Chapter 51
Knuckles and Sonic teleport just outside of Station Square where they first witnessed the city in ruins almost six months ago. He lets go of Sonic's waist and staggers before falling to his knees. "Why did you do that?" Sonic yelled as she stops him from falling over.
"We had to escape." He said catching his breath,
"You left them!" Sonic said panicked,
"I know, but we had to." Knuckles said,
"You left the Master Emerald." There were multiple emotions going through Sonics head as she was trying to think of what to do.
"Sonic… stop, we need to… keep moving." He said as she notices he's on the brink of passing out,
"Let's find a place where you can rest." Sonic said pulling his arm over her shoulder and back to his feet, "I think I know somewhere we can hide." She runs them into the forest to the cabin she remembered her and her parents staying at after the incident with the Dark Arms.
"Where are we?" Knuckles asked,
"This was the cabin my parents and I stayed at when I was put on my forced vacation." She said looking around, "It looks like it's empty," She puts him down, "You rest, I'll make sure no one else is here." He nods as she first checks the door to see it's unlocked. She quickly runs through the rooms and confirms that they were the only ones here. "All clear." She said walking back over to him.
"I just need a bit to rest, but we need to keep moving." He said,
"You induced Chaos Control, something I have trouble doing." Sonic said helping him back up and into the cabin, "I'm honestly surprised you're still conscious."
"Can't be sleeping on the job." He chuckles,
"But why did you do that? You heard Mephiles, he can find me wherever we are because of the Dark Chaos Shard." She said sitting him down on the couch,
"I know, but we needed more time to think of a plan." Knuckles said,
"It's just us Knux, What are we supposed to do?" She said sitting down next to him holding her head in her hands,
"You can't give up Sonic. We will find a way, we always do." Knuckles said,
"Remove the shard." She hears Fleetway in her head,
"What?"
"If that's how he's tracking you, get rid of it to give yourselves more time." She said,
"I thought you needed it." Sonic said as Knuckles looks at her for a second then realizes who she'd talking to,
"I told you not to listen to her," Knuckles grabs her arm trying to distract her from Fleetway.
"Technically, I do need it to keep the voices out of your head. But if you two can keep moving and stay away from the Dark Chaos shard you should be able to fight it." Fleetway said.
"That's a lot of vague optimism," She said holding her hand up to Knuckles, "What will happen to you?"
"It won't be instant, but I'll eventually disappear."
"I know we don't have the best of relationships, but I won't just let you disappear." Sonic said,
"Chaos you're as stubborn as always…"
"Everything alright?" Knuckles asked,
"She wants me to get rid of the Chaos shard to buy us more time." Sonic said,
"And it sounds like you're refusing her idea,"
"She said she'll disappear without the shard. I won't let her just do that." Sonic said pulling out of Knuckles' grip.
"It's your decision. Besides how would we get it out?" He asked,
"No idea… but that's not important, for now you need some rest. I'll keep watch." She said,
"Alright, wake me up if something happens." Knuckles said transforming back and lying down. Saya stood near the window looking out towards Station square hoping that everyone else was okay.
"Elias, please wake up." He hears a familiar voice starting to stir awake, he holds his head trying to sit up. He feels a hand on his back helping him up, "Take it easy," He opens his eyes to see Helen kneeling next to him as he looks at her shocked.
"Helen?" Elias asked he blinked a few times trying to confirm it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him as she checks him over,
"It doesn't look like you have a concussion," Dr. Q said letting out a sigh of relief. Elias looks her up and down, she looked malnourished and ragged.
"Where's Sally?" He asked as she points to the other side of him to see her still unconscious.
"That shadow guy, I think his name is Mephiles tossed you two in here not too long ago." She said as he hugs her, "We can save the pleasantries for…" Before she finishes he pulls her into a kiss completely taking her off guard.
"I was beginning to lose hope that we'd ever find you." Elias said,
"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault… If I had someone go with me none of this would have happened." Dr. Q said, "I see a certain blue Hedgehog gave you ideas about forwardness." She looks away embarrassed,
"Where are the girls?" Elias asked as she looks towards the forcefield. He starts to get up as she helps him to his feet and walks over to get a better view. He sees Tails, Cream, and Blaze restrained to tables lying unconscious looking savagely beaten. Parallel to them on the other side of the room were Alan and Sophia with IV's hanging over them. "What are in those?"
