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Fanfic / Sonic: Evil Reborn Zero

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Sonic: Evil Reborn Zero (also known as SERZ) is a Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction written by Sel Melvins (now known as Yuli Ban).

The story deconstructs (or plans to) many aspects of Sonic lore and Sonic fanfiction, and does this by throwing in two otherwise random characters: an emerald green hedgehog named Koset who arrives in dramatic fashion, and an apparent demon/hedgehog named Wikke. Within the first two 'episodes', Shadow is taken down by a Sonic recolor and instances of angst arise. This is while taking place in an environment that seems a little too inspired by the Sonic Adventure series, complete with some of the games' laughable dialogue for added affect. There's talk of the value of friends and a glorification of the little things in Sonic, i.e. the rings, the lamp posts, and even loop-de-loops, things you don't typically find in Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction. We're even treated to Cinos, aka 'Evil Sonic', and it seems as if it's going to become an even more cliche fanfiction with all the usual tropes.

But then it turns.

The story is naturally Darker and Edgier than the main games, and when it begins dwelling on its own deconstruction, it becomes rather bleak. It openly calls out things such as the nature of the historically lighthearted franchise being cast into such a dark scenario, alongside the purpose for rings, the nature of Chaos energy from an almost scientific standpoint, and conspiracy theories about Sonic and friends. It calls out the stupidity of fanfiction cliches and tired old tropes as it comes across them (and even before). It even dares to point out that the characters don't speak in cheery tones.

The most peculiar aspect of SERZ is its episodic format. Instead of a typical chapter-based progression, it uses "Episodes". An episode ranges from 5 to 8,000 words (what would normally be a chapter), and this is split into 4 bite-sized versions meant for an easier read. 'Episode 2, Chapter 8' is not a riddle or the eighth chapter of episode 2: it is chapter 8 chronologically, and this chapter is part of Episode 2. A main criticism of the series is that, while this method is organized, it bloats the number of chapters. Five episodes is 20 chapters, and because episodes are the 'real' chapters, this makes the fiction appear longer and more daunting than it actually is.

Example:

  • Episode 1
    • Chapter 1
    • Chapter 2
    • Chapter 3
    • Chapter 4

  • Episode 2
    • Chapter 5
    • Chapter 6
    • Chapter 7
    • Chapter 8

  • Episode 3...
And so on.

The fic is no longer on FanFiction.Net, but it's still readable here.

Sonic: Evil Reborn Zero provides examples of:

  • 0% Approval Rating: What the President has to grapple with thanks to so much foreign involvement and military internment of citizens.
  • 1-Up: Used as a gag in Episode 25 when Jynx gains 100 rings and immediately falls in a pit of lava, reappearing next to a star lamp. It's used as a form of torture in season 2, however, when Metal Sonic uses it on Sonic in an attempt to break him.
  • Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Episode 9, Sewer Rats. The sewer is so absurdly spacious, it's possible for millions of gallons of water to fill it up. In singular rooms.
  • Acceptable Breaks from Canon: Because of the already flimsy plot of the main franchise, when the story adds depth to Sonic's world, there's a solid chance it's not canon.
  • Action Bomb: A sticky, bouncy one nearly does in the heroes early on.
  • Action Girl: Amy strives to become a competent one. Etero becomes one after she slips some of her latent Serdist energy manipulation.
  • After the End: After the end of World War III in the third season, some of the Sonic heroes jump to Mobius. This is where the story really picks up as it's in Blaze's world that the Serdist Aristocracy is most prevalent.
  • Airborne Aircraft Carrier: The Egg Armada is an armada in the sky.
    • Guess what Yfels are supposed to be? Carriers for Serdist Wraiths.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: Rockette and Wikke alike, though moreso for Wikke since the former still intends to be murderous.
  • Ambition Is Evil: Rockette. What's the best way to prove your worth to a madman? Why, attempting to brutally murder a bunch of woodland creatures, the world be damned!
  • Animation Bump: The quality of the writing varies between decent to good (according to Sonic fanfiction standards that is), but the opening chapter, The Hero And The Madman, reads like someone wrote down an edited version of the Sonic Unleashed intro, down to its tiniest details and frantic motions.
  • Animesque: The series repeatedly uses anime conventions such as inner monologues, sweat drops, and collective falling, though it keeps itself open as letting the reader imagine whether it would be visually western or eastern.
