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Chapter Text

"SUPER SPRINT!" Ulrich bellowed, as he blasted towards his Fusion. The goopy creature rocketed towards him in response. They clashed and ended up trading blows once again.

"Hey, stop being all close like that." Odd called out to him. "Can't hit Greninja over there if you keep on hugging him!"

Ulrich ignored the fact that Greninja was a terrible nickname for his Fusion (for so many different reasons) and focused on the task at hand, dueling with his Fusion.

"Laser Arrow!" Odd cried out and fired the bolts of blue energy from his tiger stripped gauntlets.

Both Ulrich and Fusion Ulrich looked to the arrows coming towards them and quickly jumped away from each other.

Ulrich got up from his crouch. "Odd, are you trying to kill me too?"

"That would be my job." The Fusion smirked and came roaring on towards Ulrich with a green streak following behind him, swinging his swords around wildly.

"Laser Arrow!" Odd cried but again he missed as the Fusion was too quick and met Ulrich once again.

Ulrich knew exactly where to meet the Fusion and was locked in a stalemate with him. Their laser blades were in perfection synchronization with each other as they both knew exactly where each one would swing.

"Odd, a little help here?!"

"Oh so you need my help again?" Odd rolled his eyes.

"ODD!"

"Laser Arrow!"

Ulrich's Fusion didn't even bat an eye at that. He simply extended one of his blades behind him to take in the arrows before firing a glob of Fusion Matter from the tip of his sword and into the cat clad fighter.

"SHIELD!" Odd shouted as he crossed his arms and summoned the purple barrier. The acidic substance landed on it and simply slid off of his shield and onto the floor.

That was the perfect opening that Ulrich need and quickly swung one of his blades at the Fusion's side.

The Fusion hissed at this but quickly kicked the double bladed samurai away and having the blade that he hit him with skitter to the ground.

"You dare hit me?!" The Fusion screamed. "How dare you?!"

"Done it before and I'll do it again creep." Ulrich smirked.

"How will you do that with only one sword?" The Fusion asked.

Ulrich looked to see that he did in fact only have one sword. He scanned the room and was quick to spot his discarded blade.

"Super Sprint!" Ulrich cried out and he ran to collect his blade.

But it was futile, the Fusion shot a glob of Fusion matter at the sword that completely covered it, thus rendering it completely inaccessible.

"No!"

The Fusion grinned at this.

"Laser Arrow!"

Several of the bolts slammed into the Fusions back.

He growled at this. "You need to refrain from interfering, Mr. Della Robia. This is our fight."

"Not a chance Greenrick." Odd laughed. "Me and Ulrich are gonna kick your butt and then go and brag about it to everyone else."

The Fusion shot a glob of Fusion Matter at him.

"Shield!" He shouted.

The Fusion matter met the barrier and began to dissolve through it. When enough of it fell through, it burned Odd's arms.

"OW!" He screamed.

Seeing that Odd was preoccupied with his wounds, the Fusion returned his attention to his human counterpart.

"Now you're mine!" The Fusion yelled as he barreled on towards the samurai, wildly swinging his blades.

"Not today, Fusion freak!" Ulrich retorted.

Ulrich held up his single blade to block each and every one of the slices. He jumped and swerved around all the blows.

The Fusion growled at this.

"What's the matter?" Ulrich asked. "Can't take what you can't touch?"

The Fusion's red eyes glowed even brighter at that before he kicked him right in the gut.

The Fusion followed that up with a glob of Fusion Matter at his wrist, burning him and sending his sword out of his hands. Another ball of the toxic substance to the fallen sword rendered that one utterly useless as well.

The Fusion now slowly advanced on Ulrich.

"So it seems it all comes down t this?" The Fusion asked. "Pity, I always thought you'd be more of a challenge to take down."

"TRIPLICATE!" Ulrich bellowed. With that two clones of himself appeared and they weaved in between one another to confuse the Fusion.

The evil samurai rolled his eyes and extended both of his blades into the clones, before chucking both of his blades into Ulrich's chest.

Ulrich screamed in pain before he went tumbling down to the ground.

"ULRICH!" Odd gaped at the boy.

Despite his injuries he ran over to his fallen friend.

The Fusion simply watched, uncaring of the time between the two friends.

Ulrich gritted his teeth as Odd helped him up into a sitting position against the stonewall of the cave.

Ulrich sighed as the Fusion matter from the two swords crept down his chest. "I'm not gonna make it Odd…"

"Yes you will Ulrich!" Odd exclaimed. "You are gonna make it and we're gonna get your Fusion!"

Ulrich winced but shook his head. "Come on, Odd. Look at me, with all this Fusion goop in these swords it's only a matter of time before I-"

"Ulrich, Ulrich no." Odd pleaded with the warrior.

"You've always been a good friend Odd." Ulrich said. "You and all the others, even Sissi and Mandy."

"Ulrich…" Odd choked.

"And tell Yumi..." He coughed. "Tell Yumi… I-I'm sorry…"

And with that he closed his eyes.

Forever.

Odd screwed his eyes shut, trying so desperately to keep the tears from flowing through. But even through his best efforts the tiny droplets of water, still fell.

