Station Square

"Retreat! Everyone, get out of here!" Sonic shouts his order from the rooftops of the Casino District.

On the streets below, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy fight their way out through a swarm of robots. Knuckles shouts up, "We're pinned down! There's too many of them!"

"Don't worry, I'm coming!" Sonic prepares to leap down from the building. But he is stopped as a rock suddenly strikes the side of his head. "Ah! What the–!?" He looks down in the direction the projectile came from.

A small mob of human citizens has gathered. The one in front, presumably the same who threw the rock, shouts through cupped hands, "Get out of here, Rebels!" Another voice agrees, "Yeah, we don't need your kind of help!" "Let us live in peace!" "Take your war somewhere else!" The shouts quickly meld into a frenzy.

Another rock flies past Sonic's head as he ducks just in time. He takes his hand away from the spot he was hit before, showing a clear wound left behind. He looks down to the crowd with worry, with fear, ready to shout some sort of objection.

"Sonic!"

Remembering what's important, he turns his back on the mob and leaps down onto the battlefield on the other side, planting a foot into the robot he lands on. A few quick spin attacks take out what remains between him and his friends. He grabs an arm each of Knuckles and Amy, and nods his head for Tails to follow. He takes off, pulling them with him at high speed. The only opening in sight is up a flight of stairs. They take it without hesitation.

The stairs open into the train station. More robots are at the ready on the upper level, and open fire at the appearance of the Rebels. They never slow down, opting instead to crash through the barred glass front doors into the street outside. They round the first corner in the road.

No matter how many turns they take, there are robots waiting on every corner. A few brave citizens even jeer at them through open windows above.

But one voice is different from the others. "Hey, in here!" A man stands holding open a door down the street, beckoning to them furiously. "Quickly, before they see you!"

Not having much other choice, Sonic and the others follow him in, and he shuts the door firmly behind them.

The room is not large, and a bit dusty, filled with shelves of various objects, with larger ones displayed in front of the large window. An antique shop. The man lifts up one of the objects by the window, and the pedestal underneath it rises up slightly. Metal bars crash down in front of the window and door, locking them all inside. "That won't hold them off forever, but it'll be enough." He moves to the back of the room, pulling open a simple black door. "This'll lead you into the sewers, you can follow them out. Good luck."

Without any objection, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles move out. Sonic hangs back for a moment. "Thank you."

"Not everyone remembers what you did here, Sonic. But I still do. Perfect Chaos destroyed my livelihood. You'd have been a hero just for stopping it. But you stayed. You helped us rebuild. Thanks to you and your friends, I was able to reopen in no time at all. I won't forget that. But you shouldn't come back to this city. Not until the war's over." Before Sonic can say anything else, the man reiterates, "Get out of here, go!"

Sonic obeys with a nod, and quickly catches up with the others in the sewer.

Knuckles glances back towards. "Pretty nice guy."

"Yeah. Makes me feel bad for stealing his gold Chao egg."

The others all look to Sonic with shock. Sonic gives a shrug.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 1, Episode 17

Doomsday: Part 1

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Daily Log, December 23rd, 0 A.E. Sonic the Hedgehog reporting.

I think we've lost the people. The mission was a disaster. This was the very last shipment headed for Angel Island. We were hoping to sneak on board. Of course, Eggman was smarter than that. I don't think I've ever seen so many robots guarding one place. Eggman just keeps building more, faster than we can ever hope to break them. But it wasn't the robots that banged me up this time. It was the people. They were furious at the sight of us. Whatever it is that Fang and his team are trying to accomplish…I think it's working. I hope you know what you're doing out there, Rouge. Because I sure don't.

So whatever Eggman's building…he's about to finish it. That leaves one question. What can we do about it now?

—–—

Emerald Canyon – The Rebellion Base

Tails carefully smooths the bandage over Sonic's forehead. "Okay, just start from the beginning. Why did you steal the egg?"

"It was an unborn creature, and he was keeping it locked behind a window!"

"So you stole it?"

"What, I helped him rebuild his shop later."

"So that makes it okay?"

"Gimme a break, I was still in my…save-the-animals phase."

"What does that mean?"

"Eggman was the only human I'd ever interacted with before I went to Station Square, and he enslaved animals. I was trained to…you know…I see an animal in danger, I set it free." Tails continues to look at him skeptically. "I realize now that it was wrong, what do you expect me to do about it?"

Tails laughs it off. "Honestly, I had my eye on that egg, too. I just didn't realize it was you who took it."

Sonic puts on a scowl. "Stealing is no good, Tails. I don't want to hear you thinking about it."

Tails puts his hands up innocently. "Don't worry, I know to listen to what Sonic says." They both have another laugh. A loud beep suddenly sounds off.

Sonic looks around in confusion. "What was that?"

Tails pulls out his Handheld Pad. "Proximity alert. Something unidentified just–"

The white walls and roof of the medical tent are suddenly torn away, exposing the tables of medical equipment to the outside air. Standing over them, holding the crumpled remains of the tent in the newly solidified bones of its bulky left hand, is Discord, empowered by a single Chaos Emerald.

—–—

Several hours earlier

Genocide City

Rouge stands in waiting in front of the tall metal doors inside the imperial tower. She closes her eyes with a sigh.

"Why does he always have to keep us waiting like this?" Sly stands next to her, tapping his foot impatiently. "What does he even want us for? You think he found another new recruit?"
Rouge shakes her head. "No, he would've brought in the whole team for that. This time it's just us. Something he wants us to do, probably."

"It's just never ending tasks with this guy, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's the thing about having a job, Sylvester. You have to do things."

