Chapter 10
A few hours pass as Sophia and TK enter the kitchen looking exhausted, "I don't like those looks…" Brandy said handing them plates of food.
"The majority of the computers are fried, but apparently we have countless replacements that should be installed by tonight." Sophia said as they all begin to eat. Brandy stands up to grab something as they hear a phone buzz and they all check their phones. TK takes out a second phone with a blue case as she gets a pained look on her face.
"What is it?" Caroline asked,
"It's Saya's parents…"
"They haven't been told…" Brandy said, as they all sit silently not knowing how to handle the situation.
"We need to find our other members… it might be the only way to save Saya." Sophia said,
"I need to get back to work… The longer we're offline the longer it'll take for us to find them." She stands up as Brandy notices that TK barely touched her food.
"No way!" Brandy yelled as she stops looking at her confused, "You're not going back to work until you eat." She demanded s TK sat back down as they all sat while TK ate. They knew she was worried and the news about Saya was causing her to hyper focus, but she needed her energy to continue.
"Am I good now?" She asked sarcastically,
"Yes, please don't push yourself." Brandy said as TK waves them off and leaves the room.
"I think I'm going to train for a bit…" Sophia said leaving as well as Caroline and Brandy clean up their food.
"How long do you think it will take Tikal?" Caroline asked,
"I'm not sure, we can go check up on her if you want." Brandy said as she nodded. The head back towards the Alter room. Both of them thinking about who the other servers could be. Were they all girls? Boys? Neither? What would they be like?
"There you are!" Tikal pops in front of them causing them to jump.
"You really need to stop doing that." Brandy said,
"I apologize, but I was able to find one of the other servers." She said,
"Where?" Caroline asked,
"They are at Station Square University." She said,
"Great, that only narrows it down to over a thousand people." Brandy said,
"That's why we have this!" TK walks up from behind them holding the tablet. "We'll be able to find them easily with my Emerald locator!" she smiled, as Sophia walks up,
"Well guys, let's go introduce ourselves." She said as she transforms into Shadow.
That very same morning at Station Square University an alarm sounds in one of the dorm rooms. However the student lying in bed did nothing to stop it, he stayed up too late the night before working on his paper. "Kolt, if you don't turn off your alarm, I'm going to kill you." He heard his roommate Matt mumble through his pillow. Kolt reaches out his hand and stops the alarm. He sits up and stretches letting out a loud yawn. The light through the window reflects the light into his eyes from the bracelet on his wrist. He couldn't believe this small bracelet came from the sky; he attempted many ways to remove it from his wrist. But a part of him felt drawn into the red gem embedded within the bracelet. Realizing he began to zone out as he stared at the bracelet. He climbs out of bed and gets dressed looking over at his roommate jealously as he got to sleep in since his finals were over. He just had one more paper to turn in along with one more test and his first year of college would be over. He left the room and headed towards the library where he could get some quiet studying in before his test.
He stops by the cafeteria for a quick snack before going to the library. Ever since the Aliens came a couple of months ago, lots of students transferred to different schools to get away from the chaos, his parents offered to transfer him as well, but he saw no need to. Besides, his favorite teacher worked here… Even though he's been absent for the past two months. Kolt began to worry that maybe he got injured in one of the alien attacks, he decided to go check his office after his test.
His time in the library goes by quickly as he heads to his first class to turn in his final paper. This was one of the only papers he enjoyed writing since he got to do research on precious gems. He looks down again at his bracelet still baffled at the size of the perfectly cut gem. He attempted to remove it from the bracelet before, but it was stuck just like it was stuck around his wrist. He wanted to talk to his teacher Professor Ivo about it, but how do you contact a guy who you haven't been able to get a hold of by phone or email for months? Even if his professor was around to take a look at it, he still felt protective of it like it was his responsibility. He hands in his assignment and leaves the classroom,
"Hey Kolt, wait up!" He hears behind him as his roommate Matt runs up to him, "I'm surprised you actually finished your paper on time,"
"What? You didn't think I would?" Kolt asked,
"Well, you're usually so spacey that you forget when assignments are due." He laughed,
"I am not spacey!" He snapped back,
"Geez! What's with the attitude? You've had a really short fuse lately," He said walking away. Kolt had noticed it too that he was easily annoyed and quick to anger… but he didn't think he was spacey. He heads towards his final test, after that he's free for the summer.
