Sky: Hey hey! Another new chapter! This one SHOULD explain what's going on. It might be hard if you don't read it all in a row, but hopefully you'll understand why people are doing what they did in it. I was going to keep going from my third scene, but then I realized that I had already typed seven pages! So, I wasn't able to get much action and stuff in here, it might be a tad boring I'm afraid. Hope you enjoy! Ask if you got questions on the story!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I should be feeling excited. I should be hopping up and down. Metal Sonic… Or… Deception I mean, should be telling me to shut up. I should be with Sonic again. I should be hearing him say how much he missed me, saying that he's got a new attack to teach me. I should then see Amy smack Sonic for trying to teach their baby to be some sort of mindless karate bum.

But… I'm not.

"You're awfully quiet," Deception said, traveling through the shadows in the night. "I'd love to read your thoughts, but I see you've blocked them from me."

Of course I did. I'm not letting that robot see my thoughts.

Deception finally stopped at the edge of a tall grassy hill, completely abandoned by any living-beings. Above us, the stars shone, and a crescent moon kept a watchful eye. Chaos?... or just… a moon?

The dark buildings of Station Square towered at the distance, each one of the structures with little or no lights on. Station Square was a peaceful city after all, most were asleep at this time of night. "See that, Wrath?" Deception pointed to the city, his claw gleaming under the crescent moon's light. "That city will someday be ours."

"Is that so? What makes you so sure?" I growled.

The tall sapphire robot's gaze seemed to harden. "I can feel it. I saw it all in a dream."

Pathetic.

"Not all dreams come true you know."

Deception's eyes met mine. Each red orb filled with fire, power, and emotion. "My dreams do, Wrath. I will show you. Most enemies believe emotion is a weakness, it slows you down, softens you." He laughed. "False. Emotion makes you stronger. Raw anger can destroy planets. Just think of the power you could have if you control it."

I turned my head away, back to the shadowed city. "Nice speech."

Deception let out a deep growl. "You're helping me you know."

"We'll see."

"Why do you still have feelings for them?" Deception asked suddenly. "They don't care about you. They don't like you. They don't need you, they don't want you. Where with Chaos and I, we need you." He could obviously see that I doubted him. "Tomorrow morning." He started. "We'll read their minds and see just how much they miss you."

I know the answer already. Sonic has missed me. He'll be glad to see me. Amy, Cream, Rouge, even Knuckles. My father, my mothers, my fighting partner, my best friend…they… miss me. Right?

Deception put a hand on my shoulder. "Wrath, your power is nearly as great as mine. Who do you think you are? Wrath or Emerl? Wrath is what you were born as. Wrath is what you will stay as. Emerl is a name given to you by a traitor. It's a disgrace to you."

That was it; he's pissing me off now!

I threw his hand off my shoulder. "You're an idiot, Metal Sonic!" I yelled. "My name is Emerl. Sonic and the others love me, and when I find him, I'll ditch you, tell my father about your plans, and we'll kill you." I spoke with venom in every word. How much I hate Metal Sonic now… I'll prove him wrong tomorrow.

If I don't, then what the heck? I'll join the rust bucket.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They made it!
Rouge slammed the door shut behind her, gasping for air as she had to run farther to get to her house instead of Sonic's. Shadow took in a deep breath, and was ready for combat again. Emerl let down a now crying Cream.

"Wh-what's the matter with Blaze?" she wept, tears streaming down. "Blaze and I are friends!"

Rouge put a hand on her hip, throwing her head up to glare at the two. "What is going on? Who is Blaze? What are you guys doing?"

Shadow took a seat on the edge of Rouge's red velvet couch and crossed his arms, closing his eyes. "She's with Chaos, and so are we."

Emerl rested his elbow on the couch, but continued to stand. "At least, we used to be," he finished.

Wiping away some of her tears, Cream looked up and asked, "Blaze? Why is Blaze?..."

Rouge was becoming irritated. There was no point in holding back any information now. "Shadow, you're the one who terrorized the city. Emerl, you seem to appear at such a convenient time with Shadow… you two better explain all this."

With a groan, the black hedgehog wafted the air around him as if to fan out the statement. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I never terrorized the city as all you people say," he said venomously.

"Everyone with a connection to Chaos was brought out by him," Emerl continued where Shadow left. "I am the God of Wrath. As you can see by my eyes, Chaos is a little like my… uncle I guess you could say." He pointed to his large glowing spheres.

Rouge still wasn't satisfied. "So, what are you trying to do with Chaos anyways?"

"Reawakening him," Emerl and Shadow said in unison.

