Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Premiere Event

Crisis of Chaos Part 4

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

December 31st, 6:00 PM, 0 years B.E.

Station Square

Sonic dashes over the open water, avoiding another set of homing energy bolts. Coming up on a sharp turn, he skids across the water to a near stop, then takes off again in the correct direction without sinking. Mechaos, now in a straight line ahead, roars once more, and flicks its tentacles outwards, creating a line of raging whirlpools just above the level of the water, moving quickly towards Sonic, intended to block his path. But they are no match for Sonic's speed, and he swerves around them with little effort. Now up closer, it's clear that the robot's machinery is heavily damaged, trailing smoke. One last time, Sonic runs straight into its watery center, curling into a spin attack as the current carries him upwards. This time, when he strikes its brain, he goes straight through, sending scraps of metal flying. He casually lands on a rooftop and turns to watch as the mighty creature dissolves into the water beneath it. Slowly, the flooded city begins to drain.

Sonic has broken a slight sweat, but beyond that, hardly seems winded. He jokes, "I'll play with you some other time." He turns away from the coast, towards the interior of the land. "Right now, I've got somewhere to be." He leaps off of the building, and runs at his usual speed out of the city and on to the next.

—–—

7:00 PM

Grand Metropolis City

Night has fallen over Grand Metropolis, now one of the least damaged cities, thanks to Chaos' successful intervention. Chaos sits cross-legged on ground level, in a quaint, park-like area. His injuries can still be seen. He has returned to his usual white color. He seems to be in deep meditation.

Suddenly, out of a flash of blue light, Shadow drops onto the floor in front of Chaos, still very weak. "Shadow!" Chaos, momentarily turning green, gets up to help support him. "Are you alright?"

He pants, "I'll be… …fine. You… …don't look so good yourself."

Chaos smiles. "I'll be fine." He takes a moment to more carefully look over Shadow's condition. "Come, sit down. You need rest." He gently lowers Shadow onto the grassy floor. Then he sits down across from him. "Now, put out the Chaos Emerald in front of you. Good. Now, close your eyes, and concentrate on its energy." Shadow follows all of his instructions, looking a little confused. Chaos also does as he has instructed. "Your energy is low after such a fight. Concentrate hard enough, and you may be able to recover some of that energy through the Emerald."

Both of them take a deep breath. And the Emerald starts to glow more brightly. Shadow, eyes still closed, reacts to it. "I…I can feel it. It's working." He seems noticeably more relaxed.

They sit in silence for a while longer. Then Chaos asks calmly, "You removed your Inhibitor Rings, didn't you?"

Shadow takes a while to answer. Finally, "So what if I did?"

"I told you before, you shouldn't take it so lightly. I can sense the Chaos Energy that flows through you. It's so low that it's a wonder you aren't dead. If you keep it up, you will be."

"I couldn't have defeated that thing without my full power. Without Chaos Shine."

"It is not power that you are free to use. It will kill you. It's only a question of when."

"What do you care? I'm not your precious Controller. I'm just some abnormal thing to you. Some 'Outlier.' I don't matter in the grand scheme of the universe. That's what you said, isn't it?"

They sit in silence for another while. Finally, Chaos says, "You know that isn't true, Shadow. Today, I told you how much you have taught me, and I wasn't lying. But there's something else. During my meditation in the temple of the Lost World today, I learned something. You may exist outside of the natural flow of energy in the universe, but that doesn't make you less important. It makes you more. Your role in the future isn't just important, but absolutely vital. The single fact of your existence will have near incomprehensible impact on the rest of time." He waits for an answer, but gets none. "But even more important than that…you are my friend, Shadow. Even if you were as inconsequential as I first thought, I would still value your life above my own because of that fact. That is something that I never would have understood without coming here and meeting you and Sonic in person."

More silence. Shadow at last responds, "You're right. I shouldn't have said that. It's a bad habit of mine…pushing away other people."

"Don't let it bother you. I understand. You are still learning to be a different person. Just know that I am genuinely concerned for you. You have to be more careful with those rings."

"I will. Thank you." They return to their meditation for a while. Then Shadow speaks again. "You wanted me to get here as quickly as I could. Shouldn't we be…doing something?"

"Not for now. Not until the Controller arrives. Only then can the final battle begin. But you shouldn't worry about that now. You need to recover your energy. As do I." They resume their focus one last time.

—–—

10:00 PM

Sonic, with sarcastic impatience, declares loudly, "Slacking off on the job, guys?"

