Okay, so this is where things start to change. And I mean change. Not just for the story, but for some characters and even some subplots as well. What do I mean by that? Well, read to find out!
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It's been a few days since the attack of Enerjak and Nazo took control of Y/n. And it's been that long since Y/n had taken down the Destroyer himself with his own two hands. Since then, Knuckles has stayed on Angel Island to continue his role as the Last Guardian of Angel Island. It broke Y/n's heart to have to tell his friend goodbye after such a traumatic event, but he understood. Given the circumstances, he is the last and only remaining Guardian. It makes sense.

Since the next day, multiple tests have been ran on Y/n and his Chaos Gem to determine what was different about him. After numerous tests over the next few days, it was discovered that everything about the human has been enhanced to levels far above his former capabilities. He was stronger, faster, tougher, and all-around more powerful than before. His healing abilities have even been enhanced to where the next day, most of his wounds have all been healed from his fight with Enerjak and Nazo.

Over the days after the big encounters with the evil dieties, New Mobotropolis has given Y/n a newfound respect to him while a newfound sense of fear as well. While most didn't blame him for going berserk and attacking Sally, Sonic, and Shadow, and saw him as a hero, others thought of him to be a threat to them and needed to be kept far from them. No matter, Y/n did do his best to help out the community after the Mobius-shaking battles wrecked a majority of the city. He pitched in to fix whatever was broken, even though a morning of what was broken could be fixed by Nicole and the nanites that made up the domed city.

But not everything that came out of the aftermaths of the epic battles was good. It wasn't bad either, but it was a confusing time for Y/n. He and Sally had a strange distance grown between them as the two became... rather uncomfortable around each other other they were by themselves. Many were concerned about the sudden fallout between the two since they've been rather close, and they suddenly grew apart. They've all wanted to figure out what had been going on, but were too afraid to ask.

In his house which he's been staying in recently, Y/n is seen in his extra room which he's been using as a homemade gym. Weights, dumbells, treadmills, and other equipment littered the room.

As of now, the superpowered human were hitting a punching bag specifically designed to withstand his great strength. He swings left and right as he recalled everything that has happened since he's woken up on Angel Island. He gained power he could only imagine, he fought a giant robot, he joined a rebel group who banded together to stop an evil genius who wants to take over the world, he fought a magic mammoth and his goonies, saved a king, and fought against two evil dieties and beat them.

But other things have happened. Y/n had grew close to the Freedom Fighters and the people of Mobius, he may or may not have gained feelings for a chipmunk princess, he discovered who he really was, and those same feelings have now left him confused. He still wanted to be close to Sally and be with her, but with what she told him at his hospital bed... Y/n didn't know if that'll ever happen. Too many people have been lost and killed because of him. Maybe it was better no one got that close to him at all.

"RAAAAGH!!!" Y/n yells as he lands another sparking punch on the hanging bag, tearing it from its chain and it falls to the door. "Why is everything so hard?!"

He crouches down on the floor and holds his face in his hands. He tries to figure things out and organize his thoughts so he could think clearly, but it was more difficult than ever to do so. Especially since his Chaos Gem is basically another consciousness by itself, even though it wasn't as high as it was when Nazo was inside of it. Y/n just wanted a calm life. He never wanted all of this to happen.

"Something tells me that I've come at the wrong time."

Y/n lifts his head up to see Nicole standing not too far in front of him.

She seemed rather nervous as she was stealing a few glances at the ruined punching bag "bleeding" on the floor.

"No, no. Please, do whatever you needed to do here," Y/n says as he stands and sighs. "I need something to keep myself distracted."

"And, uh, it doesn't seem like working out doesn't seem to be working," the AI says and turns to the punching bag. "That was made to withstand your attacks. Looks like we need to make a stronger material for you."

Y/n chuckles a bit as he takes off his gloves and tosses them to the side. He dusts his hands off with a smile.

"So, what's up, Nic?" the human asks as he lifts up his shirt to wipe the sweat off of his face.

