...

Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3
Phantom Worlds
Act 3

Chapter 16: Ode to Nocturne


War sirens were droning over the ruined cityscape as large magenta lasers were firing off into the smoky dusk sky, ripping apart the very fabric of space as the large Isle of Nocturnous was dipping out of the sky into the city below. Several large chains would extend out of the island from above and strike into the ground below, not even caring for where there were buildings as the chains would just smash through everything. Any sort of Resistance members outside would flee in panic as Nocturnous Clan members would start to descend from the chains, soon another firefight breaking out between the two sides of the war. Fires spread, explosions rocked the city, and chaos broke out like nothing else even mattered.

High above on the island, a single white echidna covered in armor and holding a staff would look down on the city, his glowing white eyes witnessing the entire destruction of the surrounding areas. Accompanying him was none other than the pair of the orange and cerulean Gizoids and familiar Procurator as they looked down.

"Now then..." The echidna spoke as he looked to the two Gizoids. "Charyb. Scylla. Dust up these little pests and keep them from entering the citadel. Under no circumstances is anyone except for myself, the Procurator, or our special guest are to enter into it, do I make myself clear?"

"Understood, mi'lord." Charyb said, bowing slightly.

"G-G-GOT IT BOSS MAN-N, GYAAHAHAHAHA!" Scylla cackled, his head twitching a bit.

"And make sure that if you are to break them," Ix spoke again, handing each a Chaos Emerald; Charyb the cyan one and Scylla the yellow one. "That they are to not get up at all anymore."

The two Gizoids nodded in response before leaping down into the outbreaking war below...

"As for you, Procurator." Ix said, turning to Shade. "Retrieval of the Emerald and our special guest at the rendezvous point, understood?"

"Yes, Lord Ix." Shade spoke through her mask before she took off for the lone point away from the citadel. Ix would turn back to the unfolding chaos, seeing the Ruby's own power causing it in the first place.

"The time for my tribe to return has come at last..." Ix growled to himself, staring out into the hellish war. "And this time... they will all know the true meaning of power..."


The explosions rocked the base as nearly everyone inside tried to regain their balance from the quakes. Amy would be the fist to speak.

"We don't have much time, we need a team mobilization now!" The pink hedgehog said, pulling up Station Square on the massive computer monitor. "We've got chaos going on all fronts of Station Square with that portal open! Marauders are swarming our troops, and... !" Amy gasped. "Th-they've got two of the Chaos Emeralds on them!"

Tails froze up. "W-we can't risk them having the Emeralds on them!" He said. "Let Carol and I go after those!"

"Hold on!" Amy said, checking back on the radar. "I'm picking up another signal..." She nearly choked upon seeing what the signal was. "W-we've got a reading on Shadow!"

"What?!" Rouge said. "Where is he?!"

"A-according to the map..." Amy spoke, homing in. "Five meters due to the east side of Spring Yard Zone!"

"Alright." Rouge said. "I'll go an-"

"I AM COMING WITH YOU." Omega droned as he grabbed Rouge and started marching out of the base. "THAT BLACK HEDGEHOG IS MY TEAMMATE, LIKE IT OR NOT, I WILL CONVINCE HIM WITH THE POWER OF MY MILKSHAKES."

"Are you sure that will work?" Rouge asked as she was dragged against her will out of the base.

"AS THE BAD MUSIC SAYS, MY MILKSHAKES BRING ALL THE HEDGEHOGS TO THE YARD!" Omega droned, moving out towards the position of where Shadow was.

Amy sweatdropped, looking to Tails and Carol. "You guys are gonna get the Emeralds?"

Carol nodded. "We'll take care of that; you guys keep relaying to us about what's going on!" She said as the two had dashed out the door off in pursuit of the Chaos Emeralds.

"We're going too!" Sven said as he and Milla rushed out of the base.

Amy would sigh. "Alright then, let's-" She paused when she realized something. "Wait... where's the small Sonic and small Sash?"

Indeed: it appeared the two small ones snuck out when the others weren't looking...

Outside, soon rushing towards the center area where the rift was, both Classic and Cyclone would see the massive scope of the island descending out of the portal above, the massive stream of lava pouring out onto the streets below as it melted away at it, the severe amount of troops and robots descending from it as swarmed other Resistance members or G.U.N. robots...

"Classic." Cyclone said. "We need to board that island if we're gonna find a way to stop all this." Classic nodded in response as the two took off deeper into the heart of the city... before being ambushed by a few Gizoids and Decurions.

"Shit." Cyclone cursed to herself, her tendrils twitching. "You ready?"

Classic nodded in response.

"Then it's time to shred." She answered, soon Dragon Boosting into a Gizoid as Classic spindashed straight into one of the Decurions. Several of the Gizoids would be then moving in to dogpile straight onto Cyclone, but soon a few quick tendrils slashes from a Dragon Cyclone had them shredded to bits. Classic would be rebounding between the two sets of Decurions, occasionally blowing raspberries as he taunted them into attacking eachother before spinning the remaining few away in a mini-spindash torando. With the Gizoids out of the way, Cyclone would grab Classic as she took off straight for the island citadel, dodging out of the way of other Marauder fire.

