Chapter 5 – Revival

With a loud boom that shook the undergrowth, Sonic shot down the hill at the military base. Pulling out an automatic frag grenade launcher he aimed and fired all three shots ahead of him. The grenades hit the base's main gate and surrounding defenses all of which exploded. Sonic quickly discarded the launcher and shot through the open entrance. Alarms went off all over the base.

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"I hope he'll be alright." said Sally.

"Don't worry about him Sally." replied T2, "Sonic may be getting on a bit in age but he has still got it where it counts."

"What do you mean getting on a bit? He's only as old as me and I'm still perky." said Sally.

"Oh come off it Sally." joked Manic, "You're over the hill."

"Thirty four is NOT over the hill! Besides who are you to joke. You're the same age." replied Sally.

Manic suddenly stopped and everyone looked at him.

"Oh yeah." he said finally.

Knuckles broke down in laughter.

"At least I still got a year over you two." he said.

"Come on people. This is no time for jokes." snapped Sally.

"You're right Sal." said T2, "Come on you two."

Manic and Knuckles quickly shut up and followed Sally and T2 down the side of the hill. It was nearly vertical and covered in loose rocks making their decent fast and hazardous but they soon all stood as the bottom. Whereas Sonic had gone straight frontal at the outpost, the rest of them had decided to sneak in round the back and try to find out what they needed. As the alarms went off they made their move. With a quick leap Knuckles was up the defense wall and had knocked out two very surprised looking guards. Moments later T2 arrived carrying Sally and Manic.

"Nicely done Knux." said Manic.

"Thank me later. We have to hurry." replied Knuckles jumping down into the complex.

The rest joined him and together they slowly made their way into the base. At the present time they appeared to go un-noticed.

"Sonic's distraction really worked well." said T2.

"I just hope he doesn't get over confident." said Sally.

"Shh." hissed Knuckles, "I hear something."

The group stopped at Knuckles command and listened.

"….order from Commander Jake! Make all personnel and prisoners ready for immediate transport."

"Yes sir!"

"Those two in holding are a top priority."

"Yes sir!"

Knuckles looked back at the rest.

"Two in holding? Top priority?" he said.

"That's gotta be Chalk and Sonia!" said Manic quickly

"Maybe its Amy and that hedgehog?" said Sally.

"Could be." said T2, "Either way we should check it out."

"Agreed." said Sally, "But how. If they are that important they'll be under heavy guard."

"I can handle that." said Knuckles with a grin.

"How?" asked T2.

"Like this." replied Knuckles.

He took a step backwards and in a bright flash shifted to his super form.

"Scram." he said.

Without warming he spun and took a running step before disappearing in a flash of light. T2 turned to the others.

"We better get out of here before all hell breaks loose." he said.

The others nodded in agreement. T2 quickly took hold of their hand and spun his tails.

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"Weehoo!" cried Sonic as he effortlessly evaded another laser blast.

The retaliation against him was intense but it was nothing he couldn't handle. A few laser cannons and a few troops. As he was only a distraction he was busy causing as much trouble as possible. As he dodged another blast he noticed a bright flash from within the base. A moment later a squad of men were sent flying as a pinkish coloured blur shot into view.

"So Knuckles has finally decided to join in. Wondered how long it would take. Probably means they've found something. I better follow." said Sonic to himself.

Since Knuckles has been revived by the Chaos Emerald he had found that he could go super at will and head no need for rings. Sonic, to say the least, had been impressed. With that Sonic skidded to a halt, spun through a hundred and eighty degrees and shot after the blur. Even going his fastest he could only just keep up. Knuckles' super form was definitely fast. Sonic watched as Knuckles ignored a defense turret and headed straight through it blowing it to piece. Sonic had to swerve several times to avoid the flying debris as well as the vast amounts of laser fire heading in his direction. As Sonic watched Knuckles smash through one of the base walls a huge explosion threw him off his feet. He flew through the air for a few seconds before landing with a thud a few meters away. He looked up quickly but could already his predicament. Ever soldier and turret was trained on him waiting. Sonic was thinking fast. Could he dodge every shot fired if he tried to escape? Possibly, but what if he didn't. They would kill him if they gave them a reason. Sonic blinked, there was only one thing he could do to guarantee his survival. With a bit of reluctance he slowly raised his hands.

