Sonic Adventure: Downfall and Redemption

by ThePhantomHedgehog

6 months after Infinite's defeat, a new adventure begins and a new member joins the team. But as he becomes closer friends with everyone, long-forgotten enemies return, and the team begins to question their new friend's history. Secrets will unravel, relationships will be strained, and trust will become betrayal. Things will never be the same. ARCHIVED; REBOOT & PREQUEL IN PROGRESS

5. Chapter 5: A New Adventure Begins

Me: Finally, we get to the adventure!

Sonic: About time, too! All we've gotten so far is nothing but four chapters of setup and only a couple of battles.

Me: In due time, my dear hedgehog friend. Anyways, no need for a long one, let's jump right into it! Enjoy!

Sonic: Really? So, you won't be avoiding this and playing "Nier: Automata BECOME AS GODS Edition"?

Me: … Well, I never said that. I mean, I did get endings A through E with all but one side mission completed. Still have to get the last eight achievements. But enough of that, time to get back to the story!

*Sincere A/N*

I should have mentioned this sooner, but if you are listening to the songs provided on a desktop, you do know how to loop the video, right? Right click on the player and you'll see it. If you're on a Mac… just look up how to do it.

Also, in case you think otherwise, Microsoft Word SUCKS at catching grammatical errors, specifically incorrect words being used. Do me a favor, because I'm so OCD when it comes to writing, if there's a spelling error or a word missing or anything like that, please let me know via PM. Spell Check can only to so much, both on Word and FFN. I say this because it will make the process of me writing another chapter quicker without the need to occasionally go back and find an error in a previous chapter on FFN. I don't have an editor or someone who has the time to proofread this stuff after I have done so.

Bonus: Can you guess one of the two characters revealed in this chapter? Winner gets a cookie!

---

Chapter 5: A New Adventure Begins

Outside of Siris' House

[ Darksiders 2 OST – The Makers Theme ] (Uploaded by overlord7777) (0:00) (Loop)

"Everything ready, Tails?"

Tails was getting the Tornado 2 prepped for launch. No surprise, his best friend was getting impatient. He sighed and turned towards him.

"Almost done, Sonic. Just making the last few adjustments to the system and we'll be all set!"

"You said that-"

"30 seconds ago, Sonic. Don't say it was longer."

"Guys, look! I see Siris and Sylvie!" Amy exclaimed.

Everyone turned to the direction Amy was pointing as the two hedgehogs arrived home.

"Though you guys would have left by now," said Siris.

"Same," said Sonic, "but it seems Tails got distracted. He thinks every single little adjustment to his devices will make a huge difference."

"Oh? So, I shouldn't modify my Miles Electric to detect the Sol Emeralds and make sure you're keeping your promise to Blaze?" Tails retorted.

"Aaahhh… okay, fair enough."

Mighty and Ray walked up to Siris.

"What's up?" Siris asked them.

"Since I've worked with Knuckles in the past, Ray and I decided we should go find him and give him a hand with the Master Emerald," Mighty explained.

"Oh."

Siris' ears lowered a bit. It wasn't often he got to see his friends.

"Is something wrong, Siris?" Ray asked.

"Hm? Nah, it's nothing. I was hoping we'd catch up for a while before you two took off. I wasn't aware you were leaving so soon."

Mighty smiled and placed a hand on Siris' shoulder.

"Don't worry, Siris. There will plenty of time in the future. Right now, the world is in danger. The best thing we can do is make sure we get the Emeralds first, and fast."

Siris nodded.

"Any idea where he could be, though?" he asked.

"We don't, but Vector has an idea where," Ray answered.

"I take it you two will meet up with the other Chaotix and join Knuckles?"

Mighty and Ray nodded.

"Figures. So, where are you two headed?"

"Adabat," they replied.

"Adabat?"

"Yeah. Vector said he got a tip from someone that saw Knuckles heading in that general direction," Mighty explained.

"Why would he care about Knuckles' location?" Siris asked.

Everyone, except Sylvie, turned to look at him, giving him the "Are you serious?" look.

"The guy giving the tip, not Vector," Siris clarified, "What do you think I am, stupid? With the possible threat looming in the future?"

"He didn't," Ray explained, "When Vector asked about Master Emerald shards, the guy mentioned Knuckles to him."

"Aaahhh… I get it now," said Siris, "So, Adabat then, huh?"

"Yup!" Mighty said ecstatically.

Siris noticed Ray wasn't looking so thrilled.

"He's just worried," said Amy, startling Mighty and Ray since she approached silently behind them.

Siris was a bit surprised himself.

"How-"

"I could tell by the look in your eyes," Amy explained to Siris, "Ray told us on the way here that there were reports of volcanic activity miles away from Adabat."

"Oh, yeah. I read something about that recently," said Siris, "But why worry? The only thing happening is a bunch of steam forming from the ocean floor and rising to the surface. It happens every 10 to 15 years, Ray."

Ray wasn't really convinced.

"It's just… what if this time a huge volcanic eruption occurs?"

Siris could help but laugh a little.

"A volcanic eruption? Ray, Adabat hasn't had anything of that magnitude in hundreds, if not a couple thousand years."

"Yeah, that's what I said," Tails noted.

"But this activity only started again a few days ago. What if it's connected to that 'lord' guy?"

Everyone sighed loudly, except Ray and Sylvie.

"You really are superstitious, aren't ya?" Mighty asked.

Ray smiled nervously and shrugged. The conversation ended as the Tornado 2 roared to life. Everyone looked at each other, knowing it was time to part ways.

"So, guess this is it, huh?" Siris asked as Sonic and Tails walked up.

"Yeah. Guess it is; the start of a new adventure," Sonic replied.

Mighty got Siris' attention and held out his hand.

"See ya around?" asked the armadillo.

Siris smiled and shook his hand.

"You better count on it," he said.

Siris then shook Ray's hand.

"Come on, Ray. We better get going. Vector and the others will be meeting us at Spagonia soon," Mighty explained, "And the sooner we catch up to Knuckles, the sooner we can give him his communicator back."

Ray turned to his partner and nodded.

"Right."

The two then turned back to their friends and said their farewells. Everyone waved to them as they ran off towards the forest.

"Man," Sonic sighed, "wish they could have come with us."

Amy agreed.

"I feel the same," said Tails, "But we don't know what we're up against. If that fight against those SWAT-bots told me anything, it's that we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"He's right, Sonic."

He looked at Siris.

"While that fight was just an exercise for me, even if they had Master Emerald shards, we should assume the worst," Siris explained, "If they have even one Chaos or Sol Emerald, it could tip the scale in their favor in battle."

Sonic thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Anyways, you guys should also get going. Mighty's right, we can't afford to waste time. Where are you guys headed?"

"We haven't really decided on that yet," said Tails, "We're gonna coordinate with everyone else so we can search as much area as possible."

"I thought you guys were going to Mazuri," Siris asked.

Sonic sighed.

"It was my original plan for us," he explained, "but then I decided it might not be a good idea."

Siris was about to ask for clarification, but someone else asked something.

"Where's everyone now?" asked Amy.

"Shadow, Rouge, and Omega are currently at G.U.N. Headquarters, questioning Eggman Nega. Silver and Blaze already searched Emerald Coast and Station Square. And you already-"

"Wait!" Amy interrupted Tails, "Did they go to Twinkle Park?"

At first, Sonic and Tails were confused, but it took them a second to follow what Amy was getting at.

"Ah, I see what you're asking," Sonic smirked.

"Unfortunately, no," Tails replied, trying not to laugh.

"What a shame," Siris sighed.

Immediately, Sonic, Tails, and Amy turned to Siris. Before any of them could say anything, Siris answered their question.

"I'm guessing they like each other based on how you guys are acting just now."

"… Yeah, pretty much," said Amy.

"But back to where you guys should go, why not just go to the former locations of the Temples of Gaia? It sounds like what Sonic had initially planned earlier," Siris suggested, "I mean, Sonic found one here, near Spagonia. And if Shadow found his near another one, wouldn't it be smart to search there first? And before you guys ask, I studied at Spagonia University and worked part-time for Professor Pickle."

Sonic opened his mouth to say something.

"Don't ask. Long story. Some other time."

"Uh… actually it was something else," said Sonic.

"Oh. What is it?"

"Why are you really not coming with us right now?"

Tails and Amy froze.

"I mean… no offense, but personal issues and dealing with patients beforehand with the world at stake doesn't sound right."

Siris nodded a couple of times before smiling.

"Alright. That was a half-truth. The other reason is that I'm rusty."

"Rusty?"

"I haven't used any of my abilities in over two years. As strange as that might sound, I need time to dust off the cobwebs and hone my skills as fast as possible. It should only take a couple of weeks, give or take a couple of days."

Sonic kept a straight face, but he had a feeling that Siris was still not telling them something. If only he knew Tails and Amy partially knew more than him.

"So…" said Tails, "you'll be ready by Halloween?"

"…Huh. Forgot about that. I guess so," said Siris.

"Not a fan of Halloween, Siris?" asked Amy.

"My God, you kidding?" Siris asked with a look of disbelief, "I love Halloween. I mean, who doesn't?"

"Good point," Tails replied as he started up the Tornado.

The roar of the engine perked Sonic up as he and Amy walked over to the plane. Sonic helped Amy into the Tornado before turning to Siris with a concerned look on his face.

"Something wrong?" Siris asked him.

"Yeah. I've been thinking… why SWAT-bots?"

Tails and Amy looked at Siris as well, who just shrugged.

"No clue. It does seem strange though," he replied.

"How so?" Tails asked.

Sonic turned back to him.

"Think about it, Tails. An abandoned base? Us finding Siris? SWAT-bots? What do they all have in common?" Sonic asked.

Tails' eyes began to widen.

"You don't think Julian is still…"

"Hell, no, Tails!" Siris exclaimed.

Everyone turned to him.

"Like I said, I killed him myself. Trapped him inside his escape pod and prevented it from leaving as the whole base blew up."

"He's right, Tails," Sonic added, "Sally and I both saw the footage from Nicole. Julian is dead."

Tails calmed down.

"But, if it's not Julian, then why SWAT-bots? We haven't seen a single one in over 10 years," Tails pointed out.

"I think I can answer that," Siris replied, "I've seen the blueprints for the SWAT-bot design and built some parts for them back then. Compared to Eggman's recent designs, his are inferior to the SWAT-bot design."

"And if this… are we really gonna call him 'lord'?" Sonic asked.

Everyone shrugged.

"Well, anyways, this 'lord' guy has clearly been searching through Julian's old bases. Wouldn't surprise me if he was trying to use every angle to his advantage."

Siris began to get nervous.

"That's a scary theory, Sonic. If this guy got his hands on the Doomsday Project plans and altered them… the consequences would be astronomical."

"Yeah. You're right. Tails, Amy; we should get a move on."

Tails nodded as Amy got herself buckled in the passenger seat.

"Hey, Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog turned back to the darker one.

"When you first saw me here, you didn't recognize me. I didn't gain any color powers until a few years ago, long since Julian's death. How did you know I was 'Wisps' after I destroyed those SWAT-bots?"

"Your grapples," Sonic smirked, "There's only one other person I know who has ever used one. The only one who is a hedgehog would be you."

Siris stared at him suspiciously.

"But you've never seen me fight before, even back at Doomsday."

"Right. After Doomsday, I saw some footage of you taking out all those SWAT-bots before saving my quills."

"Really? Huh. Wasn't aware there was footage of that."

"Yeah. Gotta say, you had moves, even back then."

"Thanks… you guys should get going. Stay in touch!"

"No problem," said Sonic.

"Yeah, right, mister!" Amy yelled, "You didn't stay in touch with any of us these past months!"

Sonic chuckled nervously as a sweat drop appeared on his temple.

"Well…" he began saying, "now I have you two to make sure I keep that promise now!"

Tails and Amy sighed so loudly that it made the Tornado's engine sound like a whisper in comparison. Siris couldn't help but laugh a little.

"You know, now that I think about it," said Tails, "Professor Pickle might have some useful information as well. I'm sure he'd be pleased to see us again."

Sonic turned to Tails, giving him a thumbs up.

"Good idea, Tails! Spagonia is only a short jog away, so it'd be no trouble at all."

"Well, no point in wasting more time. We should get going and talk to Professor Pickle," said Amy.

Tails began a final system check as Sonic waited impatiently, wanting to do what he does best.

"Take care of that Chaos Emerald, Sonic!" Siris warned him, "If this threat is half as bad as it sounds, we can't afford to lose anything to that 'lord'."

Sonic shook Siris' hand and waved to Sylvie before sprinting into the distance, leaving behind a trail of dust and a sonic boom.

"Hey!" Tails called out, "Wait for us, Sonic!"

The Tornado 2 began to rise off the ground.

"Tails, Amy!" Siris called out over the engine, getting their direction, "Please, don't tell Sonic anything yet. I promise to explain everything in due time!"

The two gave Siris a nod before waving goodbye to him and Sylvie. Sylvie gave a shy wave back as Tails piloted the plane the direction Sonic was running and blasted off after him. Siris and Sylvie stood there staring until the plane was no longer in sight.

"Be safe…" Sylvie said softly.

Siris patted her on the head.

"Don't worry, Sylvie. I'm sure they'll be just fine."

She turned to face him.

"I hope so."

Siris smiled.

"Why don't we go inside; I have to open the clinic in a couple of minutes."

Sylvie nodded.

"Okay."

As they entered Siris' home, Siris was concerned.

"How am I going to explain this to Sylvie?" he thought, "She shouldn't even be here. She deserves a better place to live. Some place… safe."

(Music fades)

---

The Evil Lord's Base… I really need to come up with a good name for this guy before he physically reveals himself to our heroes…

[ Deadspace soundtrack 1: Dead Space Theme ] (Uploaded by GoldskinOST) (0:00) (Loop it multiple times)

The Lord patiently sat upon his thrown, waiting for his subordinate to arrive from a retrofit. His recent communication with one of his sleeper agents made him very pleased. Although his plan has had a couple of fumbles, they mattered little as the plan was a self-preserved plan, one that can easily be able be completed, even with some issues arising. The Lord turned his attention to the cloaked figure that had just arrived in the room.

"Ah, excellent timing. I see your repairs have gone well. Very good."

The figure silently stood before its master.

"I have a new mission for you," the Lord told them in a sinister tone, "I want you to follow Knuckles and his little friends to Adabat. Intel says that a Chaos Emerald and a Master Emerald shard is in the region. An ambush is preparing to attack within a couple of days."

The figure slightly glared at his master.

"Unlike before, you may do as you wish with the Mobians, I care not for their well-being. Just be sure to bring me that Chaos Emerald and shard."

The Lord leaned forward.

"Do I make myself clear?"

The figure's head slightly rose, revealing two glowing red eyes, before nodding in response.

"Good," the villain said softly, "And be sure to bring the Demon with you."

The figure nodded again before slowly rising from the ground and dashing off to begin their mission.

"Time to divide and conquer," the lord chuckled to himself as his laughter got louder and louder.

(Music fades)

---

Spagonia University

[ Spagonia Day – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Aaahhhh…" Tails sighed, "It's nice to be back here again."

The Tornado 2 slowly descended and landed a few feet away from the fountain in the University courtyard. Sonic was waiting for Tails and Amy by the entrance. He didn't want to go see Professor Pickle alone. Not only because he didn't want to be rude and see him before Tails and Amy, but also for the sake of him not losing his sanity of Pickle's constant banter of how a cucumber sandwich should be properly made. Tails and Amy walked up to Sonic.

"Ready to see him?" Amy asked.

Sonic nodded and the three entered the building. Luckily, the professor's office was in the same room as it was a few years ago when they were last there. Unluckily, there was no sign of Pickle.

"Huh," said Tails, "I guess he's out."

"I wonder where he is," said Amy.

As the three made their way back to the entrance and wait for Professor Pickle's return, they ran into his assistant.

"Oh, hey, it's you guys!" he exclaimed, "It's nice to see you again."

Tails shook his hand.

"Likewise. You wouldn't happen to know where Professor Pickle is, would you?" Tails asked.

"Professor Pickle?" the assistant asked, "Oh, he's not in Spagonia right now. He's currently on sabbatical."

"Really?" asked Tails.

It was quite a surprise to him. For all the time he had known the professor, he didn't seem like the kind of guy who would easily just decide to take a break from his research projects.

"I'm afraid so," the assistance replied, "But, if you still want to see him, I think he's currently in Apotos."

"Thanks for the tip," said Sonic, "Come on, guys. Next stop, Apotos!"

The three said their farewells to the assistant and left for Apotos.

(Music fades)

---

Siris' Home

[ Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) – Oscorp Research Station Mission Theme 1 ] (Uploaded by xXSilentAgent47Xx) (0:00) (Loop if necessary)

Sylvie was cleaning the bookshelves while Siris was busy meeting with patients in his clinic. Usually when she worked on doing chores, she would refrain from distracting herself from her labors, avoiding long periods of thinking or fidgeting with objects that ever caught her eye. It was a force of habit she developed back when she was still living under the ownership of Charles Hemberg. But after living in Siris' home for a few days, she still felt that she was nothing more than a slave. And yet, that didn't stop her from thinking about earlier that day.

"There are things that have happened that I don't want to discuss."

