Sonic GeneX - Infinite Crisis
Part 5 - End of Resistance

Sonic Forces & all related characters, scenarios and elements are (c) SEGA and Sonic Team.
GeneX and related characters belong to 2BIT.

The lyrics to Fist Bump, and really practically all lyrics ever used in my stories to date, were not written by me. Credit goes to the talented songwriters and musicians who contribute to the works I borrow said songs from.

Previously on Sonic GeneX - Infinite Crisis...
The final fight began at the Eggman Empire Fortress. Dr. Eggman revealed his plan for the Phantom Ruby to project an artificial sun to incinerate all his enemies at once! But Felicia's gemstone turned out to be a Phantom Ruby Prototype, which she could use to stop the sun.
Shadow Chaos emerged from the Master Emerald, bent on fighting Infinite. Meanwhile, Cancer, Aries and Scorpio arrived to interfere in the battle. Gemini tried to talk sense into Copter/Aries, but he wouldn't listen to her.
After the sun was stopped, the hero forces went to press their advantage. Eggman still had a trump card, however; He was keeping the Robians hostage in his tower. If the Freedom Fighters try to stop him, he'd blow it up and kill them all. However, he needs to recover the Phantom Ruby first, so there's time to disarm the tower's self-destruct!
Sonic & Felicia defeated Infinite, and Eggman declared to them that his plan was going into overtime. The final battle had now truly begun!
Now, on to the next chapter...

"Don't give up until we see the dawn.
Together we'll bring back our home.
Trust in those we stand beside.
Believe that we can win this war." - Imperial Tower, Sonic Forces

"The Phantom Ruby's signal is moving underground!" Tails reported via comms, "Eggman is up to something!" Felicia nodded as she looked around the front entrance to the tower. Classic Sonic was busy looking for a proper entrance. The wolf suddenly heard another voice come over the comms, and she switched frequencies to hear him better. "Hey! Kid! I gotta warn yer group!" it was Uncle Chuck. "What is it? We're trying to catch that rotten egg over here." she said. "Eggman's got the tower rigged to blow. If he gets to the Phantom Ruby and we can't disarm the self-destruct, it'll get real hot in there real fast!" he warned. Sonic was nearby, listening on the same frequency. "No problem, Unc. We've come this far. I know you'll get the self destruct disarmed! ...But I could send Tails if you think you need him?" he asked. Chuck chuckled. "Nah, I think we got a general idea how to pull this off... There's plenty of smart folks on our end, sonny. I think you need your smart guy there." he said. "Hey! I'm smart!" Felicia quipped, sharing a giggle with the trio. On Chuck's end, the Freedom Fighters were making their way into the back entrance of the tower, but they found a surprise waiting for them: the doctor's regular, non-phantom army was lying in wait! "Sacre bleu!" Antoine exclaimed. "I wondered where Tubby's normal robots were all this time..." Rainbow gasped. "Can I switch sides now?" Spiny asked. "If y'all wanna be a robot!" Bunnie told him. Sally breathed hard. "Okay! Plan's unchanged! You've all been given your roles; just do a little fighting on the way!" she ordered.


Gemini had lost track of Copter when the sun disappeared. She and Timothy were ready to put their magic to use in the tower, but Cancer caught up to them. "You two would probably be a great asset to the Resistance here... So we'll delay you." he smirked. Jolt suddenly jumped into their path, his eyes glowing a weird pink color. Aries and Scorpio joined in, cutting off their escape. "Don't bother teleporting. Divine masters can track such parlor tricks." Cancer sneered. Gemini looked at him in surprise. "You're... a Divine Master?" she stammered. Just then, bolts from Sagittarius' bow shot amongst the group, scattering them! He was joined by the Deathbringer, as well as Capricorn the divine ferret. "Cease and desist meddling with the timeline, Cancer!" Capricorn shouted. Jolt stepped in front of the vulture. "Negotiate with my friend here. Or do you have qualms about destroying a bot not meant to be destroyed yet?" he smirked, "But I'm glad to finally have your attention, Capricorn!" Not far away, Ridley and Tommy noticed Sagittarius' arrival. "Razor!" Ridley gasped. They nodded to each other and ran over, but they were too late, a battle was already unfolding. Razor and Copter began exchanging shots, while Scorpio and the Deathbringer began a tense battle of their own. Capricorn was busy trying to get around Jolt, whose lightning was keeping her at bay. "Copter, stop!!" Gemini cried. "Brother! Don't! We-we're all friends now!" Tommy shouted. Aries and Sagittarius didn't listen, and continued fighting anyway. Ridley created a ball of water in his hand. "There may be only one way to break this up, Tom... You with me?" he asked. Tommy clutched his Wispon. The Freedom Fighters were down a few members for their bomb-disarming mission, but Sally didn't let it deter them. "Don't stop for anything! Press onward!! Don't let Eggman win this war!!" she cried out. And so, the fights began...

