Sonic's Chaos
Chapter 13: The Emerald Plot
Author's Note: An original character in this one, the first time I've used one in this series. Not sure yet as to whether or not I'll include any more; guess it depends on where the story goes! Anyway, enjoy!
On a hot morning in New Megatropolis, Espio lay back with his feet up on the table in the new Chaotix offices, generously provided to them by a kind landlord as a way of thanking them for their service to the city. The office was a considerable upgrade from the dilapidated Freedom Fighters base and even their own dingy headquarters before Mighty came knocking.
The Freedom Fighters had been split into several smaller groups, each tasked with their own operations. Team Sonic, which consisted of Sonic, Tails, Rotor and Ray, were still based in the old Freedom Fighters headquarters, where they planned on testing out Sonic's new transformation; Super Sonic, as Tails had eagerly referred to it in a previous conversation. Team Sally were tasked with ridding the remains of Robotnik's influence in the city. The Princess was keen to see this as an opportunity to bring back a sense of normality and re-establish her rule over West Side Island. As for Team Chaotix, they were tasked with finding where Robotnik had fled to; a thrilling job, Espio thought to himself. There were no real leads, not a word as to where Robotnik could be hiding. The sucker could be retired, lounging on a sunny beach in god knows where for all Espio knew. Besides, Espio had other thoughts on his mind.
It didn't matter that the Chaotix were meant to be finding Robotnik, Espio's mind was on other matters. He hadn't forgotten about Fang and Team Hooligan, how they planned to steal the Chaos Emeralds once the Freedom Fighters had got their hands on all of them. Well, now the Freedom Fighters do have all the Emeralds, so where are they? They could be staking out at the old base, waiting to pounce at any moment. As he sat leant back in his chair, he realised Vector was talking to him. He snapped his head, eyes widening a little as he realised he had been completely zoned out the whole time.
"Come on, Espio!" Vector sighed, sitting across the table from Espio, leaning over and slapping his hands on the desk, "You've gotta co-operate!"
"Sorry," Espio said sheepishly, glancing at the floor, "I'm trying."
"What's been botherin' ya?" the crocodile asked as Charmie, their hyperactive co-worker, came buzzing in. "I promise ya, just you wait, we'll get a solid lead soon!"
"Soon," Espio chuckled, arms crossed, "By then, it'll be too late. We need to pin Robotnik before he has a chance to reassemble his forces."
"Lighten up, Espio!" Charmie exclaimed, buzzing over to join in before landing on the desk, "With Super Sonic, beating Robotnik won't be a sweat!"
"That's the thing," Espio grunted, "Having Super Sonic depends on having the Chaos Emeralds."
"What are ya talkin' about?" Vector asked.
Espio took a breath before leaning forward. "Remember the evening I came stumbling back in here, right before Sonic and the others returned with the Emeralds?"
"Yeah, and you told me about Fang and the other nutjobs," Vector replied.
"Well, now we actually have the Chaos Emeralds, and they know it, too. Everyone in the city knows about the fight against Robotnik. Trust me, Vector, if it's not Team Hooligan, someone else will."
"But Sonic can go Super!" Charmie buzzed, "No one can take out Super Sonic!"
"Yeah, that way he can go psycho and destroy the city again..." Espio muttered under his breath. Vector sighed, exasperated. Ever since they started their part of the operation, Espio had been difficult to work with. Giving up, he pulled his headphones on and pressed play on his walkman in an attempt to drown out the trouble.
Meanwhile, Tails and Rotor set up some monitors and wires in the clearing outside the old Freedom Fighters base. Sally promised them that soon, they would relocate to a nicer, cleaner location, but for now they, along with Sonic and Ray, were stuck in this place, barely held together, holes in the ceilings and walls covered by wood panels. Despite having significantly better chances than previously, in terms of accommodation, it sure didn't feel like they beat Robotnik in battle. Still, Tails pressed on; he was determined to refine Super Sonic, the term he had used to refer to Sonic's new form. The monitors he and Rotor were setting up would be linked to Sonic, providing biofeedback during his transformation as well as displaying the Chaos Energy levels. Tails theorized that by controlling the levels of Chaos Energy, it could prevent Super Sonic from freaking out. This would be the first time since the battle of Robotropolis that Sonic would enter his Super form. Acknowledging the risk, Tails designed a pair of inhibitor rings which, when activated by a trigger held by Tails, would lower the levels of Chaos Energy right down to zero and reverse Sonic to his regular form.
"How you feeling 'bout this?" Rotor asked, adjusting the position of a monitor.
"Hopeful," Tails replied, setting up the program he designed to provide feedback, "But also a little nervous. Let's hope these inhibitor rings are enough to hold him back!"