Two hours pass and Kolt is the last person to turn in his test. Psychology has never been his thing, but he hoped he studied enough to pass. He makes his way over to the science teacher offices where he was hoping Professor Ivo would be there, but he quickly sees others trying to do the same and notice the doors locked. He lets out a large sigh as he hears some commotion coming from the dorms and heads over to check it out.
"Is it really them?" He overhears someone say as he sees a crowd of people looking at something. He makes his way through the crowd to see what all of the commotion is.
"They have to be one of the students." Tails said as he sees who everyone was starting at. The Freedom Fighters, four of them were looking around half uncomfortable with all the people staring at them. He couldn't believe they were really half animal.
"Can you tell which one?" Shadow asked,
"They're close," Tails said turning towards Kolt and looks up, They're one of the people in front of us."
"Which one?" Blaze asked as Tails walks closer to the crowd not looking at anyone's faces but looking for something else.
"Him!" Tails points at Kolt, "He has the bracelet." She said as all the people around Kolt step away from him,
"Oh I'm so happy we found you!" Cream said,
"Uh…" Kolt backs away slowly suddenly feeling overwhelmed,
"Wait! We need to talk to you." Tails said,
"Why?" he asked,
"Not here, somewhere else." Blaze said looking at the crowd.
"You already made a scene…" Kolt said,
"That's not the point, we can't talk here." Shadow said starting to get impatient.
"Please, could we have a word with you?" Tails asked,
"Uh… no thanks, I think I'll pass."
"Seriously? We didn't come all this way for you to say no." Shadow said,
"Calm down Shadow, he doesn't even know what's going on." Cream tried to calm her down,
"That's why he needs to come with us so we can explain." Blaze said,
"Listen, I'm not going anywhere with you." He said turning around and walking away as the crowd just watches in anticipation. Shadow warps in front of Kolt blocking his path,
"We're no longer asking!" She said punching him in the stomach knocking him out.
"Shadow!" Tails said as Shadow throws Kolt over her shoulder.
"We don't have time! Let's go." She said walking over to the Twin Tornado.
"Please excuse us." Cream apologized to the crowed as they followed after Shadow.
They quickly leave back to freedom HQ and carry Kolt over to the Infirmary. "What the heck is going on?" Dr. Q asked,
"Ask questions later," Shadow said, "We need to talk to him."
"I should make sure he's alright,"
"I only knocked the wind out of him; besides, it was taking too long. Any longer and the press might have showed up." Shadow said as Kolt sits up holding his stomach.
"I'm so sorry that Shadow punched you, she can get impatient at times." Cream said giving Shadow a look, "We're the Freedom Fighters,"
"I know who you are," He said standing up, "I just don't see why you brought me here."
"We need your help." Tails said,
"With what?"
"Our friends been kidnapped…" Blaze said,
"The blue one, right? I saw it on the news, what was her name?"
"Sonic…" Cream said,
"I still don't understand what this has to do with me." Kolt argued,
"You're one of us." Shadow said,
"I'm not half animal…" Kolt said,
"Your bracelet." Tails said as they all transform, "These are Chaos Emeralds, we use them to tap into our past lives." She said, they all show their bracelets. The words Chaos Emeralds echoed in his head as they continue to explain everything and reintroduce themselves.
"We want you to help us. With your power we might be strong enough to save Sonic." TK said,
"No," Kolt said,
"No?" Sophia said
"No, this isn't my fight, it isn't fair for me to be dragged into this. I don't know this Sonic girl, why should I help? You might have forced me here, but you can't make me join you." He said half expecting Sophia to hit him again as Caroline stops her and shakes her head.
"He's right Sophia, we can't force him." She said as Sophia looks at Caroline then back at Kolt.
"If Saya dies… I will come after you." She said as she storms out of the room,
"Who's Saya?"
"Sonic's real name… The other names we have are the names from our past lives." TK said,
"We'll have a car drop you off at the university." Brandy said not making eye contact with Kolt, he would tell she was just as mad as Sophia, but she was trying to hide it.
"I'll take you to the car," Caroline said as they walk out of the Infirmary.
"Do you work for the military?" He asked,
"I can't say." She said as she leads him to a car that was waiting. "I'm sorry if we caused you any trouble but… if you could please think about it… Joining us I mean, you wouldn't just be helping us save our friend but other people as well. A lot of people are in danger and we need all the help we can get."
"I'll…" He could see the genuine look in her eyes made it hard to say no to her. "I'll give it some thought…"
"That's all I ask." She said with a smile as Kolt gets into the car, "I hope we meet again."
