Chapter 15
Saya didn't know how long it had been since she was in control of her own actions. It felt like she had been watching a movie, trapped, a prisoner in her own body, drowning in darkness. How long was she waiting to be rescued? She knew how cruel it was bringing hope to Shadow then have it ripped away. Thinking back, she doesn't think she's ever seen Shadow look that relieved and happy, but she knew it would be short lived. Now Saya had to stall for time for her friends to find her and she's definitely not going down without a fight.
"Your friends are clever Saya." Eggman's voice came over the intercom as Saya stood up. She was in a large room she didn't recognize.
"You're just now figuring that out?" She said sarcastically as a door opens and two Swatbots enter the room walking towards her.
"Now, hold still…" Eggman said,
"Ha! I'm finally able to run and you want me to hold still? In your dreams Egghead!" She said looking at her Chaos Emerald, it was recharging, but not as fast as she was hoping it would. Saya knew she needed more time if she wanted to transform. She runs straight at the Swatbots and slides underneath one of them. "One thing doesn't change; your bots are too slow." She taunted.
"Seize her!" Eggman yells as Saya jumped on top of one of the Swatbots grabbing wires out of the back of the neck.
"These look important!" She said ripping them out as the Swatbot powers down. "Whoops." She jumps off as the bot falls over. "You'll have to try harder…" She said as the other Swatbot shots something out of its cannon and she barely dodges. She looks over she shoulder to see the same adhesive from the weapon Spira used on her the very first time Brandy transformed. "Then that…" Saya knew if she got hit with that it was game over. But she's not going to give up, never again. She runs at the Swatbot and it moves out of the way.
"Impressive, even when you are in your human form you are a formidable opponent," Eggman said,
"You haven't seen anything yet!" She quickly looks around and runs back to the other robot on the ground she grabs the cannon and aims it at the active bot. She manages to trigger the cannon to fire it's weapon before the other Swatbot can get another sticky attack off. "I'm sorry, what were we seizing?" She smirks as she throws down the cannon and dusts off her hand. She hears the door behind her, a larger robot steps into the room and makes a swing at her as she jumps back with a whistle. "Oh! Bringing out all your toys today?"
"You will surrender." He said from within the robot sounding determined,
"Over my dead body!" Saya yelled,
"Poor choice of words," He said as the robot takes another swing destroying the other robots. The other hand makes a swing trying to grab her and she quickly ducks away,
"Wow Eggman, this one is even slower." She jumped and stuck out her tongue at the bot. She had to figure out how to get out of the room, maybe she could taunt Eggman enough to make him open up a wall for her. "Missed me!" She taunted as he makes another grab almost hitting the wall as he stops and pulls back.
"I know what you're doing, but it won't work." He said,
"Aw why not? Did you figure out how to control your anger problem?" She joked,
"I do not have an anger problem!" He yelled,
"And that right there proved my point," She shrugs and shakes her head.
"Enough!" He yelled as one of the robots hands turns into a cannon, "Try dodging this!" The cannon shoots off as Saya quickly runs to get out of the way towards the robot. She ran faster than she had before, she could feel it. She turns for a second to see that half of the room was covered in the sticky material.
"A little excessive don't you think?" She said catching her breath, she was reaching her limit and the Chaos Emerald wasn't charged enough for her to transform.
"To catch you, nothing is too excessive." He said as he swings down the cannon toward her and she rolls out of the way. The scroll that Dark Sonic had stolen rolls out of her pocket, she had completely forgotten about it. "So you did get the scroll."
"Crap," She runs over to grab it, but doesn't see the other hand strike her as she's thrown into a wall and before she can get back to her feet the massive robotic hand grabs her. "No!" She yelled struggling to get free,
"Couldn't run forever! Not in that form anyway." He laughed,
"I will get free!" Saya continued to struggle but the more she moved around the more Eggman tightened the grip on her.
"You can try, but you're not going anywhere." Eggman continued to tighten the grip as she was starting to struggle to breathe.
"I refuse… to be…" She gasped for breath, "Chaos…" But before Saya could try to teleport free, she blacks out.