"No looking back.
Till we're done, we're on the attack!"

Kosmo and Punchy led the charge into the tower, Kosmo barreling through enemies in the form of a raging elephant! Punchy slowed down his Chaos Boots upon running into Terra and Firma again. "Chaos Avalanche!!" he cried, crumbling the ground beneath them a little to trap them while Kosmo charged into them, knocking them clear across the room! "Nice teamwork!" the morph grinned.

"Full speed ahead!
Running to the sunset!"

The Babylon Rogues flew about, finding a set of explosive charges, which Wave set to work disarming. Jet and Storm began to get overwhelmed as electro Spinners and Orbinauts came after them, but Zeke and Dulcy soon joined them, burning and blowing away the bots respectively. "Don't mess with dragons, Eggman!" Dulcy laughed. "I miss racing..." Jet sighed.

"Such a different feeling,
Both of us believing,
We can make it better!"

Antoine and Bunnie found another set of explosives. Bunnie pulled open a metal hatch with her robo-arm while Ant tried to disarm it nervously. She gulped as Alpha approached them with a batch of Egg Pawns. "S-sugar..." she gulped. However, a few Chaos Gauntlet blasts took out the Pawns as Shade sped by, and Bark the polar bear tackled Alpha away as well. As Antoine sat up with a sigh of relief, Bunnie snatched him up and kissed him. "Life's too short, sugar-twan..." she sighed.

"Together we can show the world what we can do!
You are next to me and I'm next to you;
Pushing on through until the battle's won!"

Ridley attacked Aries with Chaos Splatter while Tommy pulled away Sagittarius with a lash of his lightning whip! In the meantime, Gemini and Timothy stood back to back, firing their wands at Motobugs and Eggrobos to keep them away!

"No one’s gonna give a thing to us.
Into each other we put our trust.
Standing united, after the fight is done!"

Vortex and Zipp were on the front lines of combat, bullets and Chaos Inferno lasers piercing through robots as they made their way through the tower. "My helmet's picking up some bombs! Let's get 'em, 'Tex!" Zipp smirked. The chameleon would use his smarts to do quick work disarming them.

"It's a brand new day!
We have turned the page!"

Sally was coordinating the mission via comms and with Nicole's help scanning the tower. She herself managed to arrive at a set of bombs at the center of the base, and plugged in Nicole to disarm them, but Robians surrounded her! Fortunately, Lucky had joined her. He fired his special Wispon, curing any that got too close! "Looks like you're earning your wings with that Wispon, kid!" she smiled.

"Never knew how much I needed
Somebody to help me this way!"

Spiny ran through the base, smashing bot after bot with Chaos Spears. Suddenly, his progress was stopped when his feet were frozen by Freeze the Gizoid. Conan suddenly landed and fired his own Chaos Spear from his sword, repelling him. "...My spears are still better." Spiny pouted.

"All alone, we will never be.
The two, of us, are holding the key.
We see, today, a world we couldn't see."

Rainbow used a drill Wispon to tear through a wall, revealing a room full of hostages awaiting robotisization. "Oh, gosh! Get outta here, guys!" she cried. Kikis landed to stop them, but Illusi arrived, sending a wave of Wrongos to distract them. "...Good thinking, Rainbow. Let's get them to safety!"

"Before I say goodbye to you,
One more last fist bump!"

Guard and Heather came to blows with Metal Sonic at the site of the final set of bombs. "The world is ours! Sonic was defeated! You will not take this from me!!" Metal roared. "Grrr... You were better without your voice chip!" Guard snapped, smacking him with his scythe while Heather knocked him away with a fireball. She then created a shell of fire around the bomb. "I think I can contain the blast..." she said. Guard nodded, and shot a beam from his scythe, detonating the bomb! The blast was contained in the flame shell, and after that, the teams of two each shared collective fist bumps to celebrate their victories... Even Aries and Sagittarius were worn out at this point, between fighting each other and their friends.

