I hope you all are reading and enjoying this story. In this chapter, a long- held mystery is finally revealed. At long last, the origin of the Chaos Emeralds and of Chaos himself if revealed. And Scales learns some of her destiny as bearer of the eighth Chaos Emerald. Read on, my friend, read on. Disclaimer: I OWN the Chaos Emeralds! Well, the eighth one that is. I own the histories of the Emeralds, though, and that's almost as good isn't it?

Day 0, 9:00 PM

Scales was getting understandably frustrated. This strange echidna girl had taken her out of the city and was leading her to some strange spot on the island. The girl was unresponsive to any questions Scales asked, doing nothing but leading the way. As Scales was about to demand some information, the girl stopped. "We have arrived." She said. Scales looked ahead and was a bit awed. They were in an open field, filled with grass and flowers. All over the place were Chao, laughing, running, playing games. In the middle of the clearing was a row of ancient pillars, lining a wide marble path to a large ancient shrine. In the middle of the path was a big pool of water that the Chao stayed away from. The echidna led Scales past the energetic little darlings and stopped at the edge of the pool. She leaned over the water. "Chaos, honey, I'm home!" She stepped back as the water bulged upward. Fully formed, Chaos stepped from the pool. "Tikal, good to see you back. Same to you, Scales." "I'll go play with the Chao while you talk business with Scales, okay? See you in bed, dear!" The echidna, Tikal, gave Chaos a quick kiss on the cheek before running off to play with the Chao, who seemed to like her a lot. Scales examined Chaos. Was it just her, or was he blushing? It was hard to tell, but she thought she saw some reddening around where Chaos' cheeks would have been. The color quickly faded away. "So, uh, Scales, you're probably wondering why I wanted to talk to you." Scales' more feminine side kicked in. "There's something going on between you and that girl, isn't there?" Chaos started blushing again. "Wh-what? O-of course there's nothing going on. What makes you say that?" "You have the signs." Scales said wisely. Chaos gave a watery sigh. "Is it that obvious?" Scales nodded. "Well, yes, we have been.together for a long time if you catch my drift." "I understand. What is this place?" Scales said, looking around the ancient place. "This is my home, mine and Tikal's. Thousands of years ago, this shrine was the resting place of the Master Emerald. Now it's only purpose is to serve as a refuge for Tikal and I, away from the rest of Angel Island, except when we are needed of course." Chaos explained. "I see. So what did Tikal bring me here for?" Scales asked, needing to know. Chaos paused, then gestured to the steps leading to the shrine. "Why don't we sit down. It's kind of a long story." Scales shrugged and followed him to the steps leading into the shrine. They sat down. Chaos turned his head to face Scales. "Now, a long time." He stopped. "What are you doing?" Scales was trying to peer through the doorway of the shrine. The lights were off, so she couldn't see much. "I'm trying to see what's in there." She said. "Ah, there's nothing to concern you in there-" Chaos said a little anxiously. "I think I can see a widescreen TV, a few Chao pictures, some indiscernible stuff, and something I can't quite make out." Scales peered harder into the darkness, trying to make out the details on this last object. "Hey, is that a vibrating love bed?" she asked. "THERE IS NOTHING TO CONCERN YOU IN THERE! PLEASE SIT DOWN AND PAY ATTENTION!" Chaos yelled, frantic. Scales looked at him, surprised, and sat down. "All right. Let me begin the story." "By the way, what story is this?" Scales asked. Chaos tilted his head back. "A story of many things. My life, the creation of Chao, and the origin of the Chaos Emeralds." "Oh, all right. I've never heard this story before." Scales said, hunkering down. "Good. Now listen carefully." Chaos began the tale.

