Author's Note: First off, sorry for the long delay. A lot of stuff happened. Games being played, job being worked, comics being made, other fanfics getting typed. But hopefully, this wait will be worth it. Enjoy the next chapter.
Chapter 3: Gone Batty
"When the first Chaos Emerald was re-energized, a piece of the planet was put back into place." Tails said, through the video phone to the echidnas in the room. He was seen in the bright daytime light in the Mazuri area.
"Well, that explains the earthquake..." Knuckles said, "So, we can expect 6 more coming?"
"Basically... so expect this week to be shaking more than usual." Tails said jokingly.
"So, that would explain why some of the Master Emerald pieces are glowing..." Shade, dressed in her black Nocturnus armor, said.
"Yeah. I guess since the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds are connected, the energy will be refilled simultaneously, but it might take the Master Emerald longer to bring itself back to full power." The orange two-tailed fox explained.
"Especially since the guardian has been reduced to a puddle on the floor..." Knuckles said, quickly realizing he could have upseted the light orange echidna next to him. "But, I'm sure Chaos will return to his original form once the Emeralds have been restored."
"I can only hope..." Tikal simply said.
"Um, Tikal..." Tails said, trying to get her attention, "Could I ask you a quick question?"
"Sure, Tails. What do you need to know?" The echidna said.
"Well, you would be familiar with certain people in your long history of existence, right?" The fox asked.
"Well... I believe so, yes." She responded.
"Well, I was wondering if you happen to know this guy..." Tails said, then turning his head to the left. "Chip, would you come over here, please?"
As soon as he said that, a flying red critter with a white furred muzzle and white furred paws flew in front of Tails holding a chocolate candy bar.
"Yeah, Tails? What's up?" He asked.
"I want you to meet some of my friends." Tails said, "They're right on that screen there."
"Huh?" The creature, which was named Chip, turned towards the screen and saw the echidnas before him. "Oh, hello there." He said, "My name's Chip." He then waved his chocolate bar at the screen. "You want some chocolate?"
Knuckles, Shade, and Tikal were surprised to see this Chip character on the screen.
"Chip, that's a video phone." Tails explained to him, "You won't be able to share your chocolate with them."
"Tails... who is that... Is that a flying chihuahua?" Knuckles asked confused.
"I don't think so... He looks more like a chinchilla... I think..." Shade said.
"Are you sure? I think he represents a small squirrel..." Tikal said.
"I don't think so..." Knuckles said, "In any case, Tails, where did you meet this... uh... Chip?"
Chip looked on with a slightly frustrated look on his face.
"Well... it's complicated..." Tails said, "Sonic said he met him shortly after he fell out of Eggman's base. Unfortunately, the little guy has amnesia, so we don't know much about him... except for his sweet tooth."
"Well..." Tikal said, as she tried to get a good look at Chip, "I'm not sure..." Unbeknownst to the others, Tikal's eyes suddenly turned from her usual light blue color to a purple shade. "I'm afraid I don't know who this is. I'm sorry..." She said.
"Oh, well... It was worth a try." Tails said, "Thanks, anyway. Okay, me and Sonic are gonna get going now. We have a long way to go in fixing the planet and restoring the Emeralds."
"Good luck, Tails." Shade said.
"We'll make sure everything goes smoothly here." Knuckles added.
"You be careful, too. There's no telling what unusual changes are happening over there." Tails said.
"What do you mean?" The red echidna asked.
"Well, there have been cases of people acting strangely at night..." The orange two-tailed fox explained, "Behaving in strange ways that are almost a polar opposite of their usual actions. So, be on the look-out for scenarios like that."
"Got it, Tails." The terracotta echidna said, "See you later."
After they said their good-byes, Knuckles hung up, making the video screen go black. At the same time, Tikal's eyes returned to their normal color as she shook her head slightly.
"Well... speaking of strange..." Knuckles said, "I happened to have found some strange moisture on the floor outside our room, Shade."
