Authors Note: Apologies for the previous confusion, all the previous chapters were consolidated to match the remaining chapters. This story is a long one and I realized if I didn't make the chapters longer I may lose interest in posting. Especially since I'm not sure how you all perceive the story thus far.
If you are new and binging this, you can ignore this message.
Thanks so much for reading.
Chapter 35
"This cannot be happening!" Merlina said looking into the reflective pool terrified as Cream and Tails hug one another frightened,
"W… we gotta do something!" Amy said desperately looking around trying to think of something.
"They are trapped inside as long as the barrier is up. If we lower it Morrigan's curse will spread…" Merlina said.
"We can't leave them in there!" Tails said,
"He's going to change all of them, we need to stop him." Cream said,
"I'm sorry… but where were standing…" Merlina said as they all look back down at the reflective pool. "There's nothing we can do…"
Tears start streaming down Shadow's face when she hears Sonic say those words as Morrigan begins to laugh. "At last!" The thorns around Sonic move away as she sits there with an empty stare. "Now to put the others in their place." He turns towards the rest of them. "Now, who shall be next?" He said walking away from the throne, "What about you, Sir Shadow?" He said in a mocking tone. "I can make you a Knight of the Round Table and you can stay by our Kings side." He walks up to her as the thorns around her force her to stand. "I think you will be an exceptionally good Knight." He reaches towards her as she glares at him letting out a muffled growl.
"Do not touch her Morrigan!" Caliburn yells, as he turns around looking at Caliburn annoyed,
"Blast it, I forgot to cover your annoying mouth." Morrigan said,
"I will not let you get away with this!" Caliburn said as Sonic's eyes close and reopen changed to a golden color.
"You are just a talking Sword; without the help of your King you are nothing." Morrigan laughs turning back towards Shadow as Lancelot, Gawain and Percival's sacred swords begin to glow. Sonics head lifts slightly,
"You are a fool! I am not just another sacred Sword." Sonic said but Caliburn's voice was overlapped with hers, they spoke as one.
"What?" Morrigan turns back towards them surprised,
"I am Excalibur!" He said as the throne is engulfed in golden light as the entire room is blinded in that same brilliant glow. The light fades, showing Sonic standing fully garbed in Golden Plate Armor, a large red cape flows behind her wielding a transformed Caliburn. The blade became a golden color and the hilt changed shape as beams of light surround the sword like a spell circle.
"How it this possible!" Morrigan said shocked for a moment then his expression changes to anger, "She was under my control!"
"Did you genuinely believe you could control us? We knew that with the power of the grail, your power was strong. So Plan B was put into motion." They said pointing their sword at Morrigan. "You have endangered Camelot and for that you will be punished."
"You have not defeated me yet!" he said as more vines pop out of the ground, as a shadow of a sword that looks identical to Lancelot's appears in his hand "You forget, I have all of your friends' powers." He warps in front of Excalibur and they block the attack.
"You dare fight your King?" They said as they strike and Morrigan is blasted back. Excalibur floats up next to where the grail is contained, "You are truly a fool if you thought you could fight us."
"No!" Morrigan yelled as he dashes striking at them again; they dodge and counter as he's slammed into the ground. Excalibur cuts the Grail free as the purple glow around it dims. "M… my strength…" The roses around the others starts to wither as they feel their strength returning. They all fight to break free of the thorns.
"Blaze!" Knuckles runs over and helps her out of the thorns as they all slowly get free.
"That's Excalibur?" Blaze said as they move their hand and the Grail floats over to Percival. She grabs the Grail and all of the thorns within the castle disappear as she cleanses it. Excalibur floats back down and stands in front of Morrigan.
"Morrigan… you have threatened the realm and have allied yourself with the Dark Hollow. As your King, I reign my judgment upon you." They said pointing their sword at him as he slowly stands back up laughing.
"What is my punishment? Oh merciful King." He joked knowing that Sonic was too kind of a person to do any true harm to him.
"As you have embraced the Dark Hollow you may return to them. I sentence for you to remain for the rest of your days sealed within the underworld." Excalibur said as a magic circle appears below him as golden chains pop out and restrain him.
"You think this will hold me?" He said,
"Silence! Accept your fate!" Excalibur said. They make a striking swing just below him as a door to the underworld opened beneath him and he slowly sinks into the underworld.