A very long time ago, sometime after the Great War that ended in the banishment of the God of Evil, the Dark One, things began to change greatly in Heaven and in the mortal realms. Chaos, god of destruction was unhappy by all of the stereotypes that were now placed on him by the mortals and his peers. He was always portrayed as a bloodthirsty monster, eager to devastate entire worlds to satisfy a never-ending lust for violence. This was not true, of course. Chaos was actually quite insecure about such things, and thought it unfair that everyone thought he was a warmonger just because he was the so-called embodiment of destruction. To prove everyone wrong, Chaos set out to create something that could never be used for war. He strived for years to create a creature that represented purity and innocence, a creature that would never even think of killing another being as long as it lived. He tried to create a being that would be full of love for everyone and could instill that same love in others. He succeeded, and created the first Chao. When he presented his new child to the other deities, they were immediately won over by its incredible cuteness and took back everything they had said about Chaos. At the request of his mother, the Goddess of Infinity, Chaos created more Chao and spread them all over, to grow and help develop a lifestyle of sorts. People found the Chao eggs and hatched them, raising Chao of their own. This was all well and good, but Chaos was a bit anxious. He had put so much time and effort into the Chao that it was only sensible for him to love them more than anyone else. He was constantly worrying that they weren't receiving the right care, or that some Chao would hatch alone and unwanted. He couldn't let that happen. He went to his mother and asked permission of her to stay in the mortal realm, to guard and protect the Chao for all eternity. Reluctantly, she agreed to let him go, but there was a catch of sorts. A full deity could not remain in the mortal worlds for long. Chaos would have to relinquish his powers and become a mere immortal being. Chaos quickly agreed, under the condition that his powers would not be disposed of, merely contained in vessels that could be easily accessed if he needed them to protect his children. The Goddess of Infinity took Chaos' power and split it into seven parts, encasing each in a jewel. She then made an eighth gem, one containing a fragment of her own powers. This gem would supersede the powers of the other gemstones, for although Chaos could use all seven to temporarily regain his true form, there was always a chance that someone else would take the jewels and use their power for evil. If such an occurrence happened, then the jewel she created could be used to neutralize or control the powers of the other seven.

"Was this jewel the Master Emerald?" Scales asked, the story gaining her interest. Chaos shook his head. "No, no. The jewel my Mother made could be called the Master Emerald, but it is not the one you are thinking of." "Then what was it?" Scales asked. "The Emerald in your life support system." Chaos said. Scales' eyes widened. "It is?!" "Yes." "But then what are the Master and Super Emeralds?" she asked, confused. "I'm getting to that. Let me continue."

After Chaos arrived on the planet where the most Chaos were, Earth, he hid the true Master Emerald and made a weaker copy of it, one to throw off any prospecting treasure hunters. He did this because he knew that although the black Master Emerald was to be used to control the seven Chaos in case of emergencies, what if somebody stole it as well as the seven? Therefore, he needed a backup, a decoy. The Master Emerald he created was similar to the black one in the sense that it would neutralize the powers of the Chaos Emeralds, but when used in full conjunction with the seven it would not have as powerful as a result as all eight original emeralds gathered together. He also made copies of the Chaos Emeralds, using a form of mathematical magic to make the power contained in an individual Super Emerald slightly greater than that of a single Chaos Emerald. However, while the combined power of all seven Super Emeralds and the Master Emerald would be enough to make any being a god, the same could be said if all eight true Emeralds were united under one mind, one person, the person destined to use them all to vanquish evil.

"Let me guess. I'm this destined one?" Scales guessed. Chaos nodded. "Pretty much, yeah." "Interesting. I guess it kinda makes sense, considering how the black Emerald was the only one that worked with my life support when the others didn't. I guess that's because it sensed I was the right person to hold it?" Said Scales. Chaos nodded. "Cool. Keep telling your story." Chaos started again.