"Yeah, whatever." There is a slight rumble as the door in front of them begins to rise. "Finally…" A figure stands on the other side of the rising door. Sly looks to Rouge. "Maybe I was right after all."

Rouge already seems to recognize the figure. "No you weren't."

Eggman opens his arms wide on the other side of the door in greeting. "Ah, so glad the two of you could make it. Please, follow me."

Rouge walks right up to him. "Long time no see, Doc. Finally decided to say hello in person?"

Sly simply looks shocked to see him there.

Eggman responds, "The time has come for the two of you to prove your loyalty to me. As I said, follow me." He turns away, beckoning for them to follow.

Sly looks to Rouge questioningly. Rouge shrugs, and follows. Sly hurriers after her.

—–—

Rouge stares with shock at the massive holographic projection of the Death Egg. "Th-…that's horrible…"

Eggman seems almost pleased by Rouge's reaction to his plan. "You really think so?" His expression suddenly hardens. "Because I seem to remember you going along with a very similar plan back on the ARK."

Sly notes, "Oh, yeah, there's the-…uh-…the Eclipse Cannon, right? So what's the point of all this when you can just use that?"

Eggman states simply, "The Eclipse Cannon is a sledgehammer. This new Death Egg is a scalpel. It will get the job done correctly."

Rouge puts on a scowl. "What exactly is it that you need us for?"

"Along with Discord, the two of you will be making a strike against the Rebel camp."

Rouge can't quite contain her surprise. "You've known the location of their base all year, and now you're suddenly deciding to attack them there!?"

Eggman frowns in disappointment. "This is a very intricate puzzle, Rouge. All of the pieces must be perfectly in place. Now, as I was saying, I expect Discord to do most of the heavy lifting. Your job is to take their Chaos Emerald, and bring it back to me. I already know that you're the right ones for the job. Any questions?"

Sly raises his hand.

Eggman groans, "What is it?"

"What about Nack and Infinite?"

"I expect them to tend to the launch of the Death Egg, of course. If your mission is successful, you'll be delivering the Chaos Emerald to them. Anything else?" He looks to Rouge specifically.

Rouge glances around for a moment. "Uhh…no, don't think so."

Eggman presses, "Aren't you concerned about returning to the camp of your former allies?"

Rouge looks more concerned about her nails as she carefully examines the back of her hand. "Should I be? I don't plan on letting them see me."

"Don't you want me to tell you why I've shown you these Death Egg plans?"

"Not really. But it sounds like you want to tell me."

Eggman lets out a low growl. "…Fine then. I'll–" He is interrupted by a sudden beeping sound.

Sly questions, "What's that?"

"Something I have to attend to. I'll be right back." He hastily disappears through the door, leaving Rouge and Sly alone.

Rouge immediately moves for the computer console that seems to be linked to the large projection of the Death Egg in the center of the room, removing a small data drive from her pocket and sticking it inside.

Sly looks over her shoulder. "Hey, uhh… Whatcha doin' there, Rouge?"

Rouge keeps her focus on the display as she works. "Downloading the schematics of the Death Egg."

"Yeah, but…why?"

"Well he didn't say we couldn't, did he?"

Sly suddenly takes on a vicious expression as he spits, "Rouge, I swear, if you don't tell me what the heck you think you're trying to pull here–"

"So I finally got your attention? Good, I need serious Sly right now. So listen up." Her work done, she pulls out the data drive, and turns to stand right in his face. "If Eggman's plan goes through tonight, then millions of people are going to die, so if you have even an ounce of compassion left in that black pit you call a heart, you'll help me bring this back to the Rebellion so we can put a stop to it. If you don't, then get out of my way."

Sly stands in stunned silence.

Rouge pushes past him. "I don't have time to wait for an answer."

Remaining in place, Sly states quietly, "You shouldn't have done that."

The grave inflection in his voice causes her to pause.

"He told me you were still working for them. He told me you would take the bait. I told him he was wrong. Oh, they're gonna kill me for this…"

"Sly, what're you talking about…?"

The door opens as Eggman steps inside. "I believe he would talking about me." He holds out a hand to Rouge. "And I believe you've taken something that doesn't belong to you. Hand it back now."

Rouge glances back towards Sly. He stands motionless, as if lost in his own mind. She looks down to the data drive in her hand. "The plans…were bait? But…that's impossible, I checked them, they were too detailed to be phony–"

"As I knew you would. I knew you wouldn't fall for anything short of the genuine item. You've already made a grave mistake, Rouge. But if you come quietly, we may just be able to deal with this in a civilized manner."

Rouge clenches her hand tight around the item. "I think you've got it backwards, Doc. It's you who made the mistake. I was willing to settle for these plans. But my original mission involved you!" She suddenly ducks down, making a skillful sweep at Eggman's legs in an attempt to knock him over. But she seems to pass straight through him. "What the–!?" Not sure what else to do, she aims a kick right for his stomach, still hitting only empty air. "A hologram?"

Eggman begins to laugh. "Oh ho ho!" He points to the holographic Death Egg that still floats in the center of the room. "Why else would I have taken you to a room with such sophisticated projectors? Did you really think that I would go anywhere near you, knowing that you were a traitor? I knew from the very beginning! But you were useful to me. And now, your usefulness has run out."

As if on cue, Rouge is suddenly struck in the back of the head, and she collapses unconscious to the floor. Sly stands over her, tightly gripping the staff that landed the blow.

Eggman congratulates, "Good work."

Sly looks back up to Eggman. "What…what do I do now?"

Eggman thinks for only a moment. "Normally I'd want to deal with her myself, but I really don't have the time right now. Take her back to your base, let Nack decide what to do with her."

"But isn't he supposed to be manning the Death Egg?"

