[Heh heh, you know what Nara? I wasn't even thinking of your Chao when I gave Sunny her name. Oh well, Great minds think alike, no? XD]
PROJECT: Nightmare
Chapter Eight: Infiltration
Sonic awoke the next morning at 7:30 AM to a rather irritating sound - Amy's voice.
" 'Morning, Sonikku!"
"Ngh." He rolled over and stuck his head between the cushions.
Amy giggled. "Silly Sonic.... that's not the way to breakfast."
"brkfsst?" he mumbled through the cushions. Now that was an appealing thought. He rolled over half-way. "What are we having?"
"I'm making blueberry, chocolate chip, and plain pancakes; bacon, and eggs. Knuckles is going to help me."
Sonic sat up, staring at the red echidna in shock. "Knuckles.... you can cook?"
He reached for an apron and nodded. "Well, when you live by yourself for most of your life, you learn a thing or two about food preparation."
"If you say so." Sonic yawned and stretched, hoping a nice, hot, homecooked breakfast would make up for only getting three hours of sleep.
Rouge came out of Amy's bedroom, neatly washed and dressed. "Well, that was certainly an interesting night."
"What made it interesting?" Sonic asked, grinning.
Rouge smacked him. "You perv."
"Oww..." Man, she hit hard. "That wasn't necessary. I knew what you meant."
She stuck out her tounge at him.
"That's enough, children," Knuckles scolded them. "If you're going to fight, at least make yourself useful and give us a hand."
Rouge pouted. "But I can't cook very well. Besides, I want to learn more about that poem."
Sonic crossed his arms and looked away, muttering under his breath. "And I want to go after Nightmare, but you don't hear ME complaining about it..."
"What was that!?" She asked crossly.
"Nothing, nothing!" Sonic fell on his back. "I'm just bored, that's all."
Amy pulled Sonic up from the couch. "Bored, huh? I can fix that. You can help me with the bacon!"
"No, Amy. No..." he pulled away. "I'm not cooking."
"B...but..."
"No, and that's final." He sighed. "I just want to go after Nightmare, now that I know where he is." Sonic gasped and covered his mouth. (Oh crap. Did I just say that out loud?)
Amy stopped pouting, Rouge stopped reading, Knuckles stopped stirring, and Tails... well, Tails was still asleep. The other three stared at him. "And..." Rouge began to say, "How may I ask, do you know where Nightmare is?"
Sonic felt his ears droop as he slunk into the white leather sofa. "I, uh... well... I couldn't sleep last night, so... so I went for a walk, yeah, and... I kinda... ended up at White Island...."
"You went to White Island alone?"
"...uh huh..."
"But... why?" Knuckles asked. "Why didn't you wait for us?"
"Because..." Sonic sighed. " 'Chaos Emeralds Control Nightmare' ... I couldn't get that out of my head. I kept wondering about what it meant. At two in the morning, I was still thinking about it. So I left. I had to know. If the Emeralds control him, could that be a weakness? I had to know."
"And you found him?"
"Not him, exactly. Just Eggman's new base."
"So..." Rouge frowned, "Eggman is involved..."
"Apparantly, yes. But I don't know how or why."
"Hmm..."
Tension of silence once again arose from the air around them. The only visible sounds were the sizzling of the food, and Tails' soft snoring.
The sizzling stopped. "Grub's up!" Knuckles cried happily. "Come and get it!"
"Alright!" Sonic said, jumping up. "I could use some... woah!" He tripped and fell flat on his face. "Oooof!"
Knuckles didn't see him until his foot jammed into Sonic's side and he went flying. "Woooooahhhh!" The plate of pancakes flew right into the face of an unsuspecting Rouge.
"AaaaaAHHHHHH! IT'S HOT!!" Rouge yanked the flat disks off of her face and flung them back towards whence they came.
Sonic stood up. "Sorry, Knuc---" *splat* "Hey!"
Rouge gathered up some more of the pancake on her face. "Sorry Sonic, I was aiming at... KNUCKLES!" she flung what she had in her hand and landed a bull's eye.
Knuckles grabbed some of the food off of Sonic. "Well, as you know Rouge, what goes around... comes around!"
Rouge ducked, and the mess landed on the chair where Tails was sleeping. A small hunk of it landed on his nose. He rubbed at his nose, moaned and rolled over.
No one noticed, however. Right now it seemed their main priority was gunking up the others with pancakes.
Amy walked out with a plate of bacon and poached eggs.... and was immediatly pelted with a blueberry pancake. "Hey! What is going on out here?!"
Knuckles turned around and grinned. "Fresh ammunition... all right!"
Amy widened her eyes and held the plate back. "Nuh-uh! I went through a lot of trouble to make these, and if you're not going to eat them, I will!" She marched to the table and began shoveling the bacon, practially swallowing it whole.
Knuckles grinned. "Fine, I still have more pancake batter!"
"I THINK NOT!" Amy flung the plate at Knuckles' head. "Don't you have any respect for my clean house?"
"Well..." Sonic poked at a pancake sitting on the floor. "It's not clean anymore."
Rouge hung her head. "Sorry Amy. I kinda got carried away in the fun. I'll give you a hand in the cleanup."
"Thanks, Rouge. But eat first."
They sat down at the table. Tails, who was still all curled up, finally opened his eyes to the morning and stretched out the last of his sleep. He yawned and arose, walking to the kitchen. "Morning guys. Did I miss anything interesting?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"...?"
"What?"
"Oh my... is this it?"
"Is what it, Doctor?"
"HaHA, I think I may have figured it out!"
"Figured out what? Tell me tell me!" Nightmare begged.
Dr. Ivo Robotnik quietly gasped in awe to himself. "The key to your strength. And how to improve it."
"...Improve...?"
"I think I have found a way to increase your powers. Make you stronger!"
"Strong...er...?" Nightmare felt the excitement increasing.
"Yessss..." Eggman hissed dangerously.
"I can be stronger... but, what will I be able to to that I can't already do now?"
"Oh, plenty more, my Nightmare. Plenty more."
"Plenty more..." Oh, how appealing that sounded to Nightmare's ears. "Like... how plenty more?" He dared to ask.
"With the push of a button, I can make you ten times more powerful than you are now. You'll be stronger, faster, and more cunning."
Nightmare gasped. "You would... do that for me?"
"Of course."
"Wow..." (And he asks nothing in return...) "Is there anything I could do for you?"
"Just be yourself. Live your dreams, and accomplish them... accomplish all that I could not."
"What?"
Eggman sighed. "You see, the dreams I have had seemed to have been embedded in you. My dreams are your dreams as well."
"I see... uhm, what was your biggest dream?"
"Conquering the world." Eggman answered without skipping a beat.
"Mine too..." Nightmare said with a bit of wonder. "Perhaps..." he started.
"Yes, Nightmare?"
The ebony hedgehog was lost in thought. "Perhaps... with my power, and your resources... we can do it as a team, and rule the earth together. Then we'd BOTH have a legacy!"
In the back of his mind, Eggman was celebrating. This is just how he wanted it, Nightmare WILLING to help him. The patience was well worth it. "I like the way you think, Nightmare."
He beamed. "Thank you!" His expression fell curious. "So... what are you going to do to me, anyway? That will make me stronger?"
"Come with me."
Back to the elevator, back down to the deepest levels of Eggman hidden lair, but not the lab. To a storage room, where a tubular capsule lay in front of a console. The console was covered by a black sheet.
"Nightmare, welcome to your birthing quadrants."
He looked around in wonder. "I was... born here?"
"Yes. With the help... of these!" With a swift hand, Eggman uncovered the console, revealing a flat surface with seven jewels embedded in them, each of a different colour; red, turquiose, green, purple, yellow, silver, and blue.
"Those are... the Chaos Emeralds!" Nightmare could hardly believe it. The most powerful stones in the world... and they were his bearers?
"Yes. You see, Nightmare, your strength comes from being born with the Emeralds as a life source. They grant you the speed, brains, and power you have. But there was something I did not anticipate from you."
Eggman opened a digital file and used it to project images onto a far wall.
"That is a picture of Sonic the Hedgehog, my ultimate nemesis."
Nightmare growled. "Oh, so *that's* what they call the blue idiot..."
"Yes, anyway..." he cleared his throat. "Sonic has the ability to harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds, to turn into this... *click* Super Sonic."
Nightmare stared at the gold image in awe. Super Sonic... ruby eyes, a golden sheen, graceful positioning... such a beautiful creature. Too bad he must be destroyed. "He uses Chaos Emeralds to change?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"But... then that would mean I'm in a more powerful form, right?"
"That's the thing I did not anticipate. You are in your normal form, but you have the strength of a super form. If you used the Emeralds again, then you would be in your true super form, but you would be ten times as powerful."
Nightmare nodded, catching on to what the Doctor was saying. "And this... this is how I can build my legacy! Oh Doctor, you're a genuis!"
"Aren't I?" Eggman laughed. "So, what's the verdict? Will you give it a try?"
"Will I ever!" Nightmare had that child-like tone in his voice again. He ran up to the console. "Hit me, Doc!"
"Not so fast." Eggman walked over to him. "That's the catch. It will take some time to get the Emeralds ready."
"How much time?"
"Oh, a few hours at best."
"Darn." Oh, the dissapointment. Nightmare sighed. "What can I do until then... I know! I'll head back to Station Square and laugh at all the people I'm going to destroy!"
Eggman chuckled. (That's my boy!) "Alright, go on then. Give me three hours at the least; five at most."
"Alright; I'm gone." Nightmare sped out the door.
(Perfect... this is all so perfect...) Eggman had to think to himself. "Nightmare is about to reach his peak, and he's siding with me, all at his own will! By now, his emotional factors would've set. I have no fear of him turning on me, whether or not Shadow's history comes up."
Eggman turned and walked to the Emerald console. "Well, enough of that; there's work to be done!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Shoes on, laces tied... yeah.) "Alright gang!" Sonic yelled. "Let's hit the road!"
"WAAAIIIIT!!" Amy cried. "What about me?"
"...What about you?"
"You have to wait for me!"
Sonic sighed. Not this again... "Amy, you can't come. It's much too dangerous."
"But... oh, please Sonic! You have to let me come!"
"...I HAVE to?"
"Yes! I was nice enough to let you stay here last night AND cook you breakfast, which you used to gunk up my living room! On top of that, it was my books that led you to Nightmare's secret."
Sonic sighed again, heavier this time. She had a point. "Alright, but stay behind me, okay?"
"Okay!"
"Good. Let's try this again." Sonic took a breath. "Alright gang! Let's hit the road!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A train trip and a short walk later, Sonic and the crew had made their way to the largest tree. Sonic looked for the eye-level egg-shaped mark, and sure enough, it was there. (Shadow was right... it is a lot easier to see in the daytime.)
"Wow, Sonic..." Tails commented, "You sure got us here fast."
"Yeah," Rouge added. "How did you know where it was?"
"I told you; I couldn't sleep last night."
"Yes, but... how did you manage to find it in the dark?"
"A walking miracle..." Sonic said softly to himself.
"What was that?"
"Uhm... I was walking, and by miracle I found it!" Sonic walked over to the vine, biting his tongue. Oh, how he itched to tell them of Shadow's survival! But, he did make promise to a friend, and the last thing Sonic would ever do is go back on his word, expecially to a trusted friend like Shadow.
Just like Shadow said, the pulling of the vine caused a piece of the bark to slide to the side, creating a passageway. Sonic walked in and stood by the other vine, waiting for the others to follow him in. After about 10 seconds, he was still by himself, so he peered outside to see the other four staring at him. "Whaaaat?!"
Rouge scratched her head. "Sonic... maybe walking around in the dark would've let you find the base, but how did you know how to get inside?"
"Oh, just my natural hedgehog instinct," he lied.
Amy frowned. "But I'm a hedghog and I didn---mmmph rmmph rumph."
Sonic clasped a hand over her mouth. "Nevermind how I know; the point is, we're in."
"I guess..." Rouge shrugged it off and followed Sonic and Amy down the stairwell.
Knuckles shook his head and sighed at the thought of what lay at the bottom. "How do I get myself into these things?!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A lone figure watched from a tree above Sonic and his companions, making notes of their movements and what they were saying. "I think Sonic is starting to rub off on me..."
Shadow the Hedgehog leapt down from his perch on the tree branch, his fall being broken by a bush. He hopped to his feet and stood, staring at the door. "My curiosity is raging... plus I'd like to see if Eggman is using Nightmare, like he used me..."
Shadow looked to the ground as a wave of sadness washed over him. Memories of the ARK incident flooded his mind, reminding him of the fear, the pain, the adventure he had gone through. Images flashed through his eyes: Gerald bound in chains, Amy smiling innocently, Sonic and Knuckles at the Emerald altar, Super Sonic reaching for out for his arm, Maria's angelic face as he fell to the earth...
"Oh Maria..."
Shadow closed his eyes and clutched his hands to the left side of his chest. His heart pounded wildly. Strange, he thought. He had been in much more danger than a little snooping, and yet, he had never felt so scared.
He raised his right hand to the sky. "Maria, I beg of you.... help me. Give me the strength to get through this." He exhaled deeply, opened his eyes, and firmly tugged on the vine that would grant him access inside.
Little did this observer know, that he was ALSO being watched, by a little blue spy with a yellow top...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nightmare ran thought the forest, a huge smile on his face. It was now four in the afternoon, and it had been three hours since the Doctor had told him to go off alone for a while. "I have to see if he's ready!"
He ran faster, but suddenly tripped on something soft. He saw something light blue out of the corner of his eye before his face made contact with the dirt. "OOOOOOOFFF!" Grumbling, he got up again, and retained the speed he had reached before he fell, smiling. "Nothing will be able to get me down today."
He sped down the stairs, whizzing by the traps with ease. (Odd... some of these traps look like they've been tripped. Oh well.) He started humming a light tune as he sped by all the familiar props. (The painting of the Doctor, the first blueprint he drew, the license plate of the first car be blew up, a blue hedgehog, a red echidna---)
He skidded to a halt.
(Waitaminute. The Doctor doesn't have THOSE on display....)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Nightmare!" Sonic yelled.
The ebony hedgehog sneered. "That's my name, don't wear it out." He plowed through the group.
"Hey!" Sonic held out his arm. "I'm not done with you yet!!"
"No..." Nightmare hissed thoughtfully, "But in a few minutes, I'll be done with you!" He charged through Sonic's grasp, making his way down the vast hallway full of Eggman's sentimental artifacts.
"Wha--- HEY!" Sonic dashed after him. "I'm not letting you get away this time, Nightmare!" Sonic cried against the wind as he rounded the corner into another room. "You're going..." Sonic stopped and stared. "...down?"
An evil laughter echoed throughout the room. "That's what you think, hedgehog! Ah hahahahahahaHAHAHA!" Eggman banged his fist against a red button, and a large black mechanical device at the opposite end of the room began to move. "Nightmare, now! You know what to do!"
"Aye aye, Doctor Robotnik!" Nightmare leapt into the middle of of the mayhem, hardly visible against the dark backdrop save for his red stripes.
By this time, Amy, Tails, Rouge, and Knuckles had entered the room, but they had heard everything out in the halls. Rouge stepped forward. "Nightmare, listen to me! Eggman is trying to use you to get what he wants!"
Nightmare scowled at her. "Oh, you again! Feh, I don't believe one word."
"But you must! He'll make you do the dirty work for him! Nightmare, you can't follow his orders!"
A chuckle from the form on the machine. "That's just it, my dear Rouge... I'm not following his orders..."
She gaped in shock. "What...?"
"I'm doing this.... because I WANT to!"
At this moment, the machine stopped moving, and seven lights of different colours appeared around Nightmare, in red, turquoise, green, purple, yellow, silver, and blue, repectively. Three on the left, three on the right, and one above him. They started to glow.
"The Chaos Emeralds..." Rouge murmured. "No wonder he was able to knock me out so easily."
"The wonder is..." Sonic started, "How did Eggman get them?"
Tails winced. "We left them on the ARK!"
"Damn. I KNEW we forgot something!"
Nightmare cackled. "A lot good it'll do you now! Because now WE have 'em!"
"Close to 8 months, actually," Eggman added.
The said Emeralds began to glow brighter as they responded to Nightmare's Chaos energy. He stretched out his limbs, taking in the power. It wasn't the least bit overwhelming. It made him feel... calm, like he was being completed. He began to flash a brilliant white...
Then he dissapeared.
Eggman had dropped a large black curtain, one that blocked the view that our heros had of Nightmare.
This, of course, had them stumped. "Yo, Egghead!" Knuckles glared. "What's with your bedsheet?"
"Be quiet, you fool!" He spat in reply. "He is not complete yet. Only when he is done can I reveal him to the world!"
Sparks became visible from behind the curtain, some of them flying over the top. Nightmare's glow suddenly became amazingly strong. His lit-up form became visible through the curtain, and gust of wind created by the Chaos Power blew Sonic and the others backwards. They all lay on the floor, clinging to it for all they had.
"What... what is happening to him?!" Sonic yelled against the gusting winds.
"I dunno," Tails yelled back, "But he looks kinda like my nightlight!"
The winds blew even harder. Eggman's laugh started in his throat, then slowly grew louder, until it boomed and echoed all throughout the room. "And now, I present to you all:"
with a swift hand, he yanked the curtain back,
"Your Worst Nightmare."
PROJECT: Nightmare
Chapter Eight: Infiltration
Sonic awoke the next morning at 7:30 AM to a rather irritating sound - Amy's voice.
" 'Morning, Sonikku!"
"Ngh." He rolled over and stuck his head between the cushions.
Amy giggled. "Silly Sonic.... that's not the way to breakfast."
"brkfsst?" he mumbled through the cushions. Now that was an appealing thought. He rolled over half-way. "What are we having?"
"I'm making blueberry, chocolate chip, and plain pancakes; bacon, and eggs. Knuckles is going to help me."
Sonic sat up, staring at the red echidna in shock. "Knuckles.... you can cook?"
He reached for an apron and nodded. "Well, when you live by yourself for most of your life, you learn a thing or two about food preparation."
"If you say so." Sonic yawned and stretched, hoping a nice, hot, homecooked breakfast would make up for only getting three hours of sleep.
Rouge came out of Amy's bedroom, neatly washed and dressed. "Well, that was certainly an interesting night."
"What made it interesting?" Sonic asked, grinning.
Rouge smacked him. "You perv."
"Oww..." Man, she hit hard. "That wasn't necessary. I knew what you meant."
She stuck out her tounge at him.
"That's enough, children," Knuckles scolded them. "If you're going to fight, at least make yourself useful and give us a hand."
Rouge pouted. "But I can't cook very well. Besides, I want to learn more about that poem."
Sonic crossed his arms and looked away, muttering under his breath. "And I want to go after Nightmare, but you don't hear ME complaining about it..."
"What was that!?" She asked crossly.
"Nothing, nothing!" Sonic fell on his back. "I'm just bored, that's all."
Amy pulled Sonic up from the couch. "Bored, huh? I can fix that. You can help me with the bacon!"
"No, Amy. No..." he pulled away. "I'm not cooking."
"B...but..."
"No, and that's final." He sighed. "I just want to go after Nightmare, now that I know where he is." Sonic gasped and covered his mouth. (Oh crap. Did I just say that out loud?)
Amy stopped pouting, Rouge stopped reading, Knuckles stopped stirring, and Tails... well, Tails was still asleep. The other three stared at him. "And..." Rouge began to say, "How may I ask, do you know where Nightmare is?"
Sonic felt his ears droop as he slunk into the white leather sofa. "I, uh... well... I couldn't sleep last night, so... so I went for a walk, yeah, and... I kinda... ended up at White Island...."
"You went to White Island alone?"
"...uh huh..."
"But... why?" Knuckles asked. "Why didn't you wait for us?"
"Because..." Sonic sighed. " 'Chaos Emeralds Control Nightmare' ... I couldn't get that out of my head. I kept wondering about what it meant. At two in the morning, I was still thinking about it. So I left. I had to know. If the Emeralds control him, could that be a weakness? I had to know."
"And you found him?"
"Not him, exactly. Just Eggman's new base."
"So..." Rouge frowned, "Eggman is involved..."
"Apparantly, yes. But I don't know how or why."
"Hmm..."
Tension of silence once again arose from the air around them. The only visible sounds were the sizzling of the food, and Tails' soft snoring.
The sizzling stopped. "Grub's up!" Knuckles cried happily. "Come and get it!"
"Alright!" Sonic said, jumping up. "I could use some... woah!" He tripped and fell flat on his face. "Oooof!"
Knuckles didn't see him until his foot jammed into Sonic's side and he went flying. "Woooooahhhh!" The plate of pancakes flew right into the face of an unsuspecting Rouge.
"AaaaaAHHHHHH! IT'S HOT!!" Rouge yanked the flat disks off of her face and flung them back towards whence they came.
Sonic stood up. "Sorry, Knuc---" *splat* "Hey!"
Rouge gathered up some more of the pancake on her face. "Sorry Sonic, I was aiming at... KNUCKLES!" she flung what she had in her hand and landed a bull's eye.
Knuckles grabbed some of the food off of Sonic. "Well, as you know Rouge, what goes around... comes around!"
Rouge ducked, and the mess landed on the chair where Tails was sleeping. A small hunk of it landed on his nose. He rubbed at his nose, moaned and rolled over.
No one noticed, however. Right now it seemed their main priority was gunking up the others with pancakes.
Amy walked out with a plate of bacon and poached eggs.... and was immediatly pelted with a blueberry pancake. "Hey! What is going on out here?!"
Knuckles turned around and grinned. "Fresh ammunition... all right!"
Amy widened her eyes and held the plate back. "Nuh-uh! I went through a lot of trouble to make these, and if you're not going to eat them, I will!" She marched to the table and began shoveling the bacon, practially swallowing it whole.
Knuckles grinned. "Fine, I still have more pancake batter!"
"I THINK NOT!" Amy flung the plate at Knuckles' head. "Don't you have any respect for my clean house?"
"Well..." Sonic poked at a pancake sitting on the floor. "It's not clean anymore."
Rouge hung her head. "Sorry Amy. I kinda got carried away in the fun. I'll give you a hand in the cleanup."
"Thanks, Rouge. But eat first."
They sat down at the table. Tails, who was still all curled up, finally opened his eyes to the morning and stretched out the last of his sleep. He yawned and arose, walking to the kitchen. "Morning guys. Did I miss anything interesting?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"...?"
"What?"
"Oh my... is this it?"
"Is what it, Doctor?"
"HaHA, I think I may have figured it out!"
"Figured out what? Tell me tell me!" Nightmare begged.
Dr. Ivo Robotnik quietly gasped in awe to himself. "The key to your strength. And how to improve it."
"...Improve...?"
"I think I have found a way to increase your powers. Make you stronger!"
"Strong...er...?" Nightmare felt the excitement increasing.
"Yessss..." Eggman hissed dangerously.
"I can be stronger... but, what will I be able to to that I can't already do now?"
"Oh, plenty more, my Nightmare. Plenty more."
"Plenty more..." Oh, how appealing that sounded to Nightmare's ears. "Like... how plenty more?" He dared to ask.
"With the push of a button, I can make you ten times more powerful than you are now. You'll be stronger, faster, and more cunning."
Nightmare gasped. "You would... do that for me?"
"Of course."
"Wow..." (And he asks nothing in return...) "Is there anything I could do for you?"
"Just be yourself. Live your dreams, and accomplish them... accomplish all that I could not."
"What?"
Eggman sighed. "You see, the dreams I have had seemed to have been embedded in you. My dreams are your dreams as well."
"I see... uhm, what was your biggest dream?"
"Conquering the world." Eggman answered without skipping a beat.
"Mine too..." Nightmare said with a bit of wonder. "Perhaps..." he started.
"Yes, Nightmare?"
The ebony hedgehog was lost in thought. "Perhaps... with my power, and your resources... we can do it as a team, and rule the earth together. Then we'd BOTH have a legacy!"
In the back of his mind, Eggman was celebrating. This is just how he wanted it, Nightmare WILLING to help him. The patience was well worth it. "I like the way you think, Nightmare."
He beamed. "Thank you!" His expression fell curious. "So... what are you going to do to me, anyway? That will make me stronger?"
"Come with me."
Back to the elevator, back down to the deepest levels of Eggman hidden lair, but not the lab. To a storage room, where a tubular capsule lay in front of a console. The console was covered by a black sheet.
"Nightmare, welcome to your birthing quadrants."
He looked around in wonder. "I was... born here?"
"Yes. With the help... of these!" With a swift hand, Eggman uncovered the console, revealing a flat surface with seven jewels embedded in them, each of a different colour; red, turquiose, green, purple, yellow, silver, and blue.
"Those are... the Chaos Emeralds!" Nightmare could hardly believe it. The most powerful stones in the world... and they were his bearers?
"Yes. You see, Nightmare, your strength comes from being born with the Emeralds as a life source. They grant you the speed, brains, and power you have. But there was something I did not anticipate from you."
Eggman opened a digital file and used it to project images onto a far wall.
"That is a picture of Sonic the Hedgehog, my ultimate nemesis."
Nightmare growled. "Oh, so *that's* what they call the blue idiot..."
"Yes, anyway..." he cleared his throat. "Sonic has the ability to harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds, to turn into this... *click* Super Sonic."
Nightmare stared at the gold image in awe. Super Sonic... ruby eyes, a golden sheen, graceful positioning... such a beautiful creature. Too bad he must be destroyed. "He uses Chaos Emeralds to change?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"But... then that would mean I'm in a more powerful form, right?"
"That's the thing I did not anticipate. You are in your normal form, but you have the strength of a super form. If you used the Emeralds again, then you would be in your true super form, but you would be ten times as powerful."
Nightmare nodded, catching on to what the Doctor was saying. "And this... this is how I can build my legacy! Oh Doctor, you're a genuis!"
"Aren't I?" Eggman laughed. "So, what's the verdict? Will you give it a try?"
"Will I ever!" Nightmare had that child-like tone in his voice again. He ran up to the console. "Hit me, Doc!"
"Not so fast." Eggman walked over to him. "That's the catch. It will take some time to get the Emeralds ready."
"How much time?"
"Oh, a few hours at best."
"Darn." Oh, the dissapointment. Nightmare sighed. "What can I do until then... I know! I'll head back to Station Square and laugh at all the people I'm going to destroy!"
Eggman chuckled. (That's my boy!) "Alright, go on then. Give me three hours at the least; five at most."
"Alright; I'm gone." Nightmare sped out the door.
(Perfect... this is all so perfect...) Eggman had to think to himself. "Nightmare is about to reach his peak, and he's siding with me, all at his own will! By now, his emotional factors would've set. I have no fear of him turning on me, whether or not Shadow's history comes up."
Eggman turned and walked to the Emerald console. "Well, enough of that; there's work to be done!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Shoes on, laces tied... yeah.) "Alright gang!" Sonic yelled. "Let's hit the road!"
"WAAAIIIIT!!" Amy cried. "What about me?"
"...What about you?"
"You have to wait for me!"
Sonic sighed. Not this again... "Amy, you can't come. It's much too dangerous."
"But... oh, please Sonic! You have to let me come!"
"...I HAVE to?"
"Yes! I was nice enough to let you stay here last night AND cook you breakfast, which you used to gunk up my living room! On top of that, it was my books that led you to Nightmare's secret."
Sonic sighed again, heavier this time. She had a point. "Alright, but stay behind me, okay?"
"Okay!"
"Good. Let's try this again." Sonic took a breath. "Alright gang! Let's hit the road!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A train trip and a short walk later, Sonic and the crew had made their way to the largest tree. Sonic looked for the eye-level egg-shaped mark, and sure enough, it was there. (Shadow was right... it is a lot easier to see in the daytime.)
"Wow, Sonic..." Tails commented, "You sure got us here fast."
"Yeah," Rouge added. "How did you know where it was?"
"I told you; I couldn't sleep last night."
"Yes, but... how did you manage to find it in the dark?"
"A walking miracle..." Sonic said softly to himself.
"What was that?"
"Uhm... I was walking, and by miracle I found it!" Sonic walked over to the vine, biting his tongue. Oh, how he itched to tell them of Shadow's survival! But, he did make promise to a friend, and the last thing Sonic would ever do is go back on his word, expecially to a trusted friend like Shadow.
Just like Shadow said, the pulling of the vine caused a piece of the bark to slide to the side, creating a passageway. Sonic walked in and stood by the other vine, waiting for the others to follow him in. After about 10 seconds, he was still by himself, so he peered outside to see the other four staring at him. "Whaaaat?!"
Rouge scratched her head. "Sonic... maybe walking around in the dark would've let you find the base, but how did you know how to get inside?"
"Oh, just my natural hedgehog instinct," he lied.
Amy frowned. "But I'm a hedghog and I didn---mmmph rmmph rumph."
Sonic clasped a hand over her mouth. "Nevermind how I know; the point is, we're in."
"I guess..." Rouge shrugged it off and followed Sonic and Amy down the stairwell.
Knuckles shook his head and sighed at the thought of what lay at the bottom. "How do I get myself into these things?!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A lone figure watched from a tree above Sonic and his companions, making notes of their movements and what they were saying. "I think Sonic is starting to rub off on me..."
Shadow the Hedgehog leapt down from his perch on the tree branch, his fall being broken by a bush. He hopped to his feet and stood, staring at the door. "My curiosity is raging... plus I'd like to see if Eggman is using Nightmare, like he used me..."
Shadow looked to the ground as a wave of sadness washed over him. Memories of the ARK incident flooded his mind, reminding him of the fear, the pain, the adventure he had gone through. Images flashed through his eyes: Gerald bound in chains, Amy smiling innocently, Sonic and Knuckles at the Emerald altar, Super Sonic reaching for out for his arm, Maria's angelic face as he fell to the earth...
"Oh Maria..."
Shadow closed his eyes and clutched his hands to the left side of his chest. His heart pounded wildly. Strange, he thought. He had been in much more danger than a little snooping, and yet, he had never felt so scared.
He raised his right hand to the sky. "Maria, I beg of you.... help me. Give me the strength to get through this." He exhaled deeply, opened his eyes, and firmly tugged on the vine that would grant him access inside.
Little did this observer know, that he was ALSO being watched, by a little blue spy with a yellow top...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nightmare ran thought the forest, a huge smile on his face. It was now four in the afternoon, and it had been three hours since the Doctor had told him to go off alone for a while. "I have to see if he's ready!"
He ran faster, but suddenly tripped on something soft. He saw something light blue out of the corner of his eye before his face made contact with the dirt. "OOOOOOOFFF!" Grumbling, he got up again, and retained the speed he had reached before he fell, smiling. "Nothing will be able to get me down today."
He sped down the stairs, whizzing by the traps with ease. (Odd... some of these traps look like they've been tripped. Oh well.) He started humming a light tune as he sped by all the familiar props. (The painting of the Doctor, the first blueprint he drew, the license plate of the first car be blew up, a blue hedgehog, a red echidna---)
He skidded to a halt.
(Waitaminute. The Doctor doesn't have THOSE on display....)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Nightmare!" Sonic yelled.
The ebony hedgehog sneered. "That's my name, don't wear it out." He plowed through the group.
"Hey!" Sonic held out his arm. "I'm not done with you yet!!"
"No..." Nightmare hissed thoughtfully, "But in a few minutes, I'll be done with you!" He charged through Sonic's grasp, making his way down the vast hallway full of Eggman's sentimental artifacts.
"Wha--- HEY!" Sonic dashed after him. "I'm not letting you get away this time, Nightmare!" Sonic cried against the wind as he rounded the corner into another room. "You're going..." Sonic stopped and stared. "...down?"
An evil laughter echoed throughout the room. "That's what you think, hedgehog! Ah hahahahahahaHAHAHA!" Eggman banged his fist against a red button, and a large black mechanical device at the opposite end of the room began to move. "Nightmare, now! You know what to do!"
"Aye aye, Doctor Robotnik!" Nightmare leapt into the middle of of the mayhem, hardly visible against the dark backdrop save for his red stripes.
By this time, Amy, Tails, Rouge, and Knuckles had entered the room, but they had heard everything out in the halls. Rouge stepped forward. "Nightmare, listen to me! Eggman is trying to use you to get what he wants!"
Nightmare scowled at her. "Oh, you again! Feh, I don't believe one word."
"But you must! He'll make you do the dirty work for him! Nightmare, you can't follow his orders!"
A chuckle from the form on the machine. "That's just it, my dear Rouge... I'm not following his orders..."
She gaped in shock. "What...?"
"I'm doing this.... because I WANT to!"
At this moment, the machine stopped moving, and seven lights of different colours appeared around Nightmare, in red, turquoise, green, purple, yellow, silver, and blue, repectively. Three on the left, three on the right, and one above him. They started to glow.
"The Chaos Emeralds..." Rouge murmured. "No wonder he was able to knock me out so easily."
"The wonder is..." Sonic started, "How did Eggman get them?"
Tails winced. "We left them on the ARK!"
"Damn. I KNEW we forgot something!"
Nightmare cackled. "A lot good it'll do you now! Because now WE have 'em!"
"Close to 8 months, actually," Eggman added.
The said Emeralds began to glow brighter as they responded to Nightmare's Chaos energy. He stretched out his limbs, taking in the power. It wasn't the least bit overwhelming. It made him feel... calm, like he was being completed. He began to flash a brilliant white...
Then he dissapeared.
Eggman had dropped a large black curtain, one that blocked the view that our heros had of Nightmare.
This, of course, had them stumped. "Yo, Egghead!" Knuckles glared. "What's with your bedsheet?"
"Be quiet, you fool!" He spat in reply. "He is not complete yet. Only when he is done can I reveal him to the world!"
Sparks became visible from behind the curtain, some of them flying over the top. Nightmare's glow suddenly became amazingly strong. His lit-up form became visible through the curtain, and gust of wind created by the Chaos Power blew Sonic and the others backwards. They all lay on the floor, clinging to it for all they had.
"What... what is happening to him?!" Sonic yelled against the gusting winds.
"I dunno," Tails yelled back, "But he looks kinda like my nightlight!"
The winds blew even harder. Eggman's laugh started in his throat, then slowly grew louder, until it boomed and echoed all throughout the room. "And now, I present to you all:"
with a swift hand, he yanked the curtain back,
"Your Worst Nightmare."