Chaos hid the Super Emeralds in a different place then where he had hidden the true Master, somewhere deep underground, in a Hidden Palace of sorts. He erected a shrine in which to keep the Master Emerald and the seven Chaos. After a few years had passed in which Chaos happily tended the Chao, a tribe of echidnas, the leader of whom was always born with a crescent moon on their chest, moved to the land where the Chaos shrine was kept. Despite many close conflicts, the tribe and Chaos made peace and promised not to bother one another. So Chaos and the Chao lived in peaceful coexistence with the clan of the Crescent. However, a hundred years later that would all change. Pachamac, the leader of the rival Knuckles clan, had set his eye on the power of Chaos. Pachamac was a brave, bold, yet arrogant echidna, one who desired power above all else. He united his clan into a mighty army, using it to conquer other countries in a quest to rule the world. He coveted the power of Chaos, the power of the gods themselves, more than anything else, even his own kin. And that is where a new character enters the story. Pachamac's daughter, the Princess of the Knuckles Clan, Tikal.

"Ah, so this is where your girlfriend enters the story." Scales said slyly. Chaos sputtered. "She wasn't my girlfriend then! Look, you don't have to listen to all this. I've already told you what I really needed to, how you are destined to use the power of all eight original Emeralds against evil. There's other stuff I need to tell you as well." Scales shook her head. "No, no, keep going! I want to hear all of it!" Chaos sighed. "Fine. Let's keep going. Where were we? Ah yes, Tikal."

Tikal was not happy with her father's thirst for conquest and the need to rule the world. She opposed him, but could do nothing. Back in those days, females were not as valued as they are now. Anyway, she could do nothing to prevent her father from trying to conquer the land of the Crescent clan and the shrine of Chaos. After the Knuckles clan had set up a city near the land of the Crescent clan, she snuck out by herself to try to warn the other tribe. They didn't listen to her, dismissing her as a silly little girl. Disgusted, she instead went to the Chaos shrine, hoping she could convince the guardian of the Emeralds of the danger her father represented. Of course, she was in for a surprise when she encountered Chaos and the Chao for the very first time. After the god had decided she wasn't a threat, he allowed her to visit the shrine as often as she liked. He believed her warning about Pachamac, but believed he was more than powerful enough to stop the entire army if necessary. Tikal wasn't sure, but believed her friend and took care of the Chao with him. But then, the day of the invasion came at last. Tikal had tried on numerous occasions to convince her father to leave the shrine alone, but he paid no attention to her, going so far as to actually lock her up to keep her from interfering. The Knuckles army assaulted the Crescent echidnas, engaging in a fierce battle. While one detachment was fighting the Crescent echidnas, Pachamac led the rest of the army to attack the shrine. Now, while this was going on, Chaos had heard Tikal's cries for help on the astral plane. Actually going so far as to leave the Chao unguarded, Chaos sped off to save his friend.

"Ah, so you actually went so far as to leave your precious children for her! I guess that was evidence you loved her?" Scales said playfully. Chaos growled, but gave in. "Yeah, I guess. But it was because I sped off that something bad happened. I mean, I guess I can't really blame anyone but Pachamac, after all, he locked her up in the first place so I just had to rescue her, leaving the Chao and the shrine unguarded and.and." He stopped. "By my Mother, I hate this next part." "I won't make you tell me if it's too painful." Scales said gently. Chaos shook his head. "No, you wanted to hear the whole thing, and hear it you shall."

