AN: Welcome one and all to the final chapter of Fragmented Chaos! With this, I can finally say that this long, arduous story is coming to an end. I have never written a chapter this large, so I hope that the quality will live up to the worth of the quantity.

For coming with me all this way and seeing me through to the end, I want to thank my very special beta-reader: dark-pheonix-loves-kai. She's come through for me on just about everything. When I screw, she's right there to tell me. So a special thanks to her for helping to bring out the polished shine in this story.

Disclaimer: As a final note, I neither claim nor own any characters from Sonic-x, Sonic Team, Sega, or other affiliated corps. This is a nonprofit, fan-based parody. Music is copyright of its respectful artist and is only posted as suggested listening. Please support the official releases.

Claimer: I claim and own this altered plot as well as characters not owned by the above mentioned.

Syaoron the Fox presents

Fragmented Chaos

Chapter 19

CASCADE

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

Relative Center of the Known Universe

January-1-3200

18:27 Universal Time

The Blue Typhoon sat in wait while final preparations for its operation were being made. Around it gathered the other Gemmarex flagships—the Reverent Burstfire, the Juniper Crescent, and the Stardust Plume—as well as other, smaller battleships. It would be their job to protect the Blue Typhoon at all costs.

Spinel sat at the bridge of the Blue Typhoon, waiting for the battle to begin. He had no doubt in his mind that the Chaotix would soon come for one final stand. He felt the shockwave at midnight, as did the rest of the universe. It was an omen that he didn't want to be on the bad end of.

He looked on ahead of their forward line and caught sight of the Vale Tempest and its armada of Mobians which had just warped into the field. "And so it begins," Spinel mumbled. He then gave an order to begin the attack. So did Tails, apparently, as swarms of aircraft began to come from the flagships of the Chaotix. The final battle had begun.

[Now Playing: "Cascade (Beta)" by: Homestuck]

On the other end of the space, Tails was shouting orders to the other ships under his command. "Everyone, take evasive maneuvers!" he barked his order while monitoring the statuses of the other ships.

The kit watched as the flash of explosions began to rip through space. The smaller ships in the skirmish were fighting each other with reckless abandon, as it should have been. "Vector, commence attacks on their forward flagships! We'll want those out of the way."

As Tails sat at the master controls, Cosmo gazed up at him with admiration. The kit had pulled out all the stops in showing his leadership today. She supposed that the godly aura he emitted was probably what helped.

"Alright, Tails, we're commencing fire," Vector barked back up to him as the artillery lasers from their own flagships began lobbing attacks over to the Gemmarex flagships.

"Good. Are the Chaos Power Cannon's charge levels at maximum?"

"Charge levels at full power," Espio hollered back.

"Fantastic! Then fire on the nearest flagship."

The entire Vale Tempest seemed to dim and rumble as their massive frontal cannon began charging chaos energy. It glowed brightly in the vastness of space. Tails looked back over to his control console and flipped open a glass case before slamming his fist on a red button. "Chaos Power Cannon, fire!"

A massive beam of chaos energy ripped loose from the bowels of the cannon and impacted the nearest Gemmarex flagship, destroying it immediately. It would be a while before they could charge up another attack like that.

Back in the Blue Typhoon, Spinel was completely shocked by the massive firepower of the Vale Tempest. "What the hell was that?!" Spinel shouted. Of course, no answer was given. "What are you all just standing around here for? Fire on their forward flagships! I want to get rid of that weapon as soon as possible!"

Spinel then brought up a hologram so that he could communicate with Peridot. When the other commander had opened up the communication file, Spinel spoke, "Peridot, you're flying expertise are like none I've ever seen. I want you to lead a small squadron of fighters to disable that power cannon.

"Right away, Spinel," Peridot's response came. After shutting off communication with Spinel, he rallied a few of his men for a fighter squadron. "Come on! We have to take out that gun!"

Peridot and his squadron were flying out of the hanger no sooner than that, making a beeline course for the Vale Tempest's power cannon. Tails was alerted to their presence by a nearby elk that was manning the scanners. "We've got fighters coming in fast, headed straight for the cannon!" the elk shouted.

Tails cursed under his breath. "Peridot is on that ship. I can feel his dark energy," he mumbled. He jumped out of his chair and pointed to a few particular Mobians that he knew had good aim. "I need you to manually use the upper guns to try and take them down before they can disable the cannon."

Those Mobians rushed off to arm the guns, but Tails knew that it wouldn't be enough to take out Peridot. He bumped Lucas on the shoulder and pointed to the master control seat. "I want you in control while I go try to take out Peridot. I know you've led others in battle before, so I know you can do it," Tails assured him while running off.

Lucas nodded, taking a seat and pointing forward. "Alright everyone, just like before," he ordered while holding on to Hertia's hand. "Hit them with everything we've got, and we'll leave the skirmishing to the pilots."

Hertia looked up to Lucas and bit her lip. "Are you sure that everything will be okay?"

"Of course I am," Lucas responded. "We have this under control. Everything is going according to plan. As soon as Tails and the others take out Peridot's squadron, we'll have nothing to worry about."

Meanwhile, Tails had taken the X3-Galewind and began flying around the Vale Tempest. He had his headset adjusted so that he could communicate directly with the Mobians that were manning the turrets in defense of the Chaos Power Cannon. "Alright everyone, keep your eyes peeled for any unauthorized planes that approach the cannon. We can't lose this one."

