The Legend of ChaosJedi-- Beginnings
by Ryan Carroll
Prologue -- Summation and Recap
Eighteen months ago, a teen named Ryan invented the Dimensionalizer, a machine capable of creating transdimensional tunnels. A preliminary test run went awry when an unstable tunnel pulled Sonic the Hedgehog and several of his friends through the tunnel.
The tunnel also brought the Chaos Emeralds to Earth.
The Chaos Emeralds fused themselves to the class rings of Ryan and six of his friends. Team Chaos had been formed. They assisted the Freedom Fighters of Knothole in their fight against Robotnik.
Just three months ago, Robotnik attempted to use transdimensional technology to merge three worlds. His intent is still highly unknown, but his meddling with the dimensional continuum created Chaos8, a bitter young man with the power of the eighth Chaos Emerald. Chaos8 proved to be a more dangerous foe than Robotnik, and only by finding his weak point were Ryan and his friends able to defeat him. But it is still unsure whether Chaos8 is dead or was merely pulled into the Interweb, a hellish anti-dimension capable of erasing the memory of anyone who is unfortunate enough to wind up there...
The events following the world collision led to the draining of Chaos Emeralds in an epic battle. The TC members were forced to recharge the Chaos Emeralds with the Element Stones, and each Emerald gained an elemental power...
Now, a year and a half after the formation of Team Chaos, graduation and college plans are forcing the team apart. Ryan is moving to Arizona to attend Arizona State University, and the other team members are all going their separate ways. But destiny still has plans for the Chaos Emeralds...
Floating Island, Mobius
Knuckles the Echidna was up late as usual, researching history. The hobby was more of a compulsion than a pastime; the echidna often went for weeks on end without researching, then would feel an inexplicable urge to study. Using an electronic translator Cliff had found some time back, Knux transcribed his documents into standard English, then studied what he found.
This particular document, however, puzzled him. All there seemed to be were sets of numbers and a large triangle.
The enigma was baffling. The triangle could mean any number of things: a sundial, a mountain, a pyramid--
Pyramid. The thought lodged itself in the echidna's mind. If the triangle was to represent the pyramid in Sandopolis, then the numbers could be... coordinates?
Knuckles decided that he would have to check this out.
Tomorrow. It was well past midnight now, and the bed across the room looked very inviting. Knux gave into his need for sleep, carefully tidying up his desk and placing the parchment with the figures in the drawer before turning out the light.
---------------------------------------------------------
I was about to leave for Arizona, but I knew there was one thing I had to do. I had to meet with the rest of the team one last time.
We met at our usual spot: The Hideaway. We sat in the lounge reminiscing about the events of the past year and a half, the events that had brought us together, and the fun we might have missed had the Dimensionalizer never happened. Finally I had to leave, as I needed to pack for my long drive the next day.
"It's been real, guys."
"We're gonna miss you, man. What's gonna happen to the team once you leave?"
"I don't know. What do you think? One last time?"
"Let's do it!"
The usual bright flash ensued, but instead of our armor activating the way it usually did, the seven of us saw the Chaos Emeralds hovering in a circle over our heads...
--------------------------------------------------------
"Going somewhere, Knuckles?"
Knux mentally kicked himself. He _thought_ he'd gotten up before anyone else, but then he remembered that Talon always got up at dawn to check on Hidden Palace. Bright kid, but the echidna thought he was a bit too eager at times.
"I was just going to follow up on some research." Well, if Tal was up anyway... "Would you like to help?"
"Yes, sir!" The anteater's eyes glowed with anticipation.
"What have I told you about calling me 'sir'?" Knux growled through clenched teeth, although a smile soon followed. "I'll overlook it... _this_ time. Come on."
--------------------------------------------------------
"I worked this out on a computer model first," Knuckles explained as he led Talon down a dim passageway. "There are basically six reference points I could have used for this set of coordinates: the five apexes of the pyramid and the entrance. Unfortunately using those coordinates I always wound up with a few coordinate points outside the pyramid. So I wondered if a room _inside_ the pyramid could be used for reference, and I picked the most obvious one."
"The Master Sword room?"
"Precisely. I've got everything mapped out here..."
Talon fingered the camera around his neck as he watched the holographic display...
--------------------------------------------------------
Knuckles and I were perusing the pictures he and Talon had taken the day before. What I saw astounded me: a series of fresco paintings that portrayed what had just happened to me the day before.
In short, there had been another bright flash, and I had found myself the sole owner of the Chaos Emeralds. I was currently "in Atlanta", and I was supposed to be asleep, but I could use the emeralds during my drive for the extra energy.
"So you think this is the emeralds' way of selecting a single Guardian?"
"Well, I'm more inclined to think of it as God's way of doing that. I find it easier to attribute events to God than to attribute sentience to inanimate objects."
"Then how do you explain the Master Sword? And Chaos8?"
"Examples of how sin corrupts. You know, it's weird, but I haven't seen Jay or Robin since the time machine incident. How would they know about something I haven't told them about?"
