Chapter 50
They all get back to Freedom HQ and explain what happened as both Sally and Elias facepalm trying to not feel overwhelmed, "We… we did not need this right now." Elias said pinching the bridge of his nose,
"You're telling me, Metal was the only thing besides Shads that could almost keep up with me." Sonic said,
"Almost?" Shadow raises an eyebrow,
"I'm faster than you and you know it." Sonic teased as she sticks out her tongue.
"Will you be serious for one minuet?" Knuckles said,
"Thirty seconds is my limit." Sonic said, he lets out a sigh as they all transform back,
"At this point, nothing changes. No one is allowed to be on their own and daily meetings about plans will be held in the Alter room to confirm there is no one listening." Elias said,
"And we need to increase security, some rude lady man handled me while trying to tell me that I shouldn't be around Soph." Saya said crossing her arms,
"We were talking to Espio and Sasha about that while you were gone and we've made extra checkpoints so something like that won't happen again," Sally said,
"Good, cuz I've been really fighting the urge to punch some people." Alan said,
"It's fine, I'm used to this kind of thing." Sophia said, "And you shouldn't have told her we're dating, now they might come after you." Sophia looks at Saya,
"Let them try." Saya said looking ready for a fight,
"But Sophia, that's the point. You shouldn't have to become used to it." Brandy said,
"We'll be moving all of your parents over to this side as well just in case this continues to escalate. And since we're sure someone is fueling this I see it getting worse before it gets better." Elias said,
"At least we'll know they'll be safe." Caroline said,
"There's a few more things…" Elias said, "Saya, Sophia, Kolt, you guys can't be alone together."
"What?" Kolt said,
"You and Saya are both Eggman and Mephiles' targets, you two being alone together would be like giving you to them on a silver platter."
"But what about Soph?" Saya asked,
"Does Abyss ring any bells?" He said raising an eyebrow as she looks away and pouts,
"That's… fair…" Saya crosses her arms,
"It's not like we have to be away from each other, we just have to be supervised." Sophia takes her hand,
"I know that," Saya said with a sigh, but she also knew that meant they couldn't have any privacy.
"This is going to take some time to get used to but please stay vigilant." Sally said as they all nod before leaving the room in groups.
The next few days Sophia and TK worked tirelessly to complete the curtain of darkness to contain Mephiles in. They all met in the Alter room to come up with a plan to make sure they can quickly trap him. "And you're sure it works?" Alan asked,
"Unfortunately, no… if Mephiles has absorbed multiple shadows he may be too powerful to contain." Sophia said,
"But hopefully the addition of using his own energy to contain him will be enough to stop him from breaking free." TK said,
"TK for the win again." Saya chuckles,
"The only issue is we have to weaken him before pulling him into the curtain." Sophia said,
"I assume that will be up to me." Brandy said,
"It'll be up to all of us, but your flames might be helpful." Kolt said,
"If that's the case we should have Brandy and TK stick with either Saya or Kolt," Elias said,
"Probably Kolt since Mephiles stated he needs the scrolls before he comes after Saya again." Sophia said,
"That's something to look forward to." Kolt rolls his eyes,
"It's been a few days but you all need to continue keeping your guard up." Sally said,
"I need to get to my first meeting and it's your day to join me Saya." Elias said teasingly as she groans,
"Your meetings are so boring!" She said rolling her eyes,
"I hate them just as much as you do." He chuckles as Saya walks over to Sophia and kisses her on the cheek.
"I'll see you later, be safe." Sophia said as Saya leaves the Alter room with Elias,
"You want to go with her huh?" Caroline smiles,
"Always, but with Elias' schedule it's not fair to have one of us sit in his meetings all the time." Sophia said letting out a sigh,
"What time are you seeing Dr. Starline tonight?" TK asked,
"Seven," She said,
"I think Elias' last meeting ends at eight today," Sally said looking over her tablet,
"So I'll see Saya after I'm done at the infirmary," Sophia said giving herself something to look forward to,
"And are you still alright helping me in the computer room going over radio transmissions Caroline?" Sally asked,
"Of course! I'm happy to help." Caroline said with a smile,
"That means you're stuck with me today." Alan joked to Sophia,
"How's your training going?" Sophia said with a wicked grin as Alan feels a chill down the back of his spine.
