Down Town Chaos
By: Timestones
Knuckles lay flat on his back in the dew soaked grass, just at the bottom of the large, stone
altar in which the Master Emerald could usually be found. However, one quick glance at the top
of the ancient structure and you'd be able to tell something was horribly wrong. In the Master
Emerald's niche, rested a small mound of green crystal shards that let out a minuscule glow, a
mere shadow in comparison to the radiance of the Master Emerald.
Standing over Knuckles, were a large, sly looking crocodile and a purple chameleon. They
were his friends, Vector and Espio, and were concerned about their friend's well being.
Especially when they saw what had happened to the Master Emerald.
"Yo, Knux!" Vector prodded the lifeless form before him with his foot. "Rise and shine lazy
bones!"
"I don't think you're going to get him to wake up that way," Espio remarked. "I don't think he's
lying down here just because her rolled over and fell down the steps to the altar, after all."
"Alright then, mister fancy pants detective man," Vector snorted in annoyance, "what do _you_
think happened."
"From the looks of it," Espio reasoned, "it seems he was in a fight, and got K-Oed."
"Wha?" Vector pondered over the suggestion for a few moments. "No way!" he decided
eventually. "Nobody can knock out my main man Knuckles! The only one who can even go toe
to toe with the Rad Red and give as good as he gets is that Sonic dude, and he's nowhere near
here."
"Whatever," Espio sighed. The red echidna moaned and stirred a little on the ground. "Hey,
he's coming round, we'll just ask him what happened."
Knuckles felt consciousness seep back into him. With that, came the biggest migraine he ever
had in his life, coupled with a few sore spots on his body, especially his ribs. His vision hazy,
when he first opened his eyes he was greeted by a creature with a row of jagged, mean looking
teeth pulled back into a sly toothy grin. He heard the strange creature mouth off some words
which he couldn't comprehend just yet. Suddenly, a memory of a strange looking monster that
had seemingly destroyed the Master Emerald from the previous night. Before he knew what he
was doing, Knuckles gave a swift left cross which nailed the grinning form smack in his large
snout. The creature, gave a sharp yelp of pain and was thrown onto its back.
"Whoah, take it easy there Rocky!" He heard a familiar voice call. A pair of hands clasped
tightly around his right arm. The crimson monotreme turned swiftly to do unto this guy what he
had done unto the other, and would soon do unto that strange blue creature from last night.
However, he checked himself, blinked a few times, and when his vision came into focus, noticed
familiar looking, purple chameleon standing next to him.
"What the... Espio?" Knuckles gaped. He turned to look at who it was he had decked just a
few seconds before.
"Man Knux," Vector groaned in a nasally voice, "remind me to stay away from you when you
get up on the wrong side of the bed next time!"
"Sorry Vec," Knuckles apologized. Vector and Espio were the few that he could actually call
true friends that lived close by, and didn't want to put a strain on their friendship, even though he
preferred to be on his own most of the time. "I didn't recognize you at first."
"Don't sweat it, man," Vector replied cooly. "I won't hold it against ya in court."
The red echidna groaned and rubbed his head. "What happened? How long was I out?"
"Actually, we were about to ask you the first question," Espio replied.
"Yeah, and other questions, like: WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THE MASTER
EMERALD!?!" Vector shouted loudly.
"The Master Emerald...?" Knuckles replied, still a tad bit dazed. He gazed up at where the
stone of power had once rested, and the memories of last night came flooding back in full.
Knuckles suppressed the urge to curse right then as he remembered. That strange blue, liquid
monster, the emerald shattering, the entire Angel Island falling!
"It's like this," Vector continued. "I was walking along the beach, minding my own business
and jamming to some tunes on my walkman, when suddenly, the island starts shakin' like the
chest of some woman not wearing a sports bra!"
"Vector, that was uncalled for!" Espio snapped.
"Anyway," the rather dirty minded crocodile continued, "the next thing I know, I get this
strange sense of deja-vu as the beaches are now bordering water instead of air! So answer me
this, what happened? Why is the Master Emerald just a pile of shiny green rocks now?"
"That monster..." Knuckles grumbled absent mindedly.
"Excuse me?" Espio inquired.
"Last night, some monster made up of liquid came and destroyed the Master Emerald. I tried
to stop it, but it overpowered me and then ran off!"
Espio and Vector exchanged puzzled expressions for a moment.
"You feeling okay Knuckles?" the chameleon asked in a rather concerned voice. "Maybe you
hit your head harder than we thought."
"I'm fine!" the red echidna snapped sharply. "I know it sounds crazy, but there really was
some sort of water monster here last night, and it somehow shattered the Master Emerald!"
"This is bad," Vector whispered to Espio. "Red man's startin' to loose it. Sooner or later, he'll
end up like someone outta 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'!"
"Oh shut up!" Knuckles snapped angrily. "Don't believe me if you want! The important thing
here's to find all the pieces of the Master Emerald." With that, Knuckles prepared to take off on
a search for the missing fragments. Vector and Espio, however, had other ideas, and grabbed
onto the guardian's heels in an attempt to keep him grounded. This caused knuckled to fall flat
on his face. An embarrassing position to say the least, especially for the guardian who was
known for his "beat into a bloody pulp first, ask questions later" tactics.
"Hold on there Knuckles," Espio called out as the echidna landed on the ground with a loud
thud. "I think you should wait here until you're feeling better. After all, whatever happened last
night must have really messed up your senses."
"Shyeah," Vector agreed. Under his breath, he added, "water monsters my aAHHH!"
Knuckles decided it was at that point he should stomp on the crocodile's foot to shut him up.
"Listen, we'll help you find the emerald shards Knux, it's not like we don't want the
Master Emerald whole again."
