Sonic Adventure 2 This is an alternate version of Sonic Adventure 2, which I did as a writing exercise. The plot differs extremely from the established storyline, but it did for the STC Sonic Adventure as well (I haven't played the game, so the characters may not all be in character.) Most characters are © Sega.

Part 5: Chaos in Control

Shortfuse barrel rolled desperately, and turned to face the three missiles homing in on him. He faked a dive, and flew over them, gaining a couple of meters distance. He couldn't keep this up, he knew.
Robotnik gloated from his hovering jet plane. Shorty spun, and charged directly at the madman. Robotnik did not falter, discharging a salvo of laser blasts. Shorty dived, and the pursuing rockets bombarded into Robotnik's shields, cascading white fire rolling and crackling across the tyrant's screen. Shorty operated his internal scanner. Robotnik' shield: 89%. Own shield: 78%.
This looked like being a really long battle.

Rouge blocked another punch, and vibrations stung agonizingly up her arm. She kicked Knuckles in the stomach; he winced and stepped backwards.
They both stood, stalemate. They'd been beating each other up for nearly half an hour, and just became more determined with every hit they took. "Ready to give up?" she inquired.
"Ladies first." Knuckles raised his fists, drop into a side roll and brought his knuckles into her head. Rouge flipped backwards, landing awkwardly. Knuckles came forward, but she was prepared, and caught his arm, twirling and throwing him off his feet. He staggered up. "Where did you learn that?"
"Same place as I learnt this, KIHAI!" She came in with a back-kick, her metal boot clanking against the silver collar around his neck. Knuckles grabbed her foot as it came back down. He pushed it up, and kicked her other leg out from under her.
"Really good, that. What the--?" Rouge looked up, following Knuckles' stare.
Shortfuse and Robotnik, his Egg Walker converted into a jet plane, soared over the mountaintop, lasers crisscrossing between them. They hurtled toward them, in an inferno of shots.
Knuckles and Rouge both dived, just as the red-hot steel stampede sliced between them. They faded into the distance, and Rouge got up, queasy. She was on the edge of the platform.
She had a split second sight of the rock crumbling beneath her.and she fell.
The ravine opened up in front of her, she had a perfect view of the tiny scrubland two hundred meters below, which cracked into sandy desert three hundred meters beneath that, which fractured to show a miniscule trickle of water, a full kilometre down. Fear and helplessness clutched Rouge's guts, she was going to die, and there was nothing she could do.
The terrifying world below her loomed, and suddenly jerked and froze. Silence.
Rouge hung, in midair, powerlessly giddy. She looked up. Knuckles had snatched her hand, just in time.
He pulled her up, silhouetted by the burning sun behind him, and she collapsed to the ground, quivering with shock. It was a while before she trusted her self to speak.
"Whoa-why did you do that?" Knuckles shrugged. Rouge delicately got to her feet, trying to calm down.

Knuckles watched Rouge, anxious. "You okay?"
Rouge glared at him. "Why did you do that?" Knuckles could only shrug again, with a muttered: "Dunno." Rouge picked up her bag and tossed it to him. He only just caught it, surprised.
"Take it. You won, I went off the ledge." Knuckles blinked. For a second Rouge had been different... then she was back to normal. "Try and guard that lot, then."
Knuckles stared at the mangled splinters. It looked as if he would never get the island to fly now. The gems were empty, lifeless.
Yet Knuckles could feel the Chaos energy inside him, washing through him in waves. Maybe he could fix the Master Emerald. He had transferred Chaos before, admittedly with the help of one of Porker's machines. Could he do it on his own?
Knuckles picked up a largish chunk, slowly. He was aware of Rouge watching him, but he forced himself to concentrate.
The waves of Chaos grew stronger, a gale inside him. He pushed it all through him, out through his hand.
It was like being hit with a tsunami. Emerald energy crashed through him, obliterating all his senses. He was blinded, deafened. The surge passed, and he tried to recover. Another wave thundered out of him, sending him mentally reeling. He nearly fell, but he forced himself to endure the strain, to keep channelling the energy into the shard. The waves became stronger.more unbearable. But Knuckles gritted his teeth and bore them.
It was working.