"Someone wanna trade?" He turns to the others as they all shake their heads,
"Let's go see how well Espio's been training you." Sophia said pulling him towards the door as he mouths, help me, while they all chuckle.
"What's on our agenda today TK?" Kolt asks as he and Brandy turn to her,
"I'd like to start working on the antidote again since the curtain of darkness is finished," TK said,
"To the workshop then." Brandy jokes,
"I don't want to be a bother; we can do something else if you guys want." TK said,
"She's just teasing TK, you working on stuff helps all of us," Kolt said,
"Okay," She said as the rest of them leave the room.
The rest of the day was quiet, Saya slept through the majority of Elias' meetings while Caroline helped Sally with radio transmissions for agents out on the field. TK finished making tweaks to the antidote and was having her computer run tests on the serum while they have dinner. They decide to go check on Sophia and Alan in the training room. "How dead do you think Alan is?" Kolt asks,
"He's probably going to be sore for the rest of the night." Brandy said,
"I'm happy they've started to get along more. For a while I was worried Sophia might kill Alan at any moment." TK said,
"We can thank Saya for that, she used to be pretty cold to me too." Kolt said,
"But she's also the reason why they didn't get along at first." Brandy chuckled,
"I just hope we can contain Mephiles so we can have a little time to relax…" TK said with a sigh,
"I agree, sleeping with the lights on sucks…" Kolt said as they enter the training room to see Alan lying on the ground face down while Sophia shakes her head,
"Stop complaining, this is good for you." She said,
"We've been at this for hours!" Alan whined not lifting his head,
"You're being overdramatic, you just had a break while having dinner." She said seeing the others approach,
"Did you kill him?" Kolt said hearing Alan's whimpers from the floor mat.
"He's just being overly dramatic." Sophia said shaking her head,
"You're relentless!" Alan slightly lifts his head as the others chuckle,
"How was your guys' day?" Sophia asked,
"My computer is still running tests to make sure the serum isn't as potent. Hopefully, we can test it out again soon." TK said,
"Saya will not be participating next time. You can test it on me." Sophia said as TK nods,
"Shouldn't you be getting to the infirmary?" Brandy said as Sophia looks at her watch,
"Damn, I almost forgot," She grabs Alan by the collar and starts pulling him to his feet. "C'mon, we can see if Dr. Starline can spare an icepack for your pain."
"An ice pack sounds nice." Alan said with a sigh,
"We'll see you all after, it shouldn't take too long." She said as they leave the training room,
"He looked like he was on death's door." Kolt chuckles,
"Let's go find Caroline, Sadly Saya's still stuck in meetings for another hour." Brandy said as they go look for Caroline and Sally.
Sophia and Alan get to the infirmary and it was eerily quiet with no one around except two nurses finishing up paperwork as Dr. Starline stands up from his desk and walks over to them. "Oh, good evening you two." He said with a smile as he notices Alan's bruises, "You look a little worse for wear."
"Blame the Ultimate pain in the neck," He said rubbing his shoulder as Sophia lightly grins,
"He may heal quickly but I think you went a little overboard." Dr. Starline said,
"I would have broken something if I was going overboard." She said as Alan winces in fear,
"You're a monster," Alan said jokingly as Sophia laughs,
"Don't let others hear you say that they might take it seriously," Sophia joked,
"One of the nurses can grab you an icepack and some pain meds while you wait." He said looking at the other two nurses as they both nod and stand up,
"Thanks Doc," Alan said as one of the nurses walks him over to a cot holding out an icepack and pain meds with a glass of water. He takes the medication and puts the ice pack on his shoulder and sits down letting out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks again for doing all of this, I bet you have patients come in all the time panicking that they'll see me." Sophia said,
"I should be thanking you. And they don't panic, but they are definitely vocal about their discontent." He said letting out a sigh,
"Glad they restricted civilians to their areas. I came pretty close to decking someone." Alan said,
"You all need to not let it bother you," Sophia said,
"Someone needs to be angry since you refuse to be." He said,
"Why don't you have a seat, and we can get started." Dr Starline gestured to the cot next to him. The other nurse walks over with a tray of tools and places it next to Dr. Starline. "Thank you."
