Mystic Ruins

Sonic comes to a stop as he sees the massive hole in the wall of Tails' Laboratory, from the base of the hill that it sits on. "No…no, no, no!" He sprints up the hill, and hurdles through the hole into the building. "Tails! Tails, answer me!" Sonic frantically searches through the room. He stops as he finds Tails, lying on his hands and knees on the floor.

"I'm sorry… I gave him the Emerald…"

Sonic kneels down to help him. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Tails shakes his head. Sonic slowly helps him to his feet. "That's all that matters. Besides, they didn't get all of them."

Behind them, Chaos the Hedgehog steps through the hole into the rubble-strewn room, caked in drying swamp muck just as Sonic is. "I'm afraid that they have."

"Whaddya mean? The Emerald was right there, how did they get it from you!?"

"I…wish that I could explain. As soon as you left, I was attacked by several lesser parts of Lumis, augmented with technology just like the large ones. One of them approached me, and…I seem to have blacked out. At the next moment, I was alone, and the Emerald was gone."

As Chaos speaks, Knuckles and Amy trudge in behind him, covered in desert dust and and wearing defeated looks. At Sonic's questioning look, they merely shake their heads.

Sonic hangs his head and sighs. "So that's it, then. Just like that, Eggman and Lumis got all seven Emeralds, and the Master Emerald too." He shakes his head. "I should've listened. I was a fool to think that I could've been a leader. Lumis was two steps ahead from the very beginning."

Chaos steps forward, shaking his head. "If any of us are to blame, it is I. The Emerald was practically in my grasp, but I somehow let it slip away."

Amy objects, "I could've gotten an Emerald back if I hadn't missed the shot."

Tails almost seems in tears. "I gave it to him! I just handed it over!"

Knuckles tries his best to calm everyone down. "Look, as much as all of you are at fault, we need to–"

Amy interrupts, "All of 'you'!? Excuse me!? If you had actually done your job, 'treasure hunter,' we wouldn't've even–"

"Oh, so you think this my fault!? You know, you're lucky that I decided to catch you after that stunt that you–"

Sonic suddenly shouts, "Everyone, chill out!" The room goes silent as everyone turns to him. "Things may not be going well, but…the last thing we need right now is to be fighting with each other."

Knuckles seems skeptical. "You say that like we haven't already lost. In case you haven't noticed, Eggman has everything."

"Not everything. To do their ritual, they still need one more thing. Me."

Amy doesn't seem to like that answer. "Are you saying that we use you as bait? 'Cause I'm not okay with that."

"No. What I'm saying is…right now, what I think we all need is a shower, and a few hours of sleep."

Chaos concurs, "The ritual can only be performed when the sun is at its peak. There is no advantage to rushing in unprepared. We have time." Everyone nods in agreement.

"Alright. Then let's rest and regroup."


Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 0, Episode 24

Dawn of Chaos, Part 5: Light and Dark Part 1

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor


Sonic, clean once again, stares up at the stars of the Mystic Ruins. He lies back on the roof of the laboratory. He thinks back to the words that Zero had said to him six months ago. "You couldn't lead your way out of a paper bag!"

Sonic chuckles a bit. "You were right, pal. Guess I just don't have it in me."

His thoughts move on to something that Knuckles said. "On some days it can really tear you up, not knowing if you're doing your job right or not… If you really are the chosen one, then the right thing to do has to be whatever it is that you do."

"Trouble sleeping, Controller?" Chaos interrupts his thoughts, and sits cross-legged beside him.

Sonic sighs. "This is all going to turn out fine, right? I'll make the right choice in the end, because…I'm the Controller. Isn't that how it's supposed to work?"

"If you are asking for a glimpse into the future…I'm afraid that I have no more knowledge of it than you. The moment the Outlaw came here, everything that I knew changed. Even if I knew how to speak with the rest of the Lords of Chaos, I doubt there would be any certain answer. But…I sense that isn't what you mean."

"I really am this chosen one. So there's destiny and all that. Is it even possible…for me to fail?"

"Is that really what you think? That you deserve no credit for anything you've ever accomplished in your life? I imagine anyone would be troubled who believes that." He shakes his head. "No, I've clearly failed to explain this properly. What you say about destiny…it's nonsense. You were granted a special power…because you have a pure heart, and the will to do good for the world. Not the other way around. We had faith in your future when we selected you as the Controller. That fact didn't change who you are. It merely improved your physical ability to bring about the good that you would have pursued, with or without our intervention."