"What makes you think you'll be able to find them all!?!" Knuckles yelled. "You don't have a
psychic link with the Master Emerald like I do!"
"Knuckles, we're just trying to look out for you," Espio explained again. "Besides, who knows
what the Master Emerald's exploding could have done to your mind? And I'm not just talking
about breaking your link to it. It could have had other results as well."
The guardian grumbled something inaudible under his breath. "I do have a little bit of a
headache," he admitted angrily. "I guess I should lay down for a while."
"Now you're thinking smart," Espio stated triumphantly.
"You just chill Knucx," the green crocodile instructed. "Me and Espio will find Mighty and
Charmy, and then all four of us will look for the emerald shards and tell the other islanders not
to worry."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Knuckles grumbled as he reclined on a rock. "Just don't go and hurt
yourselves." Vector and Espio soon departed from the scene. Knuckles cautiously opened and
eyelid and looked around. Once he was sure the duo was gone, he stood up, and glided off into
the horizon. "No offence guys, but I don't need your help," he stated to nobody in particular. "I
never did, and I never will either."
* * *
"Well Jim, it seems as if there's a lot of traffic moving into Station Square for the weekend,"
Shane McLane, the helicopter reporter for Station Square's most watched new program reported
on the traffic conditions. "There's a huge line of cars in the city, most likely here for either the
grand re-opening of Casinopolis or Twinkle Park's special lovebird offer. Either way, the
Emerald Coast Hotel should be getting a lot of business this weekend. I should note that all the
roads leading out of Station Square are quite open, so if you're trying to get out of the city, then
you're in good shape unless you have to go through Green Hill Ave., in which case I suggest you
take a detour around onto Hill Top Rd. to avoid the traffic. This is Shane McLane, returning you
to the..."
Suddenly, the long line of cars below began honking loudly for no apparent reason whatsoever.
"Shane, what's going on out there?" Jim Trance, the anchor at the station wondered.
"Something sure is, but I have no idea in the slightest on what the ruckus is," she replied.
"Wait a second, I think I see something..." she motioned for the pilot of the helicopter to lower
them closer to the highway below. At that moment, Shane glimpsed of a small, blue mass
weaving its way around and over the cars into the city. "It appears that some small, yet
surprisingly fast, blue thing is making its way through traffic into the city..."
There was silence in the station.
"Shane, are you feeling alright?"
Shane was about to have the camera man point the lense down towards the highway below, but
the streak of blue disappeared into one of the tunnels leading into Station Square at that moment.
"Uh... just kidding!" She replied nervously, hoping she wouldn't sound too stupid to the
viewers.
* * *
"Ba-iiii!" a small, blue teardrop shaped creature squealed in delight as its owner walked across
the room. It quickly ran after her, waving its arms wildly in the air and jumping up and down,
wanting ever so much to be picked up and cuddled.
"Awww... there you are!" Sara cooed as she scooped up the tiny little Chao in her arms. The
Chao, who she had named Babu, babbled happily as it snuggled up to her chest. Babu had been
given to Sara for her last birthday as a gift. It was given to her wearily, as several times before
her father had given her pets, and somehow or another they all ended up dead a few weeks after
they had been received. (Except for that python. They never did find out what happened to it.)
The Chao, however, seemed as if it would stay for a long time, as it was already three months
since Sara had been given it. Having a Chao did have its benefits over owning animals as pets.
Unlike dogs or cats or birds, a Chao didn't leave behind a mess to be cleaned up after. (Chao are
intelligent creatures. See, they know how to use the bathroom!) Also, Chao were much smarter,
and could understand what people said, as well as learn what it should do and what it should not
do easily. More importantly, the only special care that a Chao needed was to be fed and loved,
two things which Sara did readily and happily, as she found Chao to be the most adorable little
creatures ever. Especially Babu.
"Who's mommy's little precious?" she cooed again. Babu just laughed happily and looked up
at its owner, making her smile as well. "I was looking all over for you, where were you?" Babu
crawled up her arm and rested on her should, and then proceeded to move his arms about in an
attempt to retell his previous adventures. Sara just giggled. "I'm off to take a bath now, want to
come with me?" Babu, always ready to take a swim in water (especially warm water, which he
had grown accustomed too) nodded eagerly.
Within the next few minutes, Sara was in the large, master bathroom that housed a spa, which
belonged to her father. She set up everything she needed: a wash rag, a towel, and some bubble
solution. (She was always careful to make sure that Babu was out of the water before she added
this.) She rested the Chao on the side of the tub, and turned the hot water on. It would take a few
minutes for the tub to fill. In the meantime, Babu just stared down at the warm liquid, and Sara
began to undress. First she took off her earrings, then her bow, followed by her socks and shoes,
and her jacket. She was just about to remove her tube top, when the sound of something getting
stuck in the water spout caught her attention.
"...The heck?" she wondered out loud. Babu stared at her inquisitively. She leaned over closer
to the spa and looked at the spout's direction. Strange slurping and sucking noises emitted from
it. Finally, whatever was stuck in it came blasting out into what little water was already in,
splashing it, and the water that followed the cause of the clog onto the teen and her Chao.
She sputtered, quite annoyed at the turn of events, as her mini skirt and tube top were now wet.
Her annoyance turned into utter shock and disgust when she looked up again. "Eww!" she stuck
her tongue out. "What is that gray thing?"
Babu, on the other hand, seemed to be overjoyed at the sight, and began waving its arms in the
air and squealing madly.
"Is that a brain?" Sara wondered. The grey mass began to float to the edge of the tub and, quite
to her shock and utter horror, began to climb out of the tub along with a good amount of water.
Sara quickly grabbed her Chao, and backed away from the strange liquid that took no time in
forming itself into strange looking, bipedal form. Babu was ecstatic now.