Sylvie couldn't help but think about what Siris had said earlier.

"I have secrets. Dangerous secrets. And a dark past."

Sylvie's hand moved faster and faster as she gripped the cleaning cloth tighter.

"I'm going through some rough patches in my life right now."

"Like you've gone through the same thing I did…" Sylvie muttered almost silently to herself, tightly closing her eyes.

"I'll explain everything later."

"Sylvie?"

Her eyes shot open as she turned her head. She saw Siris standing a couple of feet away, looking at her with a concerned expression on his face. Neither said a word for a few moments.

"I think that portion of the shelf is clean now," Siris pointed out.

"Huh?"

Sylvie looked over to where she was cleaning and saw that had been wiping the same spot for a while. Her hand came to a stop and she released her grip on the rag. She began rubbing the palm of the hand she had used. Siris approached her.

"Is your hand okay?"

"…It's f-fine, Master…"

Siris ignored how he was addressed; he was more concerned about her hand. When he first entered the room, Sylvie was unaware of his presence. Though it appeared that she was just cleaning, Siris felt a tension in the vicinity, coming from Sylvie. He silently watched her work for a minute. As her arm moved with vigor, Sylvie would occasionally jerk her hand away from the area she was cleaning and rub it; Siris decided then it was time to get her attention.

"Sylvie, can I see your hand?"

She looked back at Siris. He could see that she was scared.

"Guess I should start explaining to her now then."

"Please?" he asked.

Sylvie nervously held out her right hand. Siris gently turned it over so her palm was facing up. He carefully began to remove her glove. He hadn't even moved it an inch before she involuntarily flinched. Being as careful as possible, Siris removed her glove.

"Sylvie… you have blisters," he stated caringly.

Sylvie had two blisters on her palm, one the size of a bottle cap, the other about half that size.

"I'm okay, I can still work," Sylvie objects nervously.

Siris sighed.

"I'm sure you can, but these look rather irritating, if not painful, Sylvie," he said calmly, "Sit down at the table. I'll go get some supplies from the clinic."

Siris walked back into his clinic as Sylvie nervously sat down at the dinner table.

"Is Master going to… hurt me?"

A tear began to form in her eye.

"Was it all a lie? Is Master truly a bad person?"

Siris came back with some items. He placed them on the table and went to the kitchen sink. Sylvie heard water running and saw Siris reach over and grab a small bowl and soap. A few seconds later, he came back with a bowl of warm, soapy water and a dry hand towel. He placed the bowl in front of Sylvie.

"Can you soak your hand in the water, please?" he asked her.

"If that is your wish, Master…" she answered softly as she did as she was asked.

Siris was too preoccupied rubbing alcohol on a needle to notice Sylvie's expression. He then grabbed a piece of gauze and a bottle of iodine.

"Okay, dry your hand now with the towel, gently."

Sylvie removed her hand from the water and dried her hand off as Siris put a small amount of iodine on the gauze.

"Can I have your hand?"

Sylvie slowly gave her right hand to Siris. He slowly swabbed the blisters with the iodine for a moment. It was by this point that Siris finally noticed her hand was shaking. He looked up and saw her eyes had tears.

"Does it hurt?"

Sylvie shook her head. Not wanting to make her more uncomfortable than needed, Siris decided not to ask why she was lying.

"Okay. I need to puncture the blisters, so they drain, alright?"

Sylvie slowly nodded.

"I promise, it won't hurt."

Sylvie closed her eyes the moment she saw Siris grab the small needle he had sterilized moments ago. She braced for a sharp stab in her hand, or any place on her body.

"He's going to do it! He's going to stab me! Why?! Why is he a-"

"Okay, blisters have been drained."

"Huh?"

Sylvie opened her eyes and looked down at her hand. There was no blood. No pain. Anywhere. Not a scratch, aside from now drained blisters.

"Master… didn't… hurt me?"

Sylvie watched as Siris lightly dabbed the towel on her palm, removing the discharge, and putting some kind of gel on the blisters before placing another piece of gauze over the blisters and wrapping her palm with bandage tape.

"Okay, try making a fist."

Sylvie squeezed her hand a couple of times, curling her hand with ease.

"Does it feel stiff?"

"Eh… no, not really."

"Perfect."

Siris smiled and began to put everything away. Sylvie wiped her eyes.

"Uh… could you sit here for a moment, Sylvie? I'll be right back."

Sylvie nodded and Siris went off to return the supplies to his clinic and throw away anything that needed disposal. When he came back inside his home, he saw Sylvie was still sitting at the table, gently rubbing her now gloved hand. She looked back at him as he took a seat across from her. They were silent for a few seconds before Sylvie began to speak.

"I'm-"

"I'm sorry," Siris interrupted.

Sylvie was puzzled.

"Why is Master apologizing?"

As though he read her mind, Siris answered.

"I should have told you sooner about what's going on."

Siris bit on his tongue a little with his lips before continuing.

"You're a guest in my home… and I've been unfair with you. I've asked you questions about your past a couple of times, I took you in and didn't even try to show you that you were no longer a slave the moment you came into my care."

Siris bowed his head in shame.

"I didn't even tell you anything about my past. And you, of all people deserve to know something about the person who is taking care of you."

He slowly raised his head.

"I think now would be a good time to answer your questions. I… can't promise you that I am willing to answer all of them, due to reasons. But I will try my best."

As Siris gave Sylvie a small smile, she felt some relief.

"I have some time right now before my next appointment arrives. So, why don't you start asking me questions," he suggested.

"… Are you sure?"

"No. But, I think you deserve it."

Sylvie closed her eyes and began to think about what to ask first. After a minute of thinking, she opened her eyes.

"Were they real?"

Siris was confused.

"Was what real?"

"The photos… on that thing."

"Oh, boy. Here we go."

Siris sighed.

"Yes. Every photo was real. And it all really happened. But, don't think those photos tell the whole story."

"I see…"

Sylvie nervously placed her hands on her lap.

"Did you really kill Julian?"

Silence.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"What do you mean by 'why'?"

Silence.

"Why did you kill him?"

"Because he was the worst person to ever walk the Earth."

Silence.

"Shouldn't he had been put on trial? Be sentenced to death by that way?"

Siris sighed.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess he should have."

"Then why did kill him?"

Siris wiped his mouth.

"I am not telling her that. I don't want her to think that I want to do onto others what had been done to me."

"I… don't want to tell you that yet. Sorry."

"… If that is Master's wish."

"Next question?"

Silence.

"How do you know the woman at the clothing store?"

*Record scratch* (Stop music for a moment)

Siris was dumbfounded. He couldn't help but let a chuckle escape from his slight smirk.

"Of all the possible questions you could have asked… you go with how I know a certain human lady."

Sylvie just stared.

"Okay, why are you curious?"

"Well… she seems to really like you. Were you two ever-"

"Nope," Siris said firmly, "gonna end that right there. No. Aside from the obvious reasons why, we never had any kind of relationship in that sense."

"Oh… I just thought…"

Siris leaned over and patted Sylvie on the head.

(Continue music)

"It's fine. I understand why you'd think that. Just for future reference, Aurelia is always like that. She has a very… how should I put it…? teasing attitude. But to answer your previous question, all I will say is that she's a friend of a friend who eventually became a close friend of mine."

"… Who was this friend she was friends with?"

Siris' smile vanished, and he pulled his hand away.

"Umm…. Her friend was…"

Siris couldn't answer and he looked down.

"Sorry, Sylvie. But that's a topic that won't be happening for a while."

"Master?"

Siris looked back up.

"Sorry, touchy topic. Can… we go with another topic?"

Sylvie nodded.

"What's a Chaos Emerald?"

"Oh, this is going to be a long two weeks…"

(Music fades)

---

*** October 15, 2020 ***

A few miles from Apotos

Amy slowly opened her eyes as the morning sun shined brightly in the sky. She stretched out her arms and yawned. She wasn't quite fully awake as she attempted to go into her bathroom… which was a few thousand miles away in Sunset Heights. Instead of her bedroom floor, her feet landed on nothing and she began to fall out of the Tornado.

"Wait… I'M IN THE TORNADO!" her mind screamed.

But it was too late, most of her weight was already falling off the Tornado; Amy could do nothing but scream as she fell into the ocean below. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab hers and pull her back up.

"Huh?"

Amy looked up and saw Sonic pulling back on board the Tornado.

"Jeez, Amy. It's too early for me to be saving your life," he joked.

Amy rolled her eyes as she got herself back in her seat.

"What, no 'Thank you for saving me' or "You're my hero, Sonic'?" Sonic asked with a playful smile.

"… fine. Thank you, Sonic."

"Guess she's still mad," Sonic thought.

Yesterday, Sonic and Amy had a… well, not really a fight or an argument… more like Amy blowing off some steam at Sonic for his lack of communication in recent months. Long story short, Sonic said something stupid to Amy but didn't mean it in the way he said it. A threatening Amy with her Piko Piko Hammer in hand was the final straw for Tails, as he told the two that they could walk to Apotos if they didn't stop their behavior. Now, you might be asking why Sonic was on the Tornado at this point. Well, let's just say running a very long distance over water is not something Sonic is a fan of. So, sitting upon the wing of the Tornado, Sonic stopped talking to Amy and Amy, begrudgingly, decided to get some sleep, as by then it was nightfall. And now, morning.

Sonic: What are you doing?!

May God and Chaos have mercy on my soul.

Me: You freakin' kidding me right now? Are you really interrupting this story because I'm adding some problems with your relationship with Amy?

Sonic: Yeah, I am! Why are you doing this?! I thought you were a SonAmy fan!

Me: Yes, I am. So?

Sonic: So why are you trying to break us up!?

Me: How about you shut up and let me continue this story, okay?

Sonic: … Fine. But what were we arguing about?

Me: You'll find out in a few minutes. Now shut up. Interrupt me again in the middle of a chapter again, and I will-

*BOOP*

Technical Difficulties… Please Standby…

*BOOP*

Me: Well, shame I decided to make this whole thing rated T. Now… where was I?

Tails: Shouldn't we call a therapist?

Me: It's too late for him. Now back to the story.

Anyways…

"Guys, I see it!" Tails exclaimed.

Sonic and Amy turned to the horizon in the direction they were headed. The familiar sight of windmills clearly indicated where they were.

"Apotos, dead ahead!" said Tails.

10 minutes later…

[ Apotos Day – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Tails landed the Tornado near the town entrance. The three got off the plane and headed off to Apotos in search of Professor Pickle. As they walked around, Sonic noticed a few familiar faces back when he was helping Chip find his memory.

"My word, it's Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Speaking of familiar faces, one of them came up to the trio with his signature priest attire.

"It has been quite some time, Sonic," the said the priest.

Sonic shook his hand.

"Gregorios. It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise. And who are you companions?"

Sonic pulled his hand free from the (still) slightly over-appreciative citizen he exorcised from Dark Gaia's influence. Tails came up to Gregorios.

"My name is Tails, a friend of Sonic's."

Then Amy came up.

"And I'm Amy Rose, Sonic's girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Gregorios asked with some surprise, "I wasn't aware you had a significant other, Sonic."

"Yeah…" Sonic replied, slightly blushing.

"I must say, it is nice to see you finding the time to spend with someone you truly care about," the priest continued, "I hope you two aren't doing anything… that I would frown upon."

"What?!" Amy cried out.

"N-no-no-no-no, don't get the wrong-"

"I understand if you are, Sonic. You are still young, and I know young people tend to be a bit… adventurous, at times."

Sonic turned to Tails and mouthed "save me" to him. Unfortunately, Tails was already enjoying the events unfold before him and just smiled evilly.

One uncomfortable explanation later…

"Oh, please accept my apology, Sonic," the priest begged.

"It's… no problem."

After having to walk away and laugh for what as well have been an eternity, Tails finally put his friends' pain to rest.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, "but we wanted to ask you something."

Gregorios turned his attention to the kitsune.

"Yes, go ahead, Tails."

"Have you seen a professor around here recently?"

"A professor?" Gregorios asked, in thought, "Ah, you must be looking for Professor Pickle. He's right over there looking out at the horizon."

Sonic, Tails, and Amy all turned to the benched area overlooking the sea and saw the Professor sitting down. After an amusing triple facepalm, they said farewell to Gregorios and walked over to where the Professor was resting.

"Professor Pickle!" Tails called out.

The elderly man turned to the direction from where he was called and saw the trio approaching.

"Why, it's Sonic, Tails, and Amy Rose! How nice to see you all again."

"We could say the same, Professor," said Tails.

"Tell me, what brings you three here. I doubt you simple came here just to mingle with an old man, such as myself."

"Actually, that's exactly why we're here," said Amy.

"Oh? Is that right? Well, go on, no need to keep me waiting."

"Professor, do you have any idea where we could find the Chaos Emeralds?" Tails asked.

"The Chaos Emeralds? For what reason might you need them, if you don't mind me asking?"

For the next hour, the gang discussed what has been happening in the past few days, from Sonic's search for Dr. Eggman, to the messages sent to them; warning of the impending doom. When they mentioned Siris to the Professor nearly choked on his cucumber sandwich, which he had brought along as his lunch.

"So, now we're here, asking you about the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic finished.

"Hm… that does seem troubling. I am afraid to say that I have no clue where you could find the Chaos Emeralds, apart from the obvious location of below the surface of the planet."

"Nothing? Are you sure?" Sonic asked.

"I'm afraid so," Professor Pickle replied, "Was it not Light Gaia would sealed himself along with Dark Gaia within the planet's core, also entrapping the emeralds as well?"

Sonic looked down at his bracelet.

"Yeah, it was," he said.

"Hm…"

"What are you thinking, Professor?" Tails asked.

"Well, I don't know for certain, but from I've heard, it is possible that when Sonic rubbed the gemstone on the bracelet, the earthquakes that resulted afterwards may have been Light Gaia's way of saying he will always be by Sonic's side."

"So, it has no connections with the sudden appearance of the Chaos Emerald Sonic found?" Amy asked.

The professor shook his head.

"I have no possible theory, I'm afraid."

"That's okay, Professor," said Tails, "We knew it would be a long shot anyways."

"That's quite nice of you, Tails," Professor Pickle replied, "I'm honestly surprised how many people are interested in the Chaos Emeralds as of late."

Sonic, Tails, and Amy looked at each other, puzzled.

"What do you mean by that?" Sonic asked.

"About two weeks ago, a Mobian businessman came up to me asking questions about the Chaos Emeralds, much like how you are now."

"Do you know this person's name?" Amy asked.

Professor Pickle rubbed his chin, trying to remember.

"Ah, yes! His name was Hemberg!"

Silence.

"Hemberg? As in James?!" Tails thought.

"Wait… was James trying to make us focus on Siris and not him?" Amy thought.

"Hemberg… James Hemberg?" Sonic thought.

"Does that name sound familiar to any of you?"

"Yeah, it does," Tails answered, "Was it James Hemberg?"

Amy nervously awaited the professor's answer, biting her lower lip.

"No, it was a Charles Hemberg. Quite the strange fellow; he refused to tell me why he needed information on the Chaos Emeralds so soon."

Tails and Amy's hearts sank. They actually felt that Siris was right about James.

"Hm… that is strange," said Sonic, "Maybe Siris knows something. Afterall, I doubt it's a coincidence that there's a Hemberg Estate in Blue Moon Village and an unrelated person by the name 'Hemberg' at the same time."

Tails scratched the back of his head.

"That's not a bad idea, Sonic," he said.

"Yeah. I'll call him now and ask," said Sonic.

He brought up his communicator and called Siris.

"Siris, here."

"Hey, Siris, it's Sonic. Do you know anything about a 'Charles Hemberg'?"

" *Sigh* What did James tell you?"

Sonic looked puzzled.

"What? Nothing, we're here in Apotos talking to Professor Pickle. He says that a Charles Hemberg was asking questions about the Chaos Emeralds about two weeks ago."

"You're kidding."

Silence.

"Well, this is new to me. But back to your question; yes, I knew Charles. Hell, everyone in Blue Moon Village knew him."

"Knew?"

"Yeah, he died in a car accident almost two weeks ago. It was right after he got back from a business meeting, or at least that's what he would call them."

"Oh, I'm sor-"

"Don't give your condolences. The only person worst than Charles was Julian. And I'm not exaggerating."

Tails and Amy looked at each other.

"You think Siris is telling the truth?" Amy whispered to him.

"Maybe. I mean, if Charles was as bad as Siris is making him out to be, then other people might know about it," Tails whispered back.

Professor Pickle noticed the private conversation.

"He was that bad, huh?"

"Okay, maybe not that bad, but he was scum. Like no regards to anyone's life if they were lower in social status scum."

"Ah."

"Listen, if Charles was looking into the find the Chaos Emeralds, I wouldn't go spreading that information around. Especially to James."

Sonic scratched his temple.

"Why? What's so bad about James?"

Silence.

"I'd rather not say. It's not that I'm hiding anything, but I don't want to just accuse him of something of this magnitude without proof. For now, just keep this information quiet."

"Okay… but why would we want to tell James?"

"You wouldn't. But he came by my clinic earlier, asking me some questions. I could tell he was interested in all of you. He doesn't know anything… I hope. And I think it would be best if we had as few people in on this adventure as possible."

"Sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the information. Talk to you soon, Siris."

"Sonic, hold up!"

"What's up?"

"I'm not sure if you heard, but did you hear about Adabat?"

Sonic turned to the others, who had no clue what Siris was talking about.

"No, we haven't. What happened?"

"Well, it looks like Ray was right. Apparently, there was a huge seismic event dead-center of the volcanic activity a few hours ago. It triggered a chain reaction and now the volcanic eruptions are actual eruptions now. We're talking lava and small islands being formed."

"Wow. Are the people of Adabat in danger?"

"Thankfully, no. The event is happening many miles away, the only thing that they'll get is some ash and lots of clouds. Other than that, nothing major."

"You think the earthquake is related to the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Dunno. But if Knuckles is already there, then he should be able to find it, assuming there's one to be found."

"Alright. Thanks for the heads up, Siris."

"No worries, Sonic. Tell the professor I said 'hi'. Talk to you later."

Sonic hung up and turned back to the group.

"Well, that lead was a bust. Dead people can't exactly help us," Sonic remarked.

"It was worth a shot," Tails noted.

Sonic noticed Amy was not looking so happy.

"What's wrong, Amy?"

"Oh, nothing. Just seems that you sure are quick to call some person you've only met once and seeing him again over 10 years later, but you can't be bothered to call any of your close friends, who you've known for years!"

Sonic just stood there and blinked a couple of times.

"Well? Are you going to say something?" Amy asked.

"Well… I've left you messages…"

Please, Heavenly Father, grant Sonic the ability to survive Amy's wrath the day it comes…

"Sonic…" Amy warned through gritted teeth.

"Uh… Tails? A little help?"

"You dug your own grave, Sonic, you get yourself out of it."

"Tails!"

"Sonic…" Amy said as calmly as possible, approaching her boyfriend and resisting the urge to summon her hammer from… wherever the hell she keeps it, "Are you seriously going to tell me that if it weren't for that untrustworthy friend of yours, you wouldn't have even bothered to call us?"

"Well… I… Th-that's not what I… wait a minute, what do you mean 'untrustworthy'?" Sonic asked.

Tails facepalmed.

"Way to go, Amy."

Amy's rage instantly changed to fear.

"Uh, nothing. I was referring to… Knuckles!"

*Spring SFX*

Tails just shook his head as Sonic raised a brow.

"Knuckles?"

"Well… yeah. I mean, let's be honest here, he isn't exactly the most trustworthy person…"

"How so?"

"Uh… Tails?"

"Save yourself, Amy."

"How is Siris untrustworthy, Amy?"

Amy looked at Sonic, wide-eyed.

"I never said it was Siris."

"But that's who you were referring to."

Amy closed her mouth.

"What's going on, Amy? What's wrong?"

She didn't reply. She was too ashamed of herself. She promised Siris that she would give him a chance and not tell Sonic. So much for the not telling part. Sonic was concerned. He looked around, hoping to find something that would cheer her up. The only things he could see were the sea, windmills in the distance, the ice cream vendor, Gregorios sleeping while standing...

"That's it!" Sonic thought.

Before Amy realized it, Sonic had picked her up bridal style and hurried over to the ice cream food cart, leaving behind a worried Tails and a confused Professor Pickle.

"May I ask what that was all about?" the professor asked.

Tails sighed.

"Trouble in paradise," he muttered.

"That was not what I was referring to, Tails."

"I know; you were referring to Siris, right?"

"Indeed, I was. Why does Amy not trust him?"

Tails was mentally kicking himself. How could he keep his promise to Siris and not lie to an intelligent old man? Well, there was only one thing he could do.

"Give me a second, professor," said Tails as he activated his communicator.

Meanwhile, back at what we hope isn't someone's potential gravesite…

Sonic had rushed over to the ice cream vendor, with Amy in his arms. The ice cream vendor was busy serving a customer, so Amy was thankful that no one saw her being carried bridal style by Sonic. If it was any other day, she would have been thrilled. This was not one of those days. The customer just began to leave as Sonic put Amy down.

"Welcome!" the vendor greeted them, "How can I… We-heh-heh-ell, if it isn't Sonic the Hedgehog! What a lovely surprise! What brings you back to Apotos?"

"Ah, you know, saving the planet from the bad guys. Nothing new."

"And who is the lovely young lady you have with you?"

"Amy Rose," Sonic smirked, "my girlfriend."

Amy stared at Sonic and blushed.

"Ah, I see. True love. What a wonderful feeling."

If only he knew their past…

"Anyways…" Sonic continued, "Since we happened to be coming through Apotos, I figured why not treat her to the best ice cream in the world."

The ice cream vendor laughed.

"Well, my friend, you've come to the right place. I think I know just the treat. Give me one minute."

Sonic crossed his arms and patiently waited. Amy's eyes were still glued to him.

"Alright… almost… aaaand, voila!"

Amy shook her head and looked at the ice cream concoction.

"Whoa, what is that?" she asked in awe.

Sonic turned back to the vendor.

"Explain to her your masterpiece."

"This, my dear, is a Chocolate Chipped Cream Sundae Supreme!" the vendor presented, "It's a scoop of chocolate and vanilla ice cream on a large sugar cone, with a single chocolate-dipped banana, three chocolate-dipped strawberries, a chocolate-coated pretzel, and a waffle biscuit. And that's not all; it is topped with whipped cream, chocolate chips, and chocolate sprinkles. And as a final touch, two Pockies on top."

Anyone else want one now? I'm sure the Sonic Wiki on the ice cream will serve you well.

"Wow!" Amy exclaimed, "It looks so good~!"

The vendor then handed Sonic and Amy each their own ice cream supreme.

"Thanks!" said Sonic, "How much?"

The vendor shook his head and smiled.

"Normally, 60 rings each. But for you, Sonic, these are on the house!"

"Wow, really!?"

"Oh, of course. It's the least I could do to thank you for saving us all from that dark being."

"Thanks! Come on, Amy. Let's go sit under that tree over there."

Amy was so intrigued by the ice cream that she was in her own little sweet fantasy.

"Hm? Oh, okay. Lead the way."

As the two walked over to the tree in the middle of the town, the vendor watched them and sighed. He then caught a glimpse of the bracelet around Sonic's wrist. He immediately recognized it.

"I wonder what happened to the little fellow that was with Sonic."

Sonic and Amy were peacefully enjoying their ice cream while sitting under the tree. They could see Tails and Professor Pickle discussing something, but they were too far away to be heard.

"So…" Sonic began, "how's the ice cream?"

Amy licked her lips before answering.

"This is, hands down, the best ice cream I've ever had."

Sonic smiled.

"Glad you like it."

The two continued eating. As Sonic went for a bite into the waffle biscuit, his eyes glanced over to his bracelet. Memories of Chip began to resurface.

*** 2 Years Ago ***

Sonic and his new acquaintance arrive at the Apotos villa. It had only been a few minutes since Sonic transformed back into his normal self from that strange, beast-like form. As they entered, Sonic was juggling two of the now powerless Chaos Emeralds with one hand.

"What do you figure THAT was all about?" asked Sonic, "The hair, and those arms, and… And look at the Chaos Emeralds."

"So… is this what you usually look like?" his friend asked.

Sonic stopped walking and put the emeralds away.

"Yeah, this is the REAL me! Pretty cool, huh?" he asked, striking a pose.

He immediately realized his new pal was no longer next to him.

"Huh? Where'd you go?"

The strange amnesiac had flown off to a food cart, staring at an ice cream treat as tall as him.

"Ooooh," he moaned, "Mm-mmm."

The ice cream vendor inserted two Pockies into the ice cream and three chocolate-dipped strawberries on top of the whipped cream.

"Looks good, don't it?" he asked.

The flying creature nodded in agreement.

"That there Chocolate Chipped Cream Sundae Supreme is the pride of the city," the vendor explained as he added another two strawberries and a chocolate-dipped banana, "Heh-heh, the whole world can come tumbling down, but they'll still line up for a taste!"

He then sprinkled some chocolate chips and chocolate sprinkles on top.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-MMM," the creature moaned.

"HEY!" Sonic shouted to him, "What about your memories?!"

"Aaaahhh… Chocolate chip… sundae… supreeeme!" he moaned again as the vendor finished the desert off with a single waffle biscuit.

The vendor then grabbed the ice cream cone.

"Ha, you said it! Enjoy it, kiddo. Satisfaction guaranteed! If you don't love it, you get your money back!" he claimed, teasing the drooling customer with the ice cream.

"HEY!" Sonic screamed again, getting annoyed.

"Oh," the creature said, "I looooove it!"

It didn't take long before both he and Sonic had a cone each.

"Mmmm-mm!" the creature moaned, "Wow, this chip-whatever stuff is great!"

"If you say so," said Sonic as they began walking, "How about you give me a hand and help look for somebody who knows you, Chip?"

The creature stopped moving for a moment, confused by how he was addressed.

"Chip?"

Sonic stopped walking and turned around.

"Gotta call you something, don't I? Whaddya think?"

Chip beamed.

"Yeah! Chip… Chip! I love it! Yum!"

"Now, what do you say we start asking around and see if anybody here knows you?"

"Okay!"

*** Present ***

Sonic sighed. Amy had just finished the first scoop of ice cream when she noticed Sonic was deep in thought.

"What's the matter, Sonic?"

Sonic turned to her and smiled.

"Just thinking."

"Is it about Chip?"

"… Yeah. This was the first thing we ate when we met. It's actually the reason why I decided to call him 'Chip'."

His smile softened.

"But that's not important right now," he continued, "I want to understand."

"Understand what?"

"Why are you and Tails so jumpy about Siris?"

An unsettling silence surrounded them.

"I…" Amy began, but couldn't continue.

"Alright, how about this?" Sonic asked, "Siris, photos, floppy disk, secrets, dark past."

Amy's eyes widened.

"You knew?"

"I may have been a bit off when I told you guys how long I was at the café," Sonic replied, "I didn't hear everything, but I want to know what's going on, Amy. Could you please tell me?"

Amy sighed.

"I hope Siris doesn't hold a grudge when he finds out," she said.

"We'll see."

"Alright, I'll tell you everything I can."

Sonic nodded and silently listened to Amy. She told him about the photos that were on the disk, without actually saying what were on the photos. She then told about what James told her, followed by Siris' deal with them. There was a long silence among them after Amy finished.

"Sonic?" Amy asked.

Sonic had his eyes closed and his head down. Amy started getting mad.

"I swear, if you fell asleep, I'm gonna-"

"I'm not sleeping, Amy. Just thinking."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No need to apologize. But why didn't you or Tails tell me sooner?"

"Siris-"

"Besides that reason."

"Because…"

Amy sighed.

"Because we don't know if we can trust him or not. And we wanted… to protect you."

Sonic rubbed forehead and stood up.

"Sonic?" Amy asked as he began walking over to Tails.

"Come on, Amy," Sonic told her, "I want to say something to you and Tails."

Tails and Professor Pickle had just finished discussing the exact same topic when Sonic and Amy came over. As soon as Tails saw their expressions, he froze.

"She told you, didn't she?" he asked nervously.

Sonic nodded.

"Sonic… I… I didn't want to-"

Sonic raised a hand and Tails stopped talking.

"I'm not mad."

Tails and Amy swore their ears were toying with them.

"What?" the two asked simultaneously.

"I'm not mad. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm not mad. You guys were just protecting me, right?"

"Uh… well, yeah…" Tails said softly.

"So, you're not mad at us?" asked Amy, "But what about Siris?"

Sonic bit his lower lip.

"I'm… not sure."

"I believe you should give Siris a chance," Professor Pickle suggested.

The three turned to him in surprise.

"I know a thing or two about Siris. I must say, no good person should have had to endure what he went through," he explained, "In respecting his privacy, I must refuse to disclose any events of his life to you."

"And how does that justify your argument?" Sonic asked.

"It does not," the professor replied, "However, you are aware that he was Julian's prisoner for nearly a year, are you not?"

Amy was confused.

"Wait, he was serious about that?" she asked.

Sonic turned to Amy.

"Yeah, he was…"

The realization dawned on Sonic.

"Ah. I see your point, Professor," he said.

Professor Pickle nodded.

"Indeed. But other solemn events have happened to him as well. Would it not be polite to allow Siris to tell you his story rather than assume the worst of him before the facts are known to you?"

The three Mobians looked at each other and nodded.

"I suppose you're right, Professor," said Tails.

"It wouldn't be fair to Siris if we treat him like the enemy like this," Amy added.

"That's good to hear," said the professor, "And how about you, Sonic?"

Sonic walked away from the group and looked out over the ocean and into the horizon.

"I think…"

He then looked over his shoulder, smiling.

"I think we should give Siris a chance."

(Music fades)

---

Siris' Home

[ Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) – Oscorp Research Station Mission Theme 1 ] (Uploaded by xXSilentAgent47Xx) (0:00)

"Uuugghh…" Siris sighed, "Of course it wouldn't even last two days."

"Are you okay, Master?"

Siris looked up at Sylvie. They were both sitting at the table; like yesterday, Siris was doing his best to answer her questions.

"I'm fine, Sylvie. Thanks for asking."

Sylvie nodded as she took a sip of hot chocolate.

"Should I stop asking you questions and go back to doing my chores?"

"No, it's fine. Go ahead, ask another."

"If Master is okay…"

Sylvie took a pause.

"Why did you have a secret button for-"

Sylvie stopped herself, knowing she just admitted to snooping around Siris' things.

"The one for the desk? I know you opened drawer."

Sylvie became anxious.

"I'm not mad, Sylvie."

"Oh. I'm… sorry, I shouldn't have looked. I was just cleaning, and I accidentally hit it."

"Sylvie… I'm not mad."

Sylvie calmed down a bit.

"Really?"

"Really," Siris replied, patting her on the head.

Sylvie didn't really react much to the gesture, as usual.

"There must be a proper way to react in a situation like this…" she said softly.

Siris just smiled and shook his head.

"In due time, Sylvie."

He removed his hand from her head.

"Now… what would you like to ask me next?"

(Music fades)

---

*** October 16, 2020 ***

Adabat

[ Adabat Day – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

After gliding for a few hours from island to island, Knuckles gently landed on a wooden dock. Once finally on solid ground, he stretched out his tired arms and legs. Since leaving Blue Moon Village, Knuckles hadn't slept at all. He was tired, but the afternoon sun was not helping.

"Jeez, it's so bright here," he muttered, blocking out the sun with his right hand, "I hate it!"

A young woman with a basket on her head approached the echidna.

"Welcome to Adabat," she said politely, "What brings you here, traveler?"

"I'm looking for these," Knuckles replied, pulling out and showing the woman a couple of shards from the Master Emerald.

"What are those?"

"Sorry to sound rude, but that's not of your concern."

"Oh," she sighed, "My apologies."

"I didn't mean to sound rude, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. Have you seen anything like these around here lately?" Knuckles asked as he put the shards away in his inventory.

The girl pondered for a moment.

"Hmm… I'm afraid I haven't."

"I see."

"Maybe someone else in the village has seen one around," she suggested, "I'm sure no one would mind if you asked around. Everyone here is very kind and-"

"HEY, YOU! WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO MY DAUGHTER!?"

Knuckles and the woman turned to see a very angry middle-aged man storming over to them.

"Who's that?"

"My father, Teanchai."

The man stood between Knuckles and the woman. He had smoke bellowing from his ears.

"Can I help you?" Knuckles asked in a confused tone.

"Yeah, you can help me by staying away from my daughter!" Teanchai screamed.

Knuckles wiped some spit off his face.

"Father! This is a traveler. You can't just scream at every man who talks to me."

The man turned to his daughter.

"Rudi, you don't even know this guy," he said calmly, "For all we know, he could be another robot or whatever those nightmarish creatures were that attacked us years ago."

Rudi rolled her eyes.

"Father, that was years ago. We haven't had any attackers show up since then. You don't need to protect me from everything just because you're worried about me."

"I'm your father, it's my duty to protect you. Now, go on. Get back to work."

Rudi sighed and walked away, but not before waving farewell to Knuckles. As soon as she entered a hut, Teanchai turned back to Knuckles.

"What were you doing with my daughter!?"

Knuckles wiped his face again.

"Will you stop spitting on my face?"

"ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

Knuckles sighed.

"Look, I just arrived here. The moment I set foot on the dock, your daughter came up to me and welcomed me into the village. All we did was talk."

Teanchai glared at Knuckles.

"Really? That's exactly what some blue hedgehog said to me years ago!"

"Is this the guy Sonic told us about when he went to Adabat?"

"Look, I don't have time for this," Knuckles groaned, "I'm looking for something very important and I have no patience with crazy old men being over-protective, so if you'll excuse me…"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD!?"

"You, obviously. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going now."

Knuckles walked past Teanchai and began approaching a group of villagers. He only managed to take four steps before Teanchai blocked his way.

"YOU HAVE SOME NERVE, TRAVELER! HAVE YOU NO RESPECT FOR-"

"Father, calm down!"

A young man rushed over and tried to calm his father down.

"Jamal, not now! This traveler has insulted me and was talking to my Rudi!"

Jamal shook his head.

"Father, why don't you sit down and drink some tea? You're causing a scene."

"A scene?! Me?! It's this traveler who's causing a scene, Jamal!"

