Chapter 1 - A Hero's Demise

Well, here's my next fanfiction. The name 'Legacy' sucks, I know, but I couldn't think of anything halfway decent. Tell me if you think of something better: credit will be given in the description. No spoilers, but it involves time travel, lots of emotionalness (which isn't a word, but I don't care, so shut up), and piecing together the fragments of a shattered team. I guess read it, review it, and enjoy. Oh, and a warning that applies to the whole story: I will use the words 'damn' and 'hell'. I don't consider them to be strong language, but many people believe that they are swear words, so I'll put this warning in for the sake of those people. Anyways, imma shut up now.

Somewhere in the world, a battle was taking place. An evil tyrant was attacking the world once again.

Five friends fought back bravely - a carefree, high-speed hero, a determined young inventor, a powerful, devoted guardian, a hammer-wielding heroine, and the ultimate life form.

They were winning the fight so far. But then their enemy's most villainous creation yet was sent out…

"The Super Egg! This robot is the result of every single resource I have at my disposal… and it is powered by the Chaos Emeralds!"

"What? No way!" Sonic shouted in disbelief. "I've got all the Chaos Emeralds right here!"

Eggman threw back his head and laughed. "Think again, rodent!" he smiled evilly. "Did you really think I would just leave all the Emeralds lying around, guarded by just a few Badniks? I put fake ones in their place! They have the exact same properties and infinite energy as the regular Chaos Emeralds!"

"So that's why they came up on my radar like normal, and how Knuckles could sense them…" Tails murmured to himself. In a more audible voice, he asked, "But what's the point? If they have as much power as real Chaos Emeralds, then Sonic will go super and take out your Super Egg trash anyway."

"Ha! Exactly!" Eggman triumphantly grinned. "Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you. See, I've corrupted these false Chaos Emeralds. If Sonic doesn't use his Super form, he'll watch as I destroy his friends, his home, and anyone who dares side with him, before finally destroying him. But if he does, the special Emeralds I made for him will, once he loses that extra power, warp him into a world of no time, no space, no anything, and he will be trapped there forever!"

Sonic's face became one or two shades paler, but he kept himself together. "Forever? I-I don't think so… Even if this fake world of yours isn't fake, I'll escape somehow. There's always a hole in your plan. And even if I can't, my friends will find a way to get me out."

With a maddened glint in his eye, Eggman's smile didn't fall. "Ah, yes," he agreed, "there's no doubt you'll eventually come back. So I prepared for this moment carefully. Should you return from the infinite void of nothingness, the energy will respond to the commands I left in it with my expert craftsmanship. Your little rodent friend will slowly be roboticized, leaving him prone to my manipulations. So good luck saving the world now!" After one last evil cackle, Eggman pointed towards Station Square. "Now go, my Super Egg! And leave not a single building standing! So that I can build Eggmanland and rule the world!"

The huge machine stomped towards the city. The five heroes raced after it, desperate to find some alternative way of stopping it. One of the robot's claw-like arms shot out towards a skyscraper, breaking it and three similar towers behind it clean in half with almost no effort. People ran for shelter, screaming, but there was nowhere they could hide. Now there was only one option left to save everybody.

Sonic took the fake Chaos Emeralds out. "Nobody lives forever," he said calmly, ignoring the shocked reaction from his friends. "And this is his most overpowered creation yet, right? I have to do this for the sake of the world. This thing is built with every last resource of his, so if it's wrecked beyond repair, he'll spend years rebuilding his empire." He grabbed the false Emeralds and their power began to flow into him. As his spines rose up and became yellow, his eyes turned red, and he started floating, he continued, "And if this is what I have to do to save the world, then so be it!"

A wave of insane energy rippled through the air. Super Sonic rose from the ground. "Let's finish this, tiny," he said to the huge robot standing before him. The Super Egg made a few clicking and whirring noises, then fired a laser at the golden hedgehog, creating an explosion of light. When the flash vanished, Super Sonic was still floating in place. "Not too bad," he shrugged. "But I'm invincible." He then charged head-first at the robot, and just as the boom of a hero breaking the sound barrier nearly deafened his friends below, he shot right through it, knocking it down. A shockwave rippled through the ground, but neither Super Sonic nor the Super Egg noticed. The robot got up and sent an explosive missile out. But instead of it going towards the spiky hero, it flew down to the ground. A blast demolished the pavement, throwing some people, among them Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow, backwards. "Guys!" Super Sonic yelled, fearing for his friends. This was what the Super Egg had been waiting for. It stretched out a metal claw attached to a cable and struck the hero, pinning him to the wall of a building. The hedgehog turned back to his foe. "Oh, so you want to play rough, do you? In that case…"

Super Sonic clenched his hands into tight fists. At first, nothing seemed to be happening, but then an explosion shattered the silence. The Super Egg's charred components went flying, and the real Chaos Emeralds raced through the air and vanished, going to all the corners of the world as they usually did when their work was complete. Sonic returned to his normal form just as he came to the ground, and immediately fell over, exhausted. Dr. Eggman gasped. "He actually did it… Damn you all! Th-this isn't over, you hear me, rodents? I'll be back, and your saviour here won't be around to pull you out of the fire!" With that, he flew off in his Eggmobile, muttering darkly.

Sonic's friends came rushing over to him, closely followed by at least a hundred humans. "No…" Tails said quietly. But he couldn't stop anything with denial. Sonic was already starting to look transparent.

"Don't worry, guys," he said, smiling sadly. "We saved the world, right?"

Amy raced forward and hugged her crush. "Sonic, don't go!" she cried, unable to hold back her emotions. "I… I need y-you…"

"I have to go," Sonic sighed, putting a rapidly vanishing arm around Amy. "…I can't stop it."

Shadow looked at his feet. He started to breathe in a strange way. "I've already lost a friend once," he said shakily. "Try to return, Sonic!" There was something in his voice that he'd never expressed before in the presence of the blue hedgehog - respect.

Knuckles turned to Sonic. "Come on, man," he urged his friend. "Fight it! Stay with us, dude!"

Sonic closed his eyes. He was barely visible now. "I can't. I'm sorry." He sounded like he was about to break down, but kept it together. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "…Life goes on, okay? Stuff is gonna keep happening, even when I'm gone. So you have to keep moving forward, too. Just remember that I'll try my best to come back, and that things won't be bad for too long." Knowing that his time was running out, Sonic looked his best friend in the eye. "Hey, Tails? While… while I'm away, I need you to just stay strong, okay? Keep moving forward. I know this'll be especially hard on you, but you have to cope, and you have to not give up. Can you do that for me?"

Tails stared back at his friend. A tear appeared in his eye, but he blinked it away. He wasn't going to let himself do that. He nodded. "…Okay."

Suddenly, Amy's arms closed on nothingness and she fell over. Sonic was clearly no longer physically in this world. As he faded from view, he shouted in a voice barely possible to hear, "I'll come back! I don't know how, but I'll return, and I won't forget you…"

With that, the blue blur vanished from sight. Tails fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Shadow unexpectedly put a hand on the little fox's shoulder. "Life can be tough," he said, his voice wavering. "But he promised to return, so we can hold out hope, right?" Tails looked up to the ultimate life form. "I know how this works," Shadow continued. "Just… just don't forget them. Only when we forget them will they truly be gone…"

And with the five friends reduced to four, an uneasy silence descended. As the sun began to set and the night sky took over, Tails could have sworn he saw the face of his best friend watching over him from the stars.