Chapter 55
"And she told you that this, Legendary Hedgehog named Sonic would fix our apparently broken world?" Elias said as Knuckles finished his story, he was still trying to process everything.
"Yeah, Shadow said she needed to figure out how to get us all to remember her. Apparently she was our friend." Knuckles said,
"That drastic change in demeanor concerns me. Especially the part that she almost beat Eggman to death."
"He did torture her…" Knuckles said,
"If she had killed him, I probably would give her to Naugus on the spot…" Elias said,
"You can't! Who knows what he'll do to her…"
"I said if she killed him… but she didn't, and Tails was able to snap her out of it." Elias said trying to calm him down,
"She said she's never lost herself to her emotions like that before. And after that she became very composed and calculated… honestly, she kinda acts like you." Knuckles said as Elias thinks back to the look of betrayal Shadow gave him before they took her to the cell.
"That explains the look she gave me… Alright, I'll go talk to her. But you all are staying in your rooms until after I talk to Sally about this." He said turning around,
"Elias… I need to know, what are the options here… Because if you choose to send her to Naugus…"
"Don't threaten me Knuckles,"
"I'd never threaten… But I made a promise to protect her and she's already been through a lot… you know I won't just sit here…." Knuckles said as Elias lets out a sigh,
"I know… I'll be back once I make a decision, I promise." Elias said leaving the room.
Sally goes towards the cells to check on Shadow, treating her like a criminal when the only thing on record was that she was the Ultimate Lifeform of immeasurable power. All of this didn't sit right with her and wanted to see this for herself. She arrives in front of the cell and sees the guard getting ready to leave. "Excuse me, why are you leaving your post?" Sally said taking him off guard as he salutes her startled by her arrival.
"Ma'am! Your brother took the prisoner for transport to the King twenty minutes ago." He said,
"He didn't confirm that with me…" She said looking confused. Elias and Sally wouldn't finalize a decision until they both were in agreement. This was completely out of character. "You're dismissed," she walks away and quickly calls Elias on her communicator.
"What is it Sally?" Elias asked,
"Care to explain to me why you're taking Shadow to the King?" She said angrily,
"What are you talking about?" Elias said confused,
"The guard just told me you took Shadow to King Naugus twenty minutes ago." She said,
"That's impossible… I've been talking to Knuckles this entire time…" Elias said as he turns the corner nearly running into Sally.
"But then who…" They both look at one another terrified, "I'll go check security footage and find out which car took her."
"I'll go grab the Freedom Fighters and meet you there." Elias said as they both run in opposite directions.
Elias gets to Tails' room and catches his breath as the guard stationed in front of her door looked at him worried, "Sir… are you alright?" He asked,
"Let them out…" Elias said as the guards look confused,
"But…"
"That's an order!" He yelled causing them all to flinch then quickly open all of their doors as they cautiously look out,
"Elias? What's going on?" Tails asked,
"We're going to the computer room…" He said as they all give one another a look and then start following him, glancing back and forth to one another unsure at Elias' broken composure.
"Dude… what did you tell him?" Amy asked Knuckles,
"Everything… if Shadow knew him then I think we can trust him." He said,
"You also said we could trust King Naugus…" Blaze said,
"He's a trusting person Blaze, don't be too hard on him." Cream said. Knuckles wasn't sure if she was complementing or insulting him. They get inside the computer room seeing Sally frantically working.
"Did you find it?" Elias asked standing behind Sally,
"I couldn't find the vehicle, but I did find this… have a look." She starts the video outside of Shadow's cell as they all saw Elias walk down the hall. "Look at the time stamp." She points as Knuckles looks at it,
"Wait… we were still talking in my room at that time…"
"You wanna tell us what's going on?" Amy said,
"This… Imposter took Shadow," Elias had difficulty saying, to be impersonated and one of his prisoners stolen from under his nose was a huge insult.
"No!" Cream said,
"Can you get visual inside the cell?" Elias asked as Sally types on the computer and the cell shows up showing Shadow still heavily restrained,
"That's barbaric!" Amy said angrily,
"How we were to handle Project Shadow was extremely specific. You can yell at me later." Elias said watching his double walk up to Shadow then snap his fingers as the feed goes dead, "What just happened?"
