Chapter 29
Saya didn't know how long it had been since she was in control of her own actions. It felt like she had been watching a movie, trapped, a prisoner in her own body, drowning in darkness. How long was she waiting to be rescued? She knew how cruel it was bringing hope to Shadow then have it ripped away. Thinking back, she doesn't think she's ever seen Shadow look that relieved and happy, but she knew it would be short lived. Now Saya had to stall for time for her friends to find her and she's definitely not going down without a fight.
"Your friends are clever Saya." Eggman's voice came over the intercom as Saya stood up. She was in a large room she didn't recognize.
"You're just now figuring that out?" She said sarcastically as a door opens and two Swatbots enter the room walking towards her.
"Now, hold still…" Eggman said,
"Ha! I'm finally able to run and you want me to hold still? In your dreams Egghead!" She said looking at her Chaos Emerald, it was recharging, but not as fast as she was hoping it would. Saya knew she needed more time if she wanted to transform. She runs straight at the Swatbots and slides underneath one of them. "One thing doesn't change; your bots are too slow." She taunted.
"Seize her!" Eggman yells as Saya jumped on top of one of the Swatbots grabbing wires out of the back of the neck.
"These look important!" She said ripping them out as the Swatbot powers down. "Whoops." She jumps off as the bot falls over. "You'll have to try harder…" She said as the other Swatbot shots something out of its cannon and she barely dodges. She looks over she shoulder to see the same adhesive from the weapon Spira used on her the very first time Brandy transformed. "Then that…" Saya knew if she got hit with that it was game over. But she's not going to give up, never again. She runs at the Swatbot and it moves out of the way.
"Impressive, even when you are in your human form you are a formidable opponent," Eggman said,
"You haven't seen anything yet!" She quickly looks around and runs back to the other robot on the ground she grabs the cannon and aims it at the active bot. She manages to trigger the cannon to fire it's weapon before the other Swatbot can get another sticky attack off. "I'm sorry, what were we seizing?" She smirks as she throws down the cannon and dusts off her hand. She hears the door behind her, a larger robot steps into the room and makes a swing at her as she jumps back with a whistle. "Oh! Bringing out all your toys today?"
"You will surrender." He said from within the robot sounding determined,
"Over my dead body!" Saya yelled,
"Poor choice of words," He said as the robot takes another swing destroying the other robots. The other hand makes a swing trying to grab her and she quickly ducks away,
"Wow Eggman, this one is even slower." She jumped and stuck out her tongue at the bot. She had to figure out how to get out of the room, maybe she could taunt Eggman enough to make him open up a wall for her. "Missed me!" She taunted as he makes another grab almost hitting the wall as he stops and pulls back.
"I know what you're doing, but it won't work." He said,
"Aw why not? Did you figure out how to control your anger problem?" She joked,
"I do not have an anger problem!" He yelled,
"And that right there proved my point," She shrugs and shakes her head.
"Enough!" He yelled as one of the robots hands turns into a cannon, "Try dodging this!" The cannon shoots off as Saya quickly runs to get out of the way towards the robot. She ran faster than she had before, she could feel it. She turns for a second to see that half of the room was covered in the sticky material.
"A little excessive don't you think?" She said catching her breath, she was reaching her limit and the Chaos Emerald wasn't charged enough for her to transform.
"To catch you, nothing is too excessive." He said as he swings down the cannon toward her and she rolls out of the way. The scroll that Dark Sonic had stolen rolls out of her pocket, she had completely forgotten about it. "So you did get the scroll."
"Crap," She runs over to grab it, but doesn't see the other hand strike her as she's thrown into a wall and before she can get back to her feet the massive robotic hand grabs her. "No!" She yelled struggling to get free,
"Couldn't run forever! Not in that form anyway." He laughed,
"I will get free!" Saya continued to struggle but the more she moved around the more Eggman tightened the grip on her.
"You can try, but you're not going anywhere." Eggman continued to tighten the grip as she was starting to struggle to breathe.