"Yeah…" He said as he closed the door as the driver takes him back to the school in silence.
Kolt finally gets back to his dorm to see Matt pacing around their room. "You're back! I thought you got arrested." He said,
"Nope…"
"What happened?" he asked,
"I… don't really want to talk about it right now… It's been a long day and I just want to get some sleep." He said as his stomach growls loudly as they both pause for a moment then laugh.
"Fine, but let's get some food before you crash, I don't want to listen to your stomach all night." He joked as they head to the cafeteria and eat some food. Random people come up to them to ask Kolt questions, but he just tells them to get lost. They begin to head towards the dorm when they hear crashes and screams around the corner,
"Someone's in trouble!" Matt said running around the corner towards the screams,
"Haven't I had enough excitement for one day?" Kolt said running after him. He turns the corner to see a giant robot standing over Matt and a girl he was trying to kelp, "Matt, get out of there!" He yelled as the robotic hand reaches for them, but they disappear in a flash of green light before it grabs them. Another green flash appears in front of Kolt and his friend and the girl were in front of them with Shadow.
"Get out of here." She said as they thank her and run away, "Didn't think I'd have to see you again anytime soon." She said glaring at Kolt,
"It's not like I asked for this to happen," He argued,
"Just stay out of the way."
"Kolt? Is that you?" He hears a familiar voice; one he hasn't heard in a while.
"Professor Ivo?" Kolt said looking around but doesn't see him. The top dome on the robot opens up and he sees his Professor controlling it.
"This is an interesting turn of events." He said,
"Wha… What are you doing?" Kolt asked taking a step towards the robot but Shadow places her hand in front of him.
"Stay back Kolt." She said,
"My, My, Shadow the Hedgehog; don't you look different." He said as the other Freedom Fighters walk up and stand next to her. "And Tails! Not just the little kid sidekick anymore I see. It's so odd to see how much has changed." He said,
"Yet it seems you haven't changed at all, Dr. Robotnik." Shadow said,
"Robotnik? What's going on?" Kolt asked. Why were they calling his professor by a different name? How did he know who they are? His head began to spin feeling overwhelmed,
"Kolt, you need to stay back. It's not safe here." Cream said,
"I didn't expect to make such a scene but there was a high level of Chaos energy and I thought there might be a Chaos Emerald nearby." He said looking around,
"Where is Sonic!" Tails said,
"Oh, she's fine… Albeit, she won't be running anytime soon," He said with a laugh as flames start to come off Blaze.
"What did you do to her?" she yelled as she attacks, and they begin to fight. Kolt didn't know what to do, he was so confused. His teacher was piloting a giant metal robot fighting the Freedom Fighters. It was almost too much for him to comprehend.
"Kolt, move!" Tails yelled as she pushes him out on the way and gets knocked down,
"I'm sorry you got caught in the middle of the Kolt." Eggman's voice adjusts to a softer tone as the robot leans towards him. "I promise, I'll make this quick so I can explain everything."
"Stay away from him!" Cream said standing between him and Kolt,
"Stay out of this rodent!" His voice changes back as he swats her away from Kolt.
"Cream!" Shadow yelled running to her side. Without thinking Kolt runs towards them but is quickly grabbed by one of the giant metal hands and lifted off the ground.
"Let him go!" Blaze said,
"One more step and I squash him!" He threatened as the grip tightens around Kolt as he was beginning to struggle to breathe. They all stop giving worried looks. "That's better, now we can have our little chat," He said turning towards me. "I'm sorry you had to get in the middle of this Kolt, but it couldn't be avoided.
"You're insane." Kolt said struggling to get free. This was not the Professor Ivo he knew.
"Oh now, don't say that. And here I was going to offer you to join me." Eggman said with a grin.
"What?"
"Don't do it Kolt! It's a trick!" Tails said,
"Quiet you!" He snapped, "Now, what do you say Kolt? Join me and live? Or refuse and die!" Kolt didn't know what to do, he felt trapped and powerless… he didn't have the strength to get free.
"You do have the strength." He heard a familiar voice in his head, "The Seven Servers are the seven Chaos." The voice said,
"The seven servers are the seven Chaos," Kolt repeated out loud as Eggman looks at him confused. Kolt has heard this saying and before he even realized it, he began to say the entire thing, "Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart, the heart is the controller, the controller serves to unify the Chaos, Chaos Control." He said as he's enveloped by a red light as his past memories return to him.
