because why not, I already made a quick recap of the incident, so...

[that horrible, horrible virus. That chrome liquid that was cold to the touch, it haunted his nightmares, it pushed through his skin and tried to spread across the world... It made him angry. It made him boil with hatred and fear.]

[It was all because of a single person. His Enemy... Doctor Eggman... The one who had hurt him so much, who tortured him for six months, who kept trying to destroy the world he kept fighting for... It was so tiring... he just wanted all to stop, and it stopped... in a way.]

[He fell to the virus too. but... that wasn't all. He wasn't alone, was he? No, he wasn't at all alone in his quest to destroy his world. Mr Tinker was turned back to an evil conqueror because of this... person he could barely remember.]

[it was all because of him. What was his name... he could only remember lines of stars]

********

[Lines of Stars... Star Lines... His name... StarLine. That name made him angry. Starline is the reason everything happened, if it wasn't for Starline, Eggman would've never returned. Everything would be fine. Everyone would still be alive. HE would not be INFECTED.]

[because of him, his body withered into metal, his friends were lost in the steel, his home swallowed by iron. he would not rest until Starline paid... and that thought brought back complete memories, of his fall.]

[He was fighting the virus, and someone else. Jumping across buildings until he slipped with a metallic puddle, but he managed to strike a final hit, before everything went black, he heard a scream before he fell into the ground.]

[when he woke up, the virus had already taken over him, it felt horrible, he wanted to scream as the very last of his cells turned into metal, his mind crumbling, he could only focus on a white platypus.]

[The platypus was scourging some sort of machine until he noticed the approaching zombot, this made him change his expression, trying to get... things... from the machine, before running away from the zombot, leaving a trail behind from an orange gemstone in his hand.]

[He ran after him, as fast as he could, following him for an unknown time... when he reached him... he'd make sure he would feel as hopeless as he did. he'd take all exits, he'd leave him no escape, he'd made him want to scream, and take his voice.]

[And now, he had him in his claws. Helpless. Scared. Fearing for his life, holding onto everything like he did, trying to escape the zombot, hitting a wall. It was over. And just as he was about to inflict the virus on him... a portal opened, they both fell, and then... everything was hazy.]

[And then... He woke up. In this strange... Hazy... void... Just to have his arm pulled by something -- Things began to get overwheling -- Loud Noises -- Voices -- Feelings]

[ANOMALY CORRECTION ATTEMPT A--UNKNOWN ERROR--RESTARTING CORRECTION ATTEMPT--STAND BY--ANOMALY SUCCESSFULLY NEUTRALIZED]

[and then things finally stopped. The overwhelming feelings washed away... but he couldn't react anymore... those seconds hurt so much, he could barely move... Why did they keep hurting him?]

[He was now no longer alone.]

"Wh... Where... Am I? urgh... My head hurt-- Wh-Who are you two?"

"arghhhhh... huh? w-What happened?! Where Am I-- Blue?! Where the heck am I?! H-How are there two of you?!"

"Blue? M-My name is Nick, Nick Parlouzer. A-And... I don't... know? As far as I knew... I was the only 'Sonic'?"

"PFFT! What on mobius' sake is with that last name? It's so ridiculous... As for bein' the only Sonic, Yeah right, don't make me laugh 'Nick'."

"What on Earth are you talking about?"

"(earth??) Come on, don't tell me you don't know about the other zones, you're at least aware of the Cosmic Interstate, right?"

"... uh... nnnno? I'm... not getting anything you're saying."

"... You can't be this stupidly clueless. (I swear if I got myself in a trap from the Zone-Cops I will kill someone.)"

"... Uh..."

"Sigh. I need. A moment to process all of this."

"... ... ... So, what is this place anyways? Do you know? (You seem to know a lot of things, weird things but...)"

"Judging by your presence, and that weird guy over there, The empty black void... Hell, probably. I died and this is my punishment."

"I- ..."

"For a 'Sonic' you really can't take a joke."

"..."

"Whatever... Hrmm... Blue over there has just been silent, huh. Not even moved an inch... creep."

"He kinda... looks made of metal, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, fucked up, ain't it...?"

"uh-huh."

[Starline... He has to find Starline...]

"...S...tar...line..."

"Uh-"

It was a big blow... I was proud of what I had managed.

But I picked myself up and got back to work. I have a lot of time and as many resources on my hands that I would want.

I needed an ability that was more... Innate. Less dependent on outside forces, yet still able to manipulate them to their advantage if needed.

Something like... That blue hedgehog.

There's so many versions of him running around these days... It's hard to keep track of them all. There's an evil one that may or may not be deceased, one that transforms at night and my good friend Zonic, of course...

But I've taken interest in one particular specimen.

This one was apparently responsible for the downright ravaged state the world was in when I arrived... Research performed through stealthbots I sent out during this time allowed me to monitor some of the things that were happening outside during this time... Although all of this footage and all of my notes regarding this particular event has been mysteriously lost, I still clearly remember what I saw and took note of.

This Sonic has a super state that can be activated with much less effort and energy... But is incapable of controlling it and becomes monstrous. This super form had maintained a reign of terror for several months before being overtaken by Shadow the Hedgehog, who simply accumulated more power than him.

The potential is limitless... But the user attached to this potential is too weak-willed to make use of it...

If this power were to be harnessed and more capable of being controlled... It would be an invaluable asset, as this Sonic's super form, despite having less requirements to trigger compared to others, displayed abilities unlike and other Super Sonic.

These abilities, before the Phantom Ruby was involved, included:

-Eye beams -Ease of manipulating Chaos Energy -Ability to produce a powerful EMP, strong enough to knock out the electronics on an entire world (according to itself) -Capable of going past the speed of light while somehow not warping spacetime, as though it was cutting through reality's rules like soft butter. -Any exposure to energy can cause a chain reaction, or domino effect within Sonic that will cause him to burst and produce his own supply of Chaos Energy to maintain a Super form.

A being like this... I can surely perfect it. Take what makes it wonderful and smooth out all the imperfections.

I see now, however, that it takes someone like that Sonic to tolerate that existence... And a Sonic like that would not willingly remain under my command for long. Especially with that power.

I would have to make adjustments.

Perhaps this one would not be able to harness the energy necessary and cause that chain reaction to occur.

A safety feature would be necessary... A devoted ally, but ultimately loyal to me by ensuring they would be the only thing they have to protect... In the short run. I have something better planned in the long run.

And so my new generation of perfected beings is being created. An energy hunter and an energy user. Thanks to Zonic's generous donations, these miserable souls will be molded into incredible beings.