Recap from ending of Chapter 50:

No more words were spoken as Gadget bolted away from Sonic and Tails and towards the explosion that took place on the battlefield where Zero’s and Eggman’s creations had been fighting only minutes ago.


*Gadget POV 3rd person 

Feet pounded the ground as Gadget made his way to where the battle between Eggman and Zero had been taking place. Slowing down the pace as he arrive, he was surprised to see Eggman in handcuffs as Knuckles and the Chaotix Detectives kept him restrained. Yellow eyes glanced before seeing Zero standing with his siblings. Feeling a bit of nervousness, he jogged up to them.

The two explained that Zero filled them in on the whole mind control ordeal, and a huge sigh of relief left the Rookie at that it seemed almost everyone was up to speed. It wasn’t too long after Kytra and Brian left to go check back on any injured soldiers while a limping Sonic and bubbly Tails then arrived along with Silver walking with them. The white hedgehog still seemed on edge around the jackal, but Sonic and Tails were fine.

“Are you feeling okay Zero?” Tails asked, “I looked a bit at the files, but I haven’t finished analyzing them yet. I probably won’t be done for a while considering how much stuff I have to look through.”

“I feel fine,” Zero answered obediently as Tails seemed to take a few notes in the handheld device he carried. 

“Do you remember much of your time under the mind control?”

“Unfortunately yes. I recall almost everything, except for when Eggman got this Ruby in my chest, and I don’t really remember snapping out of the mind control.”

“Not really remember?”

“Well, I recall being in the break room and someone was talking to me before I fell asleep, but I can’t think of who I was conversing with.”

“Hmm… Interesting. Maybe Eggman can fill in some of these gaps.”

“Doubt it.” Sonic sighed, “He loves to tell his plans as he pulling them off, but never speaks a peep when he’s in prison.”

“This isn’t the first time he’s been arrested?” Gadget inquired.

“No, but hopefully it’s the last.”

The two hedgehogs and fox then began to walk towards the restrained Doctor, but stopped when vibrations were felt along the ground. Rocks and pebbles jiggled uncontrollably while all Mobians faltered a bit in their standing, some tripping and falling to the ground. Gadget almost went face first into the dirt as well if not for Zero catching him and keeping him upright.

“W-What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Zero replied as he held Gadget close, “Stay by me until this ends. I’m not sure what’s happening, but I don’t like it.”

The Rookie wasn’t sure why, but he had a really bad feeling crawl up his spine; like he was just sure that something terrible was about to occur. Hoping not, he only pressed closer into the jackal as they waited for the earthquake to finally end. The shaking intensified before Eggman’s fortress was seen beginning to crumble and it all tumbled to the ground. After the fortress falling to bits, an explosion, looking similar to a large nuclear explosion, took place in the distance.  

“That’s Metropolis!” Silver yelled out as he realized where exactly it had taken place.

“Gah!”

Zero grip his head in pain. Panic, Gadget soothingly massaged along his temple. A sudden paleness overtook the jackal’s face as his body looked to be in absolute physical agony.

“Zero! What’s wrong?!”

“I… I don’t...”

Taking a few steps back, Gadget saw a sight he never thought he would. Zero stood there as tears slowly trailed down his cheeks. He looked sad, but also still in pain. It was as if, a realization dawned on him.

“Gadget. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I love you.”

“Zero? What do you…?”

All words ceased as Zero suddenly disappeared; disappeared just as his illusions always had, and the Phantom Ruby clinked as it fell to the ground. 

Everyone there; Sonic, Silver, Tails, Knuckles, and the Chaotix Team, all witnessed the disappearance of Zero, and weren’t sure what to say. Gadget fell to his knees as his mind went numb.

With everyone distracted, Eggman stealthily unlocked the chains, before commanding his flying vehicle to shoot at the Mobians near him, giving him enough leeway to hop into the vehicle and get some distance between himself and the Resistance.

“Eggman!” Sonic shouted, “What have you done?!”

“Oh, you still don’t get it?”

That seemed to snap the Rookie out of the trance he’d been in before he got to his feet. Amber eyes fiercely glaring at the Doctor; only making the man smirk more.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ZERO?!”

Laughing maniacally, Eggman seemed all too eager to answer, “You mean Infinite? The one who disappeared? Like all of his illusions do?”