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"Oh god!" said T2 as he glanced over his shoulder.

Sally, Manic and himself were nearly at the wall of the base now hovering about ten feet off the ground. T2 had been waiting for a clear spot to dive out of cover and cross the wall but he had seen something more important.

"What is it T2?" asked Sally.

"Sally look! Sonic!" said T2 nodding in the direction.

Sally looked and gasped. Sonic was surrounded by a large number of soldiers and he had….raised his hands! Sally's face fell.

"Sonic! What's he doing?!" cried Sally.

Just then one of the soldiers approached Sonic from behind and gave him a hard smack around the head with the butt of his gun. Sonic fell to the floor with a thud. Sally panicked.

"We have to do something! T2 we gotta save him!" she said quickly.

"Sally we can't do anything to that force. We have no weapons and Knuckles will be getting tired soon so he'll have to drop out of his super form." replied T2.

"What about your Power Stone?"

"As I've said before Sally I can't do anything. Ever since Petya went missing the Power Stone has been incredibly weak. I can't do anything with it. I've got no power left."

"But we can't just leave…"

"We have to." said a voice.

They all turned to see Knuckles standing below them. He was back to his normal self and looked tired.

"I've exhausted myself trying to find out about the prisoners here. We need to get out of here." he said.

"No." said Sally shaking her head frantically.

Just then T2 spun his tails a little faster and started to lift them upwards.

"T2! Wait! There might be something we can do!" said Sally as they started to clear the wall.

T2 didn't reply. Sally looked over at Manic hanging next to her. He was staring at the ground looking glum. Sally glanced back to see a couple of soldiers picking up Sonic and carrying him off.

"Sonic." she said quietly as they passed over the wall.

T2 landed on the opposite side and Knuckles soon jumped down next to them after climbing the wall. With a bit of reluctance Sally followed the others towards a small wood at a run.

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Chalk and Sonia huddled in a corner of their cell cuddling each other. They were both partly asleep but their ears twitched listening for sounds. Just then a loud clang made them both snap back to alertness. They looked up to see the door at the end of the cell block had slid open. They looked back at each other.

"They're coming back." said Chalk.

"Yes." replied Sonia.

"Sonia! They're coming back!"

"So?"

"SO?! Sonia they…"

Chalk didn't finish her sentence. Instead she buried her head in Sonia's shoulder and started to cry.

"Sonia! Don't let them take me away again! Please don't let them take me." she cried.

Sonia didn't reply. Instead she lowered her head into Chalk's shoulder and stared at it. They both heard the cell door open and felt each other tense. Just then there was a small grunt from the soldier and then a thud followed quickly by the cell door closing again. Neither of them looked up until they heard the far door close. When they did Chalk slowly raised her head. Lying on the floor of the cell was a blue hedgehog. He looked familiar, too familiar.

"S…Sonic?" she said quietly.

"Sonic?" said Sonia turning slightly.

The hedgehog groaned and slowly shook his head.

"Ooooh! Great plan Sonic! Brilliant plan!" he said.

"Sonic!" cried Chalk.

The hedgehog looked over at them and blinked.

"My god! Chalk! Sonia! So you were here after all! I'm glad you're ok." said Sonic standing up slowly.

As Sonic looked at them he could tell that they weren't alright though. The way they huddle in a corner was to say the least disturbing.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Neither of the girls spoke. Sonic walked up to them and crouched next to their huddle.

"You alright?" he asked again.

Sonia just continued to stare at Chalk's shoulder. Chalk slowly looked up at him.

"Are you here to rescue us?" she asked.

Sonic leaned back slightly. He hadn't planned on them being here. It threw an unexpected element into the works. And unexpected things needed unexpected solutions.

"You bet!" he cried cheerfully, "Don't worry I'll get you out in no time."

Sonic spun to the bars. They didn't look too tough. They obviously hadn't expected Sonic the Hedgehog to be in here. Sonic drew himself back and threw himself at the bars curling into a ball as he did.