"Well at least one of us is enjoying this," she stated absent mindedly. Babu then leaped out of
her arms and ran up to the liquid monster with glowing, emerald green eyes, jumping up and
down excitedly. "Babu, come back! Get away from it!" she shrieked fearfully.
The monster slowly reached both hands down to the Chao by extending its arm length,
and picked Babu up in its bizarre, three digit hands. The monster then proceeded to stroke the
Chao's head affectionately, which caused the small water creature to babble happily, perhaps
more happily than Sara had ever seen it.
"Hey, get your hand off of my Chao!" Sara shrieked again, this time in rage. She brought her
hand around to slap the monster in the face.
Instead, she just splashed the water it was created of around and completely disfigured its
face (if that's what you could call it) causing it to drop Babu onto the floor. The Chao began to
cry unhappily, and Sara drew back in shock and surprise, as well as utter amazement as the
monster's face reformed. It then glared at her with its large, green eyes, and thrust out an arm,
grabbing her around her upper torso. "Hey, hands off you dirty little perv-AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
The monster then proceeded to throw Sara across the room, making her land with a loud splash
in the spa. Babu then began to giggle happily again and clapped his hands together. Sara,
completely soaked to the skin, which had become quite pink in the hot water, poked her head out
of the water and stared at the little Chao. Hey, just who's side are you on, anyway? she
thought bitterly. The sight of the monster looming above her then brought her attention away
from Babu, and caused her to let out a loud scream of terror.
"Sara? What's going on in there?" One of the guards that patrolled the hallways burst in
abruptly, wondering what the din was about. He took one look at the monster, and nearly wet
himself. "HOLY SHIT!" the guard exclaimed, just seconds before the monster pounced on
him and then continued to zip briskly out the door. It was immediately followed by Babu, who
was still waving his hands wildly, and then by Sara, who made sure to run in the opposite
direction that the monster had.
"Help! Somebody! Monster!" she yelled as she tore down the hallway, dripping water all over
the new carpeting.
* * *
"Are you sure? ... Okay, we're on our way," Shane replied, and turned off the radio that kept
her in contact with the people back at the station. "And they thought I was crazy," she muttered
under he breath. She then turned to face the pilot of the helicopter. "Change of plans," she
informed him, "head over towards city hall. I just got word that some weird stuff is going on
inside the mayor's quarters."
"Will do," the pilot replied, and turned the aircraft in the direction of the new destination.
Nobody would have notice even if they had been looking, but a small, pink light sphere was also
heading in that direction, following the helicopter closely. A few seconds later, and the same
blue mass that Shane had spotted tearing through traffic earlier came bounding around the same
area they had just been in, this time running alongside, and bouncing off of, the sides of the
buildings at an amazing velocity. The blue mass then bounced off a flagpole and landed on top
of one of the buildings in a neat little finish that would be expected of gymnasts participating in
the Olympics. He then relaxed, drew in a deep breath, and gave a long, contented sigh.
"Ahhh... yeah!" Sonic exclaimed as he folded his arms across his chest. "Now this is
happening! Who would've known Station Square was such an awesome place? I wonder why I
didn't come here sooner?"
The reason, Sonic knew, was a person, or rather, a small, pink hedgehog by the name of Amy
Rose. He had met Amy some years before when he was attempting to foil Dr. Robotnik's plans
to steal the Time Stones, and had ended up rescuing her from a metal robot duplicate of him,
aptly named "Metal Sonic". Ever since, she had gotten the strange idea in her head that she and
him were an item, and would annoy and bother him at the worst possible times. He didn't want
anybody to get him wrong, Sonic had respect for Amy, but would rather keep his distance from
her. However, the promise of a large, twisting speedway, an exciting nightlife (as soon as
Casinopolis opened up, anyway) and the most beautiful beaches (along with babes to go with
them!) eventually lured the blue blur away from his home on South Island and into Amy's
hometown. It seemed as if it'd be worth the risk of running into Amy too, as if he had this much
fun just getting into Station Square, then he couldn't wait to tackle that speedway! Plus, he was
optimistic that Amy had changed since they had last met. After all, it had been three years ago.
He did, however, think it was a better idea to not find out right away.
The sound of sirens blaring and police cars tearing down the road ripped Sonic out of his
admiration of the huge city.
"What's up?" the blue hedgehog wondered. Curiosity getting the best of him, Sonic decided
he'd follow the cops to where it was they were going to the best of his ability. (Which happened
to be very easy for him.) It just so happened that the police cars were heading strait for the
location that the helicopter (and the strange ball of light) had headed just a few seconds earlier.
* * *
"Monster," one of the officers chuckled. "Has the mayor gone nutso or something?"
"He's probably been hanging around that ditzy daughter of his again," another police woman
sighed.
"Well whatever it is, it better be a good enough reason to get us out here in such a hurry,
especially since it's beginning to rain." The loud sound of helicopter blades whirling could be
heard overhead. "Great, the press's already here."
"Alright troops, move out!" the chief of police ordered. Several officers, dressed in navy blue,
wearing white helmets with their visors down, bullet proof vests, and carrying shields and guns
began to file towards the building. A loud din could be heard from inside, comprised of people
yelling, guns firing, and object being broken. Eventually, one of the windows on the fifth floor
shattered, and out dropped the same blue, liquid monster that had attacked Sara before.
"Holy shit, it really is a monster!" one officer exclaimed.
"We have you completely surrounded!" the chief of police barked into his megaphone at the
blue creature. "Don't move, or else we'll be force to shoot!" The monster, tilted its head
thoughtfully, and began to walk slowly forward towards the line of specially trained officers.
"We warned you!" the chief yelled. "Alright, ready men..."