"This is only temporary Arthur; I will get out! Camelot will be mine!" He yells as he disappears and the door fades away.
"The Kingdom is saved!" Gawain cheered, as they all move over towards Excalibur,
"Great job Sonic!" Knuckles said but they do not respond, "Uh… Sonic?"
"Are you alright?" Blaze asked,
"Arthur?" Lancelot said as they slightly move their head in response to that name.
"No…" Percival said, "But you said you tricked him!"
"Percival what are you saying?" Knuckles asked,
"That Morrigan did succeed in wiping her memories…Sonic… is gone…" Lancelot said as Shadow steps back stunned hearing him say that. Tails and the others burst into the room.
"You guys did it!" Cream cheered as she runs over and hugs Blaze but suddenly stops as they all see tears in everyone's eyes.
"What's going on?" Tails asked as she looks at Excalibur, "You alright Sonic?"
"Morrigan… Erased Sonic…" Shadow said as they all look at them confused,
"No that's not possible." Amy said,
"Sonic? Sonic please answer!" Tails called out a tears fill her eyes, "You can't be gone…"
"Fools!" Excalibur said as they all look at them shocked at that response, "I cannot concentrate while you all speak. Sonic is not gone, just dormant."
"She's okay?" Cream asked, sounding relieved.
"Something is blocking me from waking her…" They said,
"Do you think it's Fleetway?" Knuckles said,
"Who else would it be?" Blaze said,
"Silence!" Excalibur said as they all jump at their authoritative tone. They turn their head to Percival, "Sir Percival, I will need the power of the grail to wake her." They hold out their hand.
"Of course my King." Percival said handing them the Grail. They release the sword; it floats at their side and the Grail hovers in front of them as they hold out their hands beneath it. The glow around them brightens, armor suddenly breaks apart like shattered glass and dissipates as Caliburn changes back to normal. Sonic starts to collapse as Shadow quickly catches her kneeling down while holding her.
"Sonic?" Shadow called out brushing her hair away from her eyes as she begins to wake up.
"Did we get 'em?" Sonic asked as they all begin to cheer. "That sounds like a yes."
"You're going to be the death of me." Shadow said hugging her tightly.
"To tight!" Sonic struggles as Shadow kisses her then buries her head into her chest and lets out a quiet sob. Sonic looks confused hugging Shadow trying to comfort her as she turns her head and looks at Caliburn, "Caliburn, what did you do?"
"I did nothing! This is entirely your fault!" Caliburn said,
"How is this my fault? Plan B means you take over, so spill!" She said petting Shadows head,
"Plan B?" Percival asked,
"It's a incase of emergency backup we put in place after that time I was ambushed by Mordred's men…" She said with a chuckle, "So what happened?"
"You were almost lost my King." Lancelot said,
"What do you mean lost?" She asked confused,
"Morrigan sealed you away." Gawain said,
"Well it looks like you got me out, where is that jerk anyway?" Sonic asked, looking around the room.
"I banished him to the Underworld." Caliburn said,
"You did what?"
"A fitting punishment for all the things he did to you and the realm. Especially since I knew you wouldn't give him a just enough one." Caliburn said, "He will not bother Camelot for a long time." Saya looked angry for a moment but knew there was nothing she could do about it now.
"Well I guess that's better than one of you killing him." Sonic said with a sigh as she notices that all of her friends were in tears, "Yeesh! Alright, come here," She holds her arms out as they all kneel down and give her a group hug.
"Don't scare us like that!" Amy said,
"I'm sorry! I didn't intend for that to happen." She said, "But seriously guys. I can't breathe!" She said as they loosen their grip,
"We're never letting you go!" Cream said still crying,
"You have to at some point… I'm hungry!" Sonic squirmed as they pause for a moment and all laugh.
"You should get some rest my King, wielding Excalibur drains you." Lancelot said,
"We should probably make our way back home." Knuckles said,
"I can send you all home… however, I do suggest the King rests first, transporting her back while weakened might do her harm." Merlina said,
"Don't knock me out again! I can rest while being awake." Sonic said, "How long do you think I need?"