"Hector diluted the drug… They want them to witness something?" She said confused, "Abyss is adamant in making sure Sophia sees whatever they have planned for Saya."
"Abyss is here?" Elias looked shocked,
"They will witness the beginning of a new world." Mephiles appears behind them as Elias quickly moves in front of Dr. Q protectively. "But before I go and grab our guest of honor and the guardian, there's a few things I'll need." He points at Elias, "Where are the scrolls and the Emerald?" Elias realizes Mephiles is holding the encrypted key in his other hand.
"I won't tell you." He said,
"Foolish boy, you do not have the choice to refuse." Mephiles said looking down at Sally, "Or are you willing to risk their safety?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Elias don't, you know both Sally and I swore we wouldn't let anyone find those scrolls." Dr. Q said,
"You might be willing to die, but I know he won't let either of you do that." They hear Robotnik's voice as he walks around the corner into view. "Taking care of those children has made him soft." He grinned,
"Robotnik…" Elias glares,
"Hello again Elias, it's nice to have a casual face to face. You've been a thorn in my side ever since you took Saya from me," Robotnik said,
"She's not yours you psychopath!" Dr. Q said as he laughs,
"This whole world is mine, and once I have that unlimited power sleeping within Saya, I'll be unstoppable. Now give us the location of the scrolls and the Dark Chaos Emerald or I'll start with torturing your precious children." Robotnik threatened,
"He's just trying to scare you." Dr. Q said as Elias was feeling conflicted, his focus shifting between Robotnik and those he swore to protect.
"I was going to kill you in front of him first. But I know how to really make him talk." Eggman said walking away and standing next to Sophia, "I wonder how much pain it'll take for her to wake up." He takes out a scalpel.
"Don't!" Elias said as he stops. He lowers his shoulders in defeat,
"Elias you can't, if they get the scrolls…" A shadowy tendril grabs her and pulls her towards Mephiles before silencing her,
"Shhh, we don't want to spoil the fun," Mephiles said,
"Helen!"
"I'll free her once you give me the location." Mephiles said, as Helen desperately struggled trying to stop Elias,
"I'll take you to it. they're sealed with a retinal scanner." Elias said,
"Now see? That wasn't so hard," Mephiles said tossing Dr. Q to the side and grabbing Elias, "Shall we?"
Kolt wakes up in the middle of the night seeing Saya asleep on the ground leaning against the windowsill. He shakes his head before getting up. "You're just as bad as me at being a look out." He quietly chuckles as he lifts her and carries her over to the couch. "At least you can still sleep while all of this is going on." He lets out a sigh as he lays her down. "Chaos was this the wrong decision?" Second guessing himself as he lowers his head sitting next to her.
"You did what you thought was right." Saya sits up taking him by surprise, "Never feel bad for following your gut feeling." She turns to him as he sees her eyes were red,
"Fleetway? But I thought if you took over…"
"I'd fade away? That's correct. I'm taking away her choice." Fleetway said holding her hand in front of her chest as the Dark Chaos shard appears from it.
"But why?"
"Because I'll fade away whether she likes it or not. We were one being in the first place, now I'm just picking up the pace for that process to complete. I owe her for stopping me from doing something I would regret." She said looking away distantly thinking of something. She snaps out of her internal nostalgia and holds out her hand with the shard, "Tell her that as long as she has hope, she can fight this." Kolt nods as he takes the shard as the red in her eyes flickers before slowly fading completely back to emerald green.
"Wh…what?" Saya shakes her head confused as she sees the shard in front of her realizing what happened. "No…"
"It was her choice Saya, I know you didn't want this, but we need to get going." Kolt said,
"Why would she…" Saya was shocked,
"She wants you to keep fighting, even if all she did was stall us some time." He said placing the shard on the coffee table and pulling Saya to her feet. "She said, as long as you have hope, you can fight this."
"I just…"
"I know, c'mon we need to get as far away from the shard as we can." Kolt said as they leave the cabin.
Tails starts to wake up to a bright light above her, they didn't even stand a chance against Mephiles' abilities. She lifts her head and sees both Cream and Blaze unconscious to her right. She looks around and sees Alan and Sophia across from her. "Hey… Alan? Sophia? Can you hear me?" She called out as she looked over her restraints.
"Tails?" She hears Alan say as his head slightly moves,
"You okay?" Tails asked trying to figure out how to get free.
"Feel… foggy… Starline… drugged…" He said trying to think straight,
"How's Sophia?"