While the Freedom Fighters were busy regrouping to determine their next move, Sonic and Felicia had successfully taken out the tower's reactor. With his robot army defeated as well, Sonic, Tails, Classic Sonic and Felicia met to celebrate. "We did it! Eggman's army is officially butt-kicked! We won!" Sonic said, going to fist bump Felicia only to have it interrupted by the ground shaking. "Oh, come on! Now what? Can't we ever just win and have that be the end of it?!" Sonic complained. In fact, they had far from won. As the Freedom Fighters exited the tower, they found a larger force than ever waiting for them! "What the!?" Punchy gasped. "Th-this is imposible!!" Antoine gulped. "Mephiles, Kosmo, Dark Punchy, Shadow..." Heather murmured. "Metal Sonic, regular Chaos, Firepaw, that Zeti..." Ridley mumbled. "...and Infinite! Multiples of Infinite!?" Kosmo gasped. It wasn't looking good, and on Sonic's end, Eggman had re-emerged with a nightmarish new machine. "Gotcha! The fortress reactor was just a decoy! A true winner always keeps his trump card hidden until the end!" the doctor crowed. The Resistance called in to inform Sonic of the situation with the increase in enemies, thousands now manifested, and Sonic looked up angrily at the doctor. "What have you done!?" he snapped. "Heh ha ha ha! I merely incorporated the Phantom Ruby into this Death Egg Robot!" Eggman announced. "...When did he have the time?" Felicia murmured. Tails looked deeply concerned. "But...that means the Phantom Ruby no longer has a vulnerable energy supply. It's an invulnerable ruby?" he said with shock. Eggman stroked his mustache with confidence. "A good deduction, Tails. This Death Egg Robot has- No, I have surpassed Infinite to become the complete and ultimate form!" he declared, "You will be crushed by this Death Egg Robot powered by the Phantom Ruby, and in the end everything will still be exactly as I planned!!" he bellowed, breaking out in maniacal laughter before activating the Phantom Ruby to intimidate the heroes. However, Sonic stood up to him. "Your plan will end like all your plans do: With you sitting in a pile of busted robot parts wondering how you failed SO badly!" he taunted as Classic Sonic and Felicia stepped forward. "Let's get 'em." Sonic told them, and with nods of agreement, the trio went to face Eggman in a final confrontation. Tails watched, a twinge of fear in his eyes. What if they couldn't do it? What if they needed him, and he failed again? He gulped and got out his tablet. "I can't join them, but I'll see if there's any last intel I can give..." he thought. It appeared Eggman was overclocking the Phantom Ruby...


Seeing Eggman's massive force arrive, Cancer started to fly away from Capricorn. "I think I've made my point. We'll be in touch again, soon." he said as he took his leave, resulting in Jolt shaking off his control and looking very confused. Scorpio and Aries leapt into the air as well, vanishing into a pair of portals that appeared above them. "No... I've lost Copter again..." Gemini sighed. It was no time to get sad, though. Capricorn's group stood beside her as Robians started emerging from the tower. "Be on your guard..." she said, "And Gemini... Our council will be having words with you soon." she added sternly. As a Zavok duplicate charged at Sally, the real Zavok suddenly leapt in front of her, beating it into the ground! "I've had enough of these phonies! Come, fellow Zeti! The moment of our revenge is now!" he bellowed as the other Zeti ran into the fray! The battles quickly became fierce, but on the outskirts stood Uncle Chuck, Dr. Nammad and Rotor on crutches. Bucky ran up to join them as well. "How's the de-robotisizer coming!?" he shouted. "Well, uh, we can't exactly perform a test run." Nammad shrugged. Bucky turned and shot lightning as a Metal Sonic and Deathbringer copy flew too close to them. "Whatever! Can we convert it into a mass de-robotisizer!? Like, NOW!?" he snapped. Rotor grunted. "Maybe if I wasn't on crutches." he grumbled. Chuck nodded. "Those Robians are one army too many. We got to give it a shot! We're four of the smartest guys I know, so we oughta be able to pull it off!" he encouraged them. "Someone has a, uh, high opinion of himself." Nammad said smugly. Bucky fired a jolt in his general direction. "Behave, Ivan. We're working together again, just like old times..." he grumbled, none too happy about it. Rotor nodded. "Okay... let's get started then..." he said awkwardly.

Punchy, Conan and Shade were the first to rush out into battle, their Chaos Relics filling them with confidence. As Tommy and Ridley fled out of the tower along with Gemini and Timothy, they noticed Tails and Knuckles get cornered by Chaos and Shadow copies. Fortunately, Shadow Chaos was furious, and jumped in to fight Chaos. "Tails!!" Tommy shouted, lashing his Wispon whip at a Metal Sonic as it approached. "What are you doing!? You've got the Chaos Tailbands, don't you!?" he called. Tails reached for them nervously. "And didn't you win something, too, Knuckles?" Ridley added. Knuckles had the Chaos Claws in his possession. He punched aside Shadow and scoffed. "I'm tough enough to handle this on my own! ...Well, I hope. The Chaos Claws are cursed, I don't wanna get them stuck on me..." he explained. Tails nodded, and decided to slip on just one of the tailbands. "If Copter can handle one, so can I! Take THIS!!" he yelled, smashing a Zavok copy with a tail whip as it came at him! "Dang! Where were you those months before we saved Sonic!?" Knuckles stammered. "...Oh, here and there..." Tails murmured. The other forces were taking the fight to the copies, too, but it was dangerous. Even with the Phantom Ruby producing so many copies, they were still similar in power to their actual selves, only perhaps more breakable. This made the Deathbringer a foe to be avoided, as any rookie who dared face her found out too late. Cream instead focused on pushing back the Robians, directing Cheese and Chocola to carefully knock them back. Her mother, Bill the hedgehog, and Gator helped as well using weak standard Wispons to keep pressure on them. "I think I miss watching TV in the bunker..." Gator sighed. Big the cat snuck up on and flattened some Firepaw duplicates. "Sorry pal... Hey, where'd you go!?" he muttered. Dave and Cosmo fired lasers from either side of a Kosmo duplicate, then kept shooting as another came at them. "Ow!! Hey!! Stop it, I'm real!!" Kosmo shouted. "Sorry!! How was I supposed to know?" Dave whined. Talon teamed up with Carrie to battle a Mephiles copy, Talon distracting him until Carrie got close enough to psychically grab him and throw him away! "Aw, yeah! Glad to have ya back, sis!" Talon cheered. "Where was I, anyway?" Carrie wondered, scratching her head. Punchy faced off against Dark Punchy for a moment, running circles around him with his Chaos Boots. "What's wrong? Didn't get copied with this little skill?" he teased, only to get tripped up when Dark Punchy used Chaos Avalanche to put rocks in his path! However, Rainbow arrived to take him out with her drill Wispon. "I hate Dark One so much!" she cried. Punchy shrugged. "Just remember, you're marrying me!" he chuckled, rubbing his head a little.