Sonic sighs. "So I can lose, but I've just gotten lucky up 'til now. Not very reassuring. But good to know."

Chaos stops to think for another moment. "I have never before considered…what a burden it must be to carry such a responsibility. Observing you for this brief time, I came to believe that your dedication to doing what is good is simply more important to you than anything else, leading to your…serious disposition. But as you attempted to distract the Outlaw, I witnessed…something else. Almost as if you were a different person. I did not understand it at the time. But now…I believe that I do. In that moment, I witnessed for the first time who you really are. I witnessed a person who enjoys the thrill of being alive, momentarily unburdened by thoughts of responsibility. Controller…perhaps I was incorrect. Perhaps the title has changed who you are. Or at least…your knowledge of it has. Is it true? Do you no longer smile, because you now see work where there was once only passion?"

Sonic thinks on that for a while. "I guess you're right. Things have been different ever since I learned. But…" He chuckles a bit. "…anything's better than what I was before."

"What do you mean?"

"I was in a rough spot. I was reckless. I was ignorant. I was kind of a jerk. I had an ego like you wouldn't believe. Sometimes it was better than others, but eventually, everyone started calling me a fool. It took some responsibility to wake me up."

"But you were happy?"

"Well, I was smiling a lot more."

"It sounds to me…as if a balance is necessary."

"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to smile once in awhile."

Chaos' response seems almost habitual. "Every smile must be matched by a frown. That is the way of Chaos."

Sonic once again stops to think. "The way you talk about Balance and Chaos…you make it sound so…easy. Like the whole world should just be balancing out on its own. But I'm not even good enough to make it happen. I can't even balance myself the right way."

"You…are correct, in a sense. Balance is the natural state of the universe. But perfect Balance…of the kind we have always striven for…is not so simple as that. That a smile is matched by a frown is Balance. But perfect Balance is a state constantly between the two, and that takes work."

"Is that really the best way? Never experiencing joy, just so that you never end up sad? Sounds like a pretty boring life."

"Perhaps it would be. But imagine it on a greater scale. Imagine a complete generation of Light, the entire world filled with joy. Then imagine the next generation, filled with terror and suffering, never having experienced the Light that their Darkness balances. Next, imagine one thriving society, and another stricken with poverty. That is Balance. But does it sound fair?" Sonic shakes his head. "Now imagine, in the second scenario, that the thriving society granted all they have in excess to the society in need. Neither would have excess, and neither would be in need. That is perfect Balance. It can be seen as unfortunate that the first society could no longer enjoy their Light, but as a whole, peace would be at its greatest."

Sonic clutches at his head. "This is too much for me. How can I ever do this?"

"It is alright. In time, you will come to understand. And…if it means anything to you…our faith in you has never wavered. You will succeed in the battle against the Outlaw, not because it is easy, not because destiny demands it, but because I believe that you can."

Sonic can't help but smirk. "Now that's reassuring."

For quite some time, the two simply stare up at the stars. Many of them begin to fade away as the earliest dawn light appears on the horizon. Finally, Chaos speaks again. "Do you have a plan, for when the time comes to face Lumis?" Sonic doesn't respond. Chaos looks over at him. His eyes are closed, and his chest moves up and down rhythmically in a light snore. Though Chaos doesn't smile, his soft cyan fur gives away his happiness at the sight.

Chaos turns his head back to the horizon, far out over the ocean. Though no one is left to hear him, he still continues to speak. "Though the single day I've spent on this Earth is nothing to the millenia I've lived…you've taught me far more today than I'd ever thought I could learn, Controller. No amount of observation, no amount of forethought, can ever serve as a substitute for live experience." The sun slowly peaks over the sea, casting the world in a brilliant orange light. "This world…his world…is truly beautiful. I never would have truly understood this if it weren't for the accident of my being here. The only way to learn…is to live." He looks back over to Sonic. "Even the most sound of plans rarely survive implementation. Perhaps it is for the best that we be prepared for anything…rather than going in with impossible expectations. There is no way to truly know what will happen…until the time arrives. And the true test of leadership is how you respond in that moment…and how willingly you are followed." He looks one last time at the rising sun. "There are inherent dangers to action without planning. But so long as I am here…I will do whatever it takes to protect you. And to protect this world."

