Daily log, August 2nd, 0 A.E. Knuckles the Echidna reporting.

Well, it might've taken three whole days, but Vector and I finally got that big old piece of the first Death Egg hauled into camp. It's just been sitting out there all these years, shrapnel from when it was first destroyed, leaving a big scar in the landscape it crashed in, but no one ever bothered to move it. I guess most people would need some pretty heavy machinery for that, though. Why bother taking any of that all the way out here? I don't know exactly what Tails wants this thing for, but knowing him, I'm sure we'll see results pretty soon.

Whew…I need a break. I think I'm gonna sleep until tomorrow afternoon. No…food first. Definitely food first. Then sleep.

—–—

Knuckles holds out his bowl and lets Amy ladle in a spoonful of what looks to be a simple fish stew from the opposite side of the table. Amy looks up at him with a smile. "When did you get back?"

After a delayed moment, Knuckles glances up from the ground. "Huh? …Oh, uh…just a little while ago."

"Well, I know you've been working hard, but remember…" She points down at the stew pot. "…you're on kitchen duty tomorrow."

Knuckles clenches his eyes shut, and rubs at the side of his head with an open palm. "Tomorrow…yeah, sure." Though his eyes are closed, they still seem to see. Hazy, darkly-colored images sit all around him. But amidst the strange landscape, one blindingly bright green spot stands out sharply. The small shard of the Master Emerald, apparently hidden in a pocket of Amy's dress, flashes continuously, producing an incessant, high-pitched chime that drowns out almost all other sound.

"Everything alright, Knuckles?"

Knuckles shakes himself out of his strange vision. "Yeah…just a bit of a headache is all." He proceeds away from the serving area, and sits down in the eating area next to Sonic.

"Hey, Knuckles. How'd it go?"

Knuckles stirs around the contents of his bowl with a spoon. "Fine. We didn't run into any trouble."

"Well that's always a nice change."

Tails questions from across the table, "So you brought the piece into camp?"

Knuckles seems prepared to take his first bite, but changes his mind before he starts. "Yeah. Left it out by your tent."

"Thanks, but…I'm gonna need it in one of the caves. Protected from the elements. There's another storm coming pretty soon."

Knuckles drops his spoon as he moves both hands up to clutch at his head, clenching his eyes shut once again. "I'll…I'll move it later."

Sonic pats Knuckles on the back. "I don't know what we'd do without ya, buddy."

But Knuckles hardly seems to hear him, his supernatural radar-like attention focused on the hand at his back. An Emerald shard is tucked away in the cuff of Sonic's glove, blaring even louder than the one before. And there's another not far away, hidden in Tails' sock. And at the next table over, there's one tied up in Cheese's bow, and another in a pouch on Hero's utility belt. Farther away, beyond the walls of the mess tent, more shards are carried by figures too fuzzy to make out, each one flashing, assaulting the ears with its presence. The hazy, flashing world begins to turn, and then to tumble.

"Knuckles!"

The Echidna has already collapsed to the ground.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 1, Episode 11

Condition Extreme

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Knuckles blinks rapidly, clutching at his bandaged head as he sits up on the cot in the white medical tent. "Wha…what happened?"

Tails crosses his arms as he answers, "You passed out in the mess tent. Hit your head on the way down. Spilled a perfectly good bowl of stew all over the ground."

"I…I did?"

"You're making a pretty bad habit of showing up in here with head injuries."

Knuckles regains enough sense to object, "Hey, that wasn't even me the first time!"

"It was still a Knuckles, though."

"Yeah, whatever. So…do you know what's wrong with me?"

"That depends. Besides loss of consciousness, have you had any other symptoms?" Tails picks up a clipboard from a table in the corner, and starts to read off a checklist. "Dizziness? Headache? Tiredness? Sore muscles?"

"Yes, all of those. But I just hauled a two-ton hunk of metal all the way out from Oil Ocean. Of course I'm going to be sore and tired."

Tails checks off items on the list with a pencil. "That's exactly it. You are suffering from a condition known as extreme fatigue."

"So…I'm tired?"

Tails quickly scribbles something on a separate slip of paper. "Yep."

"And…you're sure that's it?"

"I'm a mechanic, not a doctor. So no, I'm not 'sure' of anything. But I'm the closest thing you've got. So I'm…prescribing you three days' rest, off your feet." He tears off the slip, and hands it over to Knuckles. "Mechanic's orders."

Knuckles takes the slip, and stares at it for a moment. "I guess I can…take a break tonight, get back to work tomorrow."

"Oh, no you don't. Three days. No less."

"I have work to do, I can't just–"

"No less. Sonic made me your superior, so you have to follow my orders."