The Fusion then began to laugh. "I finally did it!"

"You… you…" Odd breathed.

"Oh I'm sorry…" The Fusion clone laughed. "Not! It was one of the most enjoyable things I have done in my life."

"Ulrich…"

"Gone." The Fusion stated.

What happened next was too quick for the clone to register.

Odd was off like a rocket, lunging at him. He was easily able to tackle the Fusion to the ground so that he was on top of him.

"LASER ARROW!" He screamed as he unloaded every last arrow he had into the Fusions face.

But it still wasn't satisfying. Odd may have beaten the Fusion but it wouldn't bring Ulrich back.

And with that, there wasn't anything left for him.

Well that was satisfying. Hope you enjoyed this chapter of Chronicles of the Fallen. Next it's going to be a Teen Titan. So I'll write that, expect it next week.
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Chapter Text

"HAH!" Starfire bellowed as she fired another starbolt into the Terrafuser. They were fighting off the Fusions as they and pretty much any other surviving fighter worked on trying to keep Tech Square in one piece, despite it being on its last legs.

Bubbles followed up her attack with twin lasers from her eyes at the ball of Fusion Matter.

"Keep it up guys!" Blossom insisted as she punched at the Terrafuser as well. "I know we'll get it."

"Yeah!" Bubbles cheered.

"Of course, friend Blossom." Starfire added as she went to hover next to the lead Powerpuff Girl. "We will be, as you say, kicking the Fusion booty."

Bubbles chuckled from where she was floating. "That sounds like something Beas-"

Blossom quickly covered Bubbles mouth. "Bubbles!"

But it didn't go without effect. Starfire let out a little pout at the mention of her fallen friend.

"Let's just focus on the Terrafuser." Blossom commanded. "We better hurry and take this thing out before it gets too much of a hold on DexLabs."

Starfire wiped at her eyes, even though no tears actually fell. "Right."

And like that Bubbles, Blossom and Starfire got to sending punches, kicks and starbolts at the Terrafuser.

But it was all to no avail, the large gelatinous ball of Fusion matter with its roots breached into the hull of the large corporation.

"Friends," Starfire said to the two Powerpuff girls next to her. "I do not think this is working."

"No, it's not." Blossom sighed.

Bubbles whimpered. "What are we gonna do, Dexter's still in there!"

Blossom bit her lip at that, both Bubbles and Starfire were looking to her for guidance.

Blossom herself, wasn't quite sure what to do, she had never seen a Terrafuser so tough and she didn't know what to do about it. She needed to think of something and she needed to think of something fast.

That lead her to trying her frost breath, working to freeze the Terrafuser, but the volatile Fusion Matter that made up the ball still ate away at the ice.

"Friend Blossom, you must persist!" Starfire said.

"Come on, sis! I know you can do it!" Bubbles chanted.

The encouragement was enough to allow Blossom to increase her power to the point of what would've been permafrost. It effectively froze the Terrafuser and allowed them to continue their onslaught of attacks.

"Go on, girls." Blossom said. "Use your lasers on the terrafuser."

Blossom and Starfire did just that, they fired beams of deadly light from their eyes and focused it on the big ball of goo.

But it wasn't enough and they knew that the thing would only stay frozen for a short amount of time.

Blossom was the one who decided to rush at the terrafuser and slammed the two of her fists into the top of the ice ball. With that a crack of thunder rang out as pink lightning slammed down into the orb.

Luckily enough for the trio and the Terrafuser did in fact burst into snow and Fusion Matter.

"Success!" Starfire cheered.

"Nice one, sis!" Bubbles high fived Blossom.

"Thanks." Blossom nodded. "But now we've gotta regroup with Buttercup down on the field."

The other two agreed.

They began to fly off to the grounds of Tech Square; only for them to be tackled by their Fusion doppelgangers.

"You aren't going anywhere!" The three Fusions bellowed at them.

The three Fusions made sure to fly into three separate directions so that the girls were divided.

Starfire continued to struggle with her Fusion as it dragged her across the skies until they ended up at what would've been the end of Tech Square leading into the Galaxy Gardens. But instead it was just a complete sea of Fusion Matter as far as the eyes could see.

The Fusion didn't waste time; as soon as they were close enough, she chucked her human counterpart right into the ocean.

Starfire screamed as she hurtled towards the bubbling green substance, trying her hardest to regain momentum.

And just as her head was inches above the Fusion Matter she was able to stop herself. But some of the Tameranian's strawberry hair did burn in the green ooze, giving her rather unsightly spit ends.

Fusion Starfire shrugged and gave her an innocent look. "Oops…"

"Fusion Starfire, please leave at once." Starfire commanded the Fusion. "I must return to the Technology Cubicle and save it and all my friends fighting there."

"I'm sorry…" The Fusion pouted before dawning a dark grin. "But that's not quite how it works."

The Fusion got one of its Starbolts ready once again.

"I'm not asking you…" Starfire growled.

The Fusion laughed. "Then come and show me."

And with that the Fusion fired off a starbolt at the real Starfire. But the Tameranian princess was easily able to whirl around it.