"I refuse… to be…" She gasped for breath, "Chaos…" But before Saya could try to teleport free, she blacks out.
Back at Freedom HQ, the group were standing around the Master Emerald waiting for their Emeralds to fully charge. Kolt goes over and places the Clear Quartz on top of the Master Emerald.
"You're filling it with Chaos energy again?" TK asked,
"Yeah, just in case Saya needs it." He said as it begins to slowly turn green,
"This is taking too long." Sophia said pacing,
"We all want to go save Saya, but we need to be at one hundred percent." Caroline said,
"I know… I just don't want Robotnik to have the chance to hurt her again." She said,
"Have faith in her, she had enough foresight to make sure we could track her. I'm sure she's stalling for time." Brandy said,
"I know you will bring Sonic back." Tikal said appearing next to Kolt, "But please be careful, I sense that the Dark Chaos energy has become unstable."
"That's a little worrying." Caroline said,
"Regardless we're rescuing her this time." Sophia said. Kolt notices that the Quarts turned completely green and he pockets it.
"Looks like our Emeralds are ready to go." Kolt said,
"Let's go!" Caroline said as they all head to the hangar bay and transform before flying towards Eggman's base.
Saya jolts awake hitting her hear on the familiar chamber that Dark Sonic rested in to reabsorb Dark Chaos energy. As she tries to move her arms, she realizes they are restrained to her sides.
"Oh, c'mon…" Saya whimpered still feeling put of breath,
"You'll feel a little fatigue from the lack of oxygen." Eggman said working on the computer with his back turned to her.
"Says the person who almost suffocated me to death." She said trying to pull on the clamps holding her wrists.
"You drove me to that point, you're just too stubborn for your own good." Eggman said,
"That's nothing new," She rolled her eyes,
"You have a point there…"
"I won't let you put Dark Chaos into my Emerald again," She said kicking at the chamber door, "Let me out of here!"
"I don't have enough time to turn you against your friends again… I'm not sure how you did it, but the Freedom Fighters are on their way here." He continued to type, sounding annoyed.
"Oh that's easy, I swallowed a tracking device." She said,
"But I have other…" He pauses just now realizing what she had said, "You ate a tracking device?" He turns towards her shocked,
"Yep,"
"That's not… that could have been toxic…"
"Was a little short on options." She shrugs,
"That doesn't matter, because I have other plans." He said grabbing a metal helmet and pressing a button that unlocks the Chamber door. Right as he gets close enough to the door, she kicks it causing it to swing, hitting him in the face.
"That's for experimenting on me." Saya said as he grabs the door and completely opens it.
"That's the least I'm going to do when I'm done with you!" He said forcing the helmet on her head and holding it in place with a chin strap. She gets another kick in at his knee almost causing him to buckle over. "Why you little!" He huffs and then slams the chamber shut. "There, now we can begin," He walks back over to the console and picks up the Dark Chaos Emerald.
"What are you planning now?" She kicks at the glass again,
"This device will tap into your powers to create force fields, and with the help of the Dark Chaos Emerald there should be enough power to stop your friends." He grinned as he places the Dark Chaos Emerald into the chamber above Saya then turns away from her. "We're going to try making a small force field around that table, just to see if it works." He points at a small side table on the other side of the room. "This might hurt a bit." He turns on the machine as a shock goes through her.
"Stop!" She screamed, as a blue sphere surrounds the table. It felt like her entire body was on fire, almost like the Chaos energy was harming her on a cellular level.
"It works!" Eggman cheers as he turns off the machine. The pain Saya felt stopped like a fog lifting. "And just in time too. It looks like your friends are almost here. Now we'll get to see how powerful your Chaos Sphere combined with the Dark Chaos Emerald can be." He said pressing more buttons on the console.
"Can't you just surrender?" Saya said catching her breath, "They're going to get in here even with Chaos Sphere… Did you forget Knuckles is with them?"
