Chapter 3
The Master Emerald. It was a very interesting jewel, to say the least.
With the power to control the other smaller Chaos Emeralds, its own natural abilities, and who knows what else, well, it obviously has become a target on more than one occasion.
Which is why Knuckles the Echidna guarded it.
Every day, the red fellow would sit by it. Watching it. Making sure nothing happened to, or even touched the emerald (other than the air around the two, anyway.)
It was a task set to him by what was left of his people, and he intended to make his ancestors proud.
And after having been transported to a world where he couldn't even sense the presence of that sacred jewel?
Knuckles had become severely ticked.
Well yeah, he'd already had an arguably short fuse. But being separated from the Master Emerald made him feel like he'd lost an important part of himself.
The part of him, that he had thoroughly dedicated to the large gem, binding his very life to its own.
People thought it an obsession. That he was going as far to believe the "lifeless" green jewel had a soul, and was even able to freely speak.
Yet, it was fairly true.
They would never understand. His connection to the Master Emerald was like the connection between Sonic and just about any of his friends. (Which everyone who decided Knuckles had an obsession, would most likely understand.)
Just as when Sonic knew just where and when his friends needed assistance- The same for Knuckles and the Emerald.
It did have a life of its own. How else could it bind with the souls of others? How else could it hear the prayers of the people who believed in its great power?
And the Master Emerald would sometimes speak to him (especially during very dire situations.) Knuckles could even describe its voice as feminine, and gentle.
But at the end of the day, you could still look at the sight of him sitting on the floating Angel Island, lying on the stairs that led to the Master Emerald, and think one thing...
Man, is this guy crazy or what?
So it is very reasonable, his anger issues.
Sonic gets to be a hero on a daily basis. Knuckles gets looked at like he's crazy if he ever perfectly states his life job.
"Oh yeah, I just sit around and watch a giant, glowing green gem."
Not to mention, those who wanted the Master Emerald for the themselves, stealing it from the special pedestal it should remain. For like, ever.
Sometimes, in the back of the echidna's mind, the crazy image of that bat lady (Rouge, wasn't it?) Walking off with a big emerald tied to her back.
The idea of her taking the jewel always brought about two things in his mind:
1. How the heck was she planning on wearing it, considering how much larger it was then herself? (And the fact that Knuckles knew she didn't want its power. And breaking it? Very bad idea.)
2. Just how was she even capable of carrying it and flying?
So to protect it from nutty people like her, Knuckles remained loyally by its side, only ever taking breaks to eat, take a stroll, or practice combat a short distance away. (That combat area was his and his alone. Trespassers often regretted ever coming there.)
Only occasionally did he go farther than where he could no longer see it. And again, that was only during dire situations.
Yet, as he sat there, on that one day when Sonic had headed into space (for reasons unknown to the echidna), he wondered if this was a dire situation.
Because the entire Earth vibrating violently, with the Master Emerald sputtering and flickering, just like a candle next to an open window, was most certainly not something that happened on a daily basis.
Whatever Sonic was doing, up there in outer space- It had messed with the Master Emerald.
Which meant that when he got back, Knuckles was going to give that blue hedgehog a piece of his mind.
A reasonable thought that probably comes to mind when watching an entire planet split into pieces, is that that said planet should not be able to survive those conditions. (Nor should its life forms.)
There is an atmosphere surrounding the Earth. Shouldn't it have disappeared, thus leaving everything to be burnt into a crisp by the sun?
Or the fact that gravity probably shouldn't have existed anymore, since people could look down through the gaping canyons that led to a now floating core. Which was supposed to be the center of the Earth.
Yet, nothing of the sort happened.
The atmosphere remained intact, and gravity was most certainly still present. Not even the oxygen seemed to plan on leaving anytime soon.
Scientists probably got confused during this time, but Eggman knew better.
He'd seen the impossible things that the Chaos Emeralds could do, and this was just one small thing. He knew better than to question their powers and try to decode them.
All he ever really wanted from them was what he knew they could give, and splitting apart the planet was just part of what his plan. (This plan in particular.)
As he watched the different continents separate farther apart, Eggman grinned proudly when he saw a large purple form of energy rise up from the very top.
It was huge, standing over the pieces of the Earth like it was standing over a counter at a bar.
This. This is what Eggman had wanted, and now, it was there. Waiting for him to gather its energy, and convert it into whatever he pleased.
However, he failed to notice something very interesting going on, right in front of his face. (Then again, how does he see through that mustache of his?)
When you become a hero of any kind, pain is something one simply must get used to.
You will be punched, kicked, zapped, burned, scratched, sliced , poisoned, and even bitten sometimes. (There are still more things which could happen, but that is coming off track.)
Sonic? He was fairly used to almost all of these kinds of injuries, and hardly noticed the minor ones anymore.
However, he wasn't very used to this kind of pain.
Racking his entire body, he was past the feeling of being shocked. Now it was very different feeling, and it hurt.
A lot.
Not really sure what was happening, Sonic could only make grunting noises as his body… Did whatever it was doing.
Well, he could also think about how much he disliked Eggman for this, but that was about it.
But on the bright side, the two watching robots could watch as he was lowered down to the deck of Eggman's spaceship.
Peeking around the side of the pillar where the doctor was gazing with interest at the planet, they gasped as Sonic suddenly arched his body, it changing color temporarily every time he did, until the coat randomly stayed the same dark shade of grayish blue.
He remained that way for a few moments, until suddenly the hedgehog gripped onto his head in what appeared to be pain.