She charged on the Fusion hurling a barrage of the green energy at her, but like she had done with the Fusion's attack it also twirled around each of the blasts.

But Starfire didn't give up. She continued to fly at the Fusion, increasing her speed as she flung orb after orb of her energy at the clone. But even so the Fusion either found a way to easily dodge or even throw one of her own to correspond with hers and cause miniature explosions.

But the Fusions eyes widened in shock when Starfire flew out of the smoke of one of the explosions and rammed straight into her.

Fusion Starfire tried against her grip, but found that it was too strong.

Starfire responded with her own eye blasts into the Fusion's midriff.

The Fusion actually yawned at that, to which Starfire stopped flying.

"Really Star?" It mocked, using the nickname that allowed for her friends. "I thought you'd be a little tougher than that."

And with that, the Fusion kicked her in the face and sent a starbolt at her, letting a slight shriek escape from the girl's lips.

But Starfire still came back fighting. But now, the Fusion didn't even bother to block her shots. She just hovered in the air, taking them all in.

Once again Starfire stopped at this. "How is it that you are invulnerable to each of my attacks?"

The Fusion laughed. "While some get stronger, other's get weaker."

"You are the one who is weak!" Starfire shouted.

The Fusion scoffed. "Come on Starfire, you know very well that you've lost. Why don't you just admit defeat?"

"Never!" Starfire bellowed.

And she was off rocketing off towards her Fusion again.

But it yawned, caught her, before twirling around and throwing her again.

When Starfire hovered away from her once more, glaring.

"Look around you, Starfire." The Fusion gestured to Tech Square, which in turn let out a tremor as more explosions rang out. "Tech Square is in the process of its imminent defeat; my friends are picking off each of your friends one by one. I hear even the boy and his little wristwatch has even submitted to our armies. And I hear bird boy is next"

Starfire's green eyes glowed brighter with each word; especially at the mention of Ben and Robin.

"Your power trembles in comparison to mine and I feel no pain to your attacks." The Fusion added. "Just admit that you're beat."

"LIES!" Starfire cried out, emerald tears streaming from her brightly glowing eyes. "ALL LIES!"

Another rumble, this time one of the tall towers that made up DexLabs sunk along with it.

The Fusion smirked at that. "Is that a lie?"

The Tameranian let out the loudest scream, a scream so loud even Dexter and Fusion Buttercup underground could hear, before she zipped through the air and tackled her Fusion once again. Screaming and crying as she slammed fists and Starbolts into the monster before her.

The Fusion laughed as she took it all in. "Your efforts are futile, your attacks are nothing to me!"

"Can you survive an explosion?!" The girl screamed.

The Fusion thought about it and shrugged. "Perhaps not, but there's nothing but ocean, where are you going to find something to blow up?"

And with that Starfire did something that even surprised herself.

She plunged into the ocean of Fusion Matter, taking her Fusion along with her.

The deadly substance ate away at her, her skin, her clothes and her hair as she let out a deathly shriek.

But with her last breath, she let out one more starbolt that didn't react well with the Fusion Matter.

The last thing that anyone knew of Starfire was the huge wave that erupted from the ocean of Fusion Matter and her last shriek.

And then…

And then…

And then there was nothing.

Chapter Text

"Get back here!" Kimiko called out.

Several meters in front of her was her Fusion, she giggled at her assailant's cry and laughed. "You'll have to catch me first, Kimi-kan!"

They were in the Fire Swamps and Kimiko was clearly not amused with her Fusion.

"It's Kimiko, you dolt!" She yelled right back at the Fusion.

The Fusion just rolled its eyes. "Kimi-kan, Kimiko, it doesn't matter, it's all the same to me!"

"It's your name though!" Kimiko screamed at her.

"What's my name?" The Fusion laughed.

Kimiko smacked her hand in her forehead. The Fusion looked back and continued to laugh at her. "I don't have time for this…" She grumbled. She then looked to the satchel on her side and pulled out several golden bird statuettes.

"ARROW SPARROW!" She cried as she flung them at her Fusion. The little figurines were soaring away from Kimiko by themselves, before they quickly became engulfed in her flames, burning intensely as they tracked the Fusion, leaving a fiery streak in their wake.

The clone didn't even have to look, she propelled herself in the air using a mix of Fusion Matter and flames, causing a small explosion. In the air, she kicked them back and sending them back to the volcanic rock as if they were useless trinkets.

"I'm sorry." The Fusion said to her. "Was that an attack? It was just so easy to block that I didn't really notice."

Kimiko growled once again.

Kimiko and her Fusion passed by Alan Albright and Peggy Danger, the two of them were so quick that the fire on Alan's head slightly swayed in their direction.

The two looked at one another. "Should we help her?" Peggy asked Alan.

The Pyronite hybrid shrugged. "I don't know, let me ask her." Alan then got to his nanocom and contacted Kimiko.

The Xiaolin Dragon of Fire let out a groan when she heard the beeping of her nanocom.

"Ignore!"

