Disclaimer: Anyone even vaguely resembling anything who is copyrighted by Sega does not belong to me. *scoff* You should know that by now.
A/N: *smile* Well, I hope Talula and Prof. Kagaku made good first impressions. (They're actually part of another story that I'm making up... well, that's for later.) Plus, Tikal's back, I hope you like that! (I'm a Tikal fan! She doesn't get enough attention...) This chapter explains some pretty important details that are going to pop up again later...
One last note... I've got the ending to this story figured out, but getting there may take a while. Everything's beginning to pull together. :)
Tikal smiled. "Hello, Knuckles. I trust that all is well...?"
Knuckles shook his head. "Not quite."
Rouge looked at the young girl standing in front of her. An orange Echidna, dressed as if she'd just stepped out of a history textbook.
Knuckles explained. "You see... we'd like to know something about the Chaos Emeralds."
Rouge stepped in. "I would like to know... if the Chaos Emeralds are somehow linked with immortality."
Tikal looked at Rouge sternly. "If you are questing for immortality, I won't help you. A being isn't meant to live forever."
'Shadow...' Rouge suddenly thought. She shook her head. "No, it's just... well, it's a long story. I don't want immortality or anything like that. I need to know this... to help a friend..."
Tikal studied Rouge's face a little longer, then relaxed. "You have kind intentions. Now, let me think..."
The white fog surrounding Angel Island intensified. Tikal turned, then started for the Master Emerald, looking deep into it.
Finally, she was ready to begin.
"The story begins in ancient times, before any of us were born...
"The Chaos Emeralds are forged of a strong magic, some kind of power that flows through the universe. The Emeralds balance their power with the natural elements of the Earth.
"This kind of energy flows through the emptiness in space. Some people call it 'dark energy,' some are convinced that it is ki, the life energy needed by all beings. This same energy is contained, in a high concentration, in the Chaos Emeralds. As a matter of fact, I believe that the Emeralds gather the power themselves, taking it from the earth, the sky, the elements..."
Tikal paused. "This kind of energy lasts forever... it is well known that energy can never be created nor destroyed. But somehow, the Emeralds are able to contain this power and not let it go...
"That is, until a person with a special ability to harness Chaos Energy can release it..."
Rouge blurted out, "Shadow. Shadow and Sonic."
Tikal looked at Rouge. "I don't know this 'Shadow' of whom you speak... but yes, I do know Sonic. And, yes, he does have the gift of wielding Chaos Energy."
Tikal thought for a moment. "About immortality... yes. The Chaos Energy stored in the Chaos Emeralds symbolizes eternity in itself. If a creature were able to store that energy in their body, to become a living Chaos Emerald, that energy would continue to cycle throughout their being, keeping them alive for an infinite amount of time. But it's highly unlikely," she added. "For example, Super Sonic is extremely powerful, with the Chaos Energy running through his veins. But that form lasts only as long as his own ki. He's also very unstable... I doubt that any creature would be able to live under the conditions required to harness Chaos Energy."
But Tikal had already lost both Knuckles and Rouge. The red Echidna and the white bat stared at each other, at a loss for words.
Except for one.
"Shadow."
Tikal blinked, slightly irked that someone had asked for advice, yet not bothered to listen.
Knuckles apologized. "I'm sorry, Tikal... you see, our friend, Shadow..."
Rouge finished the thought. "We think that he might... he might be immortal... living on Chaos Energy..."
Tikal listened. "...maybe. Chaos Energy really is nothing more than ki... albeit, unbelievably powerful." She added, "Although, anyone who has ever come into contact with the Emeralds likely carries a bit of their energy in his or her being..."
Knuckles nodded. "And all beings containing Chaos Energy balance with each other, right?"
Tikal smiled. "Yes. When the energy becomes out of balance... it's very dangerous. So, the Chaos Emeralds naturally balance the power evenly between all who share it.
"If your friend truly does live on Chaos Energy, he must be an extraordinary creature."
Rouge nodded. "Yeah... extraordinary. Listen... if a creature had pure Chaos Energy in their body... could their physical being be destroyed?"
Tikal thought. "I don't know... the only creature I know of who ever truly lived on Chaos Energy was Chaos, but he was made of pure water... it's hard to say what would happen to a solid being. Why do you ask?"
Rouge sighed. "Because Shadow fell through the atmosphere. And lived," she added.
Tikal's eyebrows raised. "That's... incredible. The atmosphere? Of the Earth?"
Knuckles nodded. "Yeah. Sonic's done it before too, though..."
Tikal slowly asked, "This Shadow... when was he born?"
Rouge shrugged. "A little over half a century ago. But he was frozen for most of that."
Tikal thought. "I remember that... there was a strange shift in the balance of power..." She looked up. "I'm sorry that I cannot answer more. My knowledge is limited to what goes on in the world beyond."
"That's all right," Rouge said. "You tried your best."
"And a little while ago, a great amount of Chaos Energy dispersed into space..." Tikal suddenly mused.
"What?" Rouge asked.
It struck Knuckles, too. "The Biolizard. When the Biolizard was destroyed, most of its energy was released, destroying the dead body and escaping into space."