Knuckles sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"This is pointless," he muttered, "Look, I'm leaving now, okay? I have better things to do other than arguing with dramatic, crazy old men."

"THAT'S IT! NOW YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!" Teanchai bellowed as he pushed past Jamal and walked up to Knuckles.

"Father, no!" Jamal pleaded.

But his words fell on deaf ears; Teanchai raised his left fist and sent it flying to towards Knuckles' face. A few villagers, who were watching the scene, gasped as they saw Teanchai throw a punch at the traveler.

(Pause music)

*WUMP*

No one made a sound; the only things that could be heard were windchimes and the waves crashing in the ocean.

"Huh?" muttered Teanchai.

Everyone watched in slack-jawed amazement as Knuckles effortlessly held Teanchai's fist in his left hand.

"Sir… you do not want to fight me," Knuckles warned in a calm voice.

To further prove his point, Knuckles began pushing Teanchai back. It was so easy for the echidna, he might as well have been pushing nothing. Teanchai was so surprised by Knuckles' strength that as he was pushed back, he lost his footing and landed on his rear end.

"Father!" Jamal and Rudi called out.

As they kneeled by their father, he simply brushed their hands away.

"I'm fine!" he yelled, his ego damaged.

Knuckles felt bad and offered Teanchai a helping hand. He looked between Knuckles and the hand held out to him. With a scoff, he pushed it aside and got himself up. Before Knuckles could say anything, Teanchai stormed off to the docks and go into a boat. Knuckles sighed.

"Don't worry about it," Jamal told him, "He just needs some time alone right now to cool off."

(Continue music)

Knuckles still felt bad. Rudi approached him.

"Look, I'm sorry about my father. He can be… over-protective at times."

Knuckles smirked.

"Ah, I'm not mad at him. I'm sure that's just what all fathers do."

Rudi nodded, and Knuckles turned his attention to Jamal.

"In any case, I was wondering if you could help me."

"Sure. What do you need?"

Knuckles showed Jamal a shard.

"Have you seen anything like this?"

Jamal looked at the shard for a moment before shaking his head.

"I haven't. But, maybe someone around the village has."

Knuckles nodded and began asking around the village. For a couple of hours, Knuckles asked every person he came across. Unfortunately, their answers were all the same; they haven't seen any Master Emerald shards at all.

"There's got to be someone who's seen something," Knuckles thought to himself, "It's faint, but I sense a shard somewhere within this region. Where could it be?"

As Knuckles walked along the wooden structure, he came across what appeared to be a goods trader.

"Excuse me?" Knuckles asked, "Have you seen anything like these lately?"

He showed the trader the fragments.

"Hmm… I don't believe I have."

Knuckles sighed.

"However… I do recall seeing a glowing green object flying in the air a few nights ago. Just like those little objects you're holding."

"Really? Where?!"

The trader pointed towards a large structure made of stone in the distance.

"I saw it disappear inside that structure."

"Thanks," said Knuckles as he began running in that direction.

"Wait, you mean to go inside that place?!" the trader asked with concern.

Knuckles stopped and turned back.

"If that's where I need to go, yes. Why?"

The trader shook his head.

"I must advise you to not go there," he warned, "That structure is extremely unstable and dangerous. It's very old and has begun to crumble. No one dares to even get near it."

"Well… thanks for the warning, but I'm no stranger to these kinds of things."

Before the trader could say another word, Knuckles took off into the distance. The trader said a small prayer for the echidna's safety.

(Music fades)

[ Adabat – Jungle Joyride Night – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

One hour later…

Knuckles walked up to the old stone structure. It appeared to be a temple of some sort. As Knuckles walked up a couple of stone steps, the structure began to shake a little. The disturbance caused some stone slabs to break off and fall to the ground, blocking the entrance.

"Great," Knuckles muttered under his breath.

He looked up and saw the scale of how high the temple was. With a heavy sigh, Knuckles hopped onto wall and began climbing. As he got higher, he could see more and more of the temple's exterior declining structural integrity. More than once did he lose his grip of footing as loose stone fell apart from the wall. But he was undeterred, for the more he climbed, the more he sensed a Master Emerald fragment near him. When he was only 50 feet from the top, he could see an emerald green glow emitting from the top. It vanished after another few feet of climbing. Finally, after you guys finally read the most boring climb ever, Knuckles reached the top. Dusting himself off, he looked around for any sign of a shard. He didn't, but he did see two things. The first was what appeared to be a small stone room, which appeared to be a room that held ancient relics from Adabat's previous generations. The second was something that just pissed him off. Fuming, he marched inside, hoping that it was just his eyes fooling him, even though he knew exactly what to expect. As he entered the room, he saw a chuckling Stetson wearing purple weasel.

(Music fades)

"What do you think you're doing here, Fang!?" Knuckles growled.

[ Custom Themes: Fang the Sniper ] (Uploaded by Purple Jester) (0:00)

The weasel turned around in shock, dropping a couple of relics to the ground. By now, you could probably guess that Knuckles saw the air bike outside.

"Kn-Knuckles!?" Fang yelped, "Long time no see… what are you doing here?"

"You tell me first," Knuckles rebuked, crossing his arms.

Fang collected himself, and the items he dropped, and headed for the exit.

"Me? Oh, nothing! Nothing at all! I'm just here to, uuhh… collect these artifacts for the good people of Adabat!"

Knuckles glared at him.

"No, no! Really! I was passing through the region and some folks asked me to collect these artifacts for them and bring them back! Really! Scout's honor!" Fang claimed as he held up his left hand.

"Scout's honor doesn't count when you're using your left hand," said Knuckles, causing a sweat drop to appear on Fang's temple.

"Right… well, I think I'm done with my retrieval, so I guess I'll be going now," Fang said nervously as he walked outside.

He didn't see the lone rock lying on the ground until his foot caught it, resulting in the "treasure hunter" introducing his face to the ground. Again, he dropped the relics to the ground, but a certain green crystal caught Knuckles' eye. Fang quickly recovered said crystal, hoping Knuckles didn't see it.

"You little thief!" Knuckles shouted, "Give me that Master Emerald shard right now!"

Knuckles charged toward Fang but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the revolver Fang had in his hand pointed at him.

"Aw, what's wrong, Knucklehead? Brought fists to a gun fight?" Fang sneered.

"You sure haven't changed a bit, Fang," Knuckles growled.

"Why, thank you! It's not every day that someone compliments me."

Knuckles attempted to take a step forward.

"Uh-uh-uh~. I don't think so, guardian," Fang mocked, cocking his revolver, "Take another step and I might end up with one less bullet in the chamber and one more in you."

"Wait…" said Knuckles, "That thing is loaded with bullets? They look like blanks to me."

Oh, come on, there's no way he's gonna fall for THAT!

Fang looked confused as he brought his weapon in for a close inspection.

"Those aren't blanks, you stupid-"

*WUMP*

Never mind…

Fang let a meek moan escape his lips as Knuckles removed his fist from his stomach. The gun fell from his hand and Knuckles caught it with his free hand. With a simple squeeze, he broken the gun and dropped the pieces to the ground.

"Give… me… THE SHARD," Knuckles growled.

"What shard?"

Knuckles cracked his namesakes, loudly.

"Oh, you mean this shard," Fang corrected himself, pulling out the shard from his inventory and giving it to Knuckles.

"Finally," he sighed.

While Knuckles was distracted with his newly acquired shard, Fang crawled over to his air bike and started the engine. Knuckles looked over.

"Huh? Hey, wait a minute!"

Fang painfully sneered at Knuckles as he took off into the late afternoon sky. Knuckles looked around for something he could use.

"That damn echidna," Fang moaned, "Of all the places he had to be, why here!? And now, the artifacts are no longer with me. Worse, that Master Emerald shard! Ooh, I swear, the next time I see him, I'll shove my gun so far up his-"

*CLANG*

"Huh?"

Fang looked around and saw a stone falling into the ocean below. The same stone that he tripped on. The same stone that made him lose his source of income. The same stone that just damaged his bike so much that the engine would not longer function without repairs. Fang looked back and forth from the engine to the ocean a few hundred feet below a couple of times. He then looked forward, deadpanning.

"Crap."

Knuckles watched as a purple weasel and his air bike fell into the ocean below.

[ Goofy Yell ] (Uploaded by wwfbrawler781)

(Music fades)

Satisfied with his throw, Knuckles turned his attention to the ancient relics scattered on the roof. He began collecting them, but sensed disaster coming. The whole temple was shaking, and cracks were appearing all around him. With time running out, Knuckles grabbed as many relics and artifacts as possible. As the temple collapsed, Knuckles was forced to take what he could save and glide away from the disaster.

"Of course you would cause this much trouble, Fang."

[ Adabat Night – Sonic Unleased Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

By the time Knuckles had reached the village again, the sun was beginning to set. The first thing he noticed as he entered was the troubled looks upon the villagers' faces. Jamal ran up to Knuckles.

"Ah, traveler, thank goodness you're okay."

"I'm fine, Jamal," said Knuckles, "What's going on?"

"The ancient temple… our ancestors' shrine that held so many sacred items… it collapsed," Jamal said solemnly.

"Oh, that?" Knuckles asked, pointing a thumb over his shoulder, "Yeah, I was there."

Jamal looked at Knuckles in disbelief.

"It was you? You destroyed-"

"Woah woah, hold on a second there!" Knuckles said loudly, "It wasn't my fault. This purple weasel was there stealing items from this treasure room and I stopped him."

Jamal blinked a few times.

"A purple weasel?"

"Yes, do I have to repeat myself?"

"Was he wearing a hat and carrying a firearm with him?"

"Yup. Mobian, sleazy attitude, thief?"

"That fiend! He was here just yesterday, claiming to be some kind of trader. Instead of selling goods, he just stole a handful of items and took off on that strange mechanical bike of his."

"Yup, that was definitely Fang," Knuckles sighed.

"Fang? He told us his name was Nack."

"Same guy. Long story. I'm sorry about your temple."

"Yeah…"

"But I did manage to save these."

"Huh?"

Knuckles reached behind him and revealed some of the artifacts he managed to bring with him.

"I don't believe it! Everyone! Come quickly! This traveler has saved our relics!"

Within seconds everyone had surrounded Knuckles.

"Is it true?"

"You saved our relics?"

"How did you do it?"

We all know Knuckles already has little patience. The fact that he kept his cool earlier that day with over 48 hours of no sleep was an accomplishment of its own. After what has happened in the past few hours, that patience is all but gone.

"ENOUGH!" he shouted, causing everyone to go silent.

After a moment of taking a couple of deep breaths, Knuckles pulled out every artifact he collected from the shrine and gently placed them on the ground in front of him. The villagers stared in awe. Knuckles placed the final relic on the ground and slowly got up.

"You're welcome," he said a calmly as possible, "Now, can someone please tell me where I can find a decent place to sleep?"

(Music fades)

---

G.U.N. HQ

[ Julien-K – This Machine – Instrumental ] (Uploaded by Razor & Zenon) (0:00) (Loop)

Shadow and Omega walked out of the interrogation room. Rouge was leaning against the wall, right next to the door.

"Well? She asked, "Did he have anything useful to add?"

"No," Shadow responded.

"Well, no need for him then," said Rouge, "What should we do with him? We can't just return him to his world, not with Blaze staying here for now, looking for her Emeralds."

"Then keep him locked up," Shadow remarked, "Our orders remain the same; we search for the Chaos Emeralds and return them here."

As Shadow began walking away, Rouge stopped him.

"What about Siris?" she asked.

Shadow turned towards Rouge.

"What about him?"

"Shouldn't we tell the others about him? You know… about her?"

Shadow glared for a moment before looking away and walking off.

"Why bother? He's not our problem."

Rouge rolled her eyes and decided to drop the topic. As she and Omega followed Shadow, her communicator went off. She brought it up and saw that she received a message from Vector. Shadow stopped and looked at Rouge. Although he didn't ask, Rouge knew he was curious about what it was.

"It seems that the Chaotix have found a lead on a Chaos Emerald."

"About time. Where?"

"At Eggman's old base in the Mystic Ruins."

"Do they have it?"

"Not yet. Vector has asked for our assistance. Something about getting lost in the base or something."

Shadow sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What a joke…"

"Vector also said something about Knuckles needing help in Adabat. Something about the Master Emerald shards and another Emerald."

Shadow narrowed his eyes.

"Two Emeralds?"

"I guess they are more useful than you think, Shadow."

"Hmph. What do you propose we do?"

"You and Omega head for the Mystic Ruins and help the Chaotix, while I help that Knucklehead find his Emerald shard and retrieve the Chaos Emerald."

Shadow didn't respond for a moment.

"Very well. Omega?"

The robot turned his attention to the black hedgehog.

"Let's get going."

Rouge and Omega were confused.

"As ordered, I cannot use Chaos Control for the duration of the mission, unless in serious danger."

"I see. Well, you boys have fun," Rouge teased as she walked down the hall.

Shadow and Omega looked at each other before walking the opposite direction. They had a long journey ahead of them to reach the base in the Mystic Ruins.

(Music fades)

---

Unknown

[ Nightmare Music ] (Uploaded by Cryo Chamber) (20:06)

Darkness. Nothing but a dark, empty, black void.

"Where am I?"

A cry of pain was heard nearby.

"Who's… who's there?"

No response.

"Show yourself!"

A Mobian covered in blood appeared a couple of feet away.

"Who... who are you?"

The Mobian opened their eyes, revealing a pair of red, glowing eyes surrounded by black sclera.

"You know exactly who I am, hedgehog."

No response.

"There's no point in denying it, we both know the truth…"

The distorted figure then appeared inches away.

"You failed to save them because you broke your promise."

An image appeared in the hedgehog's mind for a brief moment.

"No… No! That's…. that's not true!"

"Oh? So, you didn't lose control? You didn't lie? You didn't listen to me?"

Another image, more gruesome, appeared in their mind.

"Shut up… just shut up!"

"Maybe if you had only told them the truth before… they would still be alive."

"You know NOTHING!"

"Wrong. I know everything about you. And you know why?"

The dark figure vanished and whispered into his ear.

"I am you… SIRIS."

"NO!" Siris screamed as he shot up from his bed.

Gasping for air, Siris wiped his face.

"Another damn nightmare," he muttered as he got out of bed and walked into the bathroom.

He turned on the lights, diming them so they wouldn't wake Sylvie; glad that she was still sleeping after his scream. He looked in the mirror and saw the extent of his tired expression. Siris turned the faucet on for warm water and splashed his face a couple of times. As he wiped the water from his eyes, he looked back into the mirror and saw something that terrified him; standing behind him was the one person he feared above all.

"Julian!?"

Before Siris could react, he felt two large hands tightly grip around his throat, cutting off the air to his lungs. Choking and scrambling to escape his captor, Siris could do nothing but stare as he saw Julian's sadistic smile grow bigger as his own dark blue eyes began to turn red. As the last of his consciousness waned, Julian whispered the most terrifying thing Siris would ever hear.

"You will always be mine."

Siris shot up from his bed, taking in a huge breath of air and coughing a few times.

(Music fades)

He rubbed his neck and looked around, making sure what he saw wasn't real. Siris sighed in relief.

"Thank God and Chaos."

He looked over to his alarm clock to check the time, forgetting he could have done so on the communicator. It read 11:30 PM. Once he was calm, he noticed that his communicator was beeping. He brought up to his face.

"A message? At this hour? Well, I'm already awake, might as well read it."

Siris pressed a couple of buttons and the message appeared before him. It only took a few of seconds for Siris to find the message to be rather suspicious. Hoping he wouldn't mind being called this late, regardless of time zone, Siris called Tails.

"Hello?" Tails yawned.

"Sorry to call you so late, Tails."

"Oh, hey, Siris… Uh, you're not calling about earlier, are you?"

"What? No, not at all. I told you before, I'm fine about you and Amy telling Sonic and the Professor about what happened in the café. I'm irritated of the fact that it happened, but I'm not gonna hold that against you guys."

"*Sigh* Alright, if you say so. So… why are you calling?"

"Well, this might sound strange, but did you guys give Rouge my contact info to my communicator?"

"No… why?"

"Well, unless Mighty or Ray did, Rouge has somehow managed to send me a message without actually knowing my contact info."

"That does sound strange, Siris. But you know Rouge is a G.U.N. agent, so it wouldn't surprise me that she managed to get your contact info by some means of her own."

Siris sighed.

"Maybe… listen, you have her contact info?"

"Yeah. Here, I'm sending it to you now."

"Got it. Thanks, Tails."

"What's going on, Siris? This seems a bit weird for someone to call me over."

"The message I got said something about Knuckles and the Chaotix needing help over in Adabat. I dunno, it just seems… weird that Rouge would tell me, of all people, something like this, with or without my contact info."

"Well, you were a G.U.N. agent, so-"

"Fair enough. But I just want to be sure. You never know, especially when we don't even know what our enemy is capable of."

"That sure sounds like something we should be careful of."

"Don't worry about it, Tails. Go back to sleep. If something urgent comes up, you guys will be the first to know."

"Alright. Night, Siris."

Siris ended the call and contacted Rouge. After four failed attempts, she finally answered.

"WHO IS THIS?!"

"Good to hear you again too, Rouge."