  • Anyone Can Die: Stated by Koset, specifically to convince Amy that living by a "good guys win no matter what" mantra will get them all killed.
  • Apocalypse How: Knuckles has an open ended vision that Cinos destroys the world with Jynx's help
  • The Beastmaster: Tails and Rouge. The series becomes partially Mons with the usage of Chaos and Serdist Wraiths.
  • Berserk Button: Never call Silver an albino hedgehog.
  • Big Bad: Per season,
    • Wikke in Season 1.
    • Metal Sonic in Season 2
    • Perseus Venda in Season 3
    • Santorini in Season 4
  • Big Damn Heroes: Sonic plays this role when Eggman attacks with the Eggman Armada in Episode 6, The Eggman Empire Strikes Back, though his friends were putting up a damn good fight.
  • Bittersweet Ending: Amplified due to the deconstruction nature of the series. Wikke's arguably evil plot is thwarted, Sonic is normal again (and stronger than ever before), Tails has a lightsaber, Amy has undergone extensive development, Eggman's imprisoned, and the world is safe. Millions are also dead, Sonic is held under intense suspicion and scrutiny, the effects of Mars being pushed towards Earth has left chaos to Earth's tidal forces, and the destruction of several major cities atop a global cold war has whittled the economy and pushed relations between humans and byodokans to record lows.
  • Call-Back: Red Mountain and the Pyramid Base. Arguably Windy Valley and Pumpkin Hill.
  • The Cameo: The Freedom Fighters are mentioned in Episode 6, though they may not be the same Freedom Fighters from SatAM or the comic. Keep an eye out for Metal Sonic in Episode 10 and later chapters as well.
  • Cerebus Rollercoaster:
    • It's not uncommon for the story to have one chapter that deals with mass murder and psychological suffering, only for the next to deal with women in bikinis or feature plentiful jokes.
    • The first arc, episodes 1 to 9, are generally like this because they attempt to emulate a typical Sonic Adventure.
  • Cerebus Syndrome: Arc 2 starts it, though it's arguable that it began as early as Episode 2, chapter 6.
  • Character Development: The series pains itself to develop otherwise flat characters. By episode 40, Amy is undoubtedly the most developed character of the lot, having had her loyalty to Sonic so thoroughly tested and usefulness to the heroes examined that she takes it upon herself to improve herself. Because of this, Sonic and Amy appear to be better friends rather than odd couples afterwards.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Rockette, after she vows to dethrone Sonic as the fastest thing alive. The anti-OC Author Tract of the fanfiction assures she suffers considerably.
  • Chekhov's Boomerang: In Episode 2, Chapter 8, A Happy Ending, take good note that Sonic finds hundreds of thousands of power rings, but only takes back a fraction of them. In Episode 40, this becomes... direly important, to say the least.
  • Chekhov's Gun:
    • Sonic takes a ring from Eggman in Episode 4, which allows him to defeat the Death Egg Rex. The characters even note how stupid it was of Eggman to hold out the ring right when Sonic needed it most. What about it? The ring was affixed with a spell that opened Sonic up to the Vichy Thlee spell, thus allowing him to be possessed by Cinos.
    • In one episode, Tails remarks that there are 19 Chaos Emerald signals all appearing at once. This later proves odd when Eggman confirms that there are 13 fake Chaos Emeralds, plus the 7 originals. The missing Emerald is hidden by a Serde block, and is also the one Sonic uses to transform in Episode 36 as it is the only one no one finds beforehand.
  • Chekhov's Gunman:
    • In one scene that's very easy to overlook, it's implied that Metal Sonic stole a book from a museum. It's not until Season 2 that this is expanded upon, and not until well later in the storyline that it's revealed what he stole and why. And it turns out to be a little more than vital.
    • Rockette is little more than a recurring forgettable Mook in seasons 1 and 2, but she rises through the ranks afterwards, becoming a major part of the plot.
  • The Chessmaster: The Serdist Aristocracy, such as Malfiore, and students such as Santorini.
  • Chosen One: Rockette. Thought it would be Sonic, didn't you?
  • Climax Boss: Wikke, Serdist Unleashed vs Super Sonic.
  • Co-Dragons: Roach and Fier, Santorini's underlings.
  • Colon Cancer: SERZ: Sonic: Evil Reborn Zero
  • Continuity Nod:
    • The characters and narration give mention to times when certain events happen much like they are now and also talk of the events of previous games.