"Ha! Of course not. The purpose of the Anti-Rebellion was always to deal with the Rebellion. I have my own plans for the Death Egg. Not that you need to know about such things."

"Of course…" Sly looks down to Rouge's unconscious form. "Why would you tell me about anything?"

—–—

"Look out!" Sonic dives into Tails, shoving him out of the way of the first swipe of Discord's arm. The second swipe is just behind, this time aimed for Sonic as he leaps out of the way. Roaring in anger, Discord attacks again, this time too quickly for either to react, stretching its arm out far enough to slam them both into the canyon wall. Rather than pressing the attack, it turns its attention down the line of tents in the camp, and begins to march forwards.

"Hey!" Knuckles charges in from behind, diving into a powerful punch. "Where you goin', ya big drip!?" The attack lands, splattering Discord into a large puddle with a bright purple light inside, next to a much dimmer green one.

Sonic complains as he and Tails climb back to their feet, "Hey, that's my line." They both ready themselves as the puddle begins to reform. Sonic looks from Knuckles to Tails. "Please tell me that you two figured out the Discord solution."

Tails and Knuckles look to each other for a moment. "Uhh…"

Whole again, Discord attempts to whip across all three of them with its liquid arm, forcing them to jump. Not waiting for an answer, Sonic runs in on the attack. A blinding barrier of energy forms around Discord's solid outstretched hand, which it uses to knock Sonic away.

As Sonic lands next to Tails, Tails finally answers, "Nothing you'll like. Not even a prototype."

"Whaddaya mean, nothing I'll like?"

Knuckles rolls out of the way of a stabbing lunge. "I put the Master Emerald back together. What we have of it, anyways. Keep this thing busy for long enough, and I can seal us both inside."

"No! I already told you, I'm not letting you–" The moment of distraction gets Sonic hit by the next attack, knocking him aside once again.

Tails cries out, "Sonic!" Angrily, he runs at Discord, ducking under another attack into a swipe of his tails that disrupts Discord's solid form once again.

In the moment of respite, Knuckles helps Sonic back to his feet. Sonic wipes off the corner of his mouth, finishing, "We'll just have to beat this thing the old fashioned way."

As Discord's body rises once again out of the puddle, all three of them charge in. For a moment, Discord doesn't react at all. But as they draw nearer, it suddenly it shoots its liquid arm out in three directions at once, catching each of their heads in a bubble of water and stopping them in their tracks. It lifts them off the ground as they struggle to free themselves. Sonic flails and claws at the water pressing around his face, but there is nothing he can do to remove it.

Discord shows no sign of emotion as it slowly suffocates the trio.

A hammer cashes down onto Discord, destroying its form and freeing Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Amy hefts the hammer back over her shoulder. "You boys trying to start all the fun without us?" The entire Rebellion stands behind her. Shadow, Omega, Hero and Bruno, the Chaotix, Cream and Cheese, and Big, all stand ready to fight.

Sonic coughs and sputters as he regains his breath. But, back on his feet, he answers, "Wouldn't dream of it."

Vector calls for attention, "Sonic, look!"

Discord's puddle form is not reforming, but instead slides along the ground, heading once again for the other end of the camp.

Omega fires off a missile, aimed just in front of Discord's path. A watery tendril reaches out to grab the projectile, containing its explosion in a small bubble. Discord keeps moving.

"Chaos Spear!" Shadow's attack has slightly more effect, forcing the moving puddle to stop in order to shape a hole for the spear to pass through.

While more attempts are made to land a solid hit, Knuckles momentarily take Big aside. "Hey, think you can help me out with something?"

Espio leaps over the top of Discord, slicing down with a kunai. It shoots a tendril up, grabbing him by the wrist and tossing him aside. He quickly gets back up with a grunt, noticing how it continues to move away from them. "It doesn't seem to be after us."

Vector growls, "What else would it be after?"

Realizing the direction it moves in, Sonic and Tails both shout at once, "The Chaos Emerald!"

Amy grunts, "Another one? This thing's so strong as it is…"

Shadow agrees, "We can't let it get any farther."

As if in answer, Cream takes a stand in Discord's path, holding her arms out wide. "Please stop, Mr. Discord!"

Cheese mimics, "Chao chao!"

Amy cries out, "Cream, what're you doing!?"

Discord actually stops, and starts to rise up into its solid form.

Cream continues, "Mr. Big says that you're nice, so I don't believe that you want to hurt anyone."

"Chao!"

Discord stares more at Cheese than it does at Cream.

Cream notices. "You're a Chao too, aren't you? Chao aren't supposed to hurt people…"

"Chao!"

Sonic marvels, "She's actually doing it…"

Discord looks slowly past Cream and Cheese, to the last tent in the row which is now quite near. Knuckles is the only one who seems to recognize what this means. "Cream, look out!"

Cream isn't the only one in danger. Taking no chances this time, Discord shoots out enough tendrils to encapsulate the heads of every single person there, ready to drown them all at once.

—–—

Fang delivers a hard punch into Rouge's stomach, forcing her to double over in the chair she is bound to, without breath. By the look of the bruises on her face, this has been going on for quite some time.

"How does it feel," Fang taunts, "knowing that you're the reason your little friends are going to lose?"

Rouge spits onto the ground before looking him back in the eye. "How do you figure that?"

"Why do you think you were ever let onto this team? No one would have believed that we were the Rebellion without you to help sell it. And now we've turned the people against them. They'll never win this war now. And it's all thanks to you."

"Doesn't seem like that has much to do with Eggman's plan."

Fang lets out a sudden laugh. "Oh, if only you knew the full extent of the plan. All this time, you thought you were playing us, when it was you being played all along! We knew your intentions from the beginning, yet you served ours flawlessly."