Rouge watched, fascinated. Had Knuckles gone mad? He was standing stock still, breathing raggedly, the chunk of gem in his hand.
Then something happened. A surge of light washed into the jewel, dancing around inside it. Another followed, and the dull bottle green of the emerald became vibrant and lively. Knuckles was muttering under his breath, perspiration covering his forehead.
Then, with a rustling creak, the other shards began to writhe. Her bag fell open, and the pieces of glass showered onto the stone. Knuckles' satchel had done the same. Knuckles was wincing, gritting his teeth. Suddenly, he started to sing.
She very much doubted he realised he was doing it. The song had the same tune as 'Clementine', but the words were foreign, ancient. The splinters danced and jiggled in time to his song.
Rouge found she was not scared. Just amazed.
Then, another big chunk gradually spiralled into the air, climbing higher and higher until it hit against the other one with a dull clink. Knuckles cautiously retracted his hand, and green lightning shimmered between the crystals.
Rouge's mouth dropped further open. The glass on the floor had become a clanking jade maelstrom, whispering and sparkling, exploding into blinding white kaleidoscopes as it caught the intense sun.
The jewels in front of Knuckles were joined by more and more, all tilting and rocking in time to his song. He stared, oblivious. His voice grew louder, resonating around the mountains. Lime green mist floated into the canyon, pouring into the mass of emeralds hovering in front of Knuckles. All the shards they hadn't found, flying to them.
Rouge watched, disbelieving, as the Master Emerald magically reformed before her eyes. Then Knuckles' song finished, the Master Emerald gave one powerful crackle, and fell to the ground. Rouge found her voice.
"What was that? What did you do?"
Knuckles looked up, his eyes a mixture of fear and confusion. "I-I don't know."
They were interrupted by a deafening boom from the other side of the gorge. They turned, to see black smoke tumbling down the mountainside, and Robotnik's jet speeding triumphantly towards them. His soulless eyes lit up with the Master Emerald's light.

"A double victory-Ha ha!" Robotnik stabbed a button, and his prize took off, zooming towards him. The other seven Chaos Emeralds gushed out of Rouge's bag, spilling into the canyon then magically floating up again, like moths to a lantern. Flashes of colour erupted like silent fireworks as the sun's light touched the gems. He was glad that he had fixed the Chaos magnet.
He heard outraged shouts from the two on the bridge. "Don't mind me, carry on!" he cackled, gloatingly. Everything was going to plan. Now to get to base.

Robotnik retracted his wings and extended his legs, then strode up to the pyramid. The external blast doors had been breached, smashed into shreds. Worry coursed through Robotnik. Who could have attacked? Were they inside, waiting for him?
He switched his shields to full power, and guardedly stepped through the hole in his gate. The doors beyond that were unharmed, and a black scorch mark was carved into the floor. Whoever it was hadn't got further then this.
Robotnik walked over to the secret control panel, and extended a computer jack into the socket. He typed in the password, and opened both doors. This gave him a clear view of the toasting desert with the dusty rocks rising in the distance. The sun beat down on it furiously, angry that it couldn't get Robotnik in the shade of his base. He gloated silently.
A medley of figures appeared over the peak of the mountains. Robotnik squinted; Shadow was running towards him, chased by Sonic and the pathetic Freedom Fighters. Robotnik typed in a command, triggering the hidden guns.
Error. External weapons out. What!? Robotnik checked again. Whoever had smashed through his door had made sure to destroy all the automatic defences first. Very well.
He armed his heavy cannons, calculations and equations flickering through his brilliant mind. He fired.
Two scarlet-white bolts spat out of his gun. They zoomed over Shadow's head, the black hedgehog not even flinching. They shot past the rebels, who scrambled and panicked, and blasted straight into the mountainside. Shadow continued running, gaining a good ten feet as the others glanced up to see where the bolts had gone.
Rocks and debris shattered in a storm of dust, tumbling and rolling down the hill after the fleeing outlaws. Larger chunks spread out in a growing halo around the hilltop. Robotnik waited, ready.now. Two more blasts clipped the edge of a falling chunk, sending it spinning and hurtling on a new path. Robotnik repeated the process on another rock. The two speeding meteors fired towards their targets, one knocking out the pink hedgehog's feet from under her, the other hitting the fox in the back.
As predicted, Sonic skidded to a halt with a cry of: "Guys!" The rest of the gang did the same, their mission forgotten. Sentimental fools.
Shadow reached the entrance, where he stopped, abruptly. He carefully paced the through, guardedly. "Don't worry, all defence systems deactivated." He came forward, but was obviously still cautious.
Rouge the Bat appeared at a run from around the base of another mountain, Knuckles the Echidna in pursuit. She was way ahead of her rival, coming up to the entrance nearly as fast as Shadow had.
Shadow's arm snapped out to the control panel, and the blast doors slammed shut with a resounding clang. Robotnik stared at Shadow, astonished. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.
Shadow ignored him, saying only: "Come on. We have lots to do."