"So how goes the experimenting?" Sophia asked rolling up her sleeve as he starts cleaning the inside of her arm.
"It's been going slow, but I think I'm close to narrowing down the specific part of your blood that heals." He said starting to take the blood sample.
"It's pretty cool that Gerald Robotnik actually created you to heal a little girl of an incurable disease." Alan said,
"Yeah, part of me still wishes she had the chance to experience earth herself." Sophia said feeling lament. Dr. Starline removes the needle and wipes her arm as the wound instantly heals.
"But she gets to experience it every day," Alan said as Sophia turns to him confused, "She can experience it as long as you're experiencing it." Sophia pauses looking surprised at his comment then lightly smiles,
"That was actually very sweet Alan," She said,
"I know how to pull at all of your heartstrings." Alan jokes as he shakes his head before yawning, "Hey Doc, I think your nurse gave me the sleepy meds." He started to feel extremely drowsy as he uses his hand to stabilize himself on the cot.
"That's because they did," Dr. Starline said. Sophia feels something pierce the back of her neck as she quickly turns back towards him to see an empty injection gun in his hand. Her vision starts to blur as a chill runs down her spine realizing what he injected her with, she tries to stand up, but the drug already made her body feel numb.
"Alan…run…" She collapses and Dr Starline catches her before she hits the ground. Alan gets to his feet and summons his hammer ready to fight.
"Who are you? Abyss?" He asked fighting through the drowsy feeling,
"I think it's so funny that the one who has always been open and trusting never let her guard down around me." Dr. Starline shook his head as he lifts up Sophia and lays her on the cot, "Saya was right to not trust me." He pulls out a strange looking glove that had an odd-looking topaz colored gem in the center. He puts it on his left hand as Alan sees an orange electrical spark come off of it.
"You! You're the one who kidnapped Dr. Quake." He glares as both of the nurses pull out injection guns and block his path to the door.
"Now be a smart boy and take a nap like Sophia here, there's still a lot of preparing to do." He said,
"Preparing for what?" He keeps an eye on all three of them. He didn't know what drug they gave him, so he knew he was pressed for time. He had to warn the others but not without trying to give them information first.
"For breaking the seals." He explained as he pulls out another vial and reloads his injection gun.
"And you need Sophia for that why?" He pretends to let down his guard slightly as they all step closer to him.
"Robotnik knows that Sophia will give him the most trouble, not to mention having her will keep Saya in line." He said as Alan gets rid of his hammer,
"That's all I needed," Alan said grabbing his watch and pressing the button, "Dr. Starline works for Egg…" The three of them jump Alan knocking his hand away and cutting off the warning before he could finish as he kicks Dr Starline away and struggles against the two nurses,
"Alan, are you okay? What was that about Dr. Starline" He hears TK respond as one of the nurses injects him with the drug and instantly goes unconscious.
Saya and Elias hear the message just as they walk out of the last meeting. They both look at one another. "Starline works for Egg?" Elias looks confused as he realizes what Alan was trying to say. "Eggman…" Saya's face goes dark,
"No…" She quickly runs towards the infirmary,
"Saya wait!" Elias runs after her,
Saya ran at top speed getting to the infirmary door in seconds but is stopped by the door being locked, "Soph?" She calls out but hears nothing inside as she slams her shoulder into the door trying to break it open, "Alan?"
"Saya!" Kolt yells and the others run up as Saya looks at Kolt desperately,
"The doors locked," Her voice cracks with fear.
"Move," Kolt said as she gets out on his way and he breaks the door open with one hit. But as he rushes into the room with the others behind him they realize no one was inside.
"Soph?" Saya calls out walking towards the separate rooms as Kolt quickly follows after her, realizing she's not thinking.
"Don't go alone," Kolt said The rest of them follow after her as Elias just gets to the door catching his breath. TK quickly looks around Dr. Starline's desk noticing a lot of the papers were missing, as if he left in a hurry.
