Chapter 36
The next week was quiet, everyone did their own thing. Sophia went on a mission with Team Dark while Brandy and Caroline tried to create a new recipe. Kolt spent most of his days in the Alter room with Tikal and Alan tried to find a balance with his and Amy's memories trying hard not to overwhelm Saya. TK spent her time in her workshop trying to figure out how to Derobotisize Spira. Saya bursts into the workshop.
"TK! Caroline wanted me to come get you for lunch." Saya said with a smile.
"Give me two seconds, I just need to finish this formula…" TK said writing things down in her notebook. "There, all good."
"How's it been going? You've been super quiet about your progress." She asked as they both head to the kitchen.
"It's slow… I'm not entirely sure if it's possible…" TK said looking defeated,
"If anyone can reverse Eggman's weapons, it's you." Saya said with a bright smile.
"How have you been feeling?"
"Good, really happy we have that outdoor track. And the view of the mountains back there is super pretty." She said, "Not going to lie, I've debated sneaking out to go run through the mountains at full speed." She chuckles as TK gives her a look,
"Sneak out?" She glares,
"Hey, I didn't! A least give me points for restraint." Saya shrugged,
"And how long is that going to last?" TK said,
"You got me there." Saya chuckles as if she had already gotten caught doing something she shouldn't. They enter the kitchen where everyone was eating. Saya looks around and notices Sophia isn't there. "Doesn't look like Sophia's back yet,"
"Why does she work with another team?" Alan asked,
"Covert stuff that Saya's not allowed to do." Brandy said,
"I'm too loud." Saya said with a shrug, as she sits down,
"At least you're honest about it." Caroline said with a smile.
"Kolt, I need your help to run some tests on the Master Emerald later if you don't mind," TK asked,
"Not a problem, but let's not overdo it like last time. Don't need Dr. Q chewing me out again for overusing Chaos energy." He said,
"Probably a good idea," Saya chuckled,
"Hey Saya, would you mind sparring with me as Sonic? I want to practice using my abilities." Alan asked,
"Want to go all out huh? Sure why not?" Saya said with a smile, as Alan's eyes sparkle with excitement.
"I'm going to go meditate." Brandy said coldly walking away, as they all look confused then turn to Caroline,
"Is she okay?" TK asked,
"Yeah… She's just been feeling off balanced. Meditating helps." Caroline said,
"Anything we can help with?" Saya asked as Caroline shakes her head.
"I think having all the Chaos Emeralds in close proximity is reminding her of the Soul Emeralds and it's been getting to her." She said,
"Now I feel bad." Alan said,
"She'll get past it; It'll just take some time." Kolt said patting Alan on the shoulder. "C'mon TK, let's do this." He stood up and walked out of the kitchen with TK,
"I just need to grab something from the workshop." She said as they walked out of sight.
"That's our que, wanna come watch Caroline?" Saya asked,
"No thanks, I'm going to wait for Sophia to get back." Caroline said,
"Sounds good," She said as they walk towards the training room.
Caroline finished up her food and heads to the computer room to see what Sally and Elias were up to.
"And you're sure that's the scroll that was stolen?" Caroline overheard Elias talking to Sally,
"Yes…" Sally said,
"How did Eggman discover its existence? It wasn't even on display at the museum…" Elias said sounding frustrated.
"There's a lot of things he shouldn't know…" Sally said, "I'm going to continue my research on it."
"Fine but keep it quiet." He said as Caroline realizes she heard something she wasn't meant to hear. She decides to play it off like she was just walking in.
"Hello," Caroline said as they both turn to look at her,
"Hello Caroline, how can we help you?" Elias asked, trying not look surprised that she walked in,
"I wanted to see how Team Dark's mission was going." Caroline said,
"They just finished, and Sophia is on her way back now." Sally said,
"Were they checking Eggman's other base?" Caroline asked,
"Yes, we were hoping to find clues about the Zarkon, but no such luck. We did however find their ship." Elias said,
"Really?" Caroline said looking surprised,
"It's damaged but it's being transported here. I thought TK could take a look at it and see if anything can help her with her project." Elias said,
"I hope it can help her; I'm going to go wait for Sophia in the hangar bay." Caroline said leaving the computer room.
In the alter room TK was setting up monitors and readers to collect and process data on Chaos energy. "So what do you need from me?" Kolt asked as he transforms into Knuckles.