"Just a few hours should be enough, it will also let Camelot heal a bit after Morrigan's alterations." Merlina said,
"We've been gone for a few days now… Elias and Sally must be so worried." Cream said,
"Tikal would have told them what happened," Knuckles said,
"I hope nothing bad happened while we were gone…" Blaze said, a sense of foreboding washes over her.
"Me too…" Tails said, "I feel bad… If I was faster I wouldn't have gotten caught."
"I feel the same." Cream said as Knuckles pats both of their heads,
"Don't go blaming yourselves." Knuckles said,
"Eh hem!" Caliburn said getting their attention, "I don't mean to interrupt your conversation, but it seems she was more tired than she was letting on." They all turn towards Sonic who fell asleep in Shadows arms.
"We should let her rest." Gawain said as Shadow stands up carrying her,
"I can show you to her room." Lancelot said as Shadow nods and he leads them out of the Throne room.
"Man, we need to put her in a bubble or something." Knuckles said shaking his head.
"Have any of you ever noticed whenever it seems like we're losing something turns the tables in Sonic's favor?" Amy asked,
"I have noticed that too, but it's always been like that." Blaze said,
"It's just a little convenient don't you think?" Amy said,
"She is called the Legendary Hedgehog," Tails said,
"Okay but what do you think was preventing Excalibur from waking her?" Knuckles asked,
"I still believe it's Fleetway." Blaze said,
"I don't think so…" Cream said, "Why would Fleetway block Sonic from waking if she was so concerned about her before?"
"Something else is going on…" Knuckles said crossing his arms,
"The echo!" Tails said, "Tikal said it may become a problem!"
"Right! I had completely forgotten that!" Knuckles said, "But we also thought Fleetway was the Echo."
"Uh… Echo?" Amy asked looking confused,
"After we saved Sonic from Eggman's control Tikal checked on Sonic to make sure the Dark Chaos was gone. There was no Dark Chaos, but she said Sonic had an Echo, like a shadow behind her." Cream explained,
"I see… So this Echo might be the thing that tried to stop Sonic from coming back?" Amy speculated,
"Maybe." Tails said,
"We should have Tikal take another look at Sonic when we get back." Blaze said as they all nod in agreement,
Lancelot and Shadow get to the King's chambers and he opens the door for her as she enters holding Sonic. The entire room looks turned over, "What happened here?" She asked as she walks over and lies Sonic on the bed,
"The King happened; I assume she searched everywhere for the key to the hidden passage." Lancelot explained,
"Makes sense, she wouldn't waste any time to escape." She said as she sits on the bedside next to her.
"We should let her rest." He said,
"I'm not leaving her side. Never again." She said taking Sonic's hand,
"Very well, I will have someone prepare food for when she wakes," He said leaving, Shadow looks Sonic over, she was fast asleep. She brushes Sonic's hair away from her face thinking how peaceful she looks.
"How do I keep you safe?" She said out loud as she kisses her forehead and keeps an eye on her while she sleeps.
A few hours pass as Sonic stirs awake to the smell of food; she stretches before sitting up. She looks around the room to see Shadow sitting in a chair next to her. "Hey there sleepy head," Shadow teased,
"Did Merlina knock me out again?" Sonic yawned looking annoyed as Shadow chuckles,
"No, you were so exhausted you fell asleep." Shadow said handing her the plate of food. "Hurry up and eat, we need to get back." Sonic quickly scarfs down the food.
"Where's everyone else?" Sonic asked between bites,
"They're getting ready to go." Shadow said as Sonic finishes the food. Shadow takes the plate and sets it down on the chair and moves over sitting on the bed facing her, "So a truth spell forced you to say you're in love with me?" She leans close to Sonic as her face becomes flushed,
"H… how do you know about that?" Sonic asked as Shadow wraps her arms around her waist and pulls her closer,
"Caliburn, it's why he Knighted me and gave me permission to wield him." Shadow said,
"Oh… t…that makes sense." Shadow kisses her and holds her body close, "Weren't you the one who just said we needed to get going?" Sonic said trying to avoid eye contact feeling embarrassed as her heart began to race, but a part of her didn't want to stop.
"Chaos stop talking." Shadow said as she kisses her again, they hear someone cough at the door, they stop and see Percival standing there.
"P…Percival!" Sonic said starting to turn red completely flustered,
"Forgive my intrusion my King… but your companions are ready to go." She said,
"N…n…no it's okay! You're right we need to get going." Sonic said, she started to get out of the bed, as Shadow stops her and holds her by the waist.
