Infinite Sadness

Drowning in Darkness

Silver and Zero find themselves in Null Space. Silver is confused.

"Whoa, this isn't what I meant to do. What is this place?"

Zero is a bit surprised.

"You've never been in Null Space before?"

Silver floats and gazes into the darkness. Then he lands gracefully next to Zero and ponders.

"Hmm, you must have Chaos Controlled us here. Clearly, you're channeling the power of that emerald."

The emerald flashes a bright, white light, returning them to Zero's flashback of the Mystic Jungle.

"Arg, not this again!" Silver cries.

He reaches for the emerald so he can use his powers to protect Zero from this crippling memory. Strangely, Zero blocks him with his sword.

"No Silver the Hedgehog, I have to revisit this memory... to see it for what it was... I see what's going on. The emerald brought us to Null Space so I could face my past."

"Honestly, I think you brought us to Null Space, Infinite."

Zero clinches his teeth and becomes angry.

"Are you with me or not, Silver?!"

"Lower your weapon. You called for me, so yes, I'm here."

"Then stay close. Don't let me drown in darkness."

Silver slowly steps back and lets Zero walk forward into the memory. He follows him, as Zero approaches his murdered siblings. The commander begins to breathe heavily but keeps walking, right down the middle of the carnage. Silver stays close as Zero forces himself to gaze at each dead jackal. He grunts and gasps, grabbing his chest and gripping the emerald to help him move forward.

"Keep going, I'm right behind you," Silver assures him.

They reach a rocky wall, stopping only a few feet away from one of Zero's deceased brothers. This departed pack member wears sports tape like Sonic, his red beret, sliding half way off his bruised face. His body broken from being thrown against the rocks, like a doll. Zero clinches his fists and his teeth, shutting his eyes tightly. Tears stream down his muzzle.

"Infinite?" Silver says, "don't drown on me, I'm still with you."

Zero looses his composure and drops to his knees beside his brother. Grunting and whimpering, he pulls his own hair, distraught. Silver watches a ghost come out of Zero. The spirit grips ragingly onto his ghostly sword. He is about to fall apart as well, but instead, he holds it all in, and vows.

"Who did this? Surely they must die by the hands of the Ultimate Mercenary."

Mephiles appears a few feet away.

The truth becomes apparent!

For rather than appearing as himself, Mephiles has taken on the appearance of... Shadow... a mouthless, demented version, one with cyan-striped quills and a zombie-like demeanor.

"My name is Shadow the Hedgehog," Mephiles tells Zero's memory-ghost. "I'm the Ultimate Life form and a G.U.N. agent. This operation is over. You never should have left your dimension. This is the price you pay."

Mephiles Chaos Controls away. Ghost Zero sprints off, infuriated.

"Come back here and face me, Shadow the Hedgehog!"

Before anything else can happen, Zero unknowingly Chaos Controls himself and Silver back to Seaside Island. Silver pulls Zero to his feet.

"That wasn't Shadow! That was Mephiles! Did you see? He took on Shadow's shadow!"

"No no no, that was Shadow!" Zero denies.

"No it wasn't," Silver argues.

"No no no, it has to be Shadow!"

"What do you mean? Mephiles is evil, Shadow is good."

"No, that's not what I saw, I saw Shadow! Shadow destroyed my squad, then I became Infinite and showed the world that I'm not weak!"

"Infinite, you summoned me to be a witness. I've traveled back in time before, I know what I saw. Mephiles destroyed your squad, not Shadow."

Zero pulls his own hair again, ready to rip it out and go into a massive temper tantrum.

"That's not true! He told me we could enter unconditionally!"

"Who, Mephiles? Enter what? Null Space?" Silver asks.

"We were teenagers!" Zero cries. "We crossed over to another dimension! Mephiles opened the portal for us after our parents died!"

"Infinite, Mephiles lied to you and he framed Shadow," Silver sternly insists.

"No no no no no, I'm the Ultimate Mercenary! If... if it was Mephiles then, then it means..."

Zero rips out a few large locks of his own hair. Horrified, Silver grabs Zero's arms and tries to hold him still.

"Stop, calm down! Don't drown in the darkness, Infinite!"

"He killed my jackals!" Zero screams. "He followed me everywhere! He terrorized me! He sabotaged me! It's all been a sadistic quest to transform me into a disposable pawn! AND I LET HIM!"

Silver watches the poor jackal become so hysterical, that he has to use his psychokinesis to keep Zero from clawing his own face. With Zero unable to harm himself or anyone else, Silver grips Zero's shoulders.

"Look at me, listen to me! You're the tallest of mountains, you are the roughest of waves, you're the toughest of terrors and you just faced the darkest of days. You're not weak, so don't fall apart! You have the power, you can still fight. You. Are. Infinite!"