A/N: *Insert witty dialogue here*
Human Card: Dr. Karin Naka
Occupation: Professional Chao Doctor (former), Private Chao Doctor (current), Chaos Energy Researcher
Known Family: Unknown mother and father (still alive)
Hobbies: Watching over Swift and Miles, Chao raising, interior design
Station Square General Hospital- 02:29
Sonic- with a surprisingly clean shirt after Frances' blood got on it- stood on the roof of the hospital, tiredly waiting for someone. The hedgehog pulled out a cell phone, and checked the time. Hard to believe hours ago he was rushing Frances here in an effort to stabilize her and just now returning back.
'Where are they?' Swift angrily questioned. 'They said they'd be here.'
'Swift,' Chris scowled, annoyed by how early it was, 'it's 2:30 in the morning. Be happy that the blast downtown canceled school and Frances is one of my friends. Otherwise, I wouldn't be up this early.'
'Alright, I'm sorry,' Swift scowled. 'But you have to admit it's not one-hundred percent my fault- nobody knew this would happen.'
'You're telling me,' Chris stated. Neither side of Sonic needed help remembering what happened when they returned home.
Flashback- Chuck's Garage- 17:03
Sonic rushed inside the living room, panting. Reverting back to normal, the first thing Swift did was ask, "Dr. Naka, can you do me a favor?"
"Swift, what the hell happened downtown?" Karin instantly asked, pointing to the television, which covered the damages done by the Chaos Emerald's energy explosion.
"…So far," Scarlet Garcia continued her news cast, "we have no idea as to what originated the explosion or the blackouts that have hit most of downtown. Luckily, no death count has been confirmed yet. But there were sightings of Sonic the Hedgehog carrying an injured girl to Station Square General. The girl has suffered burn marks and seems to have been electrocuted. Doctors are now working to help her get past this, but she has some sort of mysterious fever. Before Sonic could explain, the police showed up, and began to pursue. The hedgehog has escaped custody so far, but G.U.N. military doctors have been called to take the girl into custody to study her strange condition. But this brings up a good question: does Sonic have anything to do with the disaster downtown? The President's spokesman Jerome Wise had this to say about the disaster upon hearing about it."
"You see, folks," Jerome Wise announced to a crowd, "this is why we cannot tolerate the Mobians. They will cause our country to collapse on itself. Them and Dr. Robotnik. They are both terrorists. It wouldn't surprise me if it turns out that whatever they're fighting over is only a ruse to destroy America and they turn out to be on the same side! And Sonic has started his crisis in Station Square! We should seal it off until he is dealt with to the fullest extent of the law!"
"Government officials are concerned with whether or not we block off Station Square until Sonic has been found and apprehended for terrorist activities," Scarlet announced. "Personally, I don't think Station Square should be punished for Sonic's vigilantism. And considering how fast and powerful he and his two allies are, I doubt quarantining the city would be able to hold them. This has been Scarlet Garcia, Station Square News."
"Oh, that," Swift announced, a swirl over his head. "Look, the Chaos Emerald totaling part of downtown can wait. I need help with something else!"
"Something else?" Danny spoke up as he walked into the room. "Frances is in the hospital, and you don't care!"
"Of course I care about it," the hedgehog Chao scowled. "I'm trying to figure out why it all happened! Just because I'm the third dumbest person on this team doesn't mean I don't think at all!" Spike and Ahaw Kin scowled at Swift. However, Swift had a question mark over his head, showing that he was actually thinking. "It's impossible, right? Everyone on the plan has Chaos Energy… right?"
"Well, technically, yes," Karin agreed. "Though there have been exceptions throughout the world, often resulting in cases of Chaos Energy-based radiation deaths. But what does that have to do with what happened-"
"Dr. Naka," Chris finally spoke, taking off his still bloody shirt, "Swift's Chaos Sense says that Frances doesn't have any natural Chaos Energy in her body." Karin, Spike, and Ahaw Kin stopped cold. Danny, however, was confused.