"Time machine incident... Don't remind me."
"Yeah, I'd still like to know what happened with that neurotoxin thing. What was it, one of Robotnik's little experiments?"
"It wasn't Robotnik this time. It was Kardot."
My confused look prompted Knuckles to explain the events that had happened some time ago, back when the split between Knuckles and Sonic was still fresh. He concluded with how the android had fallen into the ravine on Floating Island and hadn't been found later. "Don't ask me how," he continued, "but I think she managed to infect me with this gunk. I analyzed it and found trace elements of a rare neurotoxin in there. Apparently she'd done a little chemistry experiment."
"How did she manage to infect you?"
"Probably during that swordfight."
"Well, that would explain a lot. Now what about a name for myself? I'm not exactly Team Chaos all by myself anymore."
Knux smiled. "I've been thinking about that. What's your weapon of choice?"
I grinned in reply. "The lightsaber, of course."
"So that makes you some sort of ChaosJedi."
"ChaosJedi. I like it!"
"And when you're in your persona, we can call you CJ."
"Nice. This should prove interesting in future missions." I grinned madly. "Bad guys, look out!"
Little did I know that in the next month I would need to look out myself. And that everything familiar to me was about to turn for the worse.
-------------------------------------------------------
College took my mind off my double life for a week. I was making new friends, and even got to know a girl in my dorm. Her name was Christine, and she happened to be in a couple of my classes. Life was going great...
And then, in under a minute, it went straight to the depths of the Interweb in an express elevator.
It all started innocently enough. Christine asked me if I wanted to walk with her. I had actually considered telling her about my double life, possibly even taking her with me through the dimensional portal, so I agreed. Besides, I needed the exercise.
We walked out to a little-known park and just talked about stuff. I was just about to confess to her about my secret life when she suddenly stopped, shivering.
"Chris? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I feel cold..."
I moved to embrace her, thinking she was just chilly from a passing breeze... then I saw what was really happening.
Her hands were fading out. She was being erased from existence.
"NO!" I stood there numbly as Christine vanished from sight.
-------------------------------------------------------
The way I walked was no indication to anyone in Knothole of the horror I'd just experienced. Neither could anyone tell by my tone of voice.
The haunted look on my face... _that_ I think was the primary indicator of my mental torment. The second Slasher saw me, she guided me into her hut and sat me down on the cot. "What's wrong?" she asked me.
The question was not yet halfway out of her mouth when I simply broke down. My head went straight to her shoulder and didn't leave the spot until I'd recomposed myself. After that the next twenty minutes or so was a blurry mess. I think I may have explained what happened, I'm not quite sure. Whether my ramblings were lucid or even followed a common thread is beyond my capability to remember. All I know is that when I finished, Slasher shook her head and spoke one word: "Chaos8."
That was more than my brain could handle. I blacked out on the spot.
I awoke to find Slasher, Knux, and-- surprisingly-- Gage Blackwood standing over me. The first words out of my mouth were "What happened?"
"You passed out. Call it a mental Blue Screen of Death if you want."
"Funny, Gage. I'm not exactly in the mood for jokes at the moment."
"Sorry, I guess experiencing a temporal anomaly firsthand can be pretty traumatic."
Two of the words he used clicked. "Wait a minute. 'Temporal anomaly'? As in 'someone's messing around with time again' anomaly?"
"Precisely Watson. The name Christine Monroe ring a bell?"
"That's the girl. She was wonderful. Maybe not the girl God had for me... but now I'll never know."
"She wasn't supposed to die. Premature death a few years back in the time stream. I found this newspaper clipping in my research... The police reports are a little fuzzy on cause of death, but I dug a little deeper. She turned up in the FBI's 'X-Files'. Take a look at this picture."
I took the picture from the Temporal Protectorate agent, glancing at it. I quickly dropped it with a cry of "Oh my--!"
"What is it?" Knux inquired, picking up the photo. In under a second a long, low whistle escaped his lips.
My voice was a dead monotone, threatening another faint on my part. "Lightsaber to the heart. If she screamed, it wasn't very loud or long."
Slasher glanced at the pic, then turned away in revulsion. "Chaos8," she reiterated.
"Only one with the saber, the grudge, and the connection. It's strange; now that I think about it, I've been feeling a dark presence every so often walking around campus, but I never made the connection." I looked at Gage. "We have a date?"
Gage nodded and said, "I'll request a Jumpsuit for you."
"No need," I replied. I stood up and energized the Chaos Emeralds. "Jumpsuit Activate..." I muttered, and I was surrounded by a green glow that soon materialized into a genuine Jumpsuit.
"You realize that I could confiscate that suit as contraband time travel equipment," Gage admonished.
"Yes, but it can't be used by anyone other than me. To take it off, I just deactivate it and it dissolves instantly."
"Well, all right. You know what you need to do?"
"I find Christine, track her, and take out Chaos8 before he can get to her."