But it was Tails' turn to be surprised. He pulled a quick barrel roll to the side when he almost flew into an incoming squad of planes. "Careful, everyone! Peridot's squadron is painted black; they'll be hard to see against the rest of space. Switch to thermal vision and beware who you're shooting at."

Tails grabbed a pair of goggles from the nearby compartment and strapped them on. His vision became a rainbow of colors with the thermal sensors. With that, he'd be prepared to hunt down Peridot.

He easily caught sight of the squadron he had passed by earlier. They obviously had taken him for one of the other fighters and decided to avoid him. It would be their downfall. He moved in behind them and let loose a barrage of missiles and guns.

Peridot had been caught completely by surprise. He looked back in the ship and cursed silently. Half of his crew was already gone, leaving him with two other pilots. "Split up and go for the cannon!" he barked into his headset while taking evasive maneuvers. When he went to check in the next time, only one comrade returned the check. With a groan, he circled around to take on the cannon.

Peridot managed to fire a barrage of lasers and missiles at the cannon before circling around. Not enough to destroy it, but enough to damage it. He'd have to run a few more passes before it was done.

A missile flew right by him before he could circle around a second time. He checked his rear and cursed. Tails was onto him. A voice crackled over his headset, "You shouldn't have come here, Peridot."

"What? Miles, how the hell did you figure out my frequency?" Peridot squawked before making a barrel roll in order to dodge another missile.

"It wasn't that hard, really," Tails responded. The kit was trying to get a bead on him with the guns, but Peridot's spastic flying was making it difficult. "I'm taking you down here, Jet. It was nice knowing you."

"I'd like to see you catch me first, arrogant fox."

Tails stopped responding after that remark. He started up the underbelly machinegun and managed to finally hit the inside of Peridot's thrusters, causing the Gemmarex leader to begin losing control of his plane. The kit smirked as he finally replied, "Looks like I got the last laugh here, Peridot."

"Oh, we'll see who laughs last, fox." For a moment, Tails was baffled by his response. He knew that without his thrusters, Peridot was basically a sitting duck. What did he have up his sleeve now?

Tails realized too late that Peridot was adjusting to a collision course with one of the nearest flagships. Since her wouldn't be able to gather up enough speed to break the Vale Tempest's shields, he targeted the flagship on the left and careened for it. Frantically, Tails alerted that flagship of their impending doom before firing his last missile at Peridot.

[Stop Music]

He gave a sigh of relief. The missile struck, ending Peridot's kamikaze run as well as his life. Quickly, Tails returned to the hanger and jumped out of his plane before running up to the bridge. "We saved the cannon. It was a close call, but we did it," he announced to the crew. "What's the situation?"

Lucas hopped down from his seat and nodded to Tails. "Everything seems to be going smoothly. The Blue Typhoon hasn't really done anything for a while though, and it worries me."

"But, we're all going to be okay, right?" Starla asked. No one besides Daisy seemed to have heard her.

"Don't be silly, Starla," Daisy assured her. "We're going to be just fine."

"Still, I'm curious as to what the Gemmarex are plotting," Tails mused as he looked across the battlefield at the Blue Typhoon.

[Now Playing: "Flare" by: Homestuck]

Spinel, meanwhile, was overseeing the preparations for their final duty. In one of the bays of the Blue Typhoon, he looked over their great operation. The many Planet Eggs that they'd amassed were being set into a single vessel. "Are all the preparations complete?" he asked to the falcon that stood by his side.

Commander Raurin, the falcon, nodded. "All preparations are finalized. The capsule has been loaded with chaos energy that was harvested from the Master Emerald and it is ready to be jettisoned into space. The Planet Genesis Device is fully operational and is ready for activation."

"Good," Spinel said with a nod. "The fruit of our tree of chaos is about to be born, commander. Launch the pod."

"Right away, sir."

Once the order was given, red sirens blared overhead. The bay was lit with the eerie, red glow as the pod was prepped for launch. After it was secured in the airlock, all the signals were given, the outer lock was opened and the pod was launched into the space just beside the battlefield betwixt Gemmarex and Chaotix.

Back at the Vale Tempest, they watched the pod float out to space. "Tails, what do you think that is?" Vector asked the kit, narrowing his eyes at the capsule.

"It's a bomb, no doubt," Lucas grumbled as he watched the pod float out into space. "We should take it out as soon as possible."

"But, if it's a bomb, shouldn't it be coming at us?" Galaxina questioned.

"She makes a good point, ya know," Espio agreed. "I don't think it's a bomb. Whatever purpose it has, it's not an explosive device."

Tails nodded solemnly. He couldn't understand what the Gemmarex were plotting either. "It could be a decoy, but I don't see anything on it that would draw our attention away from this battle. And they've completely stopped firing," the kit mused aloud.

Espio narrowed his eyes as he stared at the pod. A shimmer came from it and he nodded. "What about that shine? There's something colorful coming from the capsule," he observed.

Tails widened his eyes as he too noticed the colorful sheen. He clenched his fist in thought. "It couldn't be," he mumbled beneath his breath. He then yelled across the bridge, "Give me the chaos readings on that pod!"

