aaahh sorry this one took so long! i just had to burn through that final stretch of the school year. but now summer's basically here, and i've got a lot more time on my hands to focus on my writing :) anyways enjoy, this one's pretty wack


XIV.

chaos (ˈkāˌäs)

[noun]

extreme, unpredictable disorder.


Another wave slammed into her, hard and brutal, and she was sent catapulting backwards across the dark chamber. Liquid electricity lashed at her flailing limbs and threatened to pull her under, eat her alive. It burned with vivacity and danger and something too poisonous and hot to be natural.

Sometimes, when the lighting caught it just right, the water looked less like water and more like—blood.

With a heaving gasp, she threw herself against the cool wall and groped at it to try and find some leverage to stabilize while she paused to catch her breath. Her chest still felt ajar from the wave that had crashed into her and her ribs ached a little. They were essentially trapped in the middle of a violent bout of rapids.

There was a splash from somewhere across the room, a desperate gasp, but the oscillating waters were too chaotic and the constant roar in her ears of the currents drowned out her senses and kept her from finding whoever it was.

"Amy!" It came from somewhere too far away. It made her heart skip a beat.

"Knuckles!" she cried back, but her voice was swallowed by the pandemonium bottled up in the room.

She didn't really—know how this all started. They had been sitting in the insulation chamber, focused on the Master Emerald, as usual. Knuckles had drifted off into some deep, meditative state, and she'd simply sat and waited for him.

And then the emerald shattered just a little more and seething hot water burst out and Chaos began to wreak havoc.

Because that was what this was, right? Chaos. The water god. Amy had dealt with it once, when Eggman tried using it and Sonic had to defeat it in Station Square, all those years ago. Chaos had seemed so… dismayed and frustrated back then. Now it just seemed feral.

They were quickly nearing the ceiling. Water was rushing continuously from the Master Emerald, still sunken down at the bottom of the wild, thunderous sea they were all trapped in. Amy suspected that Knuckles was attempting to reach it right now, but Chaos vastly overpowered both of them and it didn't seem like that would do much good.

Brushing her damp bangs from her eyes, she glanced over to the far corner of the chamber, nearest to her. Vanilla and Cream were in here, too—because of course they had picked now to stop by and give them some freshly baked goods—clutching for dear life onto a makeshift raft that was nothing more than a stray piece of wood. With some effort, Amy managed to wade her way over to them and grasp onto the plank.

"You guys okay?" she asked through labored breaths, struggling to lift her head above the turbulent waves.

Cream sputtered and Vanilla took a moment to help her daughter clamber up onto the raft more. "Fine, deary," the mother said, "Just help Mr. Knuckles."

"Found this, Miss Amy," Cream whimpered, suddenly, as she handed the hedgehog a spare walkie-talkie. Amy smiled in thanks and started fiddling with the controls to try and break through.

There were only so many people she could contact. Sonic, Rouge, and Espio were all incapacitated still—and oh, fuck, she had to pray they weren't drowning right now too—and the entirety of the resistance was probably dealing with the flooding throughout the rest of the base. But maybe—

The speakers hissed at her and Amy hurriedly got in, "Shadow, you need to get back here! We need help."

His voice barely managed through. "Amy? Wh… are—afe?"

From somewhere across the room something could be heard thudding against the wall, followed by a groan of pain. Fuck. "Please, Shadow, you need to hurry—"

A massive wave suddenly materialized over the three, looming and vicious and too fast to predict or avoid. It collapsed over them and Amy lost hold of the raft as she was sent reeling underwater, spinning and thrashing against the current. The water was too dark and she didn't know which way was up anymore; she lost sight of Vanilla and Cream.

The water—Chaos—was alive. It thrummed against her skin like a heartbeat, like a writhing newborn coursing with energy in its veins. The occasional flicker of red energy would stream past her like branches of lightning, snappy and biting. The current convulsed, pressing and pulling at her unsteadily with every passing moment.

