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Chapter Text

The Starfall Islands, a mysterious archipelago known to hold vast ancient ruins and a race of creatures called “Koco.” That was all the members of Team Undefined were able to find out about the place after they tracked the movements and signals of the Phantom Ruby to it. Not that there was much to find, anyway. The islands were quite isolated and difficult to reach except by plane, so information was sparse at best, and abundant rumors circulated about mysterious disappearances when people would try to explore it.

They would arrive, and seemingly never return. Those that did return almost never seemed quite the same, having become plagued with strange visions, irreversible memory loss and, loss of energy, and eventually paralysis and death.

—

“Looks like we’re closing in!” Barry said, the quokka looking up at their partners from the pilot’s seat of the plane that Tails allowed them to borrow. It wasn’t the Tornado, sure, but it worked just as well. “Thanks for letting me join you on the adventure this time, guys! I know I’m not strong like you two, but...” they trailed off, before yelping slightly at the feeling of their partners pressing their noses into their cheeks.

“We’re happy to have you along,” Gadget said, the red wolf grinning at them with a bright smile. “We're a team, right? We know you can hold your own, Bar-Bar." He grinned, burying his face in the quokka's bug ears, "And besides, who else could’ve flown us up here? And how did you learn to fly anyway?” He grinned, poking the quokka in the side.

Barry chuckled, squirming at the touch, “Well, Tails IS a good friend of mine. He showed me all about it! It’s not too hard honestly, once you learn what everything does.” They rambled on for a moment about the controls of the plane, before lapsing into a comfortable silence.

Finn laughed quietly, a deep one that he reserved only for his partners. “Of course you’d find flying a plane simple, it took you all of five minutes to figure out how to drive a train.” Barry rolled his eyes at him, grinning, but said nothing while Gadget playfully nudged him, “Oh come on! They needed to do that or else we would’ve crashed! Now that’s a birthday party I won’t forget anytime soon…”

He smiled fondly at the two of them, before looking at his wrist device as it pinged. It was something Tails made him some time ago to allow him to track the energy readings of the original Phantom Ruby. Back during the war, both he and Gadget had only used copies of the Phantom Ruby (though Finn was led to believe he was using the original), back when he was Infinite. And so after the war, when he learned that the one he used WASN’T the real one, Finn decided that he had to find it and contain it before Dr. Eggman was able to track it down and use it again.

“The readings are getting close...” Finn said softly, the mood of the air turning serious. Although he had lost much of his power after the war, careful rehabilitation and excessive amounts of tender love and affection by Gadget (and Barry, later) had allowed him to regain some of them, despite the Ruby itself no longer being on his person. Even without the Ruby, he was still a proficient swordsman and seasoned adventurer, so nothing was going to stop him from doing what needed to be done, but it was good to have a bit more at his disposal.

Upon examination during his recovery period, Tails believed that some of the Ruby or its powers must have become a part of him, like his DNA and the false Ruby’s energy had become so intertwined they had almost become one. He was skeptical at the time, but was inclined to believe the fox in the end. A feeling that once again was confirmed as true as he could feel the Ruby’s presence as they flew in closer to one the islands, Kronos, he believed. It felt so similar to the places where...

“I can’t help but say that I’m a bit nervous...” Barry said softly, interrupting Finn's thoughts. Gadget raised an eyebrow at them, “You, nervous? Say it ain’t so.” Barry shook their head, “No, seriously! We don’t know what we’ll find down there! The places we went to before, the ones where Finn's siblings were at, were still on the main continent! These aren't," they said firmly. "Not to mention all those rumors about disappearances and memory loss...”

Finn laid a reassuring hand on his partner’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I’m pretty sure all that’s down there are Koco, and they’re harmless. We made it out of those other places alright, didn't we? And besides, you’ll be safe as long as you’re with us, there’s-”

He was cut off as the plane suddenly shook violently. “Barry? What’s going on?” Gadget asked, trying to get his footing. The quokka tried to stabilize the plane, squinting at the readings on the display panels, “It seems like we’re hitting some turbulence? But how? That can’t be right… The engines are all fine, fuel levels are good..."

“On a clear day?” Gadget asked incredulously. Looking out the window, Finn could see that the sky was clear as it ever was. “Now I'm wondering if we were a bit foolish not asking for backup, if we’re going to be getting this kind of mess already,” he said, placing a fist on his hip and clicking his tongue in annoyance.

Finn knew what the wolf was referring to: his old team, the Jackal Squad, his younger siblings. They were a group of mercenaries who took on odd and often shady jobs before the war, and were scattered across the continent afterwards. It took some time (and a bit of strong arming a certain black hedgehog into helping) to find them, and most of them ended up trapped in places the Phantom Ruby had corrupted. Getting them out was not an easy task, and took him the better part of four and a half years. Afterwards, most of them settled down into a far calmer life than any of them had ever had, though a few still did some odd jobs on the side. When he told them about his plans, they had offered him their assistance in his search, he told them no, that this was his mess to clean up. In truth, the eldest jackal was so relieved his younger siblings were safe that he didn’t want to put them in danger again.

Most of them anyway. The two youngest, a pair of twins who went by Cinq and Sei. After the war, they were the only two the rest of them couldn't find, a lack of official documentation and no clear pictures were probably the biggest reason why they were lost to the wind, and even tracking the Phantom Ruby's signal didn't lead to them. Finn worried for them every day, and even as life kept moving, they were always in the back of his mind.

The plane shook again, bringing the jackal out of his thoughts, and this time it was even worse. “Oh shit...” Barry said, clearly not being able to get control of the plane. “We might have to make a crash landing!” They tried to steer the plane towards the ground, but before any of them knew it, they were engulfed by a sudden portal, red and yellow and blue filling their vision before it all faded to black.

