Lowell began to squint slightly and peer into the twisting fires from which the echoing growl originated from. From within the flames came a smatter of dark blue light with strange particles surrounding that one would swear formed clocks and stopclocks. It slowly turned from light to a bubble of energy, getting larger and rounder as it emerged from the roaring combustion. From there, three figures emerged; Delago was first, his sticky fur reduced to crisp blackended charr and parts of his skin horribly cut or burned to the extent of showing muscle tissue. In one of his hands was his M1911A1 with no real damage, but in the other was William (or Sunbeam). She was perfectly fine, bar some bruises and Delago's hand clasped tightly around her neck, and she was trying to wrestle from his grasp. She did not look paniked, however, more a mix of misery and anticipation with half-closed eyes and a crooked smile. At their feet was Kathrine, unconscience but undamaged. Delago seemed no longer interested in her and simply kicked her aside, where Frost managed to pull her back to safety and tend to her wounds.

Delago snarled at the group before him, holding the gun firmly to William's temple, as before. Lowell just cried out "Masterdammit, why won't you DIE?!"

"I'll be the judge of that," Delago growled, any sort of real emotion bar tranquil rage removed from his voice, "But all I know is this; all of this crap started with one man. One who killed my Amy-Poo and locked me in that cell for decades. One who decided to condemn her to a life of misery and poetic debauchery for the mercy of my company. One who is in my arm RIGHT NOW and I will kill dead unless you all surrender. OR, better yet, just kill yourselves here. On the spot. ALL of you!"

Lowell aimed his revolver at Delago, but this did not seem to scare him. It seemed that Delago was well beyond rational thinking; certainly desperate but certainly not insane either. His snarling maw and foaming lips may have told otherwise, but even Delago wasn't brave enough to follow through with pulling the trigger. He still played up the big man image, however.

"Don't point that thing at me, boy!" he yelled, "I'm not scared of your fearmonger tactics. I'm not scared of your Master. I don't want that ghost bitch anymore. I just want ALL OF YOU TO DIE!"

"...You...want that?" William asked in an almost dream-like state, "You want us to die in horrible ways?"

"Yeah."

"You want us to perish in very unusual and painful mannerisms?"

"Yeah!"

"You want us to, say, explode in flesh-rendering and bone charring bursts of fire?"

"YES! FOR GOD'S SAKE YES!"

William smirked at this last remark. She slowly looked up at the group before her and nodded, causing the group to step back a bit. To Delago's shock, she began to glow a violent blue, getting brighter and brighter each second, accompanied by a rising pitched whine to signal something...powerful was about to be unleashed.

As the light became blinding, she only looked back at Delago's face, scarred of shock and confusion and grabbed onto his wrists, uttering a soulful "Wish granted..."

"WAIT!" Lowell yelled suddenly, reaching out for William. What followed next could ony be explained as a massive explosion of time energy that sent all afflicted back. As Sonya stumbled to her feet, all she could see was a large crater with a small amount of seawater seeping in. Delago was nowhere to be seen, seemingly scattered across the elements as mere particles of dust. Master's ears still rang with his obnoxious laughter, however, and for that he continued lie down where he had landed and stare at the sky in a meditative state. In the middle of the crater, slowly stewing in the water, was William. She was badly damaged and was bleeding in several places, her breath wheezing and brief. Sonya rushed to her side and propped her up.

"Sunbe...uh, Willia...grand...no!" Sonya struggled for a proper term, "Arrgh, are you okay?"

"O...Okay?" William said, gasping for air, "I'm fine, child. I'm almost finished in this act."

Frost skidded to the crater and checked her new wounds, "Dammit, it looks like you're rotting from the inside out! What the heck WAS that?"

"One...final surge of Chronos Energy," William wheezed, "To vaporise that Delago guy. Or rather, his physical form," everyone turned to Master, who was still laying on the grass, bleeding somewhat from his mouth, but tossing and twisting, "I guess the Delago he fought for so long was just a part of his mind. A special part of his hatred that managed to break free and maintain a physical form from some sort of energy. Chaos...Chronos...Hyper-Go-On, I don't know. But all I know is that

Delago is back where he should be. And he and Master'll be antiquated for quite a while yet. But that burst...well, it's more or less done me in. I'm dying...I can feel it...but it's not like I had much else to live for anyway."

