Infinite Sadness

Falling into the Shadows

The jackals and Barker are floored by the sound of a deafening crack, like lightning, is if they've all been struck. Knocked off their feet, they see a colossal beast screaming in the sky. Infinite Chaos, it's face reflecting that of the Infinite mask, it's body long and measureless, like a never-ending black snake. He even retains Infinite's long, white locks, though they are made of streaming, light waves. Opening his massive mouth wide, he roars, revealing his sharp, knife-like teeth.

"Good thing someone called that guy," Pronto says.

"Yeah but where's Infinite?!" cries Fetch.

"I think that IS Infinite," responds Pronto.

"No, it's Chaos," Roxium tells them.

And with that, a big, fat Godzilla battle ensues between Solaris and Infinite Chaos.

Barker is unfazed by the battle of the century.

"Good for them and their dinosaur fight. I didn't come here to be awed by such gargantuan spectacles. Let's find my cousin and leave... now!"

"Best idea yet!" Pronto replies.

"Yeah great idea but how?" asks Fetch.

A signal comes in somehow, near Pronto, as though it's coming from an invisible walkie talkie.

"Sonic! Can you hear me? It's Tails!"

"Whoa, Tails? Yeah, I hear ya, buddy!" Pronto responds. "Granted, I dunno where your voice is coming from."

"We hear ya loud and clear, Tails," chimes Jade.

"Wonderful! Listen, Gadget and I can reopen the portal with my Reverse Polarizer. Shadow needs to Chaos Control you guys back here. You all need to be touching for it to work. You need to feed off his Chaos Energy."

"We're not leaving without Zero!" Barker snaps.

"Wait, you didn't find Zero?" Tails asks.

Suddenly Roxium disappears via Chaos Control.

"Roxium!" Jade exclaims.

"Shadow!" Pronto cries.Back with Zero, the Chaos Emerald and the mask, have left him. The darkness has engulfed him, he feels his lungs caving in, he closes his eyes and...

FLOOP!

He lands in someone's arms. How safe they are, they must be the arms of Tikal!

"Tikal!" he whimpers, "am I dead too? Arg, is it finally over? Please let it be over."

Hover shoes keep them suspended. Gold rings shimmer. Stripes on his red quills glow. Zero opens his eyes and even through the illusion, through the darkness, he can see, his rescuer is actually... Shadow the Hedgehog.

"Shadow? Why are you here?"

"I'm saving your life, Zero the Jackal."

"No. Enough is enough. Let me fall, let it end."

"I won't. Listen, I apologize for what happened with that other Shadow. He didn't know, or else he wouldn't have..."

"Don't. You have nothing to apologize for. It wasn't him who made me insane. I shouldn't have blamed him or you."

"I appreciate you saying that. I know you don't wanna keep falling. Let's go back to the island. Mephiles is wrong. You're wanted. You belong."

"No," Zero painfully objects, "You don't understand!"

"Yes I do understand," Shadow assures him. "When I fell into the darkness, all I wanted was to be dead with Maria. Then Tikal caught me. Commander, you are not weak. Take a look, you summoned Chaos. He'll destroy Mephiles, I'm sure of it."

They feel a huge vibration, accompanied by a deep rumble. Both look miles ahead and see Solaris drowning in a series of magnificent strobes, flashes of a colorful light. Then they watch Infinite Chaos bite right into Solaris, devouring the monster's center. In a reverberated echo, Solaris gurgles grotesquely... then dies. Hardcore.

"See, that's cool as hell, man," Shadow tells exhausted Zero, in a big-brotherly voice.

"Heh, yeah, I freakin' did that," chuckles Zero.

"Hell yeah, you did," Shadow agrees.

Relieved, Zero gives Shadow a shaky hug.

"Thanks comrade, I think I'm ready to go home now," he says then blacks out, flopping in Shadow's arms.

"You got it," Shadow replies, gripping him firmly.

Using Chaos Control once more, Shadow returns to their friends with the worn out jackal. Upon reuniting with the squad, the others resume their true identities by means of three colorful strobes; one blue, one cyan, and one pink.

"Hey, I'm Sonic again!" Sonic exclaims. "Bye Pronto, it was awesome getting to be you for a little bit. Rest in peace, my speedy friend."

"And I'm Amy Rose! Farewell Jade, you were a real power house!" Amy thoughtfully coos.

"My psychokinesis is back!" Sigh. "The one time I didn't miss it. 'Didn't need it as Fetch the Jackal. So long, brave warrior," Silver says with a respectful bow.

Shadow presumes softly.

"Sayonara, Roxium the Jackal, take care of Maria for me."

Then, to everyone's dismay, the remaining bit of strobe-like energy pumping within Zero's chest suddenly blacks out. Everyone's breath is cut short. Barker especially becomes disheartened!

"Zero!" he cries, worried he's lost his last living relative. He stares desperately at his cousin's motionless profile. Removing his top hat, he murmurs... "no. Please don't go. I promise I'll never make you perform in my circus again."

Silver lifts his hand and expels a wave of cyanic energy toward the jackal. For a few seconds they all wait as the futuristic hedgehog uses his telepathic powers to verify if Zero has indeed, departed along with the avatars of his lost siblings. Shadow gives Silver a look of desperate anticipation. It wouldn't be the first time someone's in the Ultimate Life Form's arms and waiting for Silver's answer is excruciating. After what seems like light years, Silver proclaims...

"Its okay! That was the energy of Chaos himself, leaving him. He still has Chaos Energy of his own. He's still alive."

Everyone expresses a unified sigh of great relief.

"Oh man, that was close!" Sonic exclaims.

"I'll say!" Amy agrees.

"He fought well, now he needs to rest," Shadow tells Barker. "He'll be alright, we'll make sure of it."

"You will?" Barker replies, putting his hat back on. "Good. So will I this time. Well done, Zero. I'm proud to call you my favorite cousin. We'll make new memories together, as soon as you're well."

He gently hold's Zero's shoulder, fighting a quivering lip for being so harsh with Zero before.

"Sonic? Sonic, do you read me?" Tails phones in.

Sonic realizes Tails was speaking to him through the communicator on his wrist talks into the microphone.

"Yup, we're still here. It was a false alarm, Shadow's back and he brought Zero with him."

"Great!" Tails replies. "Initiating the reopening of the portal now!"

Barker keeps his hand on Zero's shoulder while the rest of the gang places their hands on Shadow's arms and back. The black and red hedgehog then safely Chaos Controls everyone away from the vast emptiness of Null Space.