Knuckles angrily stands up from his cot, balling up a fist. "Oh, you're gonna pull that card, are you? Why I oughta–"

Sonic interrupts from the tent entrance as he comes in, "Hey, hey, none of that, Knuckles. Tails is right. We've been working you too hard. You need a break. A real break. We can manage without you for a few days."

Knuckles lets out a sigh. "Fine. Three days. No more."

Tails gives a satisfied nod. "Good. In that case, I think we have some of your work to get started on. Unless you're still feeling dizzy? We can escort you back to your tent."

"No, no, I'll be fine. But…there was one other symptom."

"Oh?"

"My…my connection…to the Master Emerald…it was…louder than normal. It was like they were…shouting at me. I could hardly hear anything else."

Tails goes back to his clipboard. "Alright, I'll just add 'hallucinations' to the list." Sonic can be heard snickering at the joke. "Same diagnosis. Go get some sleep."

—–—

Knuckles lays back on a mat spread out over the floor of his own tent, staring up at the ceiling. There's a small hole in the fabric directly above him, through which strong sunlight floods in. He lets out a long sigh. He closes his eyes. Inside his head, the faint chime of nearby Master Emerald shards can be heard, though they no longer seem intrusive.

He clenches his eyes tighter. Distantly, as if coming through the chime of the Emeralds, a faint voice can almost be heard.

Soon, a complete memory begins to form.

Seen from far below, as if from the eyes of a young child, an elderly Echidna woman leans over with a soft smile, gently stroking the child's head.

The child's voice questions, "Nana? Where are all the other Echidnas?"

The woman never loses her smile. "Our civilization has long been cursed. There are no others left, little K'woqochu. You and I are the very last. And one day, it will be only you. That is why your duty as Guardian is so important. It is your fate to become the sole carrier of our heritage."

"If I'm the only one…how will I know I'm doing it good?"

"It is your destiny, young one. Your instincts will be your guide."

"Nana…I don't wanna be the last one."

"We cannot stop the Doom, young one. The gods have deemed it that way. And they have deemed you to be spared. You must have faith that they have in mind a great purpose for your life. That, through your solitude, you will become enlightened, granted the wisdom demanded to fulfill your destiny. You must have faith…"

Knuckles reaches up with a hand, blocking out the memory, and causing the shaft of light that shines through his tent to diffuse and scatter through the room. He stares up at the back if his hand for a while. "It couldn't be that…could it?"

—–—

Sonic and Tails each stand on one side a massive grey hunk of metal, covered in singe marks and exposed wires. They each bend down to get their hands underneath it. Sonic questions, "Ready?"

"All set."

"Okay, here we go. One… two… three!" On three, they both lift up with all their might. Inch by inch, Sonic's side starts to elevate from the ground. But after a moment, it slips from his fingers and crashes to the ground, as do Sonic and Tails. Already out of breath, Sonic pants, "I… …don't think we're moving this thing. How… …did Knuckles do it?"

Equally tired out, Tails responds from the ground, "Maybe… …we should wait… …for Shadow to get back."

"No, no… …I'll… …I'll just move it with Chaos Control… …that's what I'll do."

Tails turns his head to look across the grass at Sonic, wearing the slightest confused glare. "You worked Knuckles to the point of collapse when you could've just done that the entire time?"

Sonic remains staring at the sky. "You know how I feel about taking the Emerald out. One stroke of bad luck, and it falls into Eggman's hands. But now we don't have to take it out of the camp or anything, so…"

"You have a lot of weird rules, you know that?"

"They only sound weird until something goes wrong when they get broken." He turns his head to look Tails in the eyes. "Don't get any funny ideas."

Tails sighs and looks back upwards. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm not gonna go breaking rules just for fun."

Sonic looks back up as well. "You're almost a teenager now. That makes me even more worried."

Tails doesn't seem to hear him as he climbs to his feet, squinting up at something he seems to see high above. He points up to the lip of the canyon, where a red figure stands motionless. "Isn't that…Knuckles?"

Sonic lets out a groan. "Pay up, Tails. I told you he wouldn't last more than a couple of hours."

"We didn't bet."

"Shoot, you're right. Well…do you think you could go up there and pass along the message that if he doesn't go back to bed, I'm gonna…gonna…? I don't know, be creative."

"Alright, I guess I'll tell him you said you'd…boil him in oil? He'll believe that, right?"

Sonic puts on a scowl. "When did you get so snarky?"

Tails shrugs as he starts to spin his tails, preparing to fly. "Guess I got it from you."

Knuckles watches from the top of the canyon as Tails flies up towards him. He doesn't react at all as he sets down next to him.