From across the way, one of the officers shouted back, "The readings are off the charts, Tails! I can't even read the ratings because it's too high for our scanners!"

Tails bit his lip, thinking hard about their new problem. "Of course, this was the plan of the Gemmarex all along," he muttered.

"What are you talking about, Tails?" Vector asked the kit. "What's their plan? What are they going to do with that thing?"

Tails simply sighed and massaged his forehead. "The Gemmarex went around collecting Planet Eggs, but why? Vector, this is why. That capsule is loaded to the brim with dark chaos energy and all the eggs they've managed to collect along the way.

"It's not a bomb, Vector. It's a planet."

Lucas' face drained of color as he looked back out the frontal window at the pod. "That thing is a planet?"

"No, not yet it isn't," Tails replied, gazing at the pod with curiosity. "But when it becomes one, we'll have a big problem on our hands. It's going to make a planet completely out of dark chaos energy."

Charmy pumped a fist into the air. All this tension made him excited. "Yahoo! So, all we have to do then is blow up that planet thingy and we win, right?"

Tails shook his head, sighing. "I wish it were that simple, Charmy. That pod is filled with the lives of dying planets. We can't just destroy the pod; we would be killing hundreds of planets everywhere."

And so, they sat and waited, waiting for the creation of the dark planet. Nothing could stop it now. The pod began to shine with an eerie glow. A brilliant explosion followed the glow while a molten substance began to form and harden into a dark purple planet. The creation of the planet emitted a shockwave of dark energy.

"Brace yourselves, everyone!" Tails called out just before the impact of the shockwave. Though Tails felt nothing physical from the wave, something struck inside of him.

He was able to dissipate the initial impact of the dark chaos wave, but as he looked around, he was appalled to find that the others were cringing and shivering from the initial wave. "The planet's dark energy must be resonating with the Master Emerald," Tails mumbled under his breath as he knelt down, trying to help up the others. "Come on, guys, you need to get up!" he said frantically.

He tugged on the arms of his friends, but they had succumbed to the dark chaos and continued to shiver on the ground. They were in pain, Tails knew. It was only his aura that was preventing them from being enswathed in worse torture. "I hope the other flagships are doing okay," he said as he bent over to try and heal his friends from the dark chaos wave. The wave would pass, and hopefully few more would be caught in its draining power.

[Stop Music]

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

[Now Playing: "Cobalt Thief" by: Homestuck]

Meanwhile, on Blue Typhoon, Kiana was running. She had never run so fast in her life, not even when she was running from the Seedrians on planet Solei. She had to find it; she had to make them pay. Spinel had done the utmost despicable thing she could think of, and now she was alone in this massive ship, running for her life.

"Damn you, Spinel… Why did you take him away…?" she wept as she moved through the halls. Kiana leaned against a nearby wall and shivered, her tears falling steadily. She had to pace her breathing so as not to pass out or go into hysterics.

She spotted a nearby air vent through which she could escape. She pried off the panel with her bare hands, blood splotching at the fingertips from wear and tear. After entering the vent, she pulled the panel back on to stay hidden.

A patrol passed by the hall just as Kiana hid away in the vent. She tried to quiet her sobbing enough to hear what was going on. "So, which prisoner are we trying to find again?" spoke a gruff, masculine voice.

"You know that black cat Kiana? She's the one we're after. Don't you remember her from the execution?" replied a second, softer voice. Feminine, Kiana ascertained. "She managed to escape and we have to find her."

"Oh, I remember her now! That Julius guy was the one that was executed that day. That ought to serve the dirty traitor right for helping out those Chaotix."

Kiana clenched her fist in rage. She hated how they treated Julius like he was the one who did something wrong. No, everyone else was at fault. She continued to listen, despite her anger. "So, Kiana escaped," again spoke the masculine voice. "Why do we have to capture her alive? She's a traitor too, so we should kill her too, right?"

"Orders from the top say she is to be incarcerated again, alive. Dark Spinel wants her alive for some reason. Remember what he said back at the execution? He wants her to live with the guilt of her betrayal and of Julius' death."

"Wow, Spinel sure is cruel with the way he deals with treason."

"He has to be. Treason is unacceptable. Those thieving, lying fools should rot in Iblis."

Kiana couldn't listen to their banter any longer and she continued to crawl through the vent. As she passed through the skeleton of the enormous ship, she passed over the bridge. Curiously, she decided to listen.

"Peridot's been killed? And he didn't even destroy the cannon? I never should have entrusted him with anything." She could distinctly hear Spinel cursing at whatever was going on in the battle. "Oh well, a loss is a loss. What is the status of the new planet?"

"Sir, the planet is complete and has already started to emit a dark chaos wavelength. Thanks to the thick armor on Gemmarex ships though, we have been spared whatever casualties the wavelengths might inflict on us."

Kiana couldn't tell who the other person speaking to Spinel was. She continued to listen, however. "Be that as it may," Spinel continued, "How goes the capture of our escaped traitor?"

"Kiana is still somewhere on this ship, Dark Spinel. We just can't seem to find her."

"Then I want her found, Raurin. I will not stand for such insolence. That traitor, Kiana, is going to suffer for her treason."

"How will she suffer, sir?"

"She will suffer in life. As her accomplice suffered under the pain of death, she will suffer under the pain of living with his death. That's why I want her alive."