-------1-1 Database-------

“This is where data is stored. Where we manage, record, and control...”

Finn was falling. He was falling into the blackness of the night, but... it didn’t feel quite right. There was a voice in his head, telling him something , but he wasn’t sure what. Something about recording and controlling? It was looping over and over, but it was too soft and didn't make sense. As he landed, a surprisingly graceful landing despite the sudden drop, he felt his stomach twist in knots.

He was in the Mystic Jungle again, there were casinos everywhere, casinos that should have been torn down ages ago. This wasn’t right, was this an illusion? His reduced powers didn’t allow him to cast projections like these anymore, so he knew he wasn’t casting this on himself, as he had done before when he was starting to learn how to control the Ruby’s power. 

Maybe this was the Ruby’s doing, then? Though it felt different than the corrupted lands he encountered during his road trip, too. He huffed, “Well, we're not going to find anything out just standing here.” He sprinted forward, though it took him a moment before he realized that he was running on his own.

“Gadget? Barry?” he called out, slowing down, but not stopping. Looking around, the jackal didn't see his partners, but he did notice some robots up ahead. “Badniks!” he growled. Was Eggman here already? “This isn’t good…” he said. He needed to get out of here and find that Ruby before the doctor did.

Or was this projection the work of the man himself? Was he too late? The jackal groaned to himself, avoiding the Badniks with ease (they were just as oblivious as he remembered). He really couldn't dwell on this, he needed to get out of wherever this was first.

As he pressed forward, he noticed the voice in his head getting louder, repeating itself like a mantra. “Data,” it said to him. As he looked around, he grimaced. Finn could see the sparks of electricity, the corruption of the world around him, and it looked suspiciously like a projection in Null Space that was about to fall apart. If that was the case, then…

Going through a large loop, he came across a portal, pulsating and glowing with cubes that were eerily familiar to the jackal, but Finn ignored it for now. Surely this must be the way out, he thought, or would he only be digging himself deeper? “Only one way to find out...” he mumbled to himself, before jumping through.

—

He landed onto hard ground with a thump, far from the graceful, soft landing on digitized grass from earlier. Looking around, Finn realized he must be on the island now, the soft grasslands and high steppes a welcome reprieve from the projections of Null Space, a place he never wanted to go back to. Taking a look behind him, he noticed a large stone platform, glowing a bright blue. Judging from the familiar energy humming off of it, he guessed it was some sort of doorway or portal into Null Space.

“Mortal...” There it was again, the voice from earlier. Or... no, it wasn’t, Finn noted. The voice from before, while inside the portal, was clear and bright and directly in his head. This voice? It was warped and distorted, drooping up and down in pitch. It sounded like it was coming from all around him, like a bad surround sound system. Whatever it was, he certainly didn’t trust it. He knew better than that.

“Who’s there?” Finn said sharply, summoning his sword to hand, the red blade appearing from a fistful of cubes. “Show yourself!” The voice only hummed softly, before continuing. “You have done the unthinkable. The impossible. You have broken free of Cyber Space with your own powers.”

“Cyber...” Finn started, “Not Null Space?”

“Is there a difference? Does it matter?” The voice said, calmly, with no inflection. It didn’t seem it was the type to give anything away, Finn guessed.

“Mmm... I suppose not,” he agreed. It was something that he could investigate later, when he found Gadget and Barry. “Where are my partners? Gadget and Barry. Where are they?”

The voice hummed again, a deep rumble that shook Finn to his core. “You possess this power, for you are the same to it. You are the key. Break the seals. Defeat the Titans.” And then it was gone. The deep hum within his core stopped, replaced only with his heart, beating out of fear and anxiety.

“Fine,” Finn snarled, “If that’s the game we’re playing.” He darted forward, there was no time to waste. He had to find them, he couldn't lose them too. Not like…

He shook his head. He had found his pack, most of them anyway. He made sure of that, starting with convincing Sonic to strong arm Shadow to help them. Most of them were found within the year, since GUN kept an extensive record on the Jackal Squad, except for the youngest two. While the organization knew of their existence, they had little else. Not even Tails’ tracker had helped after they learned that his siblings were trapped in places the Ruby had moved to and corrupted. Thinking about them sent a shiver up his spine. How weak was he that he wasn't able to protect his family?

But he wasn't weak. A lot of talking things through with Gadget, a confrontation with Shadow, reassurance from Barry made sure he knew that. His siblings did not deny him or berate him, only forgave him and understood him. And yet, when he was alone, and found the youngest twins on his mind, he felt that fear of weakness creeping up on him. It distracted him, threw him off, and so when a group of what he thought were stone eggs or something turned into a pack of robots, he ended up taking a pretty nasty hit.

“Tch... That’s gonna leave a mark. Get your shit together, Finn.” He swiped the bots, slicing them down easily with his focus regained. There weren’t many, but it was still more fighting than Finn had needed to do lately. More than he wished to do anymore. As he moved forward along the path, more bots revealed themselves, only to, once again, be swiftly brought down.

At the end of the path, Finn walked into a small clearing, squinting at the figure standing in the middle. It was thin and slight, similar to the other robots, but much taller, taller than him for sure. He approached it with caution, trying to sneak past quietly, and he believed he was further away than he was (having only one functioning eye was quite a pain in stealth situations like this, he would note later), but it was to no avail, of course.

The robot noticed him instantly, and rushed forward to attack him, but Finn had anticipated that this could happen, and held his blade out for an easy guard and counterattack. It sent the robot reeling back for a moment, before it struck again with its long, needle-like arms. This time the jackal parried the attack with the edge of his blade, before pushing himself off the ground and slamming his body into the thin frame of the bot.