She pulled out the Star of Hanabi Shen Gong Wu and pointed it at her Fusion. "STAR OF-"

Beep… Beep…

"IGNORE!"

"STAR-"

Beep…Beep…

"IGNORE!"

"ST-"

Beep…Beep…

Fed up with this she finally answered the call. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

Alan chuckled. "Just checking to make sure you were okay, Kimiko. Do you need any help?"

"I'M FINE; I DON'T NEED YOUR STUPID HELP! I CAN TAKE CARE OF THE STUPID FUSION MYSELF!"

"Okay then…" Alan said and with that he hung up.

Alan turned to Peggy. "Yeah, she's fine."

Peggy nodded.

Back with Kimiko the girl and her Fusion had finally made their way into the Firepits.

"Star of Hanabi! FIRE!" She called out.

The blast of flames erupted from the Shen Gong Wu at high speeds.

The Fusion skidded to a halt and stomped at the fiery ground behind her, letting a column of the liquid Fusion Matter erupt from the ground. When the fire met it, a small explosion occurred.

Kimiko ran through the flames anyway, she was able to take it though, being the Dragon of Fire and all.

Kimiko's Fusion still ran though.

"Wudia Mars! FIRE!" She bellowed once more. And with that, her fingers became alight with flames. She chucked various fireballs at her foe but, it weaved in between each and every one of them.

The Fusion finally reached the portal to the Infected Zone, the Dexbot which was on standby looked alarmed at the sight of it.

"Catch me if you can, Kimki-chan."

Kimiko growled, she sprung up in the air and with fire trailing her foot, she announced her attack. "Judolette Flip! FIRE!"

The Fusion quickly warped into the Infected Zone.

The Dexbot came into Kimiko's path. "Please refrain from attacking within the proximity of Dex Labs equipment. It is dangerous and-"

Kimiko wasn't able to stop, her foot made contact with the Dexbot and it cracked open like a walnut. The remains set ablaze while the internal circuitry sparked with electricity and a ring of fire surrounded her.

She knew Dexter was gonna kill her for destroying one of his precious robots but she'd take her chances with him. She just needed to catch her Fusion.

She quickly got onto the teleportation pad and warped into the Infected Zone.

When she got in, she was surprised to find Fusion Kimiko atop a giant dinosaur. It was none other than a Freakosaurus Rex.

"Surprise!" The Fusion grinned.

Kimiko quickly had the Star of Hanabi out. "Star of Hanabi! FIRE!"

The Fusion giggled. "Fusion Fire Shield! FIRE!"

And with that she copied Kimiko's own Wudai Fire Shield and released an orb of fire that surrounded her and the monster and blocked the girl's attack.

With that the Fusion reached down and grabbed hold of Kimiko, within its large mouth. The girl struggled within the monster's grasp. But the Fusion being only strengthened its grasp on her.

"So Kimi-kan," The Fusion grinned, it lie on top of the monster's head with her chin propped in her cupped hands. "I hear you like things hot."

Kimiko steamed at that. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing," The Fusion laughed. "Just being the Xiolin Dragon of fire and all, I figured you'd like things hot."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Gee wouldn't you too, being my Fusion and all?"

The Fusion giggled. "Hey now, I'm the one asking the questions here."

"And I'm the one who's not going to give you pointless answers." Kimiko shot back.

"Well it doesn't matter what you think, we're here." The Fusion announced.

Kimiko looked down and she was hanging over a bubbling pool of lava. The Freakosaurus Rex stood at the edge of the largest volcano in the Fire Pits. She gasped.

"Beautiful isn't it?" The Fusion asked. "Doesn't the nice pool of lava look wonderful at this time of year?"

Kimiko didn't answer, she struggled even more.

"I think it would be nice if you got an even closer look." The Fusion clone laughed. "What do you say, Kimi?"

"Now we'll finally get to see if things can get too hot for the Dagon of Fire."

And with that, the dinosaur dropped her into the mouth of the volcano.

Kimiko let out a scream as she plummeted towards the lava. She wasn't Raimundo, she couldn't fly and there wasn't a way for her to avoid this. She raced towards the bellowing flames and thought it was the end.

But suddenly a familiar fire within her bubbled up from within and came forward in a searing surge of power. Her eyes widened in shock, this was a fire that she only felt when she was accompanied by the other elements, wind, earth and water.

But she was engulfed in a ball of flame and with that, she emerged completely covered in obsidian, with a crimson aura surrounding her. She was in her Orion form, something she had only done with the help of her fellow dragons in their Wudai Orion Formation. She had more questions on why it activated now, but she decided not to question it. There was a Fusion matter at hand, after all.

Using her new found abilities she rocketed up into the air sending a flaming punch at the dinosaur Fusion, which instantly caused it to burst into Fusion Matter.

Fusion Kimiko fell down to the side of the volcano and Kimiko hovered above her with a smirk on her face.

The Fusion's eyes slightly widened before she too gained a smirk. "Interesting development, alright two can play at that game."

And with that she gained the same obsidian hue only her aura was alternating between green and red.

Kimiko's smirk fell as the Fusion shot off at her as well.

The two came at each other, their auras glowing with bright intensity as they fought above the volcano.