Chaos closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in, putting his fingers together in meditation. After a moment, Sonic peeks one eye open at him.

—–—

Everyone has gathered in front of Tails' laboratory, cleaned and rested. Though the sun is higher in the sky, it is still somewhat early in the morning. Amy questions, "So what's the plan?"

Sonic and Chaos give each other a quick look. Tails answers back, "Before we figure out what, we need to figure out where."

Chaos responds, "I can sense the location of the Emeralds."

"And I can sense the Master Emerald," Knuckles adds.

Sonic continues, "But I think we all have a pretty good idea of where."

Amy agree with some disdain, "Eggman's base." Knuckles and Chaos both nod.

Tails seems satisfied. "Next we need to figure out how to get there. Even if we still had the Tornado, it wouldn't fit all of us."

Knuckles thinks for a moment. "I'm guessing Chaos Control is out of the question?"

Chaos steps forward. "Not necessarily." He turns to Sonic. "With my power, you should be able to perform Chaos Control."

Sonic raises a fist. "Then what're we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road." Sonic extends a hand to Chaos. Chaos takes the hand, and gently places it on the Moonstone in his chest. Sonic closes his eyes. "Get ready, everyone. Chaos…Control!"

—–—

Mt. Lux

Eggman's Base

The group reappears several feet in the air, and all crash to the ground. Sonic gets up first, rubbing his head. "Sorry, guys. Guess I still need a little more practice." Everyone looks up to the top of the mountain to see a giant rendition of Eggman's face carved into the stone. "Well that's new."

Amy responds, "Not like he hasn't done it before."

Tails' eyes go up and down to the side of the mountain. "No turrets."

Knuckles looks to the busted door. "No robots."

Sonic nods slowly. "Why try to stop us? Eggman wants me here."

"A sound deduction, for a dim hedgehog." All look up to see Eggman's newest mech descending from above. The mech, resembling the typical Egg Pawn-like shape, has wide mechanical birdlike wings, wears a halo seemingly made of light above its head, and wields an ornate staff in one hand. "Let's make this simple, shall we?" The mech offers its large free hand to Sonic in an almost elegant bowing pose. "I know where you want to be. And I want you there as well. So my Egg Angel will take you there. Alone."

Knuckles step forward in a fighting stance. "Not a chance, Egg–"

Sonic puts a hand up. "It's alright, Knuckles." He looks up to the head of the mech. "I'll go."

Amy, Tails, and Knuckles at once shout, "What!?"

"This is the best way, guys. Now none of you have to get hurt. And Knuckles…" Sonic looks into the eyes of the echidna with just the slightest smirk. "…I hope you find what you're looking for."

Eggman lets out with a laugh, "That's two smart ideas in a row, Sonic. Must be a new record for you."

Sonic looks back up to the mech. "They didn't let me finish. I'll go…but Chaos comes with me." Chaos steps up beside him and gives him a nod.

In the cockpit of the mech, Eggman raises an eyebrow. He answers almost sarcastically, "Well…if you insist. Now, climb aboard. Let's make this quick."

Sonic takes the first step without hesitation, but Tails grabs him by the hand to stop him. "Sonic, you can't! We have to–"

Knuckles puts a hand on Tails' shoulder. "He's right, Tails. It's the best way."

"But…" Tails trails off, not objecting any further.

Sonic and Chaos step up onto the mech's hand, and turn back to face the others. Sonic bids farewell with a wave and wink. Then the Egg Angel takes off into the sky, creating a great gust of wind with its beating wings.

Amy a heavy sigh sigh. "So that's it? Now we just wait for him?"

Knuckles lets out a chuckle. "Are you kidding? Didn't you hear what Sonic said? I'm going after the Master Emerald." He starts to walk towards the entrance at the base of the mountain. "Up to you if you want to come with me." Tails and Amy run to catch up with a cheer.

—–—

The Egg Angel enters through the nose of the giant Eggman carving in the mountain, into along, rocky cave. Sonic looks back at the entrance with a hint of disgust. "Is this you trying to be funny, Eggman? Or did you actually think making an entrance through your nose was a good idea? I honestly can't tell."

Eggman grumbles, but doesn't respond verbally.

"Isn't it a little…I don't know, not your style to take the orders from the other guy? I always thought you liked to be in charge."