"Check. Good luck."
----------------------------------------------------------
Tracking Christine proved to be easy enough. I merely created a bicycle for myself with the green emerald and timed my pass so that I would fall right in behind her as she headed home. She always walked alone; she had told me that she was a dreamer, always imagining entire worlds whenever she got the chance.
A girl after my own heart.
As I followed her, I watched her like a hawk, glancing away occasionally to avoid suspicion. When she stopped at the mouth of an alley, I knew that this was my cue to close in. She started in the alley right about the time I reached it. I followed her into the darkness, until I heard a sound that to this day sends a chill up my spine.
It was the drone of Chaos8's blacksaber.
To call it a lightsaber would be to deny the very nature of the weapon. The blade, like 8's armor plating, drank in any light it found. It blended in with shadow, making it a lethal weapon in a fight in darkness. By entering the alley I was giving away my only advantage. My hearing detected a change in the pitch of the saber's drone; I knew that if I didn't do something _that_ instant that I would lose Christine. I did what any normal person on the brink of sanity would do: I drew my own saber and charged down the alley screaming inhumanly all the while.
I must have taken 8 by suprise, because instead of running into his saber like the last remaining logical corner of my mind had expected to, I connected with his body and sent the armored wraith flying. Reason caught up with me for a moment, and I stood there, waiting for the attack to come. My grip on the handle twisted, and the modification I had installed into my saber (the one I had totally forgotten about in light of recent events) kicked in.
The solar spectrum modification.
The modification was simple once you knew how it worked. Rather than giving off one single color of light, the blade of the sword gave off the entire solar spectrum at once... toned down enough that it wouldn't blind you, of course. The intensity of the blade was still great enough to light up the alleyway, however, and I soon saw Chaos8, slowly getting up from where he stood. I pointed my saber in his face. "You can mess with me all you like," I whispered maliciously, "but you DON'T MESS WITH MY FRIENDS!"
His reflexes were quick, but I was quicker. I nailed the weak spot in his armor, and he collapsed into the Interweb again, screaming the whole way.
I turned to Christine, where she cowered against the wall. I switched off the saber but enhanced the glow of my "energy vest", which is how my enhanced Chaos Emeralds manifested themselves. I offered her my hand. "Don't worry, child. He won't harm you again."
"Wh-who are you?"
"Someone who cares for you. That's all you need know for now."
"Where did that other guy go, the one in black?"
"I don't think you want to know. That's better left unsaid."
"Will I ever see you again?"
"I guarantee it. Tell no one of this until I return to you."
"Are you kidding? No one would believe me anyway."
I smiled and time-warped out of sight.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I had set my coordinates to the exact location Christine had disappeared, and as I watched, she reappeared in front of me. She immediately fell into my arms. "Oh, Ryan, it was horrible! It was like I was dead, but something happened. It was..." She gasped. "It was that guy in the alley! He saved my life! He said he was..."
"Someone who cares for you?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what he said. ...Wait a minute. How did you know? And why are you glowing?"
I smiled and reactivated the emeralds. She jumped. "It was YOU! But how...? What...? ...That's it, you're telling me everything."
"Gladly. But you're going to have to try some things out for yourself. Come on, we're heading back to my room."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"Is this some sort of TV screen or something? It looks weird."
I laughed. "No, this is what we have come to call the Dimensionalizer."
"We?"
"There used to be a Team Chaos. I think I'll get you in touch with Jason after you meet the rest of the crew."
"The 'rest of the crew'?"
"You'll see what I mean." I punched in the last of the coordinates and the portal roared to life.
"I think you need to adjust your reception, you're getting static."
"Funny, Chris. Go ahead. Touch it."
She reached out to the portal and got within an inch before she flipped out. "You've got to be crazy."
"Fine, I'll go first." With that I walked into the portal.
"Hey, wait for me-- AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
I caught Christine as she flew by. "You okay?" Apparently the sight of flying through and beyond outer space had prompted her to hold her breath. "Look, you can breathe, you know."
"What the--" she breathed. "What IS this place?"
"This is a dimensional tunnel. We're headed for a totally different world."
"I want to turn around. I don't know if I'm ready for this."
"Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to change directions while in the stream. We're on a one-way street, girl."
"Well that makes me feel much better. What was it like when you first did this?"
"I landed flat on my face when I came out the other end. Don't worry, I'll go out first and catch you as you come out. It won't be a problem."
------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I did go out first, and I did catch Chris as she came out... Unfortunately, her foot hit a stone and we both went down. I was underneath, and I just happened to land dead center on the rock.
"YEOW! Getoffgetoffgetoff!"
Christine quickly got up and I rolled away from where I lay in agony. Christine muttered something I didn't catch and kiced the rock... and promptly let out a yelp.
"What?" I inquired, still in pain from landing on the stupid thing. "Stub your toe?"
"No... It's hard to explain, but that rock felt like it was... electric!"