"She hasn't woken up…" He tries to summon his staff but can't manage to materialize it. "Can't get… my staff,"
"I just need some time to think of a way out." She said,
"Tails, if you can you need to hurry." She hears Sally as she turns her head and sees her and Dr. Q in a cell, "Mephiles took Elias to grab the scrolls."
"Okay… gotta think…" Tails starts trying to think as she looks to see that they didn't remove her communicator on her wrist. She slowly works on removing her watch from her wrist.
"Hey, Sophia… can you hear me?" Alan called out to her as her head moves, "We need you… wake up…"
"What's…" Sophia starts to wake up as she looks over at Alan, "You okay?"
"I should be… asking you that…" He said,
"Vision's a little blurry. And everything feels numb." Sophia said,
"Hold on Sophia." She tilts her head and sees the other three across the room,
"Shit… Where's Saya and Kolt?" Sophia asked trying to move forgetting the restraints held her down,
"Knuckles grabbed her and escaped. We bought them some time." Tails said getting the watch off her wrist and grabbing the metal buckle.
"Good, hopefully they can stay hidden." She said looking over at the IV in her arm.
"How are you so… focused? I can… barely think…" Alan said, he tried to concentrate but it felt like the entire room was spinning.
"Ultimate Lifeform." She tried to joke.
"Jerk," Alan chuckles, Tails hears a click as her restraint unlocks. She tries to stay quiet as she looks around the room making sure they were alone.
"Sally, can you keep a lookout?" Tails asked,
"Yes," Sally said as Tails opens the restraint and starts unlocking her other arm.
"How long do you think we have before Mephiles gets the scrolls?" Tails asks,
"With his abilities to teleport… not very long…" Sally said as Tails unlocks the other restraint and works on freeing her legs.
"Then I better pick up the pace." She said quickly unlocking both her leg restraints and hopping off the table. She gets a better look at the room as she sees a strange magic circle in the center between all of the tables. "What the heck is all of this?" She looks at it for a moment then goes over to help Sophia and Alan.
"Get Sophia first…" Alan said as Tails pulls out both of their IV's,
"Okay," She said turning towards Sophia as they both notice a familiar green flash behind her,
"Tails look out!" Sophia yelled as Abyss grabs her by the waist and covers her mouth before she had a chance to react.
"Glad to see you awake sis," Abyss grinned,
"Let her go!" She starts fighting her restraints,
"I enjoy this game of cat and mouse we keep playing." He laughs as Tails tries to struggle out of his grip. "I still can't believe you destroyed your entire race just to save some livestock." He said leaning towards Tails' neck,
"I'll kill you!" She yelled, her eyes glowing with pure hatred.
"Abyss! I told you not to harm them!" Dr. Starline yells entering the room after hearing all of the noise. He rolls his eyes and moves his head away.
"Have a little faith, I was only messing with them." He said carrying Tails back over to the other table.
"Now how did you escape?" Dr. Starline walked over confused,
"She picked the locks with her watch." He said,
"Ever the resourceful one. Robotnik should have made countermeasures for you." He said, "Hold her down and I'll get the restraints back on her." Abyss puts her back on the table,
"Let me go!" She continued to struggle.
"Mephiles should be back soon," Dr. Starline said locking the restraints. "Just be a little bit more patient." She spits in his face.
"We trusted you!" Tails glared struggling against the restraints trying to hold back frustrated tears,
"And that's why it worked. Now, I'd give you a sedative to help you calm down, but we want you all awake for when Saya and Kolt get here." Starline said taking off his glasses and wiping them clean.
"You seem to be having fun." They hear Mephiles' voice as he appears.
"I take it you have the scrolls?" Dr. Starline said,
"And the Dark Chaos shard." He said holding them out.
"Where's Elias?" Tails asked,
"Ah yes," Mephiles said. A large shadow grows next to him as Elias falls out of it gasping for air. "Put him back with the others," He said handing Dr. Starline the scrolls as Abyss grabs Elias and drags him towards the cell. Mephiles crushes the containment field around the Chaos shard as it floats above his hand. "Now, let's go find your missing piece and unlock the door you open."