"Unless you want me to crush you in my hand right now, I suggest you keep your mouth shut, hedgehog."

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings, Eggman? All you had to do was say so."

Chaos gives Sonic a slight nudge. "Perhaps you should keep your quips at a minimum for the time being? Our fate, at the moment, is…" He glances down to the mech's hand that holds them. "…quite literally in his hands."

"And pass up a chance to ruin Eggman's day? I thought you wanted me to smile more."

"I didn't want your responsibility to interfere with your happiness. I'm beginning to understand that those are not the same."

Eggman shouts, "Both of you just keep quiet! We've almost arrived." As the mech travels through the dim cave, it is increasingly lit by an eerie crimson glow. They soar towards a wide opening, through which the red light floods. The light grows far brighter as they pass through the opening.

On the other side waits a wide cavern, lit by a bubbling pool of magma. But high above, near the roof of the cavern, is an even more brilliant orb of blinding golden light, almost mistakable for the sun. As the Egg Angel sets down on a flat stone platform raised above the molten magma below, a voice booms from the orb of light, "Why have you brought that one here!?"

The Egg Angel lets the hedgehogs onto the ground. "I'm afraid that…the Controller was quite insistent. It doesn't matter. There's nothing they can do now." Eggman can't help but chuckle quietly.

The voice of Lumis booms back, "Very well. Just keep an eye on it. As for you, Sonic…" Out of thin air, a barrier of glowing yellow energy in the shape of a pathway appears, stretching out from the stone platform, curving and twisting all the way up to the orb of light. "…here I am. Come and get me."

Sonic glances up at Eggman. "Remember that thing I said about who gives the orders? Might wanna think about that." Eggman grumbles wordlessly as Sonic takes his first step onto the path of light.

Chaos glances up at Eggman. "You must really hate him."

Eggman seems almost pleasantly surprised at being understood. "Sometimes I wonder how I'm the only one."

"In any battle…there must be a victory, as well as a defeat. But if there is no battle, neither side need suffer. If the two of you could come to some sort of–"

"No."

Chaos looks back to Sonic as he winds his way along the path. "Very well. Change must be voluntary."

"Well…" Eggman smirks. "…if that's what you believe."

"I only hope that the Controller understands this."

"Why are you still talking to me?" Chaos gives a rather casual shrug in response.

As Sonic draws near the end of the path, he's forced to shield his eyes from the light of the orb. The voice of Lumis beckons from within, "Yes…enter." Sonic places his hand up to the outer edge of the orb, and his arm almost seems to be drawn in. He steps the rest of the way into the pure light.

—–—

Sonic opens his eyes to find himself floating in a void of pure, golden light. The crystalline form of Lumis drifts down in front of him, unsullied by any kind of metal or machinery. "Beautiful, isn't it? This is only the beginning of what the ritual will bring. But you wouldn't believe that from a villain such as I, would you?"

Sonic looks up and down Lumis' form. "I…I don't think that you're a villain. You want what you think is best for the world, I can see that, I can hear it in every word that you say. But you're doing it all wrong. Betraying and attacking us? Joining with Eggman? How is that going to bring peace to the world?"

"Hmm…perhaps there's hope for you after all." Lumis floats past Sonic, and stops still facing away from him. "I never wanted to betray you. But this ritual means everything to me. For ten thousand years, I waited in silence with only one reason to go on living. Imagine it all being for nothing. And all that stood in the way was one hedgehog's misguided principles."

"Which one of us is misguided? The Light you want can't exist without Darkness. You're a Lord of Chaos, you should know that."

"Correction—was a Lord of Chaos. And how could you possibly stomach a word of that Chaos nonsense? You can't possibly tell me that you haven't asked yourself, how it's better to feel nothing at all than to experience joy!"

"Well…I guess–"

"Exactly!" Lumis turns back to look Sonic in the eye. "And I'll let you in on a little secret. When the ritual is complete, the Darkness won't simply go away. I have a very special place in mind for it."

"'Special place'? You can't just contain it like that."

"I don't have to for long. Once I send this world's Darkness to the Realm of Chaos, it won't be able to escape."

"So…it's been about revenge the whole time?"