"I'm not sure… some sort of interference…" Sally said as she fast forwards the feed once it returns showing the fake Elias leaving.
"Look at how Shadow's expression changed, she appears very agitated…" Blaze said,
"It had to be Naugus…" Tails said,
"How can you be sure?" Knuckles asked,
"It's just the gut feeling I have…"
"There might be some merit to that… King Naugus has the ability to change his appearance" Sally said, "And the guard told me your impersonator was taking Shadow to the King."
"Shit! He probably nabbed her before we could convince you guys she was on our side." Amy said,
"We gotta get her back." Knuckles said,
"How?" Blaze asked,
"I… I don't know…" Knuckles said looking defeated unsure how to proceed,
Naugus parks the car at the front of the castle and his retainers open the back of the truck. They wheel Shadow out as Naugus laughs, "Welcome to your new home Shadow Hedgehog." He said as she tried to struggle, "I must say, G.U.N. doesn't play around when it comes to containing you supers." He walks inside as the retainer follows him with Shadow in tow. "Let me give you the grand tour!" he flaunted, enjoying his victory, "I'll take it from here." The retainer lets go of the steering handle as Naugus gets behind her and pushes her along. "This is the grand entry room," he pushes her into the throne room, "And you've been in here before, the lovely throne room." He snaps his fingers closing and locking the doors behind him. "What do you think?" he asked removing the band from her mouth.
"I think your tastes are a little gaudy…" Shadow said as he frowns. "Where's Sonic?" She asked not knowing that Sonic was right there witnessing everything. She watched them surprised that she heard Shadow say her name.
"I told you, you'll never find her." He smiles,
"There's only so many places you could hide her." She said. Sonic couldn't help but lightly smile at Shadow's confident smirk. She missed seeing her smile.
"You'd be surprised." He said, "Now how shall I get rid of you?"
"No! Don't you dare!" Naugus hears Sonic cry from within the crystal slamming her fists against it in a panic,
"I could seal you away back on the ARC." He pondered,
"The others will find me." Shadow said,
"You sound very trusting of people who've only known you for twenty-four hours." He said as her ears lower looking away causing him to laugh, "Ah, I have the perfect idea! But we don't need all these extra restraints do we?" He snaps his fingers as the cart and straps disappear only her wrists remained cuffed and the limit ring still around her neck.
"What are you playing at Naugus?" Shadow said, lightly stretching her neck from how strained it felt after being restrained so roughly.
"We never had a real encounter like this before have we? I know what you're capable of… but do you know what I'm capable of?" Naugus asked,
"You can make crystals out of nothing, can change your voice and appearance to look like other people." Shadow said trying to get the shackles off of her wrists.
"Naugus! Leave her alone!" Sonic continued to scream as she started to attempt spin dashing at the crystal not even making a dent. "Chaos let me out of here!" He rolls his eyes and snaps his fingers muting his hearing from Sonic's voice.
"What was that?" Shadow said noticing his annoyance and he usually snaps his fingers when he casts magic, but she saw nothing happen.
"Just a bug… now back to our discussion… yes I have those abilities but there are a few more. I can…"
"Given your expression, you heard something that was annoying you… and that snap was you silencing it." She interrupted him talking as she figures it out, "Sonic?" She calls out turning around. Naugus snaps his fingers as a purple smoke covers Shadow's face and her mind begins to fog.
"What I was trying to tell you, you rude girl. It that I can control your mind." He said laughing. She tries to fight it, but it felt like she was falling asleep as her eyes go dark completely under Naugus' control, "And with that ring around your neck you are not strong enough to resist." Sonic falls to her knees powerless to help Shadow. Naugus removes the other shackles, "Now who do you serve?" he snaps his finger as Shadow faces him and bows.
"I serve you and the kingdom, King Naugus." She said,
"Good, now go and wait for my orders. We'll probably have more guests tonight." He said snapping his fingers and the doors open and she leaves. "I should have done that in the first place." He snaps his fingers to see Sonic sitting down crying, "Aw, Cheer up my dear, now you get to see your beloved all the time." She looks at him with hatred as her eyes begin to glow,
"I'll make you pay!" She yelled quickly standing up with energy radiating from her body like a Chaos blast. The crystals around the sapphire flash for a moment, she crumples as all of her energy was drained from the crystals. "N…" her body trembled looking faint as he laughs.
