With another fell swoop, Dr. Ivo Robotnik once again had his hands on the eerie crimson glow of the Phantom Ruby. The gem, unpredictable in its might, had seen it fit to warp itself, him, and the two despicable other beings vying for its possession into an unusual dimension.
They were all fighting in an ominous indigo space with jagged, floating structures and blocks that flickered and vibrated like TV static. He wasn't sure if it was due to the power of the Chaos Emeralds Sonic was using, some trick of that traitorous Heavy King, or simple fatigue from the Ruby's extensive use. He had deduced that it was probably the location that he hurled those annoying rodents through whenever they caught up to him, but the details weren't exactly at the forefront of his mind right now. He needed to secure the Ruby and get out of there.
His Klepto Mobile soared out from the souped-up Phantom King, whom Super Sonic had knocked the gem away from once again. This game of catch had been going on for some unknown amount of time (it was hard to tell, and that's assuming time even existed in this dimension), and it had taken its toll on everyone. A sensor informed him that Super Sonic was once again on his tail, and he looked back to see the golden hedgehog outspeeding a large red-and-purple fireball that used to be the Phantom King. Grinning devilishly at the prospect of only having one foe, he set the flexible third arm installed on the back to retract. It was time to go on the offensive.
Waiting as living rocket approached, he quickly thrust the mech around to swivel punch him with one of the mech's reinforced main arms. However, the speedster was reactive and was able to dodge out of the way at the cost of his direction. In place of the third arm, a laser cannon rose up, and it began firing crimson blasts at its shining target. He didn't trust the Ruby to warp him out of there while the Chaos Emeralds were still around, so he was going to banish them and the nuisance using them.
In a flash, Sonic took off again, dodging the projectiles with relative ease and beginning to circle the Klepto. Robotnik deftly piloted the mech to avoid allowing Super Sonic to get behind him, while the automatic systems on the blaster attempted to predict the hedgehog's location and nail him. Although Sonic had a propensity for running from his problems and being cheeky about it, Ivo knew that he wasn't careless.
Like boxers in a ring, they were both waiting for the right opportunity to strike past each other's guards. However, Sonic's Super state required Rings to function, and without the Phantom King to distract Robotnik, he wasn't able to collect any from the fragments of the Titanic Monarch that had been warped to this place in the chaotic aftermath of their battle beforehand. The hedgehog had to strike eventually.
Ivo decided to reduce the rate of fire of his gun. Not only would it goad Sonic into attacking, but he was going to divert some of the energy into building up his warp drive so he could match the smaller one's agility.
Unfortunately, that chance never came. As soon as the blaster hesitated, Sonic went straight in. The mad scientist attempted to react and jerked the control of the right arm, but the speedster cleared it easily and slammed head-on into the Klepto. Crimson power surged through the machine, and the HUD notified several critical injuries before shutting off completely. The reality around them began caving in, and Ivo knew that it was over. He had but a brief moment to scramble (pun not intended) for the Phantom Ruby before Sonic pulverized him with another impact. He tore out the laser with his bare hand and plunged his other one in to where the gem ought to be located. No later than that, he fell out of the Egg Mobile as Sonic broke through it, causing many of those parts to begin exploding.
Another sensation came over him as he gripped the Ruby's icosahedral form. He was quite literally seeing red, and sporadic cubes and other static much like the space around them danced across his vision. But he clutched it with his life, because the alternative was letting Sonic get it. His mastermind wracked itself for ideas, but with the Ruby running on fumes, it would barely be able to teleport itself out of there. And it's not like there was a second Robotnik that would know how to use it.
Unless… there was. Floating there in space, he gave one last desperate plea. The Ruby responded, and as Sonic glided right into his face to set everything normal, it sizzled. It gave a flash accompanied by its signature buzz, and everything began fading away…
Good luck… Dr. Eggman.
It was common knowledge that the floating Angel Island was the resting place of the Master Emerald. But very few knew that the island had an inner sanctum where the Chaos Emeralds also sat. Knuckles the Echidna could count the number of people that know it on a regular person's fingers, and the number that should know it on his gloves.
It had taken some time since the Time Eater incident, but himself, Sonic, and their friends had managed to track them down without Eggman finding out and returned them to their rightful location. He has since enjoyed a nice, long break from those adventures… A bit too long. Eggman had to be planning his next scheme, and Knuckles knew the fat man would inevitably go after the Master Emerald or find out the location of the Chaos Emeralds, both of which would lead to his island.
Suddenly, a portal appeared near the Master Emerald. It seemed the universe had deigned to give him a fit of irony, and he rushed over and placed himself firmly in between the portal and his charge, in a battle pose.
The portal soon disappeared, and where it was were instead a silver hedgehog and a purple cat – but not the fat one that he had seen a couple of times. This one was lavender and lavishly dressed, and she was carrying some sort of shiny cane. At least he recognized the first one.