With the bot beneath him, Finn snarled as he brought the blade down, ending the guard’s existence, the robot disappearing in a flash of light, leaving only a gear, glowing and cyan, in its wake. Finn picked it up, curious. Why did the robot drop it? Why were these robots here at all? They didn't look like Eggman’s tech, not unless the doctor drastically overhauled his designs in the past four or so years (which he found unlikely). Guards, perhaps? But guarding what and why?

They were certainly not the Koco, he figured. At least, not the Koco that Finn had seen from the group’s research. They were small, stone creatures, and Finn was fairly sure he’d seen some of them watching him from the distant grass, but he paid them no mind. They were harmless, and Finn found them quite cute in their own way, so he went out of his way to respect their space. He was a guest on their land, after all.

Though, he supposed,  he was also a guest on the robots’ land too, and here he was striking them down. Provided they were native to the islands, at any rate.

In all honesty, Finn felt quite bad about striking down these bots. They were quite endearing in their own way, but when something was trying to strike you down, it was either kill or be killed, and he simply couldn’t fade away yet. Not when his partners were missing from him, not when Cinq and Sei…

Despite this, he decided he was going to try and spare them when he could, only going in for the kill if absolutely necessary.

After about fifteen minutes of wandering down the path, he came across what appeared to be a door jutting out of the cliffside, blocking his path. In front of it were three statues, the middle one facing differently from the others. Was this some kind of a lock?

Looking around, he noticed the cliff was too high up and too steep for him to climb comfortably up to go around it, and the other side was a long drop into the ocean. Walking up to the statues, he found they were too heavy for him to move physically. “Damn it…” he said, realizing he was stuck.

Just as he was about to turn around and go back to find another path, a thrum hit his head, and the voice from all around him spoke once again. “Hmm. Your powers were heightened while in Cyber Space, but it seems that you are simply weaker here.” The jackal glared, but said nothing. “No matter. The Ancients’ technology is far beyond your meager knowledge. Using our connection to Cyber Space, I will imbue you with this power. The power to move the winds to your liking.”

Finn felt a sudden surge of energy flow through him, and it HURT. There was a bright, red electricity going through him, spiraling out into the world around him at whatever point it could. He knew this pain; the pain of the Phantom Ruby prototype being inserted inside him, its power connecting to every nerve he had, and it paralyzed him in pain and fear.

After what seemed like an eternity of excruciating pain, it stopped just as suddenly as it started. The electricity stopped shooting out from him, and the sudden stab of it ending caused the jackal to drop on all fours, gasping for air. “What the hell did you do to me?!” Finn yelled, but he received no response. For a moment, a vision flashed before him, not of the verdant fields he was in, but of a bountiful, thriving community, tall beings in the distance, one of whom was turning the statue with ease. And then it was gone, and so too was the thrum in his head, and he was alone once again.

Taking a moment to regain the world, Finn stood back up, shakily, but whole. He turned over what the voice had said. The power to move the winds… He recalled Sonic being able to do that, simply by running around something fast enough, and hell, he was fast, he could do that, right? He turned his sights to the offset statue, and tried to mimic what he saw Sonic do before, doing several quick runs around it as fast as he could, but nothing happened. Maybe he just wasn't quick enough anymore? The war certainly took a lot out of him.

But no, that couldn't be it. He knew something was different, there was a pulsing in him that told him so. It hurt, ever so slightly, but when you're always aching, a small hurt like that was nothing. Maybe if he focused the energy, focused it like he used to do for the Phantom Ruby, when he first got it…

Running around the statue this time, he noticed a red trail of digital cubes and warped static behind him, and upon closing the path, he felt a sudden updraft from inside, strong enough to push the statue back in place with a loud, grinding click. Looking up, he noticed the door beginning to slide away into the cliffside it was set into. He had done it!

He smirked to himself, but underneath, the worry set it. What was this voice and how could it connect to him like that? Could it connect to the Phantom Ruby? That could be a disaster, and he was not keen on getting possessed again, if he was as connected as the voice said. He doubted he could get a straight answer from the voice, it seemed like it held its cards so close to itself. He'll need to be cautious about what it says.

Not to mention that vision. Finn wasn't sure what he saw. Just an illusion, mayhaps, but the Phantom Ruby held so many powers that he didn't even know about. It almost felt more like a memory…

Still… his partners were missing, and needed to find them, so he pressed on. As he came face-to-face with more of the little robots, Finn tried to avoid them, but found that they were pretty tricky to get away from if he wasn't moving at top speed. The jackal had found that catching them in the updraft of his loop was pretty effective at catching them off guard, however, allowing him to get away without needing to destroy them.

—

From afar, a young girl, warped and staticy, watched as the jackal spared the lives of these defense mechanisms. She didn't understand. They were not alive, and even then, they would return come next Starfall, as designed. His wasted efforts did not align with her collected data about the warrior who brought the world to his knees with no mercy. She needed to know more.

—

Coming into the next clearing, he could see another portal, similar to the one he came out of earlier, but it was dark as opposed to glowing blue. The sun was starting to lower, and the orange haze of the sky was casting long shadows across the field. It was starting to get late, Finn could feel the exhaustion begin to set in, and he contemplated stopping for a moment, but he needed to keep going.

As he walked up to the portal, he noticed an indentation in a gear shape, an exact match to the one he had. Setting it in, however, the jackal found that the hole was a bit too deep for a single gear. He tried to see if he could access it, though he was unsure how, and felt no energy come off of it. It must've been turned off, somehow, and Finn guessed he simply didn't have the resources to turn it back on.

Shrugging, he turned and walked away from the portal, only to be cut short by a bridge that was crumbling away, far too dangerous for him to cross easily. If he could float like he used to be able to…

He sighed, and looked up to the sky. “It appears I am stuck again. Any wise words?”