"Okay," the pilot voiced, "can somebody explain…?"
"As everyone's aware," Swift began, "I want Frances on the team. However, if she doesn't have Chaos Energy- and I hope my Chaos Sense is wrong- she can't bond with a Chao, let alone hold our new friend." Chris pulled out the yellow Chaos Emerald, and handed it to Danny. Miles looked up at it, a scowl on his face.
"So, we meet again," the kitsune Chao told the Emerald, a swirl over his head. "It's been a while since you cursed me."
"You've been cursed by a Chaos Emerald?" Danny questioned. Miles looked up.
"I'm pretty sure having more than one tail and being considered a damn freak for your entire life thanks to being exposed to two baby foxes and this Emerald at the same time isn't a good gift, despite giving me super intelligence and flight," the fox Chao replied before looking at Swift. "Swift, is it okay we smash this thing into dust?"
"As much trouble as it's caused you, Frances, and anyone else," Swift announced, "we're probably going to need it intact. If the Emerald violently reacted to someone with low to no Chaos Energy that poorly, think about what would happen if we destroyed it. For all we know, thunderstorms and wildfires would be unleashed throughout the world. Those who control America's media are already pinning us for what happened today- I'm not bringing about the end of the world and confirming their blames. So, we're keeping the Emerald, end of argument." Turning back to Karin, Swift announced, "So anyways, back on topic- is it possible that Frances lacks Chaos Energy?"
"I would need a blood sample," Karin announced. Chris threw his shirt at her.
"Yeah, she bled on it," the boy announced while grabbing a blanket. Spike focused his own Chaos Sense on the bloody shirt while Karin scrapped a bit of the dried blood off of the shirt.
Eventually, both confirmed Swift's fears. "I'm sorry, hedgehog Chao," the echidna Chao told Swift, a question mark over his head. "Your girlfriend doesn't have any… which is odd considering you're a Chao and all beings should have Chaos Energy." Swift had an exclamation point above his head.
"Well what are we supposed to do about this?" Swift questioned.
"I'm not sure, Swift," Karin sighed. "If Frances doesn't have natural Chaos Energy, she's most likely going to die in that hospital." Swift's eyes boggled in surprise. Karin typed on her laptop, bringing up pictures of dead bodies in hospitals- including a recent one in Russia. "These are all corpses of Chaos Radiation victims- it's the reason why nobody's considered using Chaos Energy as a fuel source. Chaos Radiation is nasty… direct exposure to high amounts of Chaos Energy is like coming into direct contact with a star while inhaling toxic gases. You and Chris managed to get the Emerald away from her before it got too far… but the average patient who gets that lucky doesn't survive longer than 72 hours after contact."
"So we have less than three days to fix this," Swift stated. "What kind of cure are we looking for?"
"Easier said than done." This killed Swift's hopes. "Not too many things can get rid of Chaos Radiation… but if we can channel the toxic energy out through an indirect medium…" Karin then closed her laptop. "I'm taking the rest of the day off."
"What?" Chuck asked as he walked into the room.
"I think I have a way to fix this," Karin clarified, "but there's no way we're going to be able to do this in broad daylight and I left something important at home that can help." Turning to Chris, she ordered, "Bring the yellow Emerald to Station Square General by 3 a.m. Find a way to meet me on the roof."
"Okay," Ahaw Kin stated, "what's going on?"
"We're about to break into a hospital," Chris realized. "Okay, should we do this? I mean, the public is not going to be happy about it."
"You heard the reports," Karin argued. "G.U.N. is on their way to take Frances to study. If we don't do this, we may never get a chance to help her out."
Station Square General Hopsital- 02:59
Sonic was brought back to reality by the sound of an airplane landing so well on the roof of the hospital. Tails, Knuckles, and Karin climbed out of it, the human of the group instantly kissing the floor.
"Thank god we're on solid ground for the most part," Karin breathed. Sonic and the others blinked at the woman, who upon realizing that everyone was looking at her blushed and stood normally.