"You know not to use your powers my dear. The Void crystals surrounding you will sap away your energy if you try." He said,
"Naugus… please… don't hurt them…" She whimpered as she tried to stand but had no strength left.
"You wound me Sonic, I wish not to hurt them. But I must find a way to make my mind control more permanent. It only lasts a few hours… I'll have to keep Shadow close. Along with set a trap for your friends." He said snapping his fingers hiding her from the rest of the world as he thinks of how to deal with the Freedom Fighter when they come to save Shadow.
"You want to try and sneak in, in the middle of the night?" Amy said looking at Knuckles like he's crazy.
"It's the only plan we have at this point!" Knuckles said,
"We don't know what Naugus is capable of…" Blaze said,
"Yes we do." Elias said, "Naugus has the ability to manipulate crystals, change his voice and appearance along with mind control and possession."
"He can possess people?" Cream asked looking uncomfortable.
"His magic is very specific; he can only possess those who have given permission freely." Elias said, "He also can only mind control one person at a time or those being controlled have a better chance of fighting free."
"So… he might try to control Shadow?" Tails asked,
"That would be my guess." Sally said, "And with the limit ring around her neck… she won't have the strength to be able to resist…"
"Do we have any good news?" Amy said,
"The mind control isn't permanent. If he does have control over her he'll have to keep her close and redo the control every few hours." Elias said,
"This keeps getting harder…" Knuckles said with a sigh as he notices Tails thinking. "What's on your mind Tails?"
"I think we need to get our memories back." Tails said,
"How? Even Shadow didn't know how to do that, and she has her memories." Blaze said,
"We try and reach Tikal." Tails said as they all frown.
"Tails… Tikal's been dormant for the last three years…" Cream said,
"Yeah, around the same time we got these rings. They have to be connected," Tails said as Knuckles walks towards the door.
"Knuckles where are you going?" Sally asked,
"Tails is right, we have to try something. So I'm going to force Tikal out of the Master Emerald." He said leaving the room as they all run after him.
"How?" Cream asked,
"I'll induce Chaos Control." He said,
"I'll go get Helen… She'll kill me if she wasn't informed of this." Elias said rushing down another hall,
"You might want to hurry up, I don't think Knuckles is going to wait for you!" Amy yelled down the hall as they continue following Knuckles,
"Knuckles this is reckless." Blaze said,
"You're right, but I don't care. My mistakes put Shadow in this position in the first place." He said opening the door to the Alter room and walking up to the Master Emerald.
"Please be careful…" Tails said as Knuckles nods as he stands in front of the Emerald,
"The 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. I call upon you Tikal! Reveal yourself." He said as in front of him he sees her form very faintly flicker in and out. He chants again,
"N…kl…s" He hears her voice try to get through to him as he already starts to feel the strain. He starts chanting again.
"He's going to hurt himself…" Amy said, as Tails runs up next to Knuckles and takes his hand.
"Together." Tails said as he nods, and they chant again. Tikal's form starting to flicker in more.
"C'mon! Let's all help." Cream rushes over and joins them. Blaze and Amy aren't far behind as they all work together as Tikal is almost completely visible. Elias, and Dr. Q enter the Alter room.
"CHAOS CONTROL!" They all say as the Master Emerald glows brightly and Tikal appears in front of them.
"It worked!" Amy said as they all fall to their knees feeling exhausted. Dr. Q quickly rushes over to them and checks them over.
"Thank you all so much." Tikal said,
"What happened to you?" Cream asked,
"Naugus sealed me inside of the Master Emerald. I was always here… But I couldn't do anything…" She explained,
"Why did he do that?" Tails asked,
"Because I'm a spirit connected to Chaos, I'm not entirely affected by a Genesis wave." Tikal explained,
"What's a Genesis wave?" Blaze asked,
"How did Sonic put it…" She pondered,
"Wait! You know Sonic?" Amy said as she nods,
"Do you know where she is?" Tails asked but she shakes her head,
"You all don't carry the Chaos Emeralds anymore… So I don't have a way to track her." Tikal said,
"Knuckles, are you okay?" Helen asked as Knuckles was still breathing heavily,
"I just need a minute." He said as Tikal places her hand on his head as the pain he felt in his chest subsides. "Forgot you could do that… thanks"
"It's the least I could do for you releasing me." Tikal smiles,
"Can we get back to you explaining what a Genesis wave is?" Amy said,
"Of course, The best way to describe it is that it's, as Sonic would say, a giant reset button." Tikal couldn't help but chuckle.