Rouge glances over at Sly, who has remained silent all this time.

Sly doesn't seem to look her in the eye. Still, he answers, "What are you looking at me for? I don't know anything. I thought you were here because you wanted to be. I thought I knew you."

"Sly…you–" She is silenced by a hard belt across the face.

Fang growls, "That's quite enough out of you."

Rouge grunts through the pain. "Just…just tell me what you want."

"Want? Who says that I want anything? Maybe I'm just having fun." As if to prove the point, he throws another blow across her face. Once he's done, he starts to stretch his muscles and joints, as if growing tired of the repetitive action. "Where is that Infinite, anyways? He was supposed to meet us here half an hour ago." He looks over to Sly.

Sly answers blankly, "Don't know."

Fang continues to stare at Sly, making a subtle motion with his hand as if waiting for him to respond in some other way. When Sly does nothing, Fang finally growls, "Fine, I'll go look for him myself. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." Drawing his blaster and muttering to himself, he quickly exits the small, darkened room.

The moment Fang is gone, Rouge wipes off her defeated expression as she takes a careful analysis of her situation. She looks to Sly first. He appears as distant and distracted as ever. She carefully tries to work her hands around in the restraints behind her chair. Too tight to slip out, and too strong to tear through. She shifts her weight in the chair. Fastened to the floor. She bites her lip as she searches for any other options she might have.

"I need you to tell me something."

Rouge is startled by Sly's sudden statement.

He continues, "Was it ever real? Even for a moment? Did you ever…even once…consider staying? Instead of going back to them? Back to life on the run?"

"Sly…I came here for them. To help them. Going through with it was my responsibility."

"That's not what I asked. I know what they wanted you to do. But you didn't have to do it."

Rouge looks down to the ground. "I…I shouldn't be telling you this. But I think you deserve to know. The answer to your question…" She hesitates a moment longer. "…is yes. The thought of never going back, of leaving myself out of all this fighting, all this running, I thought about it. All the time. And…if things had gone wrong… If the Rebellion crumbled, and I couldn't go back, I would've stayed. And some part of me would've been happy about it."

"If you'd just waited a few days… That's all I ever wanted for you. I insisted that Fang let you on the team, because I knew that you could be happier here. The plan, the Empire, the Rebellion, I didn't care about any of it. I knew how miserable you would be fighting on the other side. I wanted to lift that burden from you."

"Maybe responsibility is a burden. But caring for others, dedicating yourself to something more than just yourself…that's just a part of growing up."

"I dedicated myself to you. Even knowing that you didn't feel the same."

Rouge is stunned into silence by that answer.

Sly suddenly outbursts, "Dang it, Rouge! Why do you always have to go and play the hero!? I always said that you were going to get us both killed!"

"Us?"

Sly closes his eyes, and lets out a long sigh. He starts to walk around behind the chair that she is tied to. "Guess it's my turn to play." He begins to untie her bindings.

"What are you doing?"

The ropes all fall to the floor as he undoes the last knot. "Isn't it obvious? I'm breaking you out."

She stands up slowly. As she reaches her feet, she nearly falls back to the ground. Sly moves in to help her, but she waves him back. She takes a breath, trying to regain some of her strength. "Fang is going to kill you."

Sly smirks. "He won't get the chance if I go with you."

"You sure you want to do that? There's no treasure in it for you."

"Who needs treasure when you can have the admiration of the people you're…responsible for saving?"

"That's…not how it's supposed to work. But you're learning. Now let's get out of here."

A loud click by the door turns both of their heads. Fang stands blocking the exit, pointing his cocked weapon at both of them. "I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere, dearie." He begins to step towards them. "I really thought you were smarter than this, Sly. Falling for the same test of loyalty that she did? I suppose I gave you too much credit."

Sly scowls silently at the weapon in Fang's hand.

"Yes, I believe I've told you how this blaster works. It may not be my preference, but it's a simple switch to set it to kill." As he draws closer, he points it directly to Rouge's head. "And you have earned that honor. Be grateful. Your death will have a meaning." He presses the weapon against her forehead as he cocks his head towards Sly. "You'll be teaching that one his place."

Sly cries out, "W-wait, stop! Don't kill her! I'll…I'll…"

Fang momentarily turns his head to the side. "You'll what?" Chaos erupts in that moment, as Sly's staff suddenly swings up in a blur between two faces, striking the weapon as it fires, sending it flying into the air and causing the shot to stray wildly. The staff continues around in a strike at the back of Fang's head, knocking him to the ground.

"Who's smarter now?" Sly stands with a foot pressed over Fang's chest, pinning him to the ground, pointing his staff threateningly towards his face. But suddenly, he doubles over with a gasp, clutching at an apparent wound below his shoulder where he was apparently struck by the stray shot.

Fang smirks from his place on the ground. "Clearly, not you."

Rouge voces with concern, "Sly!"

Fang lets out a grunt as Sly presses harder with his foot, waving Rouge off. "I'm fine. But I think we need a new plan." He reaches into one of his pouches, and pulls out a familiar data drive, offering it out to Rouge. "This is yours. Get it where it needs to go. I'll make sure our teammate here can't follow."

"Sly…"

He reiterates through gritted teeth, "Run! You're wasting time!"

With a trembling hand, Rouge takes the item, both of them sharing it in clasped hands for a moment. "Sly…thank you." Moving with a clear limp, Rouge leaves as fast as she's able to go, looking back at Sly for as long as she can before she disappears.

Fang calls after her, "You won't get far, dearie!" He glares back up at Sly. "This will only take a few minutes." His glance moves towards his weapon on the ground nearby, possibly just within the edge of his reach.

Sly jabs his staff down threateningly. "Don't even think about it, Nack."