"Siris?"

"No, it's Mr. Magoo."

"Aww, do you need a pair of glasses?"

"Very funny, Rouge."

"I'm surprised you're calling me now, after over, what, two years?"

"Yeah, well, to be fair, you did change your contact info, so I had no way of actually getting in touch with you… other than that way."

"This isn't a social call, is it?"

"Nice to see that Shadow's been rubbing off on you."

Siris sighed.

"No. It's not. I think I already know that answer, but you didn't by any chance send me a message to my communicator a few minutes ago, did you?"

"Siris, I didn't even know you had a communicator from Tails. How could I?"

"Figures. I'm forwarding the message that you had allegedly sent me."

"… I see. Funny, cause all this is true."

"But you didn't send it?"

"No, I didn't."

"Hmm…"

"Siris… you don't think-"

"Maybe. I can't be sure, though. Not without evidence."

"At least you're more logical than I last saw you."

"Watch it, Rouge," Siris growled, "That's a topic I am not discussing with you."

"… Sorry. That was harsh."

Siris took a deep breath.

"No, you are right. In a way, I suppose."

Silence.

"What's your plan?"

"I'm already on my way to Adabat to help that echidna. I still can't believe he forgot his communicator."

"Heard about that, huh?"

"Vector told me after Mighty told him. He said Mighty and Ray went off to Adabat while he, Espio, and Charmy allegedly found a Chaos Emerald in the Mystic Ruins."

"Well, at least progress is being made. By the way, how are things between you and Knuckles?"

"Oh, really? You want to go there?"

"Aww, so you still like him," Siris teased, "Have you gone on a date yet?"

"Goodbye, Siris."

"Alright. Later, Rouge. Stay in touch with everyone. Me included."

"You? Joining Sonic's little adventure parade?"

Before Siris could answer, Rouge laughed and hung up on him.

"Well, when you put it that way… yeah. I guess I am," he murmured to himself.

With a sigh, Siris laid back down and tried to sleep. He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger.

"Another damn headache…"

---

*** October 17, 2010 ***

A few miles from Adabat

[ Dark Ambient Music Mix ] (Uploaded by Cry Chamber) (0:00 – 1:20) (No need to loop)

A storm was brewing in the hours long before the sun would rise. A cloaked figure was floating over an ocean that was releasing steam into the darkness around them. Volcanic activity had been increasing rapidly in the area for the last few days, making the search for the Chaos Emerald a bit more challenging. A beep was heard, and the figure allowed the incoming call to go through.

"It would seem that the echidna has already found the Master Emerald shard. I'm very disappointed in you."

The figure replied back via text message.

"I don't want progress, I WANT RESULTS! *SLAM*"

Before the figure could respond, a large demonic hand rose from the sea, revealing a glowing red gem within its palm. The figure nodded and began transmitting a live video-feed back to base.

"Ah, well done. I must apologize once more to you. This changes things for the two of you a little bit. I have new data for the two of you."

The figure and the thing beneath the sea received a map of the area with clusters of red dots on them.

"All it takes is one for the Demon to be strong enough to defeat anything, be it with a Chaos Emerald or a creature alone. But with one of each, he will be more powerful than Chaos ever was with all seven Chaos Emeralds. Go. Capture one of these creatures. You two know what to do next."

A flash of lightning revealed the metallic features on the cloaked figures face. And vanished into darkness as the thunder boomed from the sky.

Back at base…

"The plan is coming together better than I expected."

"I can see that."

"The time has come. You have permission to attack the hedgehog. Bring him to me, alive. Leave no witnesses."

(Music fades)

Adabat Village

Knuckles woke up to the feeling of water dripping on his face.

"Hm?" he groaned as he sat up and wiped his face.

After his honorable deed, as the villagers praised it, one of the shop keepers was kind enough to let Knuckles sleep in his shop for the night. On most days of the year, the sun would be shining brightly over the village. The storm, however, had other plans. Knuckles walked outside and saw that it was raining quite hard. Thunder could be heard from the distance.

"It's the volcanic activity," the shop keeper explained to Knuckles, "Every couple of decades, we get more rain than usual. But this is the worst I've ever seen it."

"Is the village safe?"

"Oh, don't worry. This village has survived worse. It's not going anywhere for a long time," the shop keeper assured the echidna.

"Hm. Thank you for letting me rest here for the night."

"It was the least I could do. It is us who should be thanking you."

Knuckles gave the shop keeper a small smile and nodded before heading outside. His stomach began making noises.

"I wonder what kind of food I could find here," Knuckles pondered sarcastically as he stared at all the fish around him.

He entered a nearby structure that served the villagers meals. After buying his breakfast he headed down to the docks and sat on the edge to begin eating. Why is he out in the rain you might ask?

*leans in very close and whispers* Because I can.

Silence.

Me: Or it's because he'd rather be left alone while eating. You know, saving the artifacts and what not? Anyways…

As he took another bite, Knuckles heard a grunt from behind. He turned around and saw Teanchai glaring at him. Knuckles deduced he had just returned from fishing, since he was carrying quite a few upon his back.

"Look," Knuckles began, "I wanted to apologize about yesterday. I was being rude to you and…"

Teanchai ignored him and walked into the village. Knuckles shook his head in disbelief.

"Making new friends, Knuckles?"

"Please, God… Chaos… Tikal… anyone up there… please tell me that's not who I think it is…"

Knuckles slowly turned his head around and saw a certain white bat he was hoping was not here.

"Hi… long time, no see," she said in her seductive voice.

"What have I done to deserve this?" Knuckles muttered to himself, "What are you doing here, Rouge?"

"What, no 'hello'?"

Knuckles picked up the remainder of his breakfast and shoved it all in his mouth. After swallowing his food, he responded.

"How about a 'goodbye' instead?"

"Wow. That guy must be your new best friend."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and walked back into the village, trying to ignore Rouge. She frowned and ran up to him.

"There's an evil scheming to take over the world and this is how you act?" she asked him.

Knuckles stopped and turned to her.

"Oh, so now you've joined in on the fun? Well, good for you. Now if you don't mind, I have-"

"A Master Emerald to restore? Yeah, Tails told me."

"What a surprise," Knuckles said sarcastically.

The two went silent for a few moments. Rouge raised a brow.

"Uh, this is the part where you accuse me of trying to steal your Emerald or something," she stated.

"I would be, if you were a robot."

"So, you lost your Emerald to a robot."

"Laugh it up, Rouge. Why are you even here?"

Before she could answer, a scream from nearby caught the Mobians' attention. They saw villagers staring in terror and pointing at something that was behind the two. Knuckles and Rouge turned around and looked up. In the air were four SWAT-bots, all heavily modified with stronger armor and 10-inch long wrist-mounted blades on each wrist. Floating ahead of them was the cloaked figure. Knuckles gritted his teeth and glared at the figure.

"Target sighted. Master Emerald fragments located," one of the SWAT-bots stated in a robotic tone.

"It seems they want the Master Emerald as well," Rouge joked dryly.

"That's him," Knuckles muttered.

Rouge turned to him.

"That's the cloaked robot that tried to steal my Emerald a week ago!"

Rouge gave Knuckles a look.

"Really? That clocked one? By itself?"

She sighed.

"You must be in bigger trouble than I thought."

Knuckles turned to her,

"Huh?"

While the two were talking, the SWAT-bots eagerly awaited their orders. Eventually, the cloaked figure raised its right hand up and signaled the attack. The sound of the robots' jetpacks returned Knuckles and Rouge's attention back to them. Instead of charging at the duo, the SWAT-bots made their way toward the villagers. Knuckles and Rouge turned to the villagers.

"RUN!" they shouted.

[ Persona 4: I'll Face Myself -Battle- Extended ] (Uploaded by ZEROzxCross) (0:00)

As the robots flew above them, Knuckles and Rouge leapt into the air. Knuckles punched third robot into the forth as Rouge kicked the second into the first, sending both pairs to crash into the nearby huts. As they landed, Knuckles summoned his Hammer Gloves while Rouge activated her Iron Boot heels. Standing back to back, they readied themselves for another attack. Seconds later, the four SWAT-bots charged from the wreckages, blades readied. The two began charging the enemies.

{ Knuckles }

Knuckles slid under the swinging blades of the first robot and jumped in front of the second.

"Hyaaah!"

A perfectly timed uppercut with his right fist connected with the robot's head, sending it flying back into the wreckage. With quick reflexes, Knuckles jumped the to side, avoiding the first robots attempt to stab him in the back. The robot proceeded to relentlessly slash at its opponent. However, being an extremely skilled fighter, Knuckles managed to either dodge or deflect every swing coming his way. As the SWAT-bot went for backhanded swing, Knuckles used his arm to push excess force under the robot's wrist, causing the attack to go over his head and giving him the opportunity to send his other hand straight into the robot's chest. The punch stunned the SWAT-bot; now was his chance. Showing no mercy, Knuckles sidestepped around the robot, constantly throwing his fists into every part he could reach. Torso, left leg, left leg, right leg, torso, torso, if he could reach it as he moved, he went for it. The SWAT-bot recovered a few seconds later and managed to grab Knuckles' right arm, mid-attack. Knuckles' eyes widened.

"Uh oh."

*WUMP*

The robot had pulled Knuckles toward him and kneed him in the abdomen; both arm and leg had incredible strength. Knuckles slowly fell to one knee, gripping his stomach.

"Uuuhh…" he moaned, "That hurt. Ow!"

A shadow encased Knuckles; he looked up and saw the SWAT-bot that just kneed him and smirked.

"That all you got?"

The SWAT-bot went for a scissor-attack on the pained Mobian.

{ Rouge }

Rouge leapt into the air and over the first robot. As she flew over the second, she began to spin at high speeds and darted towards the SWAT-bot. It tried to slash her in half, but the combined strength of her Iron Boot heels and her signature Screw Kick resulted in the robot's blade snapping off; the sharp piece of metal spun in the air and splashed into the sea. With nothing to protect itself in the short period of time, Rouge's heels began to drill into the SWAT-bot's chest, causing sparks and small bits of metal to fly everywhere. The first robot tried to attack from above. As it raised its blade, Rouge stopped attacking and backflipped over the first SWAT-bot as the blade came slashing down. The blade slashed something alright; right through the second SWAT-bot's chest, creating an even bigger opening than Rouge made. Rouge landed behind the SWAT-bot, which was trying to pull its blade out of it injured partner. Assuming its partner was still its partner and not too pissed about the whole attack thing.

"Still trying to kill me? *Tsk tsk tsk* When will you robots ever learn?"

The blade finally slid free from the metal body. The first robot charged at Rouge again. This time, she simple sidestepped around the SWAT-bot. She then readied herself to attack it from behind, when…

*WUMP*

"AAAAHHH!"

Rouge didn't see the damaged SWAT-bot behind her getting back up and ramming into her back, sending Rouge to the ground and skidding toward the other robot, facedown. The SWAT-bot kicked her over and grabbed her by the throat with its left hand. Holding her up, it readied its blade on its right wrist and pulled its fist back; going for the killing blow. Rouge could do nothing but watch in horror as the blade darted towards her chest.

(Pause the music and open another tab for the next song)

{ Knuckles }

[ Elevator Music 1 hour ] (Uploaded by Antoine B) (0:00)

Meanwhile, Knuckles had already finished dealing with his robots and was now enjoying a nice mango smoothie, not caring at all if Rouge would die or not. Life was go-

Me: GET THE F*** OFF MY COMPUTER!

Sonic and Knuckles: RUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!

*A truck-load of furniture being thrown, ceramic items being smashed, glass breaking, cats screeching, and fabric tearing later*

*Tails watches me reenter the room*

Me: *Reads Sonic and Knuckles' "masterpiece"* Wha-what? Why? When will that red idiot learn that he has feelings for the bat?

Tails: When Rouge learns she has feelings for him as well… which is probably when Hell freezes over.

Me: *Sigh* I am so sorry, readers. Let me fix this.

Tails: *Shakes head* I told them not to.

Me: I'm literally gone for only 30 seconds to go take a piss and this happens. If they come back in here, I'm gonna kill them… Think I should invite Silver and Blaze here next time? *Tails shrugs* Alright, back to the actual story.

*Knuckles' hand appears from the doorway*

Knuckles: *Meekly* Help me…

Me: *sigh* Tails… call 911 and tell them there's gonna be a double homicide here in a minute…

(Okay, you can close this tab and continue playing the Persona 4 one)

Meanwhile, back in the story...

{ Knuckles (Real) }

Knuckles leapt into the air just before the blades were able to make contact with his fur. He vaulted over the SWAT-botand swung his fist in the back of the robot's head. Landing on the ground, Knuckles looked up and saw sparks flying from the back of the SWAT-bot's head. His enemy's weakness known, Knuckles leapt onto the robot's shoulders and started beating the robot's damaged head, relentlessly. With one final right hook, the SWAT-bot's head was sent flying from its body, sailing through the air before disappearing in the ocean. Knuckles hopped off the lifeless body as it began to fall forward.

"Hmph," he muttered, wiping the rainwater from his eyes.

"AAAAHHH!"

"Huh?"

Knuckles whipped his head around in the direction of the scream. He saw Rouge on the ground, laying before a SWAT-bot. The robot kicked her over and lifted her into the air by her neck. He didn't notice it at the time, but the sight of Rouge terrified and helpless to defend herself caused a fire to burn in the echidna's heart. The onlooking villagers gasped as the SWAT-bot began to thrust its blade towards the white bat.

"HEY!"

The SWAT-bot's blade stopped millimeters from Rouge's chest. Both robot and bat turned their attention to where the shout came from. Before either could see it, something large and heavy collided with the SWAT-bot, causing it to release Rouge instantly. Fueled by rage, Knuckles had grabbed the decapitated robot's ankle with this right hand and, summoning all his strength into his right arm, hurled the robot carcass at Rouge's captor. Rouge watched the two hunks of metal crash into another hut, causing the SWAT-bot's power core to be severely damaged. A moment later, a small explosion destroyed the remains of the hut. Blinking a few times, Rouge turned to Knuckles and saw him taking a couple of deep breathes. His eyes met hers. Neither said or did anything.

(Music fades)

It wasn't until the SWAT-bot Rouge damaged earlier began moving did Knuckles gesture with his head to it was approaching Rouge. Without taking her eyes off Knuckles, Rouge smirked and heel-kicked the floorboard next to her. Cracks began to spread across the wood, which was the only thing keeping the SWAT-bot away from the water below. Inches away from Rouge, the robot attempted to grab her ankle and strangle her.

*CRASH*

Knuckles watched as the SWAT-bot fell into the seawater and short-out as Rouge continued to smirk at him. Although there were more pressing matters at the moment, for an instant there, Knuckles gave Rouge a small smile from the corner of his face; feeling as though everything in world was perfect. Suddenly, Rouge's face changed to one of urgency.

"BEHIND YOU!" Rouge screamed.

Knuckles turned around, but it was too late; the second SWAT-bot he was fighting earlier was only feet away, rushing up to him with blade held forward. Suddenly, a fishing spear came flying like a bat out of Hell and pierced through the robot's head and shutting it down. The body went limp and slid across the floor, slowing down enough for Knuckles to jump aside. Noticing the metal fishing tool embedded in the robot, Knuckles looked over to the crowd and saw a certain fisherman standing in front of the rest of the villagers. Teanchai walked over to the robot and pulled the spear out. He then turned to Knuckles; the two just stared at each other. Without saying a word, Teanchai held out an open hand. Knuckles smirked and shook his hand. Teanchai nodded as he let his hand go and walked back toward the villagers. Knuckles looked into his palm and saw the Master Emerald shard Teanchai handed him.

As another bolt of lightning shot through the air, Knuckles put the shard away and glanced over his shoulder to the cloaked robot that hadn't even moved an inch throughout the fight. Rouge walked over to Knuckles as he turned to face the enemy. Thunder boomed across the area before another bolt of lightning flashed. Knuckles and Rouge prepared to attack. Instead of charging at them, the figure turned around and took off.

"HEY!" the duo shouted together as the launched into the air and chased after it.

Knuckles and Rouge managed to keep the robot in their sights as they glided over the ocean, but there was no way they could keep up with its speed. Rouge activated her communicator.

"This is Rouge! I need an immediate pickup, right now! Have the plane meet me and an associate along our trajectory!"

Knuckles looked over to Rouge.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me you're just gonna let that thing get away!"

"Far from it, echidna! Now shut up and just keep going after that robot!"

"Hmph… women," Knuckled muttered quietly so that Rouge wouldn't hear.

Minutes went by, and the robot was now only a speck in the shortened distance that they could see due to the rain, clouds, and steam. Knuckles was losing his patience.

"Rouge…"

She didn't reply.

"You know we're gonna lose it, right?"

She still didn't reply.

"Are you even listening?"

Nothing.

"HEY!"

"Heads up, Knucklehead."

"What…? WHOA!"

Had it not been for Rouge, Knuckles would have missed the open door to the small private jet issued to G.U.N. and slammed into the side of it. Lucky for him, Rouge pulled him by the arm just in time and they slipped through the door. They hit the floor as the door closed, tumbled a couple of times before somehow bouncing into the air and landing in two seats, right next to one another. Trust me, even I still don't know how they managed that.