Kiana clenched her fist, unable to believe Spinel's cruelty. She knew now that he enjoyed tearing people apart by their very souls. He would pay dearly for this.

She continued down the vent until she found a place where she could get out of the vent safely and noticed that this hallway was familiar to her. As she walked along it, she remembered where she was. This was the hallway right next to the Master Emerald. She began to run again, this time toward the thing she wanted to destroy so badly.

She took a left from the hallways and ran up a ramp. The room where the Master Emerald was kept was some cheap imitation of the altar back on Mobius. Alongside the door to the room were two guards. One of the guards, a gruff lion, narrowed his eyes and approached her. "Hey, you're the escaped prisoner aren't you?" he said.

Kiana didn't answer. Instead, she launched a furious kick at the guard, knocking him off of the ramp. Before the other could react fast enough, she wrestled the war hammer he was holding from his grip and forced him off of the ramp as well.

"All available personnel to the Master Emerald chamber, immediately!" a loud siren blared overhead. She would be caught soon enough. She didn't have much time to react. She ran right into the room, despite the enemies that were closing in around her.

She reeled back the war hammer and brought it down with all her angry might unto the large, green crystal in the center of the room, smashing it into little pieces. The dark energies that were trapped within the Master Emerald dissipated into the air soon enough.

She was unable to do much more, as three more guardsmen ran up behind her, thrusting swords into her back. Kiana, with tears in her eyes, fell to her knees. The pain was nothing to her, she felt so numb to everything. She finally gave one final smile that Julius' death hadn't been for nothing; that he had died with a purpose. And now, that purpose was fulfilled.

"I love you, Julius," Kiana uttered her last words, falling to the side in a puddle of her own blood. Her eyes were closed in peace, even in pain of defeat. A smile graced her lips just as the light left her eyes. And so, in death, the lovers were reunited once more, with their purpose in the world of the living fulfilled.

[Stop Music]

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

Cosmo blinked at that moment. She could feel when the dark chaos was no longer there, no longer plaguing her mind. She looked up to see Tails' hand stretched out to her. She took it gladly and stood up. "Tails… what happened?" she asked, confused. The others were at the front of the bridge, making sure that everyone was still alright.

"You and the others were hit by a dark chaos wavelength," Tails explained. "Spinel's dark chaos planet was resonating with the Master Emerald to emit a dark wavelength all across the universe. Don't worry though; the wavelength seems to have stopped now."

Cosmo stood up and shook her head to clear some dizziness. "How did it stop though?" she asked.

"Well, the planet is still there," Tails mused, "which means the Master Emerald was smashed, so the planet beacon is no longer resonating with the Master Emerald's dark chaos energies."

"The easy version, please?"

"Basically, without the Master Emerald, they can't send the dark chaos wavelength throughout the universe."

Cosmo sighed in relief. "That's good," she mumbled while stretching her arm a bit. "But… how was the Master Emerald destroyed?"

"Well, none of us did it, so it's safe to assume some traitor within the Gemmarex did it."

"You don't mean…"

"Kiana and Julius, yes."

"Do you think they're okay?"

Tails sighed. "The Master Emerald is located about the center of the ship. Considering it is the Blue Typhoon's power source, it's bound to be well guarded. They dug their own graves when they decided to smash that emerald."

Cosmo gasped slightly. They had been through a lot with the rogue couple. She hated the thought that they might have died. "Tails…. They couldn't have died."

"Odds are that they did, Cosmo," Tails said to her while frowning. "Anyway, they took out the Master Emerald at least. Not only will their corruption device cease to operate, but the Blue Typhoon will as well."

Cosmo looked back out the window at the Gemmarex fleet. It seemed they were still just as disorganized as the Chaotix at the moment. "So, now what? They're just sitting ducks right? They've got nothing left."

"That's incorrect," Tails replied as he patted her shoulder. "They have one, final defense: Dark Spinel himself. I don't doubt for a moment that he will stand up to defend the remainder of the Gemmarex and try to save everything he's worked so hard to create."

"But why?" Cosmo asked. "He has nothing left."

"I don't know, Cosmo. I only know that it's because of who he is. Spinel… no, Sonic has always been like this."

Cosmo gave him a concerned look and nodded. "You're going to fight him then?"

"The confrontation is unavoidable at this point," Tails mused. He watched as a single shuttle from the Blue Typhoon left the bay. The shuttle was headed for the Gemmarex's planet. "He's waiting for me to face him. I should go."

"But Tails, it could be a trap!" Cosmo said. She grabbed his arm before he could head off. "What if you get hurt?"

Tails shook his head and held her close. "I'll be okay, Cosmo," he said to her. "Don't worry. Everything will be okay."

Cosmo nodded, though hesitantly, and whispered, "Go, then. You can do it, Tails. I believe in you."

"Thank you, Cosmo," Tails replied shortly, kissing her cheek before running off for the hangar.

Tails made headway for the hangar. He wanted to get down to the planet as soon as possible. For too long, Spinel had held power over the light. It was time for the light to shine back. He was prepared to climb into a small shuttle when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You didn't really think we were just going to let you go without saying goodbye, did you?"

Tails turned around to spot the Chaotix and the Seedrian family gathered there. "Hey guys," Tails replied with a bright smile.

"You can do this, Tails," Vector said, offering him a thumbs-up pose. Tails responded in kind with the same pose. "Spinel shouldn't be a match for you."