He felt the hum in the air again, but nothing was spoken. Instead, a large robot dropped down from the sky with a loud slam. It appeared to be shaped like a large tower (or something else, Finn noted, but he didn't need to be so crude). “Funny way of guiding me…” he said.

He charged forward, easily parrying the slow moving missiles shot towards him. He clicked his tongue, this wasn't even a challenge. He swung his sword towards the base of the enemy, only to find himself being bounced away. “Ahh… not as easy as I thought. Very well then. Let's dance shall we?”

He dodged the tower flying towards him, running up to higher ground. Maybe if he could hit the head, it might go down. Aiming long range attacks were a bit hard for him, but he threw his sword (a tried and true attack that he loved, now that getting his sword back is as simple as dissipating it and calling it back to hand), the blade spinning towards the robot. It missed its head, but Finn was able to use his powers to guide it slightly into the body. Upon contact, it knocked out one of the body's sections, the top of the robot falling down onto the section underneath, the tower taking a moment to reconnect the pieces.

Not exactly what he wanted, but it did give him an idea on how to proceed. If he took out each piece, he should be able to get up to the top and do some real damage to the head.

“You're a step up from the other one!” Finn said to the robot, his opinion having turned around. He dodged it as it slammed down, the tower rotating its head towards him. He grinned, despite his reluctance to completely eliminate one of them, the thrill of battle still invigorated him. It has been a while since he had a real challenge in a fight outside of Gadget and their friends. (Not to say Barry wasn't skilled either, but their skills were more geared to running and climbing. They were quite the speedster, Finn had noted.)

Despite the ease of which Finn was able to dodge the enemy’s attacks, he was having trouble getting a good swipe on it. He had knocked off only two segments since the first one, and he was starting to get winded. He needed to get this over with before the sun fully set. He had tried to call another cybernetic loop (Cyloop, Finn found it had a good ring to it) around it, but the damn thing just wouldn't sit still long enough for him to close it.

So he tried another angle, he thought about the abilities he had seen members of the Resistance use and ones he could mimic with his limited abilities and equipment, and one person came to mind: Amy Rose. The girl was exceedingly acrobatic and she often used her hammer as a pole vault to get a lot of height and speed. And he needed the height.

Finn knew his sword was simply a manifestation of the powers he had left, and as such, could be changed if he so desired, though the jackal rarely utilized it since he felt most comfortable with the light weight of his familiar blade. But here he needed this extra give, so he focused for a second, watching the curved tip of his sword change into a heavy mallet, the weight of it almost sending him to the ground. “How did she carry this thing,” he muttered, hefting it up to get his bearings, “let alone move as fast as she does with it?”

He grunted, moving up to the top of a nearby hill to gain some momentum, watching the tower slow to a stop for a moment. Now's his chance! He ran forward as fast as he could, slamming the hammer into the ground with as much force as he could muster, feeling the weight of it launch him up and towards the robot. At the peak of his ascent, he was directly over its head, the bot momentarily confused as to what happened. Finn slammed the hammer down again, knocking the top of the robot’s head clean off, causing the entire structure to disappear in a flash of light, leaving behind yet another gear.

As he landed, he dropped onto the ground, exhausted, looking up as the sun started to fully dip under the horizon. He couldn’t stop yet, but he really needed a moment to catch his breath, but the new, sudden pain in his head told him he wouldn't get it. “Can’t a guy get a BREAK?” he groaned, not even trying to peel himself off the ground. “Time is off the essence,” the voice said, almost having a scolding inflection to it, “Do you not want to save your friends?”

That got him up. He walked over to the gear, picking it up and beginning the short walk to the portal. He sighed, inserting it in the slot, causing the portal to glow a dull red. “The connection has been made. You may proceed to enter once again, and the path will open for you.”

The jackal rolled his eyes as the voice left him alone again. He rested a hand on the stone, feeling the energy pulsate beneath it. He focused, willing himself to connect to Cyber Space, and found it similar to connecting with Null Space. Almost exactly the same, even. With a flash of red, he disappeared.

-------1-2 Flowing-------

“I’m flowing, with time, I'm flowing. I'm flowing into the light. Disappear. Disappearing.”

As Finn materialized into a digital recreation of Eggman’s fortress from during the war, he found himself running on instinct, before skidding to a stop. Once again, he found himself in a place that should be in ruins, but the projection was more obvious this time, the terrain around him warping and moving. The daylight shone overhead as the Death Egg glared down at him, way closer than it ever should've been.

The layout of the area was unfamiliar to him, but he supposed that there were many places that he never explored in Eggman’s fortress. The path forward was simple enough, and nothing really got into the jackal’s way that he couldn't get rid of or go over, and how he missed the feeling of grinding on a rail. Letting his speed carry him forward, noting how much lighter he felt in this world.

Like he was flowing, like the voice in his head was saying. This was the first voice he heard, the one in his head and not surrounding him. Maybe he should be more wary of this voice too, but it seemed like it only wished to tell him a story of sorts, almost like a song.

As he approached the portal at the end, the voice stopped, and hummed deep inside of him him. “Again,” it said, and he disappeared into a flash of light, finding himself at the start again, running forward on instinct.

“What the…?” Finn said, coming to a stop again. “What was that for?!” he yelled up at the sky, looking like a lunatic if anyone could see him. The other voice did not reply, only repeating its song.

“Fine,” he huffed, making his way back to the portal at the end with only minimal pausing as he preps to make a few tight jumps. He wasn't sure what would happen if he fell into the digital abyss below, but he surely did not want to find out.