In his peripheral vision, he saw Sonic and Ray carrying the Chaos Emeralds outside, setting them up in a circle. Sonic sped over to Tails, closing the short distance between them in the blink of an eye.
"You ready yet?" Sonic asked eagerly, his expression changing to worry as he grabbed a bunch of cables, "Wait – you're hooking all this up to me?!"
"Don't worry," Tails chuckled, tapping away at the keyboard, "The bands on the end wrap around your arms. When you put them on, they'll provide data on all these..." Tails pointed at the screen, drawing Sonic's attention.
"Beats per minute, blood pressure... Chaos Energy?" Sonic asked.
"The energy released from the Chaos Emeralds, remember?" Tails explained, "Oh, before you do anything, put these on," Tails grabbed the inhibitor rings; cold, metallic, they reminded Sonic of the cuffs he wore when he was trapped inside Robotnik's lair.
"Hey, I'm a hedgehog, not a guinea pig," Sonic joked as he slid the rings over his gloves, tightening them until they fit snugly on his wrists.
"It's just a good idea to get an understanding of what going Super does to your body," Tails smiled, grabbing the bands and wrapping them around Sonic's arms until they were tight, "We wouldn't want it to kill you now, would we?"
"Geez, can you fit these things on any tighter?" Sonic winced, feeling slight discomfort as Tails adjusted the bands. "And besides, I'm Sonic; nothing can kill me!"
"Nothing besides these bands!" Tails joked. "Anyway, you're all good to go. You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be!" Sonic exclaimed, looking at Tails as he walked inside the circle. "I can't wait! I hope I remember it this time!"
Tails, Ray and Rotor got ready to watch the transformation, eagerly looking at their screens.
"Now, remember," Rotor called out, "Try to contain the energy from the transformation as much as possible!"
"And remember, if things go too far I can reverse the transformation!" Tails shouted, before muttering "Hopefully..." under his breath. Sonic gave a thumbs up as he adjusted his position to be dead centre in the middle of the Chaos Emeralds. He shut his eyes and waited, taking a deep breath. Soon, he felt himself floating into the air as the Chaos Emeralds lifted into the air, spinning around the hedgehog, getting faster and faster.
"You got that trigger ready, Tails?" Ray asked, staring at Sonic.
Tails wiggled the trigger between his fingers. "At the first sign of trouble, I'll press this button."
The monitors showed Sonic's Chaos Energy levels slowly increasing. The number got higher and higher; 10%, 17%, 25%, 36%...
Sonic braced himself as he felt the climax of the transformation, the Chaos Emeralds flowing inside of him. The others watched as there was a brief, bright light before Super Sonic could be seen, his yellow fur glistening as his upturned quills waved in the air. Tails' thumb hovered over the trigger, ready to activate the inhibitor rings.
"What are the readings, Tails?" Rotor asked, in awe of Super Sonic. Tails glanced at the screen; the Chaos Energy levels were at 78%.
"Chaos Energy levels are pretty high..." Tails replied, "Other bodily functions are stable."
Ray puffed. "Is he alright?"
Sonic looked down at his hand and arms, seeing his new form through his own eyes for the first time. He looked up at Tails, Ray and Rotor, smiling at him. He saw Tails' mouth move; he heard maybe the first word before it seemed to cut out. It was as if he was hearing everything with blocked ears. His face dropped as he blacked out.
"Sonic?" Tails shouted again, "I said, are you feeling alri-?"
"Tails!" Ray shouted, pointing at the screen. Sonic's heart rate began skyrocketing, as Tails looked back at Super Sonic, he released a shockwave, knocking everyone and the monitors backwards as the wires snapped. Tails hit the ground with a thud before looking back over in Sonic's direction, seeing him floating towards them, a malicious look in his eyes.
"Tails! ACTIVATE IT!" Rotor shouted, shielding himself. Tails scowled and pressed his thumb against the button. The inhibitor rings on Super Sonic's wrists lit up, glowing as Sonic hit the ground, seeming to recoil in pain. Tails got up and knelt beside Sonic as he twitched on the ground, his fur regaining its blue colour and all his other features returning to normal. For a moment, Sonic lay with his eyes shut before suddenly drawing a deep breath and jolting awake, as if he had just woke up from a bad dream. He laid his head back down before looking at Tails.
"How was that?" Sonic asked between breaths. Tails simply sighed and helped Sonic get back on his feet while Ray and Rotor fixed the equipment.
"Do you remember any of that?" Tails asked, patting the dirt off of Sonic.
"A little..." Sonic said, thinking to himself, "I remember looking down at myself. I changed colour. Pretty neat, huh?"
"Okay, then what?" Tails asked again.
"I remember you asked me something," Sonic said, thinking back, "But it was like I was underwater or something. Your voice just faded out."