"W-What? No!" Sonya cried out, "You can't die now! If we knew you had this power, we'd...I'd...think of the many people in the multiverse who could use someone like you!"

"M-Master!" Lowell called out soon after in a stoic way, "Help her. Heal her...do SOMETHING."

Master did not respond. He continued to lie there, unaffected.

"Don't worry about me," William rasped, "I kinda want this to end, anyway. I've caused enough damage already. It was nice seeing you, my...grand...something."

"No!" Sonya wailed again, "You can't-"

"But I will," William's voice was starting to fade, "I see what I've done wrong all this time. All that I and Jules did wrong for you, right here. I just want to give one last helping offer and...return to my wife. I can see her in the light!" William reached up suddenly, her voice stronger and more powerful, "Mary! You hear me? I'm coming, honey! Just give me a second!"

She flopped down to the ground again and Lowell arched his head downward, "I...guess this is the end."

"Indeed," William said finally, "Goodbye everyone. And...thank...y..y-"

And with that, she slowly closed her eyes and flopped back to the floor. Lowell rushed to her chest and placed his hand upon it.

Nothing.

"That's it," Lowell sighed, his voice wavering slightly, "She's dead."

"Hell of a way to go," Spectre said tearfully.

"...Just when I got to know her better too," Sonya began to sob a bit, "But...guess it's what she would've wanted."

"What do we do now?" Spectre piped up again, "I mean, Delago's dead, Master's near catonic, I'm...glowing."

Becky walked over to the ghost and studied her new goldish glow, "I've seen this before. All ghosts do it. All ghosts glow like this when they're about to pass over."

"P-PASS OVER?!" Spectre wailed, horror and fear in her voice, "But I'm not ready to cross over yet! I've always wanted to see what else lies beyond this stinking island! I've been here for 90 years and I want to LIVE, dammit!"

Suddenly, without warning or provocation, a blue energy beam shot out of William's chest and struck Spectre with great force. She tumbled to the ground, screaming in pain, as the others were frozen in place. To their increasing shock, parts of bone began to form within Spectre's form. The parts formed into full bones, slowly covered in muscle fibre and then flesh and fur, all while a bright blue glow blinded all but Spectre herself. Soon, the glow and the yelps of pain subsided and there, sprawled across the ground, was a pink hedgehog clad in a fancy red dress and ruby high-heeled shoes.

The hedgehog slowly got up drowsily and began to look around her body. She began to jibber and stutter at a fast pace, rubbing her various limbs and her stomach. She grabbed her chest and felt respiration. She grabbed her wrist and felt a pulse. Then she put her hand on her chest again...and felt a heartbeat.

"I'm...I'm alive..." she whimpered slowly. There was a pause before she suddenly exploded with energy and lept to her feet, fists raised to the sky, screaming "I'M

ALIVE! I...I'M ALIVE! HOLY SHIT ON A CHILLI DOG I'M ALIVE!" Her voice cracked and her legs gave way soon after, falling to her kness panting in exhaustion.

"...What...what the hell just happened?" Frost asked.

"Guess that was William's 'last helping offer," Lowell said, staring at the body before him, "The chance to...live again."

"Tacky," Frost called out.

Lowell ignored her and slowly approached the new hedgehog, who was crying in pure joy, before she suddenly tackled him to the ground and hugged him tightly, yelling, "Oh Lowell! Look at me! I'M ALIVE!"

"Yeah...we kind of got that," Lowell said awkwardly, patting her quills to calm her down, "Now, would you mind getting off me? Katherine's starting to wake up."

"Oh, right sorry," Spectre quickly dashed off Lowell and back onto the ground, "Oh, I just...wow...I mean, I can feel things! Breath! For the first time in 90! LONG! MISERABLE! YEARS! I...say, what's that in the distance?"

Sonya looked out toward the ocean, where Spectre was now pointing, "What? I don't see anything."