As he approached the portal, Finn arched his brow, “Better?” The voice stopped and hummed again, “Yes, but not good enough. Use this obstacle course to steel yourself. You must be ready.”

Another flash of light and Finn was running again, this time he tried his best not to stop at all, pushing himself to go faster, but once again, it wasn't enough. Again and again Finn pushed himself, trying to shave off the amount of time he was doing this by cutting corners and taking shortcuts. With each reset he found himself growing more and more annoyed. The voice did not speak to him again, only continuing its song.

As he approached the portal again, after about six or seven resets, the voice stopped, and spoke to him again. “You have proven your resolve. You have cleared the course flawlessly and efficiently.” It paused for a moment, “I can feel your frustration, your connection to this space allows us to see all. It allows your foe to see, as well, but we will try and limit this while in this space. Now, we believe that you are ready.”

—

The portal engulfed him, and Finn found himself back on the island. Night had fallen, and the portal now glowed a dull blue. The jackal huffed, taking a seat on the stone, and looked over to the side, and saw a rather curious sight: A bridge materializing out of nothing but a beam of light.

“I guess that's one way to direct me,” Finn said with a yawn. Pulling himself up, he walked the short distance over to the newly formed bridge, wondering what exactly he was supposed to be “ready” for. The initial plan was to get the ruby and get out, but it seems that he has some extra steps now. He had to find his partners, he had to.

He scales the rises in the cliffside (silently, he was glad these were easy to climb, since it was never his forte), and found himself looking down onto Kronos Island, the rolling plains teeming with more activity than he would have expected. The forests in the south were blowing in the breeze, and he spotted several Koco wandering about, going about their day as if it wasn't the middle of the night.

A large robot caught his sight, and it must've been as large as one of the cliff sides alone, and there was another floating in the sky, a purple trail left behind it, but neither noticed him, so he left them be. What did interest him, however, was a large red orb floating nearby. Something was inside, and upon focusing, Finn felt his heart stop.

“Barry!” he shouted, running to the orb keeping them imprisoned. He pounded a fist on it, but it didn't shatter, and the quokka didn't seem to hear him. Instead, they continued to sit with their head in their hands, their usual calm-even-when-panicking demeanor having fallen for soft cries for his partners and confusion.

Finn placed a hand on the orb softly, and slipped down next to it. He was exhausted, physically and mentally, and his adrenaline had run out, even after finding Barry. He laid on the soft grass, the sky twinkling above him as a mentor shower started up. “I'll get you out if there Barry, I will… but I hope you forgive me if I take a short nap.”

—

Once again, the girl made of data watched from afar, and once again, found that the tenderness of this supposed war criminal did not match her databanks. Why?

She needed to know more.

Chapter Text

Finn was floating. How long had he been floating? Looking around, he was bathed in the dull glow of Null Space, dreary and dangerous with its violet hues and its specks of red. One misstep could spell doom for anyone trapped here, something he knew all too well. He was used to this place, however, and he knew better than to run along its unstable paths. The Ruby had a mind of its own, and subsequently, so did Null Space.

But… when did he get here? Wasn't he just on the Starfall Islands, looking for Gadget and Barry and the Phantom Ruby? The scene shifted in front of him, his feet planting on the ground as Metropolis built itself around him. The jackal felt himself running, pushing himself faster and faster, not even realizing he was coming to the edge. He tried to stop, but it was too late. He slammed into the railing, running off the highway and careening down into the city below… except it once again shifted to the seas surrounding Sunset City.

Finn hit the water, but found himself falling deeper into the abyss, the water dissipating as soon as he made contact. The jackal slowly landed on something, though he couldn't quite tell what it was. Some sort of tower? It glowed in the darkness, but the image on the ground beneath him was distorted and indiscernible.

Looking back up, he noticed Barry standing in the middle of the tower where they hadn't been before, but they were wrong. They, too, were corrupted, warped static and red electricity flying out of every which way. Finn called out to them, but no words came out of his mouth, and the quokka didn't turn to face him. He tried to run towards them, but the energy was swirling around his feet, and it felt like quicksand, dragging him in. At this rate, Finn wasn't going to make it, and he called out again for his partner, who finally turned to him. The quokka smiled softly and let out a whisper so quiet that it was almost inaudible under the thick layer of static.

“What are you so afraid of?”

Then everything faded to white.

—

Sage watched from afar as Finn awoke with a start, the jackal looking around wildly and taking deep, gasping breathes as the weight of whatever he was dreaming of left him. She watched as he placed a hand gingerly on the cyber cage surrounding the quokka. She had little information about them, other than that they were a pain in the Doctor's side and that they were affiliated with the jackal.

That last part didn't make sense. The wolf she could understand, they once were rivals, and that can lead to many things, based on the data she was given, but this quokka did not fit the parameters. They were simply a civilian, no hero or villain, having played no role in the war. They should not be a factor in any plan, and yet here they were.

The doctor had told her to eliminate all three of them by any means necessary, but especially the jackal. He had apparently betrayed the doctor during the war, and that was unforgivable. She knew what she must do, but watching the tender way he talked to the other in the cage made her hesitant.

Perhaps she should bide her time for a better moment…

—

Finn jerked awake, bringing up an arm to shade his face from the bright light of the cool morning. He took a deep breath, shaking off the blur of sleep and dreams, Barry’s voice echoing in his head.

What was he so afraid of? Finn sighed. It was a question Barry asked him and Gadget often. Somehow their anxious, meek partner was the most daredevil of the three, with Finn, the former mercenary and war criminal, now the most cautious and planning, with Gadget, the war veteran and hero, caught between the two (disregarding the fact that Finn knew that Gadget had issues with thinking logically when emotions ran high).

