Chapter one: Chaos Unfolds
In the predawn of the morning a massive aircraft, shrouded in shadow save the several vibrant colors of tiny lights emanating from it, soared through the sky purposefully toward it's destination. It's captain sat comfortably in his large chair, hands folded into a triangle in front of his face as he tapped his fingers together rhythmically in a contemplative fashion as he listened to his assembly of mechanical advisers' analysis of his plot.
"Sir," began one robot sitting to his left around the large, grounded table they all sat around in conference, "If we take to the east now, and hit the city from the coast, they will surely flee into the city or make for the ruins. Our best option is to fly to the ruins, disable the trains, and-"
"No." interrupted another robot. "The ruins are too close to the floating island, and you know what will happen if the guardian finds out!" The captain held up his hand for silence and all in the room obeyed as he spoke in even tones.
"I will not allow the Angel Island any chance to do this." As he saw all eyes upon him with clear skeptic, he stood from his chair, folded his hands behind his back and proceeded to circle the table as he continued. "As you all know, the island circles the globe and is close enough to the coast of Mystic Ruins that if we sank it, it would fall directly in front of it. This would attract undue attention to us, so we cannot take that course of action if we are to make for the train station." All nodded and muttered in agreement. "But we can keep it's guardian from being involved." One adviser spoke up, "But sir-" He was silenced by a wave of his Captain's hand. "You want to know how? By turning his own energy against him." Abruptly, he turned at the other side of the table and pressed a button, causing the table's surface to split open in the middle as the metal plates slid back to reveal a holographic map, which turned on immediately after the metal plates were completely folded back and displayed a picture of Angel Island, the mystical island that remained airborne by the power of the Master Emerald.
The captain indicated the spot on the map where the site of the Emerald was located with a point of his finger. "The Emerald is constantly emitting energy to hold the island in the sky, this emerald has unlimited power, so if it's energy is directed toward another task, it can still maintain the island's altitude with ease." The captain pulled something from a compartment in the table that looked like a round disc with a shimmering gray jewel secured in the center by a dome of glass.
An audible gasp followed the presentation of the device as one robot shouted, "That's a chaos emerald!"
The captain nodded with a menacing grin."Indeed. The chaos emeralds also possess unlimited power, and can sync with the Master Emerald. It is how this device uses that power that will aid us in our conquest." He placed the device on the end of the table, as that part of the table was still covered by metal, and turned it on using a remote he removed from his back pocket. The device made a whirring sound and a green force-field appeared around it. He looked at a robot that seemed the most interested in the device and indicated the device with a wave of his hand. "Touch it."
As the robot reached out and tapped the device with his long mechanical pointer finger, green electricity engulfed his form, causing him to shake and make a noise any organic being would classify as a robotic scream of pain, then after two seconds he exploded, leaving a blackened chair and scraps of metal and circuit where once was a functional artificial intellectual mind.
Every metal-plated face betrayed their horror and amazement at the device as the captain ordered a cleaning robot to spruce up the chair as he ordered a repair robot to use the scraps to build a new adviser. He then turned to the remaining robots and pressed the same button on his remote and the device ceased to function. He placed it in the care of a robot with a large bag over his shoulder. The robot acted as a delivery service for the large ship.
"Take this to my 'newest' experiment, pronto." The robot blazed off at a speed thought impossible for the one bicycle-like wheel it stood on and the captain moved to one of the windows of his large conference room, folded his hands behind his back once more and gazed out at the predawn sky, where a glimpse of light was the only hint at the coming day. "Gentlemen," he began, "The Master Emerald will sync with the chaos emerald powering my forcefield device, magnifying it's range by the hundreds." He turned to face his advisers with a wicked smile. "It will engulf the island, nothing can get in or out." After saying so, he frowned in disappointment. "At least, nothing without sufficient power." He again turned to face out the window as the sun began rising over the clouds, casting off the shadows that shrouded the aircraft, revealing it's red and yellow coated metal form and the various robots working both above deck and through the windows below. "But-" he continued, "-As long as we keep that blasted hedgehog from acquiring that power in time," He now turned to stand before his spectators and spread his arms in an all-consuming gesture, "I, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, will finally succeed in ruling this pathetic orb!" He proceeded to laugh maniacally as his Egg Carrier 3 sped toward the coastal region of the Mystic Ruins.