Shadow and Chaos simultaneously jump with a start and cry out, "Sonic!" They get up and look at a nearby clock tower, noting the late hour. While Shadow picks up the Chaos Emerald, Chaos takes a moment to look Sonic over. "You…you look almost completely unharmed."

"What were you expecting? I'm no pushover." He starts to look a little more closely, and notices that some of the other two's worst bruises are still visible. "But I guess that didn't work out so well for you two?"

"It just goes to show why you are the Controller. Your skills are undeniable."

After a moment, Shadow says, "So we're all here. Now what?"

Chaos answers, "Now we look behind us." All three of them turn around to see Blacklight, casually leaning against the clock tower building.

"I was beginning to wonder how long it would take you to notice me. You all having fun? I do hope the doctor's machines didn't bore you. He was quite proud of them. Of course, I didn't care. I knew they would do little more than slow you down. That's what I'm here for. But violence is so…uncivilized, don't you think? We're all sentient beings here. Let's settle this accordingly." He turns to Shadow. "You already know your end of the bargain." He turns to Sonic. "And I believe you have been informed of yours as well." Finally, he turns to Chaos. "And you…honestly, I don't really care what you do, as long as you don't fight us. You…like to learn things about this world, don't you? You'll have all the freedom to study whatever you'd like. That sounds like a good deal to me. After all, just think about how many people are being hurt as we speak. While you've been sitting here meditating, Shadow." Shadow is clearly bothered by the remark, but none of them say anything. "Well? What's it gonna be? Lay down arms and live? Or fight and die?"

After a while of silence Sonic says slowly, "I think we would like some privacy to discuss your…generous offer."

"But of course. Take all the time you need. Just call when you need me." He gives big smile. Then he snaps his fingers, and disappears.

Almost immediately, Sonic says, "I…wasn't actually expecting that to work."

Chaos responds, "But worked it has, and now we have a few minutes to plan. Shadow, did you get the same feeling about his energy that I did?"

"I thought he might have been trying to fool us. There's no way he could have that much Chaos Energy…is there?"

"None that I know of. But it was no joke."

Sonic asks, "So how can we fight him then? All we've got is one Emerald. Even if you and I worked together, there's no way that would be enough."

Chaos is silent for a long moment. Then he begins, "There is…one way." He pauses again. "It almost feels wrong…suggesting something like this."

"Something like what?"

"The Power of Chaos…is a balance. A scale. Measured by the difference between Light and Darkness…Yin and Yang. These forces are not meant to exist apart. They will naturally come together. And in such a form they are at their most powerful."

Shadow grows impatient. "What are you suggesting?"

"If a soul of Yin and a soul of Yang exit the Flow of Chaos in the the same location…they will do so as one."

Sonic seems to understand, but is still perplexed. "So you're saying…Shadow and I…"

Chaos finishes, "Can combine your power into one."

Shadow steps forward. "That sounds ridiculous, and none too pleasant." He looks to Sonic for a moment. "No offense to you."

Sonic sneers back, "None taken. I feel the same way."

Chaos continues, "Please, don't just dismiss this idea. This is important. If you take anything away from this scene, let it be this: this will work because the laws of the universe allow for it, not the other way around. This isn't just some contrivance, some reinterpretation. The laws of Chaos were established long before this process was ever even a concept. That is what you must understand. That is what everyone must understand."

Sonic and Shadow seem incredibly confused, almost as if the speech was meant for someone else. But neither one questions it. Instead, Sonic asks, "So what exactly do we have to do?"

"First something must be done about you, Shadow."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"As of now, your soul is not dark enough to balance Sonic's light."

"So how do we change that?"

"When I first chose to train you…it was because of your ability to change your Chaos Nature, almost at will, something that most cannot do. In order to shift your Nature towards Darkness…you must get angry."

"And how–" Chaos punches Shadow across the face. "What the H–" He does it again. And again before Shadow can even open his mouth. As he goes in for another, Shadow grabs his arm in the air. Faint red sparks can almost be seen around Shadow. He growls, "One more time, and the arm comes off."

"That will do quite nicely. Now, both you and Sonic must take hold of the Emerald." They do so, Shadow still keeping a glaring eye on him.

Sonic asks, "Now what?"

"Now…both of you must use Chaos Control. At the same time."

"And go where?"

"Don't go anywhere. Reappear right between the spots where you two now stand."