"Huh? Let me see that..." I dove to pick up the rock, ignoring the jolts of pain in my back from the act. I noticed a faint internal glow, and recalled something that Knux had mentioned a while back...
I immediately began pounding the rock on a nearby boulder.
"What the heck are you doing?" Chris asked, obviously puzzled.
"A friend told me about a lost piece of a huge emerald... I think you may have just found it..."
When cracks began forming in the surface of the stone, I took to prying the crumbling dirt off the gem... A large chunk of clay fell from the surface of the emerald, and a bright beam of light shot from the hole in the crust.
"Pay dirt."
I stowed the rock in a pocket and led Christine into Knothole. Everyone was indoors from the cold weather, so I went straight to Slasher's hut. "Hey, Slash, I've got a guest!"
I stepped behind Christine as Slasher opened the door. "Slasher, this is Christine; Chris, this is--"
I grabbed Chris as she slumped into my arms.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"You ok?"
"Yeah, it's just a bit of a shock seeing a live raptor open a door right in front of you. You could have warned me."
"I didn't get much warning when I first met up with Slasher. I thought I'd let you have as much fun as I did with it."
"Oh yeah, real fun. Any other weird things I should know about?"
"Only that you found something I've been missing for over three years," Knux interjected. I wondered if Christine was going to faint again on seeing a bright red echidna walking into the room, but she seemed to take it in stride.
"So that is the missing chunk of the Master Emerald?" I inquired.
"The one and only. Painful, was it?"
"Nearly broke my back, but aside from that, nah."
"How is you back, anyway? This piece isn't all that small."
"Ah, I'll be fine, I'm just giving Christine a hard time. In fact, I should introduce you. Knux, this is Christine, the amazing disappearing woman; Chris, this is Knuckles Echidna, Guardian of the Floating Island."
"Charmed. Any other interesting friends I've yet to meet?" She paused. "Am I smelling chili dogs?"
"Yeah. Sonic must be cooking lunch today."
"Sonic? As in the blue hedgehog Sonic?"
----------------------------------------------------------------
It turned out that Chris was a big Sonic fan and had played nearly all the Sonic games in existence. Go figure.
She and Slasher became fast friends in the time span of our relatively short visit. At one point I walked in on the two of them talking, and they stopped and simply stared at me. I took the hint and left. Knux called me over as I closed the door behind me.
"What do you think about giving Christine the Xiro stone?" he inquired as I approached.
"The Chaos Amber?" I replied, clarifying that we were indeed talking about the same object. "I don't know, do you think she's ready for the responsibility? I mean she's only been aware of Mobius for a few hours..."
"When she walked under it earlier, I noticed a definite glow emanating from the stone. If there's a definite Bearer, she's the one."
I recalled the things I'd had to go through to get that chunk of fossilzed sap in the first place, only to discover that no one I knew on either Mobius or Earth was the designated Bearer. The caretaker had mentioned the glow, and it only made sense that Christine would be the Bearer.
I decided to test my theory based on the prophecies of the caretaker...
----------------------------------------------------------------
"When you meet the Bearer, she will befriend you quickly. You will cause her death, then you will rewrite history to bring her back. When the Bearer receives the Xiro stone by your hand, her romance will blossom into true love; and seven will become two; then two, one."
----------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I didn't know about the two becoming one part (I didn't have plans for marriage until well after college) but I had a feeling that the prophecy was coming along just fine so far. I figured the next part to be tested was the whole "true love" bit. It sounded like it belonged in The Princess Bride rather than my life, but I was willing to keep an open mind.
When Christine entered the hut, I levitated up to where the Chaos Amber was hanging on the pendant Knux had set it in, then lowered to the floor. "Christine, a few of us have talked about it, and I feel that you should have this pendant." I hung the stone around her neck.
"What is it?" she inquired as she examined the pendant.
"It's the Xiro stone. Chaos Amber by another name. Apparently only one person is eligible to wear it, and by all appearances, that person is you."
"What does it do?"
"Well, it's not like the Chaos Emeralds; you won't have the powers of the elements. But you will have enhanced natural abilities: better hearing, better sight, faster speed, better agility. You know, we could make a good team."
I glanced around the room, at Slasher, Sonic, Serena, Tails, Knuckles, and the others in the room, hoping that what I figured would happen wouldn't.
No such luck. "Oh, Ryan..." With that she threw her arms around me and planted her lips on mine.
When I became conscious of my surroundings, the room was empty except for the two of us. I smiled; Slasher was always the soul of discretion. I turned my attention back to Chris. "Wow. Is that for saving your life or for giving you the pendant?"
"More than both of those. I can't explain it, but I think you may be the person God intended for me."
"I'm beginning to think the same thing."
---------------------------------------------------------------
We returned to our dimension that night, and over the course of the next week I worked on a portal frame for Christine. Unfortunately, before I could finish it, I was called to an emergency meeting in Knothole, so I took Christine with me.
Little did I know that life for both of us was about to go to heck in a handbasket.