"Hey…Knuckles? You…feeling alright?"

"Something's wrong with me."

"Yeah, we…we talked about that already, remember? Three days of rest, and you'll be fine."

"No. It's so much worse than that. I can't hear them anymore, Tails. The Master Emerald…it's gone quiet. It's so empty…"

"Just go back to bed, and I'm sure–"

"Don't you get it!? I can't just lay down for three days! I'll be dead in three days!"

"Knuckles, you're scaring me. Just tell me what's happening, we might be able to help you."

Knuckles looks down into the deep canyon chasm. "I have to know for sure." He closes his eyes. "I have to know…" He suddenly spreads his arms wide, and lets himself fall over the side.

Tails reaches after him, too late to stop him. "Knuckles!"

As Knuckles plummets towards the ground, he directs his arms out in front of him as if to glide. Yet, he goes nowhere but down. He almost whispers, "Nothing…" With a sudden furious roar, he turns in the air and slams a fist into the wall behind him. Chunks of rock go flying as tears a line through the wall, slowing his descent. He finally comes to a stop just a few feet above the ground.

Sonic stands there at the bottom, gaping up at him. "Umm…I think we need to talk."

—–—

Knuckles sits back on the cot in the med tent. "It's called the Doom Virus."

Sonic questions, "Doom Virus?"

"That's right. It's the disease that wiped out my clan."

"Disease? Correct me if I'm wrong, but…wasn't it Perfect Chaos that wiped out the Echidnas?"

"That was thousands of years ago. If there weren't enough left to repopulate, they would've died out long before I could ever be born." He lets out several violent coughs. After a moment to shake it off, he continues, "They were all in one place, all that time. Angel Island, isolated from the rest of the world. When the Doom Virus struck, there was nowhere to go. It ran rampant. Every last Echidna was infected. Every one except for me. When the virus claimed its first victim, there were over one thousand Echidnas spread across the island. Ten years later, there were about thirty. When I was born, I became the fourth. By the time I could talk, there were two." Knuckles seems to hesitate before his final statement. "I was six years old when I became the last."

"How does a disease like that just come out of nowhere? And why wouldn't you be affected?"

Knuckles closes his eyes. "They say it was a shadow. It streaked across the land, leaving the plague in its wake, infecting our crops and our water. Then it disappeared as quickly as it arrived. I know, leave it to the Echidnas to record such an important event with such a vague story." He stops to think for a moment. "There was one other person who was immune. His name was K'anich. He was the Guardian of the Master Emerald before me. But he was an old man when the virus struck. When I was born, I was found to be immune like he was. And I was chosen to be the next Guardian."

"Were you chosen because you were immune? Or were you immune because you were chosen?"

Tails, who has been silently working at the table in the corner, objects without looking up from his work, "It could just be a coincidence. Don't jump to conclusions just yet."

Regardless, Knuckles answers to Sonic, "I…I don't really know. But I do know this. Never in history has the Master Emerald remained shattered for this long. I don't think that's a coincidence."

"But it has been shattered before? Do you think that might've somehow…released the virus?"

Knuckles shakes his head. "No, that wouldn't make any sense. The Emerald was whole when the disease first appeared, and breaking it never affected me before. But if the Emerald has been…protecting me, somehow, all this time…it can't do that when it isn't whole. And it's been warning me, telling me to put it back together, and I haven't been listening."

"So…do you think you can still put it back together?"

"Not completely. We're missing a piece."

Sonic buries a face in one hand with a groan. "Rouge…" After a hesitant moment, he looks back up. "If we need to get that piece, we will get it. We will stop this virus."

"It doesn't matter. Shadow won't be back for a few days, either. And even if we did have the whole thing, it could be too late by now. Just because it can protect me doesn't mean it can cure me."

"Well we have to do something! What can we do?"

After a moment of thought, Knuckles concludes, "Let's start with what we have. I want to put together as much of the Emerald as I can."

"I'll get everyone together to hand in their shards."

For the first time, Tails looks up from his microscope. "I wouldn't do that just yet."

"What's wrong?"

Tails looks over to Knuckles. "I've never seen anything like this before. It tears through the natural immune response like tissue paper. There's no way standard medicine could have any effect. Obviously, it's very contagious. It's rare for a disease like this to cross the species barrier, but…do you know if this disease has ever infected any non-Echidnas?"

"Uh…not that I know of."

"Either way, to be safe, I think we should limit your interactions with anyone other than the two of us."

Knuckles shakes his head. "It spreads through the air, Tails. If it wants to infect anyone else, it's much too late to stop it now."