"They just don't know when to give up, do they?" The dragon said, smirking, seeing the massive group of them ahead. "You wanna try that one formation attack Classic?"

Classic grinned widely as he soon curled into his spindash before Cyclone slammed her foot right into him, sending the spinning spikeball of a hedgehog slamming into the group of Gizoids and Decurions, blasting them away.

"Perfect strike!" Cyclone smugly commented to herself as the two kept speed before they had closed in on the massive magmafall, which was already eating its way through the ground and into the sewer system.

"Now... how the hell do we climb this thing?" The dragoness asked, looking up the gigantic magmafall. "Even considering the heat coming off this thing, I don't think there'd be any feasible way to go up the falls itself..."

Classic would glance around at the surroundings, trying to find something to use... before he'd notice a familiar CRT monitor shape with a familiar flaming icon on it...

A lightbulb would go off on his head as he got an idea, smirking to himself before he curled into a Spindash and slammed into the monitor, busting it open as the Flame Shield wrapped itself around him. Going to test to see if his idea would work, he'd soon run and jump straight at the magmafall... only for it to act as a solid wall and knock him back next to Cyclone.

"Uhh... what are you doing?" Cyclone asked.

Classic motioned to her as if in sign language.

"You want me to hop onto your back?" She asked, earning a nod from the hedgehog. "...you sure about this?" She questioned. "I mean, this could very well fall flat on it's face and fail you know." Classic would start tapping his foot, as if to insinuate that this wasn't the time for arguing. Clearly enough it worked as Cyclone sighed. "Fine, you win." She said, hopping onto the hedgehog's back. Classic, smirking, revved himself up the hardest Peel-Out possible before he took off straight for the magmafall, prompting Cyclone to close her eyes tightly... only to suddenly feel her weight shift dramatically as she felt as if she was being harshly pulled upwards. Her eyes snapped open to soon see Classic was rushing up the magmafall itself! The kickup from his feet rushing against the molten rock caused it to spew to the sides and splatter on the ground below, catching some unwanted attention as the Decurions started opening fire on the ascending hedgehog and dragon girl. Cyclone grit her teeth and held to Classic tightly as he swerved out of the way of each shot. He couldn't risk a hit at this point; one wrong shot and they'd both burn into dust!

Things were starting to grow worse now as soon large water blasts were starting to hit the magmafall above them, causing chinks to harden and solidify into rock, then starting to hurdle straight towards them at high speed. Classic soon broke out into a frenzied sprint as he desperately tried to avoid the oncoming rocks hurtling straight for the pair... but soon his luck ran out as one small trip-up sent them careening off the magmafall. The hedgehog, acting quickly and remembering the Little Planet incident, soon hit the launches and started leaping from falling rock to falling rock, still taking care to dodge oncoming enemy fire. Launching off one last rock, Classic skidded along the magmafall's surface as he continued the upwards run, soon cresting the magmafall as he skidded around one of the smaller magmafalls in the pool of the molten rock. Decurions and now larger bodied Gizoid Guardians were on high alert as they started scampering about the area, apparently aware now of the two's little stunt they just pulled...

"Looks like we're gonna have to wait until the coast is clear..." Cyclone whispered to the hedgehog. "So... don't drop me. Please."


The echidna would be impatiently tapping his foot as he stood upon the far outskirts of the city, far away from the Resistance base. He knew he couldn't afford to waste any time at this point; if any of his team members saw him, they'd almost certainly think he would be betraying the cause of the Resistance...

He'd just have to hope they would understand and that Ix would hold his end of the bargain.

By this point a smaller dropship would descend down next to Knuckles, docking into a hover mode as the door opened, Shade looking out. "You have the stone?" She asked.

Knuckles nodded, hoisting the Master Emerald into the ship as he boarded on. "As long as you keep your promise."

"I will." Shade spoke as the two echidnas sat down, the ship lifting up and heading back for the Nocturnous spire. The two were rather silent to eachother, neither one saying a word... until Shade broke the silence.

"I can sense you're still not 100% sure with this decision..." Shade spoke.

"I'm essentially going behind the Resistance's backs to do this..." Knuckles spoke. "That and without the Master Emerald if I have to hand it over to your tribe, we'll have no way of purifying the Chaos Emeralds-"

"Wait." Shade stopped him. "Your group has Chaos Emeralds?"

"Only two." Knuckles spoke, sighing. "But they're corrupted. There's no way we can purify them without the Master Emerald. They'll just be nothing but two useless stones at that point..."

"..." Shade felt silent, a small pang of guilt in her throat from what Knuckles said. The Resistance had no idea they had two Chaos Emerald powered Gizoids running amok in Station Square at this point...

"...maybe once Ix has us return fully, we could use the Emerald to purify the Chaos Emeralds?" Shade spoke.

Knuckles would nod. "I'd really appreciate it if you let me have it back once our business is done."

Shade nodded back. "I will see to it once our business is done." She spoke, soon feeling the ship docking down on the landing bay of the citadel island. "...we're here."