Chaos had been dormant for so long and now it was—it was awake again. Bursting at the seams with that parasite, the red, so much so that it didn't know how to contain it. Far away—past the strong currents and lashes of red—she could see a glimpse of green buried at the bottom of the room. It was dull and meager and crumbling, now, but the Master Emerald was still standing. And if she could just—just get to it—

Amy was suddenly thrown back against the wall and she immediately sucked in a gulp of air as her face breached the surface. She struggled to stay above the water, let alone regain her bearings or piece together her jumbled thoughts. She didn't know where everyone else was and the water was rising too fast and she could barely breathe—

The entire chamber shook, then, as if overtaken by an earthquake. And a horrible roar ripped itself from the throat of Chaos.


If Sonic didn't know any better, he'd think the water was alive. There was something burning hot and vigorous running along the currents that hissed through the cracks in the doors and lapped against the walls. As it rose up his body and eventually to his neck, it almost felt like it'd been set on fire—as if that could even happen to water.

And it was probably farfetched, but he had to admit that this wasn't a regular flood (although, really, nothing about this situation was normal. There shouldn't be a flood in the first place. Where was the water even coming from?)

It was getting to the point where he couldn't hide on top of the bed anymore. It was rising too fast and he still had to keep Rouge's head above the surface so she wouldn't drown, as he frantically tried to stir her awake and Espio worked adamantly at shattering the ceiling-high window across the room. The ninja would push off to the surface and steal a gulp of air, plunge back under and whittle at the seams and cracks in the glass with his kunai, rinse and repeat. And it was driving Sonic insane because he wasn't making any progress.

"Espio?" he rasped, eventually, tipping his chin up to avoid getting water in his mouth. "You gotta—I can't swim, Espio. I can't swim, I can't—"

The chameleon surfaced and treaded for a moment. There was panic wrought on his face but he somehow managed to keep his cool. Sonic wished he could say the same. "I need you to take a deep breath. We're going to get out of here, I promise."

He was trying, but his chest felt tight and fluttery and the water was everywhere, they were going to drown, they were going to—

Espio was at his side, suddenly, squeezing his arm and trying to draw the still-unconscious Rouge from him. Sonic would have questioned or refuted, but he was preoccupied with trying to calm himself down. Breathing was quickly escalating into hyperventilating and that was the last thing any of them needed.

"I know you hate it, but we don't really have any other options." Espio swallowed thickly. "I need you to try and break the window. I can't do much with my fists or kunai."

Sonic's breath hitched. "We can't—I—"

"Hey, just breathe. Calm down."

It was so hard. His eyes burned with salt and he couldn't tell if it was the water or tears.

But then the flood reached the point where it was impossible to stand on solid ground anymore and there was only another foot or so until it would reach the ceiling. Sonic gasped and threw his arms to the wall to try and grab onto something to keep him afloat, but he was alone, he was going to die—

"Sonic," Espio heaved, suddenly, and it was enough to snap the hedgehog out of his frenzy. The reptile was kicking at the water vehemently, just barely keeping Rouge's head above it. "I can't—she's too heavy. Please."

He was hit with a sudden realization, in that moment, that the thing he hated most wasn't water. It was letting them win. It was not being good enough.

Fear seized his body like ice and seemed to trap him in place, but with a deep breath of air Sonic pushed off of the wall in one powerful, fluid movement, and glided seamlessly through the murky rapids. He could hear his heartbeat pounding in his head, against his temples, and the darkness was so suffocating and withering, but he pushed on, anyways. Ignored the fact that he was so, so scared.

Because he had to do better. After being gone for so long—after letting everyone down—he had to prove he could do this. He had to.

With the momentum he gained Sonic curled into a ball and threw himself as hard as he could into the window. There was a muted thud and it was hard to see through the thick, poisoned liquid, but he was confident it had to have done something. He kicked it and threw his fists at it till his knuckles felt raw and bruised and his ankles throbbed. He didn't dare come up for air until his entire chest was alight with deprivation.