Nicole opens her mouth to to give her answer, only to lose her train of thought as her eyes land on Y/n. While she's seen Y/n shirtless many times before and seen him train, it was all from either afar or from videos. Seeing his Chaos Energy-augmented muscles up close was a... different experience. Her computer brain was having trouble process it.

"Yo, Nicole. Are you okay?" Y/n asks the holographic lynx and throws a bag at her.

The AI snaps out of her blank train of thought and shakes her head.

"I-I'm fine," she says. "My systems must've malfunctioned for a moment."

"That's been happening a lot recently," Y/n says as he walks over to a rack of towels and grabs one. "You sure you don't want Tails and Rotor to take a look at you?"

"I'm fine, Y/n, I assure you," Nicole assures the human.

"Alright. If you say so."

Y/n wipes the sweat off of his face with much more success than with his sweat covered shirt. Nicole sighs and notices that the left side of her chest was glitches and she gasps, quickly crossing her arms to cover the glitch and Y/n looks back at her.

"So, what's up?" he asks. "You couldn't have just come over to make small talk. I mean, I would love that, but that doesn't seem to be something many want to do anymore."

"Right. Um, I just came in to check up on how you're doing," Nicole states as she walks up to her human friend. "You know, since this house is an exact replica of..."

Nicole trails off at saying who it once belonged to, but Y/n knew.

"Danny's house, I know," he says with a sad sigh. "It was difficult at first, mainly because I always expected Danny to wake me up in the morning for no reason at all. Then I came to the realization that he'll... never do that again."

The human lets out a shaky breath as he leans against the wall. He fights back tears as his throat tightens inside his neck.

"He's never going to make those stupid jokes again... make those obnoxious claims that that was number one... or find a reason to kick me in the face again," Y/n says and wipes away some stray tears. "He's gone. And I have to live with that..."

He slides down the wall and sits down, tears dropping from his chin now.

"Everytime it comes to my mind, it breaks me just a little bit more," the Chaos Energy manipulator states. "And it's my fault. I know I shouldn't think it, but I can't help but think it's true. If only I had been stronger... I could've kept him from dying. Maybe I could've stopped Enerjak in time and save both Knuckles and Locke."

Y/n leans his head back as the memories of him and Danny play in his head. He missed the prideful lion so much.

A hand rested itself on Y/n's shoulder and he looked to see Nicole on her knees next to him. She held her hand on her friend's shoulder in a reassuring manner. It took all Y/n had to not break down.

"Whether or not its your fault, I don't think Danny would care if he was alive or not. He sacrificed himself for you and for the greater good of Mobius," Nicole stated. "He wants you to have a future not many can have anymore. He knew you could help save Mobius, and I think so, too. If needed to, I think anyone here would trade their lives for yours."

"That's only because I have power," Y/n says. "If I was just some normal human, you guys would've kept me far from the fight. I would be... irrelevant."

"Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn't think so."

"How so?"

"There have been many times where the Freedom Fighters could have left me for "dead" and just make a new AI. However, they did not," Nicole informs. "Both they and the ones from my world believe that all life matters, no matter what form they come in. I was a simple machine back then, yet they thought I was worth saving."

"That's because you help them."

"That's untrue. Just like how you think no one would sacrifice themselves for you without any reason," the holo-lynx says. "We are the Freedom Fighters. We fight not just for freedom against oppressors, but for life as well. And all of its shapes and sizes. That would include you."

"... and who would sacrifice themself for me if I was a nobody?" Y/n asked the AI. "Who would if I couldn't fight, couldn't remember who I was, and I didn't have my powers?"

"... I would," Nicole says and Y/n glances at her.

The AI's hand trails down from the human's shoulder and down to his hand. She goes to intertwine her fingers with his, but Y/n moves his hand just before she could. She looks up at his face to see the hesitancy in his eyes, making her think of the look her friend has when he's around Sally nowadays.

She knew why, though. She sees almost all of the recordings from the cameras around New Mobotropolis, and she saw the recording from the room Y/n was in when he and Sally talked. She heard what the princess said to Y/n and heard how sad he sounded in response. His face was etched in her mind, along with everything else she sees and hears thanks to her control over the city. And her systems became... confused with these new feelings rising. Maybe it was something she should ask someone about.