Knuckles nodded, grabbing the Master Emerald as the two left the docked ship. As the two walked along the stone pathways coursing with metallic structures, Knuckles would feel uneasy as Shade led him to the citadel room. As the large metallic doors opened up, the two stepped inside as Ix stood in the center of the room, looking at the two.

"Ah, so you must be our special guest..." Ix spoke. "I must say, I am amused that it's another echidna... and one from the tribe of Pachacamac no less..."

"Pleased to meet you too I guess..." Knuckles said, setting down the Master Emerald in the center of the citadel's antechamber. "So... how exactly do you guys need the Master Emerald to 'return fully' as Shade explained to me?"

"Well, the effects of the Ruby are only... temporary, let's put it." Ix spoke as a large device with a three-pointed claw came down and hooked onto the Master Emerald. "It's energy is only enough to bring us into this world, not enough to keep us in here. Once the effect wears off, the Twilight Cage pulls the island back in. Chaos Energy, however..." He spoke, chuckling to himself as the Master Emerald was raised up and locked into place. "The limitless powers of the Master Emerald will allow us to remain here fully."

"As long as you keep your end of the bargain..." Knuckles said.

"Relax." Ix spoke. "Rest assured you'll be keeping your promise. Now, how about the Procurator shows you around the place here?"

"Very well, Lord Ix." Shade spoke, turning to Knuckles. "If you would come with me?"

Knuckles nodded, the two leaving the antechamber with Ix and the Master Emerald.

Ix chuckled darkly to himself. "Oh Knuckles... you are so, so naive..."


Sirens were still blaring loudly as Scylla was maniacally laughing to himself as he tore through any more of the Resistance soldiers, carving them up like they were nothing more than Thanksgiving turkey. IT was almost impossible to tell of his orange coloring underneath the blood he spilt.

"GYAAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA! C-COME ON N-NOW! IS TH-THIS ALL THIS P-P-PESKY RESISTAN-NCE HAS GOTTEN?!" Scylla cackled. "OH THE BEAU-UTIFUL BLOODSHED! OH THE SCREAMS OF THE FALLEN! I-ITS MUSIC T-TO MY E-EARS! GYAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Though it wasn't long before Scylla experienced some new faces...

A slam to the back of his metal cranium was more than enough to catch his attention as he'd whip around to see none other than the two canines were already there, Milla's hand smoking from the Phantom Sphere she just fired. She growled as she stared down the Gizoid, Sven taking up a battle position as well...

"W-WELL WELL WELLY-Y WELL WELL!" Scylla cackled. "I D-DIN'T KNOW I'D BE CALING-G IN FOR SO-OME SPAYING TODAY! N-NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING, GYAAAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Milla grit her teeth, glaring down the Gizoid. "Hands off that Chaos Emerald!" She yelled, her fists cloaked in green energy.

Sven growled as well. "You'll be sorry you crossed paths with us!" He barked.

Scylla merely laughed crazy again. "WH-WHAT KINDA COMEDY IS THA-AT, AMATUER HOU-UR?!" He cackled, his head twitching slightly. "GAAAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU TWO ARE PATHETIC!"

Milla clenched her fists tightly. "We'll see how well you're saying that once we're through with you!" Milla roared, rushing straight for the Gizoid. Scylla would dodge out of the way before attempting to slash at the basset with his own blade. He was soon interrupted as Sven had slashed right at his backside, his fists cloaked in blue energy claws. Scylla cackled as he delivered a smashing kick straight to the husky's gut, causing him to lose his guard as the Gizoid turned and decked him across the face. Sven went flying into a wall as Milla pulled a Shield Burst straight in the Gizoid's backside. Scylla was sent sprawling before he rerightened, cackling again.

"TH-THIS IS NO-OTHING, NYEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEEH!" Scylla cackled. "WH-WHAT ARE YA, A-A-A-A BUNCH OF P-PANSIES?!"

Milla growled, slamming her foot into the ground as a chunk of earth was kicked up into the air, her foot slamming into it as it was sent straight towards Scylla at a hurtling speed. The Gizoid merely back-handed the rock before dashing straight for the basset, slashing straight at her. Milla guarded a little too late and felt the sharp plasma cut her forearms, her blood splattering a bit. Gritting her teeth in pain she'd grab the Gizoid's wrist and twist it into an armlock, disarming the blade from him.

"GYAH! NI-ICE TRY YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Scylla cackled. "CHAOS C-CONTROL!" And almost in an instant he had disappeared from Milla's armlock, soon reclaiming his blade and slicing Milla clean across the back, causing the basset to flip forward and faceplant on the ground. Scylla rushed forward and intended to kill Milla, but his blade soon collided with Sven's Phantom Claws as the blade ground against them.

"H-hands off!" Sven growled, struggling against the blade before he threw the Gizoid off of him. "No one's allowed to hurt Milla!"

"A-AND WHO ARE YOU T-TO JUDGE WHO DO-OES WHAT, GYAAAH?!" Scylla scoffed, his head twitching. "Y-YOU DON'T HAVE POWER OVER ME!"