"Ahem!"
"...and women... FIRE!"
Each police man (and woman) pulled the trigger on their guns and shot round after round at
the monster, making it twist, warp, and splash water onto the ground. However, the guns proved
to be completely useless, and the monster regained its form once again.
"Oh no!" one officer yelled out suddenly, "our weapons... they have no effect on him!"
"All officers, fall back!" the chief of police barked into the megaphone. "Repeat, fall back!"
The officers didn't need any instruction, as they were already making a mad dash away from
where the monster stood. It was at this time that Sonic arrived at the scene, as he had lost the
cars he had been chasing on the way. He landed neatly on the roof of a squad car, right next to
the chief of police.
"Yo, what's going on?" he demanded. One of the retreating officers yelled out a response.
"MONSTER!"
"Monster?"
"There's a monster out there attacking people, and we can't stop it!" the chief of police
confirmed. Sonic peered out into the scene, and could make out some strange creature made
entirely of water beating up on a few poor stragglers, were either screaming in terror, or crying
for their mommies.
"Uh-oh," was all the blue hedgehog replied.
"It looks as if this monster could be the end of us all!"
"Don't sweat it," Sonic replied. "It doesn't look that tough!"
"Huh? What do you mean?" the chief demanded. But when he looked to his side, he saw
nobody there.
"What does the blue hedgehog think he's doing!?!" one of the officers shrieked. The chief of
police looked up, and spotted Sonic jumping out in front of the monster.
"Hey, you overgrown puddle, how about a real challenge!?" Sonic addressed the blue form in
front of him. "I'll even give you the first shot!" The monster wasted no time in socking Sonic
directly in the stomach and sending him flying into the side of the nearest police car. Sonic
groaned, and pulled himself upright just in time to be grabbed by the monster's outstretched
arm, and thrown across the area into a brick wall.
"Me and my big mouth..." he groaned again. He looked up, and spotted the monsters extended
arm coming strait down at him. He jumped to the left and narrowly avoided the blow.
"Alright," Sonic snorted determinedly, "no more Mr. Nice Guy!" He then bolted at the monster
at full speed and dodged each strike from its arms. He curled himself up into a spinning ball of
quills and smashed head first into the watery form, splashing it all over the ground. The monster,
however, was not finished yet, and quickly pulled itself back together. "Still going, are we?"
Sonic sneered.
The monster's bizarre hands then transformed into blade like shapes, and it began to
slash them at Sonic, who dodged the attacks effortlessly. The monster then began to spin around
like a top with its arms outstretched and ready to slice anything that came in contact with them.
"Very clever," Sonic mused, "but not good enough!" The blue hedgehog then jumped in the air
and came crashing down on the monster's head, once again spinning like a mad buzz saw blade.
The monster once again reformed, and the leapt into the air.
"What now?" the Blue Blur wondered. The monster's arms then glowed red and blasted
towards the blue hedgehog at intense speeds. Sonic was hit by the first blow, but managed to
escape the second. "Now I've got you right where I want you!" he yelled, and jumped strait up in
the air, and began his spin attack once again. The monster's green eyes opened wide in shock
just before the blur of blue struck it from below and sent it splashing onto the ground. Sonic
landed beside the mass of living water, and turned to see it begin to form again.
"Oh, so you wanna play some more, huh?" he grinned fiendishly. The monster glanced at
him with its large, green eyes, and then melted back into a puddle of blue water and began to
shoot away from the hedgehog as fast as possible.
"Hey, we're ya going, ya big drip?" Sonic called after the monster as it found its way
over to a sewer grate, and drained itself into the sanitation system. Sonic looked at where the
monster had been only a few seconds. "And it was just getting interesting, too" he joked silently.
His thoughts, however, were broken by the loud sound of cheering and clapping. He turned to
see the entire police force cheering and applauding his success in defeating the monster.
* * *
"Unbelievable folks!" Shane exclaimed into her microphone. "The police force were
completely unable to stop this monstrous foe, and then a blue hedgehog appeared out of nowhere
and defeated him single handedly! I've never seen anything like it!" The helicopter she had been
in had already lowered itself to the ground, and she and her camera man were rushing through
the crowd of police officers to get a word with the spiny blue hero, who was now surrounded by
a few people who had been inside the building, including Sara, Babu, and the mayor himself.
The mayor and Sara seemed to be having quite a time talking with Sonic, who was grinning
smugly the entire time. Eventually, Shane came close enough to start speaking with him.
"Excuse me, Mr. Hedgehog? May I have a word with you?"
"But of course," Sonic replied politely. "And please, the name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Alright then, Sonic," Shane corrected herself, and continued to interview the blue hedgehog.
"What would I say if I told you were a hero?" she asked eventually.
Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "It wouldn't be the first time. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta
be on my way." He then made his way out of the crowd of people and dashed off down the road
at incredible speed.
Shane turned to the camera, brushed her wet hair out of her face, and spoke into her
microphone. "Well, you heard it here first folks. Who is this mysterious hyper-speed hedgehog,
and where did he come from? We'll have more info as soon as we can sit down and have a
proper interview with the hedgehog known as Sonic. This is Shane McLane, returning you to our
anchors."
* * *
Robotnik, one of the most cunning and evil scientific geniuses in the world watched the scene
from high atop a building, letting the shadows conceal his bulk. He had seen the entire battle
between Sonic and the monster, and chuckled silently to himself.
"Fools," he sneered to nobody in particular as he watched his hated nemesis make his way out
of the crowd and speed off. "You all know nothing! That wasn't just any monster, it was Chaos!
The god of destruction!" With that, he laughed evilly and drew back into the shadows. This time,
his encounter with the blue hedgehog was going to prove most interesting indeed.