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The mid-morning sun bathed the beach in warmth as the ocean breeze swept over the beach goers. It was mid summer at Emerald Coast and this meant large crowds of humanity would be enjoying the rays while they were at their hottest. As the forms of men and women sat tanning in their lawn chairs, a streak of blue darted by, causing the unsuspecting victims in his path to sputter and wipe their eyes of the sand that went flying. The figure stopped at a dock and gazed out as those on the beach watched. The ocean was a deep blue with a hint of green and off the coast he could see a small reef of sand and sea plants which was known to be an excellent fishing spot. There were several gulls flying overhead and he waved at them as they sped off over the ocean and toward the horizon. He stepped back and, in another blinding burst of speed darted across the water. A fishing boat not too far off shore hauled up a large amount of tuna, and as they were readying the net to be boarded, they were quickly greeted by a large wave of water splashing against the boat, leaving drenched and dumbfounded fishermen staring blankly as they attempted to piece together what just occurred. Then one pointed to a rock where a blue hedgehog stood waving at them with a friendly, confident grin. As they waved back in return, he sped off into the distance.
As Sonic the hedgehog, hero of Station Square and beyond, sped across the ocean blue on his self-appointed vacation after defeating Robotnik's latest attempt to destroy him, which resulted in unleashing a liquid monster on Station Square the likes even the maniacal genius himself couldn't even control that nearly wiped the city and everyone in it off the face of the earth, he heard a familiar sound. As the noise of spinning propellers increased, he looked over his shoulder to see an always welcome face flying toward him in a blue plane.
"Tails!" he shouted and waved. "You finally fixed your plane."
Miles Prower, known as Tails by all who counted him friend, as well as the citizens of Station Square who counted him hero, nodded. "I found a temporary power source for now. I'll install it's permanent power source later, after the ceremony this afternoon. You gonna come?"
Sonic nodded. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, big guy."
Sonic and Tails were something of unofficial brothers to each other, and the little fox has worshiped his hedgehog hero since as far back as he can remember. It was Sonic who took him in and befriended him when everyone else branded him a freak and outcast all because he possessed a deformity, a second tail, which he learned to fly with like a propeller to keep up with Sonic. He also took an interest in building machines quickly, and in their last endeavor to stop Robotnik, rebuilt Sonic's plane, the Tornado, from the ground up into a more powerful and faster plane he appropriately called the Tornado 2, originally powered by a chaos emerald until the monster Chaos stole it, along with the other six, to destroy Station Square. Sonic jumped up and took his usual position on the tail of the Tornado 2, standing before the rotor and asked, "So what're you using to make this baby go? It's not nearly as fast as before."
Tails replied, "Remember the Wind Stone we found that made the wind current leading up to Windy Valley so strong? Well I've been studying it, and I've found it has some very interesting propulsion capabilities that, when placed in the 'keyhole', as we thought it was, would power strong, primitive jet engines underground. I don't know who built them, but they're ancient. They still work effectively though." He looked at his friend and smiled. "So I thought, "Why not use this for my plane?" It's still not as powerful as a chaos emerald, but I think it serves as an artificial emerald."
Sonic looked amazed. "An artificial emerald?!"
Tails nodded, reassuring him this was true. "Yes, according to the research I've conducted, it's possible to create artificial emeralds, but they won't be as powerful as the real things. I don't know how to do this yet, but I'm going to find out."
Sonic shook his head with a grin. "You're always up to something, huh bud?" As they had a laugh, they sped toward Station Square.