Looking back up, he leisurely corrects, "It's Fang. You know, I really thought better of you, Sly. It's just so hard to get someone to follow you out of both respect and fear. I was certain I had both from you. How could I have miscalculated so egregiously, I wonder?"

"Simple. Respect is for losers. And I love her more than I could ever fear you."

Fang remains calm, almost nonchalant. "Well then it's you who's miscalculated. You should have feared me more. Now you'll both be dead."

"You're the one on the ground here, Toothy."

"And how much longer do you suppose that will last? That wound of yours doesn't look so good. I'm no expert, but I might even say that it's fatal. Oh, wait, I am an expert. They don't call me 'Sniper' for nothing. Even now, what flesh you have left there must be burning in agony. You'll be losing consciousness momentarily."

"You kidding? I…" He sways on his feet a bit. "…I can stand here all day. Easiest act of courage ever."

Fang continues, "In fact, at this point, the only hope for both of you seems to be to beat me to a pulp with that stick of yours before you pass out. But you're a hero now. And heroes never have the heart for it."

"You know…the nice thing about not being a real hero…is that I get to do whatever the heck I want." With a growl, he suddenly swings his staff, aimed for Fang's head.

Fang catches the staff in one hand with a smirk. "This is for claiming that you're smarter than me." He uses his grip on the staff to pull Sly off his feet, pulling him over his head and slamming him into the ground behind him. Continuing the motion, he rolls to reclaim his own weapon from the ground, coming up pointing it at Sly. But Sly remains motionless in a heap on the ground. Fang chuckles as he brushes himself off and proceeds towards the door. He stops at the entryway, glancing back for a moment. With a shrug, he points back and fires off another shot at the motionless target. Proceeding without looking back, he finishes, "And that's for stabbing me in the back."

—–—

Every rebel is lifted from their feet as they struggle for air. But Omega doesn't need air. He fires another missile, this time properly impacting its target and freeing everyone.

A fishing hook plops into the puddle that remains, latching onto the dim green glow inside, and snagging it out quickly.

Discord, only half-formed, goes for the recognized threat. Omega slashes away the first lashing tentacle with his claws, and uses a machine gun to successfully shoot down the second, but the third attack proves too much, lashing hard enough against Omega's chest to knock him back into the canyon wall, leaving a wide gash of exposed metal and wiring in his chest. His eyes go dim, and he doesn't get back up.

Amy, finally regaining her breath, orders, "Big, get Cream out of here!"

"Okey dokey."

Cream gasps, "What!? No, I can–"

Big scoops her up over his shoulder. "Time to go, Miss Rabbit."

Cream flails to escape as Big carries her off to safety. "No! Put me down, put me down!"

The rest have resumed the fight. Sonic, Tails, and Shadow all come in for a physical attack at once. Discord swings its arms in a wide circle around it, knocking away all three.

Sonic gets back up with a grunt. "How is this thing so strong…? We never had this much of a problem against Chaos!"

Tails notes, "Chaos didn't have its body for more than a few days… This one's had months to train."

"No…it's more than that."

Discord has marched close enough to its target. Much as it did to the med tent, it uses its solid hand to rip Sonic's tent from the ground. With its liquid hand, it stabs into the bottom drawer of Sonic's cabinet. Vector runs in with a punch, trying to stop it. It knocks him away with its free hand. Hero fires his flamethrower. Discord creates a barrier to block the flames. And in that time, it finally rips out the yellow Chaos Emerald. Sonic can be heard shouting, "No!" As the Emerald sinks into its hand, there is a blinding flash of light.

The new form of Discord revealed, though with broad shoulders and arms, has a more slender, curved body shape, still monstrous in size. The fin-like protrusions from its head run down almost to its hips. The newly-empowered Discord 2 looks across each of its bulky, solid arms, taking in its new power for a moment.

Not waiting for it to attack first, Sonic rushes in.

Only noticing him after a moment, Discord crosses its arms and creates a barrier far larger than the one seen before, which easily blocks Sonic's attack. Sonic's physical attack is followed by Shadow, Tails, Amy, Vector, and Charmy, but none of them come anywhere close to breaking Discord's defenses. The moment its barrier is finally dropped, it is attacked on either side by Hero's Wispon and a hailstorm of Espio's shuriken, driving it back a few steps. Discord suddenly lets out an angered roar, releasing a thin shockwave of water that lashes out in all directions, knocking all off their feet.

Sonic shows clear sign of fatigue as he rises to his feet once again. "It's even stronger now… There's no way to beat this thing…"

Shadow stands beside him. "Knuckles seems to disagree. He's already gone."

"What!?" Sonic looks around for a moment, noticing Knuckles' absence for the first time, muttering, "Dang it, Knuckles, I told you not to…" He quickly commands, "Go grab him back, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Shadow has already started skating off. "On it."

Tails shouts for attention, "Sonic!"

Sonic looks up at Discord, which has formed itself into a massive floating sphere of water. The Rebels all tense up, prepared for another attack. Instead, the bubble suddenly bounds over their heads, bouncing back in the direction it came from at an impressive pace. Sonic chases after it, growling angrily, "Where's this thing going now!?"

Amy, keeping pace with him, poses, "Is it possible that the Emerald was the only thing it wanted?"

Tails responds, "I've been noticing something odd about its behavior. As if it's only vaguely aware of what's going on around it, like it has this single-minded focus, and that didn't change once it got the Emerald. I wonder…if it could be after more than just ours…"

Sonic questions, "You mean it's going rogue?"

Tails continues the theory, "It could be that it saw our Emerald as the easiest target, wanted it just to get enough power to take the rest from Eggman."