End Beginnings
by Ryan Carroll
Prologue -- Summation and Recap
Eighteen months ago, a teen named Ryan invented the Dimensionalizer, a machine capable of creating transdimensional tunnels. A preliminary test run went awry when an unstable tunnel pulled Sonic the Hedgehog and several of his friends through the tunnel.
The tunnel also brought the Chaos Emeralds to Earth.
The Chaos Emeralds fused themselves to the class rings of Ryan and six of his friends. Team Chaos had been formed. They assisted the Freedom Fighters of Knothole in their fight against Robotnik.
Just three months ago, Robotnik attempted to use transdimensional technology to merge three worlds. His intent is still highly unknown, but his meddling with the dimensional continuum created Chaos8, a bitter young man with the power of the eighth Chaos Emerald. Chaos8 proved to be a more dangerous foe than Robotnik, and only by finding his weak point were Ryan and his friends able to defeat him. But it is still unsure whether Chaos8 is dead or was merely pulled into the Interweb, a hellish anti-dimension capable of erasing the memory of anyone who is unfortunate enough to wind up there...
The events following the world collision led to the draining of Chaos Emeralds in an epic battle. The TC members were forced to recharge the Chaos Emeralds with the Element Stones, and each Emerald gained an elemental power...
Now, a year and a half after the formation of Team Chaos, graduation and college plans are forcing the team apart. Ryan is moving to Arizona to attend Arizona State University, and the other team members are all going their separate ways. But destiny still has plans for the Chaos Emeralds...
Floating Island, Mobius
Knuckles the Echidna was up late as usual, researching history. The hobby was more of a compulsion than a pastime; the echidna often went for weeks on end without researching, then would feel an inexplicable urge to study. Using an electronic translator Cliff had found some time back, Knux transcribed his documents into standard English, then studied what he found.
This particular document, however, puzzled him. All there seemed to be were sets of numbers and a large triangle.
The enigma was baffling. The triangle could mean any number of things: a sundial, a mountain, a pyramid--
Pyramid. The thought lodged itself in the echidna's mind. If the triangle was to represent the pyramid in Sandopolis, then the numbers could be... coordinates?
Knuckles decided that he would have to check this out.
Tomorrow. It was well past midnight now, and the bed across the room looked very inviting. Knux gave into his need for sleep, carefully tidying up his desk and placing the parchment with the figures in the drawer before turning out the light.
---------------------------------------------------------
I was about to leave for Arizona, but I knew there was one thing I had to do. I had to meet with the rest of the team one last time.
We met at our usual spot: The Hideaway. We sat in the lounge reminiscing about the events of the past year and a half, the events that had brought us together, and the fun we might have missed had the Dimensionalizer never happened. Finally I had to leave, as I needed to pack for my long drive the next day.
"It's been real, guys."
"We're gonna miss you, man. What's gonna happen to the team once you leave?"
"I don't know. What do you think? One last time?"
"Let's do it!"
The usual bright flash ensued, but instead of our armor activating the way it usually did, the seven of us saw the Chaos Emeralds hovering in a circle over our heads...
--------------------------------------------------------
"Going somewhere, Knuckles?"
Knux mentally kicked himself. He _thought_ he'd gotten up before anyone else, but then he remembered that Talon always got up at dawn to check on Hidden Palace. Bright kid, but the echidna thought he was a bit too eager at times.
"I was just going to follow up on some research." Well, if Tal was up anyway... "Would you like to help?"
"Yes, sir!" The anteater's eyes glowed with anticipation.
"What have I told you about calling me 'sir'?" Knux growled through clenched teeth, although a smile soon followed. "I'll overlook it... _this_ time. Come on."
--------------------------------------------------------
"I worked this out on a computer model first," Knuckles explained as he led Talon down a dim passageway. "There are basically six reference points I could have used for this set of coordinates: the five apexes of the pyramid and the entrance. Unfortunately using those coordinates I always wound up with a few coordinate points outside the pyramid. So I wondered if a room _inside_ the pyramid could be used for reference, and I picked the most obvious one."
"The Master Sword room?"
"Precisely. I've got everything mapped out here..."
Talon fingered the camera around his neck as he watched the holographic display...
--------------------------------------------------------
Knuckles and I were perusing the pictures he and Talon had taken the day before. What I saw astounded me: a series of fresco paintings that portrayed what had just happened to me the day before.
In short, there had been another bright flash, and I had found myself the sole owner of the Chaos Emeralds. I was currently "in Atlanta", and I was supposed to be asleep, but I could use the emeralds during my drive for the extra energy.
"So you think this is the emeralds' way of selecting a single Guardian?"
"Well, I'm more inclined to think of it as God's way of doing that. I find it easier to attribute events to God than to attribute sentience to inanimate objects."
"Then how do you explain the Master Sword? And Chaos8?"
"Examples of how sin corrupts. You know, it's weird, but I haven't seen Jay or Robin since the time machine incident. How would they know about something I haven't told them about?"