A few minutes before deeper into the forest, Saya and Kolt were continuing to move further away from the shard. The further they got from it the less she could hear the whispers. Saya became lost in thought starting to think she'd heard these voices before, they reminded her of something. "Hey, keep talking, I don't want you focusing on the voices." Kolt said snapping her out of it,
"Sorry… it's just that the voices sound familiar." Saya said,
"I mean you've heard them a few times now right?" Kolt said,
"No this is different; I think I've heard these before that." She said,
"Don't think about it too much," He said,
"I won't, but what are we supposed to do now? Everyone is gone and we have no idea where Eggman is holding them. The only one who had any real answers just became one with my subconscious and we have no way of fighting off Mephiles if he finds us…" Saya said, she was starting to believe this was all hopeless.
"We'll figure something out. Let's just keep getting as far away from the shard as we can." He said,
"If we really wanna make some distance I could run us to the other side of the continent." She said,
"No, Eggman might be able to track us if we induce Chaos Control. We don't use our powers at all just in case." He said,
"But walking is so slow…" Saya said with a sigh,
"We'll figure this out like we always do." He said,
"Maybe we should find a place with a radio and see if we can hear any news from the resistance." She said,
"But we can't go back… We don't know who we can trust." Kolt said,
"I know that, that's why we need to find a radio to listen into." She said,
"Can you understand the code? Or know the frequencies that the resistance uses?" He asks as she pauses for a moment,
"No… but if they talk about the others we may be able to figure it out." She shrugs, as he facepalms, "You got a better idea Red?" She said crossing her arms,
"Not yet… but anything is better than that idea Blue." He said pushing her as she chuckles. They both were trying to keep a light hearted attitude given their odds. "Fleetway said something that's been on my mind."
"Did she say something else before taking out she shard?" Saya asked as Kolt nods,
"She made a comment that she owed you for stopping her from doing something she would regret. Do you know what she meant?" Kolt asked as Saya ponders for a moment,
"Before Fleetway went on his second rampage he actually made a friend, her name was Ebony. I stopped him from killing her while he was drunk of Chaos energy." Saya explained. "That was how he snaped out of it and helped me…" Her mind turns to static as if there was a wall near the end of that memory.
"Sonic…" She hears at the back of her head as the whispers grow louder and louder. She suddenly stops grabbing her head,
"Hey, you okay?" Kolt asked as she shakes her head,
"I… It's so loud… Hurts..." She said trying to ignore it,
"We gotta keep moving." He said placing his hand on her back and leading her forward trying to keep her from tripping.
"Sonic…" The deep voice said,
"The Dark Chaos Emerald… it's out of the containment field… I… I can feel it." She said,
"I'm going to pick you up so we can move faster." Kolt said as she nods. He picks her up and runs forward, "Try to keep talking,"
"Okay… Um… Chaos it's so hard to think…" Saya was trying to think of something to talk about.
"Remember…" The voice said,
"What was your most memorable adventure as Sonic?" Kolt asked,
"Most memorable?" She tries to think past the whispers, "When we first met Shadow."
"You're such a sap," Kolt chuckles,
"Hey, we got to go into space for the first time, that was pretty cool." Saya said,
"You do have a point," Kolt said,
"Even if you almost got us killed but trying to take the wheel of the spaceship." She teased,
"The Master Emerald Shards were nearby." He argued,
"So you couldn't leave the ship after we'd docked like a normal person?" Saya said,
"Don't you remember the dark?" The voice said, again it felt familiar to her. She jolts getting startled, the voice started to sound closer, as if he was whispering in her ear.
"Kolt… I know you said we shouldn't transform… but if we could get out of here at a quicker pace…"
"Alright," He said putting her down, "You get us as far as you can, and we immediately transform back." She nods and they both transform. Sonic grabs his hand and they burst forward trying to get as far away from the voices as possible.
Mephiles and Abyss appear in front of the log cabin, he knew the shard was inside. Abyss quickly kicks down the door and it flies across the room breaking in half as it strikes the opposite wall. "There's no one here." Abyss said looking annoyed,
"That's impossible, I can sense the Shard in that room." Mephiles said walking in and like a magnet the shard on the table flies in front of him as it fuses with the rest of the Emerald making it whole. "She removed the shard so I couldn't track it. Clever girl." Abyss turns his head feeling a burst of Chaos energy coming from the forest as it quickly starts to get further away.
"Looks like their making a run for it." Abyss said as Mephiles grasps the now completed Emerald,
"Good… Let the hunt begin."
Knuckles and Sonic quickly come to a stop next to a beach as the voices finally start to diminish. She puts Knuckles down and looks around making sure no one was around. "Well?" Knuckles asked,
"They're not as loud." Sonic said as they both transform back. "But still there… I don't hear his voice at least."