"And then you blacked out?"
"Right."
Tails paused. "Well, I mean, this is an improvement, right? I mean, do you remember anything from your first transformation?"
"No, I was kind of unconscious at the time," Sonic replied.
"Well it seemed like you kept your cool for a second there," Tails said, walking back over to the machines.
"We gonna go again?" Ray asked.
Tails turned to look at Sonic. "Do you want to?"
Sonic chuckled. "Of course! We can't let this thing go to waste!"
Bean sat down at the bar, Fang and Bark sitting down either side of him. He waved the bartender over; by now, the three had been staying there so long the bartender knew what to order them before a word could come out of Bean's beak. The three had continued betting whatever they could, winning, then betting all over again. It was risky but through sheer luck it was enough to sustain them while they camped out here. The bartender slid them their drinks as Bean handed a handful of rings over.
"So, when we gonna launch this great big plan of yours?" Bean asked Fang harshly.
"We just gotta wait, boys," Fang said, looking around before taking a drink.
"You've been saying that since the day we got here!" Bean squawked, "As much as I love the casino, it's getting a lil' tirin', playing here every, single, day..."
"We can't be fools 'bout this," Fang said calmly. "Ain't that right, Bark?"
Bark simply stared forward, brows furrowed.
"Good man," Fang said, raising him his drink before taking another sip.
"I mean, what are we even waitin' for?" Bean asked, waving his hands desperately. "What's stopping' us from just stormin' them good-fer-nothin's right now?"
As Fang looked to the other side of the bar, he saw a familiar face. A smile grew on the sides of his cheeks as he stepped off his stool, patting his two friends on the back.
"You boys just wait here," he said mischievously. "I'll be back in a second."
Ignoring this, Bean got up anyway, but was stopped by Bark's paw, clenching his thin arms tightly. Beak huffed before shaking his arm free and returning to his seat.
Fang slowly made his way along the bar before pulling up an empty chair. He sat down besides the person, who barely gave him a glance as she took a sip from her glass.
"Rouge?" the weasel asked, trying to position himself to draw her attention. The bat looked over before scowling.
"Not you..." she whispered under her breath, "Nack. It's been a while."
"No one calls me Nack anymore," Fang explained awkwardly. "I go by Fang now."
Rouge held back a laugh as she heard his new name. Ridiculous, she thought to herself, before regaining her composure. "Fang, Nack – I really couldn't care less what you go by these days. What do you want?"
"Well, I just happened to be in here and saw ya sat at the bar, thought I'd come over an -"
"I mean, what do you really want?" Rouge pressed, turning to look at Fang.
Fang sighed. "Well, if you really wanna know, I got a job that might interest you."
Rouge chuckled. "A job?"
"Yeah," Fang continued, "And considering you're a jewel thief, I think you may find this one exceptionally interesting."
"Those are some pretty big words for you," Rouge grinned, "This job must mean a lot to you. Okay then, go on..."
"So, as you may or may not be aware, for a while I was workin' with the Freedom Fighters," Fang began, straightening himself in preparation to tell his story. "Not by my own terms; they caught me, and -"
"Fang," Rouge interrupted. "Get on with it."
"Right," Fang said, flustered. "Well, they have these kinds of gems. They call 'em Chaos Emeralds. They say they're powerful and to me, that's gotta mean they're pretty valuable, too. So I'm thinkin', how about me and my boys approach their base – distract 'em, while you sneak in, steal the Emeralds?"
Rouge spun around in her seat, revealing her black jumpsuit, holes in the back which freed her wings and a pink heart chest piece on the front. "Fang," she said, reluctantly using the weasel's new name, "You know that this is the Freedom Fighters you're talking about, right?"
"Yeah," Fang shrugged, "So what?"
The bat raised one eyebrow suspiciously. "And who did you say you were working with?"
"Those are my boys, over there," Fang pointed at the opposite end of the bar.
Rouge looked, seeing Bean waving eagerly while Bark sat there, eyes rolling.
"Hah!" Rouge laughed, unable to contain her laughter this time. "Those are who you are betting on holding off the Freedom Fighters in a fight?"
"What you got against 'em?" Fang asked, offended.
"Fang, it's the Freedom Fighters," she put emphasis on the final two words. "They beat Robotnik, for God's sake – that's no easy feat. You're determined, I respect that, but I hate to break it to you; if you took them on in a fight, you wouldn't stand a chance."
Fang slumped, defeated, before responding defensively as he jumped off the stool. "Fine, whatever! Don't come crawling back when we're swimming in rings!"
Rouge sighed as she spun back around to face the bar, raising her drink to her lips. She thought over Fang's plan, for them to distract the Freedom Fighters while she snuck in and grabbed the Emeralds. She felt herself smirk.
