You looked around, watching as everyone started running in one direction. You started to follow, the feeling of adrenaline started to flow through your veins, and your heart started to flutter. This was it, this should be the final battle.

But as you ran, you noticed two people missing. Glancing around, you found the blue hedgehog and yellow kitsune standing, talking quietly. You frowned slightly and ran over. The two looked up at you, and Sonic flashed you a grin.

"Ready to battle Rookie?" He asked, his hands on his hips.

You nodded, before tilting your head, "What... About you...?"

Tails blinked, his blue eyes shocked, "Did you just talk..? Rookie that's awesome!"

You gave a small smile at the fox's excitement, clearly you were growing use to them if you could talk. Sonic gave a chuckle, before wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

"Yep! And don't tell anyone, but I'm the only one that knows her name." He winked mischievously, and Tails shook his head.

"Trust you to pry into her life huh Sonic?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" The hedgehog looked hurt, "I would never!"

You giggled at the two, entertained by their brotherly bond. They both laughed and turned to you, now turning serious.

"You should go with the others Rookie, Sonic and I are going to look for Eggman." Tails stated, "We don't know how strong he'll be, so you'll have a better chance with the others."

You stopped smiling and stared at them. They were going on their own? But you wanted to help them. Aren't you good enough yet?

Sonic moved his arm, placing his hand on your shoulder, "We'll call if we need you okay? But Knuckles and the others will need all the help they can get. With you there, the bad guys won't stand a chance."

Your ears lowered slightly and you nodded. Tails nodded as well and gave you the thumbs up, "Good luck Rookie!"

And he flew off. Sonic stayed for a moment, before turning back to you, "Don't take this the wrong way (Y/N).. I just want you safe. Gods know what Eggman could do to us, but I'll know you're safe if you're with the others. They'll be able to watch your back."

You nodded slowly, before turning away. There was a strange ache in your chest, one that you couldn't seem to explain. Did they really need to worry about your safety? Sure, you didn't fare well against Metal or Shadow, but they were created to fight. What could Eggman possibly do?

And why was Sonic so concerned? Didn't he have faith in you? He'd rather send you to the easiest fight, just so you wouldn't get hurt; yet you felt like you'd been punched in the stomach. Why did he have to care so much?

"Hey Rookie." You stopped walking and turned, facing the blue hero again, "Good luck. We're gonna need it."

You nodded, before taking a breath and grabbing your burst. If this was what you had to do, then you'll do it. Helping in any way was better than no way, it was better than cowering in fear, hiding out until you were killed.

You gave Sonic the thumbs up, before running in the opposite direction. But as you ran, you couldn't help but feel nauseous. What was about to happen?

A growl appeared in your throat and you skidded to a halt. Sonic and Tails were walking into danger. You don't know how you knew, you could just feel it. Glancing over your shoulder, you saw the hedgehog turn, a blue blur disappearing into the base.

And deciding your next course of action, you followed him.

Eventually he lead you to the top of Eggman's base, the two-tailed fox having waited and joined him. They now stood in front of an oddly-shaped human, with a moustache bigger than his face. You hide behind a large piece of destroyed wall, listening as the enemies spoke.

"Welcome, Sonic. Glad you could make it to your funeral!" The human cackled, before turning to the dark jackle next to him, "Infinite, do it."

Infinite nodded, before holding his hands up, "Take this!"

As suddenly as he said those words, a portal appeared. On the other side was... Nothing. Just darkness, with a purple glow coming from nowhere. Sonic and Tails took a step back, the hedgehog staring at it in confusion.

"What is that?" He asked.

The evil doctor laughed, "That, my spiky little frenemy, is null space."

"Null space?" The blue hedgehog frowned, before turning to Tails. He motioned him back, and the kitsune nodded, hiding behind a piece of wreckage.

"It's a little something that the Phantom Ruby cooked up, a closed-off space where absolutely nothing exists! Good-bye, Sonic, my soon-to-be-eradicated nemesis. Enjoy all the nothing!" Dr. Eggman smiled evilly, before the portal started to suck in the hedgehog.

Tails held onto the building tightly, and you had to press against the wall, feeling the portal's strength even through the heavy wall. You growled and glanced around the ruins, watching as Sonic started to lose his footing.

-No!-

You grabbed the grappling hook from your belt and jumped out into the force of the portal. Using the hook to wrap around the pole, you reached for the hedgehog. Just before he could disappear into null space completely, you grabbed his hand.

Sonic glanced up, his eyes widening as he realised what you were doing, "(Y/N)! Don't! You'll be sucked in too!"