Back at Freedom HQ, the group were standing around the Master Emerald waiting for their Emeralds to fully charge. Kolt goes over and places the Clear Quartz on top of the Master Emerald.
"You're filling it with Chaos energy again?" TK asked,
"Yeah, just in case Saya needs it." He said as it begins to slowly turn green,
"This is taking too long." Sophia said pacing,
"We all want to go save Saya, but we need to be at one hundred percent." Caroline said,
"I know… I just don't want Robotnik to have the chance to hurt her again." She said,
"Have faith in her, she had enough foresight to make sure we could track her. I'm sure she's stalling for time." Brandy said,
"I know you will bring Sonic back." Tikal said appearing next to Kolt, "But please be careful, I sense that the Dark Chaos energy has become unstable."
"That's a little worrying." Caroline said,
"Regardless we're rescuing her this time." Sophia said. Kolt notices that the Quarts turned completely green and he pockets it.
"Looks like our Emeralds are ready to go." Kolt said,
"Let's go!" Caroline said as they all head to the hangar bay and transform before flying towards Eggman's base.
Saya jolts awake hitting her hear on the familiar chamber that Dark Sonic rested in to reabsorb Dark Chaos energy. As she tries to move her arms, she realizes they are restrained to her sides. "Oh, c'mon…" Saya whimpered still feeling put of breath,
"You'll feel a little fatigue from the lack of oxygen." Eggman said working on the computer with his back turned to her.
"Says the person who almost suffocated me to death." She said trying to pull on the clamps holding her wrists.
"You drove me to that point, you're just too stubborn for your own good." Eggman said,
"That's nothing new," She rolled her eyes,
"You have a point there…"
"I won't let you put Dark Chaos into my Emerald again," She said kicking at the chamber door, "Let me out of here!"
"I don't have enough time to turn you against your friends again… I'm not sure how you did it, but the Freedom Fighters are on their way here." He continued to type, sounding annoyed.
"Oh that's easy, I swallowed a tracking device." She said,
"But I have other…" He pauses just now realizing what she had said, "You ate a tracking device?" He turns towards her shocked,
"Yep,"
"That's not… that could have been toxic…"
"Was a little short on options." She shrugs,
"That doesn't matter, because I have other plans." He said grabbing a metal helmet and pressing a button that unlocks the Chamber door. Right as he gets close enough to the door, she kicks it causing it to swing, hitting him in the face.
"That's for experimenting on me." Saya said as he grabs the door and completely opens it.
"That's the least I'm going to do when I'm done with you!" He said forcing the helmet on her head and holding it in place with a chin strap. She gets another kick in at his knee almost causing him to buckle over. "Why you little!" He huffs and then slams the chamber shut. "There, now we can begin," He walks back over to the console and picks up the Dark Chaos Emerald.
"What are you planning now?" She kicks at the glass again,
"This device will tap into your powers to create force fields, and with the help of the Dark Chaos Emerald there should be enough power to stop your friends." He grinned as he places the Dark Chaos Emerald into the chamber above Saya then turns away from her. "We're going to try making a small force field around that table, just to see if it works." He points at a small side table on the other side of the room. "This might hurt a bit." He turns on the machine as a shock goes through her.
"Stop!" She screamed, as a blue sphere surrounds the table. It felt like her entire body was on fire, almost like the Chaos energy was harming her on a cellular level.
"It works!" Eggman cheers as he turns off the machine. The pain Saya felt stopped like a fog lifting. "And just in time too. It looks like your friends are almost here. Now we'll get to see how powerful your Chaos Sphere combined with the Dark Chaos Emerald can be." He said pressing more buttons on the console.
"Can't you just surrender?" Saya said catching her breath, "They're going to get in here even with Chaos Sphere… Did you forget Knuckles is with them?"