"A boat," Spectre said inquisitively, "With M.O.P.A on the side."

Lowell sighed annoyingly, "Great. Them."

In the distance was not just A boat, but a FLEET of them, rushing towards the island (or rather, what was left of it) at breakneck speed. They were full of agents in suits and ballistic vests, holding onto AK-12s and with their special handguns in their holsters. They soon reached the shoreline and clambered out, splitting up and searching every part of the island with raised rifles and strained orders. Soon they began to set up tape around the now destroyed workshop and sending in other members in special suits. Lowell could see in the corner of his eye that a couple of soldiors were approaching Master, who looked up at them before lowering his head in defeat and hanging out his arms for the handcuffs. In the middle of the chaos was a single woman in a fancy suit, slowly walzting in front of the group with a sort of professional fineness. Her suit was black with a red tie, black tie and boots. Her own fur was a light teal colour with wild, dark blue quills acting as hair, her face housing a single brown eye next to a cold, mechanical one with a dark green iris. She stood before the group, handgun in hand, gazing silently around them.

"...Evening," she said at last, her voice poetic and deep, "May I be the first to ask what exactly you were doing with...whatever was enough to turn half of this semi-protected island to rubble?"

"Look, it wasn't our fault," Lowell said, half-woodenly in such a way as to suggest he knew she wouldn't beleive him, "I know we don't really have any proof, but we've been over what we sort of people do these days."

"Maybe," the woman said in a somewhat similar way, "I mean, it's not like your 'adventures' haven't leveled half of our home city yet."

"Look, Agent Breeze, I..." Lowell started.

"Wait, Breeze?" Sonya suddenly piped up, "As in Breezie?"

"...Sonic?" Agent Breeze suddenly asked, dropping the stoic act, "My Master, I haven't seen you for years! Not since I was created by Robotnik-"

"Eggman," Frost corrected.

"And I tried to seduce you to...wow. The years justfly past. Gotta ask, though; what's with the gettup?"

"...Meh," Sonya shrugged, "Thought someone'd see through it. It's a long story, I promise."

"And an even longer one about how we actually got here," Lowell reminded her, "Look, I think we can reach some sort of agreement-"

"Indeed," Spectre said loudly, stepping forward on shaky legs, "You know that old case here? The one you must've filed years ago?"

"The Knight Island Incident?" Agent Breeze asked, "Yeah, we never found out what actually happened there. What's your point?"

Spectre just smirked, "You let these guys and gals go and I'll tell you. EVERYTHING."

"The Mobius One Protection Agency doesn't work that way, Miss," Agent Breeze sighed, "We need as many eyewitness accounts as possible. We got a tipoff from someone that a large explosion would occur on this island at a certain time-frame. We thought it was some idiot prank-calling, but then we saw that explosion. The entire city did. And that caller sounded a lot like you. All we ask is to that you tell as what you know, you said. Then we'll let you go."

"What sort of person would tip them off?" Becky asked, still clutching at her hastily fixed arm, "I mean, Spectre couldn't...could she?"

"You know..." Spectre said in a half-scared, half-amazed way as she stared at her own hands from which a dark blue cloud of clock-shaped energy began to emit, "I think I might've. Just not yet."

ONE WEEK LATER
LOWELL AND SONIC'S BUNGALOW
Outskirts of The City
July 16th 2013, 9:23AM
Lowell Theo Highcastle II, Katherine Lowhouse and Oliver Maurice "Sonic the Hedgehog" Needlemouse

Sunlight began to sting Lowell eyes and they began to twitch open before he bolted upright. He looked around and saw he was still in bed, as he had been for a few days from the stress of the event. To his left was Katherine, snoozing away the "fun" they had had the night before, still wearing the yellow latex catsuit and gasmask that she always insisted on wearing for reasons best left unexplained. Lowell smiled at how cute she was while sleeping, even in her slightly fetishistic get-up, and gently removed the gask mask to help her sleep peacefully. Her breath returned to normal and her small dimpled smile was revealed, causing to Lowell to smile more endearingly and stroke her quills slowly.