    • The first arc of the series takes up much influence from Sonic Adventures 1 and 2, from plot points such as the Master Emerald being shattered to locations like Red Mountain. Soleanna, though it's been wiped from history, also plays a part in the plot.
      Narrator: Eggman has always promised to- but has never followed through on- changing his ways every single time he's backed into a corner. In fact, in one exceptionally extreme case, Robotnik had begged for mercy, only to shatter the world into seven pieces.
    • The line "long time no see."
  • Continuity Porn: Never forget an event from an earlier episode or chapter. They have a tendency to come up again at the most unexpected of times.
  • The Corrupter: Pick a Serdist elite, any Serdist elite. Vita (or Prince Min) is a great example.
  • Criminal Doppelgänger: Sonic Android and Metal Sonic (the latter implied).
  • Curbstomp Battle: Sonic Android vs Sonic, and Shadow vs Cinos (before ultra forms enter the fray)
  • Crazy-Prepared: It's implied that Eggman prepared for a major brawl before The Eggman Empire Strikes Back
  • Dark Action Girl: Etero in Season 3. Probably because she's a Serdist Advanced Student/Reaper.
  • Darkest Hour: Cinos vs Tails and Koset in Episode 13 and The heroes vs the Yfel in Episode 19
  • Deconstruction Fic: The light hearted nature of the series in the first season. This is planned to be expanded upon in Season 2, featuring a much greater deconstruction of Sonic and video game physics and mechanics. And a brutal one at that. The story sets up an idea that it's as cliche as the average fanfic, which makes its deconstructions all the more satisfying. Season 2, appropriately named The Digital Fist/Fun and Games saga, plans to do an even more thorough deconstruction, focusing more on deconstructing Sonic the Hedgehog/video game tropes rather than fanfiction.
  • Delicious Distraction: One comes early in season 2 when Sonic is treated to a chili dog to distract him from the incoming paparazzi.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Cinostæphulos's true form. Etero can also use Serdist magic to summon various horrible creatures.
  • Elegant Weapon for a More Civilized Age: Unforgivably used against a lightsaber, as opposed to energy control. And it's called out.
    Wikke: And why are you using this barbaric and uncivilized weapon? (regarding Koset using his lightsaber)
  • 11th-Hour Superpower: The hundreds of thousands of unused rings mentioned in the Chekhov's Gun example come in very handy when Super Sonic has to push Mars away from Earth.
  • Elite Mook: Comettes for Eggman. Red Wraiths for Chaos/Serde.
  • Emo Teen: Rockette, according to everyone but herself.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Wikke does not want to do what he has to do on Earth (mostly), but does it to save a slave girl from a Fate Worse than Death. And because he accepts the mission, he'd suffer the same fate if he backs out.
  • Evil Counterpart: Cinos and Sonic Android.
  • Evil Laugh: Eggman is the master of them. Cinos also lets loose a few, though they're more unhinged.
  • Eviler than Thou: Though he hates being called evil, Wikke repeatedly engages in very dark acts.
  • Evil Makes You Monstrous: Wikke and Cinos. Cinos specifically when he separates from Sonic and takes on a more primal, beastly form. Becomes Nightmare Fuel when it's stated that, had they remained together, this is the form he'd have taken anyway.
  • Evil Twin: Sonic Android. May also count as an Evil Knockoff.
  • Evil Versus Evil: The Serdist Mafia and the Serdist Aristocracy are not to be confused with each other: they have no formal ties. Though they do work together on occasion, most of the time they war with each other.
  • Fantastic Racism:
    • What Rockette believes exists against all robots and not just Eggman's.
    • The Sonic animals themselves face this by those who believe them to all be evil.
  • Fight Scene: There's at least one every episode, some expanding over multiple episodes.
  • Filler: Episode 8, Waking Up From A Dream. It was a late addition to the series and serves little purpose to the plot at large except to introduce Anti-Chaos/Serde and the Wraiths. Because of episode 24, this makes Waking Up From A Dream more of a foreshadowing or Chekhov's chapter than anything.
  • Final Battle: One for the fanfic record books; this final battle lasts 40 chapters. Luckily, it's bombastic enough to make up for the length.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • Tails and Koset want to avoid thunderstorms and only fly through them when they absolutely have to, only for the storms to encompass them as soon as they leave? Gee, doesn't sound like a metaphor at all...
    • Koset and others repeatedly state that they don't believe that Sonic needs to go Super Sonic to handle their current situation.
    • No one believes that Sonic Android is Sonic because they trust Sonic as a hero too much. This only makes Cinos's appearance all the more dark.
  • For the Evulz: Malfiore's reasons for sabotaging Wikke's mission and trolling the Sonic heroes.
  • Frame-Up: Sonic Android, to frame Sonic for murder and destruction and turn GUN and the humans against him and his friends. Backfires when the Serdist Rogues meddle with Wikke's plot.
  • From Bad to Worse:
    • Shadow is killed? Sonic's turned evil? Sonic just killed millions? Evil Sonic has a crappy name? Knuckles is killed? Though no one has yet truly died, it only helps to make the whole atmosphere relentlessly dark.
    • In the final fight with Wikke, right before Sonic can transform into Super Sonic, Eggman returns and scatters the Chaos Emeralds, leading to Sonic facing a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that very nearly kills him and his friends.
  • Full-Name Ultimatum:
    Cinos:'I AM SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!'
  • Glory Seeker: Wikke. He passes this down to Morningstar, though she'll always claim it's pure altruism.
  • The Ghost: Metal Sonic, Blaze, Cream, and Sally. Also, the Serdist Rogues. They do make an appearance in a flashback, however.
  • Good Is Not Soft:
    • Koset has moral restraints, but isn't afraid to kill when there's no other option... or even if there are other options!
    • The ever more psychotic Knuckles to Jynx. Even Rouge agrees that the mole should be killed, to the chagrin of the others (who haven't experienced him).
  • Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Though averted on occasion, the characters try their best to maintain the clean mouths they have in the games.
  • Gotta Catch 'Em All: The Chaos Emeralds, for the first season.
  • Greed: Jynx. He's as greedy for rings as Rouge is for jewels, and works to collect the Master Emerald for the sole reason to use it to create more rings, unaware that Wikke needs it to prevent the heroes from stabilizing Chaos energy and limiting Serde energy.
  • Green Hill Zone: The Trope Namer appears last, ironically, in the first season. It's where the final battle between Super Sonic and Wikke takes place.
  • Level Grinding: Used well with Rockette, whose determination to rival and kill Sonic leads her to pushing herself against all odds to match him, even though he keeps on improving in leaps and bounds.
  • Lighter and Softer: Season 2, until the very end. It's so much brighter than either Season 1 or 3 that it could pass as being a modern Sonic game. Season 4 initially appears to be extremely lighthearted as well, on a near Sonic Colors level.
  • Heel Realization: Jynx realizes the damage he's caused and becomes The Atoner.
  • Hellish Pupils: Wikke's eyes are described as demonic, but Koset's eyes are the exact same. He isn't called out because the heroes don't see Wikke close up until the very end
  • Hero Antagonist: Though utterly unapparent, it turns out Wikke is a hero. He risked his life to save a slave and end slavery on an alien planet, and his mission at the start of the fanfic only involves destruction because of two rouge Serdist agents meddling with his goals.
  • Heroic Second Wind: All throughout the fourth arc.
  • Homage:
    • The series makes a clever homage to Dragon Ball Z with Koset explaining how to temporarily and quickly increase one's energy right before an attack, a technique used in Dragon Ball Z.
      Koset: I've learned that there's a way to increase your energy in short, intense bursts right when you strike an opponent. In one punch, your power could be ten times, even a hundred times its normal level.
    • Season 2 homages The Matrix when it's discovered that the Sonic heroes are a part of an interactive simulated universal program (aka, a video game).
      Tails: Maybe we should have been collecting the blue star rings all along.
      Sonic: Tails, it's way too early in the morning. Please don't start.
  • Honorary True Companion: Koset. Death kept him from joining the heroes, and then he wouldn't stay on Earth.
  • Hopeless Boss Fight: The final battle with Wikke. It become extraordinary hopeless when right before Sonic is able to become Super Sonic (at first), Eggman reappears and knocks the Chaos Emeralds away, opening Sonic to the beatdown of. His. Life.
  • Hostile Weather: In one chapter, lightning is chasing people. Globally, it leads to instability and rebellions due to crop failure and food shortages, though this is only implied. The weather is also noted as being incredibly bizarre by scientists. Also: Thunderstorms that emit EMP waves and Chaos Energy.
  • Idiot Ball: Wikke's with the Serdists all because Koset believes that sending him to train with them with lead to him turning against them, ala a sketchy prophecy. And he's given to the Serdists as a child while already bonding with his father What the hell, man!
    • Eggman's decision to brandish a ring in the open right as Sonic needed it in Episode 4 initially seemed this way before later being subverted as a Chekhov's Gun
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: The whole point of Arc 2's fights. By Arc 3, however, the heroes don't bother.
  • Important Haircut: Averted by Amy. She lets her hair grow out slightly longer after season 1.
  • Interesting Situation Duel: Station Square, Cinos vs Tails and Koset. It begins with the entire sky and city being black. And by black, this doesn't mean night, this is a black so completely black, one can't even see two inches in front of their eyes.
  • Kick the Dog:
    • When Cinos destroys Station Square. The fact he's murdered an untold number of people becomes a psychological weapon later on.
    • Jynx making a sexual innuendo remark towards Rouge really pisses off Knuckles.
    • Tails getting struck by Wikke causes Sonic's rage to break.
    • Wikke suffers a moment when Sonic destroys an amulet that protects Morningstar from Serdist drones coming to collect her, meaning she will be re-enslaved.
  • Knight of Cerebus: Averted by Wikke, though the grimdark events surrounding his arrival lead to him being seen as such in-universe.
  • Kryptonite Factor: Chaos and Serde energy are opposite to each other, and thus can cancel each other it. This depends on the skill and strength of the user and victim, as well as whatever artifacts are used for the effects. This is one of the series' most celebrated elements.
  • Lampshade Hanging:
    • When Sonic and friends question the abrupt appearance of Koset. Ever wonder how Sonic and friends would actually react to a recolor appearing? They also question if Koset is a child's badly made imaginary friend and if he is secretly related to Sonic or someone else.
    • Super forms only use one ring a second, right? Is that a set number, or can one change it to increase or decrease energy output? Super Sonic answers this question in the final battle, with explosive results.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Sonic doesn't consider taking the Chaos Detector on multiple occasions where it would've been useful because he's only out to do things quickly.
  • Levels Take Flight: Overground Circuit and the Sky Complex.
  • Lighter and Softer: Averted; in fact, a central point of the story is to take the light-hearted nature of the franchise and put it into an oppressively dark situation.
  • Look What I Can Do Now!: Related to the homage example, when Cinos confronts Rockette, he uses Koset's technique to destroy the robot effortlessly.
  • Malevolent Mugshot: The Eggman Empire takes this to new extremes, with Eggman even recreating a galaxy in his image.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • No readers should know this, but Word of God has it that 'Koset' comes from an artificial language meant for another fanfiction, and literally means "Green Light."
    • Yfel comes directly from the Old English word 'Evil', which fits them considering that they are war machines.
  • Mecha-Mooks: The Rockettes, the Egg Pawns, the badniks, and various other robotic baddies from other sides. Comettes also count as elite Mecha Mooks.
  • Medium Awareness: Part of season 2's plot (arguably a sideplot in and of itself) is the global reaction that the Sonic universe is a video game, one that can work to the benefit of the heroes and villains.
    Sonic: Press the B button to ju—... Wh-why did I just say that?
    Tails: Someone's playing as you. (Cue disturbed expression on Sonic's face)
  • Mêlée à Trois: Sonic heroes vs Eggman and Wikke's team vs the unstated Serdist Rogues.
  • Mind Rape: Cinos loves using this trope against Sonic's friends.
  • Mind Screw: Is Super Sonic pushing a planet with his bare hands?
  • Mons: When it's discovered that Chaos and Serdist Wraiths can be harnessed and given physical forms, the series takes this path. Season 2 and 3 are all about this trope, leading to points where the action feels more akin to Pokémon than Sonic. Tails becomes adept in playing the role of a beastmaster. Because some characters (such as Sonic and Metal Sonic) don't like controlling Mons, and thus there are often battles between characters and Mons as well.
  • Mood Whiplash: One minute, making geeky jokes and poking fun of the Butt-Monkey, the next showing off a 12 year old's Mind Rape and collective breakdown?
  • My Country, Right or Wrong: Wikke remains loyal to the Serdist Aristocracy, which is one of the reasons why he doesn't just fly off and engage in power orgies during his last days alive.
  • My Master, Right or Wrong: Rockette will not betray Eggman, even when she achieves almost everything she hopes for and exists as a dubious ally with Sonic.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When Sonic shatters Wikke's Morningstar Gem, unaware that this means someone will be enslaved by a brutal master. This same someone also happens to be one of his fair-weather friends.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Cinos has many ancient skills that are unlocked via Chaos transformation and observation, such as Chaos Zenkai and the instant-increase abilities. When Sonic emerges victorious over Cinostæphulos, he now has all of Cinostæphulos's abilities. Though Wikke is not responsible for Cinos, he essentially trained Sonic to defeat him.
  • Nigh-Invulnerability: Invincibility power ups, super forms, and the like lead to this. This is deconstructed in-series when Rockette suffers an existential crisis over why she can never beat Sonic and friends.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Sonic Android issues a particularly harsh one to Shadow. Cinos also sends one Rockette's way.
  • Not Allowed to Grow Up: Morningstar's secondary motivation for opposing the Serdists is that she wants to escape slavery through death, where is impossible to resurrect one, but only if they died through old age.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: Eggman notes that Wikke shares personality traits with Sonic multiple times and openly calls Wikke 'the real evil Sonic' in Episode 24.
  • Off the Rails: Wikke's whole mission in the first season was to set down a Serdist sigil and use the pre-chosen proxy that happened to be Sonic to revive an old Serdist lord. It wasn't going to take more than a few hours and his only reason to ally himself with Eggman was to announce to the Yurei Union that the Serdists are on their way. Everything that happened was caused by Malfiore's relentless need to troll and Santorini trying to steal back his slave and Koset attempting to subvert him.
  • Oh, Crap!: Multiple times, starting when Sonic is nearly done in by a sticky-explosive shaped like a bouncing ball.
  • One-Hit Kill: Some of the Rockettes are so shoddily built that the compression of air created by one of Sonic's homing attacks can break one apart.
  • One-Winged Angel:
    • The Yfels. They range from gigantic plasma entities the size of asteroids to stratospheric giant wraiths. While they are immensely strong, their Kryptonite Factor makes them incredibly easy to defeat once the heroes know what they're doing.
    • When Wikke is 60% Unleashed, he becomes a gigantic Jackal, as tall as a building. This is then subverted when he reaches 100% and shrinks down to Sonic's height.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Noticed when characters such as Amy lose their cheery tones and Rouge seemingly becomes selfless.
  • Out-Gambitted: Eggman and Wikke's plot to use the fake Chaos Emeralds to throw off the heroes is thwarted by the Serdist Rogues.
  • Out-of-Genre Experience: Platformer in prose, then fighting series, then Mons. That's not even considering the story at large shifting from corny adventure to doomsday scenario to cyberpunk to space opera/war story.
  • Painfully Slow Projectile: The reason why Shadow's Chaos Bomb fails against Wikke.
    Rouge: Chaos Spears are as fast as lightning. But Shadow's Chaos Bomb...
    Shadow: An embarrassing oversight. I should never have assumed it would travel at the same speed.
  • Parental Abandonment: Backstory for Koset and Wikke, though it's less abandonment and more Koset telling a child Wikke "I'm sending you to Sith Academy so you can become a Jedi and assume you will rebel because of a prophecy foretold by chronic liars."
  • Le Parkour: In Episode 40, Amy reveals she's joined a freerunner's guild as a first attempt at self-development.
  • Passing the Torch: Tails receiving Koset's lightsaber.
  • Plot Armor: Any Sonic friend Cinos faces off with.
  • Plucky Comic Relief: Anything with Knuckles and Jynx, though it begins becoming downright disturbing at times.
  • Police Are Useless: Played straight for most of the first season. Averted during Episode 40, when the police become cyborg badasses.
  • Portent of Doom: Non-stop storms and floating glowing humanoids? There's no other way to take such a thing.
  • The Power of Friendship: Very surprisingly, the last battle with Wikke has the heroes calling upon this. This is despite it being deconstructed earlier.
  • Power-Up: Rings and Chaos Emeralds. Mobio's Power Ups also apply.
  • Precision F-Strike: In Episode 10, Wikke drops a B bomb. Because the series still operates on a Gosh Darn It to Heck! principle (most of the time), it is very jarring.
  • Punched Across the Room: Super Sonic punches Wikke across the planet, though via a homing attack.
  • Pyrrhic Victory: Defeated Wikke. Now you have to deal with a world falling apart and a lack of trust from said world as well as an incoming army of darkness far beyond what you're capable of defending against.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: The Serdist Aristocracy. As the fanfiction was originally intended for and based on Dragon Ball Z, the higher echelons of the group are far beyond Sonic the Hedgehog's level of power and ability, with the highest caste ranking as high as Class X-5.
  • Rays from Heaven: During The Eggman Empire Strikes Back. Chapter 24 is literally called Rays of Light!
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Eggman hands Rockette one in Episode 15, thus kicking off her story.
  • Religion of Evil:
    • Serdism. Not to be confused with the Serde Force.
    • Wikke's actions involving the death of millions isn't very heroic, but he is actually trying to free a slave and his own actions trouble him.
  • Riding into the Sunset: Chapter 9, the last chapter of the first arc, features Sonic and Koset running into the sunset. Considering what comes after...
  • Robo Speak: Robotnik's machines capable of speech display this.
  • The Ruins I Caused: Any time there's a major battle, especially in a city. It doesn't help that there are sociopolitical and economic repercussions, Earthly and galactic.
  • Running Gag: Amy calls Koset a paranoid conspiracy theorist as early as Episode 3, and never lets it go. Ever.
  • Sadist: Cinos. He hates it when things die too quickly, and purposely employs mindgames.
  • Sdrawkcab Name: Cinos. Though the Serdist Lord's full name is longer and more arcane, Wikke shortened it to Cinos because it's Sonic spelled backwards. This does not go over well with anyone, not Cinos, not even readers of the story, and Wikke earns postmortem scorn for it. Though it was probably meant as a parody of badly written fanfiction, it remains a criticism.
  • The Scrappy: In-Universe, the Eggmanland Rockettes. They're despised and made fun of by everyone because of their depressingly low quality.
  • Serial Escalation: The Serdist Caste. Ranges from the Beginner Students to the Administrator, with each class exponentially more powerful than the last.
  • Sixth Ranger Traitor: Etero. She was the first competent human to join the all-animal cast, too.
  • Shout-Out:
    • The pyramid base from Sonic Adventure 2 is a major part of the story for the first arc, and it doesn't go unmentioned that it's being reused.
    • Episode 40, chapters 158, 159, and 160, all pull major inspiration from Durarara!! and Mirror's Edge.
    • Season 2 is this towards Tron and The Matrix. Also during the season, there's an episode where Shadow chases down a secret agent through a noir-laden Empire City, utilizing Chaos Control to slow down time, and openly using weapons, though also using Chaos magic. If one still doesn't pick it up, several chapter names complete the shout out, including one literally named Maximum Pain.
    • Season 3 starts off with an invasion that closely mimicks the one in Freedom Fighters, and many of the events, artifacts, and weapons used by the Black Arms and Serdist Mafia reference Halo and Mass Effect.
    • One of Mobio's Power Ups is named The Z Grenade and it creates an electric halo around its user, increasing his/her power. Another power up that gives one a special boost is called Tri-Force Hyperboost.
    • There's a shout out of the Sonic franchise itself with the In-Universe Atom The Porcupine series.
  • Show Within a Show: The Atom the Porcupine franchise. Tails is a massive fan, defending it from people who claim that it has never matched its classic era. He also writes and promotes incredibly deep fanfiction of the game series, earning him ridicule and scorn by peers.
  • Skyward Scream: Knuckles has many.
  • Slave Mooks: Mycopian Serdists, whom are weaker than beginner students, are this. Morningstar is an example.
  • Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: While anything can be done if we all do it together, don't forget that heroes can lose.
  • Space Marine: Battalion 23 is created for this purpose.
  • Spell Book: Svlinomicon and the Chaos Arcanus.
  • Stealth Pun: Not exactly stealthy, though the joke itself requires some thinking.
    Jynx:' "What's the only thing heavier than an iron butterfly? A lead zeppelin!" (Drops a magic zeppelin on Knuckles)
  • Suicidal Overconfidence: Rockette against Cinos, though in her defense she didn't fully intend to win, just to prove her worth to Eggman by dying in battle.
  • Super Mode: Besides just Super Sonic, the series also introduces 'Ultra Sonic,' which is a super form whose power is based off of individual emeralds.
    Koset:"They're your intermediate forms. All right? They're what you transform into before you go Super. Any transformation using individual emeralds, Chaos or Super, are ultra forms. But understand me now that the whole, in this situation, is far greater than the sum of its parts."
  • Superpowered Evil Side: False Super Sonic in Episode 35.
    • Wikke's Serdist Unleashed form might count as this as well, as his former reluctance to fight is completely abandoned.
  • Super-Soldier: The United Federation police, Episode 40 on.
  • Super-Strength: There's a technique where Sonic can increase his strength in short bursts, potentially making him as strong as Knuckles. And as for Knuckles?
    Koset: Of course, if your friend were to learn [this technique], there's no reason why he couldn't punch the Earth off its axis and out of orbit, or rip a hole through space.
  • Take Over the World: Already done by the Serdists. Subverted by Metal Sonic and Digital Sonic in season 2, who decide to play hero. Why, consider they're supposed to be evil? They have nothing better to do, and taking over the world is cliche. Backfires because their methods of achieving it (destroy the Internet) are still destructive, and the Sonic heroes regardless see them as villains.
  • Taking the Bullet: Koset takes an energy blast for Tails. It didn't do much good because Wikke just fired again (though with less power to make Tails suffer).
  • These Hands Have Killed: Koset mentions this to the Sonic heroes in Episode 25.
  • Too Fast to Stop: Sonic accidentally runs off of a cliff, slows down too late, and falls onto jagged rocks, breaking his legs and leaving him bedridden for months. And this is how the story starts.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Amy, several times, but especially Episode 40, and she comes off as a badass even after all the fighting had been done.
  • Toxic Friend Influence: Koset, though only as part of his backstory of how he lost his hand and friends and several planets.
  • Training from Hell: Rockette goes through this to become Malfiore's apprentice. It's all for nothing because accepting the tasks in the first place was a failure condition in and of itself.
  • Troll: Malfiore. To a lesser extent, Jynx.
  • Turned Against Their Masters: Metal Sonic and Digital Sonic. In a rare anti-heroic subversion, they do this to save the human/anthro world from its own destruction.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Rockette and Tails in season 3
  • Undying Loyalty: Averted and deconstructed with tearjerking results.
  • Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The world mixes humans and anthros, though it's consistently mentioned that the fanfic is meant to be imagined either as a cartoon or anime.
  • Verbal Tic: When he's flustered, Koset begins stuttering.
  • We Do the Impossible: Best exemplified by Super Sonic holding Mars in his hands and pushing it back into orbit.
  • What Measure Is a Mook?: The series goes in-depth explaining things from the side of a failed Eggman robot named E-182-5241, part of a series known as the Eggmanland Rockettes, specifically upon the subject of being a robot made by Eggman.
  • What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Also apart of the sidestory of E-182-5241 "Rockette" is about how robots are seen as less alive or not worth anything.
  • White-and-Grey Morality: Wikke and several other Serdists do not like being called 'evil' because a motto of the Serdists is that "evil is but a point of view."
  • White Gloves: Averted, as Koset has a metallic prosthetic hand, and Wikke has no gloves.
  • With Us or Against Us: Exactly what the Serdists do not believe in— "Evil is a point of view."
  • Why Won't You Die?: Stated many times by many characters towards many characters for many reasons.
  • Worldbuilding: The world in the story is based off of the Sonic Unleashed world, with the rest of the known locations added in rather than the fluid and undefined world of the games. It also features new locations that become integral to the plot.
  • World of Funny Animals: There's a noticeably larger number of Funny Animal anthros in the story than there is in the games.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Openly mentioned only once, but with action girls a part of the series, played straight.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Cinos. It's implied he kills a little girl in Episode 11.
  • The Worf Effect: The heroes lose more than they win during the first season.
  • Written Sound Effect
  • Xanatos Gambit: Eggman fully planned Metal Sonic and Digital Sonic's betrayal and had special procedures in place for any off chance tangent. If they win, he wins. If they lose, he wins. If they win in any small or large form, he wins.
  • You ALL Look Familiar: The Rockettes and the Comettes.
  • You Are Number 6: You know one of Eggman's robots is exceptional if it has a name. Rockette plays this straight as she merely took the name of her series.
  • You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good!: Rockette.
  • You Have Failed Me: The Eggmanland Rockettes, en masse. Word of God says that there were over 25000 made, but because of the brand's low quality, over half were stripped to scrap metal and the other half are used as surrogate Egg Pawns with the intention of being destroyed.
  • You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!

Though I may not know what you've been told, Miss Rose, I can assure you it is all a lie.

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