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Even though there were still half-complete buildings, piles of wreckage crammed into designated areas where other buildings once stood and the noise of construction filling the air, repairing the damage from the chaos that afflicted the city only a year before, Station Square was still bustling with activity as people gathered before a ravaged building that still managed to function well as the Mayor's office on the first floor. The mayor, a stocky man who stood proud before his building that, though it looked as shabby as the rest of the city, he thought was being rebuilt quickly and would return to it's former glory in no time. In the front of the assembled crowd, Sonic gave his friend a thumbs-up of encouragement as the young hero about to be presented to the amassing crowd nodded nervously toward him. He climbed the stairs, putting on his most confident face and entering the light of the spotlights mounted above so the crowd could have a better view for though it was afternoon, the shadows of the taller and more finished buildings loomed high and cast long shadows.
The mayor began to speak and the conversations held by the waiting citizens ceased almost instantly. "My fellow citizens of Station Square-" He placed a hand on the shoulder of the young fox. "-Today we are gathered here to congratulate the heroic and fearless efforts of one Miles 'Tails' Prower, who, in a time of darkness, disabled wanted villain and public menace Dr. Ivo Robotnik's bomb that threatened to destroy our fair city." At the mention of that, many in the crowd showed signs of reflect as they recalled the near tragic event as the mayor continued. "And continued to aid us by defeating Robotnik, chasing him off." The crowd all nodded, whooped or waved to show their appreciation. "Today-" A woman, possibly a secretary of the office, presented the Mayor with a finely decorated leather box with gold material sewn in on the sides, he opened it and held up a chaos emerald for all to see. "-we of the people will recognize Tails as a hero, and know that by placing this emerald in his care, we may all rest easy as we lay our children to sleep at night, and walk our streets." He placed the emerald in Tails' hands and stood to face the citizens and repeated in an abridged version of his words, "Today, Miles Prower, knows as Tails to friends and newly found admirers, becomes a hero!" At the last, a cheer erupted from the crowd as Tails took a bow and held back tears of pride. In his wildest dreams he never pictured he'd be standing here. Sonic whooped in the front of the press of civilians at seeing his friend who had previously followed him on his adventures finally growing into a young hero of his own.
The celebration wore on, and Tails found himself surrounded by news crews that wanted to put him in the paper and on TV, and as he indulged his new found pride, Sonic stood off to the side, indulging his taste buds in the local chili dog stands that crowded around the side streets, for celebration meant business, business they weren't going to miss out on. A couple of reporters covering Tails' story of heroism came over to talk to Sonic about his relationship with Tails, to which he responded, "He's my bud, we've been together for years, and any time I needed him, there he was. Since I've been teaching him all I know, this was bound to happen." After saying any variation of this to any number of reporters, he would immediately run off to where the next batch of food was being served. After the excitement died down, Sonic and Tails found each other and moved through the press that made way for the two heroes. They found a less populated area set up along the thin coast at the edge of Station Square that led to Emerald Coast with some unoccupied tables. They sat at one with a clear view of the ocean and the gold and red sky as the sun set over the city. Sonic said, after gulping down a chili dog he had on a single plate, "So, how's it feel to be a hero?" Tails looked about to speak, but said nothing for a long moment, than at least replied, "I-I'm not sure." His face betrayed concern and Sonic stopped eating. "What's wrong bud?" Tails responded, "I don't know... I just... can't believe-" Sonic saw his friend begin to shed tears with a face mixed in half-smile. "I can't believe it's really happening." Sonic just smiled and came around to hug his friend. He knew he had a hard time as a young pup, people used to pick on him just because of his oddity, and he also had a feeling this was the last thing Tails would ever expect to happen to him, and even though he was used to being in the spotlight, he knew this was overwhelming for someone who wasn't. He pulled back, gripping his friend's shoulders while smiling wide. "Now stop crying 'ya big drip! You're spoiling the party." Tails nodded and wiped his eyes with one of his tails. "Sorry..." Sonic just gave him his usual cocky smile. "Don't be, just have fun."