Espio nodded. "Just remember to keep a cool head and a calm mind. Nothing will hurt you more than disrupted concentration."

"Yeah, what he said!" Charmy exclaimed.

Lucas nodded, stepping forward to speak for the rest of his family. "Miles… I gotta admit, for the first half of this journey, I didn't trust you. I hated your guts and thought you were swindling me for a very long time. I thought your disrespect to me was idiotic and childish.

"However, now that I've known you a while—now that we've all known you a while—I see that you're just a kid trying to do his best to help everyone. You're like the Atlas of the universe, but know that we're here to help lift that hefty universe off your shoulders."

Tails had to look away so they didn't see the tears in his eyes. "Guys… I never would have made it this far if it weren't for all of you. Thank you for everything," he said firmly as he hoped into the pilot's seat, the sack of Chaos Emeralds in hand. "I'll defeat Spinel and stop the Gemmarex. Make sure to clean up the rest while I'm gone."

And so, he departed the Vale Tempest as he had arrived on planet Greengate: alone in a shuttle, with only the emeralds, his mechanical arm, and his mind for protection.

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

Tails landed on the small moon a small distance from where he felt Spinel's presence. He could feel the Corrupt Chaos of Spinel pepper him, though it did nothing to him. He was far too pure for the corrupt aura to harm him.

The kit walked toward the epicenter of the dark energy he felt and soon found himself face to face with his best friend and greatest enemy. Spinel stood in the basin of a crater, waiting for Tails to meet him. Deliberately, the fox slid down the walls of the shallow crater and stood across from the hedgehog.

"Welcome to my planet, Miles," Spinel said, holding his arms out wide in mock welcome. "Doesn't it look gorgeous?"

"I'll admit, it is a decent planet, but I'd hardly call it that. It's more like a satellite."

"There you go again with specificities. I never could get past you."

"And you won't get past me here either."

"You seem so sure of yourself, Tails. I'm more powerful than you could have ever imagined."

"Why did you do it?"

Spinel paused a moment. The change in subject had disrupted his thought. He crossed his arms and stood powerfully. "Come now, Miles. You should have known me long enough to know why I did those things, why I'm doing these things now."

"Was it for power? Did you do it for money? Why did you give up everything you ever fought for? You always fought for peace for Mobians!"

"I still do, Miles! I still fight for the peace of Mobius!" Spinel responded hotly. "I have always fought for the good of my world. This conquest, this universal domination, was all for Mobius! I want to place us at the top of the universe, at the highest point! Don't you see, Miles? I'm trying to save Mobians!"

[Now Playing: "At the Price of Oblivion" by: Homestuck]

Tails shook his head and sighed. "You didn't have to slaughter your own people to do it," the kit responded. The emeralds in his satchel tore free of their compartment and began rotating around him. "You need to be stopped, Spinel. Maybe you did try to save Mobians, but this isn't the way to do it." With that, the kit absorbed the power of the emeralds into his body and began to glow with awe inspiring gold. His eyes turned white, the red in his shoes became gold, and the tips of his tails glowed with fire.

Spinel gritted his teeth. Tails was much more powerful than their first encounter. He attributed it to Chaos' doing. After having suppressed his power all this time, Spinel took off the clamps on his wrists. "I took Shadow's advice when it came to storing energy," Spinel said. After releasing the cuffs, his already darkened aura seemed to expand. "Now, Tails, let's begin."

The two superpowers lunged at each other with all their might, the battle ahead soon to become one carved into history.

White energy surrounded Tails' fists as he tried striking a punch to the hedgehog's abdomen. Spinel weaved to the side and brought his leg around for an arcing kick to the fox's back. Tails was sent forward, but flipped onto his feet in time to block another incoming kick. He grabbed Spinel's foot and whirled around a few times, building up momentum, before releasing Spinel into the air. With a burst of energy, the kit soon caught up to Spinel in midflight and whipped around another impressive kick that sent Spinel earthbound.

Spinel skidded slightly on the ground before getting back up to his feet. He didn't feel particularly too beat up yet. He held his hand forward and called out, "Chaos Flux!" From the portal he opened, bolts of dark chaos energy poured out and launched at Tails.

"Chaos Rampart!" the kit shouted in return, calling forth a barrier of chaos energy to protect him from the oncoming blast. Once the barrage had dissipated, Tails charged forward, his fist glowing white with energy.

Spinel saw his incoming enemy and crossed his arms over his chest. "Chaos Blast!" he shouted when Tails was close enough, releasing an explosion of dark chaos energy from him. Tails was knocked back by the blast, scathed and burnt a bit by the blast. His Pure Chaos was already at work healing him.

Tails put up a block when Spinel dashed forward to hit him with a kick, but he was caught unaware by a lightning-fast punch to his abdomen, under which he crumpled. He was then knocked back by a fierce kick to the underside of his chin. While he was stunned in midair, Spinel thrust his hand out and shouted, "Chaos Vortex!" Upon the incantation, a hurricane of dark energy whipped from his fingertips, catching Tails in its pull.

Tails felt the dark energy batter and burn him. He winced from the pain as he was finally flung free from the vortex. He slid on the ground, creating a trench in his wake. He stood to get battle ready again, only to be knocked down by a blast of chaos energy. Before he could react, Spinel was there, punting Tails' body across the plain.