Gadget had taken note of that, but how? Why?!

“He disappeared like an illusion, because he was an illusion.”

“W-What?”

“The ‘real’ Zero refused to join me. Even after losing his precious squad, he tried to quit, but he didn’t realize that I had created a duplicate of him.”

“Duplicate... of Zero?”

“After retrieving some of his DNA while staying at my base, I worked with his blood sample, the Phantom Ruby, and a Phantom Ruby Prototype to create what was almost a real copy of the original, and after inserting the Phantom Ruby in his chest, made him an illusion; the first of its kind to have a true heart and personality like the original, like the real Zero.”

Gadget couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Eggman made another Zero through the Phantom Ruby?

“And because he was created by yours truly, I also made the Mind Remote Controller which allowed me to alter his brain just enough to follow me, but still be in the parameters of his original personality so the Phantom Ruby would still cooperate with him.”

“...Where’s the real Zero?”

“After the experiment was a success, I sent my robots after him and disposed of him.”

All eyes widened from the truth that had been laid out before them. Gadget’s fists clenched as his body felt like it was on vibrate as anger seethed beneath the surface.

“Zero’s...dead?”

“He died long before the war ever started.”

…..

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

“Hahahaha!!! This is what you get you stupid wolf! Everything was going according to plan until you showed up! He was getting distracted, and I kept having to adjust his settings.”

“Settings? What do you mean?” Sonic cut in, wanting to beat the shit out of Eggman even more than usual.

“I had his brain waves just right to where he would listen to me and have control over the Ruby, until you showed up,” he pointed at the crimson canine as he snarled, “You were making him second guess everything he was doing. So, I kept having to, turn up the juice, in a sense. Made him have those damn mood swings.”

Mood swings?

“Wait,” Gadget breathed out in recognition, “The reason Zero got progressively more aggressive, possessive, angrier, was because of you changing the settings with the Mind Remote Controller, which was due to you controlling what was actually a copy of him?”

“Bingo,” The man laughed maniacally, “And the only thing keeping that Zero alive, was my backup power source under Metropolis, which is apparently now in shambles from whatever that explosion was over there.”

“Y-you… You murder!!!”

“Meh, it’s not like he’s the only one I killed,” the Doctor shrugged, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m taking back my property.”

“What?”

A metallic cord with a claw appeared from the Doctor’s vehicle before shooting forth; right towards the Phantom Ruby. 

“No!”

Being close to the gem, Gadget jumped forward and both hands grasped the Phantom Ruby at the same time as the claw did.

“Let go you annoying brat! I’m starting to hate you almost as much as I hate Sonic.”

Being dragged, Gadget didn’t stand much chance against the machine, but he still kept hold to the best of his ability. He was beginning to feel his feet lose friction, and the ground, before arms wrapped tightly around his torso.

“I’ve got you Buddy!”

Sonic.

His shoes came back down onto solid ground. The hedgehog then let go only momentarily to break the cord connecting the Doctor’s flying device to the Ruby with a spin dash. The man glared at the blue nuisance.

“Stay out of my way Sonic!”

“Don’t think so! You’ve caused enough harm to everyone! You’re rein is over!!!”

“Gadget.”

“Hm?”

The wolf glanced around as the hero and the scientist argued, hearing a voice, but not seeing anyone. It sounded oddly familiar…

“I’m here to help.”

Wait, that voice… It was the same as…

“Yes. I am the one who has been speaking to you in your dreams.”

The Phantom Ruby began to glow and floated from the Rookie’s hands to now be face level with him. Surprise filtered on his tan muzzle at not just hearing that voice again that he’d heard on and off over the last several days, but now seeing the Ruby reacting in a way he hadn’t witnessed before.

“No! Impossible!”

“Huh?” Gadget heard the Doctor’s outburst, “It should have chosen me. Now the stupid Ruby chose a pathetic wolf! Why?!”

Wait. Was the voice he was hearing from the Phantom Ruby?

“Yes.” 

The Phantom Ruby now spoke out loud verses telepathically as it had been doing previously, causing all Mobians to look stunned from the unexpected turn of events. Sonic also looked stunned, but his reaction was a bit different as he’d heard that voice in his sleep when sleeping next to Gadget.

“I am the voice who has been speaking with you when you slumber.”

‘When Gadget sleeps?’ the azure hedgehog mused to himself, wondering what was going on.

