Sonic and The Harmony of Chaos - The 8th Emerald
Ch. 1
By: Cutegirlmayra (I've been wanting to do this story for a long time. Yes, I'm still working on Metallic Need edits for season 2 and then I'll work on Instincts edits for its season 2. But it's nice to have other projects to focus on as well. That way, if I get tired or lose motivation in one project, I can work on another till I find motivation for it again. It works for me, anyway. Enjoy this story ^-^ EDITED: Everything's just going through edits for updates, no sweat ^^ Also, probably going to combine chapters, giving you more to read and fewer awkward spaces in chapters! :Db win for everyone, I'd think? Someone requested I update this too, so I'm working on a bunch of stuff right now, but I'm trying to keep in mind who wants what updated and all :) Here we go!)
Long, long ago… when the planet was still but an egg full of unfathomable energy just floating in the magnitude of space… two beings of immense power gazed upon what would be known as our world.
Soon, they combined their strengths—one of mass destruction, whose ocean blue created the seas and powerful earth, paving the way for mountains, deep rivers, volcanic creators, ravines, and streams… His masculine ability also created the creatures that would be the fathers of all living. He gave his infinite power time to wane, that destruction—although inevitable—might not consist continually forever, but eventually die.
The second was much gentler, with energy consisting of the pink, newborn makeup of beautiful life. She used her power to create flowers, trees, and fruits to grow within the chaotically sprung earth. She made the winds ascend over the raging seas to form the floating skies, and grass both above the land and below the tides to give harmony and order to the wilds of nature. Beauty and serenity to an otherwise catastrophic world. Her feminine ability created the mothers of the world so that her power of creation might never fade, and that destructive chaos may never destroy all harmonious life.
With this, the breath of life might always thrive and be forged upon the world, while the ancient ruins of old provide for the new, and the cycle may never truly end. With this partnership... This union of opposites, together, created what was known to us as Order.
The Order of life and destruction here on our planet, as endless and eternal as both water and air... planted the foundations of our world. Through the births and deaths of its creatures, the two were hailed as Gods, and decided to watch over their creations, continuing to invent and destroy so long as they both… were one in purpose.
However, our people made a grave error. In seeking to conquer through war the power of control, that elusive, unfathomable treasure that forces wicked desires into the hearts of men... we tricked the gentle Goddess into using her power to create the Chaos Emeralds, powerful stones that gave our people what we sought. Wielding the immense powers of both time and space, though still not fully understanding what we had wrought, we abused her motherly kindness and committed the gravest of sins...
For our chief... wanted more.
No matter how many wars we won in the name of protecting our culture, people, beliefs, and traditions... seizing unrighteously the unholy conquest of land, the unforgivable, merciless extinction of our enemies, and so much more tears and bloodshed of the innocent lives our people devoured in their search for a complete, total reign... even our own,... our Chief sought nothing more... than to gain the very power of controlling the gods.
In great desire for the power of the gods, our chief convinced The Goddess known as Harmony to create a Master of all the Emeralds she had created. He deceived her into believing the power was to store away all the evil within the world, which he would defeat and control for righteous purposes. In her angelic trust of her creations, she willingly created the Master Emerald, and then… was attacked by our forces.
In her desperate cries, unable to destroy, she called upon her dearest and timeless friend, The God of Chaos, to help her in her time of great agony and torment through our deceit.
For we had not only betrayed the loving heart of a Goddess but also incurred the great wrath of the God of Destruction!
For gods cannot stand the power of the Chaos Emeralds… debilitating them powerless to fight against the wicked Chief of our people…
When Chaos arrived, our chief used the power of the Master Emerald Harmony had created to seal him away, entrapping him as a permeant power source to our people through the Chaos Emeralds.
In terrible sorrow do I now recall to tell you… that my father then turned the God of Destruction, who was regrettably under his control, to his equal—the Goddess of Harmony. Wanting to disrupt the Order of the world so that he may be undefeatable, he controlled and commanded Chaos to fire and destroy Harmony's power… Her arm was obliterated by Chaos, and she became the weaker god, no longer could life seamlessly be integrated into the balance of equality in the world when rivaled against death.
Because the damage was done by none other than Chaos, Harmony could not use her power to heal herself, nor could she now ever measure the strength to trust once more and rely on Chaos to keep the Order of the world. My father did this so that Chaos would be the ultimate power, and that no other tribe nor people may ever use Harmony against him. They then forced Harmony through Chaos to be sealed within a hidden Emerald, an Emerald formed of a magical crystal, and stored her away within that crystal's cave; This all was done so that this new, disrupted Order may ever be in the control of our Chief, and never challenged for all time and the great expanse of the universes.
I now go to the Chao Garden, for those creatures were created by Harmony, and therefore, Chaos protects them from all evil. I fear he is in great anger from the trickery that was done by my people, the Echidnas, and will rebel against them in great wrath. For now, however, he seems to be biding his time in wait. I, Tikal, shall persist in stopping my father from furthering injury upon this world for the vain and foolish desire of greed and undeserved power! I vow that if I cannot free Harmony and restore the true powers of Order to the world once again… bringing the two divided gods that no longer can communicate with each other for the necessity of the cycle of life into a unity once more, then perhaps one day… Another... more able hero, will take up my cause and reunite Chaos… with his Harmony.
"What a touching story." Cubot sniffed, wearing a miner's hat and carrying a pickaxe as a bunch of other robots drilled the crystal caves. Eggman yawned, then chuckled in his lazy way at the end.
"It is... isn't it?" He smirked, lying down and stretching out on a palanquin with robots carrying him underneath. He fanned himself with the ancient script he was reading and hosted a rather boastful and devious expression, letting his pearly white grin disguise his true feeling towards the written passage. He raised his nose a moment, "Echidna's tend to be so misleading with how 'bad' it really was... All those innocents sacrificed... so that gods could be ruled over, and not the other way around." He looked back at the script, "I know~" he puckered up his lips, arching his rather broad eyebrows back. "So tragic, and yet-!" he crumbled up the manuscript in his large, gloved hands,... that fake sympathy turning to a ravenous appetite for power and dominion. "So perfectly evil! Just my kind of reading!" He placed it back in his 'explorer's bag' looking like a proper English archeologist, but his getup's cleanliness suggested he hadn't actually worked since he got there. "Those fools didn't know what they had! Good thing, in the hands of a master planner as me, myself, and I—the true emperor of the galaxy, you could even say. Hohoho!—Their efforts can be fully exploited for all it's worth! The true gambit against Sonic and the very world!" He stood on top of the palanquin as the Egg Pawns' knees began to clank and shake from the massive amounts of weight now placed on them from that gravity shift...
"Hmm? Stop dawdling and get back to work!" Eggman stomped his foot down on the palanquin after feeling them slowly tilt and dip down, but they straightened out after a good talking to.
"Work? More? We've worked for sixteen hours straight, with no tune-ups, no oil breaks, uuhhh… I feel my circuits sparking with imaginary sweat." Orbot wiped his forehead, just for the expression of it all.
"If the ancient Echidna civilization didn't want to preserve their failures while also keeping them a secret, they would have made them all easier to find!" Eggman barked, throwing a fist up as he leaned over the palanquin, "Prideful little species... so annoying." He flicked his hand as though swatting it aside. "They weren't the greatest treasure hunters or hiders in all of history for nothing! You nincompoop!" He swung low over the palanquin, as though to punish Orbot with a quick head knock, but Orbot luckily ducked with a 'Yikes!', scampering off with his hands out forward. "Besides! Digging up an ancient goddess is half the fun!" Eggman then patted Cubot's head in a sense of glee.
A few robots were excavating still when one cracked a little slash into a rock. It turned its head to the side as though looking at it with one eye, leaning down to do so, since it had limited motion and facial expressions. It reached out to use its finger to pick its steely finger and scoop some debris down with flicks at the crack. Then, it wobbled back on one foot as colorful ripples of light appeared from it, blasting the cavern with a beautiful sight.
The robot toddled off with a wobbly step as it was spooked but quickly fell at Eggman's palanquin to his hands and knees.
Eggman turned around and looked up over his massive shoulder, his large stomach and rumpus of a butt shifted over in all its weight as the footmen beneath all struggled to counter-balance the other side so Eggman didn't slip off. One was lifted up and wiggled its feet as the others sparked in their efforts, looking as though Atlas trying to hold up the world.
"Is that the northern lights?" Orbot's tentative hands overlapped one another timidly, floating with light bounces over, his blinking eye-lights taking in the reflection of the ribbony colors swaying from the crack in the rock. "It's so... odd," How else could a robot describe something so beautiful?
Psychedelic patterns of color swerving in the air from the slashed earth... what else could he have said?
Cubot huffed, "Oh, so you were built with a compass for directional assistance… and I wasn't!?" he was referring to the 'northern' comment... Even he couldn't quite see the beauty before him.
But Eggman's glasses also reflected the same light... but his eyes saw nothing but untapped power... over beauty.
Gripping the side of his comfy, sprawled bed upon the palanquin, His glasses still glowing the bright, brilliant colors, he rolled off the palanquin and had to shake a leg free of the top as the robots beneath—once he got off—fell to their metallic bums and tossed the palanquin to land on its side behind them. It was a much-needed break for their circuits and worn gears.
Eggman's whole frame leaped upward the spectacle of light in excitement, his balled, large fists shaking like a teenage girl getting a brand new car on her birthday. He whispered, "Oh, Harmony..?" As he tried to look through the crack... but then threw his foot in and began tearing through the crumbling pieces of thin earth that had already been hacked away at for hours with his hands.
The lights dimmed... as he entered the chamber with a gruff, ape-ish look before dusting off his explorer outfit's shoulder. Clearly, he was eager and, most importantly, impatient above all things for this moment... leading with his foot through the crack first, he walked in awe back towards the sights... As though he didn't just break in and enter what the Echidnas' would call 'Sacred Ground'.
"You there…?" His creepy laughter drew forth from his throat as he watched the lights fade and then grow to a glowing light pink.
"Hehehe… hohoho… heheh…" He rubbed his hands together, as a few robots started to also try and get their hulking selves in, getting jammed up in the opening of the rock and having to practically bulldoze through it. As they marched forth, Eggman swiped one of their pickaxes from a robot's hand, making him double-take and flex his hands in and out as though it was so fast, that the robot couldn't compute it. "Give me that..!" The robot had its hands open and looked from side to side, trying to figure out where its pickaxe went as Eggman hacked into the earth. He hadn't even looked at the robot, just 'all smiles' to the buried Crystal in the center of the room... Walking towards it while the robot slowly turned his dome-like head to Eggman, as though flabbergasted in his motions that he'd just snatch it like that from him, but to Eggman? All these things were his, anyway... especially... this long-lost, undiscovered legend for countless years of time... the Harmony Crystal. "I've got a Goddess to save~" he sneered a sinister cheer, as the robot followed his movements, unable to express, but clearly showing through his motions what he must have felt. Another robot smacked his back, which made him lean forward, pause, and slowly look toward him... He then robotically switched his own ax's side to his other hand and gave the ax-less Robot his own pickaxe.
Eggman curled his hands a few times over the pickaxe... looming over the rocks that only concealed some of the imprisoned Crystal of old. With wild swings that frightened the tinier mining robots who stood back, Eggman carved the way for more light to flash through the darkness of their excavation.
His glasses shone with such heavenly aura... and yet, his smile remained bright with the dastardly dreams of another, more qualified, tyrant than the Chief spoken of in the tales of Echidna lore...
"She said a crystal cave, ha! More like a mountain! It's taken me a full-on year to track down the strange energy signals to this location! Hurrufh!" he threw the pickaxe back, having it hurl into a Robot's head as it whirled around in panic, and ran around like a chicken with its arms out in front of it, running into a wall and falling over.
The Robot who was just given a pickaxe saw that and immediately shoved the pickaxe back to the other robot, not wanting anything to do with it now, it seemed.
Hesitating, Eggman placed his hand out through the entrance he had created... A secret chamber..?
He waved his hand through the gap, turning it front and back, checking to make sure the light source was withstandable; and then, peeked his head in.
His nose rose up from the edge of the rock wall, the first part of him to enter, before slapping down on the flat surface of the corner to the inside, bobbing around as his eyes scanned the open cavern till they saw a crystal hanging on the top of the wall. It almost resembled a crab, his mustache against the side cave wall and his nose bouncing as he looked left and right to double-check that the coast was clear... no traps? No guardians..?
He already knew the Master Emerald had one... he would hate to find an ancient second...
"Hrm, even if one was here, they'd be dead long before I got here." He concluded and grinned once more as he stepped in.
the Crystal... was hanging in the middle of the hidden room... It was the one shining the brilliant pink through the buried earth.
Eggman slowly walked towards it, with long, calculated toe-then-heel placement as he stealthy wanted to take a closer look. "Hello,..? My dear~" he gleefully called to her in a friendly sort of way. "Harmony,... was it..?" he also growled a dark purr of excitement for power so close within his clutches but tried to lessen his tone to a cordial greeting to keep up appearances.
Just in case...
After all… it was his specialty to trick and deceive…
"I've heard of a most unfortunate story about your imprisonment… and your arm?" he gestured to his own. "Or, was it the other side?" he lowered his left and rose up his right, switching positions. "Would you be so kind as to show me..? I'd hate to make a grievous error about something so crucial important..." He held up his hands, as though meaning no disrespect, but he smirked as he saw the ominous colors from the crystal shine. They sounded out a ringing warning that made Eggman's smile turn worrisome, as he rubbed his hands again, licking his lips.
This was going to be tricky... A woman already scorned once...
'How should I do it again?!' He thought with such excitement at his new game... A new conquest... a new world Order...
"Yes, well, umm… heh." He tugged on his outfit's collar, stretching it out in trying to think fast how to rectify her obvious anger. He was literally speaking to a being that the ancient civilization considered a goddess, so this was no 'light' manner... 'Oh, I made a pun!'
He found that rather amusing... before realizing... 'That blasted Hedgehog is rubbing off on me...' he groaned in his brilliant mind, frowning most profusely as though getting deflated by the thought, but shook himself free of it and remembered his purpose here.
Deception... If he could fool a naive Echidna, could he fool an already hurt goddess?
"Some people can be so cruel, eh?" He opened up with, a strong start, he tried to encourage himself with a subtle fist bob in the air. "But you created them to be full of merciful Order, right? Back and forth they swiiiing~ between chaos and harmony, destruction and life." He flittered here and there, "All the while you try desperately to escape your cage. Such horrible GUILT at what you've done. To the Echidnas,... the daughters of the world,... and most gruesomely,..." He lowered his head a bit, darkly letting the shadows contrast his once 'friendly' features... "To your dear, timeless friend~… The God of Chaos…" his voice went grave as though accusations against her, which was exactly his point and plan~
Eggman leaped around, testing how far he could approach and having scanners upon his glasses reading the dangerous signals coming all around the crystal, going back to being 'light-hearted' about it all...
Another pun...
That darn Hedgehog...
"That's a rather large…" Orbot simulated a gulp. "E-E-Emerald…" He pointed a trembling, clanking metallic finger towards her, worried about Eggman's ruse failing them... and possibly being disintegrated by whatever otherworldly power this being possessed.
"Does the boss know it looks like he's talking to a rock?"
"Quiet, Cubot! This mission could be in jeopardy if we blow our cover!"
The two were hiding on the other side, staying right where they were with the other Robots, but peeking inside as carefully as they could... to not be spotted... if it even had eyes..?
"Oh right, cause she may backlash at us with her immense 'power of beauty~' at us." Cubot swayed at the whimsical words of the story, not looking very scared as Orbot face-palmed himself. "Maybe he'll keep it as a pet..." Orbot then gasped, turning to look at Orbot, "Oh! Ohh! Can we finally have a pet? Are we getting a pet rock!?"
"Power of life! Life, you dimlitted, broke circuit!" Orbot didn't even notice his own pun... "She could create something bigger and better to destroy you! Spontaneous creation... the power to bring life to anything and everything." Cubot warned, gesturing his hand out to show how truly 'dangerous' her power was. "The breath of life, never needing a battery recharge..." Orbot thought about it, but he didn't really want acne. "Ever heard of it? Wonder where it comes from? The very air that organic lifeforms breathe in and out every day... the origin of 'Mother Nature'..?"
"Oh, I thought that was just silly, poetic, personification..." Cubot wisely stated, putting a finger to his mouth.
"No, it's much more than that. It has a beginning... as all mythological things do." Orbot explained.
"If Chaos is a bunch of water, then she's a bunch of…" Cubot looked away and up towards the ceiling, the little rotors in his head moving as he chewed lightly on his finger near his mouth, turning to Orbot. "Dust?"
"Wind." Cubot's hand spread out towards him, then gently dipped back in a flowing, soft swish. "And something far more gruesome." Orbot shook in his bolts, "The Doctor has also hypothesized that... She's also made of…"
"Blood…" Eggman grimaced, leaning back as his nose twitched at the scent. "The Waters of Life… not of destruction… instead of paving the earth, you beautify it." he looked to see the crystal swarming about with liquid, and held his nose away from the stench.
"The pink color for flesh, red for the blood of all life, and the inner amniotic fluid of newborn creation... I figured as much." He muttered to himself, "Disgustingly beautiful, aren't you?" He seemed to grumble as though appalled but still took a careful step closer. "Not like birth was meant to be hygienic... You're a walking biohazard, but I digress~" he told himself, "Come, Harmony… you've been cramped up in that Crystal for far too long… Life was meant to be free, wasn't it?" He gestured his arms out, speaking plain hypocrisy. "Come,… I'm a gentleman, you know~" He extended his hand at first, like the proper way... before turning it around and trying to see if he could even 'touch' the crystal's surface...
The signals in his glasses told him to be careful, and he did so, watching the bars lift and fall at different intervals on his glasses monitors. He didn't dare to touch its boiling-hot surface just yet... At least, he thought maybe he was permitted to be this close... but wasn't sure.
The crystal let out a powerful heated light, another warning to stay back.
'Guess not,' Eggman scowled, "Hrrmghh..." he leaned back, standing upright at her refusal and rejection.
How was he gonna get it out of here..?
He raised an eyebrow... thinking... then put his arms behind his back.
"Must I take you to dinner first?"
The Crystal blared out a blinding light of hues, yellows, pinks, oranges, and reds.
Eggman ducked and guarded with his arms against the powerful light, "Eh-heh…" he looked up over his arms and put his lifted leg down, having been a bit frightened, but realizing she wasn't taking anymore of his 'joking humor' about her anymore.
He gulped, "Patient... aren't you?", 'And irritable.' he adjusted his tan, buttoned-up explorer's attire down. Giving her a strained, but mockingly warm smile again, as he tried to keep himself safe towards the elusive and aloof, female being... he started up his act again. "I'm a man of the heart, really… so very… very fond of the positive attributes of mankind…" he fibbed through his teeth and waited to see if the Crystal would cool down.
"You and I… we've both been deceived. Tricked and cheated of what is rightfully ours!" He put more passion into that 'truth' of which he believed... "The world can't stand people of actual talent and ability! Capable of nothing more than... greed, envy, and in spite of our good natures, they reject us... abuse us... when all we want... is to be loved and adored... help our fellow men, yes?" He put his hands on his chest, pouting sorrowfully, making himself and her out to be the victim.
Only one of them actually was...
"People always want what they can't have... whether that be control, dominion... edifices erected to their glory..." He looked as though that was what he wanted... looking up at the corner of the ceiling, scratching his chin before looking back at the Crystal and coughing into his closed hand, forgetting a second his act before continuing, "Ehem-ah-ha-hah... A shame, really." He tried to recover. "So... emm... What's that word I'm looking for? Irresponsible..!" He flicked out his fingers as though to dismiss people's idiotic ways. "Now… Wouldn't you love to see the world you've created once more? The world you were meant to share with Chaos?"
The Crystal suddenly lowered in temperature, turning a cooler blue and then green… Was it at the mention of Chaos?
His smile widened, seeing some success. "And your beautiful creatures! Even the Chao! Aren't you missing them..? Your faithful companions… so sweet and child-like… after all, it is you who allowed the continuation of life upon this world, am I right? And now… only Chaos controls the balance of things… terribly so, might I add." He tilted his head, getting closer…"So ugly and dull, wouldn't you like to beautify and give greater life to your creations once more? Instead of letting Chaos have all the fun..?" But as his hand went to reach for the cooled surface of the crystal, the padded tips of his fingers stretching out in his minuscule success that lead to such overbearing confidence in his schemes, the Crystal suddenly shone a bright yellow in rebuke. Crimson pools sloshed and blew up into the hollow core of the Crystal,... the rushing and boiling of a Goddess's blood within...
"Yeee!" Eggman strained his face back, seeing the temperature drastically rise, and withdrew his hand in fear of a burn or having his gloves melted through to the skin. It was like a lava lamp, The Crystal faded into many different colors full of torment. The blood inside splashed around, and on the tips of its crashing waves that curled on the edges of its encased prison, blobs of undefinable shapes to its defensive glow. "Oh right, you still love him, don't you..?" he giggled faintly, realizing his folly.
"Of course you do, I mean… it wasn't his fault, right..? It was… the Echidnas!" he threw his finger up, accusingly.
The temperature raged… like a volcano, the mush of liquids popped and blasted the front and edges of its Crystal...
"Not… the Echidnas?" he lowered his finger, confused.
The temperature cooled… as suddenly the lights and blood within the 8th Emerald known as the Harmony Crystal began a puppet show of sorts.
Eggman turned around, seeing the shadows on the wall behind him. The dancing lights and moving watery shapes began to perform, and Eggman stepped out of the light's way to not obscure the image… Watching the scene unfold...
He narrowed his eyes to a squint, searching for meaning in the shapes... two dragon figures?
They fought upon the cave's wall, as one shape showed a floating prism diamond, the lights shifting to a bright emerald green to reflect what could only be thought of as the Master Emerald. The dragon reared its ferocious head back, being sucked into the Master Emerald and then coming swirling out back into its previous form... but this time, with the large emerald as its core.
What looked like a small figure on top of a large cliff held out a staff and spread his arms, and the Dragon struck at the other Dragon... who seemed to cry out with a gaping mouth.
Eggman watched as this dragon, being controlled by the emerald shape, blasted the other dragon and wounded its arm, severing it off with a large beam... completely having it destroyed.
He then watched as other emeralds pulled apart the attacking dragon's body, separating its power into seven emeralds that then circled its core… Absorbing him into the Master Emerald... fully this time.
"It's power… was divided?" Eggman raised his eyebrow, pretending like he cared or possibly didn't know the whole story. He knew Chaos was controlled through each Chaos Emerald, gaining more power as he absorbed them, but he didn't really care how. the only thing that mattered to Eggman, was that he used them for his own purposes as power sources, much like the evil Echidna chief.
but the picture show didn't end there, the wounded shadow of the dragon he figured was Harmony's true form was sealed within the crystal's shape, many blobs that looked as though girls stood with arms spread out before each dropped back into the pool of blood... a forbidden ritual of some sort?
Was that what this Tikal spoke of? Was it... the blood of the innocent?
"Now I see…" Eggman grimaced as he watched the two shapes suddenly be parted, and the figures of Harmony and Chaos, non-dragon forms, reached for each other before Harmony's crabish, claw-like hand was withdrawn and placed to her missing arm's shoulder…, her head ducking down as the shadows of their forms faded... with Chaos and her being pushed back into their beautiful, but cruel capsules...
"You're ashamed…" he beamed, before turning to her in his best pity face that he could possibly muster, a pouting lower lip included. "Poor, poor Harmony… You fear he can't forgive you for your mistake… you were the one that gave the Echidnas all they asked for, without a second thought, not even questioning what they were really after… you were the one that created the means to seal away your friend… It was entirely your power that doomed his freedom and blessed, all-powerful, state… that caused him to destroy half your power…y our own arm… to enslave him to your creatures… aww... Poor, poor precious Harmony…" He rubbed his hands together, "All you've ever given to your friend is… well… HARM." He looked at his hands, before crushing them, losing his act. "That... really does make you quite the villain... doesn't it?" He was growing so eager for her power, for the control that the ancient world once had...
Sacrifices were a bit extreme, but he'll make do with what is to come.
He saw the temperature lower to extreme colds, and happily snapped his fingers, having the robots bring the palanquin in after destroying more of the protective cave wall to enter the sanctum. They lowered it under the Harmony Crystal... Placing it accordingly to have it raised up onto it.
It seemed that the blood was forming into her figure, tossing to and fro in what looked to be great torment as the crystal steamed out mist from becoming boiling temperatures once more... turning back to cold so suddenly. The pink liquid creature rocked back and forth in the crystal, gripping its head at the memory of regret. The image was barely seen through the crystal besides the shadows that came from within its light. Eggman smiled at its pathetic state, walking up with his hands behind his back to it, standing as if confidently in power over and before it.
He felt like the one in control now... 'Women's emotions are often easily manipulated... but she manipulates her own, I just had to discover what could 'cool her down', so to speak.' he smiled at the thought of a 'depressed' goddess but didn't pay it much mind.
He rolled his fingers off the others in a continuous rotation, scheming… "I could help you mend the pain and ask forgiveness of Chaos~ Of course… you'd have to do something for me~" he chimed in his deal-making... which he had no intention of keeping, obviously. Seems Harmony was still blind to guile...
The Crystal roared a metallic ring, and the blood suddenly seemed to disappear, as if diluted to form the pink liquid with the spiraling wind tunnel inside. Bright eyes glowed through the crystal then, as blood had crystalized to make the Goddess's eyes; her full body was now a liquid pink spiral of the breath of life's energy.
She leaned forward, but the Crystal blocked her from getting closer. She stared at Eggman, the only living thing in the room, as though trying to understand what was going on... Did he really want to help?
"Well, yes. I do know where he is, but… You see, times have changed here on this little planet you helped to grow, and gee… we all need something, now don't we?" he laughed with his hands now resting confidently on his hips as the robots clicked the palanquin into action. The trap mechanism sprang up from the 'cushiony overlay' and the crystal was surrounded by a metallic casing, seizing it perfectly in place.
Green bolts of lightning zapped and held the crystal in place while it tried to resist before a cry could be heard ringing throughout the cave.
Tossing in pain, the figure's one hand bashed the crystal, before her eyes bent to sorrow and she ducked her head, being dragged down further into the crystal till her form dissolved and the wind and bloodied liquid fell back within the crystal's clear but distorted vision.
It was now... just a hallow pink crystal again...
The metallic cage's electrical, green lightning seemed to be fueled by something strong enough to suppress her power... As Eggman pushed up the hood with the 'cushioned padding' to reveal... the glow of three Chaos Emeralds.
"Oh, you let another one of your creations into your tender heart, now didn't you?" Eggman smacked his big belly, before holding it as he cackled, "A rather uninspiring capture,... I confess I was expecting more of a fight... but nonetheless, I plan for every occassion~"
He looked down at the beautiful shines as though not afraid of this light... void of emotion, they were just tools to be used to control the power of gods... makers of worlds, and establishers of Planet Eggs... How foolish of Harmony to bring such things into existence unto man. "Good thing I could swipe these Emeralds before Sonic or his friends could show up... he must be antsy~ Not knowing what I've been up to... heheh..." He snickered, imagining how bored Sonic must be... "All in good time, Hedgehog... demise takes some... preparation~" he looked at the Crystal, seeing the light of it completely gone now...
"The world has changed, Harmony!" He gave out a boisterous, but almost proudly arrogant scold. A harsh school teacher now, he left all glee to the side, "But the evil that resides in it… will always be greedy and power-hungry…" his eyes shone with the green of the Emeralds' energy, piercing the Crystal and forcing it to stabilize as it continued to shine out in rebellion... a dim light at first... slowly growing at its realization that once again... it had been deceived...
Orbot and Cubot gripped their hands together, approaching cautiously.
"Hohoho! Girls' hearts are always so easy to fool. Their emotions so easily swayed." Eggman wiped a tear from below his glasses, flicking it off before smirking up at his latest 'damsel' he'd acquired and started pointing to the door.
"But I still keep my promises. Boys! Take this fair maiden out from the dark~" he gave a dramatic stance as the robots marched in military alignment, their lines perfect and their steps completely in sync... An emperor was being made... with a new power to test and weaponize...
The robots heaved and ho'd, stepping in lined formations, and carried both themselves and the crystal out of the cave, all the while, the shrill sounds of the pained Crystal rang through the air.
A heartbeat throbbed to reveal the pink figure curled at the bottom of the crystal... a heart actually in the center of its body pulsing out her continual anguish... the very symbol and evidence of life... wailing in its crystalized prison.
To all those who would free her... and bring back the lost pact between destruction and life... I thank you. For your honesty, your courage, and your heart of all greater golds. For you... are the truly humble and repentant.
But to those who would seek to abuse her power once more, the gift of her eternal longevity and nurturing heart for the sake of power and control... To you, I fear most...
For you will behold...
The wrath... of the eternal, Chaos god.
. . . . .
The Master Emerald was no stranger to the sound of the metallic crying... as well as the burst of bright light that rolled through the sky like a magnificent ripple of colorful aura.
The second the harsh sunlight of the world had once again touched the Crystal outside the cave's mouth... A blast traveled through the sky like an encompassing halo, spreading itself out over the sky.
Knuckles lay peacefully in sleep upon the top of the Master Emerald, a bubble of snot coming out his nose as he snored quietly, his hands behind his back and one leg up and crossed over the other... When, in a sudden burst of light, the arching beams swept through the island, at its perfect height for it.
The ringing of its metallic sound and the powerful push of its light caused the Master of all Emeralds to jump, waking Knuckles up instantly as it tilted itself in a roll, sliding him off its smooth surface as it was clearly affected by the sudden signal.
Almost as if being figuratively knocked awake, the massive Emerald looked as though it was spinning slightly on its axis at the wake-up call, but acted immediately.
Knuckles cried out in fright before flailing his arms about, crashing to the ground but grabbing the edge of the platform with both mittened hands and one leg up over the first step of the altar, not wanting to roll ALLLLLLL the way down the long, open stairway...
With no railings, mind you.
"Heeeyy..!" The Guardian, a physical sign of the Echidna's repentant actions against the gods, rose up with fury. "What's the big idea!?" He rubbed his head after lowering his raised fists, "Huughh... What was that all about?" He wondered and calmly stepped up, in a bit of confusion, to steady the Master Emerald. "I haven't seen you take life to yourself before... not since... Hmm..." He made a tight line with his mouth... not expecting it to be Chaos, not after all this time. He walked all around the Master Emerald, keeping one hand up on it to keep it back in its rightful, standing position, "Roooouge!?" he called out, looking behind and down towards the ground, then up to the sky's with a scowl, "Hmph... Not here." he commented, "Not a soul here... but myself and the Chao." he put his other hand to the Master Emerald, leaning to check in on it, looking up at its hulking self. "What could have possibly happened to create such a bright Sonic Boom..?" he had felt something... a tingling in his chest, a warm and pleasant feeling, but he thought that was just from basking in the sunlight... it made him smile in his dream.
Still confused, he looked around, forming an annoyed expression as he crinkled his muzzle and tugged hard on the corner of his mouth in agitation, "Soooonic?!" he continued to search before stepping out from the altar of the emeralds, their pillars still in place with none of the Chaos Emeralds placed upon them... having been scattered since the last adventure with... Super Sonic.
Had... Sonic found them all again? But... that large blast... didn't exactly rock or move the island.
It was just light... phasing through solid things... so, why..? The scattering of Emeralds didn't cause such a phenomenon.
"Huh," He looked to a Chao who was nibbling on some fruit. "…You push me off?" he asked.
The Chao looked up at him, innocently chewing with a pure expression on its face.
"Heh. Didn't think so." ...But then more Chao appeared, as though being summoned... They floated with what sounded like a musical chant, as though reverently singing in anticipation for something.
A few were cheerful and jumping, others looked more like they were saying prayers, their hands together, looking hopeful or respectfully still.
Some had their heads down, others their heads up,... but all were of smiles.
"That's weird." Knuckles watched the strange activity, "You all usually are acting like children... just playing and floating around here... Hmm..." He was surprised by their... pleasantly reserved natures all of a sudden,... they were normally very peaceful, but this was a whole new level.
Then the Master Emerald started shining again, this time, lingering and growing brighter. The Chao grew more excited... "H-Hey! What's going on!?" Knuckles stepped back and lifted up an arm to block the growing light, from a dim ring to a then powerful symphony of light dazzling like the top of the water's surface... almost a primarily green, but iridescent shine back.
"Woah!" Knuckles spun around as the Chao started to gather together and flap their little wings close to the Master Emerald, their wings reflecting the tint of the Master Emerald... and something pinkish... shining and shimming as though glittering magic...
What Knuckles didn't know, is that their pink wings were a reflection of their connection to Harmony... their source of life that created them... they were the beckons and ushers of new eras...
And now... a new era was stirring in the midst of Knuckles confusion... bearing the omen of things to come... a renewal?
Or a destruction of all life... as he knew it?
They cheered, for some unknown reason, even more profusely and hugged while spinning each other in the air, celebrating the reoccurrence of something...
Knuckles watched the Chao's odd behavior, "... Something I don't know about?" he asked, rather cluelessly, before hearing a familiar voice.
"She's been found. History will repeat itself. A great war is upon us. Order must be restored... Knuckles… take upon you my vow. Bring Harmony to reunite with her other half, Chaos! And re-establish the lost Order back to the world!"
"W-wha-wha-what!?"
Knuckles stood back as the Master Emerald shone with an even greater light, "Tikal!?" he covered his eyes from the stinging beacon with the back of his large hands, grunting at the brightness. He hadn't heard her since...
Then, another resounding pulse but this one traveled like a jagged heatwave, still a rippled circle, stretching out but with different colors of blue and green... Duller and darker hues, which turned Knuckles's stomach and made him clench all his muscles, bending over as his eyes twitched at such an awful feeling... "What... What really is happening on my Island?" he looked truly frightened by whatever that feeling was that pushed through him from the Master Emerald's returning blast...
Then, the light faded. As instantly as it began.
"…Uhhhh…" Knuckles lowered his arms, blinking at the blur in them before seeing a blue figure standing before him. "Ugh, my head, my stomach... I feel so... weakened... am I... seeing things?"
The figure walked out in the blue of the shimmering oceans, with the stride of one whose purpose was power. His essence had carved this land... the bubbles that formed in him were a reminder of the last remnants of life's breath. The energy that flowed through him apparent in the green of his eyes... glowing the powers of death and destruction, that which condemned life but paved the way for new life to begin. The mind floating within its mass commanded the knowledge of Order... but without the emotional pull of a heart to establish it completely. Nature bent to his presence... as the Chao recognized him and saw the serious obligation in his eyes.
They lowered their heads and softly floated to remove themselves from their Guardian's path.
"…It… can't be…" Knuckles squinted the more, then yelped.
"Chaos!?"
All the legends previously known of Chaos... were not fully lies... but the very mention of Harmony was stripped from their records... Only Eggman knew their cursed past in its entirety...
Within one script... within one scroll... was Tikal's truth, she had to keep silent for so many cycling eons of life and death.
The God of Destruction stood before Knuckles with a reserved fury, having learned what these beings could do when threatened in 'this' era...
Life had become mighty... but now...
Their mother was calling...
It was clear Chaos was upset about something, but Knuckles was too in shock at seeing him outside the Master Emerald's tight ensealment... what on the planet's goodly surface was actually happening here!?
It stood up to him and leaned forward, babbling with his bubbles rising at great speeds through his body and up to his head in his anger, but the noise made no sense to Knuckles.
"What... what's wrong?" He could tell instantly that Chaos was trying to communicate... but... what?
Knuckles scratched his head, before shaking it and letting out some air.
"Boy, I hope I'm still dreaming." He pulled out Tails's Miles-Electric given to him for emergencies or communication.
"I better let the others know..."
He turned around to start typing out his message, needing time as he was a slow 'texter' as it were, looking for each button—since he never used this thing—facing his back to Chaos.
Chaos stood still... before his bubbles shimmered down as though he was impatiently realizing Knuckles wasn't listening and leaned back. After a moment, he walked towards Knuckles again and leaned over his shoulder, putting a creepy, watery hand on his shoulder.
It freaked Knuckles out so badly he flinched with all his Echidna hairs flying up in his great alarm and pulled away to dash himself in front of Chaos, looking at him head-on again with his fist raised high, the Miles-Electric behind him. "Oui! What do you think you're-! H-Huh..?"
Chaos just glared at him, his emerald eyes shone with protest at his ignorance and ignoring him completely.
And thus… The third adventure begins for Sonic and his friends...
In Eggman's retrieval...
Of the 8th Emerald, The Harmony Crystal.
. . . . .
Rouge, sneaky as always, begins to stalk a mysterious figure ahead of her through the darkness of the Ancient Echidna ruins in the misty jungles near Angel Island...
Her wings bat an instant, looming above with her toe tapping a tree branch for added leverage. The figure turns around with the sound of the shaking leaves, revealing a rather large, pointy nose in his wrapped brown cloak, hooded in appearance. That was already suspicious enough for Rouge, who knew this climate to be hot and humid... She darted across the canopy for further cover as he scanned the treeline... his eyes moving slowly, truly searching with caution before continuing on with a flip of his raggedy, torn, and holed brown garb.
'…He's not supposed to be here…' Rouge blinked her eyes down to peek through the cover of leaves while balancing on a much sturdier branch. It was a close call, but she wasn't phased by it. Her thieving skills were still as sharp as ever, due to her spying becoming more of a lucrative—and less illegal—skill. She watched as he pulled something out of his circular garb around him, and her highly attuned bat ears heard the sound of something clip into place.
Curious, she took a small glide to another nearby tree, to get closer, trying to be silent through the air before the hooded stranger spun yet again around, firing a blast from a gun to barely tip her wing and send her crashing down, "Ahh!"
So that was the mysterious sound... the clicking of a loaded gun.
Faltering in her flight, she tried to level out her arms and wings, but the figure's menacing accuracy had perfectly taken her off route and brought her to a deadly, angled dive. The brown-hodded figure's piercing red eyes suddenly softened to a wide look when seeing who he had shot. "..Ah!" he dashed forward, appearing to skate along the dirt path before catching her expertly in his arms, bridal-style carrying. With a slide of his foot, he skid along the dirt as though a quick turnaround with his heels slowing his momentum to a stop. The dirt flung up in his wake as though it was a motorcycle breaking hard to its side... and his caped garb flapped wildly in the wind he had created before coming down to a calming lull, draping along his body yet again.
"Are you okay?"
She gritted her teeth, "Regret your hit?" She badmouthed, "And at a lady, too..!"
He had saved her before an unfortunate accident could prevail, but she kept kicking her feet out and knocked the gun out of his hand, flipping out of his hold to crouch on the ground, readying herself for a fight. "A bit late to ask forgiveness now... huh?" She held her fighting stance, but then she started to recognize the figure upon this closer range...
The figure stumbled back, shaking his head as he put a hand to it, then removed his hood.
"You should know by now…"
She gasped slightly, coming up to stand as her wings batted, one weakly and the other in strong emotion.
"I don't like surprises."
"S…Shadow?!"
She stomped up to him with fisted arms straight down by her sides, and in her fury, bashed his head down with the side of one of them directly on top of his head. "You shot at me, you hasty shoat! How was I supposed to know who you were with that ridiculous getup!?"
Shadow groaned in the new pain inflicted on his head now but willingly accepted it as ample punishment, taking the hit with a bit of a scowl, "I'm not making excuses, am I?" He let out a long, winded cycle of breath before continuing, "I wasn't sure your Echidna friend would let me come near here. I had to take precautions." He offered her his hand, which she looked away from with folded arms, pivoting to the side. "If I knew it was you, I wouldn't have bothered taking such measures... You've been well, Rouge?" Her eyes softened... before looking back at him and gently taking his hand.
"We've been worried about you…" she admitted, seeming to change her tone entirely.
Noticing that change, Shadow also reflected somewhat a more cordial manner, less stern. "…I've given enough help to G.U.N's services for an honest leave… I'm sure they'll manage without me." He pulled her lightly forward and took a look at the tip of her wing's rim. His gloved hands skimmed it and she looked down and away, flinching a moment. "How you'll manage though… eludes me." That gentle care made her tensed shoulders also drop as she looked back to him.
She gave him a stink-eye stare, playful but also clearly upset by his leaving her... "Was that joke?" she lowered her eyelids, slightly offended. "For your previous partner, you really haven't learned how to talk to a lady at all... have you?" she lightly teased back, smiling somewhat, "I'm glad you're doing alright... leaving G.U.N cold turkey like that... I just wished you would have kept in touch." she took her hand to remove his from her wing, being slow about it, to get him to focus on the current conversation and not even bother with the wound.
He tilted his head, wondering why she didn't want to address that anymore, but smiled at the quiet forgiveness with his eyes closed, before looking back to her with more care in his voice now. "Will you be alright?"
"There. Now that's how you ask a lady." She put her hands on her hips, leaning her face towards him in a more playful scolding. "Honestly. All that time working together. Have you not learned anything from me?" she tilted her face too, as he looked away from her, as though not wanting to engage in her silly banter.
"You're wanting to know more about me while feigning being upset,... I've learned to ignore you until you start making sense again." Shadow turned to head back down the path, but it was his own way of indirectly expecting her to tag along... which she was happily going to do regardless of his acceptance of it or not.
"So unamused…" She rolled her eyes, leaning up from sticking herself directly in his face before tucking in her wings and putting her hands behind her back, batting her eyes a bit at him. "My,… just my type, I guess." She shrugged and walked on after him. "You barely nipped me. Be thankful I don't ask for retribution."
He stepped back, looking to the ruins.
"Hmm? Ignoring me is also something I'm starting to get accustomed to." she sighed, "Don't expect me to change in any way for you now." She swayed her hips in her feminine way of walking and stood beside him... before losing the act and realizing with a pull of her neck back that he was seriously focused on something else now. "...What's so fascinating about historical momentums that's got you all riled up?" she looked at him curiously with a frown, before smiling mischievously. "A gem or two I could snatch as a side hustle?" she gave off an alluring appeal, tilting her hip towards him and letting the opposite side's arm dip down on her other side, but he was used to her thieving prowess and flirty attitudes.
"Treasure-hunting… are you sure it's wise to steal under your favorite friend's nose?" he walked forward, retrieving his gun she had knocked away from him and tucking it back under his cloak. Rouge blushed and widened her eyes, embarrassed he would even bring that up. She hollered back after him with an intense, strained expression on her face, stomping a foot down and batting her one good wing furiously as he continued his steady walk onward towards the Ancient Ruins.
"Favorite!? Now listen here, mister! If I had anyone I so happened to fancy, it'd be none of your concern!" She huffed at the end of her sentence, offended he would judge her for it, folding her arms and turning her head away again, "I should have knocked on your head harder... Hmph!"
"Your ties to the Echidna aren't important right now, nor a concern for me,… Not unless he's tied to these." He pulled out a device that fit in his hand, showing a rectangular screen of lights waved across the sky.
The Harmony beams of arched light were recorded on that device... which made Rouge's eyes scrunch up as she tried to think if she's seen those before.
She was losing patience with the picture, gesturing to it and looking at Shadow as though getting more frustrated with him. "Those look like the Northern Lights, nothing like the sparkle of my beautiful gems." She looked back to examine it further as Shadow spoke in response.
"I felt a Chaos Rift similar to the Dark Gaia incident… but worse this time. Much worse…" Shadow touched his chest, as though remembering the second beam of light too... the awful pit feeling in his stomach... the first being somewhat pleasant in nature. "These lights were rippling all over the world, spreading around it until mysteriously vanishing. According to these reports… they only lasted a few minutes or so." His thumb clicked the screen, revealing multiple images of the same occurrences of the light formation. "Those directly in the path of the beams report pleasurable feelings of peace or relaxation... But then there was a second blast, from the opposite direction." he flipped through the images to show the second wave. "It occurred almost directly after, and the results... are gravely concerning..."
"I thought those manuscripts stated that event wouldn't occur again till we were all long dead and gone…?" Rouge leaned up, focusing on Shadow's words as he pulled the device back, clicking it off and folding it back into his brown cloak. "Is Dark Gaia... really-..?" She hesitated as Shadow shook his head.
"According to the professor… Those manuscripts were documented here… at the Echidna's Mystic Ruins." He looked back to where he was so transfixed in his sights beforehand... "If it is Dark Gaia... we know how to stop him." He then looked back at Rouge, "If it's not..." he then stopped himself and looked forward, "Either way, I've come to investigate the strange occurrence..."
"You don't dillydally long." Rouge lightly teased, leaning the back of her shoulder towards him. "Hasn't this event only occurred a few days ago?"
Shadow smirked and closed his eyes while dipping his head down to move away from her slight leaning on himself and continue his advance forward, "I know disasters when I see them... I am one." he stated, quite grimly.
Rouge looked sorrowfully towards him, "Were... one." she corrected, "Don't make me remind you of all the good you've done since..."
Shadow just remained silent, carrying on as Rouge flapped out her hurt wing, looking at it a moment, but then flying on to show she was recovering well. It wasn't so bad, after all, just a graze.
She flew beside him, and he seemed to look at her injured wing and nod as though grateful she was back in the air and looked relatively unscathed by it.
"So… You're a calamity chaser now?" she smiled, just messing with him, but he was used to the teasing. "Still... Knuckle-boy is involved in all this..?" She let her hip come out a bit as she placed one arm down calmly upon it and the other down by her side. "I was hoping to avoid him today and reap some benefits from exploring this place by my lonesome." She sighed, "Guess plans change…"
"What's your real reason, Rouge?" Shadow shifted his weight, turning away from her but keeping his eyes locked on her deceit.
She closed her eyes, still smiling, but seeing she was caught in the act. "You can tell a lie that quickly from me, eh?"
"What does G.U.N want with the Ruins?"
"Straight to the point…as usual."
Rouge grinned and opened her eyes, batting her wings seductively as she slowed down and turned her body in the air, trying to seduce his attention off the ruins and back to her again. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you." She leaned her head up, before reverting to a serious look on her face. "All work and no talk, is that right? In that case… G.U.N's known about the lights for some time now. The energy signals threaten that of almost the Chaos Emeralds…"
"The Chaos Emeralds?" Shadow looked surprised to hear that, stopping to fully face her, looking up in the air where her wings brushed a pleasant breeze against his face. "So... I was right. You did know about the lights, and you were concealing your information to get all of mine." he deduced, which only made her lift the back of her hand up to her face, smirking.
"We know each other too well." she played.
"Not well enough." he looked away, thinking about her wing being clipped... and how he wished he would have known it was her snooping around sooner.
"Oh..? Something I know and you don't?" she flirted a little, leaning her head to the side and batting her eyes, flying down closer to his face as he kept it sharply turned away, thinking... "That certainly means some treasure for me,… right?"
"Or G.U.N." he was too clever for her ploys, and gave her a pretty straight look, not taking his chances. "Hmph. I don't have time for games, Rouge." Shadow glared a little, not putting up with her cheap tricks and gimmicks. "What has G.U.N learned?"
She pulled back and sighed, "Always ruining my fun..." she breathed out, but then caved, "I'll relent." she put her hands loosely together and bent herself a bit down, working her wings a bit more to show him she was perfectly fine after some rest now. "Here's the juicy details you're looking for, Shady boy... I was sent to investigate the Ancient Echidna ruins in hopes of finding what manuscripts might be missing. After all… you've probably assumed from the Professor that these old parchments might actually hold some future worth to them." She motioned her hand forward as she spoke, returning to her normal approach on matters.
"You've worked long enough with me to know I'm not one for small talk, Rouge…" He insisted... wanting her to hurry along with more details.
"Not when there was work to be done... and danger afoot…" she straightened up, agreeing with him. "Alright... You have a thing for mysteries… do you?"
"Go on, and no more dawdling." He verbally pushed again, seeing she was keeping something from him, and fully faced her with a narrowing of his brow. "You're here for the missing link. To find out what you can about what this may be… hoping it's written somewhere like the Gaia Manuscripts?"
"Exactly." She cooed, "Treasure-hunting was my alibi if Knuckles ratted me out too soon. What's your excuse?" she turned her well-defined body to the side a bit in the air to show off her natural curves, facing the ruins in which they were both headed.
"Something's not quite adding up… it's like this is all happening too neatly…" Shadow decided to lay off her avoidance, finding that she may have told him all she really knew, and continued to realign his sights as she did with her body. "I worry something is controlling all of this... organizing within the shadows something truly catastrophic."
"Such is fate, my friend." She leaned her elbow against his shoulder, making his eyes swipe over to her instantly. "You really should loosen up… the lights haven't reappeared for some time now." She seemed to see how deeply he was affected by this... "What are you thinking could happen with some magic lights..?"
"We've seen many things, Rouge, and none have ever been that graciously peaceful." he dipped his chin down as she looked back with a puzzled look.
"... What kinda threat do you think they impose..? Only those directly in its line, which was pretty high up in the air to be specific, felt such powerful feelings from it, right?" she held up a hand to show that she wasn't too concerned, but still investigating the strange behavior. "They're mostly harmless, all things considering. If they remain in the sky, why should it bother you so, Shadow? They're already gone."
"That's because they're traveling." His voice grew immediately darker.
He shrugged off her touch as she had moved her elbow off and replaced it with her hand, stopping him a moment. "You mean... they're still going on?"
The disagreeable agitation in his voice made her feel slightly 'brushed off', making her pout a bit as he barely paused at her hand on his shoulder either, but instead, she just glided along after him in the air.
"They're circling the earth… like a distress signal… a beacon no one can ignore…"
His voice... he certainly wasn't going to allow himself to ignore it.
Ever since Maria entrusted him to protect the world... his promise... and renewing it with Amy...
"You think the lights are signals?" She looked dumbfounded by that theory.
"Could it be some sort of distress call?"
"Or an act of war." He kept moving ahead, before pivoting to look back at her.
"Come on."
He wouldn't let anything threaten the world Maria loved... the world... he almost destroyed in his own vengeance and fury.
"Oh? Suddenly you want my company?" she looked just as annoyed with his behavior, seeing he was growing impatient by her stopping his ascent towards the ruins so many times. She put her hands to her hips, "You could spare a moment to talk, Shadow." she scolded, but he was done wasting his time. He got what information on G.U.N's side he needed, now... it was about execution and finding that possible manuscript.
Before G.U.N made any unnecessary plans...
"…I could use you to distract the Guardian you're… so fond of." His teasing was so dry, she felt every bit of her body quake holding in further aggression towards her stalling. "Wasn't it you who said I don't 'daddle'?" he continued the smart-aleck remarks, which made Rouge's lower lip rise in an even funnier pout.
"You've hung out with that blue wonder too much..."
He groaned and turned to walk on from her, not wanting to hear about Sonic.
"And your temper has escalated, quite like another red-faced friend of Sonic's we both know..."
He looked back behind him, being more mean than funny at this point, but hoping she'd tag along, regardless...
"You're walking on fine ice, Shadow…"
She warned, bearing her teeth as her eye twitched and she flew after him.
"…In this humidity?"
His voice completely showed his soaked sarcasm. He wasn't intimidated by her 'prideful anger'.
"Why you-!"
She flew after him, "I'll bonk your head again!"
But he raced with his skates onward, hoping she'd keep up...
and staying expertly out of her range...
A funny pair of old partners,...
At their best..!
. . . . .
Arriving inside the ruins, Shadow relied on Rouge's stealth and precision in locating hidden traps to move effortlessly toward the main library.
"So many floors…" he looked around him to see some debris of a previously destroyed Eggman robot. "…How long has this been here?"
"Since the era when Chaos first broke loose under Eggman's control… I'd assume." Rouge flew over him to hover above the hunk of junk, leaning down to see the abandoned mechanical remains. "Hmph. They've just become part of the scenery now... You'd think Eggman would at least do some cleanup duty... Where does he even get all his metal for these toys, anyway?" She looked over the robot as Shadow shook his head, walking on.
"Right,… ancient history." Shadow gave one last look to the robot from over his shoulder, "Some things even G.U.N hasn't figured out, yet." Then continued on as Rouge looked at it in a quiet farewell and then flew back to follow Shadow.
"Almost makes a girl feel pity for it." She sounded a bit drab in that sentence.
"It's not real." Shadow mocked with a monotone, dry humor.
"... Oh, they're real alright." She reminded him of Omega and he lowered his head... thinking of his old ally...
As they made their way to the large, cabinet-like housing area for the scrolls, they noticed how extensive the carved-in squares ran up along the walls…
"They sure were good bookkeepers." Rouge marveled, before flying up and looking for any empty squares… "I can't perfectly read these inscriptions… but I'll do my best." She admitted, before seeing Shadow pull out his device again, taking pictures of the walls. "... You got something on that thing I don't know about?" she put her hands on her hips, leaning down from the air as though looking annoyed, as though her body language was saying, 'Why am I even here if you have that?'.
"Oh?" She saw him not pay any attention to her and flew further down to where he was, "And what's that supposed to do?"
He clicked through the photos as she hovered just over his shoulder behind him, noticing the photos now had translated text upon the inscriptions.
"An automatic translator?" She smiled, "I expected no less of old G.U.N technology. Looks like I taught you something." she smirked over to him with her eyes lowering, as though saying he stole it when he left.
"Tails has many useful apps he's created for these independent servers… he's quite resourceful… when he doesn't know you're hacking into them." His blunt dismissal of her claim at making him a thief made her fly back in a flinch for a moment, before pouting once again at how he really was no fun to mess with. Still... wouldn't stop her.
He clicked through the photos before the Gaia Manuscripts listed on the screen, as Rouge saw a flash of something she recognized. "We already know what happened to that one," her comment made Shadow bend his head down, becoming more fixated on the device's results.
It was taking its sweet time translating…
Finally, Rouge motioned her pointer finger down and zoomed to the side of the device. "There! That one's missing! Go back!"
"Hmm?" He clicked back to show a square that was missing a scroll.
"If you were a thief, you'd have a good eye for that." She winked and lifted up the pointer finger she used to identify the missing space.
He just smiled and huffed a little, which made her happy, seeing he could have a sense of humor... when he wanted to. "We've got a good chance that this could be it." He looked up to try and identify which 'cabinet' the picture showed. His eyes scanned about before pointing to the upper right, "There. Near the corner."
"On it." Rouge flew up to take a look as Shadow made sure she was distracted, before zooming in on the blurred image of a crystal, quickly analyzing it without her knowledge. "…No translation,… huh?" There were no words under the cabinet…
"Shadow!" Rouge's voice exclaimed through the echoing, ancient world's library...
Shadow looked up, peering to see her holding something in her hands, waving it around. "I think I have a clue~" she chimed, looking confident and smug in her discovery. "Like old times, eh?" she flew down to reveal that between her thumb and pointer finger,... a single orange hair. "Ugh, I don't even need to scan it to know who this might be." she replied in disgust.
"Never hurts to not assume." Shadow took it and ran it through the device, finding the Doctor's DNA reading on the scanner.
"Eggman,..." Rouge sighed out in exhaustion, having figured as much. "He's behind this already?" She threw out a shrugged arm, lifting her hand up and back, "Can't a girl catch a break…"
"I think this may be important enough to get Sonic involved." Shadow tucked the hair into a compartment of the device, stringing it through for safekeeping.
"And you don't say that lightly..." Rouge lowered her eyes, teasing him a bit at how much he didn't like working with others... especially Sonic. But at least he pleasantly tolerated her company~
"Send G.U.N the Doctor's recent hair samples… they've been meaning to try and keep tabs on him through some means of identification." Shadow wondered if Eggman's health was something G.U.N was taking into consideration... he may look old, but he wasn't reaching that decline just yet...
"Hmm? How'd you know it was Eggman's if you weren't using G.U.N's Server-ah!" he tossed her the device, cutting her off as he began to turn back and walk away.
"Tails." He stated bluntly and sharply. "He's got all the information I ever need to know." He then wandered off as Rouge held the device, angrily looking down at it and squeezing it in-between her hands, glaring up at Shadow.
"He acts like I'm not even needed!" She huffed out, twitching an eyebrow. "And after all we've been through together!"
"You're not." Shadow's voice was quiet and yet, it rang through the halls to gently pass her honed bat ears...
"W-what?" She suddenly looked very hurt, as he stopped to turn around, spinning his finger in the air.
"These walls echo." He stated, again, quite bluntly. "They were hollow... until your bad mood showed up." he smiled to show he was teasing, but she was just embarrassed at that point.
She was half-tempted to throw the device, swinging her arm back. "I'll teach you to treat me like I'm second-best!" A game they had played for a while... but... Shadow never did get bored of it.
"If I only cared about your skills, I wouldn't have gone back for you." He kept trying to leave, but she always pulled him back... somehow. Smiling, and giving a bit of a wave back to her, he made one final remark. "I'll take care of Knuckles… Alert G.U.N of the approaching danger. The Doctor's awake from his long slumber…"
She held the phone back to her front, watching with concerned eyes as Shadow flipped the hoody back on and his shadow… faded with the last line of light before he disappeared deeper into the ancient structure. "Shadow…" She didn't like leaving him on his own... but... "You're the one that shot me, you sly ignoramus! Hmph." she swiped her head away from his direction, hoping he had heard that, and then quickly went to work as she went to contact G.U.N...
. . . . .
Shadow had managed to make it to Angel Island, the teleporting flash effect made it appear as though he used Chaos Control. He flipped his cloak behind him to fully take it off, letting it go flying into the wind before descending over the edge behind the floating island.
His stride was with conviction as he passed the peaceful Chao, all enjoying their lives and seeming especially invigorated today… As beforementioned, somewhat carrying on their earlier merriment.
He walked by a few who excitedly came to greet him, mostly flapping their wings out of his way as they warmly smiled at him, trying to seek his attention. Some flew to his feet, trying to latch on for a wild ride but he never stopped to scold them. So, they continued to sit on his feet or try and hang on behind his ankle as he finally made his way to the Master Emerald's Altar.
"Hey, look… You can't just-!" Knuckles's voice seemed to be growing strained and frustrated, as though he's been having this conversation or... arguement... for a while now. "G-Go back in the Master Emerald!" Knuckles tried to push against the God of Destruction, who protested being shoved back up against his green prison and held his ground, his feet skidding in added resistance against Knuckles's brute strength.
"I won't… tell you…grrr… agaaainn…!" Knuckles closed his eyes, twitching as he used all his force to try and get Chaos back inside the Master Emerald. He wasn't even sure why or how he could be out of it, again... Even though his watery feet were sliding back with slight flinching motions, he wouldn't budge. "Grrahh..! Your feet are made of water! Why aren't you slipping at all!?" Knuckles was just growing more agitated that he was losing to a shaped mass of water more than anything...
Bubbling noises brewed with the heat of Chao's anger from within his head, his exposed brain pulsing slightly as his eyes narrowed to show his frustrations at Knuckles's ignorance of what he was trying to convey.
"Augh! Why won't you move..?" Finally letting up, Knuckles let go of Chaos's body, having lowered his head to his chest to try and use more force against him, but the leverage didn't have any effect at all. "You're entire mass is water right..?" He nodded to Chaos and gestured his gloved hands out as though pleading for validation on this matter, "Am I weaker than water..?" he scratched the top of his head, confused. "You've never been like this before… you're not attacking me. You're not even looking for an Emerald to power up into your other forms with… so… what gives?" he shrugged, deciding to finally talk now that Chaos was showing how adamantly he was going to hold his own against Knuckles's best efforts to try and return things to normal.
With all the might and glory of a God, Chaos rose his head with pristine royalty… an ancient pride that Knuckles seemed to pick up on.
Knuckles moved back a bit, his feet slightly skidding rocks back under themselves as he moved away. "H-hey, buddy… come on now. I won't fight if you won't…" he held his hands to the side but up to show he had no desire for hostilities, looking worried. "We're all just… having a peaceful morning, right?" he looked a bit afraid that Chaos might rampage again, but somehow... this looked... different.
Still, he strained his teeth and had some sweat on the side of his face, "What on this green planet has gotten into you?" when he said that, Chaos nodded as though it was correct.
What was correct?!
Chaos lowered his head, bubbling up throughout his body again before turning to neutrally acknowledge something behind Knuckles.
"H-huh… what's behind my-…" Still spooked, Knuckles slowly turned his head. "YE-AHH-HAAA…!" He lifted his leg up and arched his body back, getting shaken up by Shadow's random appearance there. "S-Sha-Shadow!?"
"…What's he doing out here?" Shadow had his arms folded, momentarily looking at Knuckles before glaring at Chaos. "I thought he was supposed to be a great evil sealed into the Master Emerald… his power only ever being exposed when released through the combined power of the Chaos Emeralds."
Chaos equally glared back at Shadow, his bubbles now a bit bigger than usual...
For a moment, there was an intense glaring contest between the two, as if they both were unwilling to back down from an obvious 'size-me-up' challenge…
"Uhh… I should ask you the same thing..!" Knuckles threw up a fist and stomped a foot down... before calming down a bit and figuring it was probably best to talk to someone about Chaos's strange behavior anyway, "He's just..." He looked once again back with puzzled annoyance at Chaos's appearance. "... Standing there! Every time I move, he follows. It's like he can't go anywhere without me."
"…Is that so?" Shadow raised an eyebrow, cutting off the threatening atmosphere the two once had… "Ultimate Chaos… that's his final form, right?"
Chaos broke his piercing look as well.
"…I wonder what he would think… if he knew a part of his power dwelt in a being like me… giving me the same title as his own."
"...Uh…" Knuckles just looked between the strange 'power struggle' of the two, back and forth, "Yeah, I guess so… Anyway- WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE ON MY ISLAND?!" he blinked a moment before yelling with a yapping jaw to Shadow's—equally strange—appearance here. "This is a protected wildlife reserve and ancient ruined treasure! You can't be here without-!"
Shadow swiped out an Emerald.
Chaos's eyes widened back, his body lurching forward a moment as his two-clawed hands arched on his sides. The fingers twitched...
"…Uh… Hey, what gives?!" Knuckles reacted with a step back, before looking to what he thought could be an offering of 'peace'.
Hardly...
Shadow had been trying to avoid Knuckles... now, it was inevitable to face him and ask his questions directly...
"…Do you know what those lights were?"
Chaos's eyes narrowed.
Shadow turned to directly hold the Chaos Emerald before Chaos, pivoting away from Knuckles... It wasn't Knuckles who he was meaning to address... But Chaos, the God of Destruction, himself...
"…Who were you trying to contact?"
"What are you talking about?" Knuckles stepped as a mediator out into the center of their views, holding his arms out to stop any hostilities he was sensing between them. "Let's all just calm down and try and understand something… what are you here for?" A bit of a hypocrite to his earlier actions... some may say.
But it showed that Knuckles had grown a lot, and wisdom from his past failures and gullible mistakes was not kept from this learning...
"Answers." Shadow stated firmly, tossing up the Chaos Emerald, "Now… step aside." He watched Chaos's head follow the action, "You want this..?" he caught it expertly as it came down, smirking as he held it across his chest, away from Chaos. Chaos leaned forward, ready to fight the obvious Hedgehog's whims for a competition... "You'll have to tell me what's going on first… Or I'll take out your Guardian here…" He gestured the Chaos Emerald threateningly over to Knuckles, who Chaos just tilted his head to, as though he wasn't really caring about such a thing.
"What?! S-Shadow!" Knuckles got into a defending stance. "Those are fighting words!" His gloved-hands came up in fists, ready to fight if necessary.
"They were intended to be." Shadow never took his eyes off Chaos until Knuckles moved more into view, then his eyes shifted to the right to see him intervening with the placement of his body.
"Grr… Look, I'm getting real steamed now!" Knuckles's eyes twitched in rage, but there was also a sweat of worry… "You're both acting really strange! What's gotten into ya!?" what was Shadow doing here? Threatening Chaos? And now, himself!? "You're acting like someone who's afraid!" he finally stated.
Shadow remained silent to that accusation... "I won't ask a second time… or do you not understand what I'm trying to say?" he lowered his head, looking like he was having fun interrogating a God, not even bothering to address Knuckles again. He lurched forward to punch Knuckles's in the gut, as Chaos's head flung up and he stood somewhat more erect, as though now showing he did somewhat care about what the Black and Red Hedgehog was doing.
Was it... Chaos Control that made him move so fast? Teleporting in a quick flash to jab him in the stomach... not really 'fair' conduct for a fight... Which resulted in Knuckles being unable to block in time. "AH..! Ahhhh..." Knuckles winced back at the pain but quickly threw Shadow off of him. "HuuurrrAHHH!"
Shadow spun back and landed with ease, holding the Chaos Emerald up again. "You're trying my patience… I know Eggman stole a manuscript from the Mystic Ruins… I know it has something to do with you, too."
Chaos dipped himself even further down, rage boiling his watery form from the inside as his whole body was bursting with bubbles streaming up his body.
"Grr… Erk… You were snooping around… my people's temples?!" he was really getting ticked off now, gripping his stomach's side. he side-stepped a second, not allowing himself to keel over that easily, and getting his free fist ready for another sucker punch. He stepped forward, "You..! I've had my hands full with this silent problem not leaving me be and trying to leave the island as it is!"
"…Leaving..?" Shadow's eyes widened suddenly in realization. He quickly took a glance at Knuckles before focusing his entire attention back to Chaos... "You said he didn't leave your side..."
"Yeah, only because it looks like he can't without me." Knuckles pounded lightly on his leg as though to redirect the pain from his side. "And it's my duty to keep him here… So either you take that sorry smug off your face and leave… or I'll throw you off the edge MYYYSEEELLLFF!" he came full-blown after Shadow, dashing up and jumping to throw a punch at him, the wind creating lines of actions along with hair spines.
"Hmph." Shadow jumped as Knuckles crushed the altar's foundation underneath where he once stood, dodging with minimum effort. "Chaos Control!" he teleported below the altar, confusing Knuckles.
"Huh? Heh, cheap tricks!" Knuckles pulled his fist up and readied for another hard swing, protecting his sides this time around. "I wasn't expecting a fight, but this time, I'm ready for it!"
"You're both full of them." He said this slightly under his breath, before standing upright and looking much less hostile. "I agree to a civil understanding. I'll yield… for now."
"For now? A civil, what? YOU GET BACK UP HERE AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN, COWARD!" Knuckles stomped his foot down, about to rush down the stairs before seeing Chaos eager to follow him.
"Ah! Hey! No! You can't come with me! You have to stay here! No—I mean—back in the Master Emerald!" He turned his stomping feet to Chaos behind him, away from Shadow, acting like a child throwing a tantrum as Chaos just continued to look annoyed at him slamming him back up against the Master Emerald.
Knuckles tried to scoot him once more with a forceful tackle but Chaos bubbled as though to say it was pointless and to stop.
"Grr… I don't care how much you garble like a brook! You're not going anywhere!" Knuckles made a firm stance on the matter, as Shadow began to put two and two together.
"He's trying to find the source of those lights' power, too… He wasn't calling anyone." Shadow was getting intense again, realizing that it wasn't Chaos causing this disturbance.
"They were calling him."
A Chaos Rift streaked through the sky.
Since the floating island was close enough, level to the lights already, the sent blast rippled its wave straight through Shadow, Knuckles, the Master Emerald, and Chaos himself.
Shadow lurched back, quivering at the warm light that radiated the chaos he was fused with when Dr. Gerald Robotnik created him. The feeling soared power through him that he'd never experienced before, and shook a hand over his chest, not sure how to interpret the strange wave and the sensations it sent to him.
"Wha…What's happening..?" he felt invigorated as if energy just flowed through him all at once. However, it passed just as quickly as Knuckles felt it fly through his core as well, giving him pleasant sensations that left his knees shaking and face flushed somewhat.
"What..?" He was momentarily caught off-guard as his eyes shook and he looked down at the ground.
Chaos just rose his head, as though babbling a soft, sorrowful reply back to the sky with his bubbles... The Chao flew up and danced about, cheering and rotating with partners in the air as though dancing in joy.
Some looked at each other before the wave passed them and then were blown over by it, giggling and rubbing their tummies as it seemed to have the same effect on them, enjoying the 'tickles' as it pleased them.
Knuckles leaned back, feeling the effects and trying to resist them, although they relaxed every muscle and filled him with zero-weariness, absolute focus, and a feeling of peace. "GRRRR… WHAT IS THIS THING!?" He frustratedly asked, embarrassed how nice it felt as he looked at the palm of his hands. "It's making every fiber of my body... Grr... NOT MAD." he admitted, though strained to do so.
The wave continued to ripple as Chaos's head, leaned up towards the sky, now followed the passing beam of arched light behind him. He let a ringing sound escape from himself as his eyes glowed, and reached out to touch The Master Emerald's surface. Suddenly, a massive light force also burst and rippled from it, blasting the Emerald in Shadow's hand clean out of his grasp at its power. A shockwave in return to the iridescent rays of light, also circular and spreading out from Chaos's influence this time.
"Ah..!" Shadow looked behind him to see the Chaos Emerald curling its trajectory and landing with a few tinks upon the ground. It rolled towards itself, being magnetically pulled towards the light of the Master Emerald.
Chaos was losing control, it seemed. His eyes blared to life with an emerald green that shone as brightly as that of the Master Emerald. It was like he was crying out…
Then, as quickly as his reply of light was sent forth, a pink hue glistened within the Master Emerald, and Chaos's chest rose with its light as well.
He then cried out another metallic pitch as he threw his arms down in front of him, and a powerful Chaos Wave flew back over the island and through the sky again, knocking everyone down, and this time… not such a pleasant feeling…
It left them drained, feeling ill, and bruised.
Chao fell to hide behind rocks or their fountains, only to be left gripping their stomachs and looking about ready to barf.
It was an awful feeling… compared to the light they first endured.
Knuckles, having been thrown back to the edge of the stairs again, felt his legs finally come down and rolled his spine upwards. "Ugghh… What was that?" he held his head, "That wasn't pleasant at all." He shook his head and looked back to Chaos, "Felt like your punch to the gut, Shadow..." he confessed as Shadow was down on one knee, unable to stop his eye from twitching at the terrible sensation.
As though a fight with an upset stomach, crawling sensations of electricity that left the body tense and immovable... dizziness that ached the mind.
What... why was it so opposite from before?
"Ah! Chaos, you're-!" Knuckles suddenly got up, feeling the sensation pass just like the fluid wash of the last wave of light's sensations. He got up and hurried to Chaos, seeing him panting, his shoulders moving up and down as his body was completely arched over in a hunch toward the ground. His body… was melting.
Small puddles formed at his feet, the energy used to send such a blast back... but why? What was going on? His liquid made him seep somewhat into the ground, his legs becoming one and his body wobbling in his exhaustion.
But... was it physical or... emotional?
Little pieces of himself dripped down onto the yellowish stone foundation, but the Master Emerald now shined with a lesser light… a pink vortex, like galaxy sparkles, radiated and spun inside itself in another light show of power.
Knuckles slowly looked around Chaos at it, mesmerized by its beauty. "Woah… I didn't know you could do that…" he seemed innocent to it all, staring into it like that, before Shadow rapidly sped passed him and gripped Chaos's throat, struggling to contain him as he was already melted down quite a bit, mid-waist in fact. Shadow had no issue reaching his slippery throat...
"Who are you trying to contact!?" Shadow demanded before Chaos shook in his grasp, clamping his watery claw on his arm, and began to slowly rip it away from him. His water began to reform himself, raising him higher than Shadow and with his hand being forced away from his throat, brought it up with him to loom over Shadow's form.
He wasn't so weakened anymore... he was enraged again,... and Shadow needed to learn some manners in the presence of a supposed, ancient deity.
In amazement, Shadow's eyes shook in wonder as he tried to resist Chaos's pure power.
Even in his weaker form… without an 'Ultimate' title, Chaos lifted Shadow up by his arm and stretched his body up into one pillar of water, his other arm morphing into his body as he stared dangerously into Shadow's eyes, making him leveled with him.
He had had enough of the questions... it was time for the mortals to just do as they were told.
Shadow's whole body flinched… he was made of the same power as Chaos and yet…
Chaos was still a God…
(EDITED, and more to come! Stay tuned ;D)