"Oh yes, Kolt has embraced his role rather smoothly." He said,
"Kolt?" Saya looked confused,
"That's right, you haven't met him yet. Not his reincarnation anyway." He grinned,
"You know who Knuckles is?" Saya was shocked to hear this,
"I knew him quite well, it's too bad that you won't get a chance to meet him. Because once they get in, they're never coming out." Saya looks at her Chaos Emerald, it looked like it was charged enough for her to transform but part of her didn't know if she could. Eggman turns noticing her not making a witty comeback and sees her looking at her Emerald. "Going to try and transform, are we?" He walks up to the chamber looming over her. "Or are you too afraid that you might transform back into Dark Sonic." He laughs. She glares at him but then notices her own reflection off the glass door. She knew Eggman was right, she was afraid. What if there was Dark Chaos energy still inside her Emerald? She sees the reflection change from her to Dark Sonic like seeing a nightmare within a mirror. She lowers her head feeling conflicted. Before she could decide, Eggman turned the machine back on.
"No!" She screamed trying to fight through the pain, but the Dark Chaos energy was too strong while she was in her human form. She cried out feeling like she was going to burst, internally begging her friends would run away.
The Twin Tornado flies to the spot that Saya's signal was coming from. They all look as they see a blue colored force field around the entire base. "Is that Chaos Sphere?" Tails asked,
"What's that?" Kolt asked,
"Before you joined us, Sonic gained a new ability called Chaos Sphere." Cream explained,
"Similar to the one she rescued us all in when the space colony ARC was destroyed." Shadow added.
"Oh yeah, I remember that! But how'd it get so big?" He asked,
"Eggman must be making it bigger somehow." Blaze said,
"Do you think he has Saya under his control again?" Cream asked looking fearful.
"Even if she is, we're dragging her back to Freedom HQ kicking and screaming if necessary." Shadow said,
"That's great and all but how do we get inside?" Tails asked landing the Twin Tornado as they all jump out.
"Leave that to me." Knuckles said walking up to the force field.
"What are you going to do?" Cream asked,
"I'm going to try and rip through the Chaos Sphere, at least enough for us to get through." He said putting his hands up and focuses, "I call upon the powers of Chaos to lend me it's power." He said taking a deep breath as he thrusts his fists through the Chaos Sphere and grabs it pulling it open creating a hole large enough for them to crawl through,
"Okay, this thing is tougher than it looks, hurry up." He said as they all climb through,
"C'mon Knuckles." Blaze said. He pulls the hole open wider so he could step through and quickly enters letting go as the hole shuts. He could already feel that took a lot out of him.
"You okay?" Shadow asked noticing him catch his breath,
"Sorry, that took a lot out of me. Just give me a moment…" He said,
"Don't overdo it." Blaze said,
"Don't worry, I'll be better in a sec." He lied; he knew that using the power of Chaos like that sapped a lot out of his strength.
"Please take it easy." Cream asked,
"Cream is right. There might be more Chaos Sphere's in here, so we need you to save your strength. Blaze and Shadow will clear a path and Cream and I will make sure we're not attacked from behind." Tails said as both Blaze and Shadow nod.
"You always have a plan, don't you?" he chuckles.
"I am the smart one," She jokes,
"We should keep moving," Shadow said as they stick to Tails' plan. Two Swatbots jump out to attack them, both Shadow and Blaze quickly destroy them before they could attack. Another Bot came from behind as Cream distracts it long enough for Tails to fly behind it and disable it. They continued forward as Knuckles could feel his strength coming back. Just as Tails predicted, there was another Chaos Sphere in their path,
"You're up Knuckles," Tails said as he exhales and calls upon Chaos again and rips the Chaos Sphere again.
"Hurry! I don't know how long I'll be able to hold it!" He said as they ran through. Knuckles starts to step through as his arms begin to shake and he loses his strength.
"Chaos Control!" Shadow stops time long enough for her to grab Knuckles by the collar and pull him through before the Chaos Sphere decapitated him. "You okay?"
"Barely, thanks for the save." He said as she nods,
"Cream, help him walk." Shadow said as Cream comes next to him and helps him keep his balance.
"I didn't realize that two would be your limit…" Tails said,
"They're a lot tougher than I expected…" Knuckles said,
"If we're lucky there won't be any more force fields," Blaze said,
"We got company," Shadow said as they are surrounded by Swatbots.