"This conversation isn't over." Shadow said kissing her neck with a hungry sounding purr sending a quiver down Sonic's spines that made her feel weak in the knees,
"C…Conversation?" Sonic said, her face turns completely red, as Shadow lets her go giving her a teasing look and gets off the bed taking Sonic's hand.
"But you're right, we should get going." She said as they all head back to the throne room.
"Sonic! How are you feeling?" Tails asked running over to them as they enter the room.
"Feeling great little dude." Sonic said,
"Are you sure? Your looking rather flushed," Merlina said,
"D…Don't worry about that…" Sonic said going to cover her face as Shadow stops her,
"I told you before not to cover your face," Shadow said as Sonic's ears lower with a quiet whimper.
"As long as you are alright. Are you all ready to go?" Merlina asked,
"Just one moment," Sonic said. She gives Shadow a look and she hesitantly lets go of her hand as Sonic walks over to Caliburn, Nimue and the Knights of the Round table.
"We are sad to see you go your Majesty." Gawain said,
"Yes, I wish your visit could have been a more pleasant one." Percival said,
"Make sure the Grail is in a place not even I know about this time, okay? I don't want any more crazy sorcerer's trying to kidnap me." Sonic joked as Percival nods.
"Please be careful on your journeys, your Majesty," Nimue said,
"Careful isn't in my vocabulary." Sonic said with a shrug,
"Fool! You may be King but show a little respect to the lady of the lake!" Caliburn said,
"Yeah, Yeah" She said chuckling, "I guess this is goodbye huh?"
"It is never a goodbye, only a farewell until next time. Isn't that what you told us?" Caliburn said as she smiles happy to hear him say that.
"Alright then, I'll see you next time." She said with a thumbs up as the Knights kneel to her. "Hey! I told you guys to cut that out."
"No matter where you go, you shall always be our King." Lancelot said as he takes her hand and kisses the back of it.
"Lance…" Sonic said uncomfortably as she started to feel Shadow's glares,
"I wanted to show you how I feel, since you said last time, Consent is a thing?" He said sounding a little confused as he lets go of her hand,
"What the hell does that mean?" Shadow asked as her eyebrow twitched,
"And we're leaving!" Sonic said quickly moving next to Shadow and pulling her over towards the others. "We're ready to go Merlina!" Sonic said in a rush. Merlina nods starting to cast the spell as the magic circle starts to form underneath them.
"Sonic, what did he mean by that?" Shadow asked annoyed, as the magic circle starts to glow,
"I'll tell you when he's not in killing range…" She chuckles uncomfortably,
"It was nice meeting you all!" Cream waved as they begin to disappear,
"Why would he need to be out of killing range?" Shadow asked as they completely fade away and are transported back to their world.
The magic circle appears in the same spot it appeared before when they were first brought to Camelot. They begin to appear in the courtyard in the middle of the night. "Why didn't we fall out of the sky like last time?" Amy asked,
"Forced teleport verses not forced?" Sonic said shrugging not entirely sure of the reason,
"Tell me what he meant." Shadow said crossing his arms,
"He kinda forced me to kiss him…" Sonic said, avoiding eye contact. Sophia's eyes close for a moment as she starts to look around the ground.
"Where's the book, I'm going to kill him." Shadow said,
"This is exactly why we left…" Sonic said trying to calm her down,
"Uh, guys? Why are all the lights off?" Tails asked as they start looking around.
"Better question… why's there a hole in the mountain?" Amy asked pointing it out as Blaze lights her hands reveal the entire courtyard was disheveled.
"What in Chaos?" Sonic said,
"Something is very wrong…" Blaze said as Knuckles looks concerned,
"The Master Emerald!" He said running inside,
"Knuckles wait!" Cream said,
"C'mon, we should stick together." Shadow said holding Sonic's hand as they all run after Knuckles to the alter room. Everything within the hallway looked either destroyed or weathered.
"What's going on? Where is everybody?" Tails asked as they catch up to Knuckles in the Alter room.
"The Master Emerald is gone…" Knuckles said looking shocked and angry,
"The power ring fountain in gone too!" Tails said.
"Everyone transform back, if the Master Emerald isn't here we need to limit using our powers." Shadow said as they all transform back.