"Okay," Sonic asked, "why are we here? What's the plan? It better be good, because considering yesterday afternoon, our approval rate just took a major hit, and my Chao side really wants to do damage control."
"It's simple," the Chao doctor smiled as she reached into the plane and pulled out a reinforced briefcase. Opening it, she revealed the purple Chaos Morpher she was working on.
"I thought you said you weren't going to use it," Tails questioned, looking at the Morpher.
"It's not for me, guys," Karin shook her head. "It's for Frances. All three of the Neo Mobians blinked. "Let's be honest, gentlemen- are your Chaos Morphers not indirect pathways to release built up Chaos Energy?" Tails and Sonic both thought about it.
"Well," Tails answered, "the Chaos Morpher do use Chaos Energy as a power source."
"Exactly," Karin replied. "The Morphers feed off of it to keep you in those states. If I'm right- and Miles probably will answer this for me- then the only reason the Morphers have such a time limit that you can be in Neo Mobian state is because once it runs out, it naturally starts using your own Chaos Energy in your bodies- and considering what just happened to Frances, it's not good. We can use that to drain the Chaos Energy poisoning Frances before G.U.N. shows up."
"You left out the part that explains why we're breaking into a hospital," Sonic pointed out.
"Do you honestly think as civilians we'd even get close to a dying patient with Chaos Radiation?" Karin rhetorically asked. "It's not like you could say, 'Hi, I'm the friend of the dying girl who looks like she was hit with a bolt of lightning. Do you mind if I waltz in and strap a strange wristwatch to her in an attempt to save her life'?" The three groaned- she had a point. Not only would people think they were crazy, but it would be impossible to get into the emergency room past visiting hours when you're not family.
"So how do you figure we're going to pull this off?" Knuckles asked.
"Alright," the doctor grinned, "here's my plan. Tails and Knuckles will fly down-"
"It's not 'flying', it's 'gliding'!"
"-whatever. I just need you two to go inside, Knuckles takes out any guards patrolling the ground floor- silently but avoid killing them, I might add- and Tails to shut down any form of technological security. Once we're clear, Sonic needs to dash into the hospital, find Frances, and place the Chaos Morpher on her wrist."
"Why did you have me bring the Chaos Emerald, then?" Sonic spoke up.
"We're going to accelerate the purification process by transferring the power into the Emerald that it came from," Karin answered in a matter-of-fact tone. Everyone looked at her like she had officially lost her mind. "Would you guys rather that amount of unstable Chaos Energy to stay in the air and take forever?"
"Fine, we'll do this," Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles agreed. Tails and Knuckles jumped off the side of the building, Tails floating down while Knuckles glided between buildings, landing in front of the hospital. The echidna walked inside, claws bared. Tails, concerned with how Knuckles would handle things, kept up with the echidna, who only held up a hand to stop him. Knuckles pointed one of his three fingers towards a filing cabinet, as if to tell the fox boy to hide behind while he looked at the secretary at the desk. Lucky for the two, she was too busy reading a Batman comic to notice the two Neo Mobians in the main lobby.
As Tails hid behind the desk, Knuckles casually walked up to the desk. The secretary, with a bored expression on her face, announced, "Sir, we're closed for the night- I'm going to have to ask you to-"
THUD.
Knuckles, deciding not to take any chances, pinched a nerve on the secretary, and let her slump onto the desk. Making it look like she passed out from exhaustion, the echidna whispered, "I'll go on ahead. When I come back, there should be a clear way through this floor."
"Sounds good to me," Tails stated. "Just don't kill anyone."
"My human and Chao sides avoid murder if they can prevent it. But I'll admit they've killed a couple men who got too stubborn." Tails gulped as Knuckles walked down the hallway. Several minutes later, he walked back, placing an unconscious janitor on the ground. "Hallway's clear- there was only a few staff members down here."