"Cream, keep Knuckles safe." Tails said as they start fighting.
"This way," Cream said finding an opening and leading him away from the fight then helping him sit down, "You need to rest,"
"We don't have time," He said,
"You won't be able to help Saya if you pass out." Cream said bluntly taking him off guard for a second.
"Okay…" He said as Shadow and the others finish off the bots and walk over to them. "Tails pulls off her glove and places her palm on Knuckles forehead.
"You're warm." She grabs his wrist and checks his pulse, "And your pulse is racing."
"We should rest here for a bit; this is an easy spot to defend." Shadow said,
"No, I can manage." Knuckles tries to stand up and both Tails and Cream push him down.
"We're not going anywhere while you're in that condition." Tails said pulling out a water bottle from her bag and handing it to him.
"I told you to rest." Cream said firmly, Knuckles was surprised to see her so head strong, up to this point she had been very soft spoken towards him.
"I'm going to search the perimeter to make sure there are no more Swatbots hiding nearby." Shadow said. They could all tell that she was starting to get stir crazy. It hit her hard to have Saya so close then slip through her fingers.
A few minutes pass and Tails checks Knuckles' pulse again, "Your heart isn't racing anymore. But don't do anything reckless." Tails said as she helps him up to his feet.
"As if anyone in this group can't help be reckless." Blaze said, as both Shadow and Knuckles look away like that comment was aimed at them.
"Lean on me if you need help." Cream said,
"Thanks Cream," Knuckles said as they walk forward,
"This is odd… It's too quiet." Blaze said,
"I hear something up ahead… it sounds like… screaming…" Cream said as they all look at one another.
"Keep a lookout, it could be a trap." Shadow said, as they run forward, they all could hear Saya's cries of pain.
"Saya!" Tails yells as they see her trapped inside the chamber, an electric energy emanating around her that is the same color as Dark Chaos energy. They all run towards her but as they enter the room a Chaos Sphere appears around them, they were trapped,
"Trap, what did I say? Trap!" Shadow yelled punching it as she is repelled by the Chaos Sphere.
"You fell right into my hands Freedom Fighters," Eggman appears in front of them as they hear Saya's Cries ringing in their ears.
"I'll get us out," Knuckles said,
"No, you don't have enough strength," Tails said,
"I have to try," He said focusing again, "I call upon the power of Chaos, please give me the strength!" He said grabbing the Chaos Sphere and trying to pull it open. But before he could attempt to tear it open his vision blurred and he loses his footing. Before he falls, Shadow grabs him and sits him down,
"Idiot! You're no good to us dead," She said as Tails starts checking him over.
"Sorry…" He said catching his breath,
"Well that was an entertaining performance, now let's see how well you all do when your cage gets smaller." Eggman said pressing on a control panel as the Chaos Sphere around them began to get smaller.
"If this keeps up, we'll be crushed." Blaze said as they start pushing against the sphere, but it continued to get smaller and smaller.
"STOP!" Saya painfully screams still trying to get free.
"No can do my dear, once your friends are out of the way; you'll lose your will to fight and then nothing will be in my way to building Robotropolis." He said as the Sphere continued to get smaller.
"The seven servers are the seven Chaos… Chaos is power… power enriched by the heart." Saya struggled to say,
"What if you turn into Dark Sonic again? Do you really think you'll break free from the Dark Chaos a second time?" Eggman stopped making the Chaos Sphere smaller and focused on Saya trying to break her volition to fight back.
"I will… save them!" She screamed with tears streaming down her face as they could see her eyes turned red. They all feared the Dark Chaos energy was taking control again,
"Saya stop!" Shadow cried out,
"The heart is the controller…" Saya continued,
"We don't want to lose you again!" Cream pleaded,
"The controller serves to unify the Chaos… CHAOS CONTROL!" Saya yells as she's engulfed in a golden light. They were all blinded by the immensely Intense light as the Chaos Sphere around them dissipates. No one had a chance to brace for the burst of energy that threw them back like an explosion went off. After the energy subsided they All slowly look up to see the room was practically decimated, along with a massive hole in the roof. They all look and see Sonic standing there but her entire body was glowing. Her spines stood up straight and her clothes were the same golden color as her hair. Sonic was now Super Sonic. They turn towards one another shocked at how this could be possible. There were only six Chaos Emeralds present.
