Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on Sonic Forces! Silver's future is once again thrown into chaos! A mysterious tear in space has emerged and began erasing everything in sight, growing as it absorbs everything. Also, vicious monsters have emerged and began attacking the civilians of Onyx City. Hoping to stop the crisis before it ever begins, Silver travels back to the past accompanied by his friend Gold, a powerful telepathic tenrec. Now the psychic duo arrive at Angel Island to deliver a dire warning to its guardian...
The portal opened up and Silver and Gold walked out to find themselves on what appeared to be a forest of sorts. "Where are we?" Gold asked as she looked on in astonishment., taking in the beauty of her surroundings. It was vastly different from the crowded, futuristic feel of Onyx City. Unlike Silver, she had never traveled to the past, so this was all still new to her. A butterfly landed on her finger and she stared at it for a few moments before watching it fly away.
Silver typed in his wrist computer, scanning the GPS. "According to the computer, we're on Angel Island." Silver replied. "Or more accurately, the Onyx Island of the past. But there's no time for sightseeing! We need to find Knuckles!"
"Knuckles... He's the guardian of the Master Emerald, yes?" Gold asked.
"Yeah. And he's one of the toughest guys I know." Silver said. "We'll definitely need his help. He should be at the Master Emerald's altar. Come on!" Using his telekinesis, Silver lifted himself and Gold off the ground and flew off towards the altar of the Master Emerald.
Meanwhile...
Knuckles was lying against the Master Emerald, eyes closed as he relaxed against the gemstone. After Eggman's latest scheme for world domination went awry, the doctor had been laying low for a while. Of course, Knuckles wasn't complaining as it meant that he could spend more time guarding the Master Emerald and less time getting wrapped up in Sonic's crazy adventures. It also meant that he had more time for treasure hunting.
In fact, Knuckles had just returned from a successful treasure hunt when he decided to unwind and take a nap. "As much as I enjoy a good treasure hunt, you can't beat the peace and quiet of Angel Island." he thought to himself. "Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've been roped into one of Sonic's adventures. I'm always saving his..."
"Knuckles!" A voice called out, snapping Knuckles out of his slumber. The echidna looked to see Silver and a female tenrec floating towards him. "Oh good, you are here!" Silver said. Knuckles rose to his feet and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as Silver and his companion landed in front of him.
"Silver?" Knuckles asked.
"We've got big trouble!" Silver said. "There's-!"
"How can you be here?" Knuckles asked. "I thought you returned to the future?" He turned to the female tenrec. "And who's this?"
"My name's Gold." the girl replied. "It's an honor to meet you."
"There's no time!" Silver shouted. "We're all in danger! Something terrible is about to happen!" Knuckles placed a hand to his chin as he thought on this, then chuckled as if he came to an obvious conclusion. "Oh, I get it! I must be dreaming!" Knuckles said. Silver and Gold exchanged confused glances with one another.
"What?! No! We came back with a dire warning from the future!" Silver protested. Knuckles turned around and was about to go back to sleep. But when he turned around, his eyes went wide with shock. "Well, if this isn't a dream, then how do you explain that?!" he asked. The two psychic hedgehogs turned to where Knuckles was pointing and they too were astonished by what they saw: Angel Island was gone and in its place was a village populated by many echidna.
"Where'd Angel Island go?!" Silver asked.
"Where are we?" Gold asked.
"This is Pachacamac's village from the past..." Knuckles trailed off. "What will be known as the Mystic Ruins." He grabbed Silver by the shoulders and shook him violently. "Silver, what the hell?! Did you teleport us into the past or something?!" he asked.
"N-No!" Silver stammered. "Gold and I just came to this time period! I don't know what's going on!" As Knuckles and Silver argued, Gold noticed the Master Emerald beginning to glow. That's when the water around it began to coalesce into a humanoid shape with glowing green eyes and an exposed brain.
"Guys? We have company." Gold said, backing away. Knuckles and Silver turned to see a water monster standing on the Master Emerald. "Oh, that?" Knuckles asked. "That's Chaos, the peaceful guardian of the Chao. He's friendly!" Knuckles turned to face Chaos, unaware that the watery creature had a fist raised and ready to strike. "Hey Chaos! How's it-!" Knuckles' greeting was rudely interrupted by a watery fist to his face, knocking the echidna clean off the ground.
Silver and Gold rushed to Knuckles aid. "Friendly, huh?" Silver asked sarcastically. Knuckles nursed his injured cheek. "I forgot he's got a bit of a temper." Knuckles replied. "Luckily, I know how to put him in his place!" Knuckles rushed at Chaos to deliver a punch, but the demigod opened a hole in his body, causing Knuckles' attack to go right through him. Chaos then fired a blast of water at Knuckles, knocking him to the ground.
Chaos then dived at Knuckles, but Silver jumped in front of him and trapped the water monster in a psychic barrier. "You're not going anywhere!" Silver declared. Unknown to Silver, a piece of Chaos managed to avoid getting caught in his trap. That same piece came to life and swiped Silver across the cheek, cutting him right below the eye and causing him to bleed a bit. The blow caused Silver to lose his concentration and release Chaos from his hold.