"And that's all it takes?"

"We can go a step forward from there. But start with that."

Left with nothing else to say, both Sonic and Shadow face each other, and take a deep breath. "Chaos Control!" For a moment, both disappear completely. Then one hedgehog returns where two once were. His fur is dark blue, with red streaks throughout. His spikes curve downwards like Sonic's, but still spike upwards at the tips like Shadow's. He floats slightly above the ground, radiating an audible aura of Chaos Energy.

"How do you feel?"

Two voices respond, "Balanced. Like with the Chaos Emeralds, but more natural. As if this is how I'm supposed to feel."

"Then it worked. You have achieved a feat like nothing else in the history of the universe, Perfect Chaos balance. You are able to draw upon the maximum amount of both positive and negative Chaos Energy. But that will not be enough to counteract the extreme amount of raw negative energy that Blacklight wields. Now, I must add my power to yours."

"Will that work with me like this?"

"My task in coming to this world was to add to the power of the Controller. That is still you. It will work." Without another word, Chaos steps forward, and raises his outstretched hand up above the level of his head. The other hedgehog makes a similar motion with his opposite arm, and approaches until they are face-to-face, and their fingertips touch. Then Chaos begins to glow intensely with a rainbow-colored light. The Emerald pattern on his chest glows brightest of all, so strongly that it almost seems as if it has physical form. This form continues to consolidate as it seems to absorb the rest of the light, absorbing all of Chaos the Hedgehog into one multicolored gem. The Emerald moves straight into the other hedgehog's hand. Then he lifts it straight above his head, and its colorful light washes over him. Slowly at first, but then ever more rapidly, his fur begins to flash the seven colors of the Chaos Emeralds. Now there is one Hedgehog where there were once three.

"My my, isn't this an interesting turn of events?" Blacklight has returned, and looks with curiosity at The Hedgehog. But Blacklight has transformed as well. The white portion of his fur has turned pitch black with just a few speckles of white. He radiates a shadowy energy as he floats in the air. The white of his eyes has turned yellow, and the irises blood-red. "Clearly you are Shadow…but you are also not. Did you really see it necessary to bring your friends into this?" He smiles. "I'd really hate to hurt them trying to destroy you. But you never cared much for innocents, did you? Is that why you let Maria die?"

The Hedgehog is unfazed. "Enough games, Blacklight. I–"

"That's Black Night to you!"

"I don't care what you call your Super Form. This ends here."

"I couldn't agree more." At once, he aims both arms in front of him and shouts, "Chaos Inferno!" His streaks of fur, and even shoes and gloves all turn a fiery red, as he releases a jet of flames from his hands.

"Chaos Shield." With the casual raise of a single hand, The Hedgehog creates a thick barrier, which deflects the flames with ease. As he puts down the barrier, he realizes it's too late to stop Black Night's mach-speed punch. The Hedgehog is knocked back, but quickly recovers. He puts on a scowl and dashes at Black Night at a blinding speed. Black Night does the same. The two strike in the middle, creating a flash of light and sending both of them flying back. Immediately they both charge in for another strike at a different angle. Again and again the two hedgehogs clash, faster and from farther away each time. Eventually, all that can be seen is a web of zigzagging colorful streaks, all merging at a center point. Even from high above the Metropolis rooftops, the fight can be clearly seen. Thunder rumbles in the stormy clouds above.

—–—

11:55 PM

"Chaos Void!" Black Night's colors turn dark purple as he unleashes a massive beam of shadowy energy.

"Chaos Shine!" The Hedgehog unleashes a beam of his own, one of pure, blinding light. The two attacks collide in the center, and an orb of swirling light and dark energy begins to form around that point, resembling a Yin-Yang. Inside of The Hedgehog's mind, the voice of Chaos sounds "Can you feel it as well?" Shadow's voice answers, "We're almost out of energy. We can't keep this up much longer!" Sonic's voice finishes, "We need to rethink our strategy. We weren't counting on him having this much power." The growing orb explodes, unleashing a massive shockwave which sends both fighters flying back.

Black Night searches through the clearing smoke. But the other hedgehog is nowhere to be seen. "Oh Shadoooow! Where aaaare you? I thought you wanted to finish this now. I'd hate to learn that you've run off when we were having so much fun! Come out, come out wherever you are!" He begins to drift forward as he searches.

In the shadow of an alleyway between two small buildings, the three hedgehogs are no longer merged. Shadow demands in a harsh whisper, "Why did we split up!? I thought we were just going to attack differently!"