"Don't run off on your own…" Elias said catching his breath.
"There's no one here…" Caroline said listening to the room,
"Guys…" Brandy finds Sophia and Alan's communicators on one of the cots as she holds it up to Sally and she takes them,
"Was Alan trying to say Starline is working for Eggman?" Kolt asked not wanting to believe it as Saya continues to look around.
"That's impossible… Sally and I have known Dr. Starline since we were kids." Elias said, "It must have been Abyss,"
"Alan was extremely specific with his words. He probably knew he had little time." TK said,
"I knew we couldn't trust him," Saya said angrily letting out a small growl.
"But where did they go? The door was locked," Caroline asked as Saya could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stick up. She quickly looks around and sees it next to one of the cots, a spark of orange electricity.
"TK!" She points out as TK takes out her tablet and starts scanning the area,
"It looks like there's a distortion, similar to the ones around where we were teleported to different worlds." She explained,
"Wait… does this mean that Starline was the one who took Helen?" Sally said,
"Now that we're mentioning it… Starline does fit out initial description of who we thought took Her," Elias said as Saya looks at the communicator in Sally's hand as tears start to fill her eyes. If she had stuck to her gut feeling and watched him more closely maybe he wouldn't have had a chance to take Sophia and Alan.
"Oh Saya…" Caroline quickly moves over to her and hugs her,
"I don't know what to do…" Saya said,
"We'll find them, Eggman took them for a reason." Kolt said trying to reassure her,
"This is why Mephiles came to her… He said if she didn't agree he couldn't guarantee our safety." Saya said wiping the tears away,
"So it was a threat." Brandy said,
"TK, Caroline, will you help me in the computer room? We need to find out where he took them." Sally said as they both nod,
"You three stay with me, we'll go to the Alter room. I no longer trust those on base." Elias said. He was trying not to show it, but they could see the betrayal he was feeling.
Caroline gives Kolt a look as she lets go of Saya. He places his arms around her and leads her out of the room as they head towards the Alter room, "If he hurts her…" Saya said, both Kolt and Brandy could see her eyes fill with rage,
"Don't worry Saya we're not going to let them get away with this. Dr. Starline will pay." Kolt said,
"This is why he took Helen… We needed someone at a similar level as her to take over while we continued out fight. He knew I'd reach out to him because of our history…" Elias said still angry with himself. He was always so cautious about who he trusted and that was what Starline exploited.
"My questions is why now?" Brandy said,
"I'm not sure, but we need to continue to be vigilant" Elias said as they quickly enter, "Tikal, check to make sure we weren't followed." They all close their eyes as the room fills with blinding light and then dims,
"Mephiles is not here… But Shadow and Amy's…" Tikal appears as Kolt waves to her to stop,
"We know… Eggman took them." Kolt said as Tikal looks shocked,
"That's terrible!" Tikal said,
"Wait!" Saya looks up, "Could you find them like how you found me on the Dark Arms ship?"
"I can try, please give me some time." She said disappearing,
"Good idea," Brandy said,
"But now if the others enter the room we won't be able to test and make sure Mephiles didn't follow them in." Elias said,
"I may be able to do it." Kolt said,
"Then we'll leave it up to you. Until the others can find a location we stay here." Elias said as they all nod,
"Is this is how Soph felt whenever I was taken?" Saya said as Kolt could tell she was trembling,
"Hope," Kolt calls out to them as they fly over,
"Chao!" They said flying straight to Saya and comforting her,
"Thanks," Saya said holding Hope tightly,
"We should try to collect a few power rings since we don't have TK's antidote yet." Brandy said,
"Good idea, we're going to need all the help we can get." Kolt said as they all wait to hear back on their next plan of attack.
"Make sure their restraints are secure, we don't want either of them breaking free before Dr. Robotnik gets here." Sophia could hear Dr. Starline's voice, but it sounded muffled. Her entire body felt heavy and her head was in a fog as she started to come to. She tries to sit up but feels a tug and a metallic creak unable to move her arms or legs. She turns her head to her arms and sees they are heavily restrained. Getting her eyes to focus she sees Alan laying on a table unconscious next to her in the same position. "Ah, you're up earlier that I was expecting." He walks into her view of Alan as she tugs at the restraints,
"You bastard." She said, as the restraints continue to creak.
