Chapter 88

The elevator ride was exceptionally short. Sonic was sure they didn't get more than 2 feet above where they already were. It was literally nearly three seconds long. But then, the door slid open.

Revealing... a black-bricked temple of some kind.

Sonic stepped out of the elevator, as did everyone else. The door slid shut behind them, and then disappeared. No fancy exit either... they just looked back, and it was gone. "Hey... the elevator!" Sonic exclaimed. "How are we gonna get out of here?!"

"We'll worry about that later!" Tails replied. "Right now, we need to find whoever did this and stop them!"

"Right... maybe we'll find an exit after," Sonic replied. He walked further into the hallway of the strange temple. He was starting to get anxious that maybe they wouldn't be able to get out of here.

Overhead, there loomed candles to light their way. Everything smelled of charcoal, dust and candles. The further Sonic went, the more he heard clockwork sounds of some kind. It was getting him more and more anxious. But he felt he could bear it.

The further they walked, the closer a blinding white light in the distance approached. It started out as a small glimmer, but then grew larger. Eventually, they had entered the light. It enveloped every last inch of their vision. Everyone shut their eyes, finding it was hard to keep them open any longer. Like looking at the sun for too long.

Eventually, the impression of light through their eyelids ceased. The little pushing feeling that your eyes get when you face the direction of bright light disappeared. Sonic felt it preferable to open his eyes again.

He found himself in a place he remembered. The Time Eater's Fortress?! But how, why? Had the hourglass somehow taken him back in time...? No... that was impossible. The Time Eater's Fortress exists within White Space, a curious location between dimensions that holds the universe together. You can't just travel through time and space to get there, as technically it does not exist in this plane of reality or timeline. There isn't even any time there. So that brought Sonic back to square one, trying to figure out why he and his friends were here. A large clockwork in the middle of a purple spacescape with floating bits of temple.

"I've been expecting you, Sonic!" A voice familiar to Sonic exclaimed. Playful in tone. Smooth and soft in voice. Female. Every thought in Sonic's mind that this may be Eggman was instantly thrown out the window. Sonic turned to the source of the voice.

There she was. Marilyssa Orglace.

Continue to Chapter 89