"Being connected to the Dark Chaos energy it somehow transformed you into Dark Super Sonic." Eggman said also looking shocked at what transpired as he struggles to get back up to his feet. She opens her eyes and turns towards Eggman showing him that they were the same red color, "Now, finish off your friends," He grins as she turns towards them and begins walking towards her friends.
"Everyone, stay behind me!" Shadow said jumping back up to her feet standing in front of them defensively as they all stand up getting ready to fight. Knuckles staggers still feeling fatigued from over using his powers as Cream helps him to his feet. "I won't let you hurt our friends." Shadow knew she would only be able to hold Dark Sonic off long enough for the rest of them to try and escape. She stops in front of Shadow and reaches out. Right as Shadow is about to react, Sonic gently places her hand on Shadow's shoulder taking her off guard.
"I knew you'd find me." Sonic said with a gentle smile.
"Sonic?" Tails said sounding afraid to call out to her.
"I'm back little buddy." She said with a grin giving her a thumbs up, "And there's some trash I need to dispose of." Sonic turns around towards Eggman,
"How it that possible? Y…You should be evil!" He yelled confused and angry,
"Looks like your little trick only works once Egghead, now let's see how you like your legs broken." She said popping her knuckles and walking towards him.
"Now, now Sonic. Let's not be too hasty…" Eggman said looking around trying to figure a way out of this,
"Oh no… I've waited plenty." She stops as she feels her body pulsate. Eggman uses the moment to press a button on the consoles and a secret door opens.
"Y…you beat me this time Sonic, but there will always be another fight." He said grabbing the scroll and running through the door as it closes behind him.
"AH!" Sonic cried out, the pulsing inside her became stronger as she falls to her knees. She holds her hand close to her chest then slowly moves it away as the Dark Chaos Emerald emerges from her chest floating in front of her. Knuckles could feel that something was wrong, the clash of Chaos energy had made the Dark Chaos Emerald even more unstable just like Tikal warned them.
"Sonic…" Knuckles takes a step closer.
"Stay back!" Sonic yelled at all of them as they stop. She could also feel how unstable the Dark Chaos Emerald was. "This thing's gonna blow."
"What do we do?" Cream asked,
"We gotta get out of here!" Tails said as Sonic struggles to stand back up then walks further away from them.
"Meet you outside." She said with a smile as she flies out of the room through the hole in the ceiling.
"Outside! Hurry!" Blaze said as they all start to run back towards the entrance. Knuckles begins to fall behind catching his breath.
"C'mon," Cream ran back and helped him continue forward. They get outside and look up trying to see where Sonic went.
"There! I see her." Tails said pointing straight up and they see Sonic. They see a bright flash and streaks of dark Chaos energy through the sky then feel the aftershock of the Dark Chaos energy echoing away.
"Why does she have to be so reckless…?" Shadow asked letting out a sigh,
"Because she's Sonic, but she did just save all of our lives… That energy blast would have killed us…" Knuckles said,
"I think she's okay." Cream said as the smoke from the explosion around Sonic began to disperse and they could see her. She was no longer in her super form and she was beginning to fall.
"Her transformation ended!" Knuckles said,
"What do we do?" Blaze asked,
"Shadow, teleport me as close to Saya as you can so I can slow her down," Tails said,
"Let me help." Cream said,
"You two be ready to help catch her," Tails pointed at Knuckles and Blaze and they nod. Shadow grabs Tails and Creams' hands.
"Chaos Control!" She said and in a green flash they were halfway to where Saya was falling. With all of her strength she throws them forward then teleports down next to Blaze.