"Sonic wait!" cried Chalk, "The bars are…"

Sonic wouldn't have had time to stop even if he had heard. He hit the bars but instead of smashing or cutting through there was a fizzle and Sonic found himself sliding down the back wall of the cell feeling very dazed.

"The bars have repulsive fields around them." finished Chalk quietly.

Sonic had now reached the floor and shook his head hard.

"Ooooh! This is going to be tougher than I thought." he said quietly.

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"We have to go back!" cried Sally.

"Sally get a grip for lords sake!" cried Knuckles shaking her, "Do you think we can just walk in there again? Last time we had surprise, do you think they will simply stand down now? No! If anything that place will be buttoned up so tight it'll be turning blue!"

"Knuckles calm it!" said T2.

"Calm it!" cried Knuckles releasing Sally, who staggered back onto Manic, "You're telling me to calm it?!"

"Yes!" screamed T2., "Shut up and calm down NOW!"

Even without the power of the Power Stone, T2 was still intimidating when angry. His eyes flashed and Knuckles quickly shut up.

"What you said is right Knuckles but we mustn't let this effect us." he said.

"How can't it?" asked Manic who was now holding a sobbing Sally, "We go in to try and rescue Chalk and Sonia, if they were even there, and end up losing another team member. And not just anyone, Sonic for god sake!"

"I know but we still have a chance." replied T2, "They can't keep them there forever and eventually they will have to step down security. If they try to move him we can intercept and if Sonic is even slightly awake he'll be looking for a way to escape anyway."

"That's true." said Knuckles quietly.

T2 looked out over the area. They had made their way to a high point about a mile from Never Lake and were now looking down at the lake and the base next to it. He growl quietly to himself. Just then he saw a strange sight. He blinked to make sure it wasn't something in his eye but it was there. Above Never Lake a small heat haze was floating around. He looked at it a bit more and slowly made out its shape. A giant sphere.

"Hey guys you see this?" he asked.

Everyone looked up and frowned as puzzled expressions crossed their faces. They continued to watch and suddenly a small point of energy appeared at the bottom of the haze. The point grew into a ring and slowly increased in size as it moved up to the equator and the contracted back down as it reached the top. With no warning at all a sudden jet of sparks shot from the point sending flaming arrows of light flying all over. Everyone hit the ground as the light fell all around them. They looked up to see the sparks fading away. The air filled with a soft humm and T2 spotted something in the sky.

"Look!" he cried pointing upwards.

They all looked as a beam of white energy shot out of the sky and struck the ground where the Little Planet transporter would have been. It stopped and then slowly went up slightly encircling the haze in a white sphere. The beam stopped and in a massive white flash a large sphere appeared over the lake. The group gasped.

"MY GOD!" said Knuckles as his jaw hit the floor.

"Little Planet!" said Sally in awe.

"Amy." said Manic.

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"We've done it!" cried Nenya, "We've actually done it!"

His joy was evident as he beamed at Amy. Amy however looked directly at the floor.

"What's wrong?" asked Nenya.

"I can't go back." replied Amy.

Nenya's expression changed and he put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.

"I can't go back can I?" she asked.

"Amy, before you despair I must tell you something." he said, "I wasn't sure about it before but I am now. You are not a normal Acolyte."

"Huh?"

"You're not. The way the Time Stones have easily accepted you twice into their realm is proof enough. That is not a normal event. Normally only the only people to see the inside of the Stones are the children acting as guardian and anchor. No you are different. Also when you helped me retrieve the lost Time Stones, when YOU reached out for the last one. That should not have been possible. I am serious, you should not have been able to do that. And then you joined me in the restoration, only a guardian would know how to do that."

"You mean I'm a guardian too?"

"No…you are something more. You are a new generation…wait…that's it!"

"What?"

"Acolyte law only permitted one child from every family and those who lost their child to the Stones were not permitted to have another. Never in Acolyte history has a second child been born in a family…until now. Patrick and Marian did not know about the Acolytes until after they had been draw into your mind after your birth. You were their second child! A second generation! That's it! Don't you see it Amy? You are a new breed of Acolyte, an evolution, something the Ancient Acolytes never thought of. A second child."