Chaos easily overpowered the guards in the city and released Tikal. She told him that even now her father was heading for the shrine. With no time to lose, he rushed for home, leaving Tikal behind. Chaos got to the shrine and called on two-sevenths of his old power, scaring away the soldiers and Pachamac. However, then he saw what the army had done before he had gotten there. The Chao were dead. Every last one of them had been brutally slaughtered by the echidnas. And this is where Chaos went insane. Completely and totally driven over the edge by the death of his children, Chaos decided in a moment of insane logic that the world was a very bad place for the rest of the Chao to grow up in. Therefore, anything bad had to be eradicated to ensure his children's safety. And at the moment, "anything bad" included every thing that walked and breathed on the face of the Earth. Summoning the power of all seven Chaos Emeralds, Chaos regained his true form, a god once again. In his Infinite form, Perfect Chaos, he stormed towards the main village of the Crescent clan, only to find it had been wiped out. There were still other villages, safe for the moment, but Chaos' only thought was to eradicate the ones who had killed his children before he started erasing all life on Earth. He went to the city of the Knuckles clan and began killing everything he saw, bringing buildings down to their very foundations, drowning hundreds in his awesome body mass. He ripped Pachamac, the one who had done this horrible thing, into numerous pieces before swallowing him up. Tikal saw this grisly display and was understandably terrified. She raced for the shrine, stumbling across the horrible fate of the Chao, and headed for the Master Emerald. She prayed to the Emerald, remembering how Chaos had once told her the Master Emerald held power over the seven Chaos Emeralds. She prayed for her dear friend, the being she was starting to have feelings for, to stop this rampage and bloodshed, to become the one she had fallen for in the first place. Sadly, because the Master Emerald was naught but a copy, it could not fulfill Tikal's request. Instead, it did the thing it thought best. It drained the Chaos Emeralds from Perfect Chaos and absorbed his essence, leaving the Emeralds in the shrine. Tikal saw that Chaos was being sucked in, and threw herself after him, not wanting him to be sealed alone in the Emerald forever. With Chaos gone, the remaining echidnas were safe. The Crescent leader was still alive, so took control of the remaining echidnas from both tribes. They banded together, putting the past behind them, and moved to the Crescent land. The leader of the clan used the power of the Master Emerald to raise his land from the Earth, forming Angel Island, a haven where hopefully no evil forces would threaten them. They flew around the world, scattering the Chaos Emeralds around the planet, not knowing of the hidden Super Emeralds or the real Master. They did this to keep anyone from collecting them all at once and using them for any reason.

"The rest, as you say, is history. Tikal and I remained in the Emerald until Snively discovered my power and broke the Master Emerald, releasing both of us. He used an unfortunate brainwashing technique to make me serve him, reminding me of nothing but how the ones who slaughtered my children must pay. Shadow found the remaining Chaos Emeralds after I had used all seven to achieve my Perfect form, and used their power to actually defeat me and return me to normal." Chaos said, finishing the story. "I settled down here on Angel Island with Tikal and the Chao, helping the inhabitants now and then with stuff like marriages." Scales clapped. "Great story! Now, you said there was something else you had to tell me?" Chaos nodded. "When I was released, the Island was near a place in California called Station Square. We are currently floating just out to sea from Station Square. When I was released, all seven Chaos Emeralds were in fairly close proximity, including the one Shadow possessed. I can currently sense all seven Emeralds somewhere around Station Square. Do you get my drift?" Scales blinked, astonished at the implications. "History is repeating itself?" "In a way, yes. When this same thing happened before, Snively had created a giant airship called the Snivel Carrier. The first two models were destroyed, but I can safely say that this is another one in the same line." Said Chaos. Scales frowned. "But Snively can't be behind this! He's dead!" "Yes, but somebody else is definitely causing all this. It is your job to find out what is going on before the mysterious villain can get all seven Chaos Emeralds, for that is surely what he is after. He already has one, your brother's. You must move swiftly and find the other six and take the seventh back if you are to save your friends, and possibly the world from this new evil." Said Chaos. "You are the only one who can do this. Do you accept your duty to stop this evil?" Scales nodded without hesitation. "Of course. It's what I was made to do, after all." Chaos bowed his head. "Thank you. If you should ever need Tikal or my assistance, we will help you any way we can." "Thank you. If you will excuse me, I have to get back to town to tell Robotnik all this so we can work on getting the Emeralds." Said Scales. Chaos nodded. "Go now. May fortune be with you." "Thanks, I think. Chaos Control!" Scales warped away, leaving Chaos and Tikal alone with the Chao.

And another chapter is done! Sorry that this one is shorter than the last. Don't worry, in the next chapter the action begins in the first level! Which, unfortunately, really isn't going to be that good compared to her levels in the last story, but hey, this is her first solo story! We should be proud of her for that, right? Anyway, I hope you liked my explanations for everything. Please review!