"Yo! Gem-Boy! Do you copy?"

Y/n looks down at his communication device on his wrist. He could see on the holographic screen that Sonic was talking.

Y/n sighs as he wipes away his tears and responds.

"Y-yeah, I'm here," he says as Nicole sits up. "What's up?"

"I got someone I want you to meet, and she's actually stoked to meet you, too!" Sonic tells Y/n. "Come by the airport. We'll be waiting!"

The call ends and Y/n sighs as he leans his head back on the wall.

"So... are you going to go?" Nicole asks the human.

"Yeah," he says and pushes himself to his feet. "Just gotta change real quick."

"Alright," Nicole says as she stands as well.

"You're not gonna come?" Y/n asks the AI.

Nicole shakes her head.

"No," she says. "I'll let you be for now."

Y/n nods and leaves the room to change into his everyday clothes. Nicole just sighs and holds her hand over her glittering chest, taking deep breaths to calm herself even though she didn't need to breathe.

Timeskip...

At the landing pad, Y/n is seen walking down a track. After getting his previous clothing torn up from his battle with Nazo, the human got some new clothing. He kept his jeans since they looked cool with how the looked with rips, he got a new windbreaker jacket with a (F/C) t-shirt underneath and new gloves. He kept his shoes since they weren't too badly damaged.

Y/n's whole physique has also changed. He was more muscular than before and his skin took up a more healthy (S/C) color than what it once was. His eyesight became more clear as his irises were still (E/C) but with a more noticeable green tint to the outer rims of his eyes. His hair had turned into a spikier version of the human's hairstyle and had barely noticeable green strands growing on his head.

"Alright, where is Sonic," Y/n asks himself, "and who is this person he wants me to meet?"

In the corner of his eye, Y/n spots Sonic standing with two people he doesn't recognize. The human assumes one of them is the Mobian Sonic wanted him to meet and walks over to them.

"Hey, Sonic!" The human calls out to the hedgehog. "I'm here!"

"Yo! Y/n!" Sonic smiles as Y/n walks up to him and fists-bumps him. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," he says and looks at the two with Sonic. "Who're they?"

"Well, this is--"

"I'm Mina Mongoose! And this is my boyfriend, Ash!" Mina states with a smile and offers a handshake. "It's great to finally meet you. Sonic told me all about you, Y/n."

(The image I was trying to use for Mina wasn't uploading, and anything else I tried to use wasn't working either. So I'll just wait to show you guys what she looks like in the next chapter. Sorry)

"You, too. Sonic told me about you as well," Y/n says and shakes Mina's hand. "I've heard your songs. You're good."

"Thanks," Mina says with a smile.

"Cool. I'm gonna go get the band settled," Ash said as he turned to walk off. "I'll leave you to the heroes. Later."

"Umm... later," Sonic said as Ash walked away.

"Bye, sweetie!" Mina waved her boyfriend off. "Alright, Sonic! Y/n. I can see New Mobotropolis any time. I want you two to show me everything else! Starting with... what we lost."

Y/n and Sonic looked at each other. Y/n didn't know why he was being tossed into this suddenly, but he didn't like how it was going to suddenly turn into a terrible trip down memory lane.

The Remains of Knothole...

Speeding through the ruins of Knothole, Mina surprisingly kept up with Y/n and Sonic's speed. The mongoose looked around in horror as her jaw was slack.

"This is all that's left of Knothole?!" She asked.

"Robotnik was thorough," Sonic said sadly. "At the very least, the Great Forest is still standing."

"I think... I think this used to be my house," Mina said as she skidded to a stop next to a hole. "It's hard to tell with everything gone."

Y/n and Sonic stopped as well, and Sonic turned to look at Mina while Y/n closed his eyes to keep the memory of Eggman's attack away.

"When I took my show on tour, I wanted to rally the world to unify against the Eggman Empire. When we heard about Knothole, I wrote a song about it," the pop star informed with tears in her eyes. "I tried to write something that'd be a fitting tribute. Seeing this... I don't know if I could ever do it justice."