Amy blinked. Could it be possible? She had learned her skills with great speed, was that normal? Her ability to keep up with Nenya, was that normal? No it wasn't. Maybe he was right. What if she was something new? As she accepted this something inside her clicked. She reeled slightly as her body flashed white. Suddenly her mind was touched by an odd sensation. She knew it but it was still slightly alien to her. She felt her hands getting warm. She turned them over to find a ball of energy sitting in each of them. As first she was shocked but as she looked at them she recognized them. Her old skills, they had returned. Amy's mind suddenly cleared and she found herself able to reach out and see anything. She felt her consciousness growing, spanning outwards. Then with a sudden burst of energy she shook her head. Nenya still stood next to her but now he was smiling again.

"I see the Time Stones have finally shown there true intentions too." he said.

"Wha?" said Amy still slightly dazzled by the whole event.

"They too seemed to have noticed your difference. They have probably known about it ever since you were born but waited until now to finally reveal that they do know."

"Huh?"

"Amy look around and see your skills. I can feel that you are different and my link to the Time Stones allows me to understand what is going on in part. You Amy are now something the Acolytes never thought possible. You are an ascendant of the Acolytes. The next stage in the Acolyte's evolution."

"I am?" said Amy.

Was she? Could this be true? As she asked these questions of herself her mind went completely blank and one word floated above everything, yes!

"Yes I am!" she said he hands glowing more, "I am! I can feel it! I am an Ascendant!"

As she said this her thought rippled out over the surface of Little Planet and outwards. Over Never Lake and the military base. Outwards past her friends and onwards across the entire surface of Mobius. Her thoughts trained in on Tails far off in a distant part of Mobius.

"Do not fear Tails! I am back!"

Finally her thoughts flashed back to Never Lake and her captive friends. She narrowed her eyes and pierced directly into their minds.

"You have nothing to fear. I am coming!"

She drew her thoughts back and looked at Nenya.

"I must go Nenya." she said.

"I understand Amy. I have to remain, it is my duty but you do not." he replied.

"I will not forget you brother."

"Nor will I my dear sister. Live your life to the full and make me proud."

"Yes."

Amy slowly turned away and lowered her head. She raised her arms slowly and turned her hands palm upwards. As she did her whole body flashed and slowly faded from view. Soon all that remained was a small ball of light where Amy's heart had been. It danced in front of Nenya for a moment and then shot upwards.

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"What was that?!" asked Sally.

"I have no idea." replied Manic.

"Little Planet is back!" mumbled Knuckles to himself.

"How?" asked T2 still staring at the small world.

"This is unreal." said Sally, "It's just not possible."

For several minutes none of them spoke. Simply staring at Little Planet was enough to completely occupy them. Just then a small speck of light dropped from Little Planet and hit the ground below with a flash. The whole group stared at it and then looked at each other for a second before diving down the hill towards the lake.

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As the flash cleared the orb had changed. In its place now stood Amy. She looked up slowly fixing her gaze on the military base. As a slow walk she set out towards it. As she approached the guard troops noticed her and recognized her from before. Without a seconds pause they opened fire. As the incoming shots approached her Amy slowly raised her hand. With a quick flick the incoming shots were knocked aside flying off in random directions. Another volley came in and this time Amy didn't flick her hand. A ball of energy grew in her hand and the shots slowed to a halt in front of her. She raised her hand and quickly spun round causing a spiral of energy to surround her. Without a pause she threw both her hands forwards at the halted shots. Some flew back along their original path but the rest joined with Amy's energy causing a giant blast to fly against the base gates. Even if Sonic hadn't weakened them earlier they would not have survived the blast. The gates disintegrated on contact but the blast didn't stop there. It kept going straight through the base taking several buildings and part of the base wall with it. Amy blinked slowly and walked into the base batting and halting weapons fire as she did.

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Sonic wobbled on his feet as a huge explosion rocked the base. He quickly put his hand out to steady himself against the wall.

"What was that?!" he cried.

Sonia started to whimper to herself and huddled into Chalk a little more. Sonic looked over at her, what was wrong with her? Why was she acting like this? He had no time to think about this though as suddenly the door at the end of the prison block exploded. Sonic screamed and hit the floor before looking up. A small figure stood in the doorway surrounded by a bright white light. As the light faded Sonic jumped to his feet.