Each time they clashed, they were knocked back, before launching into one another again.

When they finally got tired of clashing they floated several meters away from the volcano. Together, they shouted, "WUDAI-FUSION MARS! FIRE!"

Beams of red and green flames slammed into each other. Grappling for dominance as it seemed the red gained more and then the green, and then the red again, and then the green. The two grunted as they fought for dominance but soon Kimiko prevailed when her flames shot through her Fusion's.

The explosion rang out at the side of her Fusion.

Using that as her advantage she dashed towards the Fusion ready to give it a massive punch as tiny flames licked at her red outline.

"Oh Kimi-kan?" The Fusion's voice rang out.

She stopped, her extended fist fell at the sound.

"Wha?"

Fusion Kimiko stopped. "You wanna know the thing about us Fusions?"

Kimiko's teeth grinded together at that.

"We cheat." It confirmed.

And with that a ball of Fusion Matter came roaring out of the smoke and into the girl.

When it burst, a harsh explosion rang out right in her face and forced her out of her Orion form.

With that, she couldn't fly anymore and she was falling. Falling right to where the Fusion had originally intended, right into the mouth of the volcano.

"NO!" Kimiko cried out.

The Fusion grinned at that and watched her fall.

For a few seconds Kimiko tried to find a way to stop falling, she just wanted to save herself. She didn't want to die and wanted nothing more than to find a way to live.

But with that, memories began to flow through. Thoughts of her time with her fellow dragons, Omi and Clay; and then there were Chase and Jack Spicer who had shown her kindness in this united effort to defeat Fuse. And then there were the new friends she had made in this war: Ben, Raven, Mordecai, Marceline, Gwen, Garnet, Blossom, Samurai Jack, William Dunbar and so many others that she had become acquainted with over the course of this war. And then there was Raimundo. Rai, who she had been so close with; who had known her better than anyone else; who she had shared kisses with despite temple rules.

She lightly smiled at that. Despite all the friends she'd be leaving she knew she had lost and in a way she had come to accept it.

At least now she would able to go where all dragons go after they pass on and become one with her chi.

And with that she plopped into the lava and only grit her teeth as it ate away at her entire being.

Chapter Text

"Run for your lives! The Wilds is sinking in Fusion Matter!" The blue blur bellowed as he zipped along through The Wilds that slowly became more and more infected.

It truly was a disturbing sight watching another area that they'd tried so hard to protect be completely covered in the disgusting, green acidic substance. Before the hedgehog's very eyes: the trees grew the stuff like moss before they shriveled into dust; puddles of the stuff began to slowly ooze out of the ground, making it harder and harder to keep up a decent pace; Fusion monsters swarmed the area, making sure to leave nothing untouched.

But Sonic kept on running and shouting, making sure to save anyone who he came across in the Wilds. He dashed between the wooded area and Fosters Home with ease being sure to drop off anyone he happened to save at the border between the border of Fosters and Prickly Pines. It was very soon that Sonic had gotten as many people as he could out of The Wilds. Once he'd finally made it back to Fosters Home, he began to slow to a leisurely stroll.

The hedgehog looked around at the scene before him. Several armored vehicles both of land and sky swarmed the edge of the suburbs, most of them were Dex Labs and Mandark Industries however, he did see a few KND and Plumber crafts. There were also a couple of silver vehicles with men in full black and white armor but Sonic didn't recognize them, he didn't care to know every single organization in this great big world. But there were also hundreds of people lining the edge. Some of them looked fearful as the infection spread through the remainder of the Wilds as they waited for the last of their friends while others –who were lucky- rejoiced as they reunited with loved ones. Then there were those who stared ahead at the slowly advancing sea of Fusion Matter with pure dread as they watched it inch its way towards them.

All in all, it was quite the sight to see.

He saw a lot of pain that people were going through but pushed that aside. People died in there and that was sad, but he couldn't let that get to him. He was Sonic the Hedgehog, he- he had to be happy and carefree. Not just his own piece of mind, but for everybody else's as well. After all, they were gonna save the world and stop Fuse, no problem.

…Right?

He shook his head. He wouldn't let those bad thoughts get to him.

Instead, he looked to see a stout purple woman in a black tank top sprint over to a tall woman with a pearl embedded into her forehead. The purple one nearly tackled the taller one in an embrace. He instantly recognized the purple one as Amethyst and deduced that the other was "Pearl," who she'd talked so highly of. He smiled at that. It was good to see some people get a good deal out of this.

"Sonic!" A high pitched voice called out to him.

Sonic turned to see a yellow fox wearing clean surgical gloves and sneakers. He also wore a brown belt which had a golden buckle bearing a logo with two tails and a circular strap that went over his shoulder. Not only that, but unlike most foxes, he had not one, but two tails.

Sonic grinned at the sight of his longtime friend and roommate.

"Tails!" He shouted back and began to jog over to him.

Sonic wasn't prepared when the fox wrapped him in a tight embrace.

Sonic gave out a light chuckle. "Come on, Tails. I know Dex and the other nerds in Tech Square aren't nearly as cool, but you don't need to get emotional every time you see me."