Despite the battle going well in some places, Infinite's force was quite the terror. Between duplicates of Infinite and the Deathbringer, the Freedom Fighters and the Resistance began getting pushed back. Gunner and his agents approached the edge of the battlefield after having ditched the GUN Assault Carrier, and Spy was quick to hide behind his boss. "Yes, for once I might agree, Spy. It may be prudent to hang back and see what happens." Gunner stated. Drol was less inclined to do so. "That's treason! I didn't bring the Assault Carrier here to just watch our forces fall! As GUN's Noble Knight, I shall fight to the last!" he declared, pulling a gun from its holster and charging to battle. He soon found Antoine and Bunnie pinned down by a Deathbringer. "I-I shall protect you, Bunnie!" Ant cried, finally managing to fire his Wispon, only for the Deathbringer to block it with her wings. "Oh no!" he yelped as she charged a killing shot! Drol jumped between them, firing his gun at the hooded phantom, but not before her shot fired! Though the Deathbringer faded, Drol fell backward as well, mortally wounded by her blast. "Mah stars... I-I don't even know who that was..." Bunnie gasped, sniffling a little. Antoine steadied his shooting hand. "We shall not allow zis sacrifice to be in vain! Charge!!" he cried, rushing forward with Bunnie.

One Infinite among the duplicates was more conscious than the others. And he didn't bother fighting, initially. "If Sonic isn't here, why should I dirty my hands? They could all challenge me at once. The hedgehog is wrong. The bonds of friendship are weak. It's something about him... How did he defeat me?? Was it him...and her?" he questioned. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that one Deathbringer was fighting against the others. "Well, it seems the real deal is out there. The morph and the Zeti were both unimpressive. But one called the Deathbringer? I wonder if you live up to such a fearsome moniker?" He then sped over to the Deathbringer in a blink of an eye and began to engage her in hand to hand combat. Not far away, Gemini was busy zapping Kosmo, Firepaw and Chaos duplicates with Timothy's help. She noticed Infinite fighting the Deathbringer, the two seeming evenly matched for the moment. "I wonder if that one's a Divine Master, too... He came with the ferret lady..." Gemini murmured. "I don't think now's the best time to wonder!" Timothy stammered, exchanging blows with Mephiles. Suddenly, Infinite began to gain the upper hand, knocking the Deathbringer back and causing her hood to start to fly off! Gemini watched, and everything seemed to switch to slow motion as she saw the familiar light blue ears, and the fennec-shaped head. The Deathbringer stumbled back, and Gemini got a clearer view. "...No...it can't be...H-how can it be!?" Gemini stammered. The Deathbringer was the very one she'd spent the past year searching for. It was Libra the fennec! The hood quickly came back on, but Infinite laughed at seeing her face. "I see why you keep that covered. Such a fluffy, cute face is far from intimidating. Now I see your true nature...hiding your weakness...trying to be something you're not." he mocked. "Hmph... I believe that's YOUR true nature, Infinite!" the Deathbringer snapped.