"You don't think this area is liable to get flooded in, do you?" Shade asked.
"No... it didn't look like it was coming from underneath..." Knuckles said, "It almost looked like..."
At that moment, the alarm started to go off, interrupting Knuckles' train of thought.
"Oh, great. Now what..." Knuckles said in frustration.
"We better investigate." Shade said, "Tikal, stay here. There's no telling what could be out there."
"O-okay..." Tikal said sheepishly.
Soon, the 2 echidnas were moving through the trees, trying to see any sign of the disturbance.
"Did you find anything, Knuckles?" Shade asked.
"Nothing..." Knuckles said, "Wait... look over there..."
He pointed over at the distance, where a figure was seen flying towards the old alter where the Master Emerald stood before.
"There's only person I know who flies like that... and who knows this island as much as we do." Knuckles said, "Come on, Shade, we better hurry."
"Right." Shade said, as she extends her hand towards him, "Quick, take my hand."
Knuckles quickly grabs Shade's hand as she uses her other hand to press a button on her belt, causing the both of them to be transported towards the old alter.
As soon as Rouge flew up to the top, she was met by the glaring stare of the echidnas.
"Whoa! You know, that transporting belt of yours could really come in handy for me..." The white furred bat, dressed in a white gloves, white boots, and a dark purple body suit said.
"Whatever you're doing here, Rouge, I neither have the time nor the patience." Knuckles said, "So do yourself a favor right now and just get off the island now..."
"Well, nice to see you, too, Knuckles..." Rouge said while crossing her arms, "Am I to guess you and Shade are having relationship issues?"
"We're serious, Rouge..." Shade said, "We're dealing with our own problems since Eggman broke apart the planet..."
"Believe me, I know..." The bat said, "Which is why this isn't a personal visit."
"Huh?" The red echidna asked.
Suddenly a fast black streak appeared in the sky. With speed matching their blue buddy, Shadow the Hedgehog appeared in between Rouge and the echidnas.
"We came here for your assistance." The black hedgehog said.
"Hmm... And exactly what do you need our help with?" Knuckles asked.
Before an answer could be made, a metal tube emerged from the ground behind them. The door swiftly opened to reveal Tikal standing inside.
"Knuckles, Shade. Is everything okay?" She asked mildly.
"Oh, ho... So that's where you're hiding the Master Emerald now, hmm?" Rouge asked in a cocky tone as Knuckles slaps his forehead.
"Tikal. We told you to stay down below." Shade said.
"I'm sorry, but... I just got so concerned; I wanted to see if you were okay." Tikal said, slightly ashamed.
"And who's this? Someone special to spice up your love life?" The white bat said smugly.
Knuckles simply growled.
"Rouge, we don't have time for this." Shadow said, "Remember? Topaz..."
"Oh, right..." Rouge said, "Listen, we seriously need help. We think this situation we're in and whatever mess you're in are all connected, thanks to Eggman shattering the planet."
"Hmm... I guess..." Knuckles said, still having his back towards the bat and black hedgehog.
"Knuckles, Shade, I'm not entirely sure who this girl is, but we need your help in this situation before it grows dire." Shadow said.
"Okay..." Knuckles says as he sighs, "Everyone, get in the elevator and explain to us just what exactly do you need help with?"
Both echidnas, the black hedgehog, and the white bat enter the elevator and join the light orange echidna inside, as the pod closed and receded back down in the echidna's base.
"Well, it happened during the break-up of the planet." Shadow explained, "Me and Rouge were making sure everyone in Station Square were safe after the earthquake. Meanwhile, Topaz and a group of other agents investigated the blast area. They returned finding nothing but a large pit with the core of the planet shining through."
"But not too long after, we felt that Topaz's behavior was a bit off. Especially since she disappeared that night." Rouge said.
"Why is that?" Shade asked.
"Well..." The bat said, "Because it was one of those special nights when we get together..."
"Huh? You're making less sense than usual..." Knuckles said.