Only then did Tails finally flip upright again. He ignored the pain and charged a powerful ball of Pure Chaos. As Spinel was closing in on him, he smashed the orb into the ground and cried out, "Chaos Eruption!" Columns of light chaos energy shot up from the ground, forcing Spinel to dodge. His leg was slightly scathed in his attempt to dodge, unbalancing him long enough for him to be struck by a final burst of energy.

The two were beaten and panting. They stood across from each other in the plain. "You ready to give up yet, fox?" Spinel said with a smirk.

"Not on your life," Tails replied in kind.

The two stood there for a moment, gathering their thoughts and their energy. Nearly simultaneously, the two snapped up, their arms raised forward. "Chaos Superblast!" the two enemies shouted, firing two great beams that clashed between them. Spinel's dark blue beam collided with Tails' bright yellow beam.

Though Tails pumped as much energy as he could into this beam, he could feel Spinel's energy taking over. He cursed under his breath and retracted his beam to save energy, bracing for impact.

The beam collided with Tails and left him burnt and shaking. He fell to his knees from the pain and panted. Spinel strode over beside Tails and pushed the kit over with his foot. He placed his foot on Tails' chest and smirked. "What now, kit? I've defeated you," Spinel said darkly.

Spinel put more pressure on Tails' chest and the kit whimpered. Depleted of energy the kit's hand fell limp. The emeralds dropped around him, their shimmer lost. They had been depleted of energy. "Look at you, fox. You're nothing without these emeralds. I am everything, and I need no power source," Spinel said with a smirk.

Tails growled, biting his lip. "Shut up," he mumbled out before feeling Spinel's foot crush down on his more.

"No, kit, you shut up. I've beaten you," Spinel growled.

"You won't defeat me, Sonic," Tails barked back. "I won't give up."

"I'll see to it that you will then," Spinel said as he raised his hand to Tails' face, gathering energy to finish him off.

[Stop Music]

[Now Playing: "Savior of the Dreaming Dead" by: Homestuck]

While Spinel had been ranting on, Tails was conversing mentally with the deity Chaos.

"Are you ready kit? If I do this, you will be sacrificing your own body, but it is the only way you can defeat Sonic now."

"It's my only chance, Chaos. Give me the final blessing."

"Fine then, Miles Prower. Unto thee I bestow the Third and Final Sacrament of Purity. May your body become one with the holy power and allow thee to smite thine enemies with righteous indignation."

Tails' body began to glow with a white, holy power. Spinel stumbled off of him, the white energy burning him. "W-what is this power?" Spinel said with a gasp as he watched Tails levitate in the air. "You have no power; your Chaos Emeralds are useless! Where is all this power coming from?"

Tails lay limp in the air as holy power beamed down on him. A blinding flash of light forced Spinel to look away for a moment. When he looked back, what he saw frightened him. Tails entire body flickered with white energy. Licks of Pure Chaos swirled around his form. Blood red eyes glared down at Spinel as he floated to his feet.

"This is… What kind of trick are you pulling?" Spinel asked in fear disguised as disbelief. He stepped back and braced himself from Tails' powerful aura.

"The very same one that was used back on the Blue Typhoon when you first destroyed Mobius," Tails said with a hallowed voice. "This power was bestowed upon me by Chaos so that I may put an end to your campaign of ruinous destruction. You see, Sonic, I am become Chaos."

"You lie! I have had the power of chaos on my side for all this time!" Spinel shouted as he launched another barrage of chaos spears at the glowing kit. The energy spears passed straight through Tails, not harming him at all.

"Like I said, Sonic, I am chaos now," Tails spoke. His fierce, red glare saw through the armor, as if judging the hedgehog's soul. "None of your chaos attacks can hurt me now."

"Oh yeah? Then take this!" Spinel shouted in rage as he rushed up to Tails, thrusting a fist toward him.

The kit caught the fist in his hand and threw Spinel to the ground fiercely. Tails then turned his metal arm into its energy sword form and rushed at him. The sword glowed with bright, yellow power, now up to the length of the kit's own body. The kit brought down a slash across Spinel's body, forcing him to cry out in pain from the burning energy.

Spinel stood up and panted, trying to keep his guard up. He wouldn't lose here; he couldn't.

Up above, in the Vale Tempest, everyone could see the bright light that emanated from the planet below. "What's going on down there? I can't see a thing," Galaxina said, trying to see anything through the glare of the light.

Vector and Lucas were watching one of the radars. "This is unbelievable! The chaos readings coming from the planet are off the charts!" Vector mused, scratching at his chin.

"Hey everyone, come look at this!" Cosmo suddenly shouted from near the window. Everyone soon gathered around to lay witness to an odd event. The planet was now glowing with white energy and sending out a wave of benevolent energy.

Espio eyed the wave intensely. When it struck the Vale Tempest, he felt not the sting and burn of dark chaos, but the clarity and soothing of light chaos. His eyes widened in shock. "The planet is resonating with a new power now, and it's sending out waves of light chaos," he observed. "But what is it resonating with?"

"You should be able to tell by now, what with that familiar energy signature," Vanilla said, approaching from behind them. "The wave is cleansing, unique, pure if I must say so. It can only be coming from Tails."