The spy let out another deep stressful sigh. This was all so strange. She let a silence fall around the room as she looked through her house to find peace. Her plasma TV, her grand coffee table, and the intricate design on it… they were all nice. What really helped her relieve stress was the fireplace.

It wasn't the fireplace itself that was so great. It was nothing but a few red bricks placed on top of each other, leaving a hole in the middle for the fire. The real thing that always brightened her day was what was on her fireplace.

Along the top, she placed her most prized possessions. Jewels and gems. She had plenty of them already, but her fireplace was where she put the most beautiful ones. Diamonds perfectly shaped, glimmering under the sunset's light, sending its shrine through its entire body. Sapphires, rubies, gems of all kinds. Her favorite however, was placed on a pedestal in the center of all the jewels.

An azure Chaos Emerald placed carefully under a glass case. Of course she had some security to protect the blue beauty, but she tried not to make it known. She liked to think that no one would dare steal from her, and she shouldn't need to go out of her way to protect it. Just in case though… she did it anyways.

Feeling control come back to her body, she began to tap her foot as a sign she was ready to start interrogating again. "Shadow, what do you have to do in all this? How are you related to Chaos?"

Rouge noticed that Shadow's eyes darted to the left for a split second. "I have no idea how the hell I'm connected," he growled. "All I know is we have to stop Chaos."

"Is anyone else involved in this other than you and Blaze?"

Emerl shook his head. "No, just us."

Cream took Rouge's hand timidly, still letting out a few sniffles as Cheese nudged her head gently.

"All right…" she sighed, her head drooping down. "How do we stop Chaos then?"

Shadow was about to speak, but Emerl stepped forward.

"We need the Chaos Emeralds."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robots don't sleep you know.

Deception… Metal Sonic and I stayed up and studied the city the entire night. At one point, we dashed through inside it, keeping close in the shadows. There was no need for it, but Metal seemed to enjoy it and did it naturally. I occasionally almost lost him a few times.

One moment, the tall god would be walking down the sidewalk, and I'd look behind me for I heard a slight sound… the next moment, all I'd see was a lone lamppost. I would then look around frantically, and then look back to where I last saw him. There he'd be walking down the sidewalk again, as if he had never disappeared at all.

Weird.

God of Deception definitely fits him, but until he proves to me that Sonic hadn't missed me, he's nothing but a robot.

Eventually, we took a spot on a tall building, gazing down at the open streets. His ratty cloth around his waste billowed against the wind's power. "Soon… my plans will begin…" he whispered to himself.

I ignored it.

The sun rose, and the city began to come alive, cars and people filling the streets. "It reminds me…" Metal Sonic said in a strange tone. "…Reminds me of the day that Chaos came into the world. He flooded the streets, and killed countless numbers of people." He let out a dark chuckle. "They're still trying to find all the corpses in the sewers."

"Wonderful." I commented.

Metal crossed his arms, still staring down at the busy people. With no warning at all he said, "Come, let's go," and took off into the city in a flash. I jumped after, and followed the best I could.

After hoping a few buildings, and sidestepping a few curious eyes, Metal suddenly stopped. "Here. There he is."

Who?

Who indeed. It was Sonic! It was Sonic! There he was! Sonic the Hedgehog! Sonic, my father, Sonic, my true father! He was right there on the sidewalk, talking with my mom, Amy! I missed him so much!

I nearly jumped off the roof to go see him, but Metal Sonic put up a clawed arm to stop me. "Wait. Wrath… I want you to read his thoughts. Past and present. Do you see anything in his mind about you? I'm afraid I do not."

I felt a stab hit my chest.

No, no, his name was Deception after all; he was just trying to confuse me. Although… Metal's tone… he sounded like he was sad. It didn't matter.

Tapping into Chaos' power, I threw out my conscience and felt mine merge with Sonic's. I dug through his thoughts, finding things I felt bad for intruding on. His love for Amy was one thing. His fear of water. Everything that he held dear.

But… Where was I in all of his memories?

I searched more and more, but could find little memories of myself except for after the day I supposedly had died. Sonic… forgot about me! He stopped caring for me! How could he do that? How did I mean so little to him?

"I'm sorry." Metal said, throwing me back into my own body.

I shook my head rapidly, feeling a wound start to open on my chest. "Amy! Amy didn't forget me! Amy couldn't have!"

I didn't care about privacy anymore. I jumped inside her head, and pushed through all memories and thoughts. Nothing after the day I died. She… she had forgotten me too! That's impossible! Why would I mean so little to them?

Am I… nobody?

"You are Wrath." Metal Sonic stated. "Emerl… Emerl has been cast aside by those filthy traitors."

He was right? He was right?

Sonic doesn't care anymore?

Amy doesn't care anymore?