"It's so quiet…" Caroline said,
"I literally have one job and I can't even do that right." Kolt said sounding defeated,
"Knuckles has one job dude; Don't worry we'll find it." Saya said putting her hand on his shoulder trying to help comfort him,
"Do you think Sally and Elias are okay?" Alan asked,
"What about Hope?" Caroline asked,
"Let's look around to see if we can find any clues to what happened," Shadow said as they leave the abandoned Alter room.
All of Freedom HQ was abandoned, there was no one in sight, the infirmary was empty, all of the computers in the computer room were disconnected and there was no electricity. They continue looking around and see all of their stuff from their rooms gone as well. "Where'd they all go?" Kolt asked,
"Of course our phones are gone too…" Brandy said letting out a sigh, her hand still a flame to light their path.
"Oh no!" TK said as she realized something and runs down the hall,
"TK wait!" Saya said as they all run after her towards the hangar bay. All of the planes and helicopters were gone including the Twin Tornado as TK continues to run to her workshop. She bursts through the door and looks around to see it was also stripped empty.
"You shouldn't run off like that." Alan said,
"It's gone!" TK said sounding frightened, "The Dark Chaos Emerald…" Saya's face goes white,
"N…nobody panic. We just gotta figure out what's going on…" Saya said trying not to panic. "I don't sense the Dark Chaos Emerald so it's either too far or still contained."
"What do we do? We don't have our phones and there's no one around." Caroline said,
"We head to Station Square." Sophia said,
"We can go to my parents, maybe they know what happened?" Saya said,
"Or at least get to a phone." Brandy said as they all nod,
"I don't think we should travel at night though…" Alan said,
"I agree, and we can let our Emeralds charge up a bit as well." Kolt said,
"I don't know if I can just wait here though…" Saya said, "I know I said don't panic, but I'm definitely feeling panicked." She clenches her chest.
"Don't think about it, focus on me." Sophia said squeezing Saya's hand as she nods trying to calm herself.
"I don't want to ask this but… how long have we been gone?" Alan asked,
"When I was in Camelot the first time, I was there for years but very little time passed in our world." Saya explained,
"But Morrigan altered the world…" TK said, Saya stops and ponders.
"I didn't think about that…" Saya said,
"Maybe we should start moving then, it'll take us some time to get out of the forest." Brandy said,
"I agree, we're all capable of protecting ourselves and staying here won't get us any answers." Sophia said.
"I suppose you're right." Alan said as he summons his hammer. "Oh thank Chaos you're back to being a hammer." He said letting out a sigh. Then snaps his fingers again and it turns into a staff, "Um…"
"You still have magic?" Saya said,
"I guess? … this is so weird…" He said snapping his fingers again and it turns back into a hammer.
"We should get going then," TK said, as they all head towards the entrance of the mountain.
"Do you think Hope is okay?" Caroline asked as Brandy puts her arm around her shoulder.
"We'll find 'em" Brand said as they start heading down the road. They notice an orange glow coming from town in the horizon that had them all unsettled.
"This is way past not cool…" Saya said gripping Sophia's hand tightly. She notices TK look worried as she grabs her hand. "It's okay little dude, We'll get through this."
"Do you think our parents are okay?" She asked as they all stayed quiet for a moment.
"We're going to get to the bottom of this I promise." Saya said as they keep going.
They finally get out of the mountains just as the sun begins to rise. The sky was cloudy, and it was still uncomfortably quiet as they kept moving forward. "Do you guys mind if we take a break?" Alan asked, "We haven't stopped…"
"Sorry, I forgot you guys don't have our stamina." Saya said. She looks over at everyone else who just looked as exhausted as Alan.
"It looks like there's a gas station up ahead; we can take a break there." Sophia said,
"Maybe someone has a phone." Kolt said,
"Though someone might be concerned seeing a group of kids walking out of the mountains alone." Brandy said,
"She has a point; someone might freak out that seven kids are walking around unsupervised." TK said,
"Did you all forget that I'm in college?" Kolt said crossing his arms looking insulted,
"You're only a year older than us and you look the same age as us dude chill," Alan said,
"We can do it, right Soph?" Saya said as she nods, "You all wait here and take a breather, we'll be right back." They all find a spot and sit down to rest. Saya and Sophia walk up to the gas station, there were no cars around.