"I beg to differ!" Sven said, his claws slamming straight into the Gizoid's blade. The Gizoid would be parrying the blade clashes before punching Sven straight in the face, launching him backwards. Sven barked angrily before rushing forward again, brandishing his Phantom Claws as he and Scylla soon were in heated combat, trading blows with eachother before Sven delivered a smashing double-punch straight to the Gizoid's central chasis, sending him careening into a wall. With him down for the time being, Sven would rush to the basset's side.

"Y-you alright Milla?" Sven said as he helped the basset to her feet.

"I-I think so..." The basset moaned, getting to her feet thanks to the husky. "I'm alive at least..."

Sven would look over. "I think we got him..."

"I dunno..." Milla spoke. "Something tells me a Chaos Emerald powered robot isn't going to go down that easily..."

Milla's point would be soon proven as Scylla burst from the building he was knocked into.

"Told ya." Milla spoke as her fists formed her murder spheres. "Don't let your guard down just yet!"

Sven growled as the two soon lept back into action...


Soon enough Tails and Carol were closing in on their target as they rounded the corner of the building, soon ducking behind some debris as Tails got a read on their target.

"From the Chaos Energy readings, looks like we've got a fix on the cyan Emerald." Tails spoke. "And chances are, there's gonna be something protecting it. You ready?"

"I'll be about as ready as I can be." Carol said, setting her Mech-Blade to its scythe form. "We can't risk letting them keep that Chaos Emerald."

"On three?" Tails said, readying his blaster.

"I was thinking more of 'one', but three's fine by me." Carol said, scythe at the ready. "So let's do this."

"One... two..." Tails spoke, tensing up. "THREE!" He shouted, as both of them rushed around the corner, brandishing their weapons. "Freeze! Hand over the Chaos Emerald!"

"...hmph, rather uncouth of you, don't you say?" The cerulean Gizoid said, turning around. ""As if you're to just come in here and act so disgraceful to a high ranking officer of the Nocturnous clan."

Both Tails and Carol would be confused. "...what?" Tails asked.

"Ah, I suppose that introductions are in order then." The Gizoid said, rightening himself. "I am Charyb, main commanding officer of the Nocturnous Clan and head of the Decurion division of Nocturnous soldiers. Now, pray tell, who am I speaking to?"

Tails stood still. "Miles Prower."

"Carol Tea."

"Ah, so the illustrious Miles Prower and Carol Tea of the now defunct AvaMerc of Mobius and Avalice. I must say, the one you call Robotnik has said much about your... exploits in the past." Charyb spoke. "Pray tell, why would your concerns draw to me? I've not so much as even laid a single finger on any of the civilians in the area; just merely driving them out."

Tails would seriously be confused. "Wait... so you're not even hurting anyone?"

"Ach, no. Far too messy to deal with as someone of my stature." Charyb merely responded. "I find it beneath myself to send unnecessary bloodshed when it's not needed. Just drive them away and let bygones be bygones."

"...am I speaking to a war machine or some sort of Old Republic knight?" Carol spoke.

"Hmph, I can understand your tongue." Charyb merely spat. "I assure you that my manner of speaking is not representative of my combat abilities. And yet you've not even made your point as to why you've arrived here in search of me."

"The Chaos Emerald!" Tails said, the two readying their weapons. "Hand it over!"

"Ah, so you mean this?" Charyb said, pulling the Chaos Emerald out. "Hmph, as if I would hand it over so pettily easy. For what reason should I have to hand you over the Emerald to your lot?"

"We can't have those Emeralds in Eggman's hands!" Tails said. "Every Emerald he has in his possession means more and more our worlds will slip! Until there's nothing more than a void of suffering and sorrow!"

"Hmph. Then it seems your world is on the line as well." Charyb spoke. "Very well. If you want this Chaos Emerald so badly, then you must defeat me in a duel!"

"...a duel?" Carol asked.

"Yes. I feel as if that would be the most appropriate way to settle this issue. We have a duel, and to the victor go the spoils; or in this case, the Chaos Emerald." Charyb spoke.

"...a duel-" Carol was about to say again before Charyb interrupted.

"Yes, a bloody duel!" The Gizoid said, crossing his arms. "Now then, do you accept?"

"..." Carol thought. "Tails?"

"...if it's for the safety of our world, then we'll do it." Tails spoke, changing his blaster modifications to the plasma sword.

"Very well then." Charyb said, brandishing his blade. "Then for the honor of the clan, you shall fall!"

"I say otherwise!" Tails said, rushing forward as the two blades collided in a shower of sparks. The two would push against eachother before Charyb lept back, gripping tight to his blade.

"Chaos Wave!" Charyb said, slashing at the ground as a Chaos energy charged wave welled up from the ground and forced itself towards Tails. The kitsune grit his teeth as he soon switched to lightning chaser as he fired, dispersing the wave entirely. Tails would then dash forward at the Gizoid before slamming his tails into him in a whip-like fashion, knocking the robot sideways before it rerightened itself. Charyb would unleash another watery blast at Tails as it knocked him back, before Charyb went for the roundhouse kick straight for the back of the kitsune's skull. The foot would connect as Tails was rocketed forward face-first, faceplanting hard onto the ground.