"Revenge? Not at all! Sonic, you have to understand. Your world is beautiful. Mine is corrupt and ugly. Surely even your new friend has recognized that by now. I have the ability to save your world by bringing an end to the misery of mine. Perhaps…justice for those who imprisoned me is a…fortunate side-effect of the process."

Sonic shakes his head. "It doesn't have to be that way, Lumis. Our worlds can coexist. There are other, better ways to protect the world from Darkness! You don't have to go back! You can stay here, and help us do things the right way! You aren't a villain, I know it!"

"Oh, I intend to stay here. Once we're finished, there won't be anywhere to go back to."

Sonic sighs. "You know, I want to say that you aren't a villain, but then you go and say something like that. You're making this really hard."

Lumis slowly turns his head-like protrusion upwards into the void. "The time is almost here. So I'll ask you one more time." He faces Sonic once again. "Will you help me?"

"I want to help you. But not with the ritual."

Lumis draws slightly apart from Sonic. "Very well." He floats around to Sonic's back. "I can promise you, this will only hurt for a short while."

"What?" Sonic starts to struggle, but can't turn to face Lumis, as if he were held in place. "What're you doing!?"

Lumis reaches out towards Sonic's back with the tip of a single claw. "Once the Ritual of Illumination is complete…all of your pain will be gone. Even the pain inside of your heart." The claw touches the center of Sonic's spine, and Sonic's eyes go wide.

"Wh…wha…?" Lumis' claw starts to liquify as it digs deeper, and Sonic's body goes limp.

"Don't worry. I'm just reaching into your nervous system. But I'll only need control of you for a few moments."

"Get…out of…my…" Sonic can't even seem to finish the thought.

"Yes, just relax. It will hurt less that way." Lumis breathes a deep sigh. "I can feel it now. Your Light is marvelous, Controller. But I also feel your pain. The pain of abandonment. The pain you've held with you your entire life, but long since stopped thinking about. The kind of pain that never truly goes away. But I can make it go away. We can make it go away. We can create a perfect world."

"Perfect…world… I can see it…"

"That's right. We're connected now. Take a moment to savor it. A world with no pain. A world with no evil. You will never again have to worry about bringing your friends to harm. It's your greatest fear, easy to read. The new world will be without fear. And it's only a few moments away. Now…feel the Light. Feel its energy all around you. Feel it coursing through your veins. And then…say the words."

"Words…?"

"You know them well. The words that connect you to the Balance. The words that will catalyze its change."

"The words… C…Chaos…Control." In an instant, the sea of light around them grows infinitely brighter, blinding out all else.

—–—

The orb of light at the top of the volcano's interior grows as bright as the void inside inside of it, forcing Chaos and Eggman to shield their eyes. The orb pulsates with greater and greater energy, until it finally explodes, destroying the rocky ceiling, and exposing the magma-filled cavern to the noontime sun almost directly overhead.

As the light clears, the limp body of Sonic is revealed, Lumis' claw still stuck into his back. Above them floats the Master Emerald. Around it orbits the seven Chaos Emeralds. And orbiting around all of them, roughly forming the border of what was once the orb of light, are multiple rows of dozens upon dozens of fake yellow Chaos Emeralds.

Lumis pulls back his arm, and Sonic's limp body falls towards the bubbling magma below.

"Sonic!" Chaos springs into action, leaping from his stone platform, flying through the air, and kicking off of the opposite wall. He catches Sonic in his arms as their paths meet, and spins through the air before skidding to a stop back on the platform.

Lumis seems impressed. "Nice reflexes. But I wasn't going to let him fall, you know. What kind of monster do you think I am?"

Sonic looks up at Chaos weakly. "I'm sorry. I couldn't…stop…"

Chaos helps him back to his feet. "It's not too late. We must–" Suddenly, everything goes dark, save for the dim glow of the magma. High overhead, what appears to be the moon can be faintly seen. A slight amount of light returns as a sliver of it is covered by a sliver of sunlight in some sort of impossible backwards eclipse.

Lumis starts to laugh. "The Ritual of Illumination has begun! When the moon is eclipsed by the sun, this world will be free from Darkness! Ah ha ha ha ha!"

Eggman suddenly shouts, "Wait a minute! Where's the power you promised me!?"

"Patience, round one. The energy must be gathered first. Just sit tight, and–"

"Give me back my Emerald!" Knuckles slams into Lumis, knocking him back. From the force of the blow, Knuckles springs up, grabbing the Master Emerald out of the air, and skillfully landing back on the ground next to Sonic and Chaos. "Glad to see you guys left some the fun for me." He cracks his knuckles as Tails flies Amy down to join the group.