They stood silently and drank in the sunset that was especially beautiful on this evening, what few clouds were visible were painted in shades varying between orange and purple. As they were getting ready to leave and see what else was going on, Sonic heard a familiar voice that made him cringe. "SOOOONIIIIIIC!!!" He turned stiffly to see a pink hedgehog wearing a red dress running toward him with a blue flickie following. He stuttered as he spoke. "Uhh- Amy-" before he could finish, he found her arms wrapped tightly around him in a restraining fashion. As he squirmed for freedom, Tails said, "Hey Amy." She released Sonic from her vice-like grip and turned to face Tails. "Hey! I saw you! You were great." He blushed. "Well I-" before he could finish, Sonic put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "He's really taking after me." he said with a cocky smile. This didn't help Tails' embarrassment as he giggled slightly and continued to blush. Amy Rose, Sonic's 'self-appointed' girlfriend, who has followed him through more adventures than he cares to remember trying to win his heart, and thus far only succeeding to form a slight but obvious friendship with him and his friends, turned to face her love idle with a half affectionate, half menacing expression. "So, are you gonna watch the sunset with me?" Sonic stuttered more, "Uhh, well I" then he came out with the only answer he knew. "Gotta go!" then sped off toward the train station. Tails waved goodbye and smiled as he flew off to follow Sonic as Amy shouted, "Hey! No fair!" and took off after Sonic as the flickie following her shook it's head, but proceeded after her.
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Knuckles sighed audibly as the evening turned to twilight. "Another day..." he said as he watched the fleeting daylight. "Another day's gone..." He sat back and stretched out on the steps of the shrine of the Master Emerald. For as long as he could remember, Knuckles had been charged with the duty of protecting the Master Emerald from harm, a duty he failed to uphold over a year ago when Robotnik visited his island and shattered the gem, releasing his ancient ancestor Tikal and the monster Chaos upon the world. He still blamed himself for this, for this 'blunder' as he called it, cost innocent citizens of the distant city of Station Square their lives and almost took the lives of countless more. As he watched the sun fade from view, he reflected on his relief the emerald was safe another day. Even though he spent his time wondering what it would be like to shirk this duty and abandon the island, two things stood out the most in his mind. One being that, aside from Sonic, he was the only thing standing between a free world and one enslaved by Robotnik, and the other being that, despite those thoughts of settling down in a remote place, even after he and his friends could finally destroy Robotnik, he couldn't think of any other place he would call home. He sighed once more, giving in to the same solution to this dilemma he had pondered over in his idle time every day he guarded the emerald. He spoke this aloud to once more convince himself it was a reality for him. "This is where I need to be right now, and this is where I'll be." He let a grin cross his face as a thought echoed in his mind. Where would I go? He sat back, feeling the need to sleep, and not too long after he fell into a doze, he heard a loud crash.
He was instantly awake and on his feet as he saw it. Something that resembled a shooting star darted away from the distant peaks of the Icecap zone, he let his eyes follow it until he noticed the Master Emerald acting strangely. He turned to inspect it and saw it giving off energy in a way unnatural for it. He reached out to try and discern the cause of the extra exertion of energy and only succeeded in being thrown back by an unknown force. Then a large green pillar of energy shot up from the emerald and arched in the sky in the direction the strange, shooting-star like light had just come. Knuckles was about to head in that direction when he saw the sky changing. At first it appeared as if a green flash engulfed the sky, then disappeared again, then the sky faded into a green hue, and instantly the island was surrounded in a green force-field. As it's guardian threw a mighty punch that would collapse mountains, he was thrown back. He tried several other, futile efforts and eventually resigned to being trapped within the sphere. He spent the night searching for a weakness and found none on the island. He returned to his shrine to find the emerald still there, sat down on the step he occupied that day and again let out a sigh as he said, "This is where I'll be alright." He looked up at the sky as the moon, visible through the green, net-like energy of the force-field, rose higher into the sky. "But for how long?" He looked out at the horizon. "And for what?" As he reflected on the events of the evening, one thing stood out in his mind. Something happened at the Icecap zone. He stood and, though he wished for a peaceful sleep this night, said aloud to himself, "And I'm going to have to find out..." and headed toward the trail that led up to the mountains and the frozen zone of Icecap to uncover the mystery, but in his gut he knew the answer, there was only one man alive that would have any reason to visit his island, and this mess reeked with his mark all over it. As he walked through the forest and the moon passed it's arc in the sky, heading downward over the horizon to make way for the new day, he silently cursed the name Robotnik.