Tails had Aurora resting on his tails.
It had been 10 minutes, and she still didn't wake up.
Not only that, but Sonic was destroying everything in his path looking for Infinite!
Oh Aurora... We really need you right now... he thought to himself, Please, open your eyes!
That's when he heard Aurora groan.
Was she actually waking up?
As if his prayers had been answered, her eyes began to flutter open.
"A-Aurora?"
"Nghhh..." Aurora groaned, "Tails...?"
"AURORA!" Tails exclaimed as he hugged her, "You're okay!"
As soon as Tails let go, Aurora sat up, being careful since she just woke up from a coma.
"Where's Sonic and Infinite?" she immediately asked.
"Sonic's trying to find him, but..."
Tails paused.
How is he supposed to tell her without her freaking out?
"Tails," Aurora said in a serious tone, "Where are they?"
Tails then took in a deep breath.
"So, um..." he began, "Sonic is wanting to kill Infinite."
Aurora was shocked.
"WHAT!?" she exclaimed, "I can't let this happen!"
She quickly got up.
"Where are they?"
~~~
Back in Mortar Canyon, Sonic had finally caught up with Infinite.
There was already a battle going on, with Sonic destroying illusions from left to right.
Sonic was getting tired of distractions, he just wanted to kill Infinite already.
But soon, he was getting tired.
"You're done for, Sonic..." Infinite began, "The Phantom Ruby's energy has recharged..."
"I won't let you..." Sonic said, trying to catch his breath, "...get away with... all you've done..."
"Even with this power of yours, you still cannot defeat me..." Infinite continued.
"Perish, just like that little friend of yours!"
He was about to fire one final blow at Sonic, but was then stopped by a grappling hook being thrown at him.
He moved out of the way, to find that it was her...
Aurora...
"You!" he said in anger and shock.
Sonic couldn't believe it.
He refused to believe it!
"So now you're taunting me with an illusion of her, huh?" he said in a dark tone of voice.
"Sonic, no!" Aurora said, "I'm not an illusion! I need you to stop trying to kill Infinite!"
"Heh, nice try, Infinite!" Sonic interrupted as he stood up, "Aurora would never say something like that!"
"No! Sonic, you have to listen to me!" she cried out to him, "I'm real! Can't you see?"
"Fine, if you insist..." Sonic began.
"I'll just crush her like the rest of them!"
Sonic rushed over to her, preparing to attack.
But before he could do anything to her, Aurora grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a tight hug.
"Sonic, you're not yourself right now!" she said calmly, "Please, just listen to me..."
"Let me go!" said Sonic, as he struggled to get out of her embrace.
"Do you remember what I said to you the day we first met?" she whispered, "When I told you about why I joined the resistance? About Gadget?"
Sonic stopped struggling.
Is it working?
"I spoke to him while I was out," Aurora continued, "He wants me to save Infinite! Please, just snap out of it..."
Sonic's began to calm down.
"Please... just stop for me..."
~~~
Sonic furrowed his brows.
Was this actually the real Aurora?
Sonic's emerald green eyes faded back in, along with his fur returning to it's original cobalt color.
He began to cry as he hugged her back.
He was finally back to normal again.
They soon released each other as Sonic whispered a "Thank you" to Aurora.
"How precious," said Infinite, who was watching them the entire time, "I've waisted enough time watching this nonsense."
"Hey! My friends got me this far," said Sonic, "and together, we're gonna win!"
"Friends are nothing more than a fleeting illusion," Infinite said, "You can count on nobody but yourself."
"Your mask can't hide how sad and lonely you are!" Sonic yelled out to him, "That Phantom Ruby virtual reality of yours is the real illusion!"
"We can help you, Infinite!" said Aurora as she took a step forward, "You don't have to keep fighting anymore!"
"I don't need your help," Infinite said "Friendship only slows you down!"
"Fine then," Sonic said, "We'll just have to knock the sense into you!"