"Well, let's just say that we're a lot closer than most G.U.N. partners could be..." Rouge said, which caused the echidnas to gasp in shock.
It was clear that Shadow and Rouge became a couple shortly after the Black Arms invasion. But they never expected to hear that they occasionally had sexual experiences with a human female.
"You mean... You two... and Topaz..." Knuckles said still in shock.
"She had some relationship problems before and she needed some support and... well, things are more fun when there's a 3rd person in the mix." Rouge said, "You'll probably find that out soon enough..." She looked towards Tikal as she said that.
Knuckles and Shade just growled in frustration as they turned away from her. Tikal just stood there confused, not sure what the conversation was about. Shadow just crossed his arms. He wasn't as comfortable expressing his sex life as Rouge seemed to be.
A dinging sound was heard as the doors opened, where the group promptly exited into the echidnas' base.
"Well... as I was saying, we started to get concerned about Topaz's behavior." Shadow said, trying to stay on topic, "But then, we received a very unsettling video footage from the museum's security cameras."
"How so?" Knuckles asked.
The group now approached the large computer.
"Do you mind if I use this computer?" The black hedgehog asked, "I'll try and access the video footage."
"Go right ahead." Shade responded.
Shadow quickly pressed some keys of the keyboard and soon enough, the footage of the museum appeared on the screen. The footage played from last night. Nothing happened yet. Then a few seconds later, a human figure dropped down and swiftly smashed open several glass cases and stolen the jewels inside. As soon as most of the jewelry was uplifted, the figure turned towards the camera to make its escape. The camera footage caught sight of the culprit being the blonde haired woman, Topaz, dressed up like Rouge with an evil sneaky look on her face.
"What? Is that... Topaz? Dressed as Rouge?" Knuckles asked.
"I'm afraid so..." Shadow said, "Thankfully, me and Rouge were able to obtain this footage before anyone else in G.U.N. were able to see this."
"We tried to contact her and get a chance to talk with her about this unusual action of hers, but when we tried to bring up last night, all she said was that she does not recall anything from last night..." Rouge said, "And when we tried to visit her at her apartment, she disappeared."
"Hmm... I wonder if Topaz's behavior is in connection with everything that's been happening..." Shade said, "...including with what happened to the Master Emerald..."
"What? What's Happened to the Master Emerald?" The white bat yelled out as she heard what the terracotta echidna said.
The two echidnas led the black hedgehog and white bat over to the Master Emerald alter where they saw the shattered remains of the giant green gem.
"NO!" Rouge screamed out, "What happened! It's in pieces! And it's lost its elegant glow! No, No, No..."
As Rouge flew up to get a closer look, Shadow turned to the echidnas.
"How did this happen?" He asked.
"Eggman somehow drained the Chaos Emeralds of their power. This in turn caused the Master Emerald to shatter and lose its power, too." Knuckles said.
"And since Tikal and Chaos were spirits within the Master Emerald, I think this is why their physical manifestation has occurred..." Shade said.
"Chaos? You mean that liquid creature that almost destroyed Station Square a few years back?" Shadow asked.
"Well, he's not all that bad..." Knuckles said, until he realized something, "Wait... How do you know about that? You weren't around when that happened..."
"I have looked up the G.U.N. archives involving incidents you, Sonic, and the others have been involved with in the past." Shadow answered.
"Well... if these incidents are somehow connected, we should find Topaz as soon as possible." Shade said.
They looked up to see Rouge crying hysterically at the shattered glow-less remains of the Master Emerald.
"Maybe we should wait until Ms. Drama Queen calms down a bit..." The red echidna said.
Several minutes later...
"Well, after what Sonic and Tails have told us..." Knuckles said, "After they replenish each Chaos Emerald's power, it seems to slowly charge up the Master Emerald's power as well. I think after all the Chaos Emeralds' power is restored, it might take a while for the Master Emerald to be reassembled."