"Sometimes, words can't express how we truly feel," Y/n states. "Not even music."

"Well, you'll just have to sing it for us, Mina, and let us be the judge of that," Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Now, c'mon. Not everything was leveled."

Sonic speeds off, and Y/n and Mina follow after him. They shortly arrive at the remains of the former Freefom HQ.

"Oh, wow!" Mina says in shock. "I may not be a Freedom Fighter, but it's nice to see Freedom HQ still standing."

"For the most part," Y/n said.

"We've still got a room for you and Ash," Sonic tells Mina.

"Really?!"

Sonic smiles as he and his friends slow down to walk inside the HQ. Inside, Mighty is seen fixing things up with a few others.

"Yo, Mighty," the hedgehog greets the armadillo. "How you holding up?"

"Hey, Sonic!" Mighty greets back. "This is just the center support beam while Tails finishes up."

"I said 'how', now 'what', Shell-Head."

"Oh! I'm alright," Mighty turns to Y/n and Mina. "Hello, Y/n. Welcome home, Mina."

"Hey."

"Thanks! I haven't seen you since the Chaotix helped kick-off my tour," the mongoose states. "How're Knuckles and the others?"

Everyone went quiet at this and Sonic, Mighty, and Y/n all looked at each other. Mina looked at them in confusion, curious about the sudden silence.

"The rest of the team is good," Mighty states. "Shaken a bit, but..."

"Knux was brainwashed into playing the 'ultimate evil' thing. We got him back, but he lost his dad," Sonic says as he crosses his arms. "He's been keeping to himself on Angel Island lately."

"It sucks, but he doesn't want much to do with us now," Y/n states, silently thanking Sonic for not bringing up his whole 'evil puppet' debacle. "He's different now. But I think we all are."

"Oh, no!" Mina cries in sadness.

"Most of the Chaotix are keeping an eye on him," Mighty informs, "but he's taking things really rough..."

"It'll be okay. You know, Knuckles," Sonic assures everyone. "He'll come around."

"You can let go now, Mighty! I'm done!"

A voice makes Mighty let go of the center beam and everyone else looks up to see Tails flying down. Sonic greets him with a high-five and he says 'hi' to everyone.

"Heya, Tails," Mina says. "Man-o-man... You leave on one little concert tour and the world changes. Next thing you're gonna tell me is that you two are fighting or something."

Y/n barely holds in a snicker as Sonic and Tails look at each other.

"Us? Fight? Never!" Sonic waves off. "Perish the thought!"

"Uh-huh," Tails nods. "We're cool!"

Y/n smiles at the two and walks forward, looking around to get a better look at the HQ.

"This place is looking really good," be says.

"How much more left to go?" Mina asks.

"Not much! Most of it is just minor now," the twin-tailed fox states. "We even got the lab up and running. Complete with a direct link to New Mobotropolis."

Upon walking up to the main terminal, a familiar lynx face appears on screen.

"Welcome home, Mina!" Nicole tells the pop star. "I'm sorry I missed you at the airport. I was... busy with things."

"Is that Nicole?!" Mine questions. "You look great!"

"Thank you!" Nicole says and looks at Sonic and Y/n. "And I'm glad I caught you two here. Somebody wants to see you."

"Little ol' us?" Sonic questions.

"Who is it?" Y/n asks.

"Mammoth Mogul at the Detention Center."

Both Sonic and Y/n's faces fell.

"Well, that's grand," the human sarcastically states.

"Please let him have a sore throat," Sonic prays. "I have plans for the rest of the day."

"Let's just go, Sonic."

With that, Y/n teleports himself and Sonic back to New Mobotropolis. They then walk down into the Detention Center where a certain weasel greeted them.

"Well, well, well," the captive says. "Look who's come down from on high to grace us with their presence."

"Just shut up, please," Y/n ordered and used his powers to create a bar of Chaos Energy to cover the Mobian's mouth.

"Yeah," Sonic says. "I've only got enough patience to listen to Mogul, and that's pushing it."

The two walk over to the end of the cell block where Mogul was waiting.

