Note: I made two very small edits to Chapters 9 and 10 so the chaos emeralds would be with Sonic at this point.

Chapter 12: Deadly Developments

Sonic felt his instincts tug at his heart. He knew they were in danger but he couldn't find the drive to stand up, his head still rumbling from the pain. He winced as he looked into the glow of Iota's cannon when suddenly he witnessed a spinning purple and black figure emerge from the distance. It looked like a drill as it twirled through the sky and aimed itself right for Iota! The cobalt machine picked up on the energy signal and turned around, taking a direct strike from the make shift drill!

Sonic covered his face as shards of blue metal were flung at him. He shielded his eyes until he felt the wind coming from the drill stop. He lowered his arms to look upon his savior, and it was none other than Rouge the Bat! Sonic and Tails wailed in unison.

"You sound happy to see me."

The two of them struggled to their feet as they continued the conversation.

"Where did you come from?" asked Tails.

"I heard a lot of commotion as I entered the city and decided to check it out. I saw you two were in trouble and here I am. What exactly is going on anyway?"

Sonic explained the current events.

"So Eggman is that powerful huh?"

The blue blur nodded.

"Things sure get serious in a hurry around here. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah, can you give me and Tails a lift back to the Mystic Ruins? The train is out and I doubt Tails can fly in his condition."

"Of course I can Sonic, I…"

Tails attempted to get some momentum beneath his tails but gave out from the strain.

"Don't push yourself too hard, it's no trouble at all really."

She glanced over at the Tornado 2 and saw the damage it was in.

"I really did get here just in time. You guys must have Death really stressed out the way you tease him all the time."

She saw the joke was misplaced and cleared her throat.

"But anyway, we should be going. I'm only strong enough to carry one of you at a time though."

"Take Tails" voted Sonic "I can wait here."

Tails tried to protest but Sonic wouldn't have it. He finally agreed and took Rouge's hands as she lifted him into the air. Sonic watched as they disappeared into sky, his body feeling weak once again. He rested on one knee and let his thoughts fill up with the fight once more. Iota was moving fast and he was stronger than any robot Eggman had ever sent after him. Never before had he seen Eggman's efforts be so serious, so full of evil that he actually wanted to physically destroy Sonic the Hedgehog.

It was difficult to absorb the reality of it all, but Sonic rose to his feet once more. He knew his friends were counting on him and if he didn't stop Eggman, his friends would be next to be harmed. It took a real hero to fill his shoes, but this time the shoes felt like they were made of concrete. Shaking off his fear, Sonic tried to be productive. He remembered Tails mentioning the master emerald shards in the two robots.

"Knuckles may need these later" he thought.

He began searching around the area for the shards and found them amongst different piles of rubble. Without giving it much thought, he absorbed the emerald shards into his right hand for safe keeping. He paused for a moment, feeling an uneasy thought come to the surface in his mind. Before he could realize it, his body began to ache deeply, changing colors at a rapid pace. He felt a surge of energy lift him from his feet, the pain so deep he could barely keep control of his senses. Several words from Knuckles echoed in the back of his mind.

"Whatever you do, don't absorb two different types of emeralds into the same arm. It doesn't distribute their energies correctly and they will clash for dominance inside of you, with deadly results."

Sonic's fear couldn't outweigh his agony as a bright light exploded from his body and illuminated the entire city! His screams had fallen on deaf ears behind the veil of light. When it faded, Sonic lay on the ground unconscious, unaware of what had happened to his body.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Elsewhere, at Eggman's fortress, he was working diligently on his improvements to the evil emeralds. Several shards of the master emerald lay beside him on the table as he used a welding tool to burn a hole in one of the evil emeralds. Nack entered the room with a displeased look on his face.

"This isn't what we agreed to" he complained "I'm supposed to have first dibs on that emerald."

"Ah yes" smiled the doctor as he lifted his face mask "I was so excited to work on my invention that I couldn't contain myself. But now that I've had time to think it over, I believe it is in our best interest to null our agreement."

He flashed a devilish grin as two robots appeared beside Nack. Eggman flicked his fingers at them and the guards grabbed Nack by the arms and dragged him away; kicking and screaming. Returning to his work, Eggman cackled to himself.

"Tricking that fool was all too easy. It's like the fly trying to negotiate with the spider."

His joy was all too much as he finished closing the seal on the last evil emerald. He held it up before him, savoring the image of a gray gem with a green shard at its center. He had spent years fighting with those animals and now he would pull his dream into reality; unlimited power and Robotnikland as his kingdom.

Meanwhile, deep in the prison cells of Eggman's fortress, a certain purple weasel was very upset.

"That louse!" he cried "I might be a thief, but I would never go back on my word! No way am I gonna sit around in here!"

He pressed a button on his wristwatch, emitting a red laser that began to sear into the steel bars.

"I'll bust out of here in no time and that fat ass will pay for locking me up in here!"