Chapter Text
Before the world fell into war, its story had already begun to change.
Most stories begin with a King and a Queen.
King Jules and Queen Aleena.
Beloved rulers of Mobius. Praised for their kindness. Respected for the peace they built together.
For a time, the world was gentle.
Then came Black Doom.
Where Jules sought freedom, Doom demanded control.
Where Aleena nurtured peace, Doom saw weakness.
And he wanted everything they had created.
Not just their kingdom.
Their bloodline.
Like any father would, King Jules fought to protect his family while Queen Aleena fled with their three children into the chaos spreading across Mobius.
The King never returned.
But his children survived.
They grew alongside the war that consumed the world around them. Each of them wanted to save Mobius. Each believed they knew the right way to end the darkness.
And like so many families before them… they tore themselves apart trying.
So the three heirs went their separate ways. Each fighting the war alone.
Yet the darkness remained.
And the war carried on.
—
PIKO!
The ground cracked beneath the weight of Amy’s hammer as another darkling burst apart beneath it.
Black smoke hissed upward where the creature had once stood.
Another slithered behind her.
Amy spun on instinct.
A pink boot slammed into the creatures skull hard enough to launch it into the air. The creature screeching as it started falling from the boost.
PIKO!
Her hammer collided with the darkling midair like a bat striking a ball.
The creature shrieked before disintegrating into ash.
Sweat clung to Amy’s dirty pink fur. Ash stained the cuffs of her gloves. Her lungs burned from smoke and exhaustion. But her teal eyes stayed sharp. Glancing around for more enemies.
Another town.
Another battle.
Another place swallowed by fear.
The darklings never stopped.
They poured from shadows like living nightmares. Twisted phantom creatures born from the will of Black Doom himself.
Mindless.
Cruel.
Hungry.
And whenever they appeared, destruction followed.
Homes burned.
Families vanished.
Entire towns learned to bow before Doom…
…Or perish refusing him…
Today’s messenger of that terror stood at the center of the ruined square stoop a massive dark steed.
Infinite.
The only true Mobian among the monsters.
Doom’s hightest knight.
His crimson armor gleamed beneath the smoke choked sky while darklings slithered around his horse like obedient hounds.
“Submit to King Doom.” he had ordered when he arrived.
The town had refused.
So Infinite condemned it.
The only one to really stop the creatures from existing aside from the creator himself.
Amy gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on her hammer.
Monsters like him were the reason the Resistance existed.
The reason Sonia’s forces were sread thin across Mobius.
The reason Amy and Blaze had not slept in nearly two days.
They fought in forests.
In ruined cities.
Along collapsing bridges.
Across frozen mountains.
Every battle bled into the next until time barely mattered anymore.
But even in the middle of all that chaos…
Stories still spread.
Whispers carried between refugees huddled around weak fires.
A blue spirit.
A phantom.
A blur that appeared before towns fell apart completely.
Some said he stole supplies from Doom’s camps and left them for starving families.
Others claimed he carried children out of burning buildings before the darklings arrived.
Some swore he wasn’t real at all.
Just hope wearing a shape.
Amy didn’t know what to believe.
She only knew the Blue Phantom was here.
Because darklings were dropping faster than she could reach them.
Blue streaks darted through alleyways.
Creatures vanished with cries.
Civilians were suddenly appearing in safe zones they hadn’t reached yet.
It was like fighting beside the wind itself.
PIKO!
Amy crushed another darkling into the dirt.
Heat suddenly flared beside her.
Blaze the Cat landed gracefully at her back. Flames spiraling around her wrists.
“This is the last wave!” Blaze hissed, “We must return to Commander Sonia afterward!”
The two stood back to back as more darklings surrounded them.
Cornered.
Or at least that was what the creatures believed.
Amy grinned.
Big mistake.
She began spinning her hammer effortlessly. Despite its impossible size and weight.
Blaze noticed instantly.
A practiced move.
Flames ignited between Blaze’s palms before wrapping around Amy’s hammer in a spiraling inferno.
Not burning it.
Enhancing it.
The metal glowed orange beneath the heat.
Amy swung once for momentum.
And launched the hammer.
The massive weapon tore through the battlefield like a comet.
Darklings shrieked as flaming impacts shattered their bodies apart one after another.
Ash exploded into the air.
Fire reflected across ruined homes.
The hammer curved through the smoke before flying perfectly back into Amy’s waiting hand.
The flames vanished instantly.
Like they had never been there at all.
Silence fell.
Then hoofbeats echoed across the square.
Infinite remained mounted atop his dark horse. Still watching them. Still alive.
The jackals lips curled beneath his mask.
Two woman.
No royal banner.
No armor.
And yet they had ruined his assault.
His fingers slowly tightened around the hilt of his sword.
The air changed. Dark and heavy.
The remaining shadows around the village began twisting violently at his command.
Amy lowered into a fighting stance.
Blaze’s flames reignited.
Infinite suddenly moved. His horse lunged forward.
Until suddenly a blur of blue slammed into him before he could strike.
CRACK.
Infinite was ripped from his saddle and thrown violently across the dirt.
The horse screeched.
Amy blinked.
Blue streaks whipped around the jackal faster than eyesight could fully track.
Punches landed from nowhere.
A kick.
Another hit.
All to the jackal.
Then another strike.
Infinite snarled and barely blocked a blow aimed directly for his jaw.
Laughter echoed through the battlefield. Bright and wild.
Almost playful.
The Blue Phantom moved like a storm. Pretending to be a person.
Not disciplined.
Not formal.
Feral.
Like freedom itself had learned how to fight back.
Wind burst through the ruined square as the blur skidded backward atop a broken wall.
For half a second, Amy managed to catch pieces of him.
Blue quills.
Red shoes.
A grin too sharp to belong in the middle of war.
Then he vanished again.
The blur darted toward the forest.
Branches shook violently in its wake.
A deliberate challenge.
An invitation.
Come follow me.
Infinite growled low in his throat before yanking himself onto his horse again.
“You cannot run forever!” he barked.
A snap of the horses reigns. The dark steed reared before charging after the blue streak into the woods.
Silence followed behind them.
Amy stepped forward immediately, “You coward-”
Blaze rested a paw against her shoulder.
“We need to help the survivors first.” Blaze said quietly. “Then report back to Sonia.”
Amy exhaled sharply through her nose before finally nodding.
But her eyes lingered on the forest.
On the place where the Blue Phantom had disappeared.
Hoping, whoever he really was, that he’d survived…