Infinite activated the Phantom Ruby to produce a glowing sword in his hand. "I think I'll kill you the old fashioned way..." he said. Gemini was quick to run between them now that she knew who the Deathbringer was, though. "Solare!!" She fired a powerful beam from her wand that Infinite held back with his sword. "Oh, you have magic, girl? Allow me to show you MY magic!" Infinite sneered, using the Ruby's power to summon dozens...hundreds more of himself! "The real phantom ruby is inside the Death Egg Robot now. But... in duplicating me... Eggman has duplicated IT! We can't be stopped!" he stated. Gemini turned to the Deathbringer. "Libra... why?" she murmured. The Deathbringer looked at the ground, and Infinite looked bored. "You can work out your feelings in the next world..." he stated. "Oh, look! It's the over-compensation squad! What do all of you look like under that mask, a bunch of sad clowns?!" Looking to see who would dare talk about him like that, Infinite found Kosmo flying over in gargoyle form before landing in his normal form. "If it takes 'infinite' of you to beat a little girl, I think you've gone soft these eight months!" he taunted. Guard and Heather had fought their way to Infinite as well. "Grrr!! Your fakes killed Sergeant Drol!" he snarled. "And I'm ironically siding with the person who killed me the other day. But that's war!" Heather shrugged. Tails and Knuckles hurried over, too. "We'll help even the odds!" Knuckles said. "W-we can do this!" Tails added shakily. Infinite laughed at him. "No prophecy-monger will save you this time, fox boy. Are you prepared to die?" he said darkly. Sally joined the growing opposition as well, firing a blast from the hover Wispon she was carrying. "You won't win, Infinite! We'll defeat you and Eggman, and save our robotisized friends!" she shouted. "Your robotisized friends were merely a diversion while our true plan gained momentum. They have no further use, and they will die with the rest of you. The only question... Which of you to obliterate first? I could end you all at once, but I want to savor this moment..." he said, cackling at them.

Knuckles turned on his comms to give Sonic a final pep talk. "End this, Sonic! Defeat him!" Wherever Amy was, she added "Go for it, Sonic!" Little did they realize, Sonic, Classic Sonic and Felicia had been drawn into Null Space with the machine within the Death Egg Robot's armor. They sped after it together, beginning a climactic final battle. Outside, Sally fired another shot from her Wispon at Infinite. "Fool! That toy doesn't affect me!" he sneered. "We'll find something that does, then!" Sally said defiantly. Infinite glared at her. "Your resistance...All of your fighting...It has annoyed me for the last time!" he said, and before anyone could react, fired a beam from his hand that pierced Sally's chest! "N-NOOOOO!!" Tails cried, running furiously at Infinite only to have him fly down and smack him onto his back with his tail. "So eager to join her..." Infinite snarled. Knuckles and Gemini stood in shock at what they'd seen, but ran over to try and help Sally. "Recoveration!!" Gemini shouted, trying to save her with magic. Sally didn't move, and didn't heal. "D-damn you, Infinite!!" Knuckles snapped. Kosmo and Heather ran to Tails' side, Heather's flames pushing Infinite back! "Fire! You remind me of Anubis. I think I'll give the three of you a special burial, to show how sick you make me..." he said, floating up and extending his hand. Guard flew after him, slashing his scythe at the deranged jackal. "GRRRR!! You won't kill any more!!" he shouted. "How will you stop me when you're dead!?" Infinite snapped, grabbing Guard's chest with his other hand! "Garen!!" Heather cried, only to watch as a hole got blown in Guard's chest as well, and his body tossed into the distance. "We'll finish this...in Null Space!" Infinite said, creating a hole and flying into it as Tails, Heather and Kosmo all got sucked in! "Oh, god... Wh-what do we do?" Gemini stammered as Timothy approached to embrace her. "We... We don't give up!" Knuckles huffed, "You can make it, Tails... Please, make it..." he murmured.