Me: Tails, not one word from you.

"Oowww…" Knuckles moaned, rubbing his head.

"Uuuhh…" Rouge sighed heavily as she rubbed her shoulder.

They looked at each other for a brief moment, both annoyed, before the pilot got their attention.

"Where to, Agent!?" he called out.

Rouge got up from her seat and rushed over to the pilot.

"Follow that robot!" she ordered pointing out the window.

The pilot nodded and turned the plane in the direction of the escaping robot. Rouge walked back into the cabin and sat in a seat, away from Knuckles, but not too far for conversation. The two would occasionally glance at the other. After three minutes of silence, Rouge sighed.

"Well?" she asked, irritated.

Knuckles looked over to her.

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to say, 'Thank you'?"

Knuckles glared.

"Thank you for what? You didn't save me back in the village. If anything, you should be the one thanking me."

Oh, boy. Here we go…

"Excuse me? Did preventing you from getting sliced in half by the plane's wing mean nothing to you?"

Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"If been hit by worse. Besides, I would have simply hung on to the wing."

Now it was Rouge's turn to roll her eyes.

"Okay, Mr. I-Don't-Care," she scoffed, "And for the record, you didn't save me in the village. I had it completely under control."

"Heh… Sure. Guess I shouldn't have bothered helping you then," Knuckles remarked.

Rouge's hands clenched into tight fists.

"Fine! Be that way! Like I care, anyways!" she yelled.

"Good!" he responded, "Because I don't either, and I never have!"

That one hurt Rouge's heart more than anything had before. Rouge looked away; she couldn't bare to even look at the echidna.

"So, he really doesn't care."

A single tear fell down her cheek.

"Agent Rouge."

Rouge wiped her eyes and walked over to the pilot.

"What is it?" she asked.

"See for yourself."

Rouge looked down at the radar. The signal from the robot indicated that it was no longer moving. But the radar showed something else, something that wasn't there a week ago.

"An island?"

"It would seem so. Given the volcanic activity recently, this island must have been a result of a small eruption from the ocean floor. The ocean cooled the lava to form this small, but sizable island," the pilot explained.

"How long before we reach it?"

"Less than a minute. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of this, so it'll take a bit longer to land."

"How much longer?"

"Given the high possibility that the island isn't very stable, another 10 minutes."

At that moment, they both heard the sound of wind rushing through a now open cabin door. They turned to see Knuckles standing by the door.

"There's no point in wasting time! I'm going now!" he shouted.

"Knuckles, wait!" Rouge called out.

Too late, Knuckles had already made his decision and jumped. Had it not been for the dire situation, Knuckles might have not minded waiting the 10 minutes to land. But once the plane flew near the island, he sensed an energy source that he knew could only come from a Chaos Emerald.

"Ugh… why did that pilot have to fly so high above the ground?" he thought to himself as he plummeted toward the island.

As he got closer, his eyes caught sight of the cloaked robot. It was just standing there, as though it was waiting for them. With the momentum from the plane when he jumped out of it, Knuckles had only one shot at getting the robot by surprise. When the target appeared to be directly below him, Knuckles launched himself directly at it with a Drill Claw attack.

Down below, the robot stood patiently, waiting for Knuckles and Rouge to come attempt to extract information from it. Which was exactly what it had planned. It watched as the plane flew away and turn back around in order to make an attempt to land. But instead of coming full swing around, it just flew away into the distance. Not exactly what the synthetic creation had in mind in terms of things going to plan; its lord was not going to like this. It should have just ended both the echidna and bat's lives back at the village.

*CLANG*

Before it knew it, the cloaked figure was slammed into the ground, face first, by an unseen object that fell above it. Hopping off the downed robot, Knuckles jumped back a few feet, not willing to give the robot a chance to catch him off guard like it did in their previous skirmish. The robot began to pick itself off the ground.

*CLANG*

Again, the robot's head was slammed into the ground; this time from Rouge's Screw Kick. After her attack connected, Rouge was sent back into the air and she glided over to Knuckles' side. The two took an offensive fighting stance as the cloaked figure got back up onto its feet.

"You just couldn't wait, could you?" she scowled Knuckles, without taking her eyes off their opponent.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Not with a Chaos Emerald here, Rouge."

She glanced over at Knuckles.

"What are you talking about? There's a Chaos Emerald here?"

"Mm-hmm," Knuckles confirmed, nodding, "As we got closer to this area, I could sense its energy. There's no doubt about it; there's an Emerald somewhere around here."

He shoved his hands into his inventory for a moment. When he pulled them out, he revealed his hands, now donning both his Hammer Gloves and his Shovel Claws. Red energetic sparks flew around his fists as he pounded them together.

"Well, you're the expert; where is it?" Rouge asked as the robot turned towards them.

"It's here somewhere… but not up here. I must be beneath us."

Rouge gave Knuckles a look.

"Knuckles, we're on a newly formed volcanic island. It's made of obsidian and basalt. How do you expect to dig into this hard-solid rock?"

The robot charged at them.

"Like this," Knuckles smirked as bent over towards the ground and sent his right fist into the island.

The ground around them began the shake for a second before a small geyser of lava erupted from the ground directly in front of the robot's path. It changed direction before the lava had engulfed it; however, its cloak was inflammable (Why the f*** is that even a word? It's the same as saying flammable. I swear, the English language is such a pain in the ass at times… and it's the only one I know…), so, surprise, surprise, it caught fire from the rogue droplets of lava. Now, instead of cloaked robot charging Knuckles and Rouge, it was a flaming cloaked robot. But that didn't faze Knuckles; with a well-timed punch across the face, the robot was forced back a couple dozen feet. It was that instantaneous moment before Knuckles clobbered the enemy's head. As it flew above the ground, the robot managed to recover and land on the ground with ease. It glanced up at Knuckles.

"Why keep that flaming rag on? I know who you are," Knuckles growled.

Red eyes glowed harshly from the robot's head; with one hand, it ripped off the burning cloak and revealed itself to the echidna for the first time in nearly 10 years. Its face was the only thing Knuckles needed to see to deduce their identity, even before the cloak was removed. The height and cobalt color were dead giveaways.

"Mecha Sonic."

Lightning crashed behind the robot. Rouge turned to Knuckles.

"What is that thing? You know of it?" she asked.

"One of Sonic's robotic doppelgangers that Eggman created years ago," Knuckles explained, "It once stole the Master Emerald and took it to Sky Sanctuary. I managed to corner it there, but it wouldn't go down without a fight. It went as far as to harnessing the power of the Master Emerald just to stop me."

"But you still managed to defeat it?"

"Single handedly," he smirked proudly, still not taking his eyes off Mecha.

"If you managed to defeat a robot that harnessed to power of the entire Master Emerald, how come you couldn't handle a robot with a single Master Emerald shard?" Rouge asked.

*Glass breaks*

"… shut up."

Rouge smirked in amusement.

"So, what's our plan?" she asked.

Before Knuckles could answer, Mecha Sonic began to charge up his spin dash. He and Rouge focused on the oversized Sonic robot.

"Plan? Fight the bad guy, find the Chaos Emerald, and repeat until we save the world," he replied, "… After I restore the Master Emerald, of course."

Rouge sighed.

"Well… I guess that could be a plan, coming from you," she muttered, taking her eyes off Mecha Sonic for one second.

"ROUGE, MOVE!"

Without hesitating, Rouge leapt into the air, just in time to avoid a spin dashing Mecha Sonic from crashing into her. Knuckles had already moved out of the way and warned her just as he side-stepped out of the wrecking ball's path. Rouge landed beside Knuckles and the two then turned to face their enemy. The blur of metal flew up a couple of feet, stopped spinning, and fell to the ground; Mecha Sonic landed on one knee before standing away from them. Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to shake again.

"Whooaaa…" said Knuckles.

"What's g-going on-n?" Rouge asked.

Her answer came in the form of a flash of red shooting out of the ground right behind Mecha Sonic's feet and floating behind him. Mecha Sonic turned around and slowly grasped the object. The duo realized what it was.

"The Chaos Emerald!" they shouted at the same time.

[ Blue Falcon – Shadow the Hedgehog Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

They watched as the robot absorbed the red Chaos Emerald into its metal frame; a surge of power coursed through his body as he unleashed his reawaken Chaos abilities. The sheer power radiating from Mecha Sonic could be felt by the two Mobians. With a red aura glowing around him, Mecha Sonic glanced over to Knuckles and Rouge. Before either of them could react, Mecha Sonic phased behind them and backhanded them with both arms.

*WUMP*

"UUURRGGH!"

"AUUUGGGHH!"

The two slid across the rough surface of the island. Knuckles was the first to stand back up, and just in time too; Mecha Sonic was going after him again. The robot's first punch was dodged as Knuckles braced himself for the upcoming onslaught.

"Damn, he's fast," he thought as he blocked or matched every punch that came his way.

Rouge finally got back up and saw Knuckles trying to fend off Mecha Sonic's attacks; he was holding up now, but unlike the robot, he'll tire out soon. She rushed behind Mecha Sonic and did a spin kick across his body. It didn't do much in terms of damage, but it did stun Mecha Sonic and shove him a few feet away from them. As he turned to face the bat, he saw Knuckles only inches away before a single punch to the head sent the robot flying back a few more feet. Stunned again, the robot tried to recover, but a tag team attack from Knuckles and Rouge was already upon him; a single punch and a single kick sent him flying another 15 feet. The force of the attack was so strong that Knuckles and Rouge managed to remove the Chaos Emerald from his body. Mecha Sonic laid on the ground, completely defeated. Knuckles and Rouge gave each other a look.

(Music fades)

"Really?" she asked, "You sure this was the same robot that tried to steal the Master Emerald like you said?"

"I'm sure," Knuckles answered, "But something's not right."

Rouge walked over the to downed Mecha Sonic and checked to see if he was powered down.

"He appears to have gone offline."

They both look over at the Chaos Emerald that had flown a few feet away from the scene and landed on the ground. The duo hadn't even gotten a chance to take a single step before the ground began to shake again.

"Not again!" Knuckles shouted.

Rouge did her best to glare at the echidna.

"It was you! Your punch must have caused a chain reaction, causing another volcanic eruption!"

Knuckles glared back.

"What eruption!? The island is shaking, and I don't see any-"

A huge wall of lava shot out of the ground near the Chaos Emerald.

"You were saying?"

Knuckles didn't respond, he was too shocked to see something rising from the lava.

"Hello? Knucklehead!?"

Knuckles simply pointed toward the giant object looming over them. Rouge looked over and saw.

"Oh."

From the lava pool rose a huge demonic looking robot; sharp teeth, horns, clawed hands. (Look up the Old Iron King from Dark Souls 2. Lose the wings, turn it into a robot, that's basically what it looks like.) On its shoulder, they could see a model designation that read "D3-V11", or Devil, if you were imaginative. Shaking off the shock, Knuckles and Rouge ran as fast as they could to grab the Chaos Emerald. The Devil held its left palm out towards them; deep red flames erupted from it and blocked the heroes' way. Knuckles and Rouge backed off. With its huge right hand, the Devil grabbed the Chaos Emerald from the ground and absorbed it into its body.

"Damn," Knuckles muttered.

"It seems they're now sending the big guns," Rouge dryly joked.

With Chaos energy in its grasp, the Devil bellowed a mighty roar into the sky as it raised both of its fists above its head. Knuckles and Rouge braced for whatever their new opponent had in store.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

*BOOM*

The Devil slammed its fists into the ground, unleashing a shockwave of red flames and Chaos energy. The attack sent the duo flying back a few feet, but they managed to land on their feet.

"Huh… guess this is where the real fight begins," said Knuckles.

"Indeed," said Rouge, "But this is nothing we haven't fought before."

"Alright, let's get him!"

Meanwhile, back at Siris' home…

It was barely even the crack of dawn. Siris couldn't get the nightmare out of his mind. It had been years since he had anything as terrifyingly bad as that. To help get his mind off of it, Siris decided to retrain his skills before the day began. So, here he was now, goggles around his neck, outside, behind his home with an improvised training dummy… okay, it wasn't actually a dummy, it was just a stump of wood the stuck out of the ground at a height of 8 feet with a radius of roughly 10 inches. Surrounding its outer shell was a crudely made cylindrical metal armor to protect it from Siris' more powerful attacks.

"This is pathetic," Siris sighed, "What the hell was I thinking? I shouldn't have said anything to them. I should have just sent Sonic to a nearby hospital instead."

He looked down at his wrists, staring at his gadgets. Over the years, he added improvements to them; increasing the wire length, the durability of the bracelets, even adding modifications for them to be used with multiple color powers. But those days were long gone. He hadn't even put them on ever since…

"Screw it," Siris sighed, "I never wanted to live forever anyways."

He turned around and approached the nearby pile of aluminum-

All people outside of North America and/or in the scientific community: IT'S ALUMINIUM!

Me: This isn't a science experiment. Interrupt me again and swear to God I will destroy the world. I will raze the buildings and salt the Earth. Just look at the two shallow graves back there.

*HERE LIE SONIC AND KNUCKLES, THE IDIOT DEAD JOKERS*

Tails: Uh, those are just-

Me: Shhhhh! Shshshshshhhhh… don't ruin the fun.

… nearby pile of ALUMINUM cans and glass bottles that was on placed on a plastic trash bag. Siris was a proponent of recycling, so it was very convenient to have a bin full of these items. A picked up a couple of bottles and cans and headed towards an old wooden table that the previous owner of the property had left behind. It didn't really see much use in the recent years, other than Siris occasionally sitting down in the chair, or lying on the table, and staring into the distance, or the sky, or his finger that would draw imaginary circles on the wooden surface. Now it was being used to hold a line of bottles and cans in place, as though it was a shoot gallery. Only instead of a gun, Siris was going to use his grapples.

"Alright… that should be enough for this first trial."

Siris walked away until he was about 20 or so feet away from the table and dummy.

"Hmm… which should I try first?" he pondered, "I guess the bottles and cans first, I suppose."

He turned to face the targets and got into a fighting stance as he put on his goggles. He didn't know why, but it felt… strange to be training again. Giving himself a soft chuckle, Siris whipped out his right wrist and shot the wire out to his side. Once about 10 feet of wire was out, the wire sent taut and Siris grabbed the wire before it could retract back in. Siris nervously looked at the coiled wire on the ground.

"I'm gonna lose an eye doing this again," he muttered, "Well, might as well get started. Only got two weeks before my promise becomes a reality."

Taking a deep breath, Siris lightly whipped the wire a couple of times, getting back into the feel of using a whip again.

"I hope the others are doing okay."

{ Knuckles and Rouge }

BOSS: D3-V11 "Devil" Attack Robot

[ How it Started (Ifrit Golem) – Sonic and the Secret Rings Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00) (Believe it or not, you might have to loop it once… yeah, this one's gonna be a long battle)

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!" bellowed the Devil, raising its right fist into the air as Knuckles and Rouge prepared for attack. The Devil looks upon the heroes with burning rage in its eyes and slammed its fist into the ground. Knuckles and Rouge charged at the enemy jumping over the shockwave and go for the fist.

{ Siris }

Summoning the Spikes color power, Siris began running towards the containers. As he got closer, Siris whipped his arm in a couple of directions in order to control where the attack will land. True to his mark, the end of the wire snapped against a glass bottle and shattered it into hundreds of tiny fragments. The wire's end fell to the ground as Siris leapt into the air, over the table, and performed a spin dash. The wire flew to life as the end traveled around the spinning Mobian before colliding with a soda can.

{ Knuckles and Rouge }

The duo punched and kicked at every metal surface on the hand they could reach as the Devil recovered from the recoil that stunned it when it slammed its hand. Pieces of metal started cracking and chipping off as the Devil pulled its hand back and launched it forward for a backhand swipe. Rouge flew up into the air while Knuckles dug into the rocky terrain; both dodging the attack. Rouge launched herself straight into the robot's face; Screw Kicking it right between the eyes.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The shockwave from the roar of pain alone was strong enough to send Rouge tumbling through the air and back to solid ground. She landed on her back, hurting her wings, but she backflipped into the air and landed on her feet. She looked up at the machine with an irritated look.

{ Siris }

Siris landed on the ground past the table and spun around 180 degrees, whipping his arm and wire around his body. As the wire danced around him, like a dancer with a ribbon, Siris snapped his arm the other direction, sending the wire around the opposite direction. It seemed as though the wire was going to collide with the remaining bottles and cans on the table; a few quick and precise hand movements and techniques changed that. Instead of hitting everything, Siris made the wire avoid the first two items, snap against the can, avoid the next item, shatter the two glass bottles next, go around the next item, and landing on another can. The can launched 25 feet into the air. Siris launched himself after it; sending his whip to make another connection with it.