Sonic rolls his eyes. "Gee, that doesn't sound ominous. Why don't you try lightening up, while we go get things prepared?"

Knuckles crosses his arms. "Just hurry up. I'm literally dying here."

—–—

The present members of the Rebellion all step aside as Sonic and Knuckles approach, opening the path through the small cave, to the pile of glowing green gem shards at the back. They watch silently with worried expressions, as Sonic leads Knuckles through, supporting him by the shoulders.

They stop as they reach the shattered Master Emerald. Knuckles takes a deep breath in as he kneels down, and directs his hands outwards. After a delayed moment, the shards begin to lift from the ground one by one, circling around a single spot on the ground. Then they begin to come together. With a brilliant flash of bright green, they are all reformed into a single Master Emerald.

Knuckles finally lets out his breath, keeping his eyes closed. Sonic leans in close to him. "Well…how do you feel?"

Knuckles finally opens his eyes on the Emerald. "It's faint…but I can feel it."

"What does that mean? Are you cured?"

Knuckles begins to feel over the surface of the Emerald with a hand. "There are three pieces missing."

"Three? Rouge's, Shadow's…and who else?"

Knuckles turns sharply to look at the group watching from the cave entrance. "Good question."

Standing near the front of the group, all eyes turn to Big.

"Big…what did you do?"

"Uhhh…"

"You lost it, didn't you?" Knuckles buries his face in a hand and groans loudly. "I knew giving to him was a bad idea."

Sonic tries to cheer up, "Hey, you can find it, right? That's what you're best at."

"Not in this condition, I can't. It doesn't matter anyways. This isn't going to work."

"Then what will!?"

"I don't know!" He clenches his eyes shut. "I don't know…"

"There has to be a way. Just tell us what you need, and we'll find it."

Knuckles puts both of his hands up against the Emerald. "I need a way to stop this virus. Wherever it is…"

"Uhh…Knuckles?" Sonic points to the Emerald. "Is that normal?"

Knuckles opens his eyes. Within the Emerald's glossy walls, a hazy image slowly comes into focus. A single flower, with oddly-shaped white petals, rotates slowly around. "That's…the t'sachan flower! Of course!"

"The…what?"

"It's a flower native to Angel Island. It was used to treat the symptoms of the virus. Regular treatment could add years to the life of someone who was infected. But…it was thought to be harvested to extinction."

"Well…if the Master Emerald's showing it to you, that must mean there's some left, right?"

"I…I don't know."

Tails comments, "Treating the symptoms is a pretty far stretch from curing the disease. But…if I can figure out how it works, it might help synthesize a cure."

"It's the only lead we have. Tails, we're going to Angel Island."

"If we're going, someone else has to risk exposure and take care of Knuckles. He's going to keep getting worse while we're gone. And we don't want him jumping off any more cliffs, either."

Knuckles objects, "I don't need a-" He has to stop for a loud cough. "…babysitter."

Ignoring him, Tails continues, "Any volunteers?"

A hand shoots up. Charmy starts to jabber, "Ooh, ooh! Me, me! Pick me, I wanna do it, pick me! Over here!"

Tails scratches his head awkwardly. "Uhh…"

Amy steps forward. "I'll stay with him, too."

Sonic nods. "Alright, we don't have any more time to lose."

—–—

Sonic and Tails appear in a flash on a cliffside overlooking the ocean. Across a channel of water, the once-floating Angel Island sits calmly on the open sea. But the island landscape is barely recognizable. The mountains and forests have been covered with mechanical structures and scaffolding of red and orange, and many mechanical parts can be seen moving even from this distance. A massive, bulky chain stretches out from the island all the way to the mainland, locking it from floating away even if it could.

"Man…Eggman really did a number here."

"I'm sure he thought we'd come back here eventually. And he wasn't wrong about that."

"Looks like he's doing a lot more than just laying a trap…" He shakes his head. "But that doesn't matter right now."

"You sure it was a good idea to take the Emerald here?"

"It's a matter of life and death. I'd say that justifies it, yeah." He looks out at the island for another moment. "Sneaking around trying to find what we're looking for without getting caught would be the smartest plan."

"But we don't have that kind of time, do we?"

"Nope." Sonic suddenly leaps down from the cliffside, landing on the chain hooked in below. He calls up, "So let's find that flower!" He takes off at a run, off towards the island.

"Right." Tails jumps off as well, flying after him over the open ocean.