"As I expected. Your morale is strong, but your combat skills are unrestrained and sloppy." Charyb spoke. "No wonder you couldn't last long."

"Nnnnngghhh..." Tails groaned, getting to his knees. "You're not gonna get away with this..."

"Hmph. Words are meaningless unless you're willing to put them through." Charyb spoke, before dodging out of the way of Carol's attack. "Ah, attempting to get me monologuing just to put in an attack. How cheeky of you!"

Carol didn't utter a word as she soon started her onslaught with her scythe, whirling it around herself with speed and grace as she duked it out with Charyb. The Gizoid would soon be clashing blades against the scythe as the movements were kept up beat for beat, clash for clash before the two opposing parties were thrown back from eachother.

"I must say, I'm impressed by your skills." Charyb spoke. "Not many can keep up blow for blow with my fighting style..."

Carol didn't speak a word, just her tail slowly twitching as she eyed down the Gizoid.

"Not much for words once you're in the heat of combat are you?" Charyb quipped. "Very well then, we shall continue!" Charyb would soon sprint forward, slashing across the ground as more Chaos Waves would burst up from the ground, the wildcat slicing through them with the Mech-Blade before making a move on Charyb, slicing her blade straight through his forearm. Charyb would back off before Carol slashed a horizontal one, which would have sliced the Gizoid clean in two had he not dodged. Charyb would soon go on the offensive again as he rushed forward intending to catch Carol off guard. The wildcat grit her teeth as she kept the Mech-Blade at the ready, going another round of weapon-to-weapon combat with the Gizoid. Blow after blow was continuously traded...

...until Tails finally interrupted and slammed his blade straight into the backside of the Gizoid when he wasn't looking, completely catching it off guard as it soon lost power. With a sharp slash upwards, the Gizoid would be bisected as the cyan gemstone flew into the air... and was caught in the kitsune's hand, panting heavily.

"Well, that works." Carol said, panting a bit. "Nice sneak maneuver there, even I didn't see ya coming!"

"Heh, thanks..." Tails said, holding the Chaos Emerald. "So, we've got three now."

Tails nodded. "Only four more to find... but who knows where three of them are."

"Let's just get this back to base; I'm sure Amy will be thrilled to hear the news." Carol commented.

Tails nodded his head in response before the two took back off for the base...


"...are there any more readings of him Omega?" Rouge asked from her perch on the robot's shoulder.

"NEGATIVE." Omega droned, keeping watch of the current area. "HIS BIOTIC LIFE SIGNS HAVE DISAPPEARED ENTIRELY. HE MAY HAVE USED CHAOS CONTROL RECENTLY."

"Damnit..." Rouge cursed to herself. "And to think we could have found him to try and talk some sense into him..."

"HOLD ON." Omega droned. "I HAVE A READING ON CHAOS ENERGY...YEP, ITS HIM."

"Where is he relative to us?" Rouge asked.

"TWO KILOMETERS DUE NORTHWEST." Omega spoke, before the bat took off to the skies. "AND OF COURSE YOU WOULD RUN OFF AHEAD." He droned before heading off in the same direction as well. Though it wasn't long before the new Egg Pawns would catch sight of them and open fire on them. Omega, of course, wasting no time, immediately begins to eviscerate the lot as scrap metal starts flying like a spare parts factory, making quick work of every Pawn in front of him.

"We'll move faster if you aren't going out of your way to kill everything Omega!" Rouge commented, flying ahead.

"IMPOSSIBLE." Omega said, keeping his rate of fire up. "ALL OF EGGMAN'S ROBOTS MUST BE ELIMINATED. NO EXCEPTIONS, NO SURRENDER."

Rouge signed in frustration. "You're impossible to work with..." She said, taking off ahead as the robot could continue to lay waste to the horde. She'd continue to make her way in the direction of where the signal was coming from until she'd soon see the familiar black hedgehog, decked out in the normal formal black suit he'd wear, in the middle of a plaza clearing.

"Shadow!" Rouge said, dropping down to the plaza. "Are you oka-"

She was soon interrupted as the black hedgehog threw a Chaos Spear at her, which she quickly deflected with an axe kick. "What the hell has gotten into yo-" She started to say before she felt a sharp slam straight to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her as she was sent flying into a building, the wall cracking from the sheer force she was throw at into it. Blood would spit from her mouth from the impact before she fell and hit the ground hard. "Wh-what... the hell..."

"Hmph, pathetic." Shadow growled, picking up the broken bat. "And what even made you think you had so much as a chance to stand up to me?"

"L-let... me... go Shadow!" Rouge growled, squirming.

"And why would I do that with such a weak little creature as yourself?" The hedgehog spat back, throwing Rouge sideways into another wall as she hit the ground hard. "Don't ever show your pathetic little face in front of me again if you value your safety." He said, walking away.

Rouge felt a spark of anger starting to rise inside her chest as she got back to her feet, soon rushing forwards and attempting to slam a kick straight into the side of the black hedgehog's head. Shadow would be flung to the side as Rouge would be panting hard, angrily glaring down the hedgehog.