Sonic leaps into an attack on the fleeing orb, causing it to burst into a puddle on the ground. "Doesn't matter what it wants. We aren't letting it get away with those Emeralds."

Vector rushes to catch up. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but…isn't it a good thing if we let it take Eggman's Emeralds?"

Just as always, the puddle begins to reform. Sonic takes a firm stance in Discord's path. "Is there a chance we could benefit? Yeah. But it wouldn't be right to risk unleashing another Perfect Chaos on the world, not even if it won us this war tonight."

Tails and Amy stand beside him, both agreeing, "Right."

Discord aggressively leaps at them. They leap in turn for a clash in the middle.

—–—

Rouge limps her way through the mechanical halls, rapidly losing pace. She takes a moment to lean against the nearest wall, regaining her panting breath. She quickly shakes it off, and keeps on moving. A targeting reticle is positioned over her from high above. Fang smirks as his finger tenses over the trigger. He whispers, "I told you that you wouldn't get far." He pulls the trigger, and a flash of red explodes from the weapon.

Rouge looks back with a gasp as a wall of crimson cubes erupts from the ground behind her, shielding her from the sniper's blow. A figure drifts down beside her as the illusory wall subsides. Infinite lets out his signature laugh as he watches Fang approaching angrily, his weapon still drawn.

"I can believe this sort of treachery from the likes of Sly, but you!?" He stops, aiming for Infinite, clearly too angered to be concerned with Rouge for the moment. "You may not care much for Eggman, but to side with these Rebels!? I didn't think you capable of such a thing."

Infinite answers, "I side with no one. I seek only the Rubies. And it's come to my attention that you and your master have no intention of assisting me in that endeavour."

It's Rouge who responds, "I don't understand. Why would you protect me?"

Infinite glances towards her with vague amusement. "It's just as I told you before. Playing both sides can be of great benefit. And…I don't like to be in another's debt. So run along, now. Consider my debt to you paid. And tell Shadow…that he now owes me two."

Not letting her confusion keep her any longer, Rouge obeys, fleeing once again.

Watching her go, Fang regains his calm focus. "You'd best get out of my way, Jackal. I have a job to finish."

"If I were to do that, I would lose a valuable asset." He draws his blade in a show of defiance. "I don't think I will."

"After I come to you, offering to help you in your quest, this is how you repay me?"

Infinite laughs. "I can't tell if you are a poor liar, or if you're simply ignorant. Rouge isn't the only one who's been claiming data from the Doctor's computers." He holds up a data drive of his own. "He has been searching for the Rubies. But not for my benefit. Just for his own."

"He did what!?"

"He attempted to use me to further his research, with no intention of sharing the results. But now, I have his data, and he has nothing."

Fang lets out a growl. "That dirty little…" He mutters something else. "He shouldn't have done that. He needed you as an ally. I had nothing to do with this."

"Be that as it may, my position has not changed. And I have no qualms about killing you, should you try to force your way past."

Fang laughs. "You? Kill me? After what you just did? You don't have the energy left. I've been keeping a very close eye on you, Infinite. Your Virtual Reality tricks take up nearly all of your thin power reserves. If I opened fire on you, you wouldn't be able to block more than a few shots without breaking that precious Ruby of yours. And then you'd be defenseless."

Infinite sends bright red energy coursing down his sword. "And in that time, I could run this blade through your heart. Care to test your theory?"

"Mutually assured death. Is that really what you want? Is this really what you want to die for? The life of an enemy to us both? Just step aside."

"You desire death no more than I do. This is a standoff you cannot win."

Fang silently keeps his weapon aimed at Infinite.

Infinite points his own weapon in return. Neither says another word.

As Rouge makes her way outside, there is a flash of red in the distance far behind her.

—–—

There's a bright flash of green as the final shard of the Master Emerald is merged with the rest of the gem. Knuckles breathes a sigh. "Whole again. I only wish I could take you back where you belong."

"Disobeying orders?" Shadow stands with arms crossed at the cave's mouth. "Which one of us is the traitor now?"

Knuckles places a hand beneath the base of the Emerald, and, with the other, presses against its side, somehow magically shrinking it until it fits in the palm of his hand. "You can't stop me, Shadow. This monster needs to be stopped."

"At the cost of your life? …Doesn't seem fair. We need you."

Knuckles steps towards Shadow slowly. "No. What wouldn't be fair is if this thing hurts even one person when I have the power to stop it. And if they keep fighting out there…"

"There's still a chance they can beat it."

"…someone's going to end up dead. You weren't around when we fought with Chaos, you don't understand. None of us could ever really stop it."

"But–"

"Yes, sometimes we could get it to retreat when it realized that it wasn't worth fighting us. But it was hiding its true power the entire time. Waiting for its chance to collect all seven Emeralds. That's all it ever cared about. The same thing is happening again. Only this time, we're standing directly in its way. So it isn't going to stop, not until we do. Or until we stop it ourselves. Which is exactly what I'm going to do."

"How can you be so certain about this? Why do you have to do this now?"

"I had a vision, Shadow. Months ago, when I was infected by the Doom Virus. The Master Emerald was trying to tell me something. I didn't understand it then. But now I do. It has to be me. I alone have the power to end this. And if I don't…the world will be consumed. So unless you want Discord to destroy everything, get out of my way."

Shadow raises an eyebrow for a moment. But then he steps aside. "Okay."

Knuckles is taken aback by the sudden agreement. "W-wait. What? Why?"

"Because you're right. The Rebellion may need you. But the world needs you more. And the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Knuckles finishes, "Or the one. If I'm going to do this, I'll need someone to watch my back. Can I count on you?"

Shadow nods. "Of course."

—–—

Knuckles plants the Master Emerald firmly in the ground, in front of a tall tree that bears a carving of a similarly-shaped gem.