"Yes, but to have energy levels that rival the Master Emerald's own… that is impressive," Espio mused. They all went back to watching, waiting for the outcome of the massive battle.

Back on the planet, Spinel was reeling from yet another attack. "Damn," he mumbled beneath his breath. He lunged forward for another attack, his arm coated in a thick aura of black power. He struck the kit in the face and actually saw him flinch from the attack. Unfortunately for him, it did little damage to the ephemeral form the kit had. Tails' glare intensified and he snapped forward a kick that sent Spinel reeling. The godly kit struck a few more blows to Spinel before whipping down an axe kick that planted his face into the ground.

Spinel stood up with difficulty only to see Tails charging more of the pure energy in his hands. "I don't understand; how is your power so great?" Spinel finally asked. He flinched up and stumbled back when a beam struck his left arm, blowing the armor clean off. "How have you come to defeat me, the most powerful Mobian in the universe?"

This time, his right arm's armor was blown off. "I did it with good, Sonic," Tails said. "You knew this power once, back when you used light chaos. You wouldn't know this power anymore, not after being twisted by corruption." Another blast cleared away the armor on the legs.

Spinel began to feel sapped of his power. Now that his armor was being destroyed, he could feel the rays of light chaos being emitted from the resonated planet. "You're sapping my power, Miles! Stop this!"

"No, Sonic. I'm not sapping your power. I'm purifying you," Tails said pointedly.

"Stop calling me that! I am Spinel!"

At that very moment, Tails rushed forward. The whirling sphere of collected energy smashed into Spinel's chest and blew off his helmet and chest plate, leaving him void of his armor. The defeated hedgehog with dark blue fur lay on the ground, weak and defeated.

Tails climbed atop him and pinned him down. "I don't have long left, Sonic," Tails spoke. The wisps of energy flicking off of him tore away from his body. "My body is simply energy. I could finish you now, with the rest my power, but that's not what Chaos would have wanted."

"What are you talking about, Miles?"

"The universe still needs a hero, Sonic. I won't be there to protect them. I need you to be my big brother again and take my place, the place you once held," Tails spoke softly. Then, all at once, his body became a beam and entered Spinel's body.

Spinel lay dormant on the ground, his orifices shining with bright light.

Meanwhile, up above, the others were watching the end of the battle. "What's going on down there? I can't see anything," Daisy shouted, trying to squint and see what happened down on the lower planet.

Lucas shook his head. "I can't tell," he said. "But it looks like they're done."

"Vector, there's a call coming in on the coms for the acting captain!" Charmy shouted as he held onto a radio speaker.

Vector looked back at the bee and furrowed his brow. "What do they want?" he asked.

"They said that they want to 'convey their apologies and negotiate their surrender', or something like that."

The entire ship went silent for a moment in disbelief. And then, shouts of joy resounded throughout the halls. "Victory! We won!" Vector shouted in joy.

The Seedrian family, however, continued to stare at the planet. "But at what cost?" Lucas said. The light on the small planet began to dim.

And so the light of the Heir vanished into the vast brightness it had created.

[Stop Music]

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

[Now Playing: "Princess of Helium" by: Homestuck]

The expanse Tails appeared in was black as coal. He looked around for the longest time and couldn't find anything. And then, he caught something. A Mobian, a hedgehog if he could tell, with light blue fur was being tormented by a figure very similar to him, only this figure's fur was a much darker blue. He knew not what the dark blue figure said; only that it was a slew of insults.

Tails approached the hedgehog and smiled, kneeling down to him. "Is that really you, Sonic?"

The hedgehog looked up at Tails. Tears cascaded down his cheeks as he hiccupped and bawled. "Tails? Is that you?" Sonic asked. "Oh thank Solaris… you have to help me. I can't take this anymore…"

Tails chuckled. Sonic's depression, rage, hate, and despair seemed to be but a mere effigy, so it wouldn't harm them. The kit knelt down and patted Sonic's shoulder. "You thought you could handle the responsibility that all this power bestowed, didn't you?" Tails mused. Sonic nodded and Tails shook his head. "Sonic… I've always known you to be a figure of freewill. All this power and responsibility… it crushed you, didn't it? It crushed you with its dark power."

"I tried to stop it, Tails… I really did," Sonic admitted. "But it took over and I couldn't stop it. I was too weak."

Tails chuckled and closed his eyes in reminiscence. "You were a real hero to the very end. The hero of Mobius."

"I'm no hero, Tails. Not after all I've done," Sonic said. "I stopped being a hero when I started fighting for the sake of Mobius instead of the sake of Mobians. You're the real hero, Tails."

Tails sighed and tilted Sonic's chin up. "Don't be s harsh on yourself," the fox ordered before sighing. "You know, Sonic, for as long as I've known you, you have always been my big brother. Always standing up for me, teaching me, believing in me… I'm glad we could have those days. But it's time for me to be your big brother.

"I'm not going to be around much longer, Sonic. You must know why by now."

"I figured," Sonic muttered with a sigh. "You transformed your body into chaos energy in order to fight me."

Tails nodded. "That's right; I don't have much time left," he said. "Sonic, I need you to stand on that pedestal again. I need you to help the people of Mobius again. I need you to be their hero again and be strong again."