Sonic breached the surface and the whole world was spinning on its head. The rapids were scarily violent and he couldn't see Espio and Rouge anymore, aside from the occasional shout and thud on the other side of the room that had to be the chameleon banging on the door and pleading for help. Sonic's body screamed at him to get out and breathe, but he went against all his senses and dove under again, spindashing right into the sturdy pane of glass.

He kept going again until his entire body felt bruised and his vision was spotty and his lungs ached, before pushing back up. This time there was hardly any air left and the water had practically reached the ceiling. Sonic wavered and scrambled to catch his breath for a few seconds and he was positive that he was crying now because there was no way they'd make it out, they were going to drown, he was going to die—and he plunged back under.

He was determined, if nothing else. To fight till he had no fight left in him. Sonic made his way back to the window and straddled the frame to keep himself from floating away, and rammed his fists relentlessly against it. Just outside, through the blurriness of his eyesight and the fog of the rapids, he could see greenery. He could see the moon shining gloriously in the night sky.

His lungs cried for him and his limbs trembled. He felt like he was trapped in a jar of molasses, now, too slow to break out. Not enough time. Not enough time. He never—he never had the chance to—

Every muscle and bone in Sonic's body groaned at him, and he relented. Let himself drift. Bubbles escaped from his lips and a furious pain burned deep in his chest, absent of any air, but he did nothing to stop it. He had no more strength left in him.

He was going to die at the hands of his worst nightmare. To water. To failure.

Something foreign and chilling raced up his body, an instant reprieve from the seething water that scorched his skin, and it was sudden and jarring enough to make him blink his eyes open and try to squint through the dim waters. There was a vague glint through the glass, too small and insignificant to matter, but something about it pulled at him longingly. Urgently.

And then it grew, intensified, and there was an explosive crash and the water gave way and Sonic was engulfed in gold.


The moment their feet were back on solid ground, Shadow felt off-kilter. Because frankly, he'd anticipated a lot of different scenarios upon their return—fiery destruction, screams of terror, some sort of battle, anything—but instead they were met with an eerie silence and the distant sound of rushing water.

He took a hesitant step forward and frowned at the way his skate squished into the grass like he was in some sort of marsh. That wasn't right. They were on the outskirts of the central clearing on Angel Island, HQ only a few hundred meters away. It was a field, not a swamp.

From behind him, Guntiver murmured, "So where is everyone?"

A long stretch of silence followed because nobody really knew how to answer that question. It was considerably dark out and given the fact that the resistance intended to stay hidden from Eggman and his forces, they decided to steer away from using much lighting. The building was therefore nothing more than a massive dark silhouette, barely legible through the thick air of the night.

And then Shadow felt it.

Something shifted, something permeable and alive, and a rumbling groan rolled out of the structure in a heavy wave of toxic energy. It shook the ground beneath their feet made their hair stand on end. The very oxygen Shadow breathed felt sharp and electric as it travelled down his throat.

"Shit," he hissed, jogging forwards. The padding footsteps behind him signified that the others were following close behind. "Something's wrong. Really wrong."

By the time they were at the walls of the towering building, grassy, hot water had seeped up to their ankles. It was trickling through the seams of every window and beneath the cracks of every door. The entire HQ had to be completely flooded.

Shadow turned to Tails, who bit his lip and shuddered. "Chaos."

"What?"

"No, I think—" the kit's eyes were wide and terrified as he spoke, "I think it's Chaos. The Chaos."

Bunnie did a double take. "Sorry, you mean the mythical, all-powerful water god, Chaos?"

And then realization smacked Shadow in the face, unwelcoming and harsh, because of course. He'd still been in cryostasis at the time, but he remembered Sonic telling him about how once, when he must've only been fourteen or fifteen, Eggman managed to awaken the dormant god and unleash it on Station Square. And how Sonic defeated it, and they stored it once more within the Master Emerald—the same Master Emerald that was currently locked up in the heart of HQ, very unstable and very contaminated with an unknown source of antagonizing energy.