"What?" Eggman said surprised as the metal hand is forced open as he shows his new form. His hair turned red and was in long dreadlocks, wearing a red sleeveless shirt with a white boomerang shape on the chest. Dark army green shorts and red shoes. He punches his spiked boxing gloves together. He remembered everything. He was Knuckles the Echidna, guardian of the Master Emerald and last of his kind.
"It… can't be!" He said,
"You better believe it Eggman! We're going to take you down and save Sonic!" He said,
"Damn! You won this round. But you will never save Sonic!" Eggman said laughing as he disappears in front of Knuckles. The others run over to him.
"We're taking you down?" Blaze repeated what he said,
"What can I say, I had the right motivation." Knuckles said,
"I'm so glad it's you!" Tails hugs him with tears in her eyes, "Sorry…"
"I should be the one saying sorry… I turned you all away when you needed my help."
"You didn't know." Cream said,
"But now I do and that makes me feel worse." Knuckles said as Shadow holds out her hand.
"Welcome to the Freedom Fighters Knuckles." She said with a smile.
"Glad to be here." He said taking her hand.
In the middle of the night Caroline was struggling with a nightmare until it caused her to wake up screaming. The four of them burst awake not knowing what was happening. Brandy quickly went to Caroline's room as the others opened their doors seeing her run in and follow after her.
"Caroline? Are you alright?" Brandy burst into the room as she sees Caroline sitting in her bed crying. She went over and sat next to her holding her in her arms. The others followed in Sophia sat at the foot of the bed and TK and Kolt on the floor around her.
"Did you have a nightmare?" TK asked as Caroline answered with a nod.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Kolt asked,
"We…" She takes a deep breath, "We were surrounded by Eggman and his robots… There was no way out. All of us were hopeful that Sonic would show up to save the day like he always does but…" She began to cry again as Brandy her tighter. "He killed Sonic…"
"That's not going to happen," TK said,
"How do you know? It's been two weeks and we still haven't completed the Master Emerald."
"Because I'm here now," Kolt said, "I'm the guardian of the Master Emerald, we'll find the missing pieces and Save Sonic."
"Thank you… All of you." Caroline said,
"We're always here for you if you need us Caroline." Brandy said holding her hand.
"Do you want us to stay here?" Sophia asked as she nods, Brandy climbs into the bed still holding Caroline in her arms as the other three grab their blankets and pillows and sleep around her bed.
"This isn't awkward for any of you… is it?" Kolt said trying not to look uncomfortable sleeping in a room full of girls he met just a few days ago.
"Just go to sleep," TK said curling up in her blanket as he just quietly lies down, and they all fall back asleep.
Back in Eggman's Underwater Base, Saya was still recovering from her broken leg, luckily the terrible constant pain had subsided. Eggman had placed it in a splint after it broke which surprised her that he took the time to do that. She knew how much trouble she truly was in, she used up the energy within the Chaos Emerald and now she is not healing as quickly. Not to mention being so far away from the Master Emerald meant that it would take even longer for it to recharge making it impossible for her to rely on transforming into Sonic to escape. She spiraled as she realized how it all went wrong so fast. All she could do now was stay strong, but she didn't know how long her body can take getting electrocuted. A loud screeching noise is heard outside the door as two Swatbots walk in with a funny looking wheelchair. Saya wondered if Eggman put it together using random scraps of metal.
"In the Chair." One of them said as it grabs her by the forearms and shoves her in the chair. At least she can be thankful he's not making her walk on a broken leg. They wheel her to Eggman's Lab as she covers her ears from the horrible sound the chair made.
"Ya know Eggman, if you wanted to torture me, I think you could have found an easier way than making this pile of junk." Saya said.
"It's only temporary. You tried to make a run for it faster than I expected. I had to retaliate. And it's not like I just have a wheelchair in by back closet."
"What can I say, I don't like enclosed spaces." She said shrugging, "Still, breaking my leg was low, even for you."
"It will heal, except…" He looks at her leg, "Maybe not as quickly as it's supposed to… how unusual. Maybe because we're so far away from the Master Emerald?" He said as Saya uses her hand to cover her wrist in her lap. She knew it was only a matter of time before he found it, but she still had to try to keep it hidden. "None the less, I need to take some more blood from you." He said holding a syringe.
"Really?" She said flinching as he sticks the needle in her arm. "Why do you need my blood anyway?"