"That's what Shadow meant! Naugus reset the entire world!" Tails said as Tikal nods,
"Tikal, how do we remember Sonic?" Cream asked as Tikal points at their rings,
"I used the world rings to seal your memories so that when Naugus rewrote your lives they would not be stripped away like they were the first time."
"So what do we do?" Knuckles asked,
"We'll need a Chaos Emerald." She said,
"Take your pick." Elias holds out two containment fields,
"I forgot; we have all seven Chaos Emeralds!" Tails said,
"Even better, please all of you hold hands." Tikal said the five of them hold hands and the seven Chaos Emeralds float over in front of them. "The Seven servers are the seven chaos," they all noticed the change in the Chaos Control incantation, "Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart, the heart is the controller, the controller serves to unify the Chaos, Chaos Control!" all of the Emeralds glow blindingly bright as they all are flooded with memories. The light dims as they all stare blankly for a moment trying to process it all. Dr. Q was about to walk over to them as Tikal stops her,
"But…"
"They are all fine, they just need a moment to collect themselves." Tikal said as they all look at one another with tears in their eyes as they all embrace one another.
"Chaos I'm so happy to see you guys!" Amy said,
"Why does it feel like we haven't seen each other for years?" Cream said crying,
"Because to an extent we haven't." Blaze said embracing her tightly comforting her.
"You doing alright bud?" Knuckles asked Tails as she wipes away the tears,
"I'll be better once we save Sonic and Shadow." She said sounding determined as they all nod,
"So what's the plan, fearless leader." Amy teases,
"Don't call me that… if these past few days taught me anything it's that I should leave the leading to Sonic and Shadow." Knuckles said with a sigh. Tails quickly starts taking out her tablet and starts recalibrating it.
"What you got Tails?" Amy asked,
"Sonic is the anchor right? That means she should be radiating void energy." She starts working out formula's in her head as she types on her tablet, "If I can remember the formula… in theory I could adjust the Emerald Detector." She explained,
"You want to turn the Emerald detector into a Void detector!" Cream said,
"Hold on! What are you all talking about?" Elias asked,
"Sorry Elias, it would take way too long for us to explain." Blaze said,
"But how do we free Shadow if she's under Naugus' control…" Knuckles ponders,
"Here." Sally walks up to them and hands him a device, "This is the controller to the limit ring around her neck. Take that off and she should be back to full strength."
"So we get that off she should be able to fight him off herself." Knuckles said putting the device in his pocket.
"We'll also need the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic's going to need them to reset the Genesis wave." Tails said still tinkering with her tablet.
"Right, Elias, is…"
"Yes, here" He said handing him the containment devices. As they pocket the Chaos Emeralds, "But I want an actual explanation after this."
"If we succeed, it'll explain itself." He chuckles,
"Amy do you still have magic?" Cream asked as he snaps his fingers and his staff appears,
"Looks like I still got it!" He give a thumbs up.
"A staff?" Sally said looking confused,
"Too bad Sonic's not here for me to test out my sleeping spell," He jokes,
"Be serious." Blaze said,
"Absolutely not! I have to make up for three years of not teasing Kolt." He said,
"I will hit you." Knuckles said as they all can't help but laugh,
"I think I got it!" Tails cheered, "But unfortunately, without the Void Emerald it's hard to test it."
"If you believe it works then that'll have to do." Knuckles said, "Plan stays the same, we sneak into the throne room and have a look around, if we're lucky Naugus will take the bait and attack us using Shadow. Amy will Stun Shadow with his sleeping spell so we can remove the limit ring and get her back on our side. Then we search for Sonic." Knuckles said, pulling the limit ring controller out of his pocket and handing it to Tails.