It was never a question he knew how to answer. He could lay out all the risks, all the things that could go wrong, but Barry would tell Finn that they knew all of that, but that they’d never let their own fear hold them back. They once told their partners that it had held them back for so long in the past, but choosing to face it was like ripping off a bandage. It hurt for a moment, but the relief was immeasurable.

He looked up at the cage holding his partner, placing a hand on it and feeling the energy buzz and flow through his thick gloves to dance on his palms. Finn looked into the fearful eyes of his partner, and asked himself what he was so afraid of. About a dozen different things about his current situation alone sprang to mind, but the loudest one was failing to keep his promise to Barry. To protect them.

“I'll get you out,” he said, pulling his hand away and balling it into a tight fist. “Just wait a bit longer, alright?” Barry didn't seem to hear him, but they flicked an ear in Finn’s direction nonetheless.

Despite having a goal in mind, the jackal was unsure how to proceed. There was no thrum in the air guiding him now, so he guessed he was on his own. In the light of day, he could see that the cage was placed atop of a small pedestal connected to another portal by thick, black cords, much like those used to connect to a computer, and all of it was pulsating with a dull red glow.

“Hmm…” he tried to tug on one of the cords, but it wouldn't budge. Furrowing his brow, the jackal gripped it with both hands, steadied himself, and pulled just a bit harder. As he did so, a pained scream pierced his ears as Barry doubled over in pain, the quokka’s face writhing in agony.

The cord shot out angry red static, shocking his hand and forcing Finn to drop it. “Shit shit sorry!” he said, placing a hand on the cage. He didn't think it was going to do THAT. Finn placed a hand on the cage once again, watching his partner catch their breath, hoping that he can transfer his forgiveness across the streams of Cyber Space to them.

“That was stupid Finn…” he berated himself, “You really should've known better than to pull on the LIFE SUPPORT CORD.” He sighed. He couldn't have known that it was that, but that didn't stop him from thinking that he just took a step back in his progress. He thought he was getting better about that, about not hurting people, accidentally or otherwise. It's not like he derived any pleasure from hurting Barry, not like Infinite would have.

He groaned, summoning his sword to hand and swiping at the air in frustration, the contradiction of his feelings versus his knowledge of the situation making his thoughts jumbled and hard to follow, before dissipating it and sitting grumpily next to the cage.

Taking a moment to calm down, Finn could feel the portal behind him buzzing with energy, way more than the previous ones. Turning around, Finn placed a hand on it, surely he could connect to it, right? If he connected to it, maybe he could get to Barry through Cyber Space, somehow? He had to do something, but when he tried to connect to the portal, he found himself unable to do so.

“That can't be right…?” Finn said softly, “Why can't I connect?” Again, no hum from the sky filled his ears, but he did hear the slight rustle of movement from the other side of the cage. He brought his sword to hand, walking cautiously around to the front, spotting a small gathering of Koco staring up at the quokka in amazement.

“Oh…” he breathed out in relief, “It's just you.” He dismissed his blade, kneeling down to the small stone creatures, extending a hand to them. They rolled away in fear, making small fearful noises and jingles, the leaves and grass on their heads rustling with the movement.

“I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise,” he said softly, “I know I hurt the other robots, but only so I can save my partners. I hope you can understand.” He gave them a smile, and one of them, with a large purple flower on its head, bravely rolled over to him and gave him a once over, before turning around and giving a noise of affirmation to the others.

All at once, he was surrounded by the Koco, who were rolling around and jingling in excitement at the prospect of a new playmate or friendly face. He chuckled quietly, and then pointed at Barry, who had taken to running in place in the cage with a pained expression on their face. “That's one of my partners, Barry. They're a little stuck and I'm not sure how to get him out. Do you think you can help?”

The one with the purple flower eyed him curiously, and then motioned him to follow it. Finn looked back at Barry, and gave them a teasing grin, “Be right back, okay, don't go anywhere.” Despite the fact that he was unsure Barry would hear him, he didn’t fail to notice the quokka’s slight smile and glance in his direction.

—

The Koco led him across an empty field into a treeline, making sure to avoid the large robot nearby. Finn didn’t want to scare off his little helpers, and certainly wasn’t feeling up to fighting such a large enemy. He still wasn't particularly fond of asking for help, even though he understood that it was necessary, and without a proper direction…

He didn't realize they brought him into a large field of brightly colored flowers until he almost tripped over them after they stopped. “What's here?” he asked them, and the one with the purple flower motioned him to a much larger Koco, with a mossy beard and wide smile.

Finn crossed his arms and tilted his head, extending a greeting to the Koco, a gruff hello, causing it to jump in surprise. “Oh hello!!” it chimed out, somehow both light, but deep. Finn’s eyes widened, “Oh, you speak English?” The large Koco hummed, “English? No I don't believe so. I speak only in the ancient languages, known only to us Koco. And yet you can understand me? How curious…”

“Curious indeed,” Finn said. “You are connected,” the Koco said, “I can feel it emanating off you. We all are connected, us Koco, but I've never met another like you who is. How is that?” The jackal could only shrug in response. “Ah well, no matter,” it said, turning towards Finn fully, "I am the local Elder for these little ones. Thank you for returning these lost members to me.”

Finn shrugged it off, playing it cool, “It's more like they led me to you. You see, one of my partners is stuck. They're trapped in a cage connected to a portal, but I can't seem to access it. I was able to do so previously thanks to the gears, but this one is already on, just not letting me in.”

“How odd…” the Elder said, “You resonate so strongly with the aura of Cyber Space that I was almost sure you were from there, and yet you cannot access the gateway?” Finn looked away for a moment, speaking quietly, “I've had a few run-ins with something similar before. I had grown very attached to its power source.” Quite literally, in fact, Finn noted, rubbing the scar along the center of his chest where the Ruby prototype was grafted.