"Oh, I'm working on something. Even outside of your Sonic form you are connected to Chaos energy. Almost like it's a part of you." He said taking the blood over to a nearby table. Saya noticed he seemed to be in a talkative mood and perhaps she could keep him talking long enough to reveal something.
"So… Who are you anyway?" Saya asked,
"I'm Dr. Robotnik," he said,
"That's not what I mean, Your reincarnation?" Saya said as Eggman frowns.
"I was called Professor Ivo; Seems the first name was the only thing I kept from my old life. I was an Earth Science teacher at Station Square University. It was disgusting…" He truly sounded disgusted just thinking about it. "I enjoyed helping people… I volunteered every week at a local hospital. A genius like me… A teacher…"
"Sounds like he was a decent person." Saya said,
"It's in the past now, won't have to worry about him anymore."
"What do you mean?" Saya said confused,
"I got rid of him; hypnotic suggestion trapped that subconscious inside. I'm the only one in control."
"Yeesh! Didn't know kindness meant you had to go to the extreme." She said. "Now what other fun activities do you have planned for me?" She said sarcastically.
"I'm glad you asked," He said excitedly as the robots roll her towards a strange machine, "I have a theory and I'm interested to see what happens, I'm going to try to robotisize you."
"What?" She quickly tries to jump out of the chair, but the robots pin her down.
"It's been fun Sonic. Now with your power, I'll destroy your team and take the Master Emerald. Then the world will be mine!" He laughs as he presses a button as a beam comes out of the laser. All she could do was close her eyes as a blinding light bursts from the bracelet. The light knocks back the Swatbots and the beam is deflected.
"What the?" Saya said as she looks at the bracelet. The runes were lightly glowing with blue energy. Did the bracelet protect her?
"So you are protected by Chaos energy!" He said running over to the laser and looking at is closely. "It completely fried the robotisizer." He turns around to see her looking at the bracelet. "That's how you did it." He said walking over to her and grabbing her wrist,
"Let go," She struggled,
"You sneaky girl! You had a Chaos Emerald on you the whole time." He said as he tries to remove it, "why won't it budge?"
"It can't be removed; I've never been able to take it off." She said,
"So that's how you all transform, you're using the Chaos Emeralds. But I've never seen Runes like these before. And why is the glow so dim?" He begins to ponder, and he begins to piece it all together. "The Chaos Emeralds need to be within the vicinity of the Master Emerald to recharge. And since we're too far away yours can't. That's why your leg isn't healing properly," She looks away from him, "And that probably means you can't transform." He grins as he lets go of her arm and wheels her over to one of the computers as he grabs a large handheld device and starts taking pictures of her bracelet.
"What are you doing?"
"No matter what I do, for some reason I can't fatally harm you. Not without there being side effects. I must find a different way of getting rid of you. And I might have just figured out a way to do it." He said pressing a button as two new robots show up, "Take her back to her cell. I have work to do." He said as she's wheeled out of the room. It wasn't until she was locked back in her cell that she realize she was shaking. She hadn't felt fear like that before, Sonic did, but this was different. She felt helpless and all she could do now was pray her friends find her soon… Before Eggman has a chance to finish what he's now planning.
That afternoon Caroline spent most of the day on the radio trying to find any news about Sonic. She went to take a break and runs into Kolt looking around like he's lost. "Is everything alright?" Caroline asked,
"Oh hi… Actually, I'm trying to find the Alter room. I know the Master Emerald is here but I'm having trouble finding it… This place is like a maze."
"I can show you." Caroline said as they walk in that direction,
"So… how are you feeling?" He asked,
"A little better, thank you." She said with a smile,
"I didn't do much,"
"You were there, that's what counts." She said, "How are you adjusting?"
"It's definitely taking a bit to get used to. Did you have this many headaches when you first transformed?" He asked,
"More so since I have super hearing."
"But like, it's so weird! My old memories and my new memories are twisted together, I keep getting confused at where I am."
"That fades with time, you just have to even it out. If you focus too much on your old life, it'll only confuse you more."
"Thanks for the tip. Have any to stop me from breaking any more doorknobs?" He asked,
"Sorry, can't help you there," She said with a chuckle.
"It was worth a shot," He shrugged, "This place is pretty cool,"
"Yeah, I was a little uncomfortable at first. Especially since we had to ask our parents for permission." She said,
"Right, I keep forgetting you're all still in high school." He said,
"How did your parents react?"