"His?" Kolt asked,
"There's one voice that stands out… I recognize it but… I can't remember from where." Saya rubs her temple,
"Let's keep moving, I think we're close to Diamond city, maybe we can find some food." He said,
"Yeah…" Saya chuckles,
"What's so funny?" Kolt looked at her concerned that she might have lost it.
"This is similar to when I first transformed," She said still holding her head,
"You never told me about how you first transformed." Kolt said as they continue forward, he wanted to keep her talking to make sure that the voices didn't overwhelm her again.
"It wasn't pretty… I had this mondo headache which was actually Tikal trying to get my attention when the Zarkon attacked my school. Sophia and I were headed to the nurses office because of my headache when they attacked. I don't remember much after the explosions, but I hurt my back and after one of the Zarkon attacked Soph I transformed." Saya explained,
"Wow, that's crazy."
"I can't believe how different life was back then… the main thing I thought about was increasing my speed for the next track meet." She said with a sigh, "Now the fate of the world rests on our shoulders…"
"Wouldn't have been the first time." He chuckles,
"That's fair." She shrugs, as she glances at the ocean, "Maybe we should get off the beach, we're a little out in the open,"
"You just want to be further away from the water," He teased as she sticks her tongue out at him. "But you're right, we're too visible here."
"You are most definitely right," They hear Mephiles' voice behind them as they turn around seeing him and Abyss standing there. "It made you much easier to find." Abyss smiles as he makes eye contact with Saya,
"Hello, my dear, it's lovely to see you again." He said,
"The feeling's way past not mutual!" Saya yelled as she grabs Kolt's hand, "Run!" She runs forward at a faster pace than Kolt was expecting almost causing him to trip attempting to keep up.
"It's time to stop running Saya." Mephiles warps in front of them, She suddenly stops backing away from him staying away from his shadow.
"Running's kinda my thing." She said as Kolt stands behind her keeping an eye on Abyss.
"You shouldn't keep your friends waiting." Abyss said as Kolt glares at them,
"Do we run or fight?" Saya said to Kolt,
"I'd really like to smash this guy's face in… But we should probably run." He said as Abyss warps next to Kolt and kicks him away from Saya.
"Kolt!" Saya jumped away from Abyss as he swings at her. "Looks like we're fighting, Chaos Control!" She said transforming,
"Good! I want to have some fun!" Abyss smiles. Sonic jumps up and kicks down as he blocks,
"I'll keep an eye on Mephiles." Kolt said transforming and taking a defensive position between him and Sonic making sure to watch the shadows. Abyss takes a strike and Sonic spin dashes hitting him in the stomach,
"You better not have hurt them." Sonic said as she kicks him in the back.
"Mephiles was the one who hurt your friends, why not charge at him?" Abyss said striking at her side as she blocks it,
"Because he's a creep made of living shadows. You? You're way less intimidating." She grins as she spin dashes again but this time he catches her and throws her into the ground.
"Why aren't you doing anything?" Knuckles asked watching as Mephiles just stands there observing them fight.
"That's because it's more fun to have you think you're winning." Mephiles laughs, as Knuckles scoffs.
"How's it feel to know you'll never win?" Abyss said as Sonic sweeps his feet tripping him and making him fall face first into the sand.
"How'd it feel knowing you were bested by the same humans you called weak?" Sonic taunted as he gets back up. "Or that I broke through that mind control you had on Sophia?"
"If you had stayed put like a good pet this world would have been ours." Abyss glared, Sonic's eye twitches at hearing him call her pet.
"Yeah and we stopped you and Black Doom." She said as his eyes become blind with rage,
"You are not worthy to speak his name!" Abyss warps and kicks her in the side of the head as she falls. "You ruined everything!" He yelled jumping on top of her and grabbing her by the neck, "I could snap your little neck so easily." He tightened his grip as she winces in pain no longer able to breathe.
"Get off her!" Knuckles strikes him in the face causing him to let go as Sonic coughs and gasps for air.
"Thanks for the save Knux…" Sonic said as he helps her to her feet.