—–—

A child's eyes look down slowly from the blue sky above, to the mountain of a reddish hue that rises in front, to the base of the mountain at his feet, where an unmarked headstone is planted by a mound of recently-moved earth. The child does nothing, says nothing for quite some time. Finally, he looks to his gloved, spiked hand, which holds a familiar white flower. Then, he begins to speak. "We are both the last." Slowly, he kneels down, and places the flower gently on the mound. "It shouldn't have to be that way." He remains there, kneeling on the ground in a somber silence.

"Knuckles…"

Knuckles turns sharply in the direction of the sound. "Huh!? Who said that?" The sound of his own voice prompts him to look down at his hands, no longer small like a child's.

The distant feminine voice merely repeats, "Knuckles…"

Knuckles gets up from his spot on the ground, and starts to run in the direction of the voice, through a valley between two mountains. He calls as he goes, "Who's there!? Who are you!?"

Soon, he exits into an open area. A bridge stretches out over a body of water towards an isolated landmass, where a crumbling stone shrine holds the Master Emerald at its top, in its whole form. The Emerald glows and pulsates brightly. "That shouldn't be here…" He continues to run, across the bridge, and up the stone steps to the top of the shrine.

Once Knuckles reaches the top, he places a hand on the Emerald. "What's happening here…?"

"Great danger is coming."

Knuckles turns around with surprise. Standing there behind him is a familiar Echidna girl dressed in traditional tribal garb. "Tikal?"

Tikal looks down to the ground, as if in shame. "We couldn't protect you any longer… But you must survive. Great danger is coming."

"What do you mean? What danger?"

For a moment, Tikal seems to fade in and out of existence. As if not noticing, she continues, "A great calamity, as foretold long ago… The entire world may be consumed."

"Consumed by what? I don't understand!"

As Tikal continues to fade, her words do as well. "… …Chaos… … …alone… … …you." She disappears completely.

Knuckles reaches out for her. "Wait! Come back!" He turns around. The Master Emerald, too, begins to fade away. "No!" He looks down, and takes a step back in surprise. The ruins beneath his feet, the island it sits on, the ocean far below, the sky all around, all of it begins to give way to empty blackness. One by one, everything around him disappears. In the empty void, he collapses to his knees, staring down into the darkness.

A child's voice mutters meekly, "I don't want to be alone…"

Knuckles jerks awake, clutching at the cold compress on his head. He looks around, disoriented, at the interior of the med tent. Charmy sits asleep on a chair in the back.

Amy gives Knuckles a smile. "Your fever went up. How are you feeling?"

Knuckles closes his eyes. "Like a part of me is gone." Amy doesn't seem immediately sure how to respond. Knuckles continues, "Any word from Sonic and Tails?"

Amy shakes her head. "They…haven't found it yet."

"Then contact them, and tell them I know where they can find it."

—–—

Tails flies Sonic through the cover of the night sky. Sonic points down to a mechanical platform beneath them, where at least a dozen Egg Pawns stand guard. "If we want to search this area, we'll have to take out those guards first. You ready?"

"Right." With an added spin, Tails throws Sonic straight downwards with all of his might. Sonic comes down hard onto two of the robots at once, destroying them both. All of the other robots, now on alert, point their weapons at him. Tails comes down with a Spin Attack of his own on top of the closest robot, and makes a sweep with his tails at another the moment he hits the ground, destroying them both. Sonic chains attacks from one robot to the next, as Tails athletically sweeps beneath fire and hits his opponents from low down. Every guard in sight is quickly disposed of.

Sonic takes a moment to look around. They're roughly in the middle of three mountains, one of a reddish hue. "Alright, Knuckles said they grow best around the base of the mountains, so we should start by–" He is interrupted as his communicator buzzes.

Amy's voice questions, "Sonic? Sonic, do you read?"

"I'm here, Amy. What's going on?"

"Knuckles remembered where you can find the flower!"

Sonic and Tails look to each other with surprise. "Then what're we waiting for? Where is it?"

—–—

Sonic and Tails look down at the single small patch of white flowers that grows in front of the unmarked headstone. "This must be it." Sonic kneels down in preparation to pick them. "We need as much as we can get, right?"

"Wait!" Tails carefully moves one flower apart from the rest. "These may be the very last ones in the world. Leave just enough to let it keep growing."

"Of course." Sonic takes the rest, and firmly uproots them. He takes a moment to look up at the headstone. "Let's get these where they need to be." A laser bolt sails over his head. "Whoa!"

Behind them, the first line of Egg Pawns approaches in formation, all opening fire, followed by the rest of robot army. And in the back them all, commanding them to attack, is the tall red Heavy King.

Sonic and Tails dive behind a rock for cover. "Yikes! I think that's our cue to get out of here. No reason to stick around, right?" Tails gives him a nod. "Chaos…Control!" They both disappear in a flash.