"Tails, I can't do that! They all think I'm a murderous scoundrel," Sonic said. The evil effigy above began to narrow its eyes, as if trying to put Sonic into distress. "What will I even do? What can I say?"

"You won't need to say anything, Sonic," Tails said, patting his shoulder. "I'm purifying you with my own life force, giving you my own Pure Chaos power. Your energy signature will be nearly identical to mine. Through you, they will recognize my energy. You won't have this darkness anymore."

The kit could see a flicker of hope within Sonic; a flicker of peace. "Sonic, I need you to stand up for yourself and for my friends. You always do everything yourself; you've always been the solo player. Sometimes, it takes more than trust in people—trust is based on experiences you've witnessed. Sometimes it takes faith, something that you can't see or tell, but you can feel it."

Sonic sighed shortly and gave a more characteristic chuckle. "You always were a great motivational speaker, little buddy."

"Hey, I learned from the best."

Sonic stood up and patted Tails on the head, giving him a smile. "I'll do it then. If you think I can do it, then I'll do it."

Tails smiled. "Thank you, Sonic," he mumbled beneath his breath. With that, his body was whisked away as blips of light. The light surrounded the dark effigy and obliterated it with a shrieking noise.

On the wind in the mindscape, Sonic heard a few more words. Breathless words from his dying little brother, but words he could hear and understand. And then, the world faded out.

[Stop Music]

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

[Now Playing: "Jade Mother" by: Homestuck]

In the aftermath of the battle, a transport ship from the Chaotix allegiance landed on the Gemmarex planet. Vector had waited too long for Tails to return; he had to go down and see what was happening. Along with him were Espio, Charmy, Vanilla, Sally, and the Seedrian family. They gathered around the beaten hedgehog and looked around in confusion.

"I don't get it; where did Tails go?" Vector asked.

Cosmo frowned and looked up at her father, her eyes pleading for an answer. "He wouldn't have just left us, would he?"

Starla pointed at Sonic and spoke up, "Maybe the hedgehog person will tell us?"

The group then refocused on the hedgehog, noticing that he was sitting up. Vector glared at Sonic and pulled out his pistol, aiming directly for Sonic's forehead. "If you make one wrong move, I'll shoot you," the croc threatened. "Tell me what happened to Tails."

"He's gone."

The words struck a blow to everyone's heart. A pang of sadness drew over them like a cloudy day. Vector pressed the barrel to Sonic's forehead. "What do you mean, gone? Explain, Spinel."

"I'm not Spinel, Vector… Not anymore. I'm Sonic."

"I said, explain!"

Sonic looked up slowly in fear of being shot. He could see the tears creeping at the edges of everyone's eyes. Sonic sighed and clutched a fistful of dirt. He'd have to take Tails' advice and have faith. "In order to purify and defeat me, Chaos turned Tails' whole body into energy. I… I can't explain it, but Tails jumped into my body and purified me. He's… He's gone."

Vector blinked and stumbled back in surprise, landing on his rear. He remained silent and dropped his pistol to the floor. "That can't be…"

"His story seems accurate," Vanilla said as she helped Vector up. She kissed his cheek and sighed. "I can feel the pure energy that he has now. It feels just like Tails' did."

"You can't mean that… he's telling the truth," Lucas said pointedly. "This… this hedgehog is our enemy! He's always been the enemy. What, so he's suddenly turned good now?"

While the adults began to argue, the Petali sisters gathered around Sonic and remained quiet. Sonic looked them over and remembered Tails' final words: "If you should meet a young Petali named Cosmo and she happens to be grieving, help her feel better." He looked over the girls and could already see which one Tails had meant. The short one with rosebuds in her hair was shaking, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Sonic stood up and nodded to Cosmo. "I'm sorry," was all he said. It was all he could say.

Cosmo ran up to Sonic and started pounding his chest with her fists. "Why? Why did he have to die?" she cried out as she struck him, albeit weakly. "This is your fault! Tails is dead because of you!"

Sonic frowned and did nothing more than stand before her. He shed a single tear. Tails' sacrifice had meant a lot to him too. There was no way for Sonic to make up for all the wrongs he had done, and he knew that. All he could do was repeat what he had said before, "I'm sorry."

Cosmo's cries of pain and sorrow echoed over the planet as she beat on Sonic's chest. The battle may have been won, but she could still feel the sting of sorrow in her heart. She wailed on into the night, crying out in loss of love.

Sonic could only stand there. There was going to be a rift for the next few days between them all. Nothing would quite work for a while without Tails to hold them together. They would have to be strong just in order to get back home.

Rebuilding would take time. It would be a long time before they could pick up all the pieces. But one thing was certain: They were safe now. And at that moment, to Sonic, that was all that mattered.

/\/\/\/\|FIN|\/\/\/\/

Dark-phoenix-loves-kai: Time for a bit of an editor's note (FYI: I am not the author. *disclosure technicality insert*). First of all, thank you to those who read and reviewed this story. Believe it or not, just knowing that someone appreciated all the hard work that goes into writing a chapter can make someone's day. I know Syaoron feels this way because he tells me all the time, but I digress. I hope everyone enjoyed this story as much as I did. It was as much an honor to beta it as it was to read and review it. Syaoron the Fox –You never cease to amaze me, Carissimus. You're an incredible writer, and you inspire me every single day to do better. Keep up the good work, and I hope we can do a project together again soon. –Carissima