"Hmph, you want to play that game?" The black hedgehog said, his fists starting to glow. "Fine then. There won't be a next time for you!" Shadow would rush forward as Rouge tried to defend herself, but suddenly the black hedgehog would Chaos Control away out of view and throwing the bat off her guard. Her vision would start to dart from area to area before she felt a sharp pain to her gut as she was soon thrown into the air, a tear coming from her eye as she soon was pummeled in the air several times before a smashing blow would be slammed into her back, smashing her into the ground hard. The bat would struggle to get up before she felt a foot press hard into her back, Shadow pointing an open palm straight at the back of her head, a yellow glow forming in his palm.

"Now, DIE." The black hedgehog growled. The bat shut her eyes tightly and prepared for the worst...

...only to hear a deafening gunshot as the weight would seem to disappear from her. The bat's eyes would snap open to soon see that Shadow had been flung to the side, a bleeding hole in his head as he laid motionless on the ground. Soon enough, Rouge would be helped to her feet as she soon recognized the floral Hawaiian shirt...

"You alright?" The figure asked.

Rouge sighed in relief. "Appreciate you finally came... Shadow."

"Hmph. As if it wasn't hard enough trying to find you guys." The hedgehog spoke. "Doesn't help with all the faker copies of me running around. They don't even have half the personality I do."

"Well..." Rouge said. "Where were you for the past six months?"

"Trying to find you guys." Shadow answered. "Where's Omega?"

An explosion would go off nearby along with a shout of "BITE MY SHINY METAL ASS."

"Take a guess." Rouge said.

"Really hasn't changed, has he?" Shadow asked.

"Not really..."


With what seemed like an eternity of hiding behind the magmafall, Cyclone would have fallen asleep on Classic's back, not giving the poor hedgehog and slack as he had to continue holding her in a way so she wouldn't wake up...

His ear twitched as he heard footsteps passing nearby the magmafall. Nudging Cyclone awake, the two would peer out from behind the falls to see the pair of Knuckles and Shade walking by...

"Hey..." Cyclone whispered. "Wasn't that the echidna that was back at the Resistance base?"

Classic nodded, making hand motions as to that he was confused as to why he would be here.

"Well, whatever reason... I think that gives us proper excuses to start snooping around." Cyclone spoke, her eyes darting between the two sides of the land around the magmafalls. "Which way should we take though? This place could be huge..."

Classic would point to the left, seemingly away from the route where Knuckles and Shade were going, but at the indication of a speed ramp.

"Ah, perfect." Cyclone said. "Fits in for our abilities too." With that, Classic and Cyclone would take off to the one side of the land as the hedgehog would then spin down the ramp before launching upwards and around before skidding to a halt in a smaller plaza, stairs to the mere right of where they dismounted. Sneaking up the stairs, the two would soon come a large entryway... only for it to lead to a dead end.

"Shit..." Cyclone cursed. "I get the feeling we went the wrong way."

Classic indicated to one of the entryways they ignored for their speed path, back on the one raised section of land.

"Hmmm... it's the only other way we've got." Cyclone said. Speeding back over there, the two would find that the small entryway led to a descending staircase going deeper into the citadel. The two would begin their descent...

Then Classic's foot hit water.

He zipped back up the staircase as if he was afraid for his life.

"...seriously?" Cyclone spoke, grabbing the hedgehog's hand. "Come on, it can't all be submerged, right?"

Oh how wrong she would be...

With the under chambers completely flooded, Classic would be squirming hard as he tried to struggle to get away from the place. Cyclone basically had to drag him all the way through the underwater chambers as she held her breath...

Soon enough the two would surface as Classic and Cyclone would be panting for air, soaked to the skin. Looking over, he'd see the massive pyramid with large mechanical gears, spires and crystaline structures. Gritting her teeth, she'd soon crawl up the side of the pyramid until she could start peering through the skylight. She could faintly make out some sort of device, along with a massive stone embedded into it.

"Classic, I think they've got the Emerald!" Cyclone said. "They must've tricked Knuckles into getting it!"

Classic would punch his fists together, soon rushing for the door.

"Classic NO!" The dragoness yelled, gripping the hedgehog's tail tightly as he skidded his feet along the ground. "We can't just run in there all reckless like that!"

But her grip on the hedgehog's tail would start to slip...


Meanwhile, Knuckles and Shade would be working their way downwards until they had come to the large building in the side of the citadel. "This where you wanted to take me?" He asked.

Shade nodded. "Welcome to the Noctunous Archives." She spoke, leading him inside. "And in here, we might have a plan of neutralizing that ruby..."

The insides of the Archives would be large, illuminated by crystal spires as the two echidnas would walk between the larger databank cases, other Nocturnous clan members would be walking about the area... though a few would be shooting the two odd looks or even a bit of leering.

"Lotta stares we're attracting..." Knuckles spoke, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"It might just be your gloves." Shade spoke. "Not a lot of people would expect a member of the Knuckles clan to be here... let alone alive for that matter after the Perfect Chaos incident..."