{ Knuckles and Rouge }

The Devil and Rouge stared at each other, both unaware that Knuckles had erupted from the ground behind the robot and was flying toward its back. Knuckles was surprised to see what looked like a giant containment dome on the robots back. He started to figure that if there was any place that could house the power source for the robot, it would be there. Shooting towards the center of the dome, Knuckles began spinning vertically along his body and Drill Clawed, literally, now that he was wearing his Shovel Claws, into the container. Sensors indicated to the Devil that the storage unit on its back was taking damage.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Suddenly, Knuckles was surrounded by flames jetting out of small pipes the lined around the entire unit. Before they reached him, Knuckles glided off the unit. Unfortunately, he underestimated the speed of the robot due to its large size; the Devil spun around in the lava pool with blinding speed, grabbing Knuckles in its right hand. Rouge gasped and charged forward in an attempt to rescue the echidna. Knuckles' hands were free, but his punches seemed to do little to affect the Devil, albeit damaging the index finger and thumb. It brought Knuckles close to its face; revealing the flames coming from its mouth. He struggled harder to break free from his captor's grasp. Rouge flew into the air and flew toward the containment unit. A single Screw Kick sent pain throughout the Devil.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Like Knuckles, flames began to fire at Rouge, but she had already flown away when she hit the Devil's unit. As for Knuckles, the Devil loosened its grip and Knuckles escaped.

{ Siris }

Concentrating hard, Siris' sense heightened, and time appeared to slow down around him. Launching his spiked whip toward the can, Siris made subtle and jerky hand maneuvers that performed a powerful attack. Instead of hitting the can, the tip of the wire went to the side of the can. The hand movements commanded the wire to then loop around the can before the wire appeared to be randomly encircling the can. With a single yank, a random segment of the wire snapped at the can. A millisecond later, another segment did the same. The process repeated dozens of time before Siris' senses calmed down. The moment time was moving normal to him, a bunch of pink spikes appeared from within the can before disappearing. Siris flipped a couple of times in the air before landing on the ground with style. When he heard a metallic clink behind him, Siris turned around and smiled. The can was now a coiled sheet of metal, looking like an apple or potato peeled off in one piece. He then turned his attention to the "dummy" as he retracted the wire.

{ Knuckles and Rouge }

Launching off the robot's hand, Knuckles sent a fist directly in the same spot Rouge had damaged the Devil earlier.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Knuckles had embedded his Shovel Claw into the Devil's face, preventing him from being launched away. As the bellowing died down, Knuckles proceeded to whale at its face. Each blow to the face created more and more cracks along it and metal began to fall off in pieces. Rouge made another pass for the containment unit. Unfortunately, the Devil planned ahead and designated some power to its sensors, one of them being its radar, which sensed Rouge's position. Spinning into another Screw Kick, Rouge didn't notice the flames encasing the containment unit until she impacted the case. Screaming in pain, she stomped off the unit, and crashed into the ground. Her scream distracted Knuckles for just a second, but it was enough time for the Devil to grab him again and yank him off its face. Lying on her side, Rouge rolled over and began to push herself off the ground. That last attack got her pretty good; she had a couple of singed patches on her and a cut across her cheek, but she was sore all over. She looked up at the Devil and gasped in horror as she watched the Devil bring it hand toward the lava pool; the same hand that was holding Knuckles.

{ Siris }

Siris glared at the dummy. His mind began to toy with him again as the wooden object began to warp into the figure of Julian Robotnik; he was laughing at Siris. Rage filled his soul; Siris flicked out his wrists, shooting out a foot long straight and taut wire from each bracelet. Muttering something under his breath, the two wires then formed into cyan colored blades with darker blue colored flames engulfing them; blades positioned like unsheathed assassin daggers from his wrist. Siris dashed toward Julian with a speed he had only accomplished once in his life without some form of aid. Siris slashed in every direction through the mirage; his hatred growing with each swipe. A fire that he hadn't felt in over two years reignited. A bright blue light began to shine from the rims of Siris' goggles before slowly changing to a more blueish-purple.

{ Knuckles and Rouge }

(Lower the volume so it's somewhat faint but can make out the lyrics)

Rouge could do nothing but watch as Knuckles disappeared below the ridge that led to the pool of lava. As lava splashed up from the impact, it froze in place. To Rouge, all of time and space had stopped, as though she had just used Chaos Control. But this wasn't the effects of Chaos Control, much to Rouge's dismay. If she wasn't already on her hands and knees, she would have done so now. Whispering Knuckles' name, she hung her head in defeat. What was the point of going on? Siris' remark from last night echoed in her mind; he was right, she had… did have feelings for the echidna. Even now, after he had somewhat broken her heart back on the plane, Rouge still had feelings for him. And now he was gone.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

As the Devil roared in its victory over the Master Emerald guardian, something sparked in Rouge. She had never been one to show pure rage and hatred, but now she was. Her chest heaved as she got up to her feet. She glared up at the robot with tears pouring down her face. Determined to finish what they had started, Rouge pulled out her Treasure Scope; placing it below her right ear as glided over the ground at high speeds, pushing the limits of her wounded wings. The Devil opened its mouth and unleashed a miasma of red flames toward her. Using her Iron Pick heels, she spun her body and dug into the ground, dodging the oncoming attack. The Devil ended its attack, wondering where the bat had disappeared to. There was no sign of her ashes, or charred body, so it was clear to the robot that she was still alive. Where she was hiding was a different story. Suddenly, another pain coursed through the robot's body.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Rouge spun as fast as she could, relentlessly drilling her feet into the murderous robot's containment unit. The Devil was unaware that Rouge used her Scope to traverse the underground and attack from behind, undetected. She managed to stun the Devil, which was why wasn't engulfed in flames at the moment. Even if it had, she didn't care. Rouge was going to finish this monster off, even if was the last thing she ever did. Her mind raced of memories of her time with Knuckles.

Their first meeting in the desert region when she tried to steal the Master Emerald.

Their friendly conversation after Shadow's sacrifice, on the Space Colony ARK.

Teasing him after Team Sonic defeated Metal Overlord.

Sonic's birthday party, before and after the Time Eater's defeat.

Working together when fighting against Eggman and Infinite.

The numerous times she tried the steal the Master Emerald over the years.

Tears kept pouring out of her eyes. Sparks were flying all around her and she was not about to stop. Even if her Scope told her there was a presence of…

*CRA-ACK*

Before she could react, the Devil leaned forward a few feet and slammed its back into Rouge. She landed on the ground with loud thud. She tried to pick herself back up, but dizziness and fatigue was overwhelming her. Even with all her might and will, Rouge's head fell to the ground, unconscious. The Devil turned to its next victim. It wrapped its left hand around its right fist and slowly raised it over its head.

*CR-CR-CR-A-AA-ACK*

Red fire burned around the Devil's hands as it powered up to finish off the nuisance, permanently.

*CRACK CRA-ACK*

Rouge's eyes opened a crack. She watched as the robot began to bring the hands down on top of her. She cursed herself for failing, but at the same time she was pleased; she was going to see Knuckles again sooner than she thought. The moment came as the hands slammed down on top of her. Rouge closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

*WHAM*

But fate had other plans. Rouge was certain that she was about to die, if not dead already. No, she must be dead. She opened her eyes to prove it to herself; how else would she hear the familiar sounds of the echidna that she had close feelings for? And there he was. Standing over her…

…

…

Rouge gasped. Standing over her was Knuckles the Echidna; pushing back against the strength of the robot using his own and holding his ground. His arms were straining, but Knuckles kept fighting, undeterred. Rouge whispered his name and he responded with a glance back and a smirk. Rouge tried to get back up, but her body refused her command. She looked down and noticed that Knuckles' feet were beginning to slid back, inch by inch. The strain was becoming too much for Knuckles; she could tell because he was now down on one knee, still fighting.

"Rouge?" Knuckles said, trying to keep his strength up.

"Yes?"

…

…

"I'm sorry… for saying I shouldn't have helped you."

"Huh?"

"On the plane. I knew what I said was harsh… urgh… I was just… angry at Mecha Sonic and I took it out on you. I'm sorry."

Rouge smiled.

"And I'm sorry for being stubborn with you."

Knuckles skid back another couple of inches. His arms were about to give out.

"Hey, Rouge?"

"Yeah?"

"If we die… heh, who am I kidding… I just wanted to tell you…"

Rouge's eyes began to open more.

"I… I want you to know that…"

Knuckles sighed.

"I-"

*WHAM*

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Knuckles felt a sudden relief come over his body as he pushed the Devils hands away from them.

"Hey, you two!" a voice called from atop the robot's head.

Knuckles was surprised, Rouge more so, to see Vector pulling his fists out of the indentation he made in the Devil's head.

"Looks like you could use a break!"

"Vector!?" the two exhausted Mobians shouted.

"He's not the only one!"

Knuckles and Rouge turned and saw Espio, Charmy, Mighty, and Ray rushing over to their side.

"Need a hand?" Mighty asked Knuckles, offering him a hand.

Knuckles gave his old friend a smile and nodded, grasping Mighty's hand as he was helped up to his feet. Espio helped Rouge up to her's.

"What are you guys doing here?" Knuckles and Rouge asked at the same time.

"INCOMING!" Vector shouted.

The six heroes turned in time to see the Devil's left hand swiping at them and jump out of the way. Vector leapt off the Devil's head and descended toward the others using a bubble he blew out of bubblegum. How the hell he defied the laws of physics doing this, no one will ever know. No, seriously, not even Tails has wrapped his head around it.

"Does this burning metal freak have any weaknesses?" he asked when he landed on the ground.

"Aside from just constantly attacking it, no," Rouge replied, "But I did find- DUCK!"

Everyone hit the deck as the robot's right hand took swipe at them.

"Argh, this is really starting to get annoying," Knuckles muttered as he hopped to his feet, "We need to come up with a plan. Preferably without getting interrupted."

"I've got the perfect distractions!" Vector exclaimed, "Charmy, Ray. Think you two can keep that thing busy?"

The two smirked at each other.

"Leave it to us," they answered.

Charmy carried Ray up a few feet before heaving him away, giving the flying squirrel the momentum needed to glide into the air. The two made their way over to the Devil's face and they each kicked one of its eyes.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Charmy and Ray flew off the Devil's face and, excuse me for lack of better term, continued to bug the hell out of the robot. As they flew around the Devil and dodged its attacks, the remaining Mobians began to formulate a plan.

"So, what were saying before, Rouge?" Vector asked.

"Well, during my last attack, I was scanning the machine for any weaknesses in its armor or sources of power within. I'm still shocked to see this, even though it makes total sense, but…"

"But, what?" asked Knuckles.

"That containment unit is holding red Wisps."

An awkward silence fell among the group. No one said a word for nearly 15 seconds.

"Uh, guys!?" Charmy shouted, "Any day now!"

The gang snapped out of it.

"Uh, right," said Vector, "So…"

"How do we save the Wisps?" Mighty asked.

"Hmph. I was about the ask that," Vector mumbled quietly.

"Knuckles and I have already done some damage to that storage unit on the robot's back," Rouge explained, pointing to the unit in question, "If we keep attacking it, we should be able to get it open and free the Wisps."

"And without those Wisps, the robot should have no power," Knuckles pieced together.

"Well," said Vector, "it's better than just whaling it away."

"How do we proceed with this plan?" asked Espio.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The five turned and watched as Charmy and Ray rocketed to the ground and were knocked unconscious.

"Maybe just whaling at it is the best course at the moment," Mighty suggested before rushing over to his downed friends.

As the Devil rammed both its fists into the ground where Charmy and Ray were lying, Mighty was pulling them away from the danger.

"Mighty's right," said Knuckles, "We don't know what will happen to those Wisps if we just wait. So we'll just attack with everything we've got."

Everyone nodded.

"Then, let's get started," said Espio as he disappeared from sight.

(Raise volume back to normal level)

Knuckles, Rouge, and Vector rushed toward the Devil as it turned its attention away from Mighty.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Undeterred by the robot's bellow, our heroes kept up the pace. Absorbing more energy from the Red Wisps, the Devil raised its right hand over its head as red flames began to dance around its fingers. With blinding speed, the hand was slammed into the ground and unleashed a shockwave of Chaos energy and fire. Knuckles and Rouge flew up into the air while Vector leapt over the energy wave. He landed on the Devil's hand and made his way up its arm.

"Knuckles! Rouge!" he called out, "You two get those Wisps out! Espio and I will cover you!"

"Got it!" Knuckles replied as he and Rouge navigated toward the Devil's back.

As he ran along the robot's right arm, the Devil's left hand came rushing over to grab or knock Vector off. The hand hadn't even covered half the ground before a kunai came flying out of nowhere and impaled the robot's left eye.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Espio revealed himself upon the left hand of the Devil before disappearing again.

"Good work, Espio!" Vector called out.

Once he reached the robot's shoulder, Vector hopped aboard the Devil's face and started punching every inch of it. The robot attempted to attack Vector again.

"Uh oh," Vector muttered as he scrambled up the Devil's face.

Another kunai was lodged into the robot's other eye.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Espio smirked to himself; it was quite an impressive throwing distance from the ground all the way to the Devil's eye.

Meanwhile, Knuckles and Rouge were busying destroying the containment unit, punching and kicking with all the strength they had left. Which was still a lot.

*CRACK*

*CRA-A-ACK*

"What is this thing made of!?" Knuckles asked, "It looks like metal, but acting as if it's glass!"

"Who cares!? Just keep attacking it!" Rouge commanded.

Inside the Devil…

"WARNING: Damage Levels Critical. Systems Failing. Wisp Containment Hull Integrity At 30% And Falling. Hull Breach Imminent. Evacuation Recommended."

"Hmph," the pilot grunted over the computer's warnings, "Guess it's time to move to Plan B."

Outside the Devil…

"GOT IT!" the duo shouted as the barrier preventing the Wisps' freedom shattered.

Dozens upon dozens of red Wisps started shooting out from the opening. Knuckles and Rouge floated in the air and watched the escape before them. With no power source left, the Devil no longer had the ability to use any of its flame powers, but it still had a Chaos Emerald.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Oh, SHUT UP!" Knuckle screamed as he Drill Clawed straight through the Devil's head.

The robot flinched a couple of times before all power drained from its systems and it fell to the ground. Knuckles and Rouge joined Vector and Espio as the four walked over to investigate the wreck. Mighty, who was protecting the sleeping Charmy and Ray the whole time, came running over to investigate as well. Everyone jumped when a hatch was busted open and smoke rose from the opening.

"Now what?" Knuckles muttered.

His answer came in the form of a dark crimson armored humanoid exiting the Devil husk with a red Chaos Emerald in their hand.

"Who is that?" Mighty asked.

The pilot (whose armor basically looked like the Advanced Suit from Dead Space 2 but with much more armor plating, and I couldn't think of any other way to describe it) glared at the group as they unleashed an energy blast so powerful it could have been mistaken as a Chaos Blast… wait, was that a Chaos Blast?!

"MOVE!" Rouge shouted, but it was too late.

The blast sent the five Mobians flying a couple dozen feet away and tumbled another 10 or so along the ground.

"Urrggh…" Knuckles groaned as he picked himself up, "You guys okay?"

"I'm fine," Rouge responded, "Vector? Espio?"

"Mighty? You guys... crap."

The three in question were lying unconscious on the ground.

"Awww, now it's back to how it was 10 minutes ago…"

Knuckles and Rouge turned to the pilot.

"… just you two against me," he continued.

The pilot's voice sounded very bizarre for a robot's, assuming it was one. It sounded as though someone using a voice scrambler for a robot's voice. Or was it the other way around?

"So…" the pilot said in a taunting voice as Knuckles and Rouge readied for another battle, "which of you should I kill first?"

The two noticed a small squad of very angry Red Wisps charging behind the pilot's back.

"Like that will happen," Knuckles smirked.

*WUMP*

They may be small, compared to the size of a human, but five angry Wisps can be a very painful experience. (Both the aliens and Siris. *wink*) The pilot landed face first into the ground; releasing the Chaos Emerald from his grasp. Before anyone could react, the pilot had recovered to his feet and grabbed one of the Red Wisps from the squad. The Wisp was forced into the pilot's body and fire erupted from his hands.

"Not… good," Rouge said in a nervous voice.

But Knuckles remained strong. He ran up to the pilot and punched him in the face.

*CLANG*

The pilot just laughed.

"Is that suppose to be a tickle?" he taunted before sending a flaming right fist into Knuckle's face.

*WUMP*

"AAaaarrrgggh!" Knuckles yelled as he was thrown back a few feet.

The pilot glanced over at Rouge, who was making a run for the Chaos Emerald. He formed a fireball in his right hand and threw it at the Emerald. The explosion sent the jewel flying away from the group. Rouge wiped the dust from her eyes. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the pilot dashing through the air towards her, with a flaming fist targeting her. A quick parry with her heel deflected the attack and the two began to brawl. While she was able to defend herself, Rouge wasn't as much a fighter like Knuckles was; for every attack she did, she had four come at her.

"You defend yourself well, Agent," the pilot commented, "You know the end of the world is coming."

Another parry.

"Why bother trying to survive by fighting?"

Rouge dodged a fast combo before spin kicking at his face. He caught her boot with ease.

"You want to live. No one wants to die. Why don't you join us?"

Rouge glared at him.

"I can promise you no harm to come to you if you join our master."

"Well, here's my answer."

Rouge used her captured leg as leverage as she backflipped into the air and kicked right under the pilot's chin. At the same time, Knuckles charged from behind and slammed his well-equipped right fist into the pilot's back. As a finale to the combo, Rouge launched a Screw Kick into the pilot's helmet, causing it to crack.

"ENOUGH!" he roared, sending a blast of flames to erupt around him and sending the duo flying back and into the ground.