"Silver? How many times are you going to come back here from the future? Isn't it ever going to stay saved for once?"
The psychic's expression soured, but the cat placed her hand on his chest and stepped in front of him. "Actually, he was with me. I… think we've met before, red one, but I don't recall when. Silver, who is this?"
"This is–"
"Knuckles the Echidna, guardian of the Master Emerald, and if you try to lay your hands on it you will be personally escorted off the island by my fists."
"Master Emerald?" the cat questioned softly. "My name is Blaze. I hail from another dimension, one with emeralds much like your Chaos Emeralds. These emeralds… they respond to the call of the scepter I hold in my hands." She held up the cane. A large emerald rested on one end, beneath the curved handle of the scepter that Knuckles could see now was inlaid with multiple other colors of jewels. "It was this scepter that opened the portal and led us here."
"But why?"
"We don't know–" Silver began.
"–for sure," Blaze finished. "The scepter and I have a mysterious connection. Sometimes even I don't understand the premonitions it has, but as its protector, it is my duty to obey them."
"That sounds like the connection I have with the Master Emerald. They must be related somehow."
"That's what I was trying to say to begin with," Silver finally managed to say. "There are a lot of parallels between the two dimensions, but I've never been able to understand why."
"In that case… shouldn't the Master Emerald have reacted as well?" Blaze questioned.
As if on cue, the entire scenery around them changed. What used to be a blue sky and clouds was now a stone roof and dense jungle, one that was very familiar to the echidna.
"Well, there you have it! We've been transported to Angel Island's old home, the Mystic Ruins. But... this doesn't look right. How would the shrine have reconstructed itself? Is this the distant past?"
"Knuckles, above you!" Silver called.
Out of instinct, Knuckles rolled forward, narrowly dodging a large water droplet that fell from directly above. He turned around to see the water form into a humanoid shape, with a small brain and the vestigial remains of bones in its limbs. "Chaos‽ This must be the past… We killed Chaos before…"
The liquid being remained silent. Instead of taking on a fighting stance, it began oozing backwards, right onto the gemstone that it had separated from its successor guardian.
Flying into a rage, Knuckles leaped forward. He attempted a haymaker right into the water god's weak point, its brain. In an instant, its hands came up as jets of water and blasted him away. By this point, the Emerald and Chaos were both starting to glow green, and the seven podiums that ringed the shrine began forming beacons that matched the colors of the Chaos Emeralds.
Using his psychokinesis, Silver caught Knuckles before he was knocked out of the shrine and went tumbling down the stairs. The echidna took a moment to recover and figure out why he had stopped, then was quickly placed safely on the ground.
"Knuckles, what exactly is Chaos? What is it doing?" the gray hedgehog asked, the cyan lines on his gloves glowing brightly.
"Chaos used to be the guardian of the Master Emerald, long before I was ever born. It got sealed in the Emerald and then Eggman broke it out. We don't have time for the full story right now; all you need to know is that it's about to use the seven Chaos Emeralds to transform and flood the entire island."
"What‽ How do we stop that‽"
"Leave that to me," Blaze declared. She stepped in front of the two others and turned towards them. She was tightly gripping the Jeweled Scepter, and she and it were both beginning to glow orange. "This must be what I was called here for. Only I have the power to stop this right now. You two need to flee. If this involves Eggman, it must only be the beginning. Find Sonic and the others."
"I can't just leave the Master Emerald here!" Knuckles objected.
"Blaze…" Silver began. He knew she was right, but he was reluctant to let her go. This scenario felt… familiar, somehow.
The cat couldn't await their response, and she turned her attention towards the shrine. The Chaos Emeralds had appeared on their stands and began circling around the swelling mass of water. She kneeled, and seven more emeralds that had identical coloring but a rectangular cut flashed into being around her.
"…Okay, I trust you. Knuckles, unless you can suppress the Emeralds right now, we'll have to come back for it once the battle is over."
Knuckles looked ready to punch him, but he relented. "Argh! Fine. Let's go."
The two made a hasty escape from the shrine, which looked like a lighthouse with how bright the sets of Emeralds were glowing from within. Neither of them noticed as they began their descent from the island that the surrounding valley, the village within it, and the old parts of the shrine had vanished as quickly and mysteriously as they appeared.
The entire area then exploded into steam as the battle between the two empowered individuals began. Watching from a safe distance was a small, round mech with an equally round human sitting in it, holding a crimson gem and grinning wildly.
"The first test of the Phantom Ruby is a resounding success! A fake Chaos using the real Emeralds? I won't even need to worry about collecting them at this rate! Now that I've scared off the guardian of the Master Emerald, I'll have all the power I could need… Just you wait, Sonic. Even you won't be able to stand up to what I have planned this time!"