Tails laughed. "Well what did you expect? When I heard that the last of The Wilds were being infected, I was worried sick. I mean, we already lost our home when Bygone and the rest of The Islands sank a couple of months ago;" I could feel the waves of emotion coming off of him, the boy was getting sadder as he continued. "Shadow broke his leg trying to save Dawn from the final infection of the Darklands –and –and Sticks… just over a month ago when she- she-"

Sonic had heard enough.

"It's okay, Tails. I'm fine." He insisted, giving the foxkit a reassuring smile. "And don't think about all that bad stuff. You, me, Amy and Knuckle Head will find a new place to live when this is all over. Maybe somewhere Suburban. As for Shadow, 'ol Edge the Hedge will be good as new and back on the frontlines in no time. And Sitcks wouldn't want you to be sad that she's gone. She'd want you to keep fighting and make sure Fuse and his goons pay for everything they've done."

"And make sure the alien overlords don't steal our toasters." Tails lightly joked, memories of the badger coming to mind.

"Exactly." Sonic chuckled.

Tails brightened at the hedgehog's words. "You're the best, Sonic."

"I know." The hedgehog smirked.

Tails laughed. A year and a half ago, before the team joined the war along with Shadow and Eggman, the statement would've annoyed Tails. But now; he relished in it and his best friend's embrace.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DIDN'T MAKE IT OUT!" A rather obnoxious voice roared.

The two looked up to see none other than the self-proclaimed "King of the Cul-de-sac" yeling at one of the many Dexbots on site.

"I am simply stating the facts, sir." The Dexbot calmly replied.

Eddy wasn't finished though. "I know Ed made it out, your stupid scanner must be broken!"

"I am a fully functioning Dexbot, sir." It stated. "And can confirm that Ed's nanocom is offline. This suggests that he was absorbed by Fuse."

He wasn't holding onto him anymore, but he could feel Tails stiffen at the haunting words. Everybody knew that the words "absorbed by Fuse" were the council's unofficial terminology for the unthinkable.

Hearing that Ed had been 'absorbed' tugged at the blue blur's heart. He had had his fair share of adventures with 'The King of the Forest' during his times in The Wilds. In fact, he enjoyed adventuring with Ed because it reminded him a lot of his friend who don't chuckle. But it seemed that was behind him now as unfortunately, Big Ed was dead.

Sonic didn't have much time to silently mourn for his friend due to Eddy's yelling.

"And I'm telling you that you're wrong!" Eddy bellowed. "You were wrong about Sockhead being gone and you're wrong now."

"But sir, Eddward was in fact absorbed by Fuse, just as Ed was was approximately an hour and seventeen minutes ago."

"Cut the "absorbed by Fuse" crap!" Eddy spat. "We know exactly what that means!"

The dexbot didn't waver though. "The sooner you learn to accept the truth of their absorption, the easier it will be for you, sir."

Eddy was going to continue shouting. He really was going to give it a piece of his mind.

But he didn't. Instead, hot tears began to stream down his face. Several others went to comfort him, most notably a kid wearing his red baseball cap backwards, a blue haired boy in an Urban Ranger uniform and a dirty blond haired girl in baggy clothes.

But he shouted at them. Telling them to get lost as he ran off, desperately trying to cover his grief stricken face.

Tails sighed, he tried not to let all of this get to him, but it was hard. The casualties only continued to rise and he'd already lost one good friend in all of this.

Sonic sighed. "I guess it's not a good day for anybody."

At that moment they heard the loud cries of a hairy purple bull like creature. They couldn't make much of what he was saying through his blubbering –mostly because it was in Spanish- but the words "Senior Mac" were evident and they knew enough to tell what that meant.

A tall red imaginary friend patted him with his good arm repeating the words "It's okay." To his friend while trying to hold back his own tears which threatened to spill.

Everybody who looked weren't sure whether or not the red imaginary friend was trying to convince his friend, or himself.

Sonic and Tails couldn't help but watch the scene before them in pure anguish. They knew "Senior Mac" as the young child who'd gone to the Foster Home this area was named after.

Sonic knew him well because Mac had always gone to him for help whenever coco ran off and now, the poor eight year old was gone.

Tails just sighed. "Yeah, not a good day for anyone at all."

Sonic just shook his head, he'd seen enough and was sure that Tails was way past his breaking point.

"Come on, Tails. Let's go." He pushed the fox away from the barrier.

And that's how the two began to leave the colorful cast of characters.

It was when they were almost out that the tall young woman in the orange jumpsuit began to frantically push her way through the crowd. Unlike the others her tanned skin glistened not with tears, but sweat.

"HELP! HELP! HE'S STILL IN THERE!"

Both of the animals stopped dead in their tracks at that.

The girl was confronted by a man in a similar suit only his was a grey color. "Can't let you through, Alex."

Alex still tried to push her way past. But the random WHOOP Operative wasn't having any of it.

"You don't understand, his nanocom is still active. I know he's alive!"

"Even so, we can't let you through. You won't make it out of there."