Fur (er, more and fluffier fur than he already had) suddenly sprouted and grew all over his gray body, and Decoe and Bocoe were grateful they couldn't see his face, which was contorted up as Sonic twitched uncomfortably.
"What do you think is happening?" Asked Decoe, clearly frightened by Sonic's sudden change in appearance.
"I am not sure. Perhaps it has to do with the Chaos Emeralds changing color?" The other bot suggested, pointing at the gems that were hardly floating anymore (the only thing keeping them up was probably the weapon, which was still firing a steady stream of purple energy at the Earth.)
Their musings were suddenly interrupted, as the clearly larger hedgehog in front of them (seriously, when did he get bigger?) Slapped the glowing floor beneath him.
The white gloves he always wore suddenly burst into shreds as Sonic's hand grew larger, with white fur growing around his wrist, and claws extended from his fingertips. (Which started to scratch at the floor beneath them. Even when he isn't aware of it, that Sonic can mess up something of Eggman's.)
His skin suddenly changed to a shade of pale blue (or maybe it was just pale; the lighting in that room was terrible) and even the tips of his head spines became colored white. (On the fluffy fur, of course.)
Finally, Sonic began to gnash his teeth together, and just barely turned enough for the two bots to see that fangs were stretching out of his mouth, as he began to grind them as hard as possible.
Once the teeth has finished, his transformation was left completed, sparks of purple lightning still dancing around him.
Still unable to bear it all, Sonic then let out a loud roar, which caused Decoe and Bocoe to jump behind their safe little corner, as they gazed at the frightening scene of the hedgehog's new form.
As the roar died off, so did the machine's power, and the Chaos Emeralds were dropped rudely to the floor around Sonic (who does that to gems with the kind of power that they have?)
The doctor began to laugh loudly, as the large beast that was standing on top of the world (in one of the most literal senses ever), started to stand at its full height. Which was very high.
"It's just as the Gaia manuscripts foretold!" The doctor cried.
"Now I just need to find a way to harvest its energy, and soon, Eggman land will finally come to be!"
Ignoring the fact that Eggman had freed this… Thing, without a plan for holding it, Sonic turned around, still panting and smoking from his change.
"You'll, never get away with this, Eggman." He huffed out, in a deep and gruff voice. There was still a highly irritating buzzing in his ears, which didn't really help him to hear his own voice.
Upon seeing the hedgehog's new look of a permanent glare, white belly, claws, teeth, and somehow, cleats (should you even question how they appeared?) The doctor let out a large bellow of laughter.
"That's a good look for you, Sonic!" He chuckled (which can be said otherwise for the still cowering robots.)
"It's festive! So long!"
Pushing that button which did so much, a new non-broken dome appeared over Eggman's Eggmobile.
And the giant window behind the hedgehog opened as well.
In his surprise, Sonic grabbed a small ledge that happened to be in front of him, with a small hope that he would be able to keep from flying out.
Yet he could not hold his own against the pull coming from outside (not that the two robots were doing much better. They just barely held onto the edge of Eggman's metal pillar.)
So out he flew, along with the seven Chaos Emeralds, all colored black in a similar way to the starry sky above.
Yelling as he fell, Sonic eventually lost his consciousness during the long fall, and the mighty looking beast at the top of the world burst into a large menacing cloud, that began to cover the planet.
Done and DONE. This chapter is probably my least favorite-ish (I'll probably end up making even worse. But hey, I've finally figured out the line-break tool! :D Unless it doesn't show for you guys.)
I just had a really hard time describing Sonic's transformation, and it really contradicted with my flow.
Then other stuff happened, like I lost the other computer I was using to write on (thus the loss of many of my not-yet posted fanfics that I was working on) and my homework schedule SUCKS. (I'm not going to go over it though, since I'll probably end up raging for a few paragraphs.)
So if someone was waiting impatiently for a while, I do apologize for these silly little delays. (At least it didn't extend much farther than a month, right?)
So at first, I was writing about Shadow, but… It took some crazy turns that caused me to think:
"Wait... What?"
So I switched to Knuckles to find out if that would work any better. It did. :)
And just in case you're wondering, here's the idea of what went down.
Shadow is walking around Spagonia and thinking, suddenly gets pulled into a Western style building by a very kind cowgirl (this is where it started going wonky), and then cue the overly done descriptions. (I'm an artist that hates when people don't know the setting I've envisioned, and that's why I tend to avoid the describing factor.)
I still plan on doing some Shadow the hedgehog development and all that, so you might have just gotten a spoiler. Or I will totally trash this idea and you can just laugh at the thought of him being forced to sit with an odd little family for a quick meal.
I suppose this is also a good time to mention that a few (minor) oc's will be appearing, since I know some people tend to dislike those. But as they are not the main focus of the story, and will not be overpowered somehow, or anything like that.
They are going to be for some development in other main characters, and will have some interesting characterizations, along with back-stories occasionally. (Just a little heads up! :)
So all in all, that's all I have for the story infomations! (Intended misspelling is intended. :P)
But I did look at the cutscenes for both new Sonic Boom games, and have seen the first four episodes for the series as well.
I gotta say, it wasn't that bad! The characterizations were solid, and it made me realize a few things about some of the characters we've known about for so long. (But that's something you'll find out another time!)
Since that's all I've got for now...
See y'all later! :D
P.S. Thanks to all who have reviewed so far! You guys are great!
(And speaking of which, please remember to review! It makes imaginary marshmallows all the more delicious!)