“Hmm… perhaps this partner of yours is creating a mental block, of sorts. If they are truly connected with the portal, then they are able to influence the space around them slightly,” the Elder closed its hollow eyes, humming loudly, “Cyber Space is not a safe place for many being, even its creators. There are many defense mechanisms in place to guard what needs to be there, and to keep those out. Perhaps they have somehow tapped into these commands unknowingly.”

Finn placed a hand on his hip, scratching his chin, “How is that possible…? Barry's never interacted with a Phantom Ruby before, let alone have any power connected to it. Their DNA doesn't resonate with it like mine and Gadget's…” The Elder hopped over to Finn, chiming in reassurance, “Perhaps it's best not to think too hard on the why for now. I simply do not know myself, for I am not one of the creators. Their knowledge has not sung to me.”

It hummed again, “Perhaps my brother-in-arms might know. They are a Hermit, wandering the Digital Dream. Should you find them, rouse them awake with their favorite seeds. Lucidity will not last long, but it can be insightful.” Finn tilted his head and sighed, “Well, I'll keep a look out for him, I suppose.”

As he turned away to leave, the Elder caught his attention again, “If your partner is truly stuck between spaces, perhaps you need to remind them of happier times and calming moments. It is what I must do for these ones.” It looked down at the Koco, rolling around happily. Finn raised an eyebrow, and was about to ask what that meant when a large rumble struck the air, causing the ground to shake and the Koco to scatter away in fear.

“Oh dear…” the Elder said softly, “I'll need to find them again. I would ask for your assistance,” it paused as Finn materialized his sword, “but it appears you have some business to attend to. I will be here when you return.”

—

Finn nodded, and ran off in the direction of the noise, skidding to a stop in an empty field. The large robot was within eyesight, but it, too, seemed to be focused on the noise. Looking around, he had a moment of thinking “what was that?” before something slammed down in front of him and he was sent into the sky, along with several chunks of the land before him.

The ascent felt like slow motion, his mind unable to catch up with the action around him. What the FUCK had happened? Finally looking up, he noticed a familiar combo of red cubes manifesting into a form of some sort. “No…” Finn said softly. It couldn't be Infinite, he was gone… right? Been absorbed into the Ruby and then blown up. The form was near what he could only think of as a head to an absolutely giant robot, at least three times the size of the already giant one wandering the island normally.

The figure flicked an arm, and the robot roared to life again, swiping upwards, sending the small platform Finn was on rising again. He needed to get closer, but how? He had tried to learn how to homing attack before, but his lack of depth perception made it difficult for him to hit his target, even large ones, since he couldn't see them after the initial launch. He gripped his sword tight. Maybe…?

Because his sword was just a manifestation of his powers, he was able to guide it some against distant targets. It was still affected by the wind and gravity, making smaller targets a very literal case of hit-or-miss, but on larger targets, he often didn't have much problem, and he could easily dissipate it to bring it back to hand. Maybe if he could will himself to teleport over to it instead of it to him…

Teleportation was something he was able to do when he had full access to the Ruby’s powers with ease, but now it was something he found himself unable to do, but he wasn't sure if it was because he just didn't have enough power for it anymore (though he wondered about that, since he could still do it with his sword) or he was just mentally blocking himself from it.

Immediately, he could hear Barry asking him what he was so afraid of. Barry once told him that their anxiety wasn't anything more than just energy and movement, something for them to draw from. Finn wasn't wholly convinced of it, but maybe he could try? Maybe he could use his fear as movement, instead of inaction. He had always been someone who stalled on big decisions, rarely throwing caution to the wind unless necessary. Even as Infinite that was an issue that persisted (and greatly annoyed Eggman, something he found a form of entertainment in).

He breathed, focusing himself and on the buzz of what he was afraid of. Missing his target, of course, but also not being able to return. Teleportation brought him to Null Space for a moment, an area unbound to the normal laws of time and space, and he never liked lingering there for too long. It was hostile to anyone involved, even to him when he had his Ruby, but the space proved to be a highly effective means of transportation. But there was always that lingering fear he wouldn't make it back, even though he always did.

Setting his eye on a target, a rock falling just ahead of him, and he threw his sword at it. Instead of willing it back to him, he breathed quietly, letting the energy flow through him as he willed himself to the sword instead. The air changed, as it always did when he did this, but he didn't see Null Space this time, just a straight zip from one point to another. While he was happy that Barry’s advice seemed to have helped, he was also confused. That wasn't how it worked, but he had no time to dwell on it as the rocks kept falling.

He repeated the process several times, eventually making his way to the head and the figure floating near it. Warped static and cubes faded away to reveal… “A girl?” Finn said. She was small and slight, but buzzed with such a familiar energy, his eyes widening at the resonance. She must've been a construct of the Ruby.

Finn snarled, jumping off his vantage point and tossing his sword at her, watching as she effortlessly deflected it. “What the..? Who are you?!” Finn shouted at her. She looked at him coldly, but answered nothing. Instead, she flicked her hand, a flash of red coming from it. In an instant, he was grabbed by the titanic robot, unable to move in its tight grip.

The girl floated down towards him, and looked at him coldly, “Leave. Immediately.” Finn scoffed, “Bit hard to do that like this.” She gave him a shrug and a slight smirk, and flicked her hand again, and the titan reared back. “Oh fuck me…” Finn said, knowing what was next. The titan threw him with a great force clean towards the other side of the island, the weight of it all causing everything to go to black.

—

Sage watched as the jackal slammed into a few pillars, shattering them, before hitting the cliffside and dropping down. If he survived, a fate that her calculations did not support, he would certainly be in rough shape, and unable to continue for some time.