"I hate to see what you would have done if there were more," the fox announced as he looked at the hallway- only three unconscious guys between them and the hospital security room that was soon cleared out with a few knocking of heads together. Once in place, Tails cracked his hands, and typed in several commands.
"Have you done this before?" Knuckles asked.
"Hacked into a security system?" Tails chuckled. "No. It's kind of illegal. But that does not mean my human side doesn't know how to turn off cameras to avoid recording our breaking and entering into a hospital." Once all of the cameras were off, Tails smiled before pulling out a walkie talkie. "Tails to Karin… Sonic is now the invisible Hedgehog."
"Perfect," Karin announced through the radio. "Stay there until I give the okay." The two nodded, wondering what was going on with Sonic.
The hedgehog, meanwhile, was already on the move, checking each of the rooms in the upper floors for Frances. Eventually, he found her room. Walking in, Sonic took notice of the poor girl… electricity jumping off of her… and her hands looked severely burnt. Sonic grimaced- even if Karin's crazy scheme worked and Frances' life was saved, he doubted her chances of being a normal human again.
"Dr. Naka," Sonic spoke up through his own radio as he approached the girl, "we found her."
"Alright, next part," the Chao doctor told the hedgehog. "Now… the most complicated part. For this to work, we need the Morpher attached and the Emerald held at the same time. She may try to fight back once the procedure starts… and I don't know what the hell may happen when she does."
"Doc," Sonic stated, "I only have two hands. This sounds like a four-hand job."
"This is why I need you to separate into Chris and Swift." This caused Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to all become silent in confusion.
"…I'm sorry, but what?"
"I know, exposing your human side to this much Chaos Energy- even with your high level- will not be pretty and we're all doubting that this will even work. If it does, the side effects will be… unpredictable. However, we have only hours before G.U.N. shows up and God knows whether if they're going to actually help Frances or try to weaponize her Chaos energy… and we can't have that."
"I'm more worried about the unpredictability than I am the Chaos radiation… she only came into direct contact with Chaos Energy for a few minutes."
"More than enough to kill her within less than three days if we don't act now."
"I understand the pressure, Doctor. I just wish that we could've avoided this." Sonic then split into Chris and Swift once more, the former pulling the purple Morpher out of his pocket and the latter holding the yellow Emerald.
"Chris," the hedgehog Chao sighed, "I shouldn't have gotten Frances involved without absolute confirmation."
"It's not completely your fault, Swift," Chris told the Chao. "Let me get the Morpher on, and see if I can restrain her before you use that Emerald to speed up the process." The boy approached his friend-
WHOOSH!
A white and purple blur zipped by the two, and landed on a nearby shelf to reveal a white-furred, female neutral Chao with large, violet fruit bat wings and equally big bat ears. Her chest had a large pink heart-shaped patch of fur, and her blue-green eyes were half-open in a flirty tone, showing her powder blue eyeshadow. Fluttering her long eyelashes with a heart over her head, she smiled, "Aw, boys… you really shouldn't have!" She then held out her hands, revealing she had the Emerald and the Morpher. Chris and Swift blinked before looking down at their now empty hands.
Swift, with a large exclamation mark over his head, questioned, "Who the hell are you? And how did you get in here?"
"It was easy to follow you, sweetheart," the bat Chao smiled. "Your fox and echidna friends really helped get me past the lower levels with their handiwork by the way. As for 'who the hell am I'… have you not heard of the notorious thief Chao?"
"…Can't say I've pay attention much to trivial matters." The bat Chao's heart turned into a swirl of annoyance. However, the swirl quickly faded.
"Well, at least one of us pays attention to someone else making headlines," the bat Chao replied. "To think that Sonic the Hedgehog was a human boy and a Chao. It's almost so funny, I forgot to laugh. Well, maybe I can get a chuckle at being the Chao that outwitted Sonic." Looking at the Chaos Emerald in her left hand, she smiled, "Such a beautiful jewel… you have no idea how long I had to spend in Russia trying to find this, only to be beaten to it by a teenage girl and her father. Luckily, I pick-pocketed the man in D.C., only for that girl and her friend to chase me through the streets over a watch similar to this one." She then held up the Morpher in her right hand. "The chaos made me lose the jewel again… but now you go and hand it over to me. Thank you very much, hedgehog Chao." Swift jumped onto the shelf she was on, stopping her from going anywhere else.