"That's a fairly decent plan." Blaze said,
"And you said you're a bad leader." Amy teased,
"Seriously Alan… I will hit you." Knuckles rolled his eyes,
"We all agree on the plan then?" Cream asked as they all nod,
"Wait!" Amy said looking at Knuckles, "You have to say it."
"Say what?" Knuckles asked as they all look at him and cross their arms,
"She's not here and you're leader, you gotta say it." Tails said as Knuckles lets out an annoyed groan,
"Fine!" He said rolling his eyes, "Alright Freedom Fighters, Let's do it to it!"
They all sneak into the throne room from one of the sky light windows and cautiously look around, "This place has always creeped me out…" Tails whispered,
"Same, and now we remember why." Blaze added,
"It's a little too convenient that the window was unlocked." Amy whispered,
"He's probably waiting for us." Knuckles said,
"I thought you all might show up," They hear Naugus behind them as they turn around to see him sitting in the previously empty throne. "I was planning to talk to you all in the morning after you got some rest. I would have sent a car if you wished to speak so soon." Knuckles realizes that Naugus is keeping face with his facade and doesn't know they have their memories back,
"You said you'd help us keep Shadow safe. Why did you take her?" Knuckles asked as the others are confused but then realize what he was doing.
"I'm sorry my boy, but G.U.N. was going to lock her up if I didn't." Naugus said,
"You told them she was dangerous!" Amy said,
"To them she is! I convinced them that I could use my crystal magic to keep her contained," They were struggling not to look angry knowing he was lying to their faces,
"Then where is she?" Cream asked as he smiles.
"Here, I'll get her." He snaps his fingers as Shadow warps next to him,
"Shadow!" Tails said,
"We're happy to see you're alright." Cream said but Shadow says nothing,
"Shadow?" Knuckles said pretending to look confused, but he understood that she was already under Naugus' control.
"Naugus what's going on?" Blaze asked as he laughs,
"I apologize, but this was the only way I could be sure she stayed quiet." He said,
"Stayed quiet? What are you talking about?" Amy asked,
"You all wouldn't understand. But for now I need you to cooperate while I figure out what to do with you." Naugus said,
"We trusted you!" Tails yelled,
"And I'll get that trust back. But you need to surrender for now." He said snapping his fingers as Shadow looks ready to attack. Tails slips out the controller to the limit ring and hides it behind her back.
"That's not going to happen. You know we're not the type to go down without a fight." Blaze said as they all get ready to fight.
"I really don't want to do this, but you leave me no choice. Shadow, detain them." Naugus said as Shadow charges at Knuckles and strikes at him. He blocks the attack and takes a few steps back. Everyone else steps out on Knuckles' way while he backs up. Shadow rushes after him and they surround her.
"Grab her!" Knuckles said as Amy summons his staff. Blaze strikes Shadow with her flames causing her to stagger as Amy uses his staff to hold her.
"What is this?" Naugus said taken by surprise. Tails holds out the controller and deactivates the limit ring and Shadow quickly becomes significantly stronger,
"Hurry and get it off her!" Amy yelled as Cream rushes up and pulls it off.
"What is happening?" Naugus was taken off guard at how organized they were in this attack,
"Amy now!" Knuckles said as he lets Shadow go and casts the sleeping spell on her. She staggers as Naugus realizes he's losing his control over her.
"No! But how?" He hissed. Tails moves next to Shadow while she tries to collect herself as the others guard her defensively,
"You okay Sophia?" Tails asked taking Shadow by surprise as she was regaining control.
"W… What?" Shadow was still trying to focus; did she just hear Tails say her real name?
"Don't tell me you forgot your own name." Amy said switching to his hammer. Naugus looks them all over seeing the confident expressions in their eyes as he starts to realize what has happened,
"You all remember don't you?" Naugus said,
"We do." Blaze said as she lights her hands and he glares at them,
"It doesn't matter, I'll just have to…" Before he could finish, Shadow warps behind him and kicks him in the back causing him to fall to the ground at their feet.
"I'm gonna enjoy this," Knuckles said slamming his fists together,
"How did you get your memories back?" Naugus said stumbling to get back up.