"Wait, you knew about that?" Knuckles asked, earning a nod in response from the other echidna.

"Part of my job as Procurator is historical preservation of both the clan and any other neighboring or warring tribes." Shade spoke. "We've actually had a lot of documentation of both our and your tribe, since both our sides had the most interaction. Especially since your tribe wasn't exactly the... best with historical preservation."

"Guilty." Knuckles said. "What was supposed to be the historical records in Hidden Palace hasn't had any sort of recording in it at all expect for the mural hall leading to the altar."

"Ah, of the legendary golden hedgehog, yes?" Shade asked.

"Well, yeah..." Knuckles said. "Needless to say I... kinda witnessed that incident happened."

"Huh." Shade said, smiling a bit. "At least you seemed to have a little action as a Guardian."

"You don't know the half of it." Knuckles spoke, the two soon reaching the one section where Shade needed to go.

"Ah, here we are." Shade spoke. "Let's see... ah, here it is; 'The Master Emerald and Beyond the Chaos Emeralds.' If what I remember from seeing in here..."

"There might be something to stop the Ruby in this?" Knuckles asked.

"There's one specific piece of this lore..." Shade spoke. "One that, surprisingly, your clan seems to have lost to time."

"Really?" Knuckles said.

Shade nodded. "I'm talking about the S-" Though her sentence was interrupted as a loud rocking sound shook the island. "Wh-what the?!"

"What was that?!"


Said rumbling had come from Classic, who's tail had finally slipped from Cyclone's grasp as he spin slammed into the metal doors into the antechamber, the two large doors slamming into other machines in the chamber and throwing off everything on the island. Even Ix wasn't expecting this as he was thinking Knuckles and Shade were off at the Archives right now! The echidna imperator grit his teeth, soon seeing the small blue hedgehog landing on the main floor in front of him, his spines tingling as if he was ready to fight.

Ix could help but let out a laugh. "Really now! This the esteemed Sonic the Hedgehog I've heard so much about? Nothing more than a mere child, and dust for my boot to wipe away!" Classic would soon charge a Spindash as he rocketed straight at the echidna, but was merely batted away with a flick of his staff. Classic would rebound off the wall, soon ricocheting off the walls as if the arena was made for pinball. Ix would growl as he soon let loose a blast from his staff, knocking the hedgehog sideways as Cyclone would rush into the room.

"Hold it!" She yelled.

"Hmph, as if a maggot such as yourself would make a difference!" Ix growled, soon meeting the dragoness as she slashed her tendrils right into his staff, merely plonking off of them before she threw every sort of attack she had at the echidna, culminating in a Dragon Boost, which definitely started to deal some damage as Ix was pushed back from the attack.

"ENOUGH!" Ix roared, blasting Cyclone away next to Classic, skidding on her feet. "I will not have my plans trifled by a pair of insolent worms, much less children such as yourselves!"

"You started it by tricking Knuckles for the Master Emerald you ass!" Cyclone spat back, pointing at the Master Emerald up in the craw of the machine. "That doesn't even belong to you!"

"As if I care what others think!" Ix growled back. "For too long has this world damned me and the clan from dominating it! I had my victory stolen from me long ago, and I will not allow history to repeat itself! This world will be mine for the taking! All of it belongs only to me!"

"You're insane!" Cyclone growled. "All you'll do is kill yourself because of Infinite!"

"As if that insolent worm thinks he's to a speck of my power!" Ix growled. "And with the power of the Master Emerald, I will-"

"Lord Ix!" Shade's voice yelled as she and Knuckles rushed in. "What... is..."

"Hey, you two!" Knuckles said, looking at Classic and Cyclone. "What are you two doing here?!"

"Don't believe Ix you two!" Cyclone said. "He's wanting to use the Emerald to destroy all of us!"

"What?!" The two would exclaim, Shade looking to Ix. "Imperator! You can't be serious!"

"...nnnghhh, I don't have time for this!" Ix growled, hitting a button on his staff. "Guardians, seize them!"

"Wh-what?!" Shade gasped, before both she and Knuckles were restrained by the large hulking Gizoid figures. "N-nngh! L-Lord Ix! You can't be serious!"

"Curb your tongue you worm!" Ix growled, blasting Shade with his staff and causing her to shriek in pain. "There will be no more out of your mouth if you value your life!"

"I can't let you do this Ix!" Knuckles growled. "Misuse of the Master Emerald's power will only lead to your downfall by the gods!"

"As if I were to tremble in fear of your so-called gods!" Ix said, the Master Emerald in its machine lowering down to the ground. "With its limitless power, I can become a god! Beyond one even! Even your so called threat of Infinite will fear me!" With that, Ix would insert his hand into the machine, soon feeling the Chaos Energy flowing into his body as his eyes flashed green, the energy soon enveloping him as his body transformed into his true echidna form, glaring down the four as Chaos Energy orbited his staff. "Now TASTE ANNIHILATION!"

Shade squirmed before she pulled a blade from her armor, soon using her free arm to whirl it straight at the machine's craw, the Emerald falling to the ground. from the disconnected machine parts.