"Oh yes, Kolt has embraced his role rather smoothly." He said,
"Kolt?" Saya looked confused,
"That's right, you haven't met him yet. Not his reincarnation anyway." He grinned,
"You know who Knuckles is?" Saya was shocked to hear this,
"I knew him quite well, it's too bad that you won't get a chance to meet him. Because once they get in, they're never coming out." Saya looks at her Chaos Emerald, it looked like it was charged enough for her to transform but part of her didn't know if she could. Eggman turns noticing her not making a witty comeback and sees her looking at her Emerald. "Going to try and transform, are we?" He walks up to the chamber looming over her. "Or are you too afraid that you might transform back into Dark Sonic." He laughs. She glares at him but then notices her own reflection off the glass door. She knew Eggman was right, she was afraid. What if there was Dark Chaos energy still inside her Emerald? She sees the reflection change from her to Dark Sonic like seeing a nightmare within a mirror. She lowers her head feeling conflicted. Before she could decide, Eggman turned the machine back on.
"No!" She screamed trying to fight through the pain, but the Dark Chaos energy was too strong while she was in her human form. She cried out feeling like she was going to burst, internally begging her friends would run away.
The Twin Tornado flies to the spot that Saya's signal was coming from. They all look as they see a blue colored force field around the entire base.
"Is that Chaos Sphere?" Tails asked,
"What's that?" Kolt asked,
"Before you joined us, Sonic gained a new ability called Chaos Sphere." Cream explained,
"Similar to the one she rescued us all in when the space colony ARC was destroyed." Shadow added.
"Oh yeah, I remember that! But how'd it get so big?" He asked,
"Eggman must be making it bigger somehow." Blaze said,
"Do you think he has Saya under his control again?" Cream asked looking fearful.
"Even if she is, we're dragging her back to Freedom HQ kicking and screaming if necessary." Shadow said,
"That's great and all but how do we get inside?" Tails asked landing the Twin Tornado as they all jump out.
"Leave that to me." Knuckles said walking up to the force field.
"What are you going to do?" Cream asked,
"I'm going to try and rip through the Chaos Sphere, at least enough for us to get through." He said putting his hands up and focuses, "I call upon the powers of Chaos to lend me it's power." He said taking a deep breath as he thrusts his fists through the Chaos Sphere and grabs it pulling it open creating a hole large enough for them to crawl through,
"Okay, this thing is tougher than it looks, hurry up." He said as they all climb through,
"C'mon Knuckles." Blaze said. He pulls the hole open wider so he could step through and quickly enters letting go as the hole shuts. He could already feel that took a lot out of him.
"You okay?" Shadow asked noticing him catch his breath,
"Sorry, that took a lot out of me. Just give me a moment…" He said,
"Don't overdo it." Blaze said,
"Don't worry, I'll be better in a sec." He lied; he knew that using the power of Chaos like that sapped a lot out of his strength.
"Please take it easy." Cream asked,
"Cream is right. There might be more Chaos Sphere's in here, so we need you to save your strength. Blaze and Shadow will clear a path and Cream and I will make sure we're not attacked from behind." Tails said as both Blaze and Shadow nod.
"You always have a plan, don't you?" he chuckles.
"I am the smart one," She jokes,
"We should keep moving," Shadow said as they stick to Tails' plan. Two Swatbots jump out to attack them, both Shadow and Blaze quickly destroy them before they could attack. Another Bot came from behind as Cream distracts it long enough for Tails to fly behind it and disable it. They continued forward as Knuckles could feel his strength coming back. Just as Tails predicted, there was another Chaos Sphere in their path,
"You're up Knuckles," Tails said as he exhales and calls upon Chaos again and rips the Chaos Sphere again.
"Hurry! I don't know how long I'll be able to hold it!" He said as they ran through. Knuckles starts to step through as his arms begin to shake and he loses his strength.
"Chaos Control!" Shadow stops time long enough for her to grab Knuckles by the collar and pull him through before the Chaos Sphere decapitated him. "You okay?"
"Barely, thanks for the save." He said as she nods,
"Cream, help him walk." Shadow said as Cream comes next to him and helps him keep his balance.