"Don't get in my way!" Abyss hissed,
"Do not hurt her like that again!" Mephiles said sternly as Abyss stops for a moment, they all looked shocked at his defensiveness. "She is not yours to play with." Saya's ears pin back not linking how he stated that,
"Fine, doesn't matter anyway." He said,
"And why's that?" Knuckles said looking at him getting ready to fight,
"Because you looked away." Abyss grins. Sonic and Knuckles turn around just as Mephiles' outstretched shadows made contact with their own shadows.
"Crap!" Sonic tried to jump away but it was too late. Their shadows grabbed their legs pinning them to the ground,
"I told you that this was inevitable." Mephiles said as they both try to pull their legs free.
"Knux, give me your hand." Sonic reaches out to him but Abyss warps in between them and grabs her wrist.
"Now we can't have you warping away again." He said pulling out the limit rings,
"Why do you have Shadow's rings?" Sonic asked as he clicks one around her wrist, immediately she started to feel drained,
"Don't touch her!" Knuckles swings at Abyss but more shadows reach out stopping him,
"These are not Shadow's; they were made for you. Curtsey of your friends." Abyss said reaching for her other wrist as she holds it away from him.
"W… What are you talking about." Sonic said still trying to stop him from putting on the other limit ring.
"They didn't tell you?" He finally gets a hold of her other wrist and clicks that ring on. Like a weight was cloaked over her entire body she had lost her strength to fight back. "They made these to contain you if you turned against them again." Abyss said in a taunting voice as he held her up by her wrists. She felt so drained that her legs buckled under her own weight.
"Sonic, it's not…!" Another shadow comes up covering Knuckles' mouth stopping him from explaining. He was now completely restrained.
"S… So what? I was a monster under Eggman's control, they had every right to feel afraid." Sonic said. Abyss pulls her hands behind her as the rings magnetize when they touch, restricting her hands behind her.
"So you agree in the fact that they should fear you?" Abyss twisted her words as she glares at him,
"They should fear you." She hears the voice in her head again,
"Th… That's not what I meant…" She shakes her head as the static starts swarming her thoughts. The shadows beneath them start to take a more liquid form and they begin to sink into them.
"Be sure to take a deep breath before you go under." Mephiles said as they were almost completely consumed by their shadows still trying to struggle, "There's no air within the dark, but you already knew that." He chuckles as they disappear into their shadows consumed by darkness.
10 years ago
It was a warm summer evening in the suburbia of Station Square, three bullies were hovering over TK in front of the abandoned house at the end of the street yelling at her as she tried not to cry, "I don't want to!" TK yelled back,
"What are you a scardy cat?" One of the bullies said,
"I…I'm not scared! My… My mom said it's not safe to go in there." TK said though her trembling form betrayed her words as they all started to push her towards the door.
"If you're going to be a big baby about it than we'll lock you inside." Another bully said,
"No!" TK cried out,
"Hey!" The bullies turn as Saya jump tackles all of them, freeing TK. "You leave TK alone!" She yelled.
"You crazy girl! That hurt!" One of them said as they push her off.
"That was the point!" She sticks her tongue out at them before turning towards TK "You okay?" Saya walks over to TK and hugs her,
"They were trying to force me into the scary house." TK said as Saya looks over at it. To her, the house was just raggedy looking but not scary.
"We wanted to see if the ghost comes out for a girl." One bully said,
"It's still not nice! She said no you jerks!" Saya glared at them,
"Then you'll do it!" One said as two of them grab her and the other one grabs TK,
"No!" Saya said,
"Then we throw TK in and lock it." TK's face turns white with fear. Saya wasn't going to let her best friend do something that scared her even if that meant putting herself in danger.
"Wait! I just have to walk inside right?" She stopped struggling as they let her go,
"Yeah! You have to stand in the middle of the room for one minute," He said,
"Don't Saya! It's dangerous you could get hurt." TK protested as Saya smiles at her and gives her a thumbs up.
"It's okay, I'll be back before you know it." She said walking up to the broken doors that hung open. She takes a deep breath and climbs over the wood scraps.
"Please be careful…" TK said as Saya walks in further.
"This isn't too scary, just hard to see." Saya said getting to the center of the room, "I think I'm in the middle, I'm going to start counting." she tries to look around. It was just an empty rundown house. The only sounds she heard was the creaking of wood around her and beneath her feet.
"Do you hear any ghosts?" one of the bullies asked,
"There's nothing here." She turns back towards them. The floor beneath her gives in and she falls with a loud scream,
"Run!" The bullies run away letting go of TK as she rushes to the front door,
"Saya! Are you okay?" TK called out. Saya sat up, her entire body hurt from the fall.