Shadow looks off towards the camp, where small figures can be seen in a distant scuffle. "They're getting pushed this way. The battle will be here in a minute or two."

"And it won't get an inch farther." He looks over to Shadow for a moment. "Do yourself a favor. Stay hidden. Don't let Sonic know that you had anything to do with this, not unless you have to."

"Trying to take all the glory for yourself?"

"If Sonic is mad at anyone, it should be me. The glory doesn't hurt, though."

Shadow lets out a brief chuckle. "Try not to mess this up."

Knuckles gives a chuckle of his own. "I'll take that as a 'good luck'." He looks around for a moment in confusion when Shadow doesn't answer. Shadow is already out of sight.

Knuckles turns his attention back to the rapidly-approaching battle with Discord. None of the fighters seem to have noticed that he waits in their path. He places both hands on the Master Emerald and takes a long breath, steeling himself for the moment to come.

—–—

Rouge limps through the forested area of the canyon, slowly drawing closer to the camp. She still holds tightly onto the data drive in her hand.

"You."

Rouge stops with a gasp as Shadow steps into her path. "Shadow!"

"I had a feeling you would be pulling the strings from somewhere nearby."

"Strings…? Shadow, no…it's not like that. I'm here to help." Seeming a bit disoriented, she holds out her data drive to show him. "I need to get this to Sonic. It's plans for–"

"I don't care what it is. You and your team won't be going anywhere near Sonic."

"Shadow, you don't understand. There is no team. I infiltrated Eggman's ranks so that we could have a better chance of stopping him. They all turned on each other the moment I tried to leave. Sly is…" She doesn't finish the thought.

"I understand perfectly. You think that I'll just believe anything you say after last time. But you won't fool me again. You aren't taking another step, not until you call off that creature."

"Creature…? Discord… I'm too late… Shadow, let me talk to him, and I might be able to do that." She resumes her limping walk forwards.

Shadow reiterates with an edge of anger in his voice, "Not another step." Rouge is halted once again. "If you can't stop it from where you stand, then contact someone who can."

"It doesn't work that way. There is no one else. He'll listen to me, but it has to be face-to-face."

"And that would put you exactly where you need to be. I'm not taking that risk. You're staying right there until this is over."

"There's no time, Shadow! It launches tonight! And if you're all busy here fighting Discord, millions of people are going to die!"

"It won't be long. Trust me."

Rouge clenches a fist tightly around the drive. "I wish that I could wait until this is sorted out. I want you trust me. But I need to do this now. Don't stop me." She begins to walk again.

With each of her steps closer to him, Shadow's anger builds, until it manifests as a red aura sparking around him. "I'm warning you…"

"I can't fight you, Shadow…"

Shadow closes his eyes, and takes a long breath. Then his eyes shoot open again. "You just lost your choice!" He strikes first with a kick, knocking her into the air. He immediately leaps up after her, grabs her by the throat, and slams her back into the ground. A single tear runs down from his eye. "Chaos Blast!"

—–—

Few fighters are left standing in the battle against Discord. Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Hero still fight with everything they have left. Discord shows no sign of fatigue as it attacks relentlessly, stepping ever farther along its path. But even Discord looks over in confusion at the nearby explosion.

Sonic seems to recognize the energy pattern immediately. "Shadow?"

Tails poses, "Maybe he found the rest of the Anti-Rebellion."

Amy notes, "He can't take them all on his own, he'll need help!"

Sonic bites his lip for a moment, looking over their meager forces, but then nods to her. "Go." He leaps over a renewed attack from Discord, repeating, "We'll be fine, go!" The attack instead hits Hero, who is slammed against the canyon wall, knocked unconscious not far from where Vector and Espio similarly lie.

Trying not to be concerned by it, Amy runs as fast as she can go from it. She notices Knuckles only as she runs right past him.

Before she can say anything, he shouts to her, "Keep going, help Shadow!"

Not sure what else to do, she listens. She quickly arrives at the shallow, smoking crater, where Shadow stands over a motionless figure. When Amy recognizes who it is, she gasps. "Shadow, no!"

Shadow stares off into the distance, answering flatly, "She tried to sneak into the camp. I had to stop her."

Amy shouts as she runs for the center of the cater, "She's on our side!"

"W-what? N-no, that, that can't be…can't…"

"Sonic planned all of this. He had me swear not to tell anyone. He said it was to keep her safe." She shakes Rouge by the shoulder. "Hey, come on, Rouge. You have to get up."

Miraculously, Rouge stirs slightly, struggling just to open her eyes. Dark burns have been added to her many bruises.

"That's it, come on." Amy helps her to her feet. "I'll take you to what's left of the med tent."

Rouge can't seem to stay on her own feet anymore, so Amy has to keep her supported by the shoulders. She answers weakly, "No… I…I have to stop the fight…"

Despite the worry on her face, Amy doesn't object, and starts to lead her back the way she came.

Shadow collapses to his knees behind them. Full of anger and despair, he breathes out, "Sonic…"

—–—

"You don't have to do this, Knuckles."

"You know what happens if I don't."

Left with only Tails by his side to hold back Discord, Sonic seems in no position to argue. He makes no move to stop Knuckles.