"I need you to focus Chaos energy on this point. Will you be able to hold it for five minutes?" She asked,
"Piece of cake." He said as he begins chanting as Chaos energy flows into the device,
Sonic and Amy were in the training room sparring together. "You're gonna have to swing faster if you want to hit me." Sonic said as she jumps up and lands on top of Amy's hammer,
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea… you're way too fast." He said swinging her off the hammer as he catches his breath.
"Don't be like that, we just need to focus on your skills." She said dodging another swing. "You're a heavy hitter like Knuckles…" She was thinking while dodging all of Amy's attacks, he couldn't believe how nonchalant she was while they were in the middle of sparing. "So instead of speed we should focus on precision." She runs close and kicks the hammer out of his hands,
"Hey!" Amy said,
"You'll have to learn to make sure you don't lose it." Sonic said as she catches it, but it slams to the ground too heavy for her to carry." "What in Chaos is this thing made of?" Amy snaps his fingers and the hammer poofs away.
"I don't need to worry about losing it," He said as he snaps his fingers again and it's back in his hands.
"Neat trick." She said with a smile, "I have some cool tricks too."
Sophia walks back onto base assisting with moving the Zarkon ship into the hangar bay. Caroline walks up to her as she's about to head to the computer room.
"How was the mission?" Caroline asked,
"Fine, hopefully TK can get some assistance from their technology." Sophia said, "What are the others up to?"
"Brandy is meditating, Saya and Alan are sparing and Kolt is helping TK in the alter room." Sophia rolls her eyes,
"Does she ever stop training?" Sophia asked,
"Alan asked her to," Caroline said,
"Yeah, so he could spend time with her." Sophia said in an annoyed tone as Caroline looked at her confused,
"Does that bother you?" Caroline asked,
"W…what?" Sophia was thrown off by the question. "No," Sure Alan constantly pestering Saya was annoying but something about hoe Caroline phrased the question tugged at the back of Sophia's mind.
In the alter room, Knuckles stops his chanting and lets out a sigh, though he had not been doing it for long he could still feel the strain from controlling Chaos from the Master Emerald through his body.
"You okay?" TK asked looking concerned,
"Yeah, this is nothing compared to Sonic's force field." Knuckles said as he places his hand on the Master Emerald for support as like a jolt of electricity a blast of Chaos energy pulsates through the entire base. Both Knuckles and TK's Chaos Emeralds glow brightly taking them off guard. The pulsating begins to ring in their heads as their eyes glow the same color as their Chaos Emeralds.
Brandy was meditating when she began to feel the pulsating as she tries to stand up but before she could cry for help her Emerald glows as her eye glow the same lavender color.
"Sonic… Somethings… wrong…" Amy grabs his head as his eyes glow light blue,
"Amy…" Sonic tried to move but it became too much as her eyes glowed a deep blue. As the entire base continued to resonate.
"Gotta… find the others…" Sophia fought though it as Caroline's eyes glowed white, "Caroline!" She called out but she couldn't fight whatever was happening as her eyes glow green.
The seven servers are the seven Chaos, Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart, the heart is the controller, the controller serves to unify the Chaos…
TK starts to come to as she wakes up in the infirmary, she looks around and sees the others were all lying unconscious on the other beds.
"What happened?" TK said slowly sitting up as Dr. Q rushes up to her.
"I should be asking you that. One minuet everything was fine, then the power went out. After we got the lights back on, we found you all unconscious throughout the base." She said,
"My head's killing me…" TK said holding her head.
"You shouldn't move around too much," She said as Kolt starts to stir awake,
"Man my head hurts…" Kolt said as Brandy sits up.
"So we all heard it?" She asked,
"Heard what?" Dr. Q asked,
"There was a weird pulsating sound then everything went white." Brandy said,
"Yeah… I remember that…" TK said,
"Why are my ears ringing." Caroline said holding her ears as Alan also sits up.
