Sonic the Hedgehog

Unbeatable

"What happened here?"

"Sonic, can you hear us?!"

"Where's the Doctor?"

"Forget that, where's the wall?"

Hardly any of the muffled voices can be heard clearly over the loud ringing in Sonic's ears, nor processed by his waking mind. At least, that was the case until a shrill: "SONIC!" broke through the fuzziness in his head.

It belonged to Amy who maneuvers through the wrecked robot parts and debris that now make up the floor with surprising precision given her rush. Before he can fully regain consciousness, the trapped speedster finds his upper torso being squeezed by the pink hedgehog now at his side.

"Sonic, I'm so glad you're okay!" she says. "We heard so many explosions and when we walked in, we weren't sure if-!"

"Hey, Amy, I know you're glad to see me and all, but a little help would be nice."

"Oh, right!"

She stands up and slings her Piko Piko hammer over her shoulder. Sonic looks up, his eyes enlarging at the sight of the massive weapon raised above him.

"Hey, Ames, maybe you should-!"

Like a bolt of lightning, the hammer strikes down on the piece of metal pinning the hedgehog down, splintering it into dozens of pieces.

Despite the near heart attack, Sonic feels great relief having the pressure on his back removed. Though, he immediately finds out the debris wasn't all that was keeping him on the ground. Attempting a single step causes him to tumble forward, barely being caught in time by a worried Amy.

"You don't look too good," a voice says just a short distance ahead.

Recognizing who it belongs to, Sonic looks up to see Shadow the Hedgehog alongside Tails approaching him. Behind them, Rouge marvels at the sheer volume of destruction the earlier battle left behind, with E-123 Omega standing stationary nearby. At the entrance, Knuckles is on one knee, examining something. The look on his face looks all but happy.

"You think I look bad?" Sonic scoffs. "You should see the other guy."

"Oh, I do."

Sonic follows Shadow's gaze, spotting Eggman lying face-down on the floor two yards to his right. Lucky for him, nothing larger than a coat of dust met his backside. With his hands still shielding the back of his head, he looks up at the group of Mobians with unhidden disdain.

"I hope you're happy," he grunts, narrowing his eyes on Sonic. "I hope all of you are happy. You've ruined everything!"

"Since when was that a bad thing?" Sonic grins, being supported by Amy's shoulder.

Eggman's grimace intensifies.

"Since our Jackal friend just made off with the most powerful weapon in all of Mobius!" the mad genius answers.

The grin on Sonic's face vanishes after recalling the final few seconds before unconsciousness took over. Zero, or rather Infinite's plans for Station Square.

"Jackal?" Rouge questions. "Wait, you mean Zero?! Isn't he-?"

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF NOW!"

Knuckles' voice startles all but Shadow. The fiery echidna marches over to the small group, a grey emerald clutched in his left hand. Seeing it, Sonic frowns, recognizing it as the gorgeous gemstone Zero held in his palm, right before its life was drained right in front of him.

"What happened to this emerald?! Knuckles demands, stopping in front of the Doctor and holding up the grey gem. "Answer me! Now!"

"I did what any pioneer would do," Eggman answers. "I repurposed it into something greater. Something beyond its original function."