"No," Shadow said, swallowing hard. "The real water god, Chaos."

As his words left his mouth, another roar split through the air, this one much more thunderous. The entire group was shaken from their frozen terror, and glanced amongst each other as though waiting for someone to come up with a plan, because this was honestly disastrous.

"Shadow," Tails said critically. "What happened to the Master Emerald?"

But they didn't—they didn't have any—"There's no time," he snapped back. "You three," he gestured to Vector, Charmy, and Guntiver, "come with me; we'll head to the left wing. Silver, you lead the others to the right. Check the windows and see if anybody inside needs help. We'll meet on the other side of the building."

Shadow was already sprinting towards his destination, trying to get a good look through every window that he passed to only be met with murky, swashing rapids on the other side of the glass. He needed to get to the hospital wing, because there were currently three greatly injured and probably unconscious people in there that were likely in desperate need of help, and it was driving him mad just thinking about it. Some of his closest friends, his hydrophobic fiancé, trapped, drowning, with no way out—

There was movement and a blob shifting around through a particular window, distinctly cerulean blue, that made Shadow skid to a stop and gaze horrifyingly at it. It was hard to make out but yes, fuck, that was most definitely his idiot hedgehog, and his movements were too sluggish and still for Shadow's comfort.

Before he could think, he already had golden energy crackling at his fingertips, before the light expanded around his fist and he sent a Chaos Spear piercing through the window. From behind, he almost heard Vector shout something, but it was instantly drowned out by the shattering of glass and the massive roar of water that came gushing out of the room. Shadow braced himself but was knocked over, anyways, by the mere force of the wave.

When he opened his eyes he was strewn across the mushy grass, sat in a massive puddle that stretched out several meters from the flood he just incurred. Vector, Charmy, and the coyote were all jogging over to catch up and—and three more bodies were laying down in the marsh with him.

Shadow was at Sonic's side in an instant, rolling him on his back and shaking his shoulders. Sonic's eyelids fluttered and he groaned softly but he seemed completely out of it. He was drenched and clammy. His chest rose a little before violently racking—like there was something stuck in there that kept him from breathing properly.

Shadow's blood ran cold and he started doing compressions. He pressed hard against his chest at regular intervals, trying to ignore the way his arms were shaking and panic was bubbling up his throat. He had to be okay, he had to—

Sonic jolted upwards suddenly, sputtering and heaving as water spilled down his chin. His eyes were wide and scared and potent with something that made Shadow feel sick. He took a moment to reorient himself, glancing around the clearing like he wasn't exactly sure how he got here, before his eyes landed on Shadow and he sighed in relief.

"H-Hey."

The ebony hedgehog rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm over his shoulders. The others had already caught up and were helping Espio and Rouge, too, who seemed to be alright.

"Hey, yourself." He pressed his forehead to Sonic's, willing a bit of Chaos energy from his palms to try and heat him up. The speedster was shaking uncontrollably, and he couldn't tell if it was from the cold or the trauma. "You okay?"

Sonic swallowed thickly and coughed a bit. "I am, now."

"Are you sure? What about your arm?"

He shook his head and smiled slightly. "Positive. And, still broken, but that's probably for the best."

Shadow grimaced. "Right." He withdrew slightly from their position, in which he was practically cradling Sonic in his arms because fuck off, he had every right to be worried. Espio was being fawned over by Vector and Charmy, and Guntiver was helping Rouge to her feet. When she saw Shadow, a bit of calm shone through her eyes.

She escaped Guntiver's grasp easily, her walk retaining a minor limp from her bad ankle. Her broken wing drooped pitifully from her back. She smiled uncertainly. "Hey, uh. What the hell is going on?"

Sonic pursed his lips as the two hedgehogs stood up, and looked privately to Shadow. "She was still unconscious during… all of that."