"So, while Sonic's fixing the planet, I guess it's up to us to make sure everything here is going smooth, at least until this situation is resolved." Shade added, "We should start by figuring out where Topaz is..."
"Well... her unusual behavior does seem familiar..." Shadow says as everybody turned towards Rouge.
"What? Just 'cause she's dressed like me?" Rouge said.
"More like she steals like you..." The red echidna answered.
"That's it!" Shade proclaimed, "Somehow, her attitude has been altered to be more like Rouge."
"Well, how come when we talked to her earlier, she didn't react with a similar reaction Rouge would usually give?" Shadow said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rouge asked with a slight hint of offence.
"I didn't mean it like that..." The black hedgehog said.
"Hmm... Maybe this occurs during the night." The terracotta echidna said, "Maybe Topaz has no memory of what occurred and, in a panic, probably left to clear her head."
"So, when she becomes Rouge-ified again later tonight, where is she going to end up?" The red echidna asks.
"Well... I might know where she might hit next..." The white bat said.
"Really?" Shadow said, "Where?"
Rouge then walked over to the computer and typed some stuff in and a large museum building appeared.
"I know that's where I would hit next..." She said as she pointed at the screen.
"Ah... So we'll do a stake out of the place, catch Topaz before she strikes, and then we'll find out what's up with her." Knuckles said.
"That's the plan..." Shade said, as she looked on to the light orange echidna who was being surprisingly quiet, "Tikal, we're going to be gone for the night. Do you think you'll be okay by yourself?"
"I'll be okay. Just please, be careful out there." Tikal said.
"No problem." Knuckles said, "Now let's get to it."
The echidnas, black hedgehog, and white bat quickly left to head outside, which showed the sun slowly setting. They knew they did not have much time. However, as nightfall arrived, Tikal's eyes soon fell back into the odd purple shade as she has a seductively evil look on her face.
A few hours later...
The echidnas stood hidden in a nearby bush in the park where the museum was located across the street.
"Do you trust Rouge's info?" Shade asks him.
"I may not trust her, but when it comes to her information, there no one else who is more dependable." Knuckles answers.
"Knuckles, Shade. Do you read me, over?" Shadow's voice said over a walkie-talkie.
"Yeah, Shadow." Knuckles said, as he picked up the walkie-talkie, "We read you. What's the situation?"
"I just heard from Rouge. She spotted Topaz jumping from rooftop to rooftop towards the museum." Shadow said.
"What? Isn't that dangerous?" Shade asked.
"Not really... She pretty good at this parkour stuff." Shadow said.
"Par... what?" Shade asked.
"Parkour. It's this thing where people do crazy Matrix like moves off of walls and high places and all that." Knuckles explained.
"In any case, head topside. She's coming your way." The black hedgehog said.
"We're on it, Shadow." Knuckles said as he turns off the walkie-talkie.
The two echidnas soon emerged from the bushes, crossed the street, and stopped at the wall of the museum. Using his spiked gloves, Knuckles began to climb the wall. Shade pressed some buttons on her bracelet and soon her gloves produced two spikes, like Knuckles' gloves, and cleats emerged on the bottom of her black shoes. She swiftly followed him as she climbed up the wall as well.
As soon as they reached the rooftop, they saw Rouge flying above the night sky.
"Rouge, where's Topaz?" Shade called out.
"I'm not sure." She said as she landed on the roof, "She dived down an alley gap. I tried to find her, but I lost her. But I'm sure she's still making her way here."
Suddenly, a smoke bomb went off surrounding the roof with a dark cloud. Knuckles, Shade, and Rouge instantly covered up, preventing the smoke to blind them or enter their mouths.
However, their sight was obstructed as a mysterious figure soon attacked Rouge.
"What? Rouge?" Knuckles called out. Soon the mysterious figure knocked Knuckles down.
"Knuckles... Damn..." Shade said as she quickly pressed some buttons on her bracelet. Soon, her black helmet emerged and covered her head, preventing the smoke to obstruct her breathing.