Heavy King barks to the army, "Hold your fire, hold your fire!" The army takes a moment to respond to the order and let up on their attack against nothing. The leader growls into a communicator, "They're gone. They never saw inside."

—–—

Amy questions, "So do you think you can find a cure?"

Tails is already at work with a microscope. "I can't be sure until I do some more tests. I'll keep working through the night. Check back in the morning."

Sonic pats him on the back. "We believe in you, buddy. If anyone can find the answer, it's you." With that, Sonic and Amy exit.

But Charmy still remains. "Is there any way I can help?"

Tails doesn't look up from his work. "You should go to bed like everyone else. I can handle this."

"No, no, I wanna help! Knuckles is my friend too, you know."

Tails thinks for a moment. "Do you know how to take a blood sample?"

"Uhh…no?"

"If I asked you to get a tool for me, would you know how to find it?"

"Probably…not."

"Then I appreciate the offer, but the best thing you can do is stay out of the way."

"Come ooooooooonnn! Let me do something!"

Tails breathes out a sigh. "Alright, alright. But when I tell you to do something, I need you to listen very carefully, and do it exactly as I say."

"I can do that!"

"Alright, then you can start by–"

"Unghh… Tails…?" Knuckles starts to stir from his place on the cot.

"Charmy, make sure he doesn't get up." As Charmy happily obeys, Tails continues, "You should keep resting, Knuckles. Save your strength."

Knuckles doesn't seem too interested in getting up, remaining down with his eyes closed. "Tails…what was it like on Angel Island?"

Tails seems hesitant to answer. "Uhh…"

"Has it changed? I haven't been there in so long…"

"Knuckles…Eggman occupied the place. He's building some kind of facility out of it."

"Heh heh… That's no big surprise. Eggman's always up to five different things at once these days, eh?"

"Yeah…but…you know the place where you left the flower? That area was completely untouched."

This seems to put a smile on Knuckles' face. "That's good…"

"There was a whole patch of them growing. We left one…so it could keep growing."

"Tails…am I going to die? Tell me honestly…"

"Not now, you aren't. Not if I can do anything about it."

Knuckles goes silent for a short while. "…After everything I've been through…all the enemies I've beat…all the close calls I've had…I'm gonna get killed by a stupid microbe. I wish I could just punch it…"

"That would make things easier for all of us, wouldn't it? But there are some problems that just can't be solved that way."

"I can't die yet, Tails… There's something coming… I have to be there."

"You will be. You will be…" Tails seems to say it as much to convince himself as to convince Knuckles.

For a long time, Knuckles doesn't answer. He seems to have slipped back into unconsciousness.

"Alright, Charmy. We're going to try taking that blood sample now. Listen carefully."

—–—

The sun has risen on the Emerald canyon. A group has gathered in front of the med tent, all watching as Tails comes out. Charmy comes out behind him. They both have dark circles under their eyes from lack of sleep.

They all wait in palpable anticipation. Amy is the first to break the silence. "Well…did you do it?"

Tails bites his lip and stares at the ground, seeming unsure of exactly what to say. Finally, he begins, "I…I haven't found a cure. At least, not yet." He thinks for another moment. "I was able to use the flowers we gathered to make a concentrated medicine, and I've already given Knuckles his first treatment, and he should be awake in a few minutes. Hypothetically, there's enough to keep him functioning normally for at least a month or two."

Sonic questions, "So…that's good, right? We have more time to find a cure now. That's a lot better than what we had before."

Tails closes his eyes. "It would be. But–" Tails almost seems to choke on the next word, stooping over for a fit of coughing as if he'd been holding it all in for quite some time. When he finally recovers, he wastes no time in finishing. "I'm infected. So is Charmy. So are you, Sonic. Most likely, all of us are."

Any hope that was left in Sonic's face fades away. "Oh… But…I thought you said we shouldn't worried about that."

"I said it's rare. But this is no ordinary virus. And if I try to treat all of us…the medicine's gonna run out real fast."

Amy asks, "So…what can we do?"

"That's always the question, isn't it?"

Sonic adds, "Amy's right, there has to be something. Is there some kind of medical equipment you need? We can raid a hospital if we have to. Better yet, let's just take over the whole hospital! I bet we could keep Eggman out long enough to figure something out."

"I don't think you understand, Sonic. This isn't just our problem anymore. If this virus gets out, it could decimate the world's population. We should consider this whole area under quarantine, no one gets in or out."

"But…how will we…?"

Tails answers as if he's said it a hundred times already, "I'll think of something."

"Well…what have you figured out so far?"