After a while, however, there was a knock at the door; a quick polite rapping noise, one unlike the usual sort of sounds Lowell expected to hear. A new one, perhaps? Regardless, Lowell managed to get out of bed and drag himself towards the door. He limply grasped at the handle before getting a proper grip on it and opening the door. There, in the doorway, was a female hedgehog. She had blond fur, a fairly common fur colour in the area, but she had her quills up in a ponytail that pointed towards the sky slightly, held in place by a black hairband. She wore a red t-shirt with shortened sleeves and black arm-length gloves, along with ripped jeans and combat boots. Her eyes had splashes of blue eyeshadow and electric blue lipstick to complement it. Were it not for Katherine, Lowell might have considered her attractive. He continued to stare at the woman, leaning on the doorframe, before finally finding the energy to say, "...Can I help you, miss?"

"Huh? You don't..." the woman began in a very familiar voice, before jumping back with, "Oh, right! The new outfit thing, yeah! It's me, Lowell! It's me, Spectre."

"...Spectre?" Lowell asked, "Good grief, I almost forgot about you. Didn't see you after the questioning. What happened?"

"Well," Spectre began, "You know that blue energy coming from my hands from last week? Well, that Breezie woman got her magic echidna girl to check my powers out. She was..." she stared at her bosom, "...Pretty thorough."

"What, Jani-Ca?" Lowell asked, becoming slowly more alert and awake, "Yeah, she can be a bit...rough with her projects. Can't really blame her. Her father died, you know."

"Yesyesyes, ANYWAY..." Spectre went on, "Turns out the power from William...Sunbeam...whatever, gave me the power to travel through time and open time portals and stuff like that. I'm basically a living container for all that Chronos Energy that Master found! Isn't that cool?"

"Sounds a tad Mary-Sueish," Lowell sneered.

"Yeah, that's what Breezie thought too," Spectre shrugged, "But she didn't want to go through all the paperwork for removing my powers or risk killing me again. So they just injected some limitators and...well, here I am. Also legally changed my name and files so I can intergrate back into sociaty. And trust me, I'll need it. I mean,it took me the first few days to properly control my basic moter functions again."

"Bowel movements included?" Lowell asked in a curious manner.

"...What an odd thing to ask," Spectre said, creeped out, "Don't go turning into Delago on me. But, yes...bowel movements included. As far as the officials are concerned, I'm Amelia Rosalina, Time Travel Enthusiast."

"If what you're telling me is in anyway true," Lowell said, now fully awake, "Then enthusiast appears to be putting it lightly."

"That alone is putting it lightly," Amelia said, beaming, "More that I am be my own Elizabeth...don't look at me like that, they let me use internet while I was there. With direct supervision, of course. It's not like I haven't experienced it for about 90 years or something!"

"...So you came all the way to tell me," Lowell smirked, "Gotta admit, that's kinda cute. And...now I wondering if you're also here so you can ask for a place to stay."

"...Well, they're still getting the paperwork together, so..." Amelia said awkwardly, "I would just go forward in time until it was done, but I haven't QUITE got the hang of it yet. Again, limiting stuff. And basic moter functions. And bowel movements."

"This is why I built an extra room, just in case," Lowell shrugged.

"Thanks," Amelia grinned, "Have any cake?"

"Guess so..." Lowell said sluggishly, before standing up straight, "Actually, two more things we never got round to. Whatever happened to Knight Island?"

"Turns out the deed for the castle was stuffed into my dress by Delago on the night of the incident," Amelia sighed, "So, legally, NO-ONE can own it, so MOPAs tearing it down. As for Master...what happened to him? The last I saw of him, he was handcuffed and thrown into one of the agent boats."

"Yeah, just some questioning with the odd punch here and there," Lowell sighed, "He's been punished by the Elder Masters and stripped of his powers, bar the one that allows him to make portals like you. He's been saying he wants to 'retire', so..."

"You think he's really done it?" Amelia asked, shocked.

"Well...probably," Lowell said, "But he'll come back. They always forgive him. Said he had a side project as well. Something about...dust and reincarnation."

