I really like this chapter; I think it turned out nicely. It is a little short but sets up a lot of things I will later put into motion. So here you go…
Chapter 6: We're in This Together
"How are we going to tell Tails?" Sonic addressed the group. "He won't take it well."
It was Friday night at the blue house. Sonic, Knuckles, Cream, and Rouge sat in the east guestroom talking about the situation. After the race they'd found Shoca Lief in her normal state and brought her home. Now she and Tails were playing downstairs under the watch of Amy; who, dispute being thought of as ditsy and naïve, was very serious about watching Shoca.
"I think you should," Rouge told him. "No one knows him better, and there's no one he trusts more then you."
"I agree," said Knuckles.
"I just can't believe this has happened," thought Cream out loud.
Cream was sitting in a chair near the window. She gazed out of it at the night's blackness.
"How could something like this crawl in under my nose?" she again thought out loud.
"Jadas escaped the most heavily guarded military base I've ever seen," Rouge said to the rabbit. "I don't think you should blame yourself."
"What confuses me is that this thing took the form of a chao in the first place," said Knuckles. "If it is a metaphysical thing that can take a true physical form, what else can it do?"
"Knuckles, would you mind repeating that in English?" asked Sonic.
"What he's saying is," Rouge said. "How can something like Jadas exist without a body. How can it create a body for itself. And that big ol' Knuckleface over here is scared of what it might do to him."
Knuckles blushed and shot Rouge a look that she returned with equal vigor.
"You said it was made from chaos, right Rouge?" asked Cream.
"Right."
"That means it is chaos and that it is unpredictable," Cream finished.
"How can we get rid of it?" asked Knuckles.
"I think we're just making more questions then answers you guys," said Sonic. "I'm going to tell Tails."
Sonic rose from his seat and headed to the door. As he did, the Master Emerald (Knuckles had it in his hands) started to pulse.
"Oh no," said Knuckles.
Sonic dashed down the stairs like lightning. When he stopped he created burn marks on the living room carpet. Before him was a floating toy truck.
Tails and Amy stood shocked with their mouths open as Shoca made the truck fly around the room. The chao was quite obviously enjoying herself as she giggled and jumped up and down.
Sonic reached out and grabbed the truck. Shoca stared at him and lowered her raised arms with an expectant look. Tails continued to stare as Amy ran to Sonic.
"We were just standing there and then Shoca started to look at the truck funny," she was saying. "Then it started to fly and-and- I was so surprised!"
"It's okay Amy," Sonic told her. "Will you and everybody else take Shoca into the kitchen while I talk to Tails. Shoca needs her dinner about now I'm guessing."
Tails began to protest, as Shoca had already been fed, but he stopped before he started. Everyone who'd run down the stairs helped Amy and Shoca into the kitchen as Sonic and Tails stayed in the living room.
Sonic flicked the truck into the toy box where it landed with clang. He walked over to Tails and put an arm around his pal's shoulder.
"Why don't you sit down Tails?" he said.
Tails sat on the couch in his shocked silence. Sonic struggled for the words to begin, he'd never had to do this before.
"Well, I'm going to assume that you've noticed Shoca Lief's a little, ah, special, right Tails?" he began.
Tails nodded but his eyes were distant.
"Shoca isn't really a chao," Sonic said bluntly.
"What?" cried Tails in both outrage and panic. "What is she?"
"We don't really know. You'll have to talk to Rouge about it, we all will tomorrow, after we all have some sleep," Sonic said.
"I should have noticed," Tails said. "She was acting so weird, but I just, I--"
"Don't blame yourself Tails!" Sonic told him. "We're in this together. So go get some sleep."
"Okay," Tails said without too much zest. He trusted Sonic, but this was confusing and scary.
"Goodnight," he told Sonic.
"Night."
From the kitchen came the sounds of late night snacks. Sonic's belly growled and he realized how hungry he was. But how are we going to deal with this? He asked himself. I don't know.
"Sir, we have conformation, it was 094, Jadas," said a man from inside GUN's headquarters.
"Good job lieutenant," said Colonel Aric. "Dismissed."
The lieutenant saluted and left Aric's private chambers. After he was gone, the colonel remained where he was, standing near the door. Aric thought-how am I to tell the boss? We lost 094, but at least we know where it is. We need to recover it, and soon.
Colonel Aric strolled over to his couch and sat down. His stiff uniform made this position uncomfortable so he stood up again. Taking the files from his desk, he started to pace and look over the information on 'Jadas'.
"It'll be hard to take down," he mumbled to himself. "Very hard."
Aric began to formulate the plan in his head. He would use only the best, starting tomorrow. It would take a maximum of a month to bring down Jadas. He's also noticed the address of the house from which this information had come. If he could take down Sonic the Hedgehog as well as recapture Jadas… From his desk's right side drawer Aric removed a cigar. Lighting it he began to write his promotion acceptance speech.
Things weren't going well for the genius Dr. Robotnik. His last attempts to take over the world had failed, he'd lost both Shadow and Metal Sonic, and his robots were beginning to malfunction from the constant dust in his pyramid base.
"Blast this darned contraption!" he swore at his latest robot. He smacked the head with his hammer and then sliced the legs off of it with his laser.
"Another failure," he fumed.
Just then there was a knock on the door. A key code was activated and his servant henchbot, Tyroy, entered.
"Out!OUT!" Robotnik roared at Tyroy.
The small human-shaped robot ducked the thrown hammer and came to Robotnik.
"But sir," it pleaded. "We have found something!"
Trying to control his anger, Robotnik said, "what is it?"
"Sir, in the last hour we have detected the power of chaos. And it was not form a Chaos Emerald sir!" said the mechanical voice.
"What?" said Robotnik. The power of chaos? I must have it! And this time, no hedgehog is going to get in my way!
"Show me!" he ordered his henchbot.
In the town of Mevois Point, far east of the River Atlos, there was a full moon out. Stars glimmered as the small town slept. It was peaceful and quiet, except in one certain dark alley.
Behind the bakers shop was a large dumpster. The brick building was still warm from the ovens and that heat fought off the cold of the autumn night. Close to the dumpster, under a strange but finely woven blanket, a creature tossed and turned with a nightmare.
The dream finally became so bad that the creature sat up in the night. Wrapping itself in the thick blanket, it rummaged through its pack for something.
If one had been close enough, one would have seen the gleam of pearls in the moonlight. These had been acquired from the Aquari sea folk on the eastern seashore. Next came a series of other things the creature had gained from its travels. Finally the creature found what it was looking for, a map.
The moonlight showed a simple map in various inks. The map detailed most of the lands to the east of the Atlos, where the creature had traveled.
It stuffed everything into its single bag, including the hand-woven blanket. Then it exited the alley.
Once at the edge of the city, the creature turned to look back. These people had been kind to it, it recalled. Then it began to run east. It ran with fierce speed, nothing could keep up with it but its shadow.