By: Timestones
Knuckles lay flat on his back in the dew soaked grass, just at the bottom of the large, stone
altar in which the Master Emerald could usually be found. However, one quick glance at the top
of the ancient structure and you'd be able to tell something was horribly wrong. In the Master
Emerald's niche, rested a small mound of green crystal shards that let out a minuscule glow, a
mere shadow in comparison to the radiance of the Master Emerald.
Standing over Knuckles, were a large, sly looking crocodile and a purple chameleon. They
were his friends, Vector and Espio, and were concerned about their friend's well being.
Especially when they saw what had happened to the Master Emerald.
"Yo, Knux!" Vector prodded the lifeless form before him with his foot. "Rise and shine lazy
bones!"
"I don't think you're going to get him to wake up that way," Espio remarked. "I don't think he's
lying down here just because her rolled over and fell down the steps to the altar, after all."
"Alright then, mister fancy pants detective man," Vector snorted in annoyance, "what do _you_
think happened."
"From the looks of it," Espio reasoned, "it seems he was in a fight, and got K-Oed."
"Wha?" Vector pondered over the suggestion for a few moments. "No way!" he decided
eventually. "Nobody can knock out my main man Knuckles! The only one who can even go toe
to toe with the Rad Red and give as good as he gets is that Sonic dude, and he's nowhere near
here."
"Whatever," Espio sighed. The red echidna moaned and stirred a little on the ground. "Hey,
he's coming round, we'll just ask him what happened."
Knuckles felt consciousness seep back into him. With that, came the biggest migraine he ever
had in his life, coupled with a few sore spots on his body, especially his ribs. His vision hazy,
when he first opened his eyes he was greeted by a creature with a row of jagged, mean looking
teeth pulled back into a sly toothy grin. He heard the strange creature mouth off some words
which he couldn't comprehend just yet. Suddenly, a memory of a strange looking monster that
had seemingly destroyed the Master Emerald from the previous night. Before he knew what he
was doing, Knuckles gave a swift left cross which nailed the grinning form smack in his large
snout. The creature, gave a sharp yelp of pain and was thrown onto its back.
"Whoah, take it easy there Rocky!" He heard a familiar voice call. A pair of hands clasped
tightly around his right arm. The crimson monotreme turned swiftly to do unto this guy what he
had done unto the other, and would soon do unto that strange blue creature from last night.
However, he checked himself, blinked a few times, and when his vision came into focus, noticed
familiar looking, purple chameleon standing next to him.
"What the... Espio?" Knuckles gaped. He turned to look at who it was he had decked just a
few seconds before.
"Man Knux," Vector groaned in a nasally voice, "remind me to stay away from you when you
get up on the wrong side of the bed next time!"
"Sorry Vec," Knuckles apologized. Vector and Espio were the few that he could actually call
true friends that lived close by, and didn't want to put a strain on their friendship, even though he
preferred to be on his own most of the time. "I didn't recognize you at first."
"Don't sweat it, man," Vector replied cooly. "I won't hold it against ya in court."
The red echidna groaned and rubbed his head. "What happened? How long was I out?"
"Actually, we were about to ask you the first question," Espio replied.
"Yeah, and other questions, like: WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THE MASTER
EMERALD!?!" Vector shouted loudly.
"The Master Emerald...?" Knuckles replied, still a tad bit dazed. He gazed up at where the
stone of power had once rested, and the memories of last night came flooding back in full.
Knuckles suppressed the urge to curse right then as he remembered. That strange blue, liquid
monster, the emerald shattering, the entire Angel Island falling!
"It's like this," Vector continued. "I was walking along the beach, minding my own business
and jamming to some tunes on my walkman, when suddenly, the island starts shakin' like the
chest of some woman not wearing a sports bra!"
"Vector, that was uncalled for!" Espio snapped.
"Anyway," the rather dirty minded crocodile continued, "the next thing I know, I get this
strange sense of deja-vu as the beaches are now bordering water instead of air! So answer me
this, what happened? Why is the Master Emerald just a pile of shiny green rocks now?"
"That monster..." Knuckles grumbled absent mindedly.
"Excuse me?" Espio inquired.
"Last night, some monster made up of liquid came and destroyed the Master Emerald. I tried
to stop it, but it overpowered me and then ran off!"
Espio and Vector exchanged puzzled expressions for a moment.
"You feeling okay Knuckles?" the chameleon asked in a rather concerned voice. "Maybe you
hit your head harder than we thought."
"I'm fine!" the red echidna snapped sharply. "I know it sounds crazy, but there really was
some sort of water monster here last night, and it somehow shattered the Master Emerald!"
"This is bad," Vector whispered to Espio. "Red man's startin' to loose it. Sooner or later, he'll
end up like someone outta 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'!"
"Oh shut up!" Knuckles snapped angrily. "Don't believe me if you want! The important thing
here's to find all the pieces of the Master Emerald." With that, Knuckles prepared to take off on
a search for the missing fragments. Vector and Espio, however, had other ideas, and grabbed
onto the guardian's heels in an attempt to keep him grounded. This caused knuckled to fall flat
on his face. An embarrassing position to say the least, especially for the guardian who was
known for his "beat into a bloody pulp first, ask questions later" tactics.
"Hold on there Knuckles," Espio called out as the echidna landed on the ground with a loud
thud. "I think you should wait here until you're feeling better. After all, whatever happened last
night must have really messed up your senses."
"Shyeah," Vector agreed. Under his breath, he added, "water monsters my aAHHH!"
Knuckles decided it was at that point he should stomp on the crocodile's foot to shut him up.
"Listen, we'll help you find the emerald shards Knux, it's not like we don't want the
Master Emerald whole again."