"But it's Flapjack!" She insisted. "He's just a kid and you're gonna leave him to die in there!"

And that's when Sonic stopped. The young adventurer that Alex had spoken of was even younger than Mac and was still in there. He knew little of the relationship between the most average of the "Totally Spies" and the Sailor boy from Stormalong Harbor. But did get that they were very close and that she made some kind of promise to find a whale or something. The blue blur was more of an act first and ask questions later kind of guy, he didn't care for details.

But what he did care about was the small child.

Originally he didn't care much for him. He was a little kid and a bit clingy at that. He really cramped his style.

But then, he had heard about what had happened in Stormalong and how the boy ended up in the Wilds. That was enough to make Sonic a little nicer to him and as it turned out the kid wasn't so bad.

He learned that Flapjack didn't just marvel his incredible speed, but he also looked up to him. "A real bonafied adventurer," that's what he'd called him. And in turn, he'd grown to see the kid as a little brother of sorts. Not like Tails, but they still had a decent connection.

They'd even tried to switch scarves that one time. And there wasn't a greater sign of affection to the blue blur.

"I know that look Sonic," Tails said; looking directly into his best bud's eyes, whose ridges were furrowed in determination. "Don't do it."

"Well if I don't, then nobody else will and I'm not letting anyone else die in there."

"But what about you?" Tails pleased. "If you don't make it back then there's no Team Sonic!"

Sonic laughed. "I told you, it's just Team." He then pulled on his gloves, firmly securing them to his hands. "I'll be back soon."

"SONIC, NO!"

But Tails was too late, as the ever familiar blue streak was already fading before him.

The two tailed fox blinked before he ran off in the opposite direction.

Sonic was running again, through all the Fusion Matter that was on the ground in either patches or pools. There wasn't a single spot on the ground that wasn't infected.

But Sonic still charged through despite the acid burning at the tape on his shoes. He knew the infection would get worse and it'd eat away at his shoes and soon his feet. But he knew he was going to charge through and save the kid even if the substance burned at his legs.

And with that, he continued to charge along through the gooey green hills, despite the pain. He knew that if he stopped for even a single moment, his legs would probably succumb to the burning sensation and he'd tumble to the ground.

He knew where to go, Leaky Lake. That's where Flapjack usually was, and even with the infection spreading he'd insisted on staying there in hopes of finding that whale of his.

He blasted his way through Prickely Pines and made a sharp turn towards the lake so that he could get to the young boy. With the turn, he climbed over the mountain that separated the animal township from the massive lake and had to come to a complete stop at the top of the mountains. Luckily the Fusion Matter didn't reach to the top of these mountains, at least, not yet.

But he stopped because what he came face to face with was not a pleasant sight. An entire sea of Fusion Matter was out before him in what used to be Leaky Lake. So it seemed the barrier that kept the infection within a confined space really had overflowed like Dexter had said when he called him to warn everyone and save the people.

There's no way that Flapjack could've survived that. If he was still in there.

But Alex had stated that he was alive.

"FLAP!" Sonic called out. "FLAPJACK! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

But he the only response he got was the crash of a wave of Fusion Matter against the mountain side.

Sonic sighed. So apparently his little buddy was gone too.

But there was one way that he could be sure, and he knew what that was.

Sonic pulled at the hem of his glove to reveal the communicator on his wrist that Dexter had converted into a nanocom.

He quickly took at it, allowing the small holographic screen to come up. He made his way over to buddies and scrolled through. He found the name Flapjack and saw the telltale icon of the green smiley face telling that Flapjack's nanocom was at least active.

"Incredible…" Sonic gaped before sliding his gloved hand over the screen, causing it to disappear.

"HELP!" He heard someone call out.

Sonic's ears immediately twitched at that, and he looked up to find the source of the cry. Out in the ocean of Fusion Matter, was a large chunk of rock with a single tree branch sticking out of it. But there was also something that both relieved and terrified the hedgehog all at once. Holding onto the branch for dear life was none other than the sailor in question: Flapjack.

"FLAP!" Sonic cried out.

Flapjack couldn't hear him though, he just cried out as the Fusion Matter threatened to wash over him.

Sonic wasn't sure what to do, he knew that he had to save Flapjack no matter what. But he wasn't sure if he could. Unlike a lot of the friend's he'd met over the course of the war, he couldn't fly.

But he knew someone had to help.

With a deep breath; Sonic closed his eyes and backed away from the lake slowly. He then took off running as fast as he possibly could before leaping into the air hoping to God that he wouldn't be taking a dip in Fusion Matter today.

"WOA-OAH!" He screamed as he tumbled through the air.

Whether it was luck or his own natural ability, he wasn't sure. But somehow, he made it onto the rock unscathed.

It rocked a little and the scared child held onto the branch even tighter. Sonic was about to slip and fall off of the rock himself, but luckily he was able to grab onto that same branch that he was holding onto.

Flapjack didn't seem to notice and still clutched the branch.

He cleared his throat and the child jumped at that, nearly falling off of the rock.

But Sonic's bandaged hand caught him before he fell off.

"Woah! Easy there, Flap." Sonic said to his young friend.