Lumis laughs once again. "You can have the gem! I don't need it anymore! In fact, I don't need any of them!" One by one, the false Emeralds begin to lose their color, and drop from their orbit, splashing into the magma below.

Eggman shouts, "Hey! Those weren't easy to make, you know!"

Chaos points up at Lumis. "Controller, look." As some of the last few fake Emeralds fall, the real ones too begin to lose their color, until they all fall at once, landing with a clatter on the very edge of a precipice of rock. Sonic gives a smirk.

Amy looks to the dull grey Emeralds on the floor, and realizes what Sonic is thinking. "Yeah! Go for it, Sonic!"

Tails and Knuckles seem to remember as well. "You can do it, Sonic!"

"Show 'em who's boss!"
Sonic moves to run for the drained gems, but an ornate staff blocks his way. Eggman shouts from the Egg Angel mech, "You won't be going for anything!"

The hand holding the staff is suddenly blasted by a static charge, knocking it out of Sonic's way. Tails stands pointing his EMP blaster at Eggman's mech. "We'll keep him out of your way! You keep going!" To prove the point, Knuckles dives in for a solid punch at the mech's cockpit, Amy following close behind.

Nothing left in his way, Sonic runs for the dull Emeralds.

Chaos looks to Sonic with confusion. "What are you trying to accomplish?"

Sonic declares, as much to Lumis as to Chaos, "I've been around the block a few times. And I know that there's two sides to the energy of the Chaos Emeralds. They may look drained when one whole side is used up, but I can still harness their real power." He closes his eyes and clenches a fist. "I can empower the Chaos Emeralds with positive energy." His fist begins to shake as he begins the transformation process.

"Controller…?"

Sonic turns his head up and shakes his fist even harder. "Hold on, I'm concentrating."

"Concentrating on a futile effort!" Sonic opens his eyes and looks at the ground. The Emeralds still lie just as dormant as before. "You can't use the positive power of the Emeralds, because that's what Lumis has already drained! The negative power still remains, but I don't think you would like the outcome of absorbing it, even if you were able."

"Alright. Have any better ideas?"

Chaos once again points up at Lumis, who appears to be concentrating. There's still one gem left floating above him. It appears to be another drained fake. But periodically, a strange arching stream of shadowy energy flies at the gem from a random direction, adding to its power. Each time this happens, the the sliver of light covering the moon seems to grow slightly larger. "That is the anchor point to the ritual. The place where all of the dark energies of the world are being concentrated."

"And once it's done, he's going to send it to your realm. That's what he said."

"We can't allow that to happen. But if we get the anchor from him, and destroy it, the ritual will end, and the balance will be restored."

"He's not going to let us get close to him that easily. We had a hard enough time with it when he wasn't supercharged. I bet I could do it with the Emeralds, but unless you know of any Gaia Temples nearby, I'm fresh out of ways to recharge them."

"There may…" Chaos glances over to the waging fight between Eggman and Tails, Amy, and Knuckles. "…be another way."

Amy leaps up and takes a swing at Eggman's cockpit, but the mech swats her back to the ground. Knuckles leaps up in her place. The mech tries to swat once again, but Tails gets a shot off at the hand, knocking it away and giving Knuckles the chance to land a solid hit. As Knuckles lands on the ground, he turns his head at the sound of Sonic's shout. "Knuckles, we need you!"

Amy looks back at Knuckles. "Help them, Tails and I can handle this."

Knuckles nods, and runs back to meet Sonic and Chaos. "What's going on?"

Sonic steps up to stand beside him. "Knuckles, you remember back on the ARK when you used the Master Emerald to neutralize the power of the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, do you think you can do it backwards?"

Chaos specifies, "I believe that you can use the Master Emerald to draw energy from the Flow of Chaos into the Chaos Emeralds more rapidly than would naturally occur."

"I don't know what any of that means, but I can try." He places the Master Emerald firmly on the ground, and Sonic drops the drained Chaos Emeralds in a circle around it. Knuckles places his hand on the Emerald, and takes a deep breath in to begin the prayer.