"What makes you think you'll be able to find them all!?!" Knuckles yelled. "You don't have a
psychic link with the Master Emerald like I do!"
"Knuckles, we're just trying to look out for you," Espio explained again. "Besides, who knows
what the Master Emerald's exploding could have done to your mind? And I'm not just talking
about breaking your link to it. It could have had other results as well."
The guardian grumbled something inaudible under his breath. "I do have a little bit of a
headache," he admitted angrily. "I guess I should lay down for a while."
"Now you're thinking smart," Espio stated triumphantly.
"You just chill Knucx," the green crocodile instructed. "Me and Espio will find Mighty and
Charmy, and then all four of us will look for the emerald shards and tell the other islanders not
to worry."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Knuckles grumbled as he reclined on a rock. "Just don't go and hurt
yourselves." Vector and Espio soon departed from the scene. Knuckles cautiously opened and
eyelid and looked around. Once he was sure the duo was gone, he stood up, and glided off into
the horizon. "No offence guys, but I don't need your help," he stated to nobody in particular. "I
never did, and I never will either."
* * *
"Well Jim, it seems as if there's a lot of traffic moving into Station Square for the weekend,"
Shane McLane, the helicopter reporter for Station Square's most watched new program reported
on the traffic conditions. "There's a huge line of cars in the city, most likely here for either the
grand re-opening of Casinopolis or Twinkle Park's special lovebird offer. Either way, the
Emerald Coast Hotel should be getting a lot of business this weekend. I should note that all the
roads leading out of Station Square are quite open, so if you're trying to get out of the city, then
you're in good shape unless you have to go through Green Hill Ave., in which case I suggest you
take a detour around onto Hill Top Rd. to avoid the traffic. This is Shane McLane, returning you
to the..."
Suddenly, the long line of cars below began honking loudly for no apparent reason whatsoever.
"Shane, what's going on out there?" Jim Trance, the anchor at the station wondered.
"Something sure is, but I have no idea in the slightest on what the ruckus is," she replied.
"Wait a second, I think I see something..." she motioned for the pilot of the helicopter to lower
them closer to the highway below. At that moment, Shane glimpsed of a small, blue mass
weaving its way around and over the cars into the city. "It appears that some small, yet
surprisingly fast, blue thing is making its way through traffic into the city..."
There was silence in the station.
"Shane, are you feeling alright?"
Shane was about to have the camera man point the lense down towards the highway below, but
the streak of blue disappeared into one of the tunnels leading into Station Square at that moment.
"Uh... just kidding!" She replied nervously, hoping she wouldn't sound too stupid to the
viewers.
* * *
"Ba-iiii!" a small, blue teardrop shaped creature squealed in delight as its owner walked across
the room. It quickly ran after her, waving its arms wildly in the air and jumping up and down,
wanting ever so much to be picked up and cuddled.
"Awww... there you are!" Sara cooed as she scooped up the tiny little Chao in her arms. The
Chao, who she had named Babu, babbled happily as it snuggled up to her chest. Babu had been
given to Sara for her last birthday as a gift. It was given to her wearily, as several times before
her father had given her pets, and somehow or another they all ended up dead a few weeks after
they had been received. (Except for that python. They never did find out what happened to it.)
The Chao, however, seemed as if it would stay for a long time, as it was already three months
since Sara had been given it. Having a Chao did have its benefits over owning animals as pets.
Unlike dogs or cats or birds, a Chao didn't leave behind a mess to be cleaned up after. (Chao are
intelligent creatures. See, they know how to use the bathroom!) Also, Chao were much smarter,
and could understand what people said, as well as learn what it should do and what it should not
do easily. More importantly, the only special care that a Chao needed was to be fed and loved,
two things which Sara did readily and happily, as she found Chao to be the most adorable little
creatures ever. Especially Babu.
"Who's mommy's little precious?" she cooed again. Babu just laughed happily and looked up
at its owner, making her smile as well. "I was looking all over for you, where were you?" Babu
crawled up her arm and rested on her should, and then proceeded to move his arms about in an
attempt to retell his previous adventures. Sara just giggled. "I'm off to take a bath now, want to
come with me?" Babu, always ready to take a swim in water (especially warm water, which he
had grown accustomed too) nodded eagerly.
Within the next few minutes, Sara was in the large, master bathroom that housed a spa, which
belonged to her father. She set up everything she needed: a wash rag, a towel, and some bubble
solution. (She was always careful to make sure that Babu was out of the water before she added
this.) She rested the Chao on the side of the tub, and turned the hot water on. It would take a few
minutes for the tub to fill. In the meantime, Babu just stared down at the warm liquid, and Sara
began to undress. First she took off her earrings, then her bow, followed by her socks and shoes,
and her jacket. She was just about to remove her tube top, when the sound of something getting
stuck in the water spout caught her attention.
"...The heck?" she wondered out loud. Babu stared at her inquisitively. She leaned over closer
to the spa and looked at the spout's direction. Strange slurping and sucking noises emitted from
it. Finally, whatever was stuck in it came blasting out into what little water was already in,
splashing it, and the water that followed the cause of the clog onto the teen and her Chao.
She sputtered, quite annoyed at the turn of events, as her mini skirt and tube top were now wet.
Her annoyance turned into utter shock and disgust when she looked up again. "Eww!" she stuck
her tongue out. "What is that gray thing?"
Babu, on the other hand, seemed to be overjoyed at the sight, and began waving its arms in the
air and squealing madly.
"Is that a brain?" Sara wondered. The grey mass began to float to the edge of the tub and, quite
to her shock and utter horror, began to climb out of the tub along with a good amount of water.
Sara quickly grabbed her Chao, and backed away from the strange liquid that took no time in
forming itself into strange looking, bipedal form. Babu was ecstatic now.