"WHAT?!" Ix roared.

"SONIC! THE EMERALD!" Shade yelled to Classic. The hedgehog nodded before he made a mad dash straight for the Master Emerald, hand extended out to grab it.

"NO!" Ix roared, making a move for the Emerald.

But he wasn't fast enough as a golden light erupted from the Master Emerald, blinding the energy fueled Imperator and knocking him back. He'd look back to soon see the hedgehog, now golden in color, staring down at Ix.

"Bah, merely a change of hairstyle is not going to make a difference!" Ix growled, readying his staff as he soon fired off a Chaos Blast right for Classic. Classic, now charged into his Super form, would charge up a Spindash before blasting straight through the Blast, slamming straight into Ix and finally starting to deal some damage.

"It's working!" Shade said as Cyclone soon turned the Gizoid Guardians to scrap metal, freeing the two. "Knuckles quick, get the Master Emerald and stop Ix's Chaos Energy feed!"

"I've only got one shot at this!" Knuckles said, making a dash for the Master Emerald and scooping it up in his arms while Super Classic was busy going toe-to-toe with Ix. The echidna would soon leap up higher onto another ledge while Cyclone and Shade would join up with him. Knuckles would begin to harness the powers of the Master Emerald as Classic continued to deck it out with the insane leader echidna. He would backhand the hedgehog's spindash with his own staff before firing off a series of energy orbs straight for the spiny yellow mammal. Classic would spin before launching himself straight into the staff of Ix, severing it clean in two. Growling in rage, Ix would toss the severed staff to the side before firing off other Chaos Energy blasts like mad at the hedgehog, starting to cause colateral damage to the citadel's antechamber.

"...the controller serves to unify the Chaos!" Knuckles said. "Master Emerald, cut your feed to Ix! He is unworthy of possessing the Chaos Energy!" With that, the Master Emerald would start to glow brightly as IX started to become weaker...

"Sonic, now's your chance!" Shade yelled to Classic. The super hedgehog nodded in response before spinning in place, large amounts of light soon building up around him as he soon blasted forward, slamming straight into Ix in the most powerful Light Speed Attack as the echidna was slammed against the wall repeatedly, soon reduced to no more than a bloody pulp in a cape as Classic kept wailing on him... until his super form faded, causing him to pant heavily.

"He... he did it!" Cyclone said. "I didn't know he had so much power..."

Their victory wouldn't be lasting for so long as the place would soon be rumbling, nearly throwing the group off their feet.

"The Master Emerald was the only thing keeping Nocturne fully in this world..." Shade said. "Without it, the Twilight Cage is going to pull it back in, and any of the Nocturnous along with it!"

"So..." Knuckles said. "In layman's terms, time for us to get the hell out of dodge."

"YES!" Shade said, as the four made a break for out of the citadel. The four would start legging it as soon they broke out of the other steel doors, soon seeing the island breaking apart as it started to get sucked back into the portal above. The four would take a massive leap of faith as they would soon start going into freefall as anything else Nocturnous related started to get sucked into the portal...

The quartet would land on the ground as the rest of the Nocturnous would get sucked into the portal itself, soon enough the magenta laser piercing into the sky dying entirely. The portal would seal shut, any traces of the Nocturnous gone entirely... except for Shade, who sighed in relief.

"Well... crisis averted..." Shade spoke, dropping to her knees. "Gods..."

"You okay?" Knuckles asked.

"I-I'm exhausted... heh..." Shade said. "E-either way... let's head back to your base... sound good?"

Classic gave a thumbs up, and Cyclone nodded. Knuckles would pick up Shade onto the Master Emerald as the four headed back to base...


Carol and Tails would be the first to arrive back at base, the wildcat smirking as she held the Chaos Emerald. "One more emerald for out group!" She said, holding the thing as a trophy. "We're only got four more to find!"

"Excellent!" Amy said, taking the cyan Emerald from the two. "At least we're finally able to get these things back for ourselves..."

"Make it four Emeralds!" Milla spoke as she and an exhausted Sven would enter into the base as well, holding the yellow gem. "We've only got three more left!"

"We're on a roll!" Sven said. "Now, anyone find that Echidna? Or the two little guys for that matter?"

"They were with me." Knuckles said, soon entering the base afterwards, Shade on top of the Master Emerald with Classic and Cyclone behind the two.

"Where in the world were you Knuckles?!" Amy exclaimed. "And isn't that a member of those Marauders?"

"Former." Shade spoke. "I'm joining your cause."

"What?" Amy asked.

"My former Imperator has lied to me of our cause." Shade spoke. "I want no more to do with him."

"...alright, but just know not a lot of us are going to trust you." Amy spoke.

"...with the information I have, you may want to think otherwise..." Shade spoke.

"And what would that be?"

"I know how to counteract the Phantom Ruby."


With the panic of Station Square finally come to a close, the Resistance finds themselves up two Chaos Emeralds and a new ally in the form of Shade. But what does she mean by knowing how to counteract the Ruby? And can she truly be trusted? Find out next time in Chapter 17: "Search for the Shrine"...