"Time machine incident... Don't remind me."
"Yeah, I'd still like to know what happened with that neurotoxin thing. What was it, one of Robotnik's little experiments?"
"It wasn't Robotnik this time. It was Kardot."
My confused look prompted Knuckles to explain the events that had happened some time ago, back when the split between Knuckles and Sonic was still fresh. He concluded with how the android had fallen into the ravine on Floating Island and hadn't been found later. "Don't ask me how," he continued, "but I think she managed to infect me with this gunk. I analyzed it and found trace elements of a rare neurotoxin in there. Apparently she'd done a little chemistry experiment."
"How did she manage to infect you?"
"Probably during that swordfight."
"Well, that would explain a lot. Now what about a name for myself? I'm not exactly Team Chaos all by myself anymore."
Knux smiled. "I've been thinking about that. What's your weapon of choice?"
I grinned in reply. "The lightsaber, of course."
"So that makes you some sort of ChaosJedi."
"ChaosJedi. I like it!"
"And when you're in your persona, we can call you CJ."
"Nice. This should prove interesting in future missions." I grinned madly. "Bad guys, look out!"
Little did I know that in the next month I would need to look out myself. And that everything familiar to me was about to turn for the worse.
-------------------------------------------------------
College took my mind off my double life for a week. I was making new friends, and even got to know a girl in my dorm. Her name was Christine, and she happened to be in a couple of my classes. Life was going great...
And then, in under a minute, it went straight to the depths of the Interweb in an express elevator.
It all started innocently enough. Christine asked me if I wanted to walk with her. I had actually considered telling her about my double life, possibly even taking her with me through the dimensional portal, so I agreed. Besides, I needed the exercise.
We walked out to a little-known park and just talked about stuff. I was just about to confess to her about my secret life when she suddenly stopped, shivering.
"Chris? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I feel cold..."
I moved to embrace her, thinking she was just chilly from a passing breeze... then I saw what was really happening.
Her hands were fading out. She was being erased from existence.
"NO!" I stood there numbly as Christine vanished from sight.
-------------------------------------------------------
The way I walked was no indication to anyone in Knothole of the horror I'd just experienced. Neither could anyone tell by my tone of voice.
The haunted look on my face... _that_ I think was the primary indicator of my mental torment. The second Slasher saw me, she guided me into her hut and sat me down on the cot. "What's wrong?" she asked me.
The question was not yet halfway out of her mouth when I simply broke down. My head went straight to her shoulder and didn't leave the spot until I'd recomposed myself. After that the next twenty minutes or so was a blurry mess. I think I may have explained what happened, I'm not quite sure. Whether my ramblings were lucid or even followed a common thread is beyond my capability to remember. All I know is that when I finished, Slasher shook her head and spoke one word: "Chaos8."
That was more than my brain could handle. I blacked out on the spot.
I awoke to find Slasher, Knux, and-- surprisingly-- Gage Blackwood standing over me. The first words out of my mouth were "What happened?"
"You passed out. Call it a mental Blue Screen of Death if you want."
"Funny, Gage. I'm not exactly in the mood for jokes at the moment."
"Sorry, I guess experiencing a temporal anomaly firsthand can be pretty traumatic."
Two of the words he used clicked. "Wait a minute. 'Temporal anomaly'? As in 'someone's messing around with time again' anomaly?"
"Precisely Watson. The name Christine Monroe ring a bell?"
"That's the girl. She was wonderful. Maybe not the girl God had for me... but now I'll never know."
"She wasn't supposed to die. Premature death a few years back in the time stream. I found this newspaper clipping in my research... The police reports are a little fuzzy on cause of death, but I dug a little deeper. She turned up in the FBI's 'X-Files'. Take a look at this picture."
I took the picture from the Temporal Protectorate agent, glancing at it. I quickly dropped it with a cry of "Oh my--!"
"What is it?" Knux inquired, picking up the photo. In under a second a long, low whistle escaped his lips.
My voice was a dead monotone, threatening another faint on my part. "Lightsaber to the heart. If she screamed, it wasn't very loud or long."
Slasher glanced at the pic, then turned away in revulsion. "Chaos8," she reiterated.
"Only one with the saber, the grudge, and the connection. It's strange; now that I think about it, I've been feeling a dark presence every so often walking around campus, but I never made the connection." I looked at Gage. "We have a date?"
Gage nodded and said, "I'll request a Jumpsuit for you."
"No need," I replied. I stood up and energized the Chaos Emeralds. "Jumpsuit Activate..." I muttered, and I was surrounded by a green glow that soon materialized into a genuine Jumpsuit.
"You realize that I could confiscate that suit as contraband time travel equipment," Gage admonished.
"Yes, but it can't be used by anyone other than me. To take it off, I just deactivate it and it dissolves instantly."
"Well, all right. You know what you need to do?"
"I find Christine, track her, and take out Chaos8 before he can get to her."