"I didn't realize that two would be your limit…" Tails said,
"They're a lot tougher than I expected…" Knuckles said,
"If we're lucky there won't be any more force fields," Blaze said,
"We got company," Shadow said as they are surrounded by Swatbots.
"Cream, keep Knuckles safe." Tails said as they start fighting.
"This way," Cream said finding an opening and leading him away from the fight then helping him sit down, "You need to rest,"
"We don't have time," He said,
"You won't be able to help Saya if you pass out." Cream said bluntly taking him off guard for a second.
"Okay…" He said as Shadow and the others finish off the bots and walk over to them. "Tails pulls off her glove and places her palm on Knuckles forehead.
"You're warm." She grabs his wrist and checks his pulse, "And your pulse is racing."
"We should rest here for a bit; this is an easy spot to defend." Shadow said,
"No, I can manage." Knuckles tries to stand up and both Tails and Cream push him down.
"We're not going anywhere while you're in that condition." Tails said pulling out a water bottle from her bag and handing it to him.
"I told you to rest." Cream said firmly, Knuckles was surprised to see her so head strong, up to this point she had been very soft spoken towards him.
"I'm going to search the perimeter to make sure there are no more Swatbots hiding nearby." Shadow said. They could all tell that she was starting to get stir crazy. It hit her hard to have Saya so close then slip through her fingers.
A few minutes pass and Tails checks Knuckles' pulse again, "Your heart isn't racing anymore. But don't do anything reckless." Tails said as she helps him up to his feet.
"As if anyone in this group can't help be reckless." Blaze said, as both Shadow and Knuckles look away like that comment was aimed at them.
"Lean on me if you need help." Cream said,
"Thanks Cream," Knuckles said as they walk forward,
"This is odd… It's too quiet." Blaze said,
"I hear something up ahead… it sounds like… screaming…" Cream said as they all look at one another.
"Keep a lookout, it could be a trap." Shadow said, as they run forward, they all could hear Saya's cries of pain.
"Saya!" Tails yells as they see her trapped inside the chamber, an electric energy emanating around her that is the same color as Dark Chaos energy. They all run towards her but as they enter the room a Chaos Sphere appears around them, they were trapped,
"Trap, what did I say? Trap!" Shadow yelled punching it as she is repelled by the Chaos Sphere.
"You fell right into my hands Freedom Fighters," Eggman appears in front of them as they hear Saya's Cries ringing in their ears.
"I'll get us out," Knuckles said,
"No, you don't have enough strength," Tails said,
"I have to try," He said focusing again, "I call upon the power of Chaos, please give me the strength!" He said grabbing the Chaos Sphere and trying to pull it open. But before he could attempt to tear it open his vision blurred and he loses his footing. Before he falls, Shadow grabs him and sits him down,
"Idiot! You're no good to us dead," She said as Tails starts checking him over.
"Sorry…" He said catching his breath,
"Well that was an entertaining performance, now let's see how well you all do when your cage gets smaller." Eggman said pressing on a control panel as the Chaos Sphere around them began to get smaller.
"If this keeps up, we'll be crushed." Blaze said as they start pushing against the sphere, but it continued to get smaller and smaller.
"STOP!" Saya painfully screams still trying to get free.
"No can do my dear, once your friends are out of the way; you'll lose your will to fight and then nothing will be in my way to building Robotropolis." He said as the Sphere continued to get smaller.
"The seven servers are the seven Chaos… Chaos is power… power enriched by the heart." Saya struggled to say,
"What if you turn into Dark Sonic again? Do you really think you'll break free from the Dark Chaos a second time?" Eggman stopped making the Chaos Sphere smaller and focused on Saya trying to break her volition to fight back.
"I will… save them!" She screamed with tears streaming down her face as they could see her eyes turned red. They all feared the Dark Chaos energy was taking control again,
"Saya stop!" Shadow cried out,
"The heart is the controller…" Saya continued,
"We don't want to lose you again!" Cream pleaded,
"The controller serves to unify the Chaos… CHAOS CONTROL!"