"Well, I'm originally from Central City, so I just told my parents I'm taking some summer classes and they didn't care in the slightest."
"You're a long way from home. Isn't Central City on the other side of the country?" She asked,
"Honestly, I like it better here. It's not as big of a city and I like being close to Angel Island."
"Especially now," Caroline joked.
"But the Master Emerald is here so now more than anything I want to protect it. It doesn't matter if I've reincarnated. I'm still the guardian." He said.
"Speaking of which, here's the Alter room." Caroline said as she opens the door, and they head inside. Kolt was already halfway up the stairs to the Alter before Caroline closed the door. She follows after him to see he was circling the Master Emerald and looking intently at the damaged part.
"So this was caused by the Dark Chaos energy?" Kolt said to himself as Tikal appeared,
"That is correct, it's good to see you Knuckles." She said with a smile,
"It's good to see you too." He said going to place his hand on her shoulder, but it fazes through.
"Unfortunately, my form isn't stable while the Master Emerald is incomplete."
"You didn't tell us that." Caroline said,
"It didn't seem important," Tikal said,
"You should be all good once we find the final piece." Kolt said looking over the Master Emerald,
"Final piece?" Caroline repeated,
"Yeah, I took a look, by the cut of the broken pieces I can tell there's only one piece missing." He explained,
"Kolt that's amazing!"
"I'm not a geologist major for nothing." He said sounding confident,
"C'mon! We have to tell the others." She said as she grabs his hand and pulls him back down the stairs. They go and find the others and discuss their next plan of attack.
"So we just have to find the last piece and then we should be able to find Saya." Sophia said,
"I don't think it'll be that easy, but it's a start." TK said,
"How are we going to find the piece? It took forever to find the last one and we know Eggman is also searching for it." Brandy said,
"We split into teams," Kolt said,
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Sophia said,
"We can cover more ground; You and Brandy have speed on your side where the three of us can fly."
"I agree with Kolt," TK said, "The faster we find the Master Emerald Piece the faster we can save Saya."
"Fine, we'll do it your way. But either group run into trouble don't engage, just get out of there." Sophia said and they all nod in agreement. They all transform and head out on the twin tornado.
They drop off Shadow and Blaze near where they found the last Master Emerald piece and the other three continue further south.
"Anything on your end?" Tails asked through the headset after a few hours of searching,
"No, I don't feel the presence of the Emerald." Blaze said, both Cream and Tails look at Knuckles who seemed to be meditating on the wing.
"Do you sense anything?" Cream called out to him, but he didn't respond. He was concentrating on the Emerald piece; he could feel it but was having trouble pinpointing where.
"That direction." Kolt said pointing his hand out still with his eyes closed.
"Knuckles can sense the Emerald Piece." Cream said over the headset.
"We'll start heading back in your direction." Shadow said as her and Blaze stop running and turn around. "Doing alright?"
"I'm fine, I may not be as fast as you and Sonic, but I do come close." She said catching her breath,
"Good, let's go get that Emerald Piece." Shadow said as they run back.
Tails lands the Twin Tornado, and they continue looking on foot. She pulls out her Emerald locator and looks around. Knuckles starts walking in a direction as they quickly follow after him. He could feel it, it was close.
"My readings show it's somewhere near here." Tails said as Knuckles looks below him,
"Crap… I don't have my digging claws…" He said,
"Is it here?" Cream asked as he nods.
"Hang on! I put a small shovel in the Tornado just in case." Tails said running back over to the plane. Knuckles and Cream wait for her to return when Cream starts to hear something headed in their direction.
"Do you hear that?" She asked,
"Hear what?" He asked,
"It sounds like… Metal…" She looks over at the Tornado, "Tails! Hurry up we're about to have company!" She called out,
"What?" Tails pokes her head out of the tornado holding a small handheld shovel as four large robots with drills for hands land around Cream and Knuckles.
"Guys, Eggman's robots just showed up!" Knuckles said over the headset.
"They're after the Emerald piece!" Tails said,
"I don't think we're too much farther. Stay safe until we get there." Shadow said, the robots smash their drills into the ground, Knuckles grabs Cream and gets them out of the way before they're hit.
"You're not taking the Emerald!" Knuckles yelled as he runs over and hits the drill denting it to the point where it could no longer rotate. Two of the robots turn and swing at him.