But still… That feeling… That resonance.

She knows he felt it too, she could see it in his eyes. She knows that he is connected to Null Space and the Phantom Ruby (a prototype, but still a Ruby nonetheless, and so a small amount of resonance was to be expected between herself, as a being made of Cyber Space, and him. But the amount that she felt… That was an incredible amount for someone who was reported to only have a small fraction of their original powers.

She needed to know more. She hoped he survived. The doctor will be furious if he did, but still.

With that thought, she and the titan disappeared, the robot returning to its resting place between the towers as Sage went to report the news to the doctor. She was certain he would be proud of her.

Despite wanting the jackal's continued survival for her own edification, she also wanted the doctor’s approval. It would fill her with such joy, were she capable of such a thing.

—

…

…

…

Finn was floating, but not falling. He knew that, he couldn't FEEL it, but he knew. If he was being honest, he couldn't feel ANYTHING, couldn't SEE or HEAR anything. It was darkness all around him. Was this the end? It wasn't how he remembered teetering on the edge before. That was bright violets and reds and static, he could hear and feel and sense.

This? This felt like nothing. Like slipping into sleep after a long night of restless anxiety. He could almost let himself slip away. He knew he had things to do, Barry and Gadget and…

But shit… The weight of everything was crashing down, crashing like he crashed through those pillars and into the cliffside, and all he wanted to do was sleep. He closed his eyes. Nothing changed.

…

…

…

“How pathetic.”

“Indeed. I was expecting more from the one called Infinite.”

Finn’s eyes snapped open, and a faint glimmer, the tiniest wisps of red and violet shone in the distance, cutting through the deep dark with its blinding light.

“Hey! Don't blame me. I'm not the weak one here, that's him.” A deep voice, scratchy and faint, but exuding poison. It was so familiar, so similar to his own voice…

“Hmm. You are one in the same, no? Thus his weakness is yours. You will expire with him.” This voice hummed through his entire body. Warped static, dipping up and down in pitch. He knew this voice…

“Tch. Just because we share the same body doesn't mean we're the same person! I'm nothing like him.” The deep voice was on the defensive. Finn noted it was getting louder. The lights coming closer. He could almost reach out and touch them…

“Hmm… How unfortunate that his life is one that must continue living. I require a vessel. One weak of heart and mind with a connection.” The warped voice hummed. Its description of his sent anger through his veins. He was not weak!

He tried to move, but every twitch made his bones ache and his muscles scream.

“Look at him struggle, how cute.”

“I have had quite enough of this for now. Time is of the essence and too long has passed already.”

Before Finn could even notice, the lights shot out towards him, and... SOMETHING connected to him, red static pulsing through it, connecting with him. He screamed in pain, howled in horror as static and cubes covered his body, clouding his senses. What was happening?

What…

was…

this…

…

Everything faded to red.

-------1-3 Digital Cave-------

Once again, Finn found himself falling, something he was getting quite tired of, slamming into the pristine white road with a loud thunk, his side aching in pain. Looking around, he could see he was in Metropolis again, where he finally overtook Infinite, if only for a moment, but the warping and static reminded him that this was just an illusion of the real thing.

But he didn't remember connecting to Cyber Space. All he could remember was…

He looked down at his chest. Moving aside the red neckerchief that covered the scars on his chest, he examined the largest and most central one. The one where the Ruby had been exploded off of him. It looked the same as it ever was, but Finn felt a sense of dread looking at it. As if there was something fundamentally different about it.

But there wasn’t, at least, not as far as he could see. So he left it be for now with some amount of unease.

Looking around again, he noticed that this wasn't an area of the grand city he knew. Cars flew around him, zipping by like static in the pink sky of Cyber Space dawn. There was only one road, leading into what appeared to be a large building.

With no other choice, Finn followed it. He walked into the building, materializing his sword to hand, but there were no enemies to greet his entrance, only winding roads and hallways that seemed to make no logical sense, and a large drop down into the digital city below.

Inspecting the paths from where he stood, Finn surmised that one path seemed to head down into the city, while another seemed to go up towards what he can only think of as the “roof” of this nonsense structure. Not wanting to drop into the abyss below, the jackal opted for the top route.

The lack of anything along the path was unnerving him. If Cyber Space and Null Space were the same, then it wouldn’t be like this space to be hospitable to visitors, even to ones who could control it. Sure, there were large gaps he could just barely cross, or enemies seeming standing around for him to use as a target to teleport to, but nothing was being outright hostile to him. It was bizarre and made his anxiety shoot up. Something simply wasn’t right.

Moving along, he was brought to a sudden halt as he hit a dead end, nothing but what looked like a giant switch in front of him. Touching it did nothing, nor did attacking it. He tried to jump on top of it, but couldn't quite make it. The jackal huffed, his annoyance rising.

“Maybe I could try Cylooping it..?” he thought aloud. There wasn’t much else he could do, he supposed. He shrugged, running around it, leaving behind the familiar trail of red static. Images of a flash of red static in the dark hit him, but he shook it off as he felt the updraft form, the giant switch clicking into place, but nothing seemed to be happening. Was it just a dud?

And then he felt himself moving, running. Faster and faster up the high wall towards the pink sky, and he couldn't make himself stop! What had happened? Anxiety and fear gripped him, but Barry’s voice rang in his ears once again. “What are you so afraid of, Finn?” He could just see the quokka asking it with a smile. Not their usual calm, customer service smile, but the real deal. Barry's real smile was so fucking bright, and it filled him with such joy to see it.

And so he willed himself to run faster, for Barry. He knew what would happen, it appeared to him in a dream. He hit the barrier on the rooftop, plummeting into the digital city below, damn near dropping dead center into the portal under the ocean of static at the bottom.