"Feels like I dropped my hammer on my head…" Alan said,
"Tikal… what happened?" Kolt calls out as she appears,
"I'm sorry Knuckles, when you touched the Master Emerald that was the first time all the Chaos Emeralds were in close proximity." She said,
"What does that mean?" TK asked,
"Now that you are all together the bond between the Chaos Emeralds is getting stronger. Knuckles making contact with the Master Emerald jump started that." She explained as they all turn and look at Kolt,
"Hey! How was I supposed to know that would happen?" Kolt argued,
"No it was my fault; you were charged up with Chaos energy from helping Tails and it boosted your Emerald." Tikal said, "It was a shock to your systems, but it should be harmless,"
"Uh guys?" Alan tried to get their attention, "If this is harmless, why aren't Saya and Sophia waking up?" He asked as Dr. Q moves over to them,
"Nothing seems wrong with them…" Dr. Q said checking them over,
"May I try something?" Tikal asked looking to Dr. Q for approval,
"Will it hurt them?" She asked,
"No, I'm just going to wake up their souls." She said moving over next to Sophia and placing her hand above her head she reaches out to Sophia's Chaos energy sparking her soul awake. Sophia jolts up quickly looking around as they see her eyes were red as they fade back to their natural black color.
"Wha… What? Caroline?" Sophia looks around to see Caroline sitting in one of the beds,
"I'm okay," Caroline said as Sophia lets out a sigh of relief, but then she sees Saya laying in the bed next to her unconscious.
"What happened?" She asked sounding angry as Tikal moves over to Saya.
"Kolt did it…" Alan said pointing at him,
"Oh c'mon!" He complained as Saya jolts up the same as Sophia did but her eyes glowed green before going back to their natural brown color.
"Holy Chaos what happened?" She said grabbing her head looking dizzy,
"Long story short, we leveled up? At least that's how I interpreted it." TK said with a shrug,
"Did it have to be so painful?" Saya asked,
"Kolt's fault…" Alan said again,
"Screw you Alan!" Kolt yelled as they all laugh,
"You're all staying in here for the night so I can keep an eye on you." Dr. Q said,
"Aww man!" Saya flops back in the bed, "Was trying to see how long I could go without being put on bedrest." She pouts.
"Tikal, are you sure there won't be any side effects?" Brandy asked as she shakes her head,
"No but the Chaos Emeralds have become stronger. Your transformations should last longer now." Tikal said,
"That's helpful." Caroline said,
"I do not know the extent of how your powers will grow." Tikal said,
"What do you mean by our powers will grow?" Sophia asked,
"I've started to notice I've gotten faster." Saya said,
"My computers!" TK said with a gasp as she starts to get up. "I need to make sure my research didn't get fried."
"Absolutely not!" Dr. Q said,
"But we did all that work." She argued,
"And it will be worth nothing if you collapse again. Bed. Now!" Dr. Q demanded as she lies back down, and they all try to get some rest.
Sophia struggled to sleep that night; she didn't feel tired in the slightest. Her mind wondered as she thought of what Tikal said about their powers growing. She didn't understand what that meant, and that started to worry her. She notices Dr. Q motion to Kolt who was also awake to go to the hall. He follows her to the hall as Sophia sneaks over to the door to listen in,
"What's up?" Kolt asked as he stretched,
"I wanted to ask you since you have a better understanding of Chaos Energy. Why do Saya and Sophia have a different reaction to it than the rest of you? And if you make a comment about Sophia being the Ultimate Lifeform, I will smack you." She said with a glare,
"Well, that's technically the case for her though. She can channel Chaos energy a way the rest of us can't. She can go to the extent of channeling the energy into a weapon. And I assume for Saya it has to do with how she was previously poisoned with Chaos energy." Kolt speculated,
"Would what happen to Sophia after she removed her inhibitors have an effect similar to Chaos poisoning?" She asked,
"That could be possible, but to what extent it's bleeding through I wouldn't know." Kolt said
"This is twice now I've seen their eyes revert to their past selves." I'm concerned there will be other changes." She said as Sophia backed away from the door, she didn't like what she was hearing, and something was telling her that this was only the beginning. She shakes it off and climbs back into the cot trying not to think about it.
Morning comes and the second they are given permission to leave the Infirmary TK is running towards the Alter room to check her computers. Caroline and Brandy head to the kitchen to make breakfast. "Anyone want to go on a run?" Saya asked as both Alan and Kolt look at one another,
"I should go make sure TK doesn't need my help again…" Kolt said quickly leaving,
"Actually, I should probably go take a shower…" Alan said also leaving quickly,
"Was it something I said?" Saya asked Sophia with a shrug.
"I don't think they want to collapse after three laps." Sophia said as Saya chuckles,
"That's true, but they really should work on their stamina." She shakes her head, "What about you? Wanna join me?"