"What do you want with the Chaos Emerald and Morpher?" Chris demanded from the bat Chao. At this question, she had an honest question mark over her head.
"'Chaos Morpher'? I mean, I knew what the Emeralds are, but a Morpher?" Looking at the watch, she shrugged, "I guess it could sell for something worthwhile, but the Emerald is all I really need. After all… all of the world's gems are mine."
"Okay," Swift announced, sinking into a fighting stance, "I guess I can group into the 'master thief' part of my rogues' gallery. Good thing… I need just one regular villain to balance it out."
"Swift," Chris pointed out, "I thought we only had one real villain." The hedgehog Chao returned to normal stance, confused as he turned to Chris with a question mark over his head. The bat Chao, however, cracked her neck, and raised a leg.
"You don't count G.U.N., that Hector guy, that annoying secretary of the President's, and those two robots and that demon Chao working under Eggman as adversaries?" Before Chris could answer, Swift was tapped on the shoulder. When he turned around, the hedgehog Chao saw the bat Chao's leg rushing towards his face, which launched him into the wall. Before Chris could register what was going on, the bat Chao had flown towards the room's exit.
"Farewell, sweethearts," the bat Chao smiled, blowing a kiss to Chris before flying off with a laugh. Swift, as soon as he pried himself from the wall, scowled in anger with a swirl over his head.
"Okay… let me adjust her entry into my rogues' gallery," he told Chris. "Master thief Chao… who's kicks are as strong as Spike's punches. She has better lower body strength than I do when it comes to hand-to-hand combat!" Turning towards the door, he stated, "If I use my Chaos Sense, I can find her no problem and get at least the Morpher back."
"I better come after you," Chris announced. Swift held up a hand.
"As tempting as it is for it," the hedgehog Chao answered, "I'm afraid Chao Code dictates that you're not allowed to lay a hostile hand on her in heavily occupied zones. I, however, am not bound to that. Besides… somebody has to watch Frances while I get our stuff back."
"Alright," Chris answered. "I'll see if my Morpher will at least help." The Chao nodded at his owner, and rushed off, while Chris removed his Chaos Morpher. Sighing at Frances, he said, "This will hurt a lot… but it's better than letting you die." Without any further reluctance, he attached the Morpher to her wrist, and activated it.
Downtown Station Square- 03:36
The bat Chao smiled to herself as she landed on a roof of a building. She knew Chao Code- as a Chao; humans were not allowed to harm her directly. It certainly helped her escape multiple times. Reveling in her latest victory, she took this time to admire her prizes once more.
On one hand, there was the watch. The thief did not see what the big deal was with the watch, though. The Chaos Morpher- as the watch was called- did not seem anymore than a fancy wristwatch that she could use to buy more jewels. Though, the two boys she encountered seemed to value the watch as well as the Emerald, so it had to be important that the secret identities of Sonic had to watch out for it.
Speaking of the Chaos Emerald… that was her true prize. She heard the stories of the Chaos Emeralds. She knew pretty damn well what they might be capable of… it just wasn't until earlier that she had seen it for herself. Powerful and beautiful gems, the Emeralds were… almost like her.
"Ruby," she smiled with a heart over her head, "you've outdone yourself this time. Your mother would be proud."
"So your name's Ruby," Swift's voice spoke up, turning Ruby's heart into an exclamation point before she turned around to see the Chao, a smug look on his face.
"H-h-how did you-?"