"Holy Chaos," Shadow muttered. He looked back to Rouge, just as approached him. "HQ is completely flooded. We don't really know—"

"It's gotta be Chaos," Sonic said, glancing anxiously back at the dark building. "That—energy. I know it. But it's so much more…"

"Unstable?"

"Hostile," he amended, his brows furrowed. "But yeah, that too. No idea where it came from, though. Last I thought, Chaos was taking a nice, long nap with Tikal. That was like, over five years ago."

Shadow mulled his words over in his mind. "Which means something woke it up. And I think we know what."

The Chaotix joined them, along with Guntiver. Espio was clutching his chest and leaning against Vector.

Rouge looked the coyote up and down. "So. New guy?"

"Long story," Shadow brushed off, "we can explain it later. He's a friend."

The brute smiled but it was plagued with fatigue. "The name's Guntiver. Wish I could'a met you all in different circumstances."

Sonic crossed his arms and shuddered against Shadow's side. "I think we all wish we were in different circumstances right now."

Just as the words left his mouth, the sound of splitting concrete snapped through the air from above, at the top of HQ. An explosive howl rumbled through the air, deep and horrible and omnipotent. A torrent of water gushed straight into the air, like a massive pillar, and the very roof of the structure crumbled along with it. The entire group nearly lost their balance from the suddenness and audacity of the scene.

Shadow blinked rapidly and struggled to catch his breath. "What the fuck."


Knuckles could see her, scrambling to stay above the surface, from across the room. He could also nearly see the rabbits huddled together on the raft, although they were even further away—which was really a good thing, because he needed those two as far away from the action as possible.

"Amy!" he called out, and she didn't seem to hear him so he tried again. Jade eyes locked onto him this time. "I need to get to the emerald! Use your hammer!"

She looked at him in a bewildered state of confusion, so he took to big gesticulations to demonstrate his meaning. Amy processed for a moment before making a motion that looked somewhat like a nod. Knuckles supposed he'd have to take that and roll with it.

He waded backwards until his back was to a wall, scrunching up his face as a wave of water slapped against him, and propelled himself from it as hard as he could. He used the momentum to curl into a spindash as he skidded over the surface of the water towards Amy. He prayed to all the gods he could think of that she was prepared.

Something hard slammed against him and Knuckles was sent careening in the opposite direction, plunging underwater. Pride swelled in his chest for her. That's my girl.

As the water ripped past him he uncurled, keeping his fists in front of him as he quickly approached the Master Emerald, burrowed at the heart of the raging sea. Its currents whipped against him like electric tendrils but he pushed past them, rushing closer and closer to the mass of green. If he could just shatter it, then—

The water reverberated against his skin, rippling unnaturally, and then a jet of it slammed hard against him just before he could reach the emerald. Precious air bubbles burst from his lips and suddenly he was spinning out of control, his stomach doing back flips as he shot further and further from the Master, until he collided against a wall. He groaned in pain and didn't have any fight left to contradict the hands that curled around his wrists and started dragging him upwards.

When Knuckles found himself above the surface again, Amy was holding him. Amy. "Shit," she hissed. "You okay? That looked painful. I—I didn't hit you too hard back there, did I?"

He gasped for air. "Y—Yes, fine, I'm fine. You're fine. We need—Chaos is—"

Before he could even get out the rest of his words, the water god belted out a shriek and began to oscillate aggressively. It—It shot straight upwards like a beacon, bursting through the roof, leaving them abruptly alone in significantly calmer, shallower, and un-alive waters. And that was good, yes, because at least they weren't going to drown anymore, but now it was also a lot fucking worse because—

Because now Chaos was on the loose.


They'd only just rounded the corner when an explosion sounded from atop the building and a waterfall came pouring down directly in front of them. The puddle left in its wake squirmed on the ground for a moment, before reforming into a corporeal being that sent an eerie wave of déjà vu shuddering across Tails' mind.