"Try to get their attention!" Tails said flying up and throwing the shovel and it hits the robot still digging as is stops and turns at her. From the air she could see a glimmer of green in the dirt. "I see it!" Cream runs between them into the pile of dirt and begins to look for the Emerald piece. Tails dodges as the robot swings it's arm at her while Knuckles tried to keep three of them distracted.
"Cream how's it going?" Knuckles called out as one of the drills tries to hit him, but he stops it before it impacts.
"Found it!" She said as she grabs it out of the dirt, Knuckles notices one of the robots turns around towards her.
At the same time Shadow and Blaze were running as fast as they can but they didn't know if they'd make it in time. And Shadow knew Blaze was reaching her limit.
"Blaze! I'm going to take off my limit rings. I should be able to get us there faster." Shadow said as she began to take off the first limit ring around her wrists.
"Isn't that dangerous?" She said,
"That's not important if we don't get there in time..." She said taking off the second ring and Blaze could feel it instantly, the blast of unstable chaos energy coming off of her. "I'm going to pick you up." Blaze nods as Shadow picks her up mid run and begins running faster that Blaze could imagine. She had to shut her eyes due to the wind. Shadow was running at her top speed to get to her friends.
"Cream! Get out of there!" He yelled as she turns and sees the robot looking at her.
"Give us the Emerald shard." The robot said,
"No!" Cream said as she begins to run. It lifts its arm and swings down towards her barely missing. She flies into the air as fast as she could but one of the other Bots knocks her out of the air.
"Cream!" Tails flies down to help her. Knuckles struggled as he was holding onto two of the drills stopping the other two robots. They were fighting a losing battle with just the three of them. Knuckles was beginning to understand why Shadow didn't want to split up. Tails helps Cream to her feet as they are surrounded by the remaining two robots.
"Tails… what do we do?" Cream asked, as a bright flash of green blinds them both. They open their eyes to see Shadow standing in front of them.
"I will end you!" She yelled as she lets out a Chaos blast that knocks back the two robots destroying them. Blaze runs next to Knuckles and burns one of the robots giving Knuckles a free arm to finish the other one.
"Is everyone alright?" Blaze asked as they were catching their breath.
"Yeah," Tails said as Shadow turns around towards both of them and hugs them.
"Thank goodness…" Shadow said as both Cream and Tails feel Shadow begin to collapse taking them both off guard and they all fall.
"Shadow!" Cream cried out as they sat up, but she wasn't moving. Blaze and Knuckles quickly run over. Blaze ruffles through Shadow's jacket pocket pulling out the rings.
"Are those?" Tails asked,
"Yes," Blaze said placing them on Shadows wrists as she transforms back into Sophia.
"I didn't realize she still needed them..." Tails said,
"What are you talking about?" Cream asked,
"Shadow's the Ultimate Lifeform... Her body can't handle the amount of power she can use." Knuckles said as he helps pick her up.
"We need to get her to Dr. Q immediately." Blaze said as they all quickly get into the Twin Tornado and fly back to Freedom HQ.
They all transform back as they get there but they were more concerned about Sophia.
"I got her," Kolt said carrying her,
"Please be careful." Caroline asked,
"I will," He said as they all follow him to the infirmary. TK opens the door for him, and Dr. was sitting at her desk working when she sees him.
"What on earth?" She quickly got up and rushed over, "What happened?"
"Shadow used her full power." Blaze explained,
"I don't understand." She said,
"She burned herself out… Like of chaos energy." TK tried to explain,
"Lie her on the bed, I'll have a look at her." She said as Kolt follows her orders and lays her down. "Explain how she burned herself out?" She began to look her over.
"That depends on how much we have to explain, what do you know about Shadow?" Kolt said,
"Shadow's called the Ultimate Lifeform and prefers to work alone. The personal stuff is mostly about Sophia, not Shadow."
"Shadow was created to control Chaos, She's literally a sponge of Chaos energy. She wears rings that help her limit the amount of energy she can use. Without them her power is infinite… but it puts a strain on her body." TK explained.
"You all need to stop pushing yourselves so hard…" She said shaking her head. "She seems fine, but I'll keep her here for observation."
"Thanks Dr. Q." Brandy said as they all leave.
"I hope she's okay," Caroline said
"I didn't even know She could still do that in these forms…" Tk said.
"Neither did I, But I'm sure she's fine," Brandy said,
"For now there's one more thing we need to do." Kolt said.
"Right! Let's complete the Master Emerald!" TK said as they all head towards the Alter room.