"Now the language isn't necessary." He said turning towards Alan,
"Don't touch him!" She yelled, "Chaos…" As she attempts to induce Chaos Control a light on her restraints flashes as she gets electrocuted. She cries out in pain as Dr. Starline shakes his head,
"I'm only checking his vitals; he was drugged after already being given a sleep aid." He said checking Alan's pulse, "And I wouldn't try using Chaos energy, those restraints were made to hold you and Sonic."
"If anything happens to him…" Sophia pulls at the restraints again trying desperately to find a weak spot within the shackles to exploit,
"Relax, his pulse is stable. But it will be some time before he wakes up." He turns to her and starts checking her pulse,
"So you were working for Robotnik this entire time?"
"Correct, we have very like-minded ideals." He said flashing a light in her eyes as he checks her over.
"That you're both insane?" She glared,
"That the human evolution will be upgraded through the advances in science." Starline said looking insulted by her comment as he pulls out a syringe and a vial,
"Hector!" Sophia hears a voice she hadn't heard in a long time. She turns her head to see Dr. Q behind a locked force field.
"Doc, you're alive," Sophia said sounding relieved,
"Leave her alone!" Dr. Q demanded as she slams her fists against the field and is knocked back.
"Now, now Helen there's no need to get hostile. I'm only keeping her sedated, so she doesn't cause any trouble before Dr. Robotnik gets here." He said filling the syringe,
"I will figure a way out of here and when I do..." Sophia said as he injects her with the drug,
"I'm sure you will, but in the meantime we have more preparations to make for our other guests." Starline said as her vision tunnels and she goes unconscious.
Sally, Caroline, and TK enter the Alter room with blankets and pillows, Kolt walks over to the Master Emerald and everyone closes their eyes as he floods the room in light. "I just figured out an issue when we do that… None of us could see to confirm if any shadows stayed or not…" Brandy said as Elias lets out a sigh,
"Hopefully, Tikal comes back soon with good news." Elias said,
"Did you guys find anything?" Kolt asked,
"There was some chatter that Eggman was soon traveling to an unknowing location," Caroline said,
"That must be where he's keeping Sophia and Alan." Saya said,
"We don't know that for sure yet. I know you want to find Sophia as soon as possible but we have to be smart about this." Elias said,
"I know… I'm just worried." Saya said letting out a sigh trying to calm down,
"We just need to make sure Kolt is kept safe." Sally said,
"How many power rings have you been able to collect?" Caroline asks TK,
"We have five so far." She said, "Hopefully we can collect a few more."
"Brandy, I want you to hold onto this," Elias said handing her an encrypted key.
"What is it?" She asked taking it and placing it in her pocket,
"It's the key to the Dark Chaos Emerald vault. It shouldn't be with me." He said, just hearing the mention of the Dark Chaos Emerald caused Saya to jolt for a moment.
"Wait, I know we're in the Alter room, but I don't think it's safe to talk about this stuff." Kolt said,
"Dr. Starline betrayed us and we don't know how much time we have before they come after us again. And honestly I'm not sure how long we'll be safe here." Elias said,
"There's gotta be something we can do…" TK said as they all start talking about possible ideas.
Everything goes silent for Saya, she could see all of her friends talking but could hear no sound coming from them as it felt like the world slowed. "Saya," She hears Fleetway in the back of her head, "I can feel his presence getting stronger… Mephiles is coming but I don't know who his target is… You need to run."
"Chaos Control!" Saya quickly transforms, time moves normally for her again as the others turn towards her confused,
"Everything alright Sonic?" Caroline said,
"Mephiles in coming." She said as the rest of them transform,
"How do you know?" Tails asked looking around at the ground,
"Fleetway warned me." Sonic said staying alert,
"Everyone get near the Master Emerald," Knuckles said,
"What's your plan?" Elias asked as they all move closer to the Master Emerald,
"I hyper charge Blaze," He said,
"You collapsed last time you did that." Cream protested,
"And we don't have time to argue!" He said placing his hand on the Master Emerald and holding his hand out to Blaze.