"Alright," the hedgehog says. "What's got your trunk in a twist, big guy?"

"You have my gratitude for deciding to acquiesce to my summons," Mogul tells Sonic and Y/n. "Vis-a-vis our present status of stalemate, I propose an armistice to arbitrate the conditions of your surrender and my magnanimous departure."

"I only understood about nothing of what you just said," Y/n states.

"He wants us to let him go," Sonic tells Y/n. "Which isn't happening. 'Stalemate'? Dude, we've got you in a tiny cell that resists your magic. You don't have enough mind-powers to do more than give me a headache. And you want us to surrender? Besides! Y/n here is now probably the strongest being on Mobius! I don't think we'll ever need to worry about you again."

"While I agree with what you're saying, Sonic," Y/n says, "I don't think I'm comfortable with being called 'the strongest being on Mobius'."

"Whatever."

"He's got you dead-to-rights, Mogul," a captive states. "You've got nothing."

"I'll thank you to keep your ignorance to yourself," the magic mammoth says and turns to the two heroes. "I will give you this one chance to end this without confrontation. Cede to my demands, or I shall raise my new iteration of the Fearsome Foursome to do my bidding."

"Where would you find a new... Fearsome... Foursome...?" Sonic asks before realizing who stood in the cells around him. Then he bursts out laughing with Y/n. "Hahahaha! Sure, Mogul! Send a bunch of guys who are as trapped as you are! I hope I can sleep tonight!"

"Pssh! See you around, Mogul," Y/n says as he follows Sonic outside.

However, the two's reactions to Mogul's threats only infuriate the ancient mammoth as he crosses his arms. It was obvious that it would be near impossible to defeat the Freedom Fighters, especially with Y/n on their side now, but he had a plan.

That Night...

Nack was lying in his cell as he twirled his hat around his finger.

"Stupid heroes. 'I hOpe I cAn SlEeP tOnIgHt'," the weasel mocks. "I wish I could make him eat his words."

"Then you should enjoy this vicariously."

Nack scoffs at Mogul's statement.

"You can't do diddly. Even your psychics or whatever don't have the range to do anything," the outlaw states. "Besides, I think it be better for all of us to stay clear of Y/n. Remember how this place shook last week? That was him."

"Indeed. The human is a terrifying, but a remarkable specimen. His own power greatly exceeds that of mine and many others," Mogul states. "However, I am far but useless here. My telepathy can reach to those I have already marked."

"Wait..." Nack sits up and looks out his cell. 'Marked'...?"

"Let it never be said I do not plan without contingencies," Mogul states with an evil smirk as a green diamond glows on his forehead. "There are many I have seeded a telepathic bond in during my travels."

"Anybody I know and hate?" Nack asks.

"Most assuredly. I have had my respite, and I am rejuvenated. Sonic and Y/n's brashness has forced my hand," Mogul smirks even wider as his eyes glow a vicious green from Chaos Energy. "Thus I reach across the ether to my imminent minions..."

Back at Freedom HQ in Knothole, Mogul awakened and took control of his new Fearsome Foursome.

The pop star recently returned...

"Rise, my first."

The powerful armadillo who was exiled...

"Rise, my second."

And the Chosen One who is nothing but a child...

"Rise, my third," Mogul laughs as he takes full control over his minions. "That's it. Now for the fourth, he will need convincing..."

In Sonic's room, he's seen sleeping peacefully in his race car bed. But suddenly, he's rudely awoken when someone kicks open his door and destroys his wall.

"Gah! What's going--?!" Sonic couldn't finish as he was ripped from his bed from an unseen speedster.

Then someone flies above him and grabs his head, throwing the hedgehog outside. He rolls across the ground and growls in anger as he's ready to fight, only for his eyes to go wide when he sees who his attackers were.

"You were warned," Mina, Mighty, and Tails said in unison. "Now you will help bring upon my forth."

"Well that's just geat..."

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Mogul has taken over Sonic's friends! What a turn of events! Will the hedgehog be able to free his friends from Mogul's control? And who is the fourth and final member of his Fearsome Four? Find out, next time on Only Human!