Charmy, who had been nearly falling asleep, suddenly perks up. "Yeah, yeah, tell them what you told me! Tell them, tell them!"

Amy questions, "What's he talking about?"

Tails shakes his head. "It's, it's nothing. But…there was a slight difference in the tests I ran for me and Sonic, compared to the ones I ran for Charmy and Knuckles."

Sonic presses, "What difference?"

"Well…there was some sign…of destroyed virus in our bloodstreams. But no sign of what caused it. Without that information, there's nothing I can really do about it."

Charmy adds, "You couldn't find the reason, but that doesn't mean there isn't one, right? Maybe it was something that happened to you and Sonic while you were out getting the flowers, so it wouldn't have happened to the rest of us."

Sonic continues, "Yeah, yeah, we both went to Angel Island, we both…we were both in direct contact with the flower, maybe that did it?"

Tails shakes his head. "No, no, Charmy was touching the flower, too."

Charmy questions, "What about Chaos Control?"

Tails looks around in confusion. "What about it?"

"That's how you both got there and back, isn't it? What if that was what killed some of the virus?"

Tails puts a hand up to his chin. "That… Wait a minute… If the Master Emerald… and Chaos Control… Why didn't I think of that!? Charmy, it's brilliant!"

"Really? 'Cause, I got, like, six other ideas, if you wanna hear them. Like, what if it's actually–"

"No, that'll be fine for now, Charmy. Sonic, grab the Emerald and come back here to the tent, I have more tests to run. We're going to cure this virus."

At that moment, Knuckles steps out of the tent behind them. "That's what I like to hear."

—–—

Daily log, August 6th, 0 A.E. Sonic the Hedgehog reporting.

Tails has been working on the cure for three days now. Progress has been…minimal. He says that there was something going with the Chaos Control theory. But to cure someone who's infected, it would take…what was it he said? They would have to be warped…four times a second, for something like ten minutes. That's way beyond what I can do. I doubt Shadow would be much help there, either. So we just have to find another way.

*cough* *cough*

The medicine's starting to run out. We're doing our best to ration it, which means we all have to suffer a bit. Speaking of rations, our food supply isn't doing so great, either. Tails was pretty adamant about not letting anyone go beyond the canyon to get more, and…as much as I don't like it, I have to agree with him. With how bad things are going, the last thing we need is to start a global crisis.

Knuckles isn't doing well. He refused to take any more of the medicine than anyone else is. If Tails doesn't come up with something soon… …

—–—

"Analyze." Sonic watches as, at his command, the map of the world shown on the screen of his TAL computer begins to change. A single blip of red near the middle begins to spread outwards, until every visible landmass goes completely red.

A knock comes at the front post. Sonic looks up. "Come in."

After a moment, Amy enters.

"Oh, Amy. How's Knuckles doing?"

Amy looks downwards with sorrow. "He's gone delirious. He was convinced he was going to drown. It took a while, but I finally managed to calm him down. He's asleep now."

Sonic sighs. "That'll be us by tomorrow." He lets out a cough.

"We shouldn't lose hope just yet. Tails is still working on it."

Sonic leans back in his chair. "I just wish there was more we could do."

"What are you working on there?"

Sonic looks down at his screen. "Oh, this? I'm just having TAL run some projections." He gestures towards the red-filled screen. "This is the spread of the virus if one infected person gets to even a small town like Westside Village. It doesn't look good."

"Well, we won't have to worry about that if we find the cure."

"Yeah. If."

Before Amy can make any response, Sonic's communicator buzzes. "This is Shadow. I've completed the mission, and I'm en route back to base."

Sonic gasps. He scrambles to respond, "No, no, don't come back! I repeat, whatever you do, don't come here!"

"Sonic? What's going on?"

"There's been a deadly virus breakout, we're keeping the place quarantined. If you come here, you'll be infected too."

Shadow takes a moment to respond. "You're…joking, right?"

"This is no joke."

"Sonic, I'm the Ultimate Life Form. I was created to cure an incurable disease. I'm immune to all illness."

Sonic glances over to Amy with a look of realization. "Shadow, get here as fast you possibly can. In fact, I'm coming to pick you up, we need to get to work right now!" Sonic scrambles to get up from his seat and grab the Chaos Emerald.

—–—

Knuckles slowly opens his eyes in the bright med tent. "What…? Where…?"

Sonic and Amy look over him with worry. Amy questions, "Knuckles…? How are you feeling?"

Knuckles starts to sit up, but immediately he has to clutch at his head. "Ungh… Like I got run over by the Egg Carrier."

Tails' voice speaks up from the side of the room. "That's just a side effect…of the cure." Tails turns in his chair to face them. The gaunt appearance of his face and the dark red lining his shadowed eyes is a shocking sight. "You…are virus free."