Sonic knelt over Tails' and Amy's limp bodies. Tekno and Porker joined him, anxious. Amy blinked, breathing heavily. She opened her eyes and confusedly got to her feet. "What the heck just happened?"
"You were hit by a speeding boulder. Are you alright?" Amy sat up, taking all this in. Tails opened his eyes. "Whoa-what-Gaagh!" and he squealed, rubbing his back frenziedly. Amy got up, slowly.
"Let me look at that." Porker and Amy eased Tails' hands away, surveying the damage. "It's been bruised, pretty badly." Seeing Sonic's concern, Amy added: "But it's nothing more then that. He'll have to stay put for a while though. Then he'll be fine."
Shortfuse, hanging around on the edge of the group, brought them all back to reality. "Good. He can stay there while we bust out Robotnik."
Sonic did not get up, but stayed by his friends. "We just go and leave him here? No way."
"Sonic's right. I'll stay with him." Amy volunteered.
"Okay," Sonic grudgingly conceded. He stood up to see Tekno and Shortfuse with yet another piece of machinery. This one was half finished and hurriedly built, trailing wires like old cobwebs. "What's that do?"
"Well, I've done the best I could with what we've got. It should boost Shorty's shields." She plugged one of the wires into a socket on the squirrel's shoulder. "I thought he could use some better protection, there's no telling what traps Robotnik's got prepared."
Sonic nodded. "If I know Egg-butt, we've got all Gerald's techno-junk to fight, too. This could get really nasty."
"Ul-er," Everyone turned. Porker was staring fixedly at the sand, his normally ruddy face white as a sheet. He brushed some dust from his eyes and set about typing desperately on his laptop, not noticing that it was switched off. "Um.what sort of techno-junk?"
"Whatsammatter? Pig boy scared?" Shorty asked.
"Don't worry Porker, you can stay with Tails instead. You know more first aid then me."
"Thanks." Said a grateful Porker. Amy stood up to join the rest of the gang, who were looking over to Robotnik's fortress. Sonic turned to her. "You sure you'll be alright? You didn't hurt yourself?"
"I told you, I'm fine. It's mostly shock, anyway."
"Okay." And then, to the whole group: "Let's get going, then."

Knuckles saw Rouge running, and the door slam in her face. Seems she'd been chucked out. Now she had completely disappeared.
He ran up to the base. He had to get in, but the door was locked, with no other way in. All the while Robotnik could be sitting in his base gloating.
Anger curled his fist and smashed it into the stone. The ancient, weak, dusty stone. Knuckles smiled. He would just have to make his own entrance.
His taloned hand shattered the brick; dust and clay collapsing around it like a miniscule avalanche. He punched again, and again. The blocks were eaten away by his attack, and left a space big enough for him to walk through.
Why hadn't he thought of that last time?
The floor had been carpeted by a metal sheet, his clunky shoes left oval sandy footprints as he walked forward. He really needed to get new shoes; he'd made these himself years ago, using chunks of flint to hold it together. He'd dyed the fabric red and green with leaves.
He was in some kind of storage room. All was quiet, but Knuckles bet that somewhere an alarm was going. There were boxes and tall silver cylinders everywhere. Computers sat by each one, humming quietly. All of their screens showed a set of blueprints. Knuckles tiptoed, his stone shoes clanking far too loudly.
He cautiously approached a cylinder. It was opaque metal on one side, but as Knuckles walked around it, he saw that the other side was transparent plastic, but too dusty to see through. Knuckles brushed a circle of clear plastic with his glove, and looked through it.
Metallix, the Metal Sonic, looked back at him. Knuckles jumped backward, his feet clanging on the floor, his fists ready for a fight. He waited, and slowly paced back to the cylinder. The robot hung, dead. There was no red light in its eyes, its steel blue body was dented and battered.
Knuckles walked to another cylinder, and looked through that. Inside was what looked like one of Robotnik's old Trooper Badniks. They had been humanoid, like G.U.N. robots. Troopers had had red armour and helmets, but this one had gold. It also had the shredded remains of a red cloak hanging from a clasp around its neck. It had taken a worse beating then the Metallix; its limbs were all cracked and burnt. It had been pieced back together. A small screen on the cylinder read:

Commander Brutus:
Traitor

Knuckles looked through the other cylinders. They contained Badniks, two more Metallix, one fashioned on Porker Lewis, the other on him. Knuckles shuddered, glaring at the cold steel face. Did he really look like that? What was this place?
Then he realised: it was a museum. All Robotnik's failures were displayed, along with blueprints and info. The room was large and cavernous. A door at the far end led to another room. Knuckles pressed the 'open' button, and walked through into an identical room, but this one was different.
Sheets of paper littered the floor, all unfinished schemes. Some had been completed, and were stacked neatly in piles. There were dormant robots littered here and there. All the robots they'd have to face in the future.
Knuckles scanned some. There were detailed plans for an Egg Walker Mk II. He ripped them to shreds, and smashed the terminal they had been sitting by. He stopped dead, but no alarm sounded.
He destroyed all Robotnik's plans, then turned to the finished robots. He gasped in horror.
In a shining new storage cylinder hung another Metallix. It was pitch black, with crooked spikes. Each spike had a scarlet streak running through it. The emotionless, grey face of the robot stared at him.
Struck by a horror he couldn't understand, Knuckles ran, blindly.

Rouge clambered onto the side of the rocket, thoughtfully. The shuttle was a small steel pod, shaped like a cigar. Rouge tiptoed across the thin platform around the centre of the ship. It led to a plank from the docking bay, which had been almost disappointingly free of alarms or traps. Robotnik claimed to be a genius, couldn't he design more challenging alarms? And how did he expect to keep anyone out when the top of the pyramid had opened out?
She found the door embedded in the space ship. Leaning against the side of the ship to keep her balance, she fumbled in her jacket pocket. Her gloved hand closed around a handle, and she pulled out a portable welding torch she'd purloined earlier. She pulled on its visor and wondered how to use it. She pressed the 'on' button, and the thing erupted a shower of flame and a roaring howl.
She almost dropped it in surprise, and gripped it hard; scared it might jump out of her hand. Carefully she aimed the flamethrower at the rocket's wall. It sliced straight through, leaving ugly black blisters where it struck. She cut a square large enough to climb through, and switched off the torch. The sudden silence hurt her ears, and she waited.
When she thought the hole had cooled down enough, she scrambled through, dropping the welding gun.
She was in.

Robotnik set the controls to autopilot, and leaned back inside his padded pod. He was sitting at the top of the rocket, the controls scattered before him. The Master Emerald stood next to him, and he had the seven Chaos Emeralds in his machine. Everything was going well.
Robotnik picked up a red Emerald, and watched it twinkle. Then, with a malicious cackle, opened another, secret compartment inside his Egg Walker. He took out of it a strange box, and pressed a couple of buttons. A hole opened up, and a green light flicked on. Ready.
Robotnik pushed the Emerald into the hole, and immediately it started buzzing. Power crackled inside it like a swarm of bees, struggling to be free. Robotnik switched off the machine again.
The computer screen read 'Energy transfer successful.' Brilliant.
The Chaos energy had been sent straight into another of his inventions, waiting back in his base. The semi-drained Emerald spluttered, and began to shine again. Robotnik returned it to the others.
Now his invention was powered, he could relax. The machine would emit a faint Chaos signal, one that would undoubtedly attract Shadow. When the hedgehog touched it.
It would not only absorb all his energy, leaving him powerless, but also keep him trapped and helpless with his own life force. Robotnik giggled. Shadow's energy would power no end of weapons, and as for the animal himself. Robotnik had special plans for him.
The rocket shuddered, vibrating as the engines whirred to life. The docking plank retracted. They were on their way.