"I have a better idea, everyone put their hand on the Emerald." Saya said, as they all do so.
"What are you thinking?" Blaze asked,
"I teleport us all out of here." Sonic said,
"Where?" Sally asked,
"Doesn't matter just hold on," Sonic said as she starts concentrating. "The seven servers are the seven Chaos, Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart, the heart is the controller, the controller serves to unify the Chaos, Chaos Control!" Blinded by a bright green light they teleport to a darkened cliffside where they could see Station square from where they were standing.
"We're on Angel Island," Knuckles said instantly recognizing his past life's home as Sonic lets go of the Master Emerald and collapses,
"Sonic!" Tails rushes over and helps her sit up,
"Sorry, that took a lot out of me…" She said catching her breath,
"Rest, you did good," Elias said as she nods,
"At least we got away before Mephiles showed up," Cream said with a sigh,
"Though I don't think Sonic will be able to pull that trick again any time soon." Blaze said,
"Just need a bit, this at least gives us a little time to come up with a plan…" Sonic said,
"We should get inside of the ruins; the Master Emerald is too exposed out here." Elias said walking over to Sonic and picking her up. Knuckles goes over and picks up the Emerald as they go inside.
"I can walk," Sonic said looking surprised at Elias' strength,
"You just teleported all of us across the country. Try to take it easy." He said as she nods,
"I don't know what we're going to do… Sophia didn't tell me how to put Mephiles into the curtain…" TK said,
"We can't give up," Sally said, as they end up in the luminescent cavern they found the Dark Chaos shard in almost two years ago,
"Odds have been stacked against us before but." Knuckles said, as Elias sits Sonic down,
"I'm still not liking our odds…" Blaze said,
"No matter what, we can't let them take Knuckles or Sonic," Elias said,
"There's one way to make sure Mephiles never gets his hands on you…" Sonic hears Fleetway's voice again, "You could become one with Chaos."
"Become one with Chaos?" Sonic said out loud sounding confused as they all stop talking and look at her. "That's what Fleetway just said," Knuckles remembers that phrase as his face twists to anger. He quickly grabs Sonic by the collar and pulls her to her feet,
"That's out of the question!" He yelled,
"Why?" She looked at him confused as her ears lower felling a little frightened by his anger, "Fleetway said if I do that Mephiles could never get his hands on me."
"Do you understand what that means? Becoming one with Chaos?" He asked as she shakes her head, "You lose your physical form and become a part of Chaos energy. Just like how Tikal sacrificed herself to seal away Chaos. If you do that you'll die!" Sonic's face turns pale as they all look shocked,
"That is not an option!" Elias said,
"If Fleetway is suggesting that Sonic kills herself…" Tails face darkens, "She doesn't believe we'll win…" They all lower their heads feeling defeated.
"I'm starting to get scared…" Cream said holding onto Blaze,
"You all need to rest; I'll keep an eye out." Elias said,
"Don't listen to Fleetway anymore," Knuckles said letting go of her collar as Sonic nods. They all try to get some rest in the cold dark cave unsure what will happen next.
Alan starts to come to consciousness feeling dizzy and sick, he tries to get up but realizes that his hands are restrained. "What happened?" He turns his head to see Sophia unconscious next to her, "Sophia!" He tries to move but he restraints barely creak. "C'mon break…"
"Alan stop, you'll only hurt yourself." He looks over across the room to see Dr. Q imprisoned,
"Doc! Thank Chaos you're okay," Alan said sounding happy and relieved to see her.
"Eggman made those restraints specifically to hold you," She said as he continues trying to break them.
"How long have I been out?" He asked,
"It's hard to tell time here but it's been a while. If I had to guess at least fifteen hours." She said,
"Sophia should have woken up before me." Alan said looking around trying to think of a way out.
"Hector drugged her again not too long ago so she couldn't try to escape." Dr Q said,
"It's up to me then." He said snaping his fingers as his staff appears,
"I don't remember you using a staff," She said looking confused,
"I learned some new tricks the year we were gone." Alan said trying to concentrate on magically unlocking his restraints.