Before Chaos could do anything, he clutched his head and thrashed in pain as he heard a voice in his mind. It was Gold using her telepathy to communicate with the deity. "Please stop, Chaos!" she pleaded. "We mean you no harm! We only wish-!" Before she could say any more, Chaos retaliated by tossing several ice shards at Gold. Knuckles pushed Gold out of the way in the nick of time.
"Those are some new tricks." Knuckles remarked as Silver flew to his side. "I don't get it. Chaos is acting like he was before Sonic purified him of his rage."
"Gold, what did you sense from him?" Silver asked.
"It's strange." Gold replied. "When I read his mind, I felt nothing but rage... and red static. I don't know what it means, but it's clear that reasoning with him is out of the question."
"Well then we've gotta take him down!" Silver said. "Knuckles, how do we stop him?"
"Get me a clear shot at his brain!" Knuckles said.
"I can stop his body!" Silver said.
"And I can stop his mind!" Gold said.
"Then we have a plan!" Knuckles said. "On three! One...!"
"Two...!" Silver shouted!
"Three!" They yelled in unison. Chaos regenerated his arm and moved to attack. The minute he did, Silver and Gold went to work. Gold launched an ESP attack on Chaos' mind. The psychic assault disoriented the water deity. Silver then used his telekinesis to freeze Chaos' body in place. "Now, Knuckles!" Silver shouted.
Knuckles lunged at Chaos and delivered a solid punch to Chaos' exposed brain, the spikes on his fists impaling the soft flesh. But that's when things got... weird. The minute his fist made contact, Chaos... vanished. He didn't burst into water puddles like he normally did, he just... disappeared. "What the...?" Knuckles asked. He and the others looked around to see that not only was Chaos gone, but Pachacamac's village had disappeared along with him as if it was never there to begin with.
"Where'd Chaos go? Where'd the village go? What the hell is going on?!" Knuckles asked, his tone a mixture of confusion and frustration.
"This must tie into the calamity that's about to befall this world!" Gold said.
"Come again?" Knuckles asked.
"Something happens in this time period that brings the world to ruin!" Silver said. "It's unclear what exactly happens because the historical data is all jumbled up. We came here hoping to stop it at the source."
"And you came to warn me about it." Knuckles said.
"Actually, it was random." Gold interjected. "The time machine didn't have exact coordinates so it just sent us here."
"Regardless, if you hadn't come to me, I wouldn't have known about it until it was too late." Knuckles said. "You coming here wasn't an accident. Clearly my help is needed." He clenched his fists together. "If there is a big crisis coming, then I'll be the one to lead the charge against it!"
"I hope it doesn't come to that, but it's good to have you aboard!" Silver said. "Now let's find Sonic and the others! We're gonna need everyone's help here!" While Silver and Knuckles were talking, Gold was looking up at the sky as if she sensed something. "Something wrong, Gold?" Silver asked.
"For a second, I thought I sensed something." Gold replied.
"Like what?" Knuckles asked.
"Like..." Gold paused for a moment, then shook her head. "Nothing. It was probably my imagination. Let's get moving." Silver and Knuckles looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Silver used his telekinesis to lift himself and Gold into the air as Knuckles glided off the island with the psychic hedgehogs following close behind.
Unknown to the trio, however, they were indeed being watched.
High above the island was none other than Dr. Eggman riding his Egg Mobile. In his hand was the Phantom Ruby. "Oh ho ho ho!" The doctor cackled. "The first test of the Phantom Ruby's power was a smashing success! With such power, I won't need to bother with that pathetic Master Emerald! Get ready, Sonic! You'll be no match against the might of the Phantom Ruby!"
Then Eggman placed a hand on his chin as he pondered on something. "Still, I didn't expect to see Silver here." he said. "Judging from their conversation, they seem to be in the dark about my plans. That said, I can't be too careful." Eggman pressed a button on his wrist communicator and what appeared to be a patchwork doll crafted in the likeness of Tails flew to his location. The doll's most noticeable characteristic was the red gemstone attached to its head like an antenna.
"Follow them." Eggman commanded. "I want to know what they're planning." The doll wordlessly flew off after the trio. "Now that that's out of the way, time for some more research!" Eggman declared. He then stared at the Phantom Ruby.
"I still have so much more to learn about you, ruby." he chuckled malevolently.
Next Chapter Preview: An Assassin's Pride. Next time on Sonic Forces! Zero and the Jackal Squad are assigned to safeguard Eggman's Casino Laboratory in Mystic Jungle when Shadow attacks the lab to gather Intel on Eggman's schemes. When the Jackal Squad proves unable to defeat Shadow, it falls to Zero to stop him. Can the Ultimate Mercenary best the Ultimate Life Form? Find out on the next exciting chapter of Sonic Forces!