You let out a growl, arms shaking slightly. You couldn't hold him for long, and you had a feeling the cable for the grappling hook wasn't as strong as you were hoping. As if to respond to that thought, the cable snapped, and you were suddenly plunged into darkness.

Tails' voice came from the other side of the portal as you flew deeper, "But we destroyed the Phantom Ruby's power source!"

"Tsk, Tsk. Since you ALWAYS destroy the power source of my weapons, I decided to learn from my mistakes. I had a back-up power source created under Metropolis." Eggman started laughing hysterically, and soon, nothing could be heard.

You landed with a groan, rubbing your head. The broken grappling hook jumped at your side, before skidding to a stop. Sonic let out a groan, shaking his head and glancing at you.

"Are you okay..?"

You nodded and stood slowly, looking around. It was just darkness, you were standing on a purple platform, the cubes slightly transparent. Sonic stood next, looking around.

"So, this is Null Space huh? Cool." He stated, before frowning and turning to you, "I thought we told you to go help the others?"

You shrugged and started walking, the transparent flooring following your steps. Sonic kept your pace as you took in the area. Not that there was much to take in.

"(Y/N), I told you I didn't want you here.."

You kept walking, choosing to ignore the hedgehog. How else could you find a way out of here? The blue hero picked up on your ignorance and huffed, grabbing your arm.

"And now you're trapped as well. I told you I didn't want you to help us."

You stopped and turned back to him, blinking. He looked annoyed, his ear twitching now and then. He let go of your arm with a sigh.

"I know we can't boss you around or anything, but I just wanted to make sure you'd be safe, that you wouldn't be hurt..." He lowered his head slightly, "I know how strong Eggman can be, and Infinite? He's beaten me once before, I don't doubt he'll beat you either. In fact, he did. Remember?"

You couldn't stop the growl from leaving your throat, and the hedgehog blinked, before tilting his head.

"I guess you don't like remembering that. Well I'd know that if you actually spoke you know."

"I... Can't help it..." You said through gritted teeth. You could feel your throat clenching, trying to stop the words. Sonic wasn't helping the case.

"Yeah you can. Everyone says you're just shy, but why would someone shy join a large team of loud people, fighting the worst villains in Mobius? You aren't shy, just scared. And you don't need to be scared." He placed his gloved hands on his hips, "Why are you so scared?"

You frowned, before turning away and walking once again. You wished to tell him but you had gone mute again, and in all honesty... You weren't sure.

"Fine. We can talk about this later. Lets just figure out how to get out of here." He stated, walking next to you. You glanced at him, noticing how he kept staring forward, seriousness was all you could see in his face, his eyes didn't hold their playful shine.

A pang went through your chest. Why was Sonic acting so weird? Your ears lowered slightly and you lowered your gaze, watching the flooring appear and disappear below your feet.

"Man.. Now I wish Tails was here, he'd know what to do.." Sonic said, still looking around, "Have any ideas?"

You raised your head, before looking around. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. A very crazy idea. You had no clue if it would work, but turning to the hedgehog, you pointed between the two of you.

"Us? What do we do?" He asked, curious now.

You pointed to his legs.

"Run? Like, as fast as we can?"

You nodded.

"You know (Y/N)... That might be crazy enough to work." He smiled, before rubbing the back of his head, "Now I feel bad for doubting you.."

You shrugged and looked forward, "It's fine..."

"And... Sorry, about snapping.." He sighed, "I guess I'm stressed about this war, you know? I know you're shy, it wasn't cool to say you were just scared. I mean clearly you aren't-"

You covered his mouth, before smiling and nodding. Although it still sort of hurt that he had snapped, you couldn't blame the hedgehog. For all you both knew, you were stuck here forever.

Not like that was a bad thing...

Your cheeks warmed slightly, and you cleared your throat, grabbing his hand. He nodded, before turning forward and taking off at the speed of sound. You were right next to him, gripping his hand tightly and watching as the pathway formed right under your feet, barely able to keep up with your fast pace.

"I think I know how to get out!" Sonic yelled, turning to you, "We need to go faster! Faster than sound! Can you do that?"

You shrugged, before running faster. He kept up with you, "Right! We need to go at the speed of light. Ready?"

You took a deep breath, closing your (e/c). Yes. You were ready. And with that, you ran. Your legs started to ache, and you could feel the cubes below your feet start to shake.

"Keep up (Y/N)! I can see the exit!"

Looking forward, you saw it too. A large white light that grew bigger by the second. You smiled as you neared it, hearing the sound of talking from outside.

"Right! Lets do this!"