"Do you think they can do it?" Blaze asked,
"That's why we're the backup," Shadow said. Cream and Tails fly and attempt to catch Saya but stumble and fall with her for a moment as they grab her and start to slow down. The others stand ready to catch her as they place her in their arms and lie her down on the grass. Both of them land and catch their breath.
"Saya?" Blaze calls out but there was no response,
"Check her pulse…" Tails said as Shadow takes off her glove and presses her finger against Saya's neck.
"I don't feel anything!" Shadow yelled sounding frightened as all of their eyes fill with tears and they all freeze from shock.
"Move!" Knuckles moves Blaze out of his way and begins to do CPR. He pushes against her chest three times then blows air into her mouth. He puts his ear to her Chest to see if she's breathing as the others watch unsure of what to do. He begins to push down on her chest again, "Damnit Saya! I've barely gotten to meet you, so you're not dying on me! Not again!" He yelled blowing air into her mouth again and then push against her chest as a gasp of air comes out of her and she begins to cough.
"Whoa… wipe out…" Saya said starting to breathe normally. They all stare at her as she struggles to sit up. They sit around her without a word. "What's everyone staring at? You look like you've seen a ghost." She smiled. Tails hugs her first followed by Cream and Blaze and Shadow holds onto all of them as they cry,
"You're really here." Tails said,
"I won't be for much longer if you all hold me any tighter." She said as they quickly let go, she holds her side in pain, "I think I broke a rib?"
"That's my bad…" Knuckles said, as Saya looks at him confused.
"We need to get back so Dr. Q can take a look at you," Tails said,
"But you shouldn't move, we don't know what other side effects there were from the Dark Chaos Emerald," Knuckles said.
"Are you going to carry me again like a knight in shining armor?" Saya teased as his face turns completely red. Shadow stands up, leans down, and picks her up taking her off guard.
"He's in no condition to carry you." Shadow said as Saya looks at her surprised,
"My hero!" She joked as Shadow also begins to blush,
"Shut up before I decide to drop you." Shadow said with a smirk, she had missed her carefree attitude.
"We should get going before Eggman decides to come back." Blaze said as they all climb into the Twin Tornado and head back to Freedom HQ.
They all stayed quiet of the trip back. None of them believed this was real, that they actually got Saya back and were afraid saying something would jinx them. "This is Tails, we are landing now." She said as the make it back. As the Twin Tornado stops, they all turn to see Saya fast asleep in Knuckles arms in the second seat. Tails takes out her phone and starts messaging Saya's parents.
"I got her," Shadow said as Knuckles helps her out of the seat.
"Give me your hand," Blaze says to Knuckles and she helps him out of the seat. They all transform back and head towards the infirmary. Elias and Sally run up as they get there.
"Is she?" Sally looked at all of them worried,
"She fell asleep on the ride back." Caroline said as TK opens the door for Shadow. Sally smiles with tears in her eyes putting her hand on Elias' shoulder as she notices he's trying to hold back tears.
"Oh thank goodness," Dr. Q said running over from the far side of the room, "Put her down here." She points to a bed that already had a table of medical supplies ready. She then sees Kolt, "You lie down there," She points to the bed beside it. Brandy helps him to the bed as Sophia lies Saya down, "I need to know everything that happened." She said checking Saya's vitals.
"Robotnik was waiting for us," Sophia said,
"He had Saya trapped in some kind of device that forced her to use her Chaos Sphere." TK explained,
"Wait, she was being forced to use her Chaos Sphere in her human form?" She asked as TK nods.
"If Tikal didn't change her to be able to withstand Chaos energy, that would have probably killed her." Kolt said,
"You get some rest, I assume you used your ability to control Chaos again," She looks at him as he avoids her eye contact, "That's what I thought." Saya starts to stir awake from hearing all the talking,
"Man, what's it take to get a nap in around here." She starts to yawn as she sees Dr. Q. "Hey doc," She smiles as she notices Elias and Sally there too. "It's good to see you all again."
"It's nice to see you too." Sally said smiling back,
"Welcome back Saya." Elias said, "I need to get back to work, I'll be back later to check in." He said leaving.