"Well at least one of us is enjoying this," she stated absent mindedly. Babu then leaped out of
her arms and ran up to the liquid monster with glowing, emerald green eyes, jumping up and
down excitedly. "Babu, come back! Get away from it!" she shrieked fearfully.
The monster slowly reached both hands down to the Chao by extending its arm length,
and picked Babu up in its bizarre, three digit hands. The monster then proceeded to stroke the
Chao's head affectionately, which caused the small water creature to babble happily, perhaps
more happily than Sara had ever seen it.
"Hey, get your hand off of my Chao!" Sara shrieked again, this time in rage. She brought her
hand around to slap the monster in the face.
Instead, she just splashed the water it was created of around and completely disfigured its
face (if that's what you could call it) causing it to drop Babu onto the floor. The Chao began to
cry unhappily, and Sara drew back in shock and surprise, as well as utter amazement as the
monster's face reformed. It then glared at her with its large, green eyes, and thrust out an arm,
grabbing her around her upper torso. "Hey, hands off you dirty little perv-AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
The monster then proceeded to throw Sara across the room, making her land with a loud splash
in the spa. Babu then began to giggle happily again and clapped his hands together. Sara,
completely soaked to the skin, which had become quite pink in the hot water, poked her head out
of the water and stared at the little Chao. Hey, just who's side are you on, anyway? she
thought bitterly. The sight of the monster looming above her then brought her attention away
from Babu, and caused her to let out a loud scream of terror.
"Sara? What's going on in there?" One of the guards that patrolled the hallways burst in
abruptly, wondering what the din was about. He took one look at the monster, and nearly wet
himself. "HOLY SHIT!" the guard exclaimed, just seconds before the monster pounced on
him and then continued to zip briskly out the door. It was immediately followed by Babu, who
was still waving his hands wildly, and then by Sara, who made sure to run in the opposite
direction that the monster had.
"Help! Somebody! Monster!" she yelled as she tore down the hallway, dripping water all over
the new carpeting.
* * *
"Are you sure? ... Okay, we're on our way," Shane replied, and turned off the radio that kept
her in contact with the people back at the station. "And they thought I was crazy," she muttered
under he breath. She then turned to face the pilot of the helicopter. "Change of plans," she
informed him, "head over towards city hall. I just got word that some weird stuff is going on
inside the mayor's quarters."
"Will do," the pilot replied, and turned the aircraft in the direction of the new destination.
Nobody would have notice even if they had been looking, but a small, pink light sphere was also
heading in that direction, following the helicopter closely. A few seconds later, and the same
blue mass that Shane had spotted tearing through traffic earlier came bounding around the same
area they had just been in, this time running alongside, and bouncing off of, the sides of the
buildings at an amazing velocity. The blue mass then bounced off a flagpole and landed on top
of one of the buildings in a neat little finish that would be expected of gymnasts participating in
the Olympics. He then relaxed, drew in a deep breath, and gave a long, contented sigh.
"Ahhh... yeah!" Sonic exclaimed as he folded his arms across his chest. "Now this is
happening! Who would've known Station Square was such an awesome place? I wonder why I
didn't come here sooner?"
The reason, Sonic knew, was a person, or rather, a small, pink hedgehog by the name of Amy
Rose. He had met Amy some years before when he was attempting to foil Dr. Robotnik's plans
to steal the Time Stones, and had ended up rescuing her from a metal robot duplicate of him,
aptly named "Metal Sonic". Ever since, she had gotten the strange idea in her head that she and
him were an item, and would annoy and bother him at the worst possible times. He didn't want
anybody to get him wrong, Sonic had respect for Amy, but would rather keep his distance from
her. However, the promise of a large, twisting speedway, an exciting nightlife (as soon as
Casinopolis opened up, anyway) and the most beautiful beaches (along with babes to go with
them!) eventually lured the blue blur away from his home on South Island and into Amy's
hometown. It seemed as if it'd be worth the risk of running into Amy too, as if he had this much
fun just getting into Station Square, then he couldn't wait to tackle that speedway! Plus, he was
optimistic that Amy had changed since they had last met. After all, it had been three years ago.
He did, however, think it was a better idea to not find out right away.
The sound of sirens blaring and police cars tearing down the road ripped Sonic out of his
admiration of the huge city.
"What's up?" the blue hedgehog wondered. Curiosity getting the best of him, Sonic decided
he'd follow the cops to where it was they were going to the best of his ability. (Which happened
to be very easy for him.) It just so happened that the police cars were heading strait for the
location that the helicopter (and the strange ball of light) had headed just a few seconds earlier.
* * *
"Monster," one of the officers chuckled. "Has the mayor gone nutso or something?"
"He's probably been hanging around that ditzy daughter of his again," another police woman
sighed.
"Well whatever it is, it better be a good enough reason to get us out here in such a hurry,
especially since it's beginning to rain." The loud sound of helicopter blades whirling could be
heard overhead. "Great, the press's already here."
"Alright troops, move out!" the chief of police ordered. Several officers, dressed in navy blue,
wearing white helmets with their visors down, bullet proof vests, and carrying shields and guns
began to file towards the building. A loud din could be heard from inside, comprised of people
yelling, guns firing, and object being broken. Eventually, one of the windows on the fifth floor
shattered, and out dropped the same blue, liquid monster that had attacked Sara before.
"Holy shit, it really is a monster!" one officer exclaimed.
"We have you completely surrounded!" the chief of police barked into his megaphone at the
blue creature. "Don't move, or else we'll be force to shoot!" The monster, tilted its head
thoughtfully, and began to walk slowly forward towards the line of specially trained officers.
"We warned you!" the chief yelled. "Alright, ready men..."
"Ahem!"
"...and women... FIRE!"
Each police man (and woman) pulled the trigger on their guns and shot round after round at
the monster, making it twist, warp, and splash water onto the ground. However, the guns proved
to be completely useless, and the monster regained its form once again.
"Oh no!" one officer yelled out suddenly, "our weapons... they have no effect on him!"
"All officers, fall back!" the chief of police barked into the megaphone. "Repeat, fall back!"
The officers didn't need any instruction, as they were already making a mad dash away from
where the monster stood. It was at this time that Sonic arrived at the scene, as he had lost the
cars he had been chasing on the way. He landed neatly on the roof of a squad car, right next to
the chief of police.
"Yo, what's going on?" he demanded. One of the retreating officers yelled out a response.
"MONSTER!"
"Monster?"
"There's a monster out there attacking people, and we can't stop it!" the chief of police
confirmed. Sonic peered out into the scene, and could make out some strange creature made
entirely of water beating up on a few poor stragglers, were either screaming in terror, or crying
for their mommies.
"Uh-oh," was all the blue hedgehog replied.
"It looks as if this monster could be the end of us all!"
"Don't sweat it," Sonic replied. "It doesn't look that tough!"
"Huh? What do you mean?" the chief demanded. But when he looked to his side, he saw
nobody there.
"What does the blue hedgehog think he's doing!?!" one of the officers shrieked. The chief of
police looked up, and spotted Sonic jumping out in front of the monster.
"Hey, you overgrown puddle, how about a real challenge!?" Sonic addressed the blue form in
front of him. "I'll even give you the first shot!" The monster wasted no time in socking Sonic
directly in the stomach and sending him flying into the side of the nearest police car. Sonic
groaned, and pulled himself upright just in time to be grabbed by the monster's outstretched
arm, and thrown across the area into a brick wall.
"Me and my big mouth..." he groaned again. He looked up, and spotted the monsters extended
arm coming strait down at him. He jumped to the left and narrowly avoided the blow.
"Alright," Sonic snorted determinedly, "no more Mr. Nice Guy!" He then bolted at the monster
at full speed and dodged each strike from its arms. He curled himself up into a spinning ball of
quills and smashed head first into the watery form, splashing it all over the ground. The monster,
however, was not finished yet, and quickly pulled itself back together. "Still going, are we?"
Sonic sneered.
The monster's bizarre hands then transformed into blade like shapes, and it began to
slash them at Sonic, who dodged the attacks effortlessly. The monster then began to spin around
like a top with its arms outstretched and ready to slice anything that came in contact with them.
"Very clever," Sonic mused, "but not good enough!" The blue hedgehog then jumped in the air
and came crashing down on the monster's head, once again spinning like a mad buzz saw blade.
The monster once again reformed, and the leapt into the air.
"What now?" the Blue Blur wondered. The monster's arms then glowed red and blasted
towards the blue hedgehog at intense speeds. Sonic was hit by the first blow, but managed to
escape the second. "Now I've got you right where I want you!" he yelled, and jumped strait up in
the air, and began his spin attack once again. The monster's green eyes opened wide in shock
just before the blur of blue struck it from below and sent it splashing onto the ground. Sonic
landed beside the mass of living water, and turned to see it begin to form again.
"Oh, so you wanna play some more, huh?" he grinned fiendishly. The monster glanced at
him with its large, green eyes, and then melted back into a puddle of blue water and began to
shoot away from the hedgehog as fast as possible.
"Hey, we're ya going, ya big drip?" Sonic called after the monster as it found its way
over to a sewer grate, and drained itself into the sanitation system. Sonic looked at where the
monster had been only a few seconds. "And it was just getting interesting, too" he joked silently.
His thoughts, however, were broken by the loud sound of cheering and clapping. He turned to
see the entire police force cheering and applauding his success in defeating the monster.
* * *
"Unbelievable folks!" Shane exclaimed into her microphone. "The police force were
completely unable to stop this monstrous foe, and then a blue hedgehog appeared out of nowhere
and defeated him single handedly! I've never seen anything like it!" The helicopter she had been
in had already lowered itself to the ground, and she and her camera man were rushing through
the crowd of police officers to get a word with the spiny blue hero, who was now surrounded by
a few people who had been inside the building, including Sara, Babu, and the mayor himself.
The mayor and Sara seemed to be having quite a time talking with Sonic, who was grinning
smugly the entire time. Eventually, Shane came close enough to start speaking with him.
"Excuse me, Mr. Hedgehog? May I have a word with you?"
"But of course," Sonic replied politely. "And please, the name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Alright then, Sonic," Shane corrected herself, and continued to interview the blue hedgehog.
"What would I say if I told you were a hero?" she asked eventually.
Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "It wouldn't be the first time. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta
be on my way." He then made his way out of the crowd of people and dashed off down the road
at incredible speed.
Shane turned to the camera, brushed her wet hair out of her face, and spoke into her
microphone. "Well, you heard it here first folks. Who is this mysterious hyper-speed hedgehog,
and where did he come from? We'll have more info as soon as we can sit down and have a
proper interview with the hedgehog known as Sonic. This is Shane McLane, returning you to our
anchors."
* * *
Robotnik, one of the most cunning and evil scientific geniuses in the world watched the scene
from high atop a building, letting the shadows conceal his bulk. He had seen the entire battle
between Sonic and the monster, and chuckled silently to himself.
"Fools," he sneered to nobody in particular as he watched his hated nemesis make his way out
of the crowd and speed off. "You all know nothing! That wasn't just any monster, it was Chaos!
The god of destruction!" With that, he laughed evilly and drew back into the shadows. This time,
his encounter with the blue hedgehog was going to prove most interesting indeed.