Sonic reached the centre of the pyramid in time to see Robotnik's rocket leaving. The hedgehog cursed. Too late!
He looked around frantically. He couldn't have failed. There must be a way to. There wasn't.
Amy arrived behind him, with Shortfuse and Tekno in tow. "Sonic?" she asked, seeing his aggravation.
"Robotnik's escaped. We're too late!" and he kicked a spanner off the floor with such force that it was sent spinning into a toolbox, smashing both all over the ground with a clang.
"Hey guys! Look!" Shorty yelled. Amy and Sonic looked. Sitting in the far corner of the docking chamber was a small spacecraft.

"It's a two man fighter craft." Said Tekno. "Robotnik was going to use it to conquer the solar system after he'd defeated Mobius."
"Do you know how to fly it?"
Tekno shook a lock of green feathers out of her eyes. "Sure. I designed it." She paused. "Could be a little cramped, though, for four of us."
"Make that five." Everyone turned. Knuckles dropped to the ground in front of them.

Shadow stood by the window, unseeing. He felt apprehensive, and confused. None of the excitement he'd felt last time.

Shadow stood by the window, gazing out in amazement at the beautiful blue and green planet of Mobius. Maria stood next to him, bubbling with excitement and anticipation.
"I wonder what it'll be like?" she asked herself, over and over again. Shadow was interested too. He wasn't sure where he what the space station would be like, but he'd never imagined the planet itself looking like it did.
"Why's it all blue and green?" he inquired. "Shouldn't it all be grey?"
Maria giggled. "It's only grey where we live. All the rest is green and blue. The green is plants, and the blue is water."
Shadow was curious. "How do you know? Have you ever been outside?"
Maria glanced around furtively, but her grandfather had gone somewhere else. The professor had been distracted recently, hurrying his work, muttering worriedly under his breath. Shadow hoped he was all right. Maria whispered, confidentially. "I once sneaked out, with mum before she disappeared. I was very young, but I still remember it. The colours were brilliant, loads of different greens all mixed up, and you could run and shout without disturbing any scientists." She smiled, sadly. "I had to go back though, when mum went missing. Grandad gave me loads of books about trees and stuff, but I could never go back out."
Shadow listened in amazement, wishing he could have seen the trees. Maria said she'd show him when they came back to Mobius.

But she never had. Shadow punched the wall, his hand denting the plastic slightly.
"Stressful day?" Shadow spun. How had he let Rouge sneak up on him?
"How did you get back in here?" Shadow scowled, clenching his fists even tighter. "Get out of here. I know who you are. You're a spy for G.U.N."
Rouge failed to keep the surprise off her face. Then she snarled. "You know all about me do you?"
"You were the best thief in the business, you were caught by G.U.N., who offered you a choice between death or becoming their spy. That was two days ago." Shadow allowed a mocking grin to cross his face. "Yes. I know all about you. And I'll bet Robotnik would be interested to hear it, too."
"Is that so. Well I've got some even more interesting news. I've found out where another of Kintobor's projects is hidden." She grinned, too. "And Robotnik would be really interested to uncover Gerald's Ultimate Life Form, wouldn't he?"