The Phantom Ruby appeared unexpectedly in front of the blue blur, making him flinch. “I apologize for being rude and shoving you out of that dream that one time.”

“Huh?”

“It was perhaps extreme, but necessary at the time.” She then left Sonic to be right back in front of Gadget. “I have chosen you Gadget to be my next host, or user, in a sense.”

“Host?”

“No. No! NO!” A loud shout rang out as Eggman disputed the whole thing, “I am to be the next user, not that stupid wolf!”

Amber eyes narrowed while the Ruby only replied calmly, “I will never choose you, as you should already know. I had chosen my backup host the moment Gadget had his first contact.”

First contact?... Wait, was she talking about Null Space? From all the times he hugged and snuggled with Zero?

“Yes,” she mentally answered his question, making him jolt in surprise, but she continued to speak outside towards the infuriated human, “I also have a new backup host chosen if anything were to happen to Gadget, which is not you.”

“Then I’ll have to just kill that wolf, and anyone you chose after until there’s no one left you can pick!”

Laughing insanely, a button was pressed on his vehicle which brought up a rocket that was ready to be launched at Gadget. Eyes widening, he took a few steps from the crazed scientist. Would he really do this…?

“Once I have the Ruby’s power, nothing will ever be able to stand in my way. I will finally rule the world! Muhahahahahaha!!!!... Huh?”

The rocket that was about to be launched suddenly disappeared, and then the flying vehicle soon after; causing the Doctor to fall to the dirt under him. Shock apparent on his face, he yelled out.

“What the hell did you do?”

Gadget blinked from the outburst and simply answered, “I didn’t do anything.”

Standing, Eggman rebutted, “That’s BS! You used that Ruby. I swear when I get my hands on you…!”

The sound of like a tear, along with a surprised yell, were the combination of noises heard as what looked like the tip of a purple sword pierced through Eggman’s chest. All were silent as no one knew what to say. The sword was then unsheathed and sliced at him; making his head roll onto the ground along with a pool of blood.

“W-What the…” Sonic stammered.

The man fell by his already fallen head to see someone completely unexpected. 

“...Infinite?”

A black jackal who wore dark metal on his face and long white haired streaks stood before them near the decapitated human. The sword vanished into thin air. Steps walked around the corpse as to not dirty his shoes and now was in front of Gadget and a nearby Sonic. Something off, other than the odd atmosphere, was that the gem on his chest was purple and gave off a matching hue.

While Sonic spoke earlier in question and received no response, Gadget was next to open his mouth. 

“Z-Zero?”

The silent jackal fazed instantly to right in front of the wolf, causing both Gadget and Sonic to flinch, and the hedgehog took a step away, despite that there was already some distance between him and the other two. 

Eerily quiet, a clawed gloved hand lifted and brushed the side of Gadget’s face gently. Something seemed different about him verses the Infinite from before. The Rookie wasn’t sure what it was, but there was something. Infinite was closer to his height than the copy was, though still technically taller…

Suddenly, a ball of turquoise energy shot at the jackal, but a purple tinted shield appeared in front of both him and the wolf. Looking to the source of the attack, he noticed it was Silver who threw that ball of power at them. But why? Why would Silver attack them?

“Get away from him Gadget! He’s…!”

Binds wrapped tightly around the white hedgehog and lifted him into the air, making him cringe from the pain.

“Silver!”

Sonic shouted before performing a spin dash; only to have it fail as Infinite blocked it with another shield. No time was wasted as the blue blur was also bound up. Puzzled, Gadget wasn’t sure what to think as he took a few steps away, only for his back to bump into a barrier that Infinite surrounded around the four of them; keeping all other possible intruders out. Having the hedgehogs in his binds, the mysterious jackal finally spoke.

“It’s nice to see you again Silver.”

“How the hell did you get here?!”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t eventually figure out where you were disappearing to? Though, I should really thank you. If not for you, I wouldn’t have found my lovely Gadget.”

“The Gadget from our time is dead!”

“From our dimension, yes. But, not from this one.”

Dimension? Amber eyes widened at what he had learned from this exchange. Another Infinite? Meaning, another Zero? From where Silver is from?

“Another dimension?” Gadget voiced out loud, still putting the pieces together as the shock from this realization had his brain jumbled.