"No way!" he said, "Amy?!"

Amy walked towards the cell and stopped. With a flick of her hand the cell door swung open and she stepped inside. Sonic was totally stunned.

"Amy! What…what's going on? How are you…?"

"Shh Sonic. I will explain later." said Amy walking over to Chalk and Sonia.

She knelt down next to them and waited. Chalk looked up at her.

"Amy….have you come to rescue us too?" she asked.

"No Chalk. You are strong enough to rescue yourself." replied Amy, "Look at me."

Chalk looked at Amy and their gaze met. For a second nothing seemed to happen and then Chalk's eyes suddenly lit up. She jerked backwards and gasped.

"Huh? Wha? What was…?" said Chalk before looking at Amy, "Amy what was that?"

"Nothing much. Just a little nudge." replied Amy turning to Sonia, "Sonia? Sonia look at me."

Slowly Sonia looked up at Amy. Amy took hold of Sonia's hands and stared straight at her. Sonia held her gaze and suddenly tears started to well in her eyes. Suddenly Sonia burst into tears but her gaze remained fixed on Amy. Just then Amy's hands glowed and so did all of Sonia's body. With a flash Sonia was standing on her feet glancing round. She blinked at Amy.

"What the?" she said.

"Not now. I'll explain later Sonia." replied Amy.

"If explaining comes later we gotta move onto what to do now." said Sonic, "Getting out of here would be a good start."

"No need. I'll simply get here out of us." said Amy.

Everyone blinked and looked at her.

"Watch." she said and raised her arms.

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As T2, Sally, Manic and Knuckles raced across a section of open ground on the opposite side of the lake to the base a soft humm filled the air.

"What's that noise?" asked Manic.

"Got me." replied Knuckles.

They reached the edge of the lake and peered out across it. The base looked eerily quiet.

"I don't like it." muttered T2.

"Me neither." replied Sally, "What's going on?"

Sally looked up at Little Planet above her. What was going on? Just then she saw something.

"Hey guys you see…?" she started.

She was too late to finish though as a huge bolt of energy shot from Little Planet hitting the ground right were the transporter would have been. In a flash it had rushed past them and faded away. The whole group gasped and staggered slightly. They all looked up at each other. There was a faint glow surrounding them all and each felt as if twenty years had been lifted off them. They turned and gazed out over the lake. The sight made them all gasp loudly. All around the lake flowers were now blooming and the lake had a bright blue glow to it. What was even more shocking was the military base, it was gone. Everyone blinked.

"What the hell just happened?!" cried Knuckles rubbing his eyes.

"Little Planet, flowers, the military base….wha?" said T2.

"You said it." replied Manic in a shocked tone.

Sally didn't even speak. She knelt down, plucked a flower from the ground and stood up. She looked out over the lake and twirled the flower through her fingers. Without warning she spun and ran off along the shore of the lake. The others looked at her, then each other and then sprinted after her. It didn't take long for them to encircle the lake to the far side and as they approached they could see four figures standing tall where the military base has been. Sally's pace increased as she arrived and threw herself at Sonic, knocking him to the ground and then planting a passionate kiss on his lips. The others arrived and for the third time in several minutes gasped. Amy stood smiling next to Chalk and Sonia who had an arm around each other shoulder. For a few seconds no-one spoke. Manic was first to react as he raced at Sonia in a move very much like Sally. Only he didn't knock her to the ground and simply pulled her into a tight hug.

"God Sonia I was worried about you." he said.

"Hey ease up bro! It's not like I was gonna die!" replied Sonia pulling Manic off slightly.

"It's so good to see you're well you three." said T2 stepping up and smiling before pulling Chalk and Amy into a small hug.

Knuckles stood back slightly smiling to himself. He normally didn't show too much emotion but it was evident when he did. Sally slowly sat up and got off Sonic pulling him up as she did. She pulled him into a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're ok." she said.

"I'm fine Sal. Those military bods can't do anything to me….but this cursed bruise hurts a bit."

Sally giggled slightly and looked at Amy.

"Amy? What's going on? Where did you go? What's going on?" she asked.

Amy just smiled at her and nodded slowly.

"I'll explain later. For now let's just go home." she said looking up at Little Planet.