"Budge up a little!"
"I can't!" Sonic was being crushed against the wall, Amy next to him. Shortfuse had the other half of the seat; Knuckles had opted out and was clinging to the ceiling, holding himself as flat as he could.
"How come Tekno gets a seat to herself?" complained Amy.
"Because I'm flying this tin." Tekno pointed out, and barrel rolled, causing them all to tumble into each other. Knuckles held firm, the others were all pushed into an unfortunate Sonic.
The cockpit was basically two seats, one in front of the flying controls, and one in front of the weapon controls, which had been flattened to make way for Shortfuse. There were about three cubic metres of space, designed to fit two Trooper Badniks easily.
It was not designed for five Mobians, but, as Knuckles remarked, only Tekno was to blame.
"Well I'm sorry. Trooper Badniks don't feel claustrophobia."
"Yes they do." Sonic's voice came from under the pile of people. "They've also got corny dialogue. What was the point in that?"
Tekno laughed. "I programmed them with a really annoying personality, to irritate Robotnik." She pressed a couple of buttons on her control panel. "He didn't even notice. Brutus did, though. Drove him round the bend. Sucker!"
The egg-shaped pod was now reaching the upper atmosphere. Shortfuse tried to sit up, but only managed to annoy the other two. "Hey, watch it!" yelled Sonic, as he was shoved uncomfortably into the floor. A pop rivet slashed into his back, and he winced in pain.
"Sorry." Muttered Shortfuse. Sonic sat up, shoving back. Shortfuse and Amy were caught unawares, Shortfuse getting his head stuck under the seat. "Right! You pay for that!" and the squirrel crushed Sonic once again into the wall.
"Come on, then!" Sonic grinned, ramming the Cybernik again.
"Will you boys cut it out?" moaned Amy, who was stuck in the middle. She leaned backwards, letting Shorty and Sonic smash into each other. Sonic stopped, rubbing his aching head.
From his vantage point on the ceiling, Knuckles laughed. "Very nice, Sonic."
Sonic glared at him, mock angrily. "Right, you're coming down, pal."
Amy covered her head, "Sonic, don't-" Knuckles came crashing down, knocking them all over. "What did I tell you?" growled Amy, from somewhere inside the weapon control box.
Tekno looked over at them. "You lot are like a bunch of kids." Shortfuse playfully kicked her from under the seat. She sent the spacecraft into a triple roll, then pulled up fast, maliciously.

Robotnik surveyed the ship, from the ARK's landing pad. Half the back had blown off, because some fool had cut through the side, without realising what the zero pressure effect was. Luckily, the top half of the rocket was left unscathed, and they had been able to limp to the station. Shadow and Rouge were watching by the lift. For some reason, Shadow had let her aboard without complaint. They were treating each other with suspicion and caution.
"Well, we'll have to fix it later. Now, we'll see to the Eclipse Cannon."

They arrived at the Eclipse Cannon, which had been mounted on the top of the central lift. Robotnik ceremoniously placed a Chaos Emerald in each of the seven compartments. Rouge the Bat watched the jewels intently, but Shadow knew she wouldn't dare steal them just yet.
Shadow viewed the display with mixed feelings. He should feel triumphant, or satisfied. He was now inches away from fulfilling his mission, giving Maria her last wish. But he felt dreadful uncertainty inside him. He had heard Maria's words, but they seemed wrong, unlike her. He could not imagine Maria, now, doing the same thing for herself.
Everything was wrong. But he had promised, and he would carry out that promise.
Robotnik had finished placing the Emeralds in the Cannon. He pressed a button in his pod, and another Emerald appeared, carried by two E-1000 robots. Shadow did not let his astonishment show, but watched as the robots gave the Emerald to Robotnik. This Emerald was green, and absolutely enormous. Shadow saw a flicker of recognition and anger cross Rouge's face, but the bat stayed still.
"Behold, the Master Emerald!" proclaimed Robotnik, dramatically. The madman slotted the gem into a harness, and pressed more buttons. The E- 1000s set about wiring the harness to the other Emeralds. Robotnik turned to his allies. "With the Master Emerald's infinite power, the Eclipse Cannon will take no time at all to charge up!"
Shadow gave a slight nod. "Very good, Doctor. But the first time we fire, the Cannon will be slower. It hasn't been used for fifty years, and will need to warm up."
"Then I'll activate it now." Robotnik flipped a switch on the base of the gun. Lights flickered on and off, a low groan vibrated the floor, growing louder and louder as the machine pulled itself out of its fifty year hibernation.
The groan increased to a roar, drowning out Robotnik's maniac cackle: "Soon, we shall rule the world!"