As Shade activated the inferred setting on her helmet view screen, she saw the assailant about to strike her next. Luckily, she blocked the attack just in time and pushed the person back with her own strength.
Once the smoke cleared, and Knuckles and Rouge had recovered from the sneak attack, they finally got a good look at the assailant. Dressed in the same attire Rouge is in, Topaz stood before the group in a fighting pose.
"Well, well, well..." She said, "I never expected this to happen... Rouge, I thought you would have loved this... Now you and me can be the best thieves around..."
"No way." Rouge proclaimed, "First off, when it comes to stealing jewels, I only work solo; keep all the profits for myself... and second, this isn't you, Topaz. I know the real you is down there somewhere..."
"Oh, Rouge, this is the new me..." Topaz said, "And I am just shocked at how you don't want to join me... But not as shocked as you all will be soon..."
She then threw small marbles at the bat and the echidnas.
"What is this? You plan on tripping us up or something?" Knuckles said.
"Oh, crap!" Rouge said, "Knuckles, Shade, get back!"
Rouge quickly grabbed Knuckles and Shade and pulled them back before the small marbles emitted an electrical explosion.
"What the hell was that?" The red echidna shouted out.
"G.U.N. issued Rolling Shockers." The white bat explained, "Designed to cause an electromagnetic shock, temporarily stunning the opposition."
Topaz begins to throw another set of Rolling Shockers.
"Well, I think I might have something to counter that..." Shade said as she reached in her utility belt.
The terracotta echidna quickly threw small cubes. The cubes soon entrapped the marbles. The electric explosion occurred again, only this time; it was enveloped as the cubes appeared to have expanded, keeping the electric explosion contained.
"What the..." Knuckles asked in shock.
"Special rubber suited containment cubes." Shade explained, "Back in the Twilight Cage, we used these to capture enemy combatants. Impossible to escape from."
"Hmm... It looks like I'll have to do deal with you pesky echidnas another way..." Topaz said with an evil grin on her face.
Suddenly, a black streak zoomed right towards her. Somehow, Topaz was able to dodge it. The black streak soon stopped in front of the echidnas and the bat, revealing himself to be Shadow.
"Topaz, I do not wish to fight you, but I will be forced to if you do not surrender now and come with us." Shadow said.
"Please... it doesn't matter who gets in my way, there is no force on this planet that will stop me..." She proclaimed.
Suddenly, an earthquake occurred as everyone tried to keep their balance.
"What... What's going on?" Shadow asked.
"My guess is Sonic got another Chaos Emerald back to its full power..." Knuckles said.
Everyone soon fell down as the quake lasted a few more minutes. As Rouge fell down, several pieces of the Master Emerald fell out of her pockets and landed on the floor in front of her.
"What?" Knuckles yelled out when he saw the pale green stones fall out, "Are you serious? Even with its power drained, you still tried to steal the Master Emerald?"
"Uh, well... I..." Rouge stuttered.
However, the dull green of the Emerald pieces began to glow, slightly brighter than the last time. The bright light of the Emerald pieces shone in the face of Topaz, who seemed to be in pain.
"Wait..." Shade said, "Look at Topaz. Something's happening..."
Topaz groaned as she soon fainted forward and as soon as she did, as she did, a dark purple strange creature stood behind her bellowing out in a hideous howl.
"What the hell is that?" Rouge said.
"My guess is that thing is what possessed her into acting strangely..." Shadow said.
With another bellowing howl, the creature raised its arms, and soon, more creatures jumped onto the rooftops to join him.
"Where the heck did they come from?" Shade asked.
"Don't know, but I do know how they getting out of here..." Knuckles said as he brought his fists together, ready to fight.
Knuckles easily punched out a creature, sending it flying off the rooftop. Shade unsheathed her leech blade and easily sliced the creature before her, causing the creature to fall into pieces. Rouge flew towards another creature and delivered a flying bicycle kick to it, before giving it a big roundhouse kick, knocking it out. Shadow quickly fired his Chaos Spears from his hands and decimated the remaining creatures.