As if Silver no longer existed, Infinite turned away from the bound hedgehogs to look at Gadget. Noticing the stare was now on him, the wolf gulped nervously. In the blink of an eye, the jackal once more stood in front of him; causing his fur to stand on end. However, as gently as last time, an ebony hand cupped his cheek while that single yellow eye became half lidded.

“Hello once again my dear Gadget.”

Speechless. His mouth felt dry as he was face to face with an Infinite he knew nothing about. What had Silver said previously about his time? That Gadget was dead, he died when he was sixteen, he traveled the summer before he passed away, and that his death happened in a warehouse along with many other jackals. Who were the other jackals? Was this jackal truly Zero? Was this the real Zero of Silver’s timeline, or another fake?

That hand stayed and softly caressed his face; as if mesmerized. It felt as if nothing else mattered at that moment in time to the jackal, and after thinking of what felt like the death of Zero, Gadget couldn’t help the temporary relief he felt at the thought that possibly Zero was still alive, even if in another time. The blissful pause soon came crashing down as Silver’s words broke through the spell.

“Get away from him Infinite! You’re both from different dimensions! You can’t be together!”

Removing his hand from the wolf’s face, the jackal turned his head towards the obnoxious hedgehog as he inquired, “Oh, and why’s that?”

“You aren’t meant to be here, and he isn’t meant to be in our time.”

“You just think that. I can do anything I damn well please.”

Gadget tried to take a step away, but his arm was easily grasped as the jackal’s attention was back on him.

“Where are you going love?”

…

He wasn’t sure what to say.

“What? Cat got your tongue?”

“N-No…” he mumbled, struggling with his words, “You’re really from Silver’s dimension?”

“Indeed. I came here to find you.”

“Find me?...”

Letting go of the other’s arm, both of Infinite’s hands went to the mask and wasted no time in removing it. Dropping it to the ground, the jackal fully steered both eyes on the wolf. It was Zero, there was no way to deny that. However, something was different. He looked, slightly younger? He could be wrong, but…

“How old are you?”

“Heh, nineteen,” he gave a bit of a devious smirk, “And I know you’re twenty-two here.”

“You’re younger than me? And the war started sooner where you’re from? How…?”

A couple fingers touched those questioning lips, instantly silencing him. “No need to worry love. Different timelines have various occurrences. Though, I have a pretty good guess for the variance in this case…”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Despite having almost a normal talk with this ‘Zero’, Gadget still kept his guard up at not only knowing how Infinite was in this world, but also what Silver had mentioned of his. The war was still going on in Silver’s time, so he couldn’t be too careful with how he interacted with the jackal that stood before him.

Just then, a portal opened up behind Infinite. As if expecting it, the one who jumped through was also easily restrained. It was a purple female cat he had never seen before. Despite her best efforts as she twisted and turned, there was no means of escape as a growl finally left her lips.

“Stupid. Did you really think you would get the jump on me this time?”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” she snarled out, “I just got here!”

“Hm, I guess you wouldn’t remember,” Zero mused to himself, “You almost stopped me from destroying the power source in Metropolis. I had to change the past to make sure you wouldn’t get the jump on me a second time.”

“You...you’re the one who caused the explosion? The one that destroyed the power source, and Zero?”

Whipping his head to the Rookie, Infinite ignored all parties as his attention was now on him once more. “That Zero was a fake! I refused to stand by and watch you love something that wasn’t me. I even went to the trouble of creating a fake Orbot so he could nab the controller and remove the effects of the Mind Remote Controller; just so you could see that no matter how ‘real’ he might act, he is indeed a fake.”

Letting out a dark chuckle, Zero then continued his creepy speech, “Now my dear Gadget, I’m going to have you, and there’s nothing in my way stopping me this time. There will be no Jastar, no other jackals, and no other species who will take you away from me. I won’t have it. I will have you. You belong to me, and only me!”

Eyes bulged wide, Gadget took a few steps away until his foot bumped the Phantom Ruby; it was accidentally dropped it from everything that happened after Eggman was killed. The gem seemed to give a reddish hue as he heard her voice inside his head. 

I can help. But he won’t be an easy adversary.

He had a choice to make. He had to decide the right course of action, and who’s voice he should listen to as the voices of Sonic and Silver rang in the corners of his mind, along with his own. Who will he choose to listen to?