"This is how it has to be," Knuckles assures himself as much as he does Sonic. He doesn't waste any more time. "The servers are…the seven Chaos." The Master Emerald starts to glow brilliantly at his words. "Chaos is power…power is enriched by the heart." Discord suddenly halts in its struggle, turning sharply as it notices what Knuckles is doing. "The heart…is the spring…from which emotion flows." Sonic and Tails take advantage of Discord's momentary distraction, both attacking at once hard enough to knock it down into a puddle once again. "Emotion exists in the Light and in the Dark." The Master Emerald begins to lift into the air, revolving slowly at first, but ever faster. "The Light and Dark live in ever-shifting Balance." Not bothering to reform, Discord slides along the ground, now clearly intent on reaching Knuckles. Sonic stomps down on it, splattering it further. "The Balance is maintained by a Controller." Knuckles opens his eyes for long enough to give Sonic a solemn nod. Sonic glances back long enough to nod in return. But Discord is already taking form again. "The Controller serves to unify the Chaos. And–"

"Stop!" Supported by Amy, Rouge limps in, capturing everyone's attention. She directs her words, it seems, not just to Discord, but to everyone. "No more," she says. "No more fighting. No more violence. No more life wasted." Only as she stops halfway between Knuckles and Discord does she finally address the silent creature directly. "Discord…I know that isn't who you are… You are a kind and gentle creature. And you don't have to fight anymore."

Discord slowly raises its bulky hands up to its eyes, staring at them as they tremble.

"That's right," Rouge encourages. "Remember what you really are. You care for all life. You can't stand suffering. Don't cause any more suffering…"

Discord looks backwards at the destruction it's caused, the unconscious rebels piled against the canyon walls. It suddenly grabs at one of its own hands with the other, as if to stop itself from doing something.

Knuckles looks with concern at the conflicted motion. And he looks back to the Master Emerald, which still turns rapidly through the air, waiting for the prayer to be finished. Slowly, he resumes under his breath, "…the seven Chaos Emeralds are the servers. In this circle, a great power is born. The power to prevent the world's destruction."

The Master Emerald lets out a bright pulse of light. Discord roars in a fury. Rouge gasps.

No longer needing to keep quiet, Knuckles finishes with a shout as he throws his arms out wide, "Master Emerald, please! You must stop Discord!"

Rouge cries out, "NO!"

Discord stabs out with a hand.

The Master Emerald flashes with such a blinding light that the next moment is concealed from any view.

When the light finally fades, more is revealed than could ever be taken in at once. Knuckles is the first to see, as he slowly lowers the hands used to shield his face. Discord's hand, honed to a sharp point, has stopped inches from his chest. Slight amounts of red are diffusing into the clear blue water. It isn't his blood. Rouge stands directly in the path the stabbing attack must have taken, stopping Discord just short of its intended target. Discord doesn't retract its hand. The water simply falls, inert, as Rouge collapses to the ground. But Discord's attention is quickly taken away from Rouge as it notices the other figure that stands between it and the Master Emerald. A watery creature with longer fins and deep, green eyes. Chaos 0.

The two mutated creatures stare at one another in a communicative silence, one with eyes of green, the other of gold. Though Discord would have once been the less threatening of the two, its two-Emerald transformation has made Chaos appear small and scrawny by comparison. As if by some unspoken agreement, the two creatures suddenly leap at each other at once, both roaring, instantly melding together into an amorphous mass, making it impossible to tell where Chaos ends and Discord begins. Shapes of claws and teeth reach out from the mass to tear at another part of itself in a fight that can't possibly be tracked.

Knuckles pays no attention to the spectacle as he runs for the person who just saved his life. "Somebody help! She needs a doctor!" Tails and Amy are quick to run in. The two of them lift Rouge from the ground, and take her in the direction of the med tent.

Sonic and Knuckles alone are left to witness the battle between Chaos and Discord. A roar sounds out, though which creature it belongs to is unclear. But finally, shapes begin to emerge from the mass. The larger Discord is pinned to the ground by Chaos, whose hand still melds into Discord's chest to hold it there. The two creatures stare into each other's eyes for a moment longer. Then Chaos' arm begins to bubble and throb. Discord's mass, splayed along the ground, starts to recede, as if its entire body were being absorbed into Chaos. As more and more of Discord is pulled away, two Chaos Emeralds are left behind, and then, as the last of the water is removed, a darkly-colored Chao. The small creature looks up to Chaos with wonder in its eyes. "Cha…?" It collapses onto its back. Chaos gently strokes the unconscious Chao's head.

Sonic and Knuckles look to each other with as much surprise as the Chao showed.

"The fighting is over…harmony is restored…and life goes on."

Sonic and Knuckles turn with surprise, shouting at once, "Tikal!?"

The Echidna spirit gives them both a smile. "Chaos is not a force of destruction. It is a force of life. Discord felt the suffering of the life in this world, slowly corrupting its heart. It is an impossible burden to bear alone." The three of them look to Chaos, who still kneels over the Chao that has now become encased in a strange pink cocoon. "Chaos cannot lift that burden from himself. But he can lift it from another. Shoulder it upon himself. He was able to end Discord's suffering." She looks back to them. "But ending the world's suffering that drove Discord to madness…that falls upon you."

Sonic holds up a fist and nods. "We'll do it. You can count on us."

Knuckles complains, "I don't understand. Why did you want me to seal Discord away?"

Tikal shakes her head. "That was never what we wanted. It wasn't you who had to stop Discord alone. It was Discord who was alone. Alone in the world. And you who had to live." Chaos steps up beside her. She takes his hand. "And you must keep living." Their feet lift from the ground, and they rise into the air. "The world will always depend…on the Controller…and the Guardian…" As she smiles down on them, the two fade away into the moonlit overcast sky.

Knuckles stares up at the sky for a while, before finally putting on a smile of his own. He looks back down to the Chao cocoon on the ground. "Now, what to do with–"

To the sound of a high-pitched blast and a flash of red behind him, Knuckles collapses to the ground. Fang stands behind him, blaster still smoking, bearing his toothy grin. "Hello, Sonic. Long time no see."

To be continued…