"No thanks," Sophia said. Saya noticed something was upsetting her, she steps closer and gives her a taunting grin,
"What? Afraid you can't keep up?" Saya said leaning closer to her face,
"I could run circles around you." Sophia said looking annoyed feeling insulted by the insinuation,
"Prove it." She smirks as Sophia smirks back, "Winner gets a prize."
"What's the prize?" Sophia asked,
"Uhhhh, if I win, you have to spar with me once a week, if you win… um…" Saya thinks not entirely sure what Sophia would want,
"Then you owe me a favor that I get to use on a later date." Sophia said,
"Deal!" Saya holds out her hand to shake on it as Sophia takes her hand. "Bye doc!" Saya waved to her as they left the infirmary.
"Don't you two dare overdo it!" They hear from behind them as they head towards the track outside.
TK was able to salvage most of the data and with Kolts help was able to get the rest. He made sure not to touch the Master Emerald this time so nothing weird happens. They both head to lunch to see everyone except Saya and Sophia in the kitchen, "How's it going?" Brandy asked,
"Good, I think I might be close." TK said,
"Has anyone seen Saya? I haven't seen her since this morning in the infirmary." Alan said,
"Didn't she say she was going for a run?" Kolt asked,
"That was like four hours ago…" Alan said,
"Now that you mention it I haven't seen Sophia either." Caroline said,
"Should we go look for them?" TK asked as they start searching the base and eventually get to the outdoor track on the opposite side of the mountain and see Saya and Sophia running.
"T… they're still running…" Alan looked shocked almost to the point of feeling sick. Just thinking about running constantly for that long sounded exhausting.
"How?" Kolt's expression was similar he felt tired just seeing them run. Saya notices them all standing there and waves,
"Hi guys!" Saya said,
"Saya! What are you guys doing?" TK asked,
"Racing." She said with a smile,
"It's been four hours…" Brandy said,
"We can stop if you're tired?" Sophia said to Saya with a grin,
"Ha! Nice try Soph, I'm not letting you win that easily." Saya said this had been the first time they'd actually raced together and Saya had no intention of letting up,
"How long do you think they can keep that up?" Caroline asked,
"Half of me wants to throw something at them…" Alan said looking annoyed, he didn't want to say anything, but he was jealous at how Saya was smiling at Sophia,
"They don't even look like their tired…" Kolt said thinking back to his discussion with Dr. Q.
"Just leave them, they'll tire out eventually." TK said shaking her head with a sigh,
"No, Alan has a good idea," Brandy said, "Let's make their race more challenging," She said transforming into Blaze.
"Uh… Soph, I think the ante just got upped." Saya said,
"Let's see them try and stop us." Sophia said confidently as Kolt and Alan transform as well,
"You all have fun; I have work to do." TK said walking back inside. Blaze lights her hands as Amy gets ready to throw his hammer and Knuckles grabs weights to throw.
"This seems a bit much…" Saya said starting to assess their situation, as they all start throwing projectiles at them as they both dodge the attacks while still running the track. Kolt throws another weight and Sophia jumps out of the way. Blaze and Amy throw fire and hammer at Saya as she dodges. Saya steps on the hammer to jump forward but Amy calls back her hammer causing Saya to lose her footing.
"Saya!" Sophia jumps trying to catch her and they both tumble crashing into the wall,
"Crap! Maybe we overdid it…" Knuckles said running over, "You two alright?" he asked seeing Sophia holding Saya by the waist and shielded her from hitting the wall. Saya starts laughing, as Sophia does the same.
"We're fine," Saya laughs, "Guess I owe you one," She turns to Sophia with a smile,
"I'll hold you to that." Sophia said letting her go as Knuckles helps her to her feet. Saya turns around and helps Sophia up.
"You all could have hurt them…" Caroline said crossing her arms,
"They're fine, if we hadn't, they might have been here till nightfall." She said transforming back,
"I'm sorry Saya." Alan said running over,
"Just shows I need to keep an eye on my footing." She jokes, "Good throws," She said as Sophia starts walking inside,
"Going to go read my book," She said waving them off.
"She left in a hurry…" Kolt said,
"That's Sophia for ya," Saya shrugs, "But I do have to go call my parents, I'll talk to you guys later." Saya said waving them off. She had started to feel like things were starting to get to a new normal. Saya was confident that TK was close to a solution and then they can save Spira.