"Ashes to ashes and dust to dust," Amelia mumbled, "Whatever he's planning, I don't like the sound of it."

"Yeah..." Lowell sighed, "At times I wonder why I follow him. Anyway, how about a cup of tea?"

"Thanks," Amelia sighed, waltzing into the bungalow and sitting down, "I'll try not to be a burden. I've gotta go in a few days, anyway. Ever heard of The Reborn?"

"Nope, not really," Lowell shrugged, "Why ask?"

"Because...well, it's for another time. I was able to see in the future, briefly..." Amelia said, somewhat fearfully, "And there was this Reborn group. I was there and Master was there and...well, there was another Amy and she was...horribly mangled. Mechanical limbs, respirators, more machine than woman! Only someone LIKE Master could guess at what horrible, death-begging procedure would create something like that...but it's that sort of thing has sort of given me what I could do with my life."

"...Go on," Lowell said, interested. He sat down and set the two pale mugs of tea on the table, taking his and taking a small swig.

"Let's be honest, I was one of the lucky ones," Amelia sighed, mug of tea in hand, "I would still be floating around that island if what happened over the past few weeks didn't go the way it did. I was lucky. The other Amies, like that one I mentioned, are not. There are millions of Amies and Rouges and Sonics being abused for all sort of foul fetishistic reasons. Master was consumed by his rage over their predicaments but I'm gonna do something about it. I know I can't reach them all, but I KNOW that I'll try my best. From this day forward, Amy Rose is dead and Spectre is reborn!" Amelia stood up and posed heroically on the coffee table, "I am Amelia Rosalina, Time Master Vigialnte of the MULTIVERSE!"

"...Uh, Amelia?" Lowell asked, "Could you get off the table? It was a bit...pricey."

"Oh, right, sorry," Amelia stepped down and dusted herself off, "I didn't know what came over me."

"So, after staying here, where be your next stop?"

"That universe, of course," Amelia said, grabbing a photo from her back pocket, "Before the portal closed, I was able to get a picture of what this Reborn leader. Here."

Amelia handed the picture to Lowell. He studied the picture carefully, taking in every detail. From there, the subject was male, with bright yellow fur and a single monocle. His icy blue eyes stared at Lowell while his red scarf covered his muzzle and amped the suspense. Lowell looked shocked, a simple "Oh no..." escaping his throat.

"What? What's wrong?" Who IS that?" Amelia asked.

"It's...it's a guy called Dictator Sparky," Lowell said, "One of Master's alter-egos. But I know where Master is and what he's doing. He wouldn't do this. And with Delago in mind, then..."

"It seems that his mind has escaped," Amelia gasped, "How many parts of his psyche have escaped to wreak havoc?"

"I don't know," Lowell sighed, "But I guess, when your powers are trained, you need to go after them as soon as possible. I'm counting on you, Amelia. These guys mean all sorts of business. Trust me."

Amelia smiled weakly, looking up though the skyline to the clouds above. She swore a faint silhouette of William and Mary could be seen in the heavens.

"Oh, I can master these moves. I learnt from the best, after all. I hope you're happy, William. Thank you for sacrificing your life. 'Cause mine has just begun."

THE END

Whew. Finally, it's finished. Now I can have a break before I start the next one. I swear I'll put more effort into the next one so it doesn't go batshit by the end. But, for now, I'd like to leave some thanks. Thanks to:

Various members of DeviantART for their ideas and support.

FREAK-FRANK of DeviantART for drawing and providing the poster for this story.

Thunder Croft on this website for writing Timelock House, of which Coming Home was indirectly influenced. Also thanks to Ken Levine and the producers of Bioshock Infinite for similar reasons. You guys ROCK.

And somewhat thanks to Limpurtikles of DeviantART, for his character of Stinger being the inspiration for Delago. So well done you sad, lonely, wank-happy, disgusting, little-girl drowning twatpacket. I hate you with every fibre of my being and I want you to be drowned in public while people point and laugh and climax to your slow death, so you can see what it's like. FUCK. YOU.

...Anyway, enjoy! :D