As Tails stood up, he saw Kosmo exchanging blows with Infinite's sword, his own arm morphed into a blade to counter it. Heather was leaning over him, steam coming from her as she cried. "H-he killed Guard... He was my...friend..." she sniffled. Tails stood up shakily. "Mine too, sorta... We can't let him get away with this..." he whimpered. Heather nodded. "I didn't want to be a weapon...but now...I will fight to end this!" she said, flames surrounding her body. Tails took out his second tailband, looking up at where Kosmo and Infinite were fighting. "I can't do it alone...but I'm not alone." he touched his heart, and looked up with determination, "No, I'm never alone! I forgot for a while, but seeing what the resistance pulled off... seeing Cream come to our aid... even getting help from the other Sonic... I know now. Even if we're separated, something always connects us. And if I keep these positive feelings in my heart..." he said, slipping on the second tailband. No further words were needed as his body began to glow golden, super energy coursing through him! "This is no time for heartfelt speeches, Tails!!" Kosmo shouted as Infinite hurled him across Null Space. "What's this?! Your so-called friends have given you power?? Impossible! IMPOSSIBLE!! I will show you that this power is naught but an illusion!!" Infinite shouted, charging at Tails! To keep Heather and Kosmo occupied, he created a seemingly endless supply of duplicates of himself. However, they were disposable. Kosmo turned into his dragon-like Kosmogon form to burn through them, while Heather followed along beside him, burning the others in her own way! Tails charged back into Infinite, whipping him with his tails and knocking him back. "You're stronger than I imagined possible, but you cannot win!" Infinite stated, virtual reality shifting around him until he became a giant! He tried to stomp Tails, but the fox flew around him and smacked into his eye! "I don't have to overpower you... Just out-think you!" he said. Kosmo slammed into the other side of his mask, and Infinite latched on to it. "Don't you dare! Beyond this mask is a dead being. The old me was weak, undeserving of life. I am reborn. I am INFINITE!!" he cried. "You are messed up!" Heather retorted, leaping up and throwing fireballs at him. He swatted her away with his other hand, and Tails flew over to catch her. "I have a plan... His weakness is his strength. The Phantom Ruby! But we have to attack it together!" he said. Infinite clapped his giant hands, the shockwave sending all three away. "Fools. I can just snap my fingers and alter reality to finish you. In fact, why don't I do that?" he said, raising his hand. "Now!!" Tails cried. Infinite snapped his hand, and the Phantom Ruby started to activate. Tails and Kosmo soared towards Infinite's chest while he stood, occupied with channeling the Ruby's energy. Tails tossed Heather onto Kosmo's back. "This is for robotisizing Carrie!" Kosmo growled. "And killing Guard!" Heather shouted. "And taking Sonic from us...TAKE THIS!!" Heather jumped into Kosmo's arms, and he tossed her at Infinite, her body engulfed in flames as she soared at him! Kosmo also added his Kosmos beams, shooting above Heather to strike a different point on the enlarged Phantom Ruby. Tails charged in as well, beside Heather. Their speed combined to form a Double Boost, and as they struck the Phantom Ruby, it shattered! "N-nooo!! It's not...possible!!" Infinite roared as his virtual reality powers faded away. Elsewhere in Null Space, Sonic, Classic Sonic and Felicia teamed up for their own final move. "TRIPLE BOOST!!" They smashed through Eggman's robot, ending his Eggman Empire at last!

The two trios emerged from Null Space together, just in time to watch as the illusions all began to fade. The Phantom Rubies were gone, it seemed. "All right! We won!" Knuckles cheered, reuniting with his Resistance in time to hear a collective cheer from them. The survivors helped out the wounded and celebrated Eggman's defeat, but the party couldn't last forever. After many of the rookies left the battlefield, Sonic, Tails, Felicia, Knuckles, Silver, Amy, Team Chaotix, Rouge, Shadow and Omega realized they had to say goodbye to Classic Sonic, who'd only been able to arrive due to the Phantom Ruby. "I guess this is goodbye." Tails said sadly as Classic Sonic started to fade, "Get home safely, Sonic." he told him, shaking his hand, "And thanks for everything!" Tails managed to share a fist bump with Classic Sonic before he faded away, but he was still sad to see him go. Sonic placed a hand on his shoulder. "Cheer up, Tails. I'm sure we'll run into him again. Whichever of me he was." Sonic stated. He'd thought it was his past self upon meeting him, but now he wasn't so sure. "Alright, guys!" Sonic said, turning to the group, "It's time we cleaned up the mess that Eggman left this world in! And I'm not talking about those illusions he dreamed up for us! We need to fix the real world we all live in!" he announced as everyone nodded. "True dat!" Tails said to Felicia. "...Why are you talking like that to me?" she asked, finding it jarring to hear him speak that way. "C'mon, let's go!" Sonic said, as everyone chimed in with agreement.

The Freedom Fighters were nearby as well. They'd faced the heaviest losses, and their post-celebration moments were a bit more somber. Heather and Gemini stood over Guard's body sadly, thinking about burying him, when Gunner and Dr. Nammad approached. "I knew showing him that his little girlfriend was a robot would impassion him. Pitiful." Gunner smirked. Heather stood up with her fists raised, but Nammad raised a hand to stop her. "Easy! You didn't, uh, think he was dead-dead, did you?" he asked. "That's...exactly what we thought." Gemini said. "Come on, freaks. We keep saying he's an android! He can be repaired! ...He can be repaired, right?" Gunner asked. Nammad nodded. "Not sure he'll, uh, be happy that we didn't find his girlfriend in the tower, but he'll live again." he stated. There were, in fact, a number of people still missing after the battle, such as Libra, who'd vanished along with Capricorn and Sagittarius/Razor. Vortex and Zipp were also disappointed to find that Crash was not anywhere around, either. "Eggman must've moved some Robians to another location as insurance. Think they're dead now?" Zipp wondered. "No... But where ssstasssh them?" Vortex hissed. Nearby them, Rotor and Uncle Chuck were unveiling their mass de-robotisizer: a Mega Wispon on wheels. Bunnie and Uncle Chuck stood in the path of the beam, where a large quantity of Robians were held in a series of capsules. Not humane exactly, but it was the most convenient way to restrain them available. The beam fired, and in a moment, Bunnie and Chuck were flesh again, and they went to work freeing the others within the capsules, including Sally's father, who was devastated to learn of his daughter's fate. "Sally... No... She died trying to save me? I-I don't know if I can go on!" he said, stumbling to his knees. Antoine, Chuck and Bunnie watched, unable to say anything to console him. "She was a hero." Bucky said, "You would be proud of her." As everyone was preparing to leave the Eggman Empire Fortress, Cream caught up to Tails. "So... we did it." she said. "Yup..." Tails sighed, looking at her awkwardly, "I-I'm sorry Cream... I wasn't thinking straight..." he told her. Cream frowned. "When you locked us up? No, I think you were thinking straight. You were too afraid of losing me. That's kind of the problem. Tails... I don't want to lose you either. It's not fair of you to protect me if I don't get to protect you." she said. Tails nodded. "I... I understand... I think..." he said. Cream sniffled a bit. "It hurt, Tails. Being separated like that for months. Thinking you might be gone... I- I don't think... I can be your girlfriend for a while..." she stammered. Tears formed in Tails' eyes as he heard this, but he nodded. "I deserve that..." he sighed. "I still care for you, Tails, but... I... I need to..." she murmured. "Work things out? ...Maybe I do, too. It's okay, Cream." he said, accepting a hug from her. And just like that, they went their separate ways. They were back to just being friends again.