Flapjack looked up at him, eyes wide as saucers. "Sonic!" He exclaimed, bringing the hedgehog in the tight embrace.

Sonic grinned. "The one and only."

Sonic still joked with the boy. "Flap, I know you always wanted to take me sailing but this is ridiculous."

Flapjack let out his signature laugh at that.

Good, Sonic thought. Smile and laugh. I have no idea how I'm gonna get out of this.

Flapjack just kept tightly embracing his anthropomorphic friend while Sonic hugged back but looked for some sort of solution to their predicament.

They were out in a lake of Fusion Matter. Sonic had only made it here taking a running start, so there wasn't a chance that they were gonna get out the same way he came. Man, he really didn't think this through.

"So friend, how are we going to get out of here?" Flapjack asked.

Sonic tried to smirk but even he knew that came out kind of shaky.

Flap's own eyes seemed to dull at the sight of his surrogate brother's faltering façade.

Emerald orbs meeting sapphire ones, the hedgehog put on an even brighter smile. This one actually seemed to stay.

Flapjack looked up at the hero of Bygone Island with hope, that smile he'd seen showed him that Sonic was gonna find a way out of this.

Sonic still didn't know what to do. But he couldn't keep smiling like an idiot. He'd come up with something to tell him. "Well Flap, we're gonna-"

"SONIC!" A familiar voice called out.

Both human and hedgehog jumped at that. They both looked around for the source of the voice.

"SONIC, WHERE ARE YOU?!" It cried.

They saw that it had come from the triangular device on his wrist. His nanocom. And of course it was Tails that was calling him.

He immediately activated it. "Tails?! Tails, where are you?"

"On the tornado, Prickly Pines." Tails answered. "Where the heck are you?!"

Sonic chuckled. "Uh… floating aimlessly on a random rock in the middle of Fusion Matter Lake."

"I'm on my way." Tails responded.

Flapjack whooped. "We're saved!"

"That's right, Flap. Nothing to it."

Flapjack beamed at that, despite his dirtied face and slightly tattered clothing, he was alright, he was smiling. He would get out of here alive and that's all that mattered to the hedgehog.

Shortly following that, the fox appeared in his plane, hovering above them. He quickly let down an enerwhip that Flapjack and Sonic quickly climbed up to it, Flapjack first of course. Flapjack then took the seat next to tails while Sonic leaned back against the body of the plane.

It's finally over. Sonic sighed as the plane peacefully moved along.

BOOM!

Gosh darn it.

The plane shuddered and spurred at that. It managed to remain aloft, but the shot of Fusion Matter certainly made things a little more difficult.

Sonic's head shot up and he looked back.

Rising out of the Fusion Matter below was none other than Fusion Sticks, preparing to chuck another glob of the stuff at them.

Sonic's teeth grit in anger at the sight of the Fusion. The same Fusion that made off with their friend long ago.

She fired and the plane wavered once more.

"Guys, I don't know if we can take another shot." Tails grimaced.

Sonic shot to his feet, he pulled out his enerwhip and began snapping away at the globs of Fusion Matter that came hurtling towards the plane.

The Fusion then shot up at the plane, jumping high in the air before landing on it.

Tails yelped at this and Flapjack cried.

Sonic didn't like the Fusion that dared to take on the form of their fallen friend, but now he was threatening the life of both Flapjack and Tails and he wasn't going to let that happened.

Tails and Flapjack called out to Sonic, but he didn't hear. He had to stop this Fusion.

He lunged at it, sending her down against the metal of the plane, before Sonic was atop her and attempted a head butt.

The Fusion met him head on and collided with him, causing his vision to swim a bit.

Before he had time to react, the Fusion clonked him on the head with its boomerang, turning things in its favor.

Now ontop of Sonic, the Fusion tried to punch him in the face, only for him to snap his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow.

He then grabbed onto the monster's shoulders and forced himself over her.

The Fusion then did the same, ending up on top of him.

The two were then rolling, fighting for dominance.

But then, Sonic didn't feel anything under him.

He was free falling now, the Fusion looking at him from atop the plane waving.

Flapjack and Tails were now hysterical having seen their quilled friend fall off the plane, and the Fusion still on board.

NO! Sonic realized as he knew exactly where he was heading, the sea of Fusion Matter below.

He called upon his enerwhip, sending it out at the Fusion and wrapping around her.

He was saved, the Fusion wouldn't fall off and he could climb back up.

But he was wrong, the Fusion came tumbling down after him.

And it was at that moment that he realized that he really wasn't going to make it out of this after all.

Fuse had beaten him and he was going down.

He should've felt sad.

He should've.

But instead, he couldn't help but feel some sort of relief.

No more fighting…

No more war…

No more Fuse…

He'd finally be free of it all and never have to worry about it ever again.

And in a sense that kind of calmed him.

He was sorry for Flapjack and Tails and Knuckles and Amy and the rest of his friends who he'd been leaving behind.

But at least they were safe, and somehow they'd beat Fuse. Just without him…

There wasn't really anything he could do about that now.

With that, he closed his eyes, accepting his fate as he plopped into the drink below.