"Was it something I said?" Saya looked at all of them confused as Dr. Q shakes her head.
"He's just not good at showing emotions to others, like another certain Hedgehog we know," She joked,
"You do realize I'm still in the room." Sophia glares crossing her arms.
"Yes I do." She said, "I'm going to put in an IV, you may heal quickly but I just want to be sure your recovery goes smoothly." She holds a needle as Saya flinches away out of instinct. Dr. Q quickly notices her frightened expression. "It's alright I'm not going to hurt you." She holds Saya's hand.
"Sorry…" Saya said closing her eyes as she puts in the IV.
"Nothing to be sorry for, you're safe." Dr. Q smiles, "I think it'd be best for both of them to rest, you all can come by later and see them."
"We'll go make you some food," Caroline said as her and Brandy leave followed by Sally. TK looks at her phone waiting for a message as she walks out however, Sophia continues to stand there.
"You too Sophia." Dr. Q said, Sophia gives a huff and leaves the room, but she doesn't go far as she waits outside the door.
A few hours pass and TK gets a message from Saya's parents that they are on their way to see her. She decided to go to the infirmary to give Saya a heads up since she doesn't know yet. She gets to the door to see Sophia still standing outside. "Have you been standing out here this whole time?" TK asked,
"I'm not risking it." She said,
"Saya's home now, I think you can relax." TK said as Sophia looks away. She walks into the room to see Saya lying down as she slowly sits up after hearing the door open,
"Hi TK!" Saya said with a smile, Dr. Q was in front of Kolt checking up on him.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" TK asked walking up to her.
"I've got my energy back, finally having my Chaos Emerald fully charged helps." Saya said stretching her arms,
"You're still not leaving." Dr. Q said as Saya pouts,
"I had a broken leg for a week I've done enough resting." She complained,
"You both are on twenty-four-hour watch and that is final." Dr. Q said,
"Wait, why me too?" Kolt asked,
"You think overexerting your body with too much Chaos energy doesn't merit concern?" She glared at him,
"Sorry…" Kolt looks away,
"And if you even try to get out of that bed Saya Hedge, I will tranquilize you!" She turned her glare towards Saya.
"I'm not going anywhere." Saya said with an uncomfortable chuckle feeling the authoritative tone in Dr. Q's voice,
"I wanted to let you know that your parents are on their way here." TK said,
"What?" Saya looked surprised, "They could find out our secret."
"Yeah… about that…" Kolt said giving TK a look,
"What did you do?" Saya said as her face turns white with fear.
"I… told them everything." TK said,
"Oh Chaos, I'm going to die…" She said,
"All things considered; they actually took it pretty well." Kolt said,
"That's sugar coating it don't you think?" TK said,
"You were the one who was blunt to them about it." Kolt said. The door bursts open as Saya's parents rush in.
"Saya!" They both yell as her mom runs over to her and hugs her tightly,
"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Her mom asked as she squishes Saya's cheeks with her palms.
"Mom, I'm fine." She said as her mom lets go. Her dad sits next to her and pulls her into his shoulder.
"You don't have to keep up appearances," He said as TK started to notice that Saya was shaking.
"I… I thought I might never see you again…" Saya holds back tears as her dad hugs her tightly. She had been trying to stay strong through all of this, but she finally felt safe.
"We're here now, you're safe." Mr. Hedge said as Sally and Elias enter the room,
"It appears we came at an odd time," Elias said,
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Hedge." Sally said as Mr. Hedge let's go of Saya and walks up to Elias punching him right in the jaw.
"Dad!" Saya yelled jumping up out of bed as her mother runs over, her father grabs Elias by the collar.
"You said you were protecting our children, not putting them in harm's way!" He yelled,
"Honey, we didn't come here to fight. We came here to get our daughter." Saya's mother said grabbing his arm as he lets go of Elias.
"Come to get me?" Saya said,
"Yes, once you're feeling better we're leaving." Mr. Hedge said.
"I don't think that would be wise." Elias said rubbing his jaw.