Sally's body went missing during the cleanup after the battle. Despite her father's urging to find it, the body was no longer in their time. "Strong-willed chipmunk... Hero and champion of freedom... Your time is not yet done." a voice stated, standing over her body in a dark room. "I bestow upon you a divine rebirth... Awaken to your new life and your new name!!" Light surrounded Sally's body, enveloping her and illuminating the owner of the voice. The Mobian had the head of a serpent, but arms and legs bound in armor. He wore a hood, and had broad golden wings. Sally herself was growing white wings as her body was being restored. As her eyes opened, the serpent spoke her new name. "Virgo... Rise!" She stood, looking around. "You are confused. Do not worry. I am Ophiuchus... your new master!" he stated as Capricorn, Libra and Sagittarius stepped out of the shadows. "Welcome... to the Zodiac Council!"

Back at Resistance HQ, everyone was resting and thinking about what was next. Knuckles walked in with a look of relief. "Finally, an end to this endless battle. Everyone can go back home and relax... And I can get that Master Emerald home, too. I dunno who gave Sally permission to take it, but, eh, can't yell at her..." he mumbled, "Anyway, there's no more need for the Resistance." he said. Silver hopped off a crate he was sitting on. "Hold on, there's still a lot we need to do! We're just getting started!" he stated. "Shouldn't you be extra eager to get home, future boy?" Rouge mumbled as Felicia whispered something to Knuckles. "What? You're leaving us? There are others who need your help!" Knuckles stammered, "But, okay, I'm not gonna stop you." he sighed. Felicia smiled at him. "I'm sure you'll do fine." she said. "Man, the first time I saw you stumbling around, I had no idea you could pull this thing together and see it to the end!" Vector commented, patting her on the back, "I've changed my mind about you!" he grinned. "...He still doesn't know who she is?" Amy murmured. "Not a clue." Silver shrugged. "Some detective." Amy sighed. Felicia looked awkward about Vector's words, but Knuckles was reassuring her until Rouge pushed him aside. "You did good out there. It's not like you just waited till the last minute to come in and act all cool saving the day!" she said, dodging a smack from Omega and slyly winking at Shadow. "Our battle is done." Tails said, stepping up to address the group, "And our Resistance has come to a conclusion, but we'll be friends forever! A single person cannot restore the entire world. We have to work together and make a diligent effort!" he said as everyone agreed. "You've grown a bit through this, huh, Tails?" Knuckles smiled. "You're better at speeches than Knuckles. Maybe you be commander next time?" Charmy asked. "Gah! We don't want there to be a next time, Charmy!!" Espio said in exasperation.

Felicia found Sonic outside as she was heading out. "Hey, you takin' off too? I was thinking the same thing." Sonic smiled. Felicia stood beside him, glancing at him. "You gonna keep movin' forward? No matter what, yeah?" Sonic said, looking at her. "Heh, you and I aren't so different." he said, making her blush a little. "That might be laying it on thick, but thanks, Sonic." she chuckled. Sonic nodded. "See you later, buddy!" he said, giving her a last fist bump before taking off, giving her a thumbs up as she waved to him. Felicia looked out over the horizon, and then down at the Chaos Cards in her hands. "Back to Central City for me... Gotta find my friends." she smiled, a light frown coming to her face next, "I still don't know the full story of my past... but that's an adventure for another day!" she said, leaping from the nearby ledge and throwing her grappling hook to carry her on her way!

