt, connected a string from the shard to it and activates the strongest ability he could wield.
Boundless. The ability he received from the hivemind itself as it's former herald and now he will use it to cut all the loose ties at once.
The world's colour fades away as Sonic now saw the gaze glaring at him from the depths of the void itself for once
???: You came back? As expected of my most loyal herald. Your loyalty shall be rewa-.. You.. how can y-
Wasting no second for the hivemind to realise his intentions, Sonic stopped time itself and quickly dashes around the room with argus in hand, slashing at everyone.
He instantly severed the strings that connects them before using Boundless to connect the shard he had with everyone including himself and gave a middle finger to the hivemind.
Sonic: So long you piece of shit, You have nothing on me now.
The world shattered again like broken glass as the hivemind roared in anger, it's gruesome true eldritch form revealed as it attacked Sonic but albeit it was too late as Sonic returned to the true reality with the souls of all of his friends frozen inside the shard.
*****
Opening his eyes, Sonic found himself not in the confines of the solitary cell but on the main deck, his body trapped inside a shell of metal and scrap while he felt a liquid akin to drool falling from his mouth.
In the distance he could see Silver, Floating with a cut across his right cheek and a bruised face.
Silver: I didn't want to this, for once i believed you were the re-
Sonic: I went berserk didn't I?
Silver: Are you seriously as-..*dumbfounded* Is this a act as well?
The sudden words created a awkward sitquation as both the hedgehogs look at eachother like a thoughtless rabbits with a plain blank face.