"Oh you would say that." Mr. Hedge said getting angry,
"No you don't understand, Saya is still in danger." Sally tried to explain attempting to diffuse the situation,
"And who's fault is that?" he yelled as TK and Dr. Q notice Saya begin to stagger. TK runs over and helps her back into the bed before she collapses,
"I'm going to have to ask you all to leave. This is not helping her recovery." Dr. Q demanded,
"Let's continue this outside, I'll explain everything." Sally said as they follow Sally and Elias out the door as Sophia enters the room shutting it.
"Saya are you alright?" Sophia asked as Saya nods,
"I told you not to get out of bed," Dr. Q said,
"Sorry, my dad kinda threw a curve ball there." Saya said catching her breath. "I wasn't thinking." She hadn't realized how burnt out she actually was despite feeling better.
"You need to rest." Dr. Q said,
"I'll go make sure your dad doesn't kill Elias," TK said,
"Thanks little buddy," Saya said lying her head down and shutting her eyes.
"I'll make sure to keep them quiet," Sophia said as she steps outside with TK to see them all talking.
"I still don't understand why that means we can't take our daughter home." Mrs. Hedge said,
"The man who took Saya knows who she is, that means he knows everything about her. Where she lives, where she goes to school, her closest friends. Eggman will stop at nothing and being out in the open is what started this mess in the first place." TK interjected.
"When she came to have dinner…" Saya's dad realized as TK nods, "So she's trapped now?"
"Sir, we're going to keep your daughter safe along with you both." Sally said,
"What makes you think we need protection?" Mr. Hedge asked sounding insulted at the notion,
"Eggman knows where you live… I wouldn't put it past him to come after you two to lure Saya into a trap." TK said,
"What should we do?" Mrs. Hedge asked,
"You could stay here on base with your daughter but that would make it problematic for your jobs, but we could also put a 24/7 security detail on you both to keep you safe." Elias suggested, "And you're welcome to come here to see your daughter anytime."
"And she's safe here?" He asked,
"Yes," Sophia said still leaning against the wall next to the door. "I'm not leaving here until she's well enough to defend herself." They all pause feeling how protective Sophia was being.
"We'll need time to think it over, for now I would like to be with my daughter." Mrs. Hedge said as the walk back into the infirmary.
"Please keep an eye on them." Sally asked Sophia as she nods, they walk away as TK goes over to the kitchen to let Saya rest. She was shocked at how Mr. Hedge acted; she'd never seen him that angry. She gets to the kitchen and sees Caroline and Brandy in the kitchen cooking they both see her enter.
"How's Saya?" Caroline asked,
"Not great, her parents are causing unneeded stress," TK said sitting down with a sigh,
"Saya's parents are here?" Brandy said,
"Yeah, Mr. Hedge punched Elias in the face." TK said,
"Oh my!" Caroline gasped,
"Almost caused Saya to collapse." TK lets out a sigh,
"The Dark Chaos energy must have taken a huge toll." Brandy said,
"Look what using too much Chaos energy did to Kolt's body… I'm really worried about Saya." Caroline said,
"At this point all we can do is keep a close eye on her, a very close eye." TK said,
"Once she's feeling better, we should ask Tikal to see if there is any more Dark Chaos energy." Brandy said,
"At least the Dark Chaos Emerald was destroyed, now we don't have to worry about it." Caroline said.
"But we still have to worry about Eggman…" Brandy said as they all pause,
"We need to stay on guard until Saya and Kolt are feeling better." TK said as they all nod in agreement,
"Have you seen Sophia?" Caroline asked changing the subject,
"She's guarding the infirmary." TK said, "I don't think she's going to let Saya out of her sight."
"I don't blame her; She was fighting back tears after the race." Brandy said,
"Me either, so what did you guys decide to make?" TK asked as they both smile.
"Chili Dogs." Caroline said,
"That's going to make her smile," TK said, "Can I help?" they nod as they all start cooking. Saya's parents watched over her while she sleeps, and Sophia didn't move from the entrance from the infirmary. She accepted that things would never go back to the way they were a few months ago, but she was determined to make sure that Saya stayed safe.