"I'm okay!" Saya called back, "But stay away, more of the house could break."
"I'm going to get our parents, don't move." TK said,
"Don't have to tell me twice." Saya said with a chuckle, she no longer heard TK. She lets out a sigh regretting that she did this but better her getting stuck down here instead of TK. She got up slowly moving out of the debris trying to make sure nothing else broke and getting to her feet. Luckily, she didn't get hurt from the fall besides a few small cuts and bruises. She looked around the dark basement, the only light was coming from the hole in the floor above her. Now that she was alone it was eerily quiet, as if the house was holding its breath. The sun was setting, and she was losing what little light she had. She tries to see a way for her to get back upstairs, TK told her not to move but she didn't want to be down here longer than she has to. She wouldn't say it out loud, but this basement gave her the creeps. A purple glow starts to illuminate from the dark catching her attention.
"S…" She heard whispers from the dark causing her to jump,
"Is… is someone there?" She called out still looking at the glow. Curiosity got the best of her as she steps towards it. The glow was hidden beneath something as she moved some of the debris revealing a large black gem that glowed purple "Wow… It's so pretty." she kneels down and reaches for it. The closer her hand got to it the louder the whispers became.
"There you are." She heard a deep unsettling voice from the shadows as she quickly stands up and looks around,
"Who's there?" She called out; she began to tremble as fear starts to take over. There was something terribly wrong, the whispers began to flood the dark as she covers her ears. "G…Go away!"
"The veil is weak here…" Saya heard the voice again. She feels a claw like shadow grab her as she screams.
"Somebody hel…" Something covers her mouth muting her cries as she struggles feeling the presence of someone behind her.
"You're still only a child…" The voice said with a disappointed hiss, "No, we can't have that." The gem on the ground floats in front of her face. "Don't worry Quickster, I'll make sure you forget all of this." He said as she continued to struggle out of his grip as tears fill her eyes letting out a frightened whimper. The gem glows brighter almost blinding her then fades, "But I'll let you hold onto this fear." He gives a sinister chuckle as the gem starts to gently brighten and dim in a rhythmic pattern that she couldn't look away from it. She stops struggling and just stares at the gem completely mesmerized before falling asleep. "Sweet dreams, Sonic."
Present day
Knuckles gasps and coughs for air as he comes to in a panic looking around as he sees his arms restrained. He turns his head to see Sophia on the table next to him, her mouth covered by a shadow as he starts to hear the muffled voices of his friends, "Good, you're finally awake." Knuckles hears a familiar voice as Eggman stands over him.
"Eggman," He glared as he pulls at the restraints,
"It's been a long time my friend, it's nice to see you." He said with a grin,
"We are not friends!" Knuckles hissed,
"You'll break a poor old man's heart saying things like that," He laughed,
"Where's Sonic?" Knuckles said. Eggman presses a button as all of the tables tilt up towards one another standing them upright as he sees all of his friends in a similar situation as Sophia. In the center of them was a strange magic circle carved into the floor where Sonic lay unconscious in the center. "Sonic! Hey! Wake up!" He calls out as she stirs to the sound of his voice.
"Wipe out… Knuckles?" Sonic said wincing in pain as she coughs,
"Good morning my dear." She sees Eggman standing next to Knuckles,
"Morning to you too Egghead…" She attempts it sit up, but the limit rings restricted her movement, She sees all of her friends, relieved that none of them were seriously hurt. "Hope you guys are alright…" She said knowing they could only respond with nods. She makes eye contact with Sophia who looked back at her with worried eyes.
"You should be more worried for yourself." She hears Abyss behind her as he grabs her by the quills forcing her to sit up on her knees,
"Easy on the quills buddy," Sonic said as he chuckles looking over at Sophia who was furiously fighting to get free.
"Everything's finally in place." Mephiles said appearing next to Eggman as they see him holding the three scrolls.
"Crap…" Knuckles said,
"Now, which one of these is the first." Mephiles said opening one of them and reading it over. Sonic attempts to stand as Abyss holds her in place,
"Wait your turn," Abyss said,
"Not sure if you've heard but I'm not the most patient of Hedgehogs." Sonic said as Abyss tightens his grip of her quills making her wince.