As soon as these creatures were beaten, they seemed to slowly vanish and disappear upon their defeat. Knuckles looked around trying to find any trace of those creatures.
"Gone..." He said.
"Does this mean we are victorious?" Shade asked still in her battle pose.
"Affirmative..." Shadow said as he relaxed a bit.
Rouge flew down to the fallen Topaz, checking to see if she was okay.
"Topaz? Topaz? Are you all right? Answer me, please." The white bat said as she held the human's head.
Topaz groaned a bit as she started to wake up.
"Huh... What... Rouge?" She said drowsily.
Rouge sighed. "Thank goodness you're all right..." The white bat said as the black hedgehog joined them.
"What? What do you mean by that?" She asked confused. She soon looked down at her current apparel. "And why am I dressed like you, Rouge? I thought we do the cosplay sex on Fridays?"
Knuckles had a shocked look on her face while Shade giggled.
"You honestly have no idea about what's happened to you for the last few days?" Shadow asked.
"Vaguely..." Topaz said, "All I remember was that me and my team were investigating that gaping hole where Dr. Eggman blasted and... the next thing I know, I'm here..."
"Well, whatever those creatures were, they seemed to have a possessive ability..." Shade said as she approached the group.
"Almost like the ghostly spirits in Pumpkin Hill... And it seems that they take possessive control around the nighttime..." Knuckles said, carrying the pieces of the Master Emerald, as he joined them as well.
"Knuckles? Shade? What..." Topaz began.
"Don't worry. Just come with us back to G.U.N. and we'll fill you in on what the situation is." Rouge said.
"It seems that when the light of the Master Emerald shone in Topaz's face, that drove the creature out of hiding in her body... Like a form of exorcism or something..." Shadow said as he placed his hand under his chin in a thinking position.
"Hmm... Then those creatures are definitely connected with what's been going on lately..." Knuckles said.
"Ooh... Does that mean I can keep the Master Emerald pieces?" Rouge asked.
Knuckles and Shade just glared angrily at the bat.
"Never mind..." She said.
"Oh, Rouge..." Topaz said.
Later that night, Knuckles and Shade returned to Angel Island with the Master Emerald pieces after leaving Shadow, Rouge, and Topaz to return to G.U.N. They soon entered their living area.
"I wonder where Tikal is?" Shade asked, seeing the area was so empty.
"I guess she's already asleep... It is pretty late." Knuckles said.
"So, counting the earlier earthquake, that makes 2 Chaos Emeralds refueled... and that means the Master Emerald has regained some of its power, right?" Shade asked.
"That's correct. At this rate, the Master Emerald, the Chaos Emeralds, and the planet whole planet will be back to normal in no time." The red echidna said.
"Just what were those creatures that possessed Topaz, anyway?" The terracotta echidna asked.
"I'm not sure... But I bet I know who does know..." Knuckles answered as he began to yawn, "First thing tomorrow, we'll contact Tails and find out what info he knows."
"Good idea..." Shade said. She then looked at the door to the room where the Master Emerald, as well as Chaos and Tikal, stayed. "You know... I think... I should talk with Tikal..."
"Huh?" Knuckles asks, confused.
"I mean, I think I should tell Tikal about my former connections with the Nocturnus clan... I feel that if I can be openly honest with her, then maybe, we can be able to get along better." She said, "It just wouldn't sit right on my conscience if I hide this from her any longer."
"Sure, Shade." Knuckles said, "If that's what you feel you gotta do, I'm behind you all the way."
"Thanks, Knuxy." Shade said as she kissed his cheek, "Come on, let's get ready for bed."
As Knuckles and Shade go to their room, the door to the Master Emerald alter opened as purple eyes looked through the crack, seeing the two echidnas embrace as they get ready for bed, as this person gave off a small sinister like chuckle.
***