"Your mistake was letting me have access to the Mater Emerald." Knuckles takes a swing at him as he warps away near the throne. "You may have trapped Tikal in there but with everyone's help I was able to get her out."
"This is just a minor setback… I'll…" Shadow throws a Chaos Spear into his shoulder. "Why you!"
"Try and control me huh?" Shadow said charging another spear, Naugus looks behind them and grins as he disappears. They look around but he doesn't return, "Coward!" Shadow yelled,
"Don't worry Sophia, we'll get him." Amy said as Shadow looks back at all of her friend. She can see by their expressions that they were looking at her differently.
"Do you really know who I am?" She asked them as they nod, Three years alone on top of being the only one who knew what had really happened. Then being taken by Naugus again having her feel abandoned had taken it's tole. "I… I…" Shadow began to tear up no longer able to hold it in,
"Oh Shadow…" Cream said as they all rush over and hug her,
"I felt so alone." She cried as they comfort her, "I thought that…"
"We'd never abandon you Shadow." Tails said tearing up with her,
"Sure you can be a jerk sometimes, but we always look out for family." Knuckles said as they let her go and she wipes away the tears.
"But we're still missing one." Shadow said,
"Yeah, she's gotta be in the castle somewhere." Blaze said as they all walk towards the entrance of the throne room. Just as Knuckles was about to open the doors Shadow remembers something just before Naugus mind controlled her.
"Wait…" Shadow said,
"Why? We should hurry before Naugus grabs the guards or something." Knuckles said,
"I think Sonic's hidden in here." Shadow said,
"What makes you think that?" Blaze asked,
"After Naugus brought me in here while we were talking his expression changed like he heard someone else. He looked annoyed and snapped his fingers, but I saw nothing happen." She explained. "Then everything went black after I tried to call out to her." Tails takes out her Emerald detector and starts scanning the room. "What is that for?"
"I recalibrated it to scan for Void energy. If Sonic's in here we should be able to detect her with this."
"I don't think that's necessary." Amy said thinking for a moment before grabbing Shadow's hand and pulling her towards the throne,
"What are you doing?" Shadow asked as they follow after them as he stops in front of the Sapphire.
"Oh my gosh Amy you're right!" Tails said, "The crystals around the Sapphire are void gems."
"Then that means…" Blaze said as Shadow walks up to the Sapphire and places her hands on it.
"Sonic?" Shadow called out. Unseen to them, Sonic was pressing her hands against the gem aligned with Shadows hands as she cried tears of joy at finally being found.
"Are you guys sure?" Knuckles asked, Shadow didn't know how but where her hands were on the gem started to feel warm.
"It's her…" Shadow said. Pressing her forehead against the gem, "I finally found you." Sonic continued to cry knowing that just them finding her wasn't enough. She desperately wished she could embrace them all more than anything.
"At least I'm not alone." She thought about Fleetway and how her last words were, that as long as she didn't give up hope she could win. This was the most hopeful she's felt since being trapped within the crystal for the last three years. She doesn't realize that her ring begins to glow while the others see a faint glow comes off the Emerald.
"It really is her!" Cream said. They watch as the color of the crystal begin to melt from its opaque color to turning translucent revealing Sonic trapped within.
"Sonic!" They all yell taking her off guard for a second almost causing her to fall over. She looks at them shocked for a moment as she begins to realize they were making eye contact with her.
"Can you see me?" She said pointing to herself, but they hear no sound behind it. They all nod fairly sure of what she asked as they see her cover her mouth and fall to her knees crying.
"Why is she crying like that?" Cream asked seeing her tears turn to gem dust. Sonic rubs the tears away trying to calm down,
"Guys… That's a solid gem right?" Amy asked,
"Yeah?" Tails said,
"How is she breathing…?" Amy said as they all turn pale. Sonic tries to speak then remembers that they can't hear her. She needed to find another way to explain that it's not what they fear.
"I'm breaking this dumb rock," Knuckles said as Amy takes out his hammer, but Sonic franticly starts waving her hands and shaking her head.
"You don't want us to break it?" Amy asked lowering his hammer as Sonic nods.
"We're not leaving you in there!" Shadow said, "Not after I just found you." Sonic couldn't help but lean against the crystal closest to her. She wanted nothing more than to hold Shadow in her arms. Her ears lower as she points at Naugus' throne.