Tikal agreed. "I don't know what it was, but it contained Chaos Energy. But the creature's own ki was too weak to control the Chaos. So some sort of restraint was placed on it, to enable it to live. When the restraint was destroyed, the creature went mad. Then... there was another huge shift in power, and the first being was destroyed. All this I know, because of the bond between people who know of the Chaos Emeralds." She shook her head. "Death is a terrible thing. If you are not careful, Chaos can cause death. But, on the other hand, Chaos can bring life, too."
Rouge sighed. "We're playing with fire, and we're going to get burned. But somehow, I've just got to know the answer to this..."
Knuckles faced Rouge sternly. "But what is it that you're looking for?"
Rouge sank to the ground. "I thought I knew. I thought I was just going to find out if my findings on Project: Shadow were true, if Shadow really was immortal and all that. But somehow, it's led to all this... and now G.U.N. is coming after him, too. It's all so confusing now."
Tikal looked at Rouge. "There is much ahead of you. Yes, I agree, you're playing with fire...
"But, like Chaos, fire can also bring about good things, too." Tikal turned to face Knuckles. "Do you remember the poem?"
"Yeah. 'The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, enriched by the heart. The controller is the one who unifies the Chaos.' But I don't see what that has to do with--"
"Think about it. And maybe things will become clear." Tikal nodded slowly. The fog began to dissolve, and the pink dawn appeared as Tikal faded.
"We've been talking all night?" Rouge murmured, looking at the sky. She looked at Knuckles. "Is something the matter?"
"No... I'm just thinking."
Knuckles closed his eyes.
'The seven Chaos are the Emeralds. Chaos is power, enriched by the heart. Does it mean that Chaos becomes more powerful with emotion? If Chaos Energy is ki, does that mean that emotions increase our power? The controller is the Master Emerald. Does the Master Emerald also unite people who contain Chaos Energy? Are we all somehow linked to it?'
~*~
Meanwhile...
If one were to be walking in a dense forest, far from civilization of any kind, the last thing that one would expect to see would be a modern building.
Yet this is what you would see, if you would happen to stumble onto the new headquarters of the military company, G.U.N.
Ever since Prison Island had been discovered to be G.U.N.'s headquarters, the company had moved quickly. There were too many stories behind them that would be better left forgotten...
...for example, the true story behind ARK's shutdown.
If word ever got out to the public... it would not be pretty.
So, moving from one bleak setting to another, G.U.N. was still busy plotting.
How to rid the world of two hedgehog threats?
If only Rouge had still been working with them... the agent had seemed to have disappeared.
All of the people now working with G.U.N. were descendants of the original humans who had taken over ARK. Many of them didn't know anything about Project: Shadow, except for the fact that it had escaped.
The leader of G.U.N. sat in his office, deep in thought.
He was an old man. He remembered G.U.N.'s true mission.
And he also remembered one person who could help them.
An old scientist, who could recall days on ARK, working on Project: Shadow with that cursed Gerald Robotnik.
The old man clenched a fist.
Gerald Robotnik. Project: Shadow was supposed to have been a weapon for G.U.N. At least, that was what G.U.N. had planned...
But instead, Robotnik had ended up with two creations, one a mad monster, the other a soft-hearted plush toy gifted with powers of destruction.
It had begun when Gerald Robotnik wanted to create something to cure his daughter, to end suffering on Earth.
G.U.N. was more interested in a powerful weapon, to secure strength.
Of course, they didn't let the old man know that.
They funded his research, knowing that if he discovered the key to immortality, then Man's place as the ultimate life was assured.
But when the professor had created the actual prototypes, G.U.N. realized that he could easily destroy them. So ARK had been attacked, the project shut down...
...the professor's granddaughter, killed....
...which ended up being a costly mistake.
The quiet prototype, a hedgehog, was experimented on furiously by the professor.
Robotnik had even begun to program ARK from down on Earth.
'And to think they let him...' the old man thought angrily.
It had all led to their demise, at the hands of Robotnik's grandson and that blasted Project: Shadow... along with that blue hedgehog, Sonic, and his friends.
The old man sighed. To stop Project: Shadow... there were only a few who remembered how it was created.
One person, who had used to work for G.U.N.... but had quit...
Professor Tamine Kagaku.
One of the original scientists on Professor Robotnik's team.
At that moment, a worker for G.U.N. ran in the door.
"Sir... we've found his whereabouts. He's in the jungles, near the Mystic Ruins..."
"G.U.N. will track you down, Kagaku..." the old man muttered.
"Whether you like it or not."
~*~
In the Mystic Ruin jungles, Kagaku, at the moment, was busy analyzing the strange energy signals he was picking up on his apparatus.
"How strange..." he murmured.
Little did Kagaku know exactly how much the late Professor Robotnik had influenced his ways.
All of Kagaku's apparatus, specially designed and built by himself, were based somewhat upon Gerald Robotnik's.
Each piece of equipment was sensitive to Chaos Energy.
And a creature with an extremely large amount of refined Chaos Energy
...was quite close.
~*~
Each person's tale was growing longer.
But each tale would soon weave itself into a tangled web, along with the others.