Sonic looks to Chaos. "I have to agree with Shadow on this one. We may not have been making any progress, but we won't even stand a chance apart like this. Why did you break us up?"

Chaos shakes his head. "No…there is no different way to attack. There is no winning in this direct conflict. But not all is lost. There is a way."

"What are you talking about?"

From a short distance away, Black Night calls out again, "I know you're here, Shadow! You can't hide from me!"

Chaos continues, "I noticed it earlier when I was in combat with one of Robotnik's mechs. The amount of Chaos Energy which powers both the machines and Blacklight does not come from nowhere. That much energy is not meant to be taken, and it will be taken back in full. The question is when."

Shadow asks, "What does that mean for us?"

"It means that some time in the near future, Blacklight will be at his weakest. All of his power will be taken from him, creating a sort of energy vacuum. It's possible that it would kill him, though I wouldn't count on that. But for now…the Controller must live to fight tomorrow. You must retreat."

"What do you mean 'you'? What about yourself?"

"I'll distract him so you two can get out of here. You wouldn't be able to escape otherwise. I'll be out right after you. You have nothing to worry about."

Sonic doesn't seem very convinced. But he does give a "Good luck."

"And to you." Chaos looks up to the area from which Black Night approaches. "I will use some energy…to disguise myself. It will help cover your escape." He waves his hand across his own chest, and the physical rainbow-colored gem appears underneath, embedded in his skin. It begins to glow, and its light washes over him. As it dissipates, it is revealed that his appearance has changed. He now looks just like The Hedgehog from before. Without looking back, he walks out of their hiding place. With an accurate voice, he shouts "Here I am, Blacklight! Come and get me!"

The look on Sonic's face grows more and more concerned, into outright fear. Shadow says to him, "Come on, Sonic. We have to get out of here." But Sonic remains transfixed. The clock tower just above strikes midnight, sounding a loud "Gong!"

Black Night stops a short distance from Chaos. "Got tired of all the suspense, did you? Are you ready to settle this war for real now?" "Gong!"

"That's where you're wrong. The battle ends here and now, but the war has only just begun." "Gong!"

"Suit yourself." "Gong!"

Shadow more forcefully demands of Sonic, "We have to go, now!" "Gong!"

Black Night directs his hands forward as his colors turn dark purple once more. "Chaos Void!"

Chaos throws up his own hands. "Chaos Shield!" Everything seems to slow down, and grow completely silent. Except for the clock tower. "Gong!" The sound reverberates and echoes in the slow silence.

Shadow now tugs on Sonic's arm. But Sonic continues to watch as the beam of dark energy impacts the thin shield. The shield splinters and cracks. "Gong!" Chaos turns to face Sonic, and is clearly surprised to see him still there. His mouth can clearly be seen enunciating the word "Run!" But all that can be heard is the clock tower's "Gong!"

The shield shatters completely. Chaos is completely enveloped by the massive energy beam. "Gong!" A moment later, a dull grey gem clatters to the floor as the energy dissipates. Then time returns to normal. Black Night looks down at the immense crater he's just created with a massive grin on his face. "I…I did it. I killed Shadow the Hedgehog!" "Gong!" He breaks out into a raucous laugh of triumph. He laughs louder and louder. "Gong!"

Tears stream from Sonic's eyes. Simultaneously with the twelfth "Gong!" he shouts with anguish, "CHAOS!" A light sleet begins to fall to the ground. With one last forceful pull, Shadow finally gets him to move.

Black Night sharply cuts off his laugh and looks straight into the shadows of the alley. "Who's there!?" He flies straight into the alley. But there is no one left.

—–—

Tails walks out into the snow, carrying a pack on his back, and a small device in his hand. Once he makes it to the bottom of the hill on which his home was built, he turns back to look at it. Then he puts a hand up to his ear as he hears something from his communicator. He nods and puts his hand back down, his eyes solemnly directed at the lab. He presses a button on the device. The reflection of a fiery explosion can be seen through his teary eyes.

—–—

Knuckles the Echidna cradles the shrunken Master Emerald in his hands. Far out to the sea behind him, Angel Island crashes into the water. He stops as he hears something from the the communicator in his ear. He nods and looks back to the Emerald. As he holds it with one hand, he shatters it to pieces with the other. He never looks back.