"Throne?" Cream asked, "Is there something inside of the throne?" Sonic shakes her head then puts her hand on her forehead pointing up like a horn,
"Oh are you trying to tell us something about Naugus?" Tails asked as Sonic nods smiling happily that they understood. She hugs herself,
"Hug?" Knuckles said as she shakes her head again,
"Hold?" Blaze asked as Sonic nods then points to herself as Shadow put the pieces together.
"Naugus still has a hold on you…" Shadow said as Sonic's ears lower again and nods.
"So if we remove her from the crystal… Naugus can control her." Cream said,
"How do we stop Naugus if we can't get to Sonic?" Amy asked, "If you all remember the ruins Knuckles translated on Angel Island, she's the only one who can fix this."
"We give her the Chaos Emeralds." Knuckles said. Sonic's ears perk up as she looks at him surprised, "If she goes Super Sonic Naugus wouldn't be able to control her,"
"But would that stop Naugus from possessing her?" Blaze asked.
"Only one way to find out." Shadow said looking at Sonic, "You ready?" Sonic shakes her head, more than anything she wanted to be free. But if Naugus takes control he could trigger another Genesis wave. If that happens Naugus will make it so none of them will ever find one another for eternity. She started to tear up again fearing the worst.
"Sonic… Have faith in us." Tails said, "I know you've been through a lot, but we can do this." Sonic takes a deep breath, Tails was right, she just saw her friends save Shadow from Naugus' control. Staying inside of the crystal because she's afraid would be worse than trying and failing. Sonic smiles feeling her confidence return as she nods to them.
"Stand back." Knuckles said as he and Amy get ready to strike the Sapphire,
"I think I've given you all enough time to talk." They turn to see Naugus back on the throne, "Did you really think I'd let you destroy my property?" He snaps his fingers, and the Sapphire vanishes,
"No!" Shadow yelled, as Naugus laughs.
"If you all cooperate I'll let you see her again. I might even let her out to play." He said sarcastically,
"Bastard!" Knuckles yelled, as Naugus snaps his fingers again and the Sapphire appears floating next to him. The Sapphire was back to its original opaque color no longer able to see Sonic's form.
"Let me out Naugus!" He heard Sonic from within the crystal. Sonic's side was also turned opaque and she was trapped in complete darkness.
"We know you can't hurt her." Blaze said confidently as he glares,
"Correct, as the anchor if she dies then the Genesis wave will reset. It's why I contained her inside the gem. While within it she cannot die." He said as he snaps his fingers, and they could see her again. But they saw that she was looking around like she couldn't see them. "But that doesn't mean she's safe." They all didn't know what to do now, Sonic was trapped and at the snap of his fingers he could take her anywhere. They could all see how panicked Sonic looked as she tried to spin dash, but nothing happened.
"We won't just give up." Tails said as they all tried to think. Shadow knew Naugus was arrogant, perhaps they could break Sonic free by tricking him into thinking they've given in or at least that she did so she could get close and stop him from casting magic. But she needed it to be convincing enough that even her friends believe she's surrendering.
"Then watch her suffer." He said snapping his fingers as they see the inside of the crystal start filling with liquid. "She may be cured of her fear of small spaces, but she still fears water."
"Naugus! What is going on?" Sonic called out feeling the liquid start to rise, "Okay you win, I'm officially scared…" Her ears lower continuing to panic as Naugus just smiles being the only one able to hear her pleas for help.
"Ahh, you should hear how panicked she is." He taunted,
"Wait…" Shadow said as the others look at her surprised, "What do you want from us?"
"Shadow…" Amy said in protest,
"You can stop this joke Naugus! I know you can hear me!" Sonic continued to cry out as the liquid got up to her knees.
"I don't give a damn about the world. I only care about my friends and family." Shadow said looking up as Sonic, "And about her…"
"Shadow you can't be serious." Cream said,
"I am serious," Shadow said taking a step forward as Knuckles grabs her arm,
"What the hell are you playing at?" He yelled,
"I'm done playing hero!" She yells back pulling out of his grip, "Look around Knuckles, we lost. I can't…" She starts to tear up with frustration, "I can't watch her get hurt anymore…" Naugus snaps his fingers just as the liquid gets up to above Sonic's waist. He mutes his hearing to her voice and makes the crystal opaque, they could no longer see her so he could enjoy listening to Shadow's seemingly immanent surrender.