"Check. Good luck."
----------------------------------------------------------
Tracking Christine proved to be easy enough. I merely created a bicycle for myself with the green emerald and timed my pass so that I would fall right in behind her as she headed home. She always walked alone; she had told me that she was a dreamer, always imagining entire worlds whenever she got the chance.
A girl after my own heart.
As I followed her, I watched her like a hawk, glancing away occasionally to avoid suspicion. When she stopped at the mouth of an alley, I knew that this was my cue to close in. She started in the alley right about the time I reached it. I followed her into the darkness, until I heard a sound that to this day sends a chill up my spine.
It was the drone of Chaos8's blacksaber.
To call it a lightsaber would be to deny the very nature of the weapon. The blade, like 8's armor plating, drank in any light it found. It blended in with shadow, making it a lethal weapon in a fight in darkness. By entering the alley I was giving away my only advantage. My hearing detected a change in the pitch of the saber's drone; I knew that if I didn't do something _that_ instant that I would lose Christine. I did what any normal person on the brink of sanity would do: I drew my own saber and charged down the alley screaming inhumanly all the while.
I must have taken 8 by suprise, because instead of running into his saber like the last remaining logical corner of my mind had expected to, I connected with his body and sent the armored wraith flying. Reason caught up with me for a moment, and I stood there, waiting for the attack to come. My grip on the handle twisted, and the modification I had installed into my saber (the one I had totally forgotten about in light of recent events) kicked in.
The solar spectrum modification.
The modification was simple once you knew how it worked. Rather than giving off one single color of light, the blade of the sword gave off the entire solar spectrum at once... toned down enough that it wouldn't blind you, of course. The intensity of the blade was still great enough to light up the alleyway, however, and I soon saw Chaos8, slowly getting up from where he stood. I pointed my saber in his face. "You can mess with me all you like," I whispered maliciously, "but you DON'T MESS WITH MY FRIENDS!"
His reflexes were quick, but I was quicker. I nailed the weak spot in his armor, and he collapsed into the Interweb again, screaming the whole way.
I turned to Christine, where she cowered against the wall. I switched off the saber but enhanced the glow of my "energy vest", which is how my enhanced Chaos Emeralds manifested themselves. I offered her my hand. "Don't worry, child. He won't harm you again."
"Wh-who are you?"
"Someone who cares for you. That's all you need know for now."
"Where did that other guy go, the one in black?"
"I don't think you want to know. That's better left unsaid."
"Will I ever see you again?"
"I guarantee it. Tell no one of this until I return to you."
"Are you kidding? No one would believe me anyway."
I smiled and time-warped out of sight.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I had set my coordinates to the exact location Christine had disappeared, and as I watched, she reappeared in front of me. She immediately fell into my arms. "Oh, Ryan, it was horrible! It was like I was dead, but something happened. It was..." She gasped. "It was that guy in the alley! He saved my life! He said he was..."
"Someone who cares for you?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what he said. ...Wait a minute. How did you know? And why are you glowing?"
I smiled and reactivated the emeralds. She jumped. "It was YOU! But how...? What...? ...That's it, you're telling me everything."
"Gladly. But you're going to have to try some things out for yourself. Come on, we're heading back to my room."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"Is this some sort of TV screen or something? It looks weird."
I laughed. "No, this is what we have come to call the Dimensionalizer."
"We?"
"There used to be a Team Chaos. I think I'll get you in touch with Jason after you meet the rest of the crew."
"The 'rest of the crew'?"
"You'll see what I mean." I punched in the last of the coordinates and the portal roared to life.
"I think you need to adjust your reception, you're getting static."
"Funny, Chris. Go ahead. Touch it."
She reached out to the portal and got within an inch before she flipped out. "You've got to be crazy."
"Fine, I'll go first." With that I walked into the portal.
"Hey, wait for me-- AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
I caught Christine as she flew by. "You okay?" Apparently the sight of flying through and beyond outer space had prompted her to hold her breath. "Look, you can breathe, you know."
"What the--" she breathed. "What IS this place?"
"This is a dimensional tunnel. We're headed for a totally different world."
"I want to turn around. I don't know if I'm ready for this."
"Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to change directions while in the stream. We're on a one-way street, girl."
"Well that makes me feel much better. What was it like when you first did this?"
"I landed flat on my face when I came out the other end. Don't worry, I'll go out first and catch you as you come out. It won't be a problem."
------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I did go out first, and I did catch Chris as she came out... Unfortunately, her foot hit a stone and we both went down. I was underneath, and I just happened to land dead center on the rock.
"YEOW! Getoffgetoffgetoff!"
Christine quickly got up and I rolled away from where I lay in agony. Christine muttered something I didn't catch and kiced the rock... and promptly let out a yelp.
"What?" I inquired, still in pain from landing on the stupid thing. "Stub your toe?"
"No... It's hard to explain, but that rock felt like it was... electric!"