"Where did you all go? Tikal told us you went after TK and Caroline but that's it." Dr. Q asked,
"We were in Camelot." Alan said,
"Camelot? As in King Arthurs Camelot?" She asked looking confused,
"The very same, I learned how to use magic from the lady of the lake." He said as she sees the restraint around his left arm start to glow. "So Dr. Starline was the one who kidnapped you?"
"Yes, everyone was in a rush to get out of HQ. And I had gone back to the infirmary to confirm that I had everything when he jumped me." She explained,
"How was he able to sneak past everyone? Better yet, how did he get us out of HQ and to here?" Alan asked,
"Hector has a special stone called a Warp Topaz. It can create portals to other places." Dr. Q explained.
"And I assume there's a strange orange electrical discharge whenever he uses it?" He asked as he hears a clicking noise.
"Correct," She said as the restraint unlocks, and he frees one arm.
"So far so good…" Alan said as he reaches for the other restraint. A green flash takes him off guard as a dark grey skinned hand grabs his free arm and pins it back down,
"Well aren't you the resourceful one." Abyss said,
"Crap…" Alan was completely taken off guard.
"You can't leave yet; we haven't gathered all of the pieces." He said as Alan tries to pull out of his grip.
"What are you planning?" He said,
"Mephiles told all of us that something powerful is sealed within Saya. So powerful that to bring her back from death they rewrote the world just to get that power." Abyss said,
"What do you get out of this?"
"I get the pleasure of watching Sophia witness Saya be consumed by eternal darkness." He said turning towards Sophia, "It will utterly destroy her."
"My friends will stop you." Alan said,
"Oh, we already have them on the run. It's only a matter of time before we have you all in your respective place." Now that Abyss says that, Alan looks around the room now noticing all of the other tables with restraints. There were only six tables, not seven.
"Abyss, what are you doing?" Alan hears Dr. Starline approach as Abyss let's out a sigh,
"I was keeping him still until you got back. He tried to escape." Abyss said as Dr. Starline looks shocked,
"It seems that your magic doesn't feed off of Chaos energy and didn't alert the sensors." Starline said as Abyss locks Alan's arm back into the restraint. "We'll have to keep you sedated as well." He walks over to a cabinet.
"Make sure not to give them too much, I want them awake when the fun starts." Abyss said,
"I already have a diluted formula made for Sophia, but I'll have to make it weaker for Alan." He said filling a syringe,
"You won't get away with this!" Alan said glaring at Starline,
"Try to get some rest before your friends get here," He said injecting him as he goes unconscious.
After waking up they all head back outside to stay out of the dark as much as possible. Kolt stayed next to the Master Emerald trying to meditate to get into contact with Tikal while the others kept lookout trying to devise a plan. "If we can find out where they have Sophia and Alan and can free them we might be able to have either Sonic or Shadow go super. They should be powerful enough to seal away Mephiles," TK said,
"It's a good plan in theory, we just need to know where Eggman is keeping them." Brandy said. Saya was staring at the Master Emerald, Fleetway's plan was a last resort and she was beginning to believe that it was their only option at this point.
"Saya?" Caroline calls out to her as she snaps out of it, "Are you okay?"
"Not really…" Saya said letting out a sigh,
"Sophia's strong, she'll keep her and Alan safe." Caroline said with a smile,
"I know, I'm just trying to weigh our options." Saya said,
"Becoming one with Chaos isn't an option Saya." TK argued,
"It is if the fate of the world hangs in the balance." She said,
"We won't let you sacrifice yourself, not again." Brandy said,
What if we don't have a choice?" Saya said,
"There's always a choice! Think about how Sophia would feel if you did that. She'd be heartbroken." She yelled,
"At least she'd be alive!"
"You don't know that! What if Eggman kills them just out of revenge?" Brandy said,
"You all said it yourself, without me there is no Eggman." She said as Brandy grabs her by the collar.
"And you think that will just magically solve all of our problems? That we'd all go back to our normal lives?" Brandy yelled, "Did you forget what Eggman did to my world? Just for fun!" She points towards the destroyed remains of Station Square.