A strangely echoing voice of Lumis booms, "We can't allow you to continue any further!" The group looks up to see a trio of semi-mechanical Lumis clones descending towards them. One of them still appears to have a damaged shoulder, revealing the liquid light underneath. The real Lumis still floats silently beneath the ever-brightening sun. The center clone points its hand at them, preparing to fire its beam of golden energy. "You will not stop the Ritual of Illumination!"

Before it gets the chance to fire, its hand is smashed to pieces by Amy's swinging hammer. Amy looks up at the clones with a smirk. "I think we have some unfinished business."

Sonic shouts, "Amy!? What about Eggman?"

"Don't worry, Tails has it covered!"

In the battle with Eggman, Tails flies back and forth above the mech's head, dodging swipes from the staff, and getting off rapid-fire shots with his blaster whenever he can. Amy leaps back into her own battle, where the three Lumis clones link hands and begin to glow.

Sonic looks to Knuckles. "Alright, hurry this up! We're getting spread too thin, and we're running out of time!"

"Quiet down, I need to concentrate." He takes a deep breath once again. "The servers are…the seven Chaos. Chaos is power…power is enriched by the heart. The Controller is the one that unifies the Chaos." Knuckles looks over to Sonic as the Master Emerald takes on a brilliant glow. "Great and powerful Master Emerald, we need your power! Now, restore the energy of the Chaos Emeralds!" The mighty gem flashes brilliantly. And when the light subsides…nothing happens.

Sonic shouts, "Hey, what gives!? Nothing happened!"

Knuckles concurs, "It didn't work. There's nothing else I can do."

Chaos questions, "What about the other half?"

Knuckles cocks an eyebrow. "Other…half?"

"Yes. The other half. Of the chant. The one you were just saying." Knuckles continues to give him a vacant look of utter confusion. "Alright, listen closely."

Amy athletically leaps over the golden energy beam, and spins into a powerful hammer strike. The three Lumis clones appear to have merged into a single, multi-limbed half-mechanical monster. Its shoulder, and now two of its many clawed hands, slowly drip the viscous golden fluid, the machinery once holding them together having been broken. Still, its many remaining hands attack Amy relentlessly. Even against such an onslaught, Amy is still able to stay unharmed quite elegantly. As a hand tries to sweep underneath her, she leaps up and spins around before slamming on top of it, destroying it like the others.

Eggman cackles at Tails. "Oh ho ho ho! All alone, fox boy? I'll try not to make you give up too easily." The Egg Angel swipes its staff once again.

Tails dodges by falling out of the air, and landing on the ground. "Face it, Eggman. We've been here before. I don't need anyone's help to take you down!" He takes off along the ground, in a circle around the mech, propelling himself forward with his tails. As he does, he begins to fiddle with the controls of his blaster.

The Egg Angel fires its own beam of light at Tails, but Tails manages to stay ahead while he works. Eggman sneers, "And how do you expect to do anything with that little thing?"

"Hey, little things can pack a big punch!" He holds the blaster, which has begun emitting a loud whine steadily increasing in pitch, high above his head, then hurls it straight at the Egg Angel. As it's about to hit the mech, it suddenly explodes in a massive static pulse, electrifying and stunning every part of the robot it passes through. As Tails runs for the backside of the deactivated mech, he thinks, "There goes the last fake Emerald."

Eggman shouts furiously, "What have you done!? Systems aren't responding! I can't move!"

Tails tears off a back panel and immediately begins messing with wires and circuitry on the inside. "It'll probably save you some trouble if you just eject and get out of here now. We have a bigger problem to deal with."

"Preposterous! Power is already returning! You've failed, fox boy!"

"Well, I warned you." Tails steps away as the mech reactivates, and immediately begins flailing its arms wildly.

"What!? I don't have any control! What did you do!?" The mech spins, flails, and stumbles all the way across the platform, until one particularly strong swipe of the arm causes the mech's staff to slice straight through the stomach of the giant Lumis clone, severing it in two, and splattering the floor with the golden fluid inside.

Amy stumbles back to avoid the sudden chaos, but her foot slips as she reaches the sheer edge of the platform. At the last moment, she manages to grab onto the lip of the cliff with one hand, dangling dangerously above the magma as the Egg Angel and the mechanical parts of Lumis crash into the pool below her. Amy tries to pull herself up, but only ends up loosening her grip. "Sonic! Help me!"

To be continued…