Knuckles gasps. "Forget me! What about you!? Why haven't you taken the cure yet!?"

Tails waves it off. "No, no, it's fine. I… …I am cured, it's fine. Everyone is. I just…haven't slept much the last few days is all. Literal deadline to meet, you know?"

"So…that's it? The Doom Virus is…gone? Just like that? How'd you do it?"

"Well, it wasn't easy. You can start by thanking him." Tails points to the other side of the tent, where Shadow stands silently. He gives a nod in acknowledgement. "Using Shadow's scientifically perfect immune system, I was able to create synthetic antibodies able to stand up to the virus—when slowed down by the flower treatment. A quick Chaos Control to jumpstart the process, and…no more virus. It took a little bit of science, a little bit of nature, and a little bit of magic."

Sonic notes, "Chaos isn't magic."

"Yeah, yeah, I was trying to sound poetic. Anyways, it didn't hurt to have Charmy here to keep me up and working through the nights, too. Annoying as it was…" He points to another chair, where Charmy sits deep asleep, drooling slightly as he snores.

As Knuckles starts to look around, he puts on a scowl. "What's that humming?"

Sonic looks around in confusion. "I don't hear any humming."

Tails notes, "Could be another side effect. That should all wear off in about–"

"No. No…that's not it. That's not it…" Slowly, a big, goofy grin starts to cover his face. "It's the Master Emerald. I can hear it again. I can hear it…" Suddenly, he leaps from the cot and runs straight for the exit.

Tails reaches after him. "Wait, you shouldn't…" He collapses back into his seat, and closes his eyes. "I don't think I can handle this."

Sonic runs out after Knuckles. "Don't worry, I've got him." Amy quickly follows.

Tails lets out a long sigh of relief, and lets himself relax.

—–—

Knuckles rests a hand against the smooth surface of the Master Emerald. "Everything's normal again…"

"It must have been hard." Knuckles looks up as he hears Sonic's voice behind him. "Having that presence in your head, all the time, every hour of every day. And then losing it. I can barely imagine that kind of loneliness."

"It was lonely." Knuckles turns around to face Sonic and Amy with a smile. "But I was never alone. I realize that now. I couldn't have done it otherwise." He turns back to the Emerald. "That's why I have to do this." He pulls back a fist, then drives it down hard onto the gem, shattering it into dozens of pieces. Once it's done, he lets out a contained breath.

Amy questions, "Are you sure you want to start this over again? There could be other things we don't know. It might be safer to keep it together."

Knuckles shakes his head. "No. I agreed when this war started, and I still agree now. We can't allow even the slightest possibility of Eggman getting his hands on the complete Emerald. If he had it, I bet he could…recreate the Doom Virus or something. It's not worth the risk." He reaches down into the pile, and pulls out a shard. Slowly, he rises, turns and holds it out to Sonic. "We're all in this together. This is proof of that." His eyes narrow into a scowl. "Just don't give Big another piece."

Sonic chuckles softly as he takes the offered shard. "That's probably for the best."

"Hey…" Knuckles starts to look around. "…what happened to Tails?"

Shadow announces his presence by answering from the cave entrance, "He's asleep."

Knuckles looks back to Sonic. "Great going. You worked him to exhaustion. You're turning into quite the taskmaster."

Sonic shrugs. "I'll tell him to take a few days off, but if you're any indication, he won't last that long. And you know what? That's the thing about us. If it meant helping each other, I don't think any one of us would hesitate to work until we drop. Tails is no exception. That's what makes us a team. We all do what we can, no hesitation, no holding back. That's what's going to win us this war."

—–—

Emperor Eggman sits on the throne in his hidden base, glaring at the image of Heavy King on the viewscreen in front of him. "And you're certain they saw none of it?"

King responds on the screen, "They never had the chance. They know the place is too heavily guarded to risk a thorough investigation, and they don't know enough to justify a full-scale assault. They won't be coming back."

"This was your idea, King. I would hate to see it fail because you were unable catch a snooping hedgehog."

"As I said, there is no damage done. Construction is proceeding with minimal setbacks. It will be ready, come year's end. And then the Rebellion will lose. It's inevitable."

—–—

On Angel Island, at the base of the Red Mountain, the single remaining white flower growing by the unmarked headstone blows gently in the breeze. From the murky skies above, a single drop of precipitation splashes down onto its blooming petals. The droplet of moisture rolls down the side of the flower, taking a few particles of yellow pollen with it, before finally dripping off and into the earth below. The sound of rain picks up as the scene fades away.

To be continued…