"Ah, here it is." Mephiles hands Eggman the two other scrolls and opening it up, "Now for the guardian to fulfil his role." He turns to face Knuckles as he quickly shuts his eyes,
"You can't make me read it!" Knuckles said,
"I beg to differ." Mephiles looks at Eggman. He presses a button on his remote electrocuting the others as they all let out muffled cries of pain,
"Stop it!" Sonic yelled trying to fight Abyss' grip on her quills,
"Tell him to cooperate and their pain will stop." Abyss said,
"No…" She refused as he frowns, Eggman stops their torture as they all try to catch their breath,
"Then I'll kill them one by one." Abyss lets go of her head and walks over to Tails, "We can start with the Fox. I know you both care for her dearly."
"Don't!" Sonic tries to stand up as she stumbles and falls back over, "Leave her alone!"
"That's up to him, if he doesn't want to hear me rip those tails off he better cooperate." Abyss said grabbing one of her tails as she lets out a muffled scream,
"Stop…" Knuckles said with his eyes still closed with tears, "I'll do it, just don't hurt them…" Abyss lets go of Tails and walks back over to Sonic and sits her back up as she headbutts him.
"Why you little!" Abyss grabs her by the quills again as she kicks him in the knee, "Stop struggling!"
"Not gonna happen. I'm gonna beat the crap out of you for threatening Tails!" Sonic glares as shadows pop up and pin her legs down forcing her to stand on her knees, "Let go!"
"You shouldn't be having this much trouble while she's weakened…" Mephiles calls him out as he glares,
"Just goes to show how weak he is." Saya taunts as Abyss glares at her before looking back at Mephiles,
"You told me not to hurt her, but I can be more rough if you want." He said tilting her head as he leans towards her neck,
"Don't you dare!" Sonic yelled slightly panicked,
"Enough!" Mephiles raised his voice, "Do not threaten her again." He glared, Abyss smiles as he licks Sonic's neck causing her quills to puff out defensively,
"Gross!" She flinched with disgust; they hear metal bending as they turn to see Sophia had bent her restraints, her eyes glowing with rage.
"Your solution isn't working anymore Doc. Though I don't think me threatening her mate is helping." Abyss grinned as he lets go of Sonic, her face turning red at the title. Dr. Starline walks up with a different IV,
"Apologies, she must be building up an immunity." He said switching out the drug as Sophia's vision fogs, she shakes her head trying to fight it.
"Hang on Soph… I'll think of something…" Sonic said trying to pull the limit rings apart, but they wouldn't budge. Mephiles turns back to Knuckles who still had his head turned away, eyes closed.
"Open your eyes boy and read the script within." Mephiles said. He opens the scroll towards Knuckles as he slowly opens his eyes. He sees the scroll in the corner of his eye as his head quickly turns towards the scroll unable to look from it. he tries to turn away, but he can't as the runes on the scroll glow with purple energy forcing his mind to go blank. He starts to speak the runes as they disappear from the scroll. Sonic started to feel her left arm burning like a hot knife was carving into her arm.
"Chaos, that hurts!" Sonic cried out. Dark purple runes slowly appear down her left arm as the runes radiated heat. She remembered that something similar to this has happened before, but her mind was overwhelmed by the pain and the heat. Knuckles finishes reading the runes as the scroll turns to dust. He regains control of his thoughts as he looks to see Sonic,
"Your arm!" He looked shocked not sure to what happened, "Are you okay?"
"Not really…" Sonic said with heavy breath,
"Where's the scroll?" Knuckles looked at Mephiles noticing he was no longer holding it.
"After you've read the script the scroll is destroyed, it's purpose fulfilled." Mephiles walks over to Sonic checking over the runes. The pain subsides but the heat remained as she starts to hear the voices whispering in her head. "Your mind is trying to remember, let me help it move along." He said grabbing her chin and tilting it up towards him. The others all tried to get free, hating that they were forced to watch whatever was unfolding.
"Maybe I don't want to remember…" Sonic said weakly,
"Did you know you volunteered for this? Both you and Knuckles." Mephiles said as she looks confused, "Your connection to Chaos was what has kept it sealed," He whispers in her ear as he walks back over to Eggman.
"I'm not sure which one is next." Eggman said handing him one of the scrolls as he opens it and reads it.
"The other one," Mephiles said handing that scroll back and taking the correct scroll. "Just two more times and then the next step begins." He opens the scroll and Knuckles was forced to read the scroll out loud again as the runes appear on Sonic's right arm. She fights through the pain as it feels like something in the back of her mind snaps and she remembers everything.