The amount of energy used forced the Red Wisp outside the pilot's body to be released; shaking the uncomfortable feeling off, the Wisps flew off to rejoin its fellow red Wisps, which were all watching the fight from above. They watched as the pilot marched over to Rouge, who was lying unconscious on the ground. Knuckles picked himself up from the ground and charged at the pilot.

*WUMP*

The pilot simply kicked the echidna away before he continued towards Rouge. Knuckles fought through the pain in his stomach, which had now been hit twice today, and launched toward his foe. This time, he was able to dodge the pilot's attack and landed two solid punches to his face.

*WUMP*

And was followed by another punch to the face, sending Knuckles flying again. But the stubborn echidna wasn't about to throw in the towel; he got back up and charged the pilot again. Instead of an attack, Knuckles was met with a hand wrapped around his throat and being slammed into the ground. The pilot then started beating Knuckles to a pulp; his fists flying at a sickening speed.

"This time, echidna," the pilot hissed, "you will die."

Rouge stirred and looked up from the ground.

"Knuckles…" she groaned.

She reached out a hand, but she collapsed back to the ground.

"Someone…"

…

"Please…"

…

"Save him."

Her prayer was answered as the pilot went for the killing blow; a flash of red entered Knuckles and a burst of fire erupted; the force blowing the pilot off the echidna.

"What is this?" he demanded in question form.

The sudden rush of Hyper-go-on energy fueled Knuckles' spirit. Around the vicinity, everyone was waking up; they all watched in awe as Knuckles stood up, with a red aura surrounding him. He and the pilot glared at each other.

"You still think you can take me?" the pilot asked, "Pfft. I guess I'll have to teach you a harsher lesson."

Knuckles didn't respond. Instead, he held out his fists in front of him before whipping them to the side of his body. As he did, his fists erupted in a blend of yellow, orange, and red flames. A moment later, the two lunged at each other. The pilot was certain that this would change nothing, as he was able to keep his enhancements from the captured Wisp, albeit the fire ability. And let me tell you…

*CRA-ACK*

… Oh, boy, was he wrong. Knuckles managed to land his attack first, giving the pilot's helmet a solid blow in the center. The pilot instantly recovered and the two went at it. Unlike Rouge, Knuckles was not only able to block or dodge every single attack his way, he was also able to counter every single one with a blow to the pilot's body. Every time Knuckles landed another hit to the helmet, it became more and more degraded.

"NO MORE!" the pilot screamed as he produced a blade from his right wrist and thrusted it towards Knuckles.

With solid grip, Knuckles grabbed the pilot's left wrist and stared into the enemy's eyes.

"You're right. No more," he said dryly as he crushed the pilot's wrist and sent one last punch from his right hand into his face.

The front of the helmet shattered as the pilot spun through the air and landed to the ground.

(Music fades)

Knuckles relaxed his hands and he walked over to the pilot, who was now face down on the ground. He pushed it over and saw the pilot's face for the first time.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" he screamed, jumping back in fear.

The others rushed over to see what Knuckles was so freaked out over. They were horrified by the answer.

"What… what kind of sick joke is this?" Rouge asked.

If he were capable of doing so, the pilot would have grinned an evil smile. But he couldn't; behind the armor were human remains.

…

…

…

Yes, you read that right: HUMAN REMAINS. A decayed human body that was nothing but a dried blood-stained skeleton with… Umm… yeah, you probably get the picture. But you don't; because the pilot's eyes were glowing a deep red, thanks to the electric components within his skull. And that's just his skull. The pilot laughed in their faces.

"What's wrong, fools? Scared?" he taunted.

No one even dared to respond. Although the pilot was far too damaged to attack anymore, the disturbing sight itself froze them in place. Even the onlooking Wisps were terrified by this revelation. The pilot's laughs continued for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Rouge broke the group's silence.

"Who… or what are you? Where's this 'lord' of yours?"

The pilot stopped laughing as his eyes darted in her direction.

"Oh, Agent Rouge… you should have brought your partners here to interrogate me instead. They'd have a much better chance at getting something out of me…"

He leaned his head forward a bit.

"… other than just information," he added, as a tiny piece of rotten flesh fell from under his chin.

Knuckles, though still disgusted, grabbed the pilot by the chest piece with both hands and lifted him to look at him at eye height.

"This isn't some freaky dark circus performance, you sicko!" Knuckles shouted. (I have nothing against circuses or freak shows, but this is some serious ****).

"Tell us where your leader is!"

"Ha… Hmm… Fine… you want to know where? Come close."

The group got closer.

"You won't find him in Hell," the pilot whispered.

"What?" they replied.

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

"What the!?"

Knuckles realized what was going on.

"That's right, you fools. I'm taking you all out with me. And there's nothing you can do!"

*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

"FAREWELL, 'HEROES'!"

In that instant, the red Wisp within Knuckles shot out of his body and entered the pilot's. Wasting no time, he began to burn at a temperature increasing so fast that no other Red Wisp had ever reached such high temperatures before and lived. He didn't care. He wasn't about to let these strangers die, after they saved him and his fellow Wisps. Consciousness was fading, but he kept going. Every second to him was a millisecond to the world. The armor was now glowing and melting; pieces were beginning to fuse together. The last thing that the red Wisp did before he died was ask the powers above one favor.

"Tell him… I'm sorry. And that I love him very much."

{ Siris }

Siris stood over the splintered remains of the wooden dummy. His chest heaved as he wiped the sweat from his face; it had been a long time since he let loose like that. Suddenly, he felt a pang shoot through his heart. He hadn't felt anything like this in a couple of years. It felt as though he had just learned someone has passed away. Siris closed his eyes.

"Tell him… I'm sorry. And that I love him."

Siris' eyes shot open. He recognized that voice, even if was just a bunch of garbled noises. Tears began to fall down his cheeks.

"Flames…"

{ Knuckles, Rouge, and the Chaotix }

Before the Mobians could react, the pilot before them flew back a few feet and fell back against the ground; an explosion of flames erupted from his head as though it was a shuttle thruster.

"NO!" Knuckles screamed, realizing the Wisp was the one causing it.

"Knuckles, don't!" Rouge screamed as she grabbed the echidna by the waist and held him back from the convulsing body.

"Rouge let me go! The Wisp-"

"It's too late!"

"ROUGE!"

Knuckles slipped and fell to the ground but continued to resist; using his Shovel Claws to try and claw his way to the burning corpse. Still, Rouge wouldn't let go. The Chaotix watched in horror and disbelief as the scene before them continued. A few agonizing seconds later, the flames died out. Knuckles finally stopped struggling.

"No…" he whispered as he stood back up.

Rouge finally released the echidna, letting him lumber over to the pile of ash before them. Standing over it, Knuckles hung his head.

"Knuckles?" Rouge called out.

He didn't even move. Rouge walked to his side. She went to put her left hand into his right. Before she could, Knuckles collapsed to his knees and slammed his fists into the ground in anger.

"DAMN IT!" he yelled.

Rouge knelt down to Knuckles, placing hand on his shoulder.

"Knuckles… there was nothing we could have done. That Wisp saved our lives," she explained.

Knuckles shook his head.

"She's right, Knuckles," said Espio, "That creature gave us another chance to continue our work to stop this new evil."

Charmy flew over to Knuckles' side.

"Yeah, what Espio said. Come on, Knuckles! I know what happened… sucks. And was scary. B-but, we can't stop now!" he exclaimed.

Knuckles kept shaking his head. Charmy frowned. Then, he remembered something. He flew off and came back in few seconds.

"Knuckles, look!" said Charmy, presenting something to him, "It's the Chaos Emerald!"

Knuckles' eyes glanced over to the red Emerald.

"Look at the bright side! We still won… and we got another Chaos Emerald!"

Knuckles gave Charmy a look.

"You suck at these kinds of things, you know that?" Knuckles chuckled as he took the Chaos Emerald from the bee.

"Well… I try."

Knuckles started laughing a bit more, with everyone joining him. Soon, their laughs quieted down. Knuckles sighed in grief. He didn't look back up until he heard some garbled gibberish from nearby.

"Huh?"

He looked up and saw three red Wisps floating over the smoking ashes of the pilot and their brave friend. A gloomy look was washed over their faces. One of them turned to Knuckles and floated to him. They didn't say anything, but they wordlessly expressed each other's grief. All said and done, the three aliens flew back to their brethren and they all flew away. The heroes watched them until the red masses disappeared into the distance. Knuckles sighed.

"What evil?" he asked.

"What?" the others asked.

"What evil were you talking about Espio?"

The chameleon was confused.

"No one told you?" he asked.

"Well-"

"He forgot his communicator," Ray interrupted.

He walked over to Knuckles and pulled out the wrist communicator from his inventory.

"Here," said Ray, handing it over to Knuckles, "Tails said you left it at the hotel back in Blue Moon Village."

Knuckles scratched his head.

"That's not mine."

Ray turned to Mighty for confirmation, but he just shrugged.

"Uh… Tails told us it's yours," Ray explained as he turned back to Knuckles, "Take it."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and showed everyone a device that was hidden beneath his right glove.

"See?" he asked, "Told you it's not mine."

Rouge, Mighty, and Ray all looked at each other, completely befuddled.

"Is something wrong?" Vector asked.

"Yeah," Rouge replied, "Tails said he found Knuckles' communicator in their hotel room before Knuckles left Blue Moon Village. The next day, Mighty and Ray- wait a minute…"

She turned to Vector.

"I thought you guys told me you found a Chaos Emerald in one of Eggman's old bases."

"What!?" yelled Vector, "I never said that!"

Rouge eyed him suspiciously.

"You sure? The one in the Mystic Ruins?"

Vector looked at Espio and Charmy for support. The ninja turned to Rouge.

"I searched the Mystic Ruins already," he explained, "There's no Emerald there."

Rouge's eyes widened as she brought her communicator up.

"Uh, Knuckles?"

"Ray, I'm telling you, that's not-"

"There are like eight missed calls and three unread messages on here."

Knuckles groaned.

"Let me see," he said, snatching the communicator from Ray's hands.

It took Knuckles only two seconds to realize that it was indeed his communicator.

"Well?" Ray asked.

"It… it is my communicator," Knuckles said in disbelief as he swapped the devices.

"But if we had yours… then whose did you have?" Mighty asked.

"I have no clue."

Knuckles' eyes noticed something, or rather what he didn't notice, that concerned him.

"Where's Mecha Sonic?"

The robot was nowhere to be found.

"We've got bigger problems," Rouge said nervously.

Everyone turned to her.

"I can't reach Shadow or Omega."

---

Eggman's Former Base in the Mystic Ruins

Shadow stood in a large room at the bottom level of the base; dimly lit by cyan lights. He was certain something was here, but it wasn't a Chaos Emerald. Only a handful of people would understand why Shadow might be feeling a bit uneasy with the current situation. He silently hoped Omega was on his way, let alone still alive.

15 Minutes Ago…

The black hedgehog and his robot partner arrived at the abandoned hidden Eggman base. Although neither were around during that time, they did learn of how Eggman shattered the Master Emerald to awaken and command a power creature called Chaos, the God of Destruction. Between the stories from Sonic and the others to all the files relating to Chaos in G.U.N., there were still a handful of unanswered questions. Shadow couldn't care less, but Omega was more curious to find answers.

"Omega, is this the place?"

"Confirmed. This is the Eggman base we were informed of."

Shadow walked up to the door, but they wouldn't open.

"Omega, get these doors open."

"Affirmative."

*CREEEAAKK*

"Good work, Omega."

Shadow entered through the doors; Omega followed close behind.

[ Mechanical Resonance… for Final… Nah, I'm just messing with ya. Sorry, maybe some other time ]

[ Dark Ambient Music Mix ] (Uploaded by Cryo Chamber) (0:00)

After running across a ridiculous, and unnecessarily, long covered bridge, the two entered the base. It was dark, with only the emergency lights barely even illuminating the room. They began to cautiously walk around. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs. Had it been anyone else there, and they weren't a psychopath, they would have admitted an uncomfortable feeling in the air.

"Omega, any sign of those Chaotix members?"

"… Negative. No life signs detected."

"Hmm…"

As they walked, they noticed a holding unit that had been broken into… or something broke out, by the looks of the glass on the ground. A few more feet further, Shadow realized Omega's footsteps were no longer heard. He stopped and turned to see Omega staring at some sort of device. To Shadow, it appeared to be something used to build…

"Omega?"

It took a moment before the robot turned to face Shadow.

"Are you alright?"

"No malfunctions detected, Shadow. We may proceed."

Shadow crossed his arms.

"This is the place, am I correct in saying?"

"Specify your inquiry."

"This was were the first group of E-100 series robots were built."

It was more of a statement rather than a question, but it made no difference to Omega.

"Correct."

…

"Attention: data port detected. I can access data files from the data port and transfer them to G.U.N. Headquarters."

Shadow sighed. He knew that Omega had an ulterior motive; to continue improving himself so he could truly become the most powerful E-series robot ever. And what better place to find information on the first set of those robots but here. G.U.N. had never put this location a high priority data collecting site, so now was the best opportunity. Plus, if might hold some key information to help end the evil that was coming before it even arrived.

"Very well, Omega. I'll scout ahead. Stay in close contact."

With that, Shadow skated off toward the Final Egg Facility. Look, what's an Eggman base without some sort of reference to that giant ball of scrap Sonic keeps blowing up in space every so often?

"E-series… brothers…"

Omega looked over, back in the direction Shadow was standing. Something wasn't right. Omega remembered someone, most likely Sonic or Amy, mentioning that Metal Sonic was in the second holding unit in this room. However, the unit was intact. Prioritizing the problem for a later time to be solved, Omega began to hack into the bases data storage.

"What a strange way to design a base," Shadow muttered as he glided along the ground (metaphorically).

His mind was still going back to Omega. While he did care to some degree for the robot, to Shadow it was always about keeping his promise to Maria; protecting the world and giving people a reason to be happy. Well, mostly the protecting the world part, he was indifferent about others' happiness.

"Why is Omega trying so hard to be the best when he already is? Hell, he might be the most powerful thing on the planet, next to me and Faker. After all, it was Omega who-"

Shadow's train of thought was interrupted by the sight of a huge machine lying in the middle of a large room.

"Huh?"

He hadn't noticed how far, or how long, he had been descending through the base. He was now standing on the lowest level possible of the base.

"Hmm…" Shadow pondered, looking at the old machine, "That must be the remains of the Egg Viper."

Upon closer inspection, Shadow confirmed that it was indeed the remains of the Egg Viper. Standing before the pile of metal, Shadow crossed his arms and looked at it.

"Faker had trouble with this? Pathetic," he muttered.

Meanwhile, back at the top level…

Omega had completed the data retrieval and proceeded to catch up to Shadow.

"Data retrieval complete. Alert: Data transfer unavailable. Signal blocked. Scanning for possible sources of interference."

…

"No sources detected."

Omega looked around for a moment. Although he was all alone, he began to wonder why the Chaotix were not here.

"Scanning for Emerald energy signatures."

…

"Scans complete. No energy signatures found."

They were alone. The Chaotix were not here, there were no signs of any of the three emerald types they were searching for. Something was wrong. Suddenly, to confirm his suspicions, Omega briefly sensed an intruder infiltrating through the base. A few seconds later, they were deeper into the base. Another ping showed they were closing in on Shadow. Omega activated his thrusters and raced off to find Shadow.

Back at the Egg Viper's final resting place…

Shadow always wondered if this day would possibly come. And to his annoyance, it had. Eyes closed, and arms crossed, he spoke into the darkness.

"So, it was you who sent Rouge that message, wasn't it?"

No reply.

"If you think staying silent will fool me, then you are sadly mistaken."

Silence. Nothing but silence. Until a dark voice began to laugh.

"I'm surprised you've managed to feel my presence," said a voice from the darkness, "It has been many years since anyone has done so."

"That voice…"

"You're not fooling me," Shadow remarked as he turned to face the darkness, "Come out and reveal yourself."

From the shadows, a pair of green eyes appeared; followed by pale looking figure lurching out of darkness. Shadow glared at individual.

"It's him."

"What's wrong? Have you forgotten about me, Shadow the Hedgehog?"

"I haven't. And you won't succeed this time."

The pale figure laughed.

"Oh, it has been too long, Shadow. You couldn't stop me before, even without your… restraints."

Shadow threateningly glared at the figure as he rubbed one of his Limiter Rings.

"Don't think I have forgotten about our last encounter, Shadow the Hedgehog. Because this time…"

All around the room, Shadow minions spawned, which all look like smaller versions of the pale figure.

"This time you will truly understand my name."

Shadow got into battle stance.

"You will know the true meaning of darkness. Why I am called MEPHILES THE DARK!"

(Music fades)

---

Team Sonic: Who is Mephiles?

Me: Uuuuhhhh…. I dunno.

Knuckles: Is he some-

Me: Wait… didn't I kill you and Sonic earlier and bury your bodies?

Both: No…

Me: *Rolls eyes* Whatever. Anyways, you guys can ask someone else that question. *Whispers* Readers, don't say anything to them.

Sonic: Well, that should wrap it up for this chapter, right, Phantom?

Me: Yes it does! Thanks for reading this chapter, hope you liked it. Please follow and favorite, