Sun was rising over Little Planet as Marian slowly walked out of her house. She stretched and then sighed. Life couldn't be better at the moment. Tails and Amy hadn't come back yet but she figured they must be staying in Mobotropolis for a while. The garden outside her house was in full bloom and the smell of various flowers and herbs filled the air. One was more noticeable than the others.
"Lavender." She sighed, "Whether the herb or my grand daughter I love them both."
"MARIAN!" cried Patrick's voice.
Marian turned to see Patrick charging out of the house.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Knothole has been attacked!" he said.
"What? How……..when?!"
"Last night. The entire village has been wiped out! There are also rumours floating around that Sonic, Sally, Tails and Amy have all gone missing."
"Where did you hear this?"
"It was just on the news."
"My god!"
Marian just stared forwards, her eyes fixed on nothing in particular. Just then Little Planet gave a shake. The sky shimmered and started to fade.
"What?" said Patrick, "This can't be happening."
"Something has happened to Amielle." said Marian panicking, "Little Planet wouldn't do this if she was still ok. Something has happened to her."
"But that means….oh god."
Little Planet gave a small rumble and the sky suddenly went black. The shadow over Never Lake disappeared as Little Planet was ripped from the timeline.
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A red echidna glided over the ocean. He had been flying all night but he didn't notice his tiredness. There was something more pressing on his mind, something more urgent.
"What has happened to my island?" he said to himself.
He looked down. Far below a large opaque field was moving outwards slowly. It rose at its highest to about a mile and spread for about twenty miles in every direction. The centre of the field was directly under where Floating Island had once been. He had searched all over but there was no sign of the Floating Island anywhere.
"I've failed." he said to himself, "I've failed AGAIN!"
Memories of eight years ago flooded back to him. How he hadn't been there when Sarath had appeared. How his island had been destroyed and only by pure chance had it been brought back. He had sworn on that day never to let it happen again. He had sworn never to let anything get between him and his island. But he had, numerous times, and now it was too late. The island was gone. What made it worse was the knowledge that his parents and Espio had been on the island. They were gone too. He took a shuddering breath and glided lower. He was now only a few meters from the top of the field now. He could feel the energy it was giving off.
"It's Chaos energy!" he said to himself.
Just then a bolt of energy shot up at him. He was so wrapped up in guilt and sorrow that he didn't notice until it was too late. The bolt hit him and he screamed. He fell from the sky and fell into the field.
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"No don't do this! Leave me alone!" she wailed.
A tube descended around her.
"No don't! Please! I'll do anything!"
"Anything?" said a voice.
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Chalk suddenly sprang upright screaming.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she cried.
She bowed her head and started to sob. She couldn't believe she had actually said that to him. All the hurt and pain she had caused so far was terrible.
"I should have let him robotosise me rather than this!" she wailed.
She continued her sobbing for a few moments before she became aware of a searing pain in her head. She let out a cry and collapsed back into her back.
"It's ok." said a voice.
The pain suddenly became a secondary concern. Who the voice belonged to was more important. It sounded familiar too.
"It's ok Chalk. You've got a nasty burn and a bit of tissue damage but otherwise you're ok."
"Who……who are you?" said Chalk looking to one side.
A pink hedgehog walked out of a small room to the side. It was Sonia. Chalk stiffened.
"No no no! Don't do that. It'll make things worse." said Sonia rushing to Chalk side.
Sonia slowly applied a small object on Chalk's head. Chalk went tense for a moment until she felt a warming feeling where the object was. She sighed.
"That will help heal your wound." said Sonia turning away.
Suddenly Sonia felt a tug on her clothing. She turned round again. Chalk had reached out and grabbed her.
"Why?" she said, "Why are you helping me? I…….I….."
"Shh Chalk. Let's just say you talk in your sleep. We have a slightly better idea of who you are now. For now rest. I will come and get you when we are ready to see you."
Chalk still looked worried and very nervous but she lay back in bed anyway.
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Robotnik looked at a monitor. Displayed on it were five boxes. In four of the word 'Green' was displayed. The fifth had the word 'Red' in it. Robotnik press a control and an image lit up on the screen. It showed a large blue craft. He glanced back at the display. The final box lit up 'Green'.
"Perfect. Launch Destroyer squadron." he said.
"Launch in progress." said the computer.
On the screen a large door slid open above the ship and it took off.
"They once managed to destroy one of my Destroyers but let's see them destroy five….and without that hedgehog to help them!"
Robotnik turned away from the screen laughing.
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Sonia helped Chalk along the corridor. Chalk was huddled up as tightly as possible in an attempt to disappear. She was absolutely terrified and it showed. Even thought Sonia knew what she had done she still felt sorry for Chalk. Eventually they came to the meeting room. Inside T2, Petya, Manic and Charles were waiting. They all eyed Chalk suspiciously as she came in but then saw how scared she was. Nobody sat down. There were a few seconds of silence and then T2 spoke.
"Ok then Chalk. You can start by telling us who you are, where you're from and what is going on." he said.
Chalk looked at him nervously. Her breathing was slow and shallow and her colour had gone rather white. Finally she spoke.
"My…my name really is Chalk." she said, "I come from a remote area of Mobius to the east. I was out on a walk a few weeks ago and then…………then …..he came."
"Who is he?" said Petya.
"Ro……" Chalk took a sharp gasp of air, "…Robotnik."
"What?!" cried everyone at once.
Chalk didn't say anything.
"But he's been dead for over fifteen years!" said Charles.
"He was caught in the explosion of Doomsday!" said T2.
"Caught………but not killed." said Chalk slowly.
She was getting more nervous by the second.
"He survived!" she wailed.
Everyone gasped. Sonia quickly put an arm around Chalk's shoulders. Obviously this news affected her just as bad if not worst than everyone else.
"Go on Chalk." encouraged Sonia.
"He…….he survived and hid in the mountains. Slowly he managed to scrape together machinery. He eventually built a small base. After that there was little stopping him. He started to develop different technologies and then to watch everything that went on. He kidnapped me a few weeks ago to test his……….his robotosiser."
"He built one from scratch?!" said Manic.
Just then a though struck Sonia.
"How old are you Chalk?" she asked.
"Eighteen." replied the rabbit, a lump forming in her throat, "I was terrified. I had heard about Robotnik from my parents and…….I begged him not to do it. I said I'd do anything."
"What did he do?" asked Petya.
"He spared me. But used me for something else instead. He implanted cybernetic devices in my body."
Chalk raised her right hand. Her finger ends were covered with metal and they were connected by wires to a band around her wrist.
"He turned me into a cybernetic warrior to do his bidding."
Chalk suddenly started to cry. Sonia pulled her closer.
"But how did he make you do all those things?" asked Sonia.
"He implanted a control device into my head." replied Chalk.
"That must have been the thing you hit when you shot her back at Knothole." said Petya.
"Yes." said Chalk, "With that gone I am no longer under his control."
"Wait a minute. How did he control you? There isn't technology like that anywhere on Mobius." said Manic.
"He invented it himself. He based the technology on some amulet and some part he recovered from a crashed space station." said Chalk.
"Sarath's amulet!" said Charles.
"And that space station I came from." said T2.
"How did he know about those things?" said Petya.
"He monitored everything from his hiding place. He knows everything that has happened since you defeated him." said Chalk.
"What did he do to Knothole!" said Manic.
"He launched a missile at it. Knotholes location has been known to him for many years now." said Chalk.
"Well it wasn't difficult to find." put in Petya, "Its location is known to every Mobian in the area. There was no need to hide it once he and Snively were gone."
"Chalk. Do you know anything about the Floating Island?" asked T2.
Chalk nodded slowly.
"Robotnik wanted rid of it. He tried for the Emeralds in the past but he isn't bothered about them now. He just wanted to make sure no-one else could get them either. Using data he gathered from Snively's Chaos Cannon he built a new cannon. He explained it to me a few days ago."
"Must have wanted someone to show off too." said Charles.
"I don't really understand much of what he said but he kept going on about how you can't use Chaos energy to destroy something that can withstand Chaos energy."
"That makes sense." said Charles, "The Floating Island has had the Emeralds on it so long it must be full of Chaos energy………that's why Snively's cannon did so little damage compared to what it did to the wolf pack."
"That follows Charles." said Petya, "Go on Chalk."
"He said you needed reverse energy to do more damage. He made something and last night he fired it. I think he wasn't expecting what happened."
"What did happen?" said Manic, "What is that field thing."
"It is made of pure Chaos energy." said a voice.
Everyone looked round to see Lavender, Miles, Alicia and Bunnie standing in the doorway.
"Lavender. You're awake. Are you feeling better?" said Petya.
"I'm not feeling as strong but I'm ok." replied Lavender.
"The little sugah insisted on coming down here. Ah couldn't stop her." said Bunnie.
"That's ok Bunnie." said T2, "You said something about this Lavender?"
"Yes. It's pure Chaos energy from the Chaos and Master Emerald."
"What do you mean from?" said Charles.
"The Emeralds have all been shattered." said Lavender.
"WHAT!" cried Charles.
"It was whatever Robotnik fired at the island. It shattered the Emeralds and released their energy. That's why I collapsed. The sudden loss of all that energy from the Vault nearly killed me."
"Released?" said T2.
"Yes. The Chaos energy is now loose on Mobius. Anything that goes near it is absorbed. The field is also expanding slowly." said Lavender.
"Where's mum?" said Alicia.
"And dad." said Miles.
Chalk suddenly broke down into tears.
"There gone." she wailed, "He…..he robotosised them."
Miles and Alicia just stared at Chalk for a moment and then both broke into tear. Bunnie grabbed hold of them and held them tightly. She looked up at the rabbit.
"What the ho-ha are you doing?! They're children for lords sake!" she cried.
Sonia was holding Chalk tightly.
"Can it Bunnie! You don't know the whole story here!" she yelled.
Bunnie took no notice and went back to comforting Miles and Alicia. Sonia suddenly remember something.
"Oh god! What about Tails and Amy?!" she said.
"It's too late." said Chalk softly, "There gone too."
The entire room fell silent. Lavender's calm expression suddenly changed. The twenty year old mentality fell away and the five year old child came out. She burst into tear and collapsed on the floor. T2 was by her side quickly. Suddenly the palace alarm went off. Charles pressed a button on his comm unit.
"Report." he said firmly.
"We have ships on approach vector." said a voice.
"Feed it through to the meeting room."
At the far end of the room a large black screen came to life. The image unfuzzed and everyone gasped.
"He launched them!" cried Chalk with a wail.
"Are those what ah think they are?" said Bunnie staring at the screen.
On the screen where five blue ships. They each spewed a black mist behind them. Behind them was a barren wasteland.
"They are Bunnie. Those ships are identical to Robotnik's Destroyers." said Charles.
"Destroyers? But he only ever made one of those and Sonic and Sally destroyed it when they went to the past!" said T2 looking up.
They continued to watch. The ships moved into the outer fringes of Mobotropolis. Every tree and planet behind then died, every building was changed to a metal structure and something else.
"What's happening?!" said Petya.
As they watched anyone who was caught in the mist was instantly robotosised.
"He's modified his destroyers." said Chalk, "The mist now robotosises as well."
"We have to get out of here." said Charles.
"You're right." said T2 picking up Lavender.
Bunnie quickly released Miles and Alicia.
"Come on sugah's, we have to move!" she said.
Miles and Alicia forgot their sorrow for a few moments and followed everyone else at a run out of the palace. Behind them the Destroyers swept over the city.