"This is literally my worst nightmare…" Sonic said to herself realizing the liquids rise stopped. She needed to remain calm. Her friends just found her; she's not going to stay stuck inside this crystal any longer. "Okay… I haven't tried this before but… if I'm lucky, Naugus moved me away from the Void gems." She holds her chest, "Only one way to find out."
"What do you want?" Shadow said as Naugus smiles,
"I want you to swear fealty to me." He said,
"Shadow don't!" Blaze said,
"If you do that he can possess you!" Cream said,
"I'm sorry… but I can't do this anymore…" Shadow steps forward as Naugus holds his hand out to her,
"I am the server of the Void of Chaos, Chaos is power, power enriched by the Void…" She closes her eyes as her body starts to glow blue, "My body is the controller, I serve to unify the Void and Chaos… Anarchy Burst!" She opens her eyes showing they were solid black.
Shadow hesitates as she's about to reach for Naugus' hand. The others couldn't believe Shadow had given up unsure what they should do. Tails runs up and grabs Shadow's hand before she grabs Naugus' and tries to pull her away.
"No! I won't let you!" Tails said with tears in her eyes struggling to move her,
"I have to do this…" Shadow said, The Sapphire starts to glow taking them all off guard as cracks starts to stretch around the center,
"That's impossible!" Naugus said confused as Shadow takes the opportunity to tackle Naugus and pin him down,
"Knuckles, Amy, NOW!" Shadow yelled as they pause for a moment before rushing up and striking the Sapphire as hard as they can seeing the crack spider across the entire gem as they hit it again. The Gem Blasts outwards towards all of them knocking them back as a blue luminescent liquid floods around the Throne room. Shadow tightly holds down Naugus making sure he can't use his magic. They all hear a splash as they look back towards the throne to see Sonic face down collapsed on the ground.
"Sonic!" Tails quickly gets up to check on her.
"I have to say, I'm impressed Shadow, even I believed that acting." Naugus said.
"You scared us!" Cream said pouting at Shadow not happy about the trick.
"I'm sorry… but I needed it to look convincing." Shadow said. Sonic's skin and clothes gave an iridescent glow as Tails rolled her over onto her back. She was gasping like a fish out of water.
"Knuckles help!" Tails cried out as the others quickly collect themselves and go over to her.
"Is she alright?" Shadow asked, all she wanted to do was go over there, but she needed to make sure Naugus couldn't cast magic on Sonic now that she was free.
"I don't know." Knuckles said sitting her up as she slightly starts breathing better, "It's like she can't breathe," Naugus chuckles,
"Talk." Shadow demand twisting his arm as he continues to laugh, "Or did you forget your world disappears if she dies,"
"She hasn't had to breath for three years. Her body's struggling to remember how to function." He said,
"How do we fix it?" She said,
"I can make it less painful for her." Naugus smiles as she glares,
"We'll take our chances," Shadow said,
"Shadow, what do we do now?" Blaze asked,
"We wait till she recovers and then we help her reset what Naugus did." Shadow said,
"That's great in theory but how long do you think you can hold him there before someone walks in here? We don't even know how long it's going to take for her to recover." Knuckles said,
"We need to get her out of here." Amy said,
"You think I'll just let you all leave here with her?" Naugus struggled as Shadow quickly punches him in the back of the neck knocking him unconscious.
"We're not giving you a choice." Shadow said, "Give me a Chaos Emerald and hold onto one another." She quickly goes over to them. Knuckles tosses her the device as he picks up Sonic. Blaze grabs onto Knuckles' shoulder and they all gather around. "I wasn't there for very long but hopefully it'll be enough."
"Where?" Cream asked,
"Hangar bay, Sonic needs medical attention and Dr. Q is the only one I trust." Shadow said taking out the Chaos Emerald and holding Knuckles' other shoulder, "Chaos Control!" They all warp out of the throne room leaving Naugus lying on the floor in front of his throne.