I really… I really am Wrath?

Some say that robots can't cry. Some think we can't cry because we have no heart, no soul. It was physically impossible. We didn't have the chemicals a human did to feel emotion, to feel such a mental pain. I don't even know what I am then.

I cried.

How was that possible? Aren't I just a robot? I'm Emerl the robot! Robots can't cry! Emerl can't cry… Emerl can't cry…

Wrath wasn't a robot though. Wrath was a god. Even a god can cry. And that's what I did. I felt for the first time in my life, the cold crystal tears roll down my metal armor. Were my eyes Emerl's eyes? Or where they Wrath's eyes?

"Decide for yourself… who you are." The sapphire and silver being next to me said.

Emerl… Emerl was Sonic's friend. Sonic couldn't remember this Emerl anymore. The only thing I could possibly be… is my true self.

I fell down to my knees, tears still dripping down to the concrete on the building. "Wrath. I am God of Wrath."

That is who I am.

Wrath.

That is what I am.

Wrath.

That is all I feel.

Wrath.

Deception looked over to me, his eyes still showing as if he had no emotion at all. "You have made the right choice," he said. I was still crying, feeling pitiful that he was watching over me. "Do not worry. Emotion is power. Control that power, and you will be unstoppable."

"Yes, Deception." I managed to choke out, voice slightly cracking.

No matter what he said, Deception still couldn't take that pain away. The pain of being so betrayed. The humiliation, thinking I was something I was not. Emerl…

"There is one who remembers you, Wrath." Deception spoke up. "Your orders are to find him, take him to the Master Emerald, and let Chaos handle it from there. While in the Master Emerald, you must get the girl connected to Chaos as well."

I let my tears stop finally, and stood up. "Who am I going after, Deception?"

I felt a smirk emanate from him. "Shadow the Hedgehog. Chaos has told me of his connections. I would tell you now, but I have things to do. The other I want you to find is in another dimension. Her name is Blaze the Cat," he growled. "When you see her, put her out of her misery and erase her memories."

"Erase?" I echoed curiously.

Deception nodded. "Yes, you have that power," he looked back out into the city. "She, too, believes she is important to Sonic. Did you see anything about Blaze in their minds?"

I nodded. I do remember seeing a purple cat named Blaze. She had gone back to her dimension a few months ago, and Sonic hadn't thought of her since. I understood now. I will relieve that girl of her pain. "I've got it." I curled my hand into a fist. "What will you do?" I turned to him.

The sapphire god kept his eyes on the city. "I'll try out my new powers again. See if I still have the hang of it," I saw his clawed hand begin to ripple; a metal-like liquid began to ooze out of his fingers. Soon it took shape.

A silver dagger glistening under the sun.

Deception suddenly threw the dagger straight at my face with no warning. I threw my arms up to block it, but felt nothing but a splash of strange water hit. Putting my arms down, I saw that the metallic liquid had lost its shape and fallen to the ground in a puddle. "That dagger is as sharp or as dull as I like," Deception chuckled. "Don't worry; I stopped it before it could hit you." As he spoke, the chrome substance began to twitch, and jumped back into Deception's metal body a moment later.

No trace was left behind that there ever was a dagger. "Wrath, I want you to stay here. I have something that I need to attend to," he chuckled looking down at the couple that was Sonic and Amy. Sonic sped off, leaving Amy behind to wait for a while. Looking into his thoughts, I saw that it was only going to be about five minutes.

I looked to my side for Deception, but there was no sign of him anymore. He had left. Oh well he'll be back. It'll give me some time to think.

As the five minutes went by, I saw the blue traitor rush by the pink hedgehog, who in turn giggled at the action. They talked for a moment, and then their lips met. The two were cute together, but what did I care anymore?

An explosion rang into my ears, far off in the city, and smoke began to rise in that very direction. I watched from my roof top as Sonic picked up Amy like he was some knight in shining armor saving a damsel in distress. He then ran in the direction of the explosion leaving me behind on the roof.

It probably had something to do with Deception.

I didn't let it bother me. All that mattered now was reawakening Chaos to this world. What would it do for me? I don't really know. Am I doing this out of revenge? Am I doing it to befriend Deception? Befriend Shadow or Blaze maybe? Or am I just doing it because I'm lower than Chaos and I'm forced to?

I don't know. I don't care. I'm doing it cause I feel like it.

It was who knows how long before Deception returned. Maybe about ten or twenty minutes. I was lying on the ground, trying to get comfortable when he seemed to jump out of nowhere like he always does now. I looked at his armor and noticed some red liquid spattered across it. "Blood?" I shot up at the sight.

