The light finally dimmed down, and Aurora opened her eyes.
They were back in Metropolis.
"'Sup, everyone?" said Sonic, "I missed this place!"
"What happened, Sonic?" Knuckles said through the communicator, "You two just up and disappeared!"
"Nothing happened, literally!" Sonic replied, "Now let's track down Eggman!"
~~~
Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot were sitting in the EggCarrier while Infinite floated around.
They looked pretty bored.
"Excuse me, boss?" said Orbot, tapping on Eggman's shoulder.
That's when Eggman turned around to find Sonic and Aurora out of Null Space.
"WHAT!? IT CAN'T BE!!" Eggman exclaimed, "IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OUT OF THE PHANTOM RUBY'S NULL SPACE!!!!"
"Maybe by myself," Sonic began, "but I had a little help from my friend! Something you wouldn't understand since you don't have any!"
Eggman growled in frustration.
"This changes nothing!" he said, "Dr. Eggman will STILL have the last laugh!"
He then flew away, leaving his minions to catch up.
"Maybe he'd have more friends if he didn't talk about himself in the third person..." Sonic whispered to Aurora, which made her giggle a little.
~~~
"Okay guys," Knuckles began "We've got less than an hour before Eggman's plan goes down."
"There's no more time," said Shadow, "We need to break into the fortress now!"
"Indeed! This is it!" said Silver, "This is our last opportunity to bring peace back into the world!"
"But... when the battle ends..." said Tails sadly, "we'll have to part with the other Sonic... won't we?"
"Yes," explained Amy, "If the Phantom Ruby's gone, I guess he'll be returned to his dimension..."
Tails then approached the young Sonic, taking his hand in his.
"Thank you, Sonic," he began, "I'll never forget what you did for us!"
"Let's save the sentiments for later," said Espio, "This is not over yet, we still have a battle to fight!"
"Exactly!" said Knuckles, "This is our last chance. Give it everything you've got!"