"How did I follow you?" Swift finished. "Simple- I know a lot about Chaos Energy. Not enough to predict what happened earlier, but enough of its secrets to last a lifetime. I was born with a Chaos Emerald, and I've been given powers with it… namely superhuman speed and a sixth sense that allows me to detect Chaos Energy. Gotta say your kicks are just as good as mine, if not better. But enough about me, Ruby. Hand over the Emerald and the Morpher, and I might just let you go unharmed and we'll call it a night." The bat Chao, rather than surrender, grinned as she calmed herself down.
"So, you know Chaos Sense, too. " Swift blinked. "I happen to know it- I wouldn't be such a treasure hunter without it. I thought I was one of the only ones outside of the echidna Chao that still walk this Earth. Anyways, sweetheart… I'm going to make you a counter-proposal."
"What kind of counter-proposal?" Swift asked; weary of what she might do next.
"How would you like to be my partner?" Ruby offered. "With both of our heightened senses and our super abilities, we'll be unstoppable thieves, and have all seven Chaos Emeralds in no time."
"…Well, I think we may a spot for you on our team if you're interested, but I'm already in big enough trouble with the law. I don't need any more of that by stealing the Chaos Emeralds and other jewels." The bat Chao sighed, knowing the fighting look in Swift's eye as he widened his stance. "Sorry, but I'm really going to need that Morpher back."
"Trying to steal from a thief?" Ruby asked, sinking into her own fighting stance. "Well, that's not one of the stupidest things I've heard… but that doesn't mean it's smart. You can try, though." Swift and Ruby then rushed at each other, ready to fight.
Chao Card: Ruby
Type: Normal, Fruit Bat (with trace of vampire), Flight/Power
Known Powers: Chaos Sense, Experienced Leg Combat, Flight, Expert hearing, Seduction
Equipment: Currently unknown
Kingdom Rider92's Notes: Okay, this will be a three-parter. Now, I'm sorry I'm horribly late, but I have some stuff for you. Anyways, Edge, it's time for you to answer reviews.
Edge's Corner: Okay. Well, Karin, you up for it?
Karin: That's "Dr. Naka" to you.
Edge: I thought you resigned-
Karin: First review...
Hanzo of the Salamander by Edge: Wait... are you drunk like a pirate, drunk off pancakes, or just plain drunk? Because all three are pretty freaking impressive that you can type properly. I think you'll make a fine addition to the Pirates of Arcadia.
White Hunter by Karin: Well, I'm also hoping this plan works... considering how I'm the one who thought it up. It would greatly hurt my study of Chaos Energy and Chao if this plan didn't work.
Edge: So that explains why you keep the title of "Doctor."
Karin: Doctor Who?
Edge: ...I see what you did there.
Sozic by Edge: Indeed it is. You know, upon retrospect, I don't think Ruby was properly introduced. When we get to that Maria's Log, we'll have to give her a proper intro. Either that or we have a flashback.
SPark681 by Karin: Well, we try to keep you on edge. This arc is- in my opinion- one of the most important sagas in season 1, as it's going to have an effect on Frances if she lives.
Zohaku by Karin: Swift's little theory does seem to be cracking a bit, here. Considering what's happened to Frances, this is a very special case. There's no way we can let her fall into GUN's hands or Robotnik's now. Too bad it's Frances, though- studying a person without Chaos Energy surviving all of this is too good of an oppurtunity, but I can't do it to Chris' friend.
Jyn-the-Raccoon by Edge: Yeah, it's the Chao side of Rouge, so you're sort of right. However, about Metal Sonic... he's not around, yet. We have plans, I'll admit but right now, he's not here.
Srs Question and Little Assassin Girls by Edge: ...I... don't know what to say. There are so many things I want to say, but this is a radio show. So I won't say those things. Is everyone else getting prank reviews like this? Because if this persists, I'm hacking into Kingdom Rider92's account and blocking anonymous comments.
Kingdom Rider92's Notes: Okay, that ought to do it for that. Also, the poll's still on in my profile if you're interested. I may open up a new poll for a different story... oh well. Kingdom Rider92 out!