He looked down unhappily and wiped it off. "I really was hoping that my first blood shed would be Sonic's. But… I suppose I had to make it realistic and use a real one."

It… was best not to ask.

"Come, I spotted Shadow on my way," he jumped off through the city again. Just as before, I was given no time to respond, and simply followed him through.

We ended up atop an old library, crumbling at the weight of our bodies as we stood atop it. Walking down the streets, a black hedgehog made his way silently down. Shadow. "I'll help you convince him to come, but only this time. Stay right here, and do not let yourself be known," Deception ordered coldly.

I gave him a nod.

In amazement, I saw it happen. Deception's entire body began to ripple like water, before melting into the silver liquid. For a moment, he was nothing more than a puddle, just as Chaos would be. Then, the puddle began to shake as if an earthquake had hit, and it started to grow into a new form.

I was soon staring into emerald eyes, the same height as me. Blue quills hung out loosely, and Deception wore a smirk exactly like Sonic's. "Stay right here, will ya buddy?" he said, exactly as Sonic himself would.

He jumped down into the dark shadows between the two buildings, his movements agile and free like the blue hedgehog. "Hey, it's Shadow!" he held out a hand as the black hedgehog passed by. "What's up, Faker? You doing all right?"

It was amazing how well he could become that character. If I hadn't seen him transform, I would have never guessed that he wasn't the real Sonic. As he spoke to Shadow, I could see Sonic's eyes sparkle with courage and ego like he always had.

Deception took Shadow into the old library for who knows what. It was a while later that I saw him back in his true form; rushing past me he grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the spot.

"The fool has no idea," Deception laughed. "All my plans are coming together… Emerl, you know what to do. I want you to find him again later, let his pain set in, and when he no longer knows where to turn, show him the light." The blurs around us stopped and he threw me against a lone building. "I'll see you again."

His words were carried away against the wind, disappearing just as he did into the shadows. Deception left no trace that he was ever there.

I scrambled myself to sit up right, letting out a mental sigh. Well, there wasn't much to do but invade Shadow's privacy while I waited. All I needed was a vague idea of where he was, and I could jump right in there.

So, for a few hours, I dug through Shadow's mind. So much sadness and so much struggling. As I went farther back, his memories appeared only in pieces, and I could feel how hard he was trying to get those memories back. I found something in there I wouldn't have guessed before.

Shadow loved Sonic.

Shadow loved Sonic, he loved Amy, he loved Tails, he loved all of them. I felt my spirits rise as I found something else. Shadow loved Emerl too. This black hedgehog that never showed emotion… he has so much of it inside him. There was a burning passion to be with Maria Robotnik, a love for his friends, an empty sadness that he could never figure out, and hatred to whomever it was that took Maria away.

I looked farther to when Shadow was awakened by Robotnik in the GUN base so long ago. When he had no friends, he simply would do anything he could to make Maria happy. Even destroy an entire human race. What stopped him before he could do it?

His friends.

It really was too bad that Sonic showed little care for Shadow. As did Amy. For all he did for them, for all he felt for them, they simply betrayed the ultimate life. They forgot him without a care; they tossed him aside once they were done with him, manipulating the hedgehog's emotions simply so they could use his powers.

I returned back into my body, the sun's light no longer reaching the city past the dark clouds above. It was definitely a long time spent inside his mind. I knew just about everything about Shadow now. Like for instance, one of his favorite foods is fish, but he hates to admit it. For some reason, he thinks it's weird to like the stuff. Another one of his most favorite desserts would be marshmallows. He's had few, but he loves them more than any other food he's tasted. Shadow's pretty silly I have to admit, but so is everyone once you dive inside their mind.

Sonic…

My mind suddenly flew off to him.

Sonic… I trusted you. I believed in you, in everything you said.

I loved you.

"But…" I suddenly whispered to myself, fists tightening. "You turned out to be nothing but a manipulative bastard!" I screamed, throwing a punch straight into the concrete side of the building. As I removed my fist, a large dent was left behind. I just want to forget about him, just forget how he's… how he's fake.

Unexpectedly, my sapphire eyes caught something in the distant sun.

Shadow.

He'll be here soon. I jumped down into the darkness of the alleyway, waiting for his arrival.

Well. You've pretty much seen all this haven't you? Shadow knows no one cares for him, I tell him that I can bring him to Maria, he takes my hand… we go back to Angel Island, I find Knuckles doesn't care for me anymore, I make him eat dirt. What else… Well we went into the Master Emerald, got Blaze the Cat from her dimension, and I erased the poor girl's memory.

Now… All I have to do is see if these mortals can make it to Chaos alive. After all, if it can make a robot like Metal Sonic almost go insane…

Think what it could to do them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------