"Have you noticed that there hasn't been one car on the road?" Sophia asked, Saya nods glancing back down the road.
"This is just getting more and more concerning the more time goes on…" Saya said as they get to the door of the gas station as they notice the lights aren't on. Saya tries the door as it opens. "Hello?" She calls out. They pause waiting for a response as Saya steps inside,
"Careful," Sophia said stepping in after her.
"Is this starting to feel very Zombie apocalypse to you?" She asked as Sophia sighs,
"You read too many comic books." She shakes her head as Saya chuckles, "Let's see if there's a phone,"
"You going to let my hand go any time soon?" Saya joked,
"Nope." She said pulling her forward and walking up to the counter. Saya jokingly rolls her eyes letting Sophia lead for a moment.
"At least let me grab some snacks for the others?" Saya asked as Sophia pauses, she had a point. None of them know how long it will be before they find help or food.
"Fine, see if there's some water too." Sophia said as she reluctantly lets go of her hand and Saya grabs a dusty bag next to the counter and goes over to the isles and throws anything that didn't look like it had gone bad. Sophia checked the desk and found a phone line. She picks up the phone but hears no dial tone, "Damn…"
"No good?" Saya walks back over to her and hands her a bottled water.
"Lines dead." Sophia said putting the phone down opening the water and taking a sip. "How much water did you find?"
"Six bottles," Saya said,
"We should be cautious; we don't know how long we'll be on our own." Sophia asked taking Saya's hand, she could feel her shaking. "You okay?"
"I'm definitely beyond panicked… Trying not to think worst case scenario." Saya said as Sophia hands her the water.
"As long as we're all together we'll get through this." Sophia said brushing Saya's bangs out of her face as she smiles at her,
"Yeah!" She said as they head outside to the others,
"Did you find a phone?" Kolt asked as Saya tosses him the water bottle and hands out food.
"No one was there, and the line was dead." Sophia said as they all let out a sigh,
"Maybe you're right about us being in a video game…" Caroline said to Alan,
"Right? This is just too weird!" He said,
"Either way we need to keep moving. But be sparing with the water we don't have a lot," Sophia said,
"We don't have your guys' stamina." Brandy said looking at TK and Caroline who look exhausted,
"I know, which is why we're going to keep a slow pace. We're going to burn out soon with the lack of food at some point which is why we have to keep moving." Sophia said as they all start standing up.
"Right, Saya's metabolism might burn her out faster than we might." Kolt said,
"I'll be fine, I'm more worried about you guys." Saya said,
"We'll just go easy." TK said, as they all continue towards town,
"So what do you think happened?" Caroline asked,
"Best guess, Eggman." Saya said,
"But how'd he find the base?" Kolt asked,
"He was able to find that Master Emerald Shard and he found Alan." Brandy said,
"There weren't any bodies so I would assume they evacuated before the attack." Sophia said as Saya elbows her, "What?"
"Try to be a little bit more tactical about how you say things… Caroline looks like she's about to break." Saya whispered,
"That means they got out safe." Sophia quickly rephrased,
"Oh, I hope so." Caroline said with a sigh still holding onto Brandy as they walk,
"What do we do if the town's empty too?" Alan asked,
"Alan…" Kolt smacks the back of his head, "You're scaring everyone,"
"Sorry… I'm just worried about my family." He said lowering his head, his mind was also thinking of worst-case scenario.
"We all are…" TK said.
They continued forward for hours hoping to see a car eventually go by or even see a plane in the sky. But it continued to be disturbingly quiet as the sun sets. "Okay… now we have to rest." Alan said sounding expended,
"Let's find a spot and try to get some sleep." Sophia said,
"Man this sucks…" Kolt said letting out a sigh as they find a clearing near the road.
"I'll keep an eye out." Sophia said,
"Wake me up when you get tired." Saya said yawning as she sits next to Sophia leaning her head on her shoulder.
"I will," She said as they all lie in the grass as Sophia keeps an eye out. Saya was always able to fall asleep quickly. Sophia gently moves her to lay her head on her lap as she pets her head as she slept. The light pollution from Station Square gave off an orange glow and it unsettled her.