"Fang..."
Fang turned quickly on the spot upon hearing Rouge call his name. She motioned for him to come back over with her finger. As the weasel sat back down, she spoke again.
"You know what? For old times' sake, I'm in."
Rouge extended her hand, concealed by her white glove which extended up to her elbow. Fang grinned as he eagerly shook her hand.
"I promise ya, you won't regret it!" the purple weasel pointed at her as he walked back to the other side of the bar. Rouge faked a smile before returning to her drink.
Sonic recovered from another attempt, sitting on the ground with his legs crossed and breathing heavily. He lasted roughly the same amount of time before his mind went blank. Looking out across the street, he saw an elderly owl staring straight at him. Its brown feathers contrasted harshly against its bright green robes and its bulbous eyes were magnified by the spectacles that balanced on its beak. Ray also seemed to take notice of this mysterious figure.
"You know that guy?" Ray asked, joining Sonic.
"Doesn't look familiar," Sonic peered; their attention didn't seem to deter the old man, who didn't break his stare. "He's probably come to check out the show!"
Ray looked back up at the owl before walking back. "We're ready when you are, Sonic!"
Sonic got back on his feet, stretching his arms out. "Right, attempt number... what is this? Four? Five?"
"Practice makes perfect!" Tails chimed as he prepared the equipment again. "But we are running out of these wires... could you make an effort not to destroy them this time?"
"Hey, I'll try my hardest," Sonic sighed as he walked back to the centre. "But I can't guarantee the crazy guy will!"
Ray braced himself as the transformation began. Not wanting to draw unwanted attention, Ray looked around to see if the old man was still standing across the street, only to be startled when he saw the owl standing right next to him.
"Umm, Tails?" Ray asked, attempting to get the fox's attention, however he was too focused on the experiment. There was a bright flash as Sonic entered his super form once again. Rotor, on the other side of Tails, was also transfixed on Sonic. Ray looked back at the owl, seeing his eyes widen. Suddenly, Ray heard a scream as Super Sonic smashed into the ground, forming a small crater. Tails quickly activated the inhibitor rings before throwing his hands in the air, completely exasperated. Meanwhile, the old owl chuckled as he walked over to Sonic.
"Tails!" Ray shouted again. This time, the fox looked at him, and Ray simply pointed at the owl as he slowly meandered towards Sonic, out of breath on the ground beneath his feet. Tails jumped in panic.
"Hey!" Tails shouted, running over to the owl, "Step away from the Chaos Emeralds!"
Tails grabbed the owl's wing but, within less than a second, Tails was tossed aside. Sonic had come to and looked up at the man, confused.
"Impressive," the owl cooed croakily, "You've come far, far further than your predecessors. But it still isn't enough, is it, young hedgehog?"
Rotor and Ray ran over as Tails slowly rose from the ground, wincing and holding his arm.
"Who do you think you are?" Rotor asked accusingly, "You've got no right here!"
The owl chuckled again. "Perhaps I was rude to not introduce myself. I am Sapi, I mean no harm. I am just an elderly owl."
"We saw you watching us!" Ray pointed at him. "What are you, really? A spy?"
Sapi lowered Ray's hand. "I am what I said; an elderly owl. But, truth be told, I didn't arrive here by coincidence."
"So, why are you here?" Sonic asked, climbing up to his feet.
"I saw your battle with the invader," Sapi said softly. "Everybody did, of course. But not everybody was aware of how exactly you beat him." Sapi motioned to the Chaos Emeralds, scattered around on the floor. "The Chaos Emeralds; I know of them. Many have tried to absorb their power as you have done. What is exceptional is that you have survived."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tails asked, joining the conversation.
"Historically, all those who have attempted to physically yield the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds have died in their first attempt," Sapi explained lightly. "The insanity drives them to commit horrendous acts of violence as their body works harder and harder, before it eventually fails them."
"What makes me the exception?" Sonic asked, "You know, aside from being the fastest thing alive and generally being pretty incredible?"
"That's yet to be seen," Sapi pondered. "Perhaps it's something in your nature. In your spirit."
"So, are you saying every time Sonic enters this form, he'll go insane, no matter what?" Tails butted in.
"Perhaps there is a way to control it," the owl thought out loud. "But I doubt that will come through trial and error."
"Do you know how?" Rotor asked excitedly.
"I can tell you I know more about the Chaos Emeralds than most," Sapi said proudly. "Perhaps you can begin by telling me how you brought the young hedgehog out of this form the first time?"
Sonic, Tails, Rotor and Ray all looked at each other, the same thought going through their minds; could Sapi really be trusted? Does he really know something they don't about the Chaos Emeralds, or is he just another deluded old man?