It warped and rippled unsettlingly, like it couldn't decide on a form, like everything that composed it was completely unhinged—which probably rang true. It finally began to settle until Chaos stood about three feet taller than the mobians, with a broad torso and lanky arms. Its head looked sort of like a cross, with its weird pink brain floating around inside. But the creepy part was how it didn't just have two green eyes anymore—one of them was red, and likewise, flickers of red glimmered across its convulsing form like blood vessels.

Chills raced down Tails' spine and he tentatively held out his electric sword.

Gadget yelped from beside him. "What the hell is that?!"

Silver and Bunnie braced themselves for a battle as the former said, with narrowed eyes, "I think that's Chaos."

On cue, the ravenous god lunged forward, directly towards Gadget who yelled in shock and lost his footing at the sight of a water monster twice his size coming right for him. Panic seized Tails and he instinctively grabbed Gadget, yanking him backwards so hard that they both fell to the ground. Bunnie leapt to the side and aimed her arm-cannon, charging up a blast.

A blanket of turquoise then spread over Chaos and managed to barely contain it. Silver maintained a steady aim of his palms, but his face was screwed up in concentration. "Holy shit. You guys better figure out a plan fast because I dunno how long I can hold this guy!"

And then Amy leapt down from the roof, stumbling forwards before catching herself, and looking uneasily at the group. She glanced at Chaos and smiled wearily. "Oh, good, you guys—wait, Tails?!"

The teenager blanched. "Amy—"

"Well, now, isn't this rich."

Everything froze.

They all turned to the sound of the voice, a wave of terror lapsing collectively over them. A warm glow of red was drifting down from above. Two rabbits, dread written across their faces from inside the carmine bubble, stared desperately at their friends, as their captor touched down to the ground.

Infinite cocked his head and chuckled delightedly. "Don't you all just love reunions?"

A feeling of pure hatred surged up Tails and he clenched his Wispon tighter. "What do you want?"

The jackal hummed noncommittally before looking up at the roof of HQ and lightly bobbing his chin. There was a yell of frustration from above before Knuckles came soaring down, trapped in a similar red light, and was thrown haphazardly against a tree. Amy jostled and started towards him, but then a whip of scarlet hooked around her ankle and tripped her.

Infinite placed his foot against her chest, pressing her against the damp grass as she grunted in pain.

He eyed Chaos keenly, ignoring Tails entirely. "Hm, so this must be the beauty behind all the ruckus? I have to say, I've been observing this—catastrophe unfold since last night, and it's really quite pathetic. None of you really picked up on the sudden rise of energy? Are you really that oblivious?"

Tails wanted, more than anything, to march right up to the sick bastard and slice his head off, but he couldn't. Not when his friends were in danger. No. He needed to be careful. "Let them go."

Infinite's gaze shifted back to him and the others. He laughed lowly. "Sorry, but I don't think you understand the definition of leverage."

Silver was shaking, and sweat beaded down his face; he couldn't hold Chaos for much longer. Gadget was still reeling on the ground and Bunnie was right behind Tails, but then Infinite still had Knuckles and Cream and Vanilla trapped in red bubbles. Amy was currently pinned beneath his fucking boot.

"Look around yourself, boy." Infinite dug his heel a bit more into Amy's chest, and she flinched. "You don't get to make demands, here. I'll only let your precious friends go if you meet my conditions, as well."

Tails was trembling, a seething hot anger wrestling his conscious and willpower. He bit his tongue. "Fine."

"Excellent!" From beneath the mask, a golden eye twinkled maliciously, and he chuckled. "I want the god."


hdfjgksdhkg talk ab intense, huh? we're so close to having the whole gang together again, but now infinite's here to crash the party :,) this chapter was originally gonna be longer, but i decided to split it up. next one is gonna chill out a little, i promise. kind of. hehehe

drop a review or follow/fav if ur enjoying so far! your continued support means sm to me!