The following morning the others wake up seeing Sophia still awake as Sonic stirs and sits up with a loud yawn. "You were supposed to wake me when you got tired!" Saya said looking at her angrily,
"Not tired…" She shrugs, "Might be the Dark Arms blood"
"We have any food left?" TK asked with a yawn as Saya tosses her a bag of chips and hands everyone else food,
"This is the last of it… I should have grabbed more." Saya said,
"Saya you need to eat too." Caroline said,
"I have higher stamina than you guys I can go a little longer without food." Saya said as Sophia hands her half of her food.
"We don't need you passing out." Sophia he said,
"Thanks." Saya said taking the food.
"How much longer till we get to town?" Brandy asked,
"Not far, we should be able to see it in a few hours." Kolt said,
"Then let's get going." Sophia said as they move forward.
A few hours pass and they make it close to the city, "I think we should see Station Square after we climb this last hill." Brandy said as they were all catching their breath.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Saya said as she starts walking up the hill. She gets to the top and stops not believing what she was seeing. The others catch up and see the town in ruin and partially rebuilt into a massive factory creating black plumes of smoke.
"This is worse than we thought…" Alan said,
"That's not the worst part…" Sophia points out the Eggman logo on the side of the factory.
"No…" TK said,
"Eggman took over the city…" Saya started to say as she felt a despair she hadn't felt in this lifetime. "Because we weren't here… Because I wasn't here…"
"Our homes…" Cream said as tears stream down her face.
"How could he do this?" Kolt said,
"I know this is a lot, but we need to remain calm." Sophia said trying to help everyone stop their internal struggle.
"Stay calm? Eggman took over and our families might be…" Brandy paused as all of their faces darken. Caroline grabs onto Brandy and cries as she holds her tightly,
"This is my fault…" Saya said stepping back from them,
"Saya, don't do that." Sophia said reaching out to her, but she pulls away,
"No… this always happens… people I care about get hurt… Eggman came back because I came back… Eggman took over because I wasn't here to stop him… Look me in the eye and tell me that all of this, our lives what they are now, isn't my fault!" Saya said with tears in her eyes.
"T… This isn't your fault! It's Eggman's." TK said reaching for her as she backs away again.
"But Eggman woke up because of me!" Saya said,
"Saya stop it, blaming yourself isn't going to do anything." Kolt said as she grabs her head,
"You're right…" She turns her head looking towards Station Square, "I'll make him pay!" her green eyes glow with rage. Just as she's about to transform and run towards the town Alan snaps his fingers, his staff appears, and waves his hand. A shimmery mist appears in front of Saya's face as her eyes darken and she collapses unconscious. Kolt barely manages to catch her before her head hits the ground.
"Alan!" Caroline yelled,
"What? She was about to do something stupid and you know it." He said as Kolt picks her up,
"Still! We told you not to learn that from Merlina." TK said,
"She was about to bolt! I don't think we need her getting herself captured right now." He argued,
"Unfortunately… he has a point. Her emotions are blinding her… she's not thinking straight." Brandy said,
"Sophia, what do we do now?" Kolt asked,
"First, do you sense the Master Emerald coming from the city?" She asked him as she takes Saya from him,
"No, I don't sense the Master Emerald at all… But if I have a bit of time I might be able to channel into Chaos and reach out to Tikal maybe find you where it is." Kolt said,
"That's a good idea." Caroline said,
"We're too out in the open, we should find someplace we can hide while you do that and wait for Saya to wake up." Sophia said,
"The outer buildings in the city might be a good place to check, that way there's a roof covering us." TK said,
"Yeah, it looks like it's going to rain." Alan said,
"Then let's hurry." She said as they all nod and head towards town.
Everything was in shambles and the only noises were coming from the factory. They find a stable building and head inside to find a room that can be barricaded. "I didn't see any patrol bots, but we should still be cautious." Brandy said as Kolt transforms and sits down to meditate.
"This might take me a bit but please try to keep it down, I need to concentrate." Knuckles said as Sophia sees a couch and lies Saya down sitting next you her. She wipes the tears away looking worried.
"She's going to kill you." TK said to Alan,
"Better than us trying to chase after her and Eggman finding out we're here." Alan said crossing his arms refusing to feel bad for his decision to knock her out. They hear Knuckles start chanting as they all sit down and stay quiet trying not to distract him.