The reconstruction of the world would take time. Hearts may take longer to mend from the wounds suffered during Eggman's war. Heather was there to meet Guard upon his rebooting, and she promised to help her now-friend find Mia and restore her from robotisization. Illusi returned the Chaos Crystal to Rainbow, but she, Punchy, Gemini and Timothy had no immediate place to go. It was then Kosmo caught up to them, and offered to show them a new place to stay, since Darkegg Fortress was no longer safe. Ridley decided to keep Tommy company while Razor was off being Sagittarius, the two of them determined to find him again one day. Tommy convinced Ridley to put on his uniform again and return to police work, as they all had to move forward with or without him. Gunner put out a call to any surviving GUN agents, hoping to rebuild the organization from its ashes. Bucky took in any of his Experiments that needed homes, and got Shadow Arcangel back up and running with Vortex and Zipp's help. Crash's absence left a darkness hanging over their lives. Lucky, however, was glad for the return to peace. Overall, everyone was returning to their old lives as best they could...

The Freedom Fighters that started it all met in Spagonia, near AcornCorp's International HQ, to hold a funeral for their fallen leader. Sonic brought out Uncle Chuck for the occasion, and they all dressed in black, as appropriate. Knuckles attended the funeral as well, as did Shade and a few members of the Freedom Fighters who joined later and deeply respected her. Antoine held Bunnie to comfort her as she held Nicole, the computer having been willed to the rabbit. Rotor's foot had been healed, but he sniffled sadly remembering his lost friend and commander. Max Acorn was devastated throughout the ceremony. Chuck stood up to give the eulogy once everyone was gathered. "...Sally...wasn't exactly a general. Not when I first knew her. I knew her as a young girl. Bright mind. Bright future... There was always a light inside her, and she used that light to brighten up people's lives. When she saw injustice in the world, she wouldn't sit there and let it happen. She stood up, defiant, and fought for freedom and goodness. Our Sally... Our Princess Sally died for those ideals... And for all of us. I... I miss her every day..." he said, fighting not to break down crying and failing. Sonic stepped up and hugged his uncle. "I wish I'd known her better... I think we'd have hit it off..." he sighed.

There was another guest at the funeral, hanging in the shadows. Gemini, who stood as though expecting something. "...Capricorn said she'd have words with me..." she murmured. Timothy stood beside her. "I'm sorry. It's my fault you're in trouble..." he sighed. Gemini shook her head. "I don't care. I'd do it again... I WILL do it again." she stated. Timothy shivered. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Sally was so noble. And she was right. When injustice happens, we do not back down and let terrible people have their way! I can't let Lospecter use you as leverage! I can't let Cancer manipulate Copter! I can't let Libra be twisted into being a killer!" she said defiantly. Timothy looked at her nervously. "What are you gonna do? You can't take on the Divine Masters! That's insane!" he stammered. Gemini nodded. "I have to think of something, though! Will... will you help me?" she asked, not sure what he'd say. Timothy took his hands in his. "Gem... You've grown so much since we separated in the future... I think I'm now LESS experienced than you...but I'll do my best to help!" he smiled.

The crisis caused by Infinite was over. However, new adventures awaited just around the corner. No one knew what would happen next, but through teamwork and sacrifice, hope had been restored to the world!

"So much has happened, it's hard to bear.
Shadows of sadness, within your stare.
But, still you're standing here.

Moving on, future's down the road.
But the journey won't be easy.
Rising up, standing on your own.
With the beauty in your eyes,
Shining...

...Find the strength, lies within your soul,
And believe that you can do it.
Rising up, standing on your own.
With the beauty in your eyes,
Shining...

You, have not lost a thing.
Whatever may come,
The light of hope is always shining there in your heart.
You've not lost a thing.
Whatever you do,
Just know that your tomorrow will be waiting for you." - Light of Hope, Sonic Forces Ending Theme

The End....  BZZZTT!! ZZZZZZTT!! FZZZZTT!!


The Eggman Empire Fortress had been abandoned. Somewhere within it, shattered pieces of the Phantom Ruby lay scattered. It might be THE Ruby, it might be the duplicate. Either way, it was broken and useless, supposedly. Dr. Eggman and Infinite's whereabouts were unknown after the battle, but they clearly weren't at the tower. However, one missing entity was still there. A black fluid slithered about, a yellow eyed face peering up upon nearing the sparkling pieces of the Phantom Ruby. Shadow Chaos was still there. The dark form of Chaos slithered to the shards, taking them into its black body. Its body churned for a bit, and then suddenly began to shrink, swirling inside an object. As Shadow Chaos vanished, a fully restored Phantom Ruby accepted the dark creature inside itself, housing the entity as the Master Emerald had before! The Ruby glowed briefly, and then dimmed. The world was silent around it. And so it waited...waited for one who would find it once more...

To be continued... in Sonic GeneX: the Series, Season 4!