"Both of you stop yelling!" Caroline yelled as she and TK pull them away from one another,
"I don't care if Fleetway got into your head, death is not an option." Brandy said,
"Alright, we all need to stay calm" Elias said getting in the middle,
"Saya… please. Just like when Sophia was worried about the Dark Arms getting into her head. Don't let your first instinct be self-sacrifice." TK said,
"W… What are you talking about?" Saya asked looking at TK confused as the rest of them look surprised,
"She didn't tell you?" Caroline asked,
"Tell me what?"
"Just before the Dark Arms attacked, Sophia told us that she had their blood inside of her and asked us to kill her if she lost control…" Kolt said standing up from his meditation,
"What?" Saya looked shocked,
"She didn't want to be used as a mindless weapon." Caroline said,
"We all refused her request obviously." Brandy said,
"And we stopped the Dark Arms without her becoming a martyr. Just like we're going to do for you." Kolt walks up to Saya, "Please have faith in us." She lowers her head,
"I just don't want anyone getting hurt because of me…" Saya said fighting the urge to cry, Kolt pulls her into a hug,
"Did you forget they're after me too? And if they find out where Elias and Sally hid the scrolls?" Kolt said,
"And the Dark Chaos Emerald…" Saya said,
"So this is on all of us, not just you." Kolt said letting go of the hug and patting her head,
"Thank you Kolt," They all hear a voice from behind them as they see Mephiles appear next to the Master Emerald with his head lowered into a bow, "Now I won't have to figure out which one of you has the information."
"Shit!" Kolt said as they all jump back,
"Don't let his shadows touch you." Saya said as they all transform and stand in front of Elias and Sally.
"I still don't understand why you are fighting the inevitable, Sonic. This was always meant to happen." Mephiles said,
"Yeah, the voice in my head says otherwise. Now what did you do with Sophia and Alan?" Sonic said as they all look at one another. Mephiles was standing in between them and the Master Emerald, taking away their ability to escape again.
"They're waiting for you all to join them." He laughs sending chills down their spines, "After all it will be quite a show."
"Not gonna happen." Blaze said lighting her hands,
"Sonic, can you teleport with just one other person without the Master Emerald?" Elias asked trying to stay quiet,
"I don't know… I used a Shard of the Master Emerald the first time and that had some serious side effects." She said,
"You and Knuckles get out of here." Elias said,
"What?" Knuckles said,
"Thinking of running away again?" Mephiles said taking a step closer. "Did you forget what lies inside of you?" He holds his hand out and clenches it into a fist as Sonic feels her chest tug towards him like an invisible string was pulling her. She grasps her chest and holds her ground trying to fight it.
"Sonic?" Cream notices her struggling as she notices her eyes flicker red for a moment,
"I can find you wherever you are with that Shard." Mephiles said tightening his fist again as Sonic lets out a yelp wincing in pain as she starts to step forward, but Knuckles grabs her before she could take another step.
"What are you doing?" He said,
"It's the shard… Like he's pulling it towards him." Sonic said as Blaze throws a bolt of fire at Mephiles and he lets it hit him in the shoulder unfazed by it.
"I told you, that trick wouldn't work on me twice." He said,
"Sonic, you and Knuckles need to run." Tails said,
"But… he can find me with the shard" Sonic was about to argue,
"It doesn't matter, if we can delay their plans for as long as possible we have to try." Blaze said,
"We'll hold him off." Elias said as he and Sally take out their weapons,
"We can't just leave you." Sonic said as Knuckles tightens his grip around her waist, he hated the idea of leaving his friends. But he knew they were right…
"The seven servers are the seven Chaos, Chaos is power…"
"Knuckles, let me go." Sonic said, as she starts to realize what he was doing.
"Power enriched by the heart; the heart is the controller…"
"No, we can't leave them!" She starts struggling to get out of his grip,
"The controller serves to unify the Chaos, Chaos Control!" Knuckles induces Chaos Control as he and Sonic teleport away.
"No matter, I will find them later. I assume you all would like to see your friends." He said,
"We're not going down without a fight." Tails said,
"Very well, let's see how long you last."