Chapter 26: Rampage

Location: Station Square

One minute later...

When the light subsided, Sonic found himself standing on the wet pavement of a ruined highway. A silhouette took shape within the light, taking the form of an echidna with peach-orange fur. She wore a tribal dress of woven cloth, with white sandals and a golden tiara inset with a sapphire.

"Tell me. Who are you?"

"I am Tikal," she introduced, "I am a daughter of the echidna tribe that once dwelled within the Mystic Ruins. Ages ago, my father assaulted the shrine where the Chaos Emeralds resided, seeking to use them in his conquests. It was the home of the Chao back then, who were watched over by their Guardian; Chaos. The attack brought harm to the Chao, and in his fury, Chaos used the emeralds' power to punish those responsible.

"How was he stopped?" Sonic asked.

"I sacrificed myself to imprison him within the Master Emerald, lest he destroy the world. My spirit remained alongside him throughout the millennia, trying to keep its power under control. However, an evil black heart has awakened it."

"You mean Eggman."

Chaos suddenly reared back, regurgitating the emeralds and scattering them throughout the disaster area. One landed at the feet of Tikal, its light extinguished, leaving it little more then a hunk of rock.

"Look! he's absorbed the Emerald's power! He must be sealed in the Master Emerald, NOW!"

"How can that help? It won't change how he feels inside, will it? His heart will still remain in turmoil and his anger just won't vanish! He'll just be trapped forever!"

"What choice do we have?" she demanded, clutching the emerald.

Sonic had no answer, there was no possible solution to the predicament they found themselves in.

"Sonic!" a voice called out.

Turning, the hedgehog found Cream bounding towards him, followed behind by Chuck, Ella, and Tanaka.

"I picked this up. Here you go," she said, handing over the yellow emerald.

"Sonic!" Amy called out.

The pink hedgehog held an emerald over her head, followed closely behind by a trio of Flicky birds.

"This was my lucky charm, but I'll lend it to you," Big stated, offering the emerald.

Tails and Knuckles were walking across the highway, followed by an exhausted-looking Eggman, Decoe, and Bocoe."

"Chaos only used the negative power of the Emeralds. Sonic, you should be able to harness their real power!" the fox announced.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think Tails is right about this!" Knuckles added, glancing at Eggman, "Hey!"

"Fine. Here," the doctor grumbled, relinquishing the emerald.

"Everyone..."

"Just one more left," Tails stated.

"Sonic, I found it!"

Racing down the opposite end of the highway was Chris, who was waving around the final emerald. His foot made contact with some debris, causing him to stumble and fall flat on his face. Sonic immediately raced forward, assisting the young human in getting back onto his feet.

"Sonic!" the boy said, handing over the emerald.

"We've gathered them all."

Someone shouted his name from a nearby rooftop, then another, then all of Station Square was chanting his name. It was enough for the emeralds regained their glow, and slowly began to float into the air.

"Anger and sadness are not the only methods to draw power out of the Chaos Emeralds?" Tikal gasped.

"Negative forces aren't the only way to empower the Chaos Emeralds. Our positive feelings toward each other can make them work. Our hearts together form awesome power," Tails stated.

Sonic closes his eyes and harnessed the positive energy of the emeralds, causing his fur to change for cobalt-blue to hot-yellow. Rising into the air, Chris stared in awe at the transformation that his friend had undergone.

"Stay back everyone, I'll handle this!" Super Sonic declared, launching himself forward.

Perfect Chaos erected a shield around himself, but the force of the blow caused it to fail instantly. The creature reared backwards and roared, unleashing waterspouts that instantly turned to icy spears. The chaos-powered hedgehog immediately went into a spin attack, shattering through them as they inched towards him. Firing a blast of energy, Super Sonic veered out of the way, the beam striking the inside of the mountain. Prefect Chaos fired a second blast, this one purposely directed at Chris and the others. He quickly veered in front of it, crossing his arms and allowing the blast to collide with him.

"Sonic!" Chris shouted once the dust had settled.

"I'm your opponent," the hedgehog declared.