A few hours pass, Saya starts waking up as she quickly realizes what happened. She's about to quickly sit up when Sophia covers her mouth before she yells at Alan and puts her finger over her mouth and then points at Knuckles. "Knuckles is trying to reach out to Tikal, but he needs quiet." She said quietly as Saya nods and Sophia moves her hand while she sits up,
"Are we in town?" Saya whispered, as Sophia nods. Saya looks at Alan and glares at him. "I'm so punching you later…"
"Fair, but better than Eggman possibly capturing you." He said as she pauses and lowers her head.
"How'd it all go wrong?" She said,
"Meteors carrying magic bracelets fell from the sky." TK joked as Saya lightly chuckles. Knuckles stands up and turns towards them, his eyes glowing an orange color,
"Oh! Thank Chaos you all are alright!" They hear Tikal's voice,
"Are we glad to see… well… hear you." Saya said feeling thrown off hearing Tikal's voice through Knuckles' body,
"Where are you?" Tikal asked,
"On the outskirts of Station Square, we didn't know where else to go with HQ abandoned." Sophia said,
"You shouldn't be there! If he finds you, you'll be in trouble!" She said sounding concerned, "Don't move from where you are, we will come and get you." The glow in his eyes fades as he shakes his head.
"That feelt weird…" Knuckles said holding his head.
"Try being possessed by a sacred sword." Saya said shaking her head,
"So we just stay here until help arrives?" Caroline asked,
"Looks like it." TK said,
"She sounded really concerned that we were here." Alan said,
"We stay put unless absolutely necessary. We need to make sure Eggman doesn't know we're here for as long as possible." Sophia said,
"So now we wait…" Brandy said,
"I hope they get here soon… Being here makes me uncomfortable." Caroline said as Knuckles transforms back.
"I won't be able to transform for a while… that took a lot of Chaos energy." Kolt said sounding tired,
"Let's hope that nothing happens…" TK said,
"I really hope you didn't just jinx us…" Alan said,
"Will you stop being so pessimistic." Sophia said, "I thought it was my job to be the negative one?"
"Hard to be positive in this situation…" Alan said,
"I agree… but at least we have each other." Caroline said as Brandy takes her hand,
"As long as you're with me I can keep going." She said,
"How long do you all think we've been gone?" Kolt asked,
"With the amount of construction is has to be at least six months." TK said,
"You can't be serious!" Saya said,
"It's probably been longer…" Sophia said as Caroline grabs her hand,
"I hear something…" She said,
"Everyone stay out of sight of the windows," Sophia said as they all move and lean against the walls and stay quiet. After a few moments they hear loud robotic footsteps. TK leans just enough to peak out of the window to see four red Swatbots as a light that appears to be scanning things comes out of their hand.
"We need to get away from the walls." Tails whispered, "They're using Infrared scanners and they might be able to see our heat signatures through the walls." She said as they all quietly move away from the wall as Kolts pants get stuck to a piece of scrap metal and it scrapes against the floor loudly.
"Really Kolt." Saya whispered, as he removes the piece of metal,
"Maybe they didn't hear that?" Kolt said as one of the robots punches through the wall they were just standing next to and bursts through the room.
"Everyone back into the hallway!" Sophia said as they all run for it, Sophia and Saya staying in the back to stay at pace with the others.
"Unidentified humans, by order or Dr. Robotnik you are under arrest." The robot said,
"You'll have to catch us first!" Saya said slamming the door shut behind them and catching up with the others as the robot bursts through the door.
"If that thing keeps slamming through walls this whole building's going to come down on top of us!" Alan said as they continue running towards the exit.
"We can take em!" Saya said stopping as Sophia grabs her hand and pulls her along,
"No! we need to get out of here. if we destroy them he'll send more." She said, "Besides, Kolt can't transform,"
"Fine, it looks like we can outrun it easy enough." Saya said as the others in front of her stop and she almost crashes into them.
"Too bad there's more than one…" TK said as another robot blocked the exit.
"Unidentified humans, by order or Dr. Robotnik you are under arrest." The robot in front of them said as they point it's cannon hand at them, as the one that was chasing them starts to catch up,
"This way!" Alan said as they all start running to the left as the third robot bursts through another wall and repeats the same line,
"Man that's annoying!" Saya said as they back up as they notice they've been completely surrounded by all four robots.