—–—

Vector the Crocodile holds the telephone to his ear, nodding in response to something. He puts the phone down as Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee look to him questioningly. He simply points to the window. Outside, a massive army of Eggman robots marches towards them. The Chaotix each hold up a fist in resolve to fight.

—–—

With a swing of her immense hammer, Amy Rose smashes aside several robots at once. Cream the Rabbit and Cheese the Chao cower in fear behind her. They are surrounded on three sides by the army. As Amy continues to fight, she hears something over her communicator and nods. After one last powerful swing forces all of the robots back a few steps, she grabs Cream by the arm and runs off out the only escape route.

—–—

Somewhere deep in the wilderness, Big the Cat casually fishes out of a small lake, Froggy beside him. He is completely oblivious to what goes on in the outside world.

—–—

A squadron of G.U.N. soldiers fight off the robot army in a line formation. Leading them is Rouge the Bat. Though most of the soldiers wield guns, she fights primarily with her feet. One soldier goes down to a laser blast, forming a break in the line. One soldier after another follows quickly. Within just a few moments, Rouge is the only one left standing. She looks around at her odds. She turns around and flies off. She has no communicator. One fallen soldier struggles to lift up a hand, as if calling out to her. But she never turns back to the battlefield.

—–—

January 1st, 6:00 AM, 0 years A.E.

Eggman's Hidden Base, Unknown Location

Blacklight stands with his arms crossed, looking at a massive screen filled with various video feeds and other information about the war. Robots work at various consoles all around the room, particularly at the base of the screen. He starts to stumble for a moment, and brings a hand up to his head. His vision blurs in and out. For a moment he has a terrible thought. "Is this what it's like to feel…weak?" He shakes it off and resumes his composure. He declares out loud, "How goes the war effort?"

One of the working robots responds in a mechanical voice, "Attack plan is working at optimal predicted efficiency, General Blacklight. Approximately seventy percent of major cities have laid down arms and surrendered. Another twenty percent have had all governmental offices destroyed. All other information is classified."

"'Classified'!? What do you mean, 'classified'!? I am your General, and I demand–"

A familiar voice calls from behind, "No need for that, General." Doctor Eggman strolls into the room.

"There you are! Your pathetic machines won't tell me–"

"That's because I wanted to tell you in person. Let's be reasonable about this, hmm?" Blacklight never even looks back at him, just nods. "You see, there is a bit of a flaw we recently discovered in the 'Chaos Amplifier,' the product of our little Chaos Project."

"A flaw?"

"Yes…you see, we've discovered that significant use of Chaos Energy produced by the Chaos Amplifier can leave behind a sort of…energy vacuum. Energy seems to drain from the user, and the exact effects are…variable. For many of the less active robots fueled by the Amplifier, this merely meant shutting down, a complete drain on its power source. But for the more active ones that survived their battles…they may have…disintegrated." Blacklight does not respond to this, seeming a bit distracted. "Yes, the very molecular bonds holding them together simply broke apart, leaving behind a pile of a few elements. Every last bit of energy in the system was removed."

"Well…I suppose it's a good thing that I'm so powerful. Otherwise, I might have actually noticed such a loss of power." His eyes remain forward.

"Yes…" Eggman pulls out something. "…a very good thing indeed."

Blacklight heard the sound, and all too late realized his mistake. He had been played from the very beginning. Somehow, Eggman had been able to abuse Blacklight's power, and make him weak enough to kill, all with the same device. But in that instant, there was nothing that he could do about it. He felt the laser blast penetrate his back. Then he felt no more.

—–—

Eggman puts away the weapon. Indicating the corpse at his feet, he shouts, "Someone get this thing out of my sight!" A robot gets up from its station to follow the order, and others switch consoles to fill in the gap.

The robot asks, "What should I do with it, sir?"

"Oh, I don't care. Throw it down the garbage chute! And when you're done with that, destroy the Chaos Amplifier. I have no need for a device that destroys my workers. Mark the Chaos Project down as researched to completion, for no further study or use." The robot leaves. "Now, I believe it is time for me to start running this world. And with Sonic dead, I shouldn't have any problems for many years to come. But when I do…I will be ready. And that is when I will at last achieve true power! Hahahahahaha!" He continues to laugh as the scene zooms out, first showing the base, then the continent, then the entire world. "Hahahahahaha!"

To be Continued…

The cause lives on…

The Rebellion will rise.

But first…

The past must be reviewed.

Prepare to take a step back in time…

Season 0 begins now.