This location exists primarily or exclusively within the Archie Comics continuity. Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity.

"The Void" redirects here. For the episode, see The Void (episode). For the character from Sonic Shuffle, see Void.

The Special Zone, formerly known as Zone of Silence and the Void, is a fictional dimension. Depending on whether is it found in the Archie Comics or SatAM, it was either created or discovered by the wizard Ixis Naugus.

Contents 1 Appearance 2 Effects 3 History 3.1 SatAM 3.2 Archie 4 References

AppearanceEdit

As the name suggests, the Void is apparently a vast empty region (possibly even another dimension). There does appear to be a breathable atmosphere in the Void (although, this could have been created by Naugus). If someone stays too long in the Void, it will begin draining their life force, preventing them from leaving the Void for very long. If they manage to leave, they will begin to turn into a crystalline statue. This is reversed when they return to the Void.

Portals leading to the Void provide suction, suggesting that there is less pressure in the Void than on Mobius (although this could again be due to the nature of the magic/technology used to open the portals in the first place). Escaping the void requires a lot of speed, due to the suction caused by the portals. Void Portals are pinkish-purple, with yellow rings radiating inward.

The only known structure is a floating island that Naugus named “Sanctuary”. It is unknown if Naugus created Sanctuary, or if it has always been there. Sanctuary appears to be made entirely out of crystals, which Naugus can control and re-shape to suit his needs and desires. He even created a crystalline version of the palace for King Acorn to live in. Within Sanctuary, Naugus can use his magic to do anything except leave the Void.

Initially, the Void was only accessible through what appears to be a temple of some sort. This area has stone walls and a stone floor, covered with inscriptions in an ancient Mobian language. One wall houses a window or view-screen (bordered by inscriptions), which is connected to a control room (from which one can open and close the door to the Void portal in the room). The equipment within the control room has the capacity to bring people back out of the Void. The door to the Void portal is identical to one of the walls, and separates in the middle to open vertically. The location of these rooms is unknown. Robotnik has since figured out how to open portals to the void elsewhere, as has Naugus.

EffectsEdit

The Void and the Zone of Silence share the quality of being nearly impossible to escape. In SatAM, it was discovered that Sonic's super speed allowed him to escape a Void portal, and he could also pull others through with him. However, prolonged imprisonment in the Void led to side effects, the most obvious being a slow crystallization effect of the body that prevented anyone from escaping the Void for long. Any land in the Void was made from strange crystals, which Naugus could mold into any shape using his magic.

Archie's Zone of Silence has similar qualities, including the crystallization effect. However, victims of this began to resemble sculptures made from Chaos Emeralds. Naugus, while in the Zone, was also omnipotent, making it impossible to defeat him inside. Other side effect on long-term captives of the Zone of Silence included insanity and apparent amnesia, and the only protection from worse effects was Naugus' crystallization of his minions, or being a native of the Zone. In addition, Naugus was later permanently freed from the Zone thanks to the use of the Sword of Acorns. The Zone of Silence changed to resemble 32-bit levels from the Sonic the Hedgehog games following the teleportation of every Chaos Emerald in the universe into it.

HistoryEdit

SatAMEdit

In the SatAM cartoon, the Void was discovered by Naugus. Going inside to investigate, he was betrayed by his associate Dr. Robotnik and sealed inside.^[1] From that point onward, the Void served Robotnik as a place to dump his most unwanted enemies. This was the fate of King Acorn, and Sonic himself would have been imprisoned here if not for the actions of another Freedom Fighter.^[2]

Towards the end of the series, Naugus was able to open a portal connecting Mobius and the Void, allowing him to send an artifact that pulled Sally Acorn and Bunnie Rabbot in. Similarly drawing in Sonic, Naugus was able to escape the Void temporarily, but ended up trapped once again, along with King Acorn, for they were in the Void for ten years and would turn into crystal outside of it. Only Ari, who wasn't in the Void as long, remained free.^[1]

ArchieEdit

In the Archie Comics series, there were originally two dimensions: the Void and the Zone of Silence.

The Void was a pocket dimension adjacent to Mobius that Dr. Ivo Robotnik used as the test destination for his Transdimensional Transporter. His attempt to send the Robian Sir Charles Hedgehog there resulted in his own imprisonment and Sir Charles's regaining his free will. Snively Kintobor promptly assumed control of his uncle's empire and sought to imprison the Knothole Freedom Fighters there as well. He succeeded with Sonic the Hedgehog, only for his scheme to be thwarted.^[3]

The Zone of Silence was more similar to the version of the Void from the SatAM TV series, the main difference being that Naugus created the Zone of Silence rather than discovering it. Together with King Acorn, he was also locked inside with several other characters, including: Warlord Kodos, Uma Arachnis, and the enigmatic Feist. After several failed attempts to escape, he made his getaway with the help of the Arachne, though Kodos and Uma Arachnis managed to escape for good some time previously.

Dr. Eggman attempted to mine energy from the Zone of Silence, protecting his machinery with a small army of prisoners, which consisted mainly of captured inhabitants of Angel Island, among them members of the Dark Legion. However, all the original prisoners were drawn into the Zone when the Arachne freed Ixis Naugus using the Sword of Acorns.

Later, Ixis Naugus fused the Void together with the Zone of Silence, and the united zone was reshaped into the Special Zone by Feist using the power of the Chaos Emeralds. (StH: #163, #170)

After his computer virus "son" A.D.A.M. was defeated, the Zone became the resting place of every known Chaos Emerald in the universe. The Master Emerald was saved from this, having been held in place by Locke and Dr. Finitevus. All these Chaos Emeralds were then fused together into seven gems by Feist, who following Naugus' escape became the ruler of the Zone of Silence. Reshaping it, he named it the Special Zone to signify its change from the hostile environment of the Zone of Silence to the game-like environment of the games.

ReferencesEdit