"Huh? Let me see that..." I dove to pick up the rock, ignoring the jolts of pain in my back from the act. I noticed a faint internal glow, and recalled something that Knux had mentioned a while back...
I immediately began pounding the rock on a nearby boulder.
"What the heck are you doing?" Chris asked, obviously puzzled.
"A friend told me about a lost piece of a huge emerald... I think you may have just found it..."
When cracks began forming in the surface of the stone, I took to prying the crumbling dirt off the gem... A large chunk of clay fell from the surface of the emerald, and a bright beam of light shot from the hole in the crust.
"Pay dirt."
I stowed the rock in a pocket and led Christine into Knothole. Everyone was indoors from the cold weather, so I went straight to Slasher's hut. "Hey, Slash, I've got a guest!"
I stepped behind Christine as Slasher opened the door. "Slasher, this is Christine; Chris, this is--"
I grabbed Chris as she slumped into my arms.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"You ok?"
"Yeah, it's just a bit of a shock seeing a live raptor open a door right in front of you. You could have warned me."
"I didn't get much warning when I first met up with Slasher. I thought I'd let you have as much fun as I did with it."
"Oh yeah, real fun. Any other weird things I should know about?"
"Only that you found something I've been missing for over three years," Knux interjected. I wondered if Christine was going to faint again on seeing a bright red echidna walking into the room, but she seemed to take it in stride.
"So that is the missing chunk of the Master Emerald?" I inquired.
"The one and only. Painful, was it?"
"Nearly broke my back, but aside from that, nah."
"How is you back, anyway? This piece isn't all that small."
"Ah, I'll be fine, I'm just giving Christine a hard time. In fact, I should introduce you. Knux, this is Christine, the amazing disappearing woman; Chris, this is Knuckles Echidna, Guardian of the Floating Island."
"Charmed. Any other interesting friends I've yet to meet?" She paused. "Am I smelling chili dogs?"
"Yeah. Sonic must be cooking lunch today."
"Sonic? As in the blue hedgehog Sonic?"
----------------------------------------------------------------
It turned out that Chris was a big Sonic fan and had played nearly all the Sonic games in existence. Go figure.
She and Slasher became fast friends in the time span of our relatively short visit. At one point I walked in on the two of them talking, and they stopped and simply stared at me. I took the hint and left. Knux called me over as I closed the door behind me.
"What do you think about giving Christine the Xiro stone?" he inquired as I approached.
"The Chaos Amber?" I replied, clarifying that we were indeed talking about the same object. "I don't know, do you think she's ready for the responsibility? I mean she's only been aware of Mobius for a few hours..."
"When she walked under it earlier, I noticed a definite glow emanating from the stone. If there's a definite Bearer, she's the one."
I recalled the things I'd had to go through to get that chunk of fossilzed sap in the first place, only to discover that no one I knew on either Mobius or Earth was the designated Bearer. The caretaker had mentioned the glow, and it only made sense that Christine would be the Bearer.
I decided to test my theory based on the prophecies of the caretaker...
----------------------------------------------------------------
"When you meet the Bearer, she will befriend you quickly. You will cause her death, then you will rewrite history to bring her back. When the Bearer receives the Xiro stone by your hand, her romance will blossom into true love; and seven will become two; then two, one."
----------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I didn't know about the two becoming one part (I didn't have plans for marriage until well after college) but I had a feeling that the prophecy was coming along just fine so far. I figured the next part to be tested was the whole "true love" bit. It sounded like it belonged in The Princess Bride rather than my life, but I was willing to keep an open mind.
When Christine entered the hut, I levitated up to where the Chaos Amber was hanging on the pendant Knux had set it in, then lowered to the floor. "Christine, a few of us have talked about it, and I feel that you should have this pendant." I hung the stone around her neck.
"What is it?" she inquired as she examined the pendant.
"It's the Xiro stone. Chaos Amber by another name. Apparently only one person is eligible to wear it, and by all appearances, that person is you."
"What does it do?"
"Well, it's not like the Chaos Emeralds; you won't have the powers of the elements. But you will have enhanced natural abilities: better hearing, better sight, faster speed, better agility. You know, we could make a good team."
I glanced around the room, at Slasher, Sonic, Serena, Tails, Knuckles, and the others in the room, hoping that what I figured would happen wouldn't.
No such luck. "Oh, Ryan..." With that she threw her arms around me and planted her lips on mine.
When I became conscious of my surroundings, the room was empty except for the two of us. I smiled; Slasher was always the soul of discretion. I turned my attention back to Chris. "Wow. Is that for saving your life or for giving you the pendant?"
"More than both of those. I can't explain it, but I think you may be the person God intended for me."
"I'm beginning to think the same thing."
---------------------------------------------------------------
We returned to our dimension that night, and over the course of the next week I worked on a portal frame for Christine. Unfortunately, before I could finish it, I was called to an emergency meeting in Knothole, so I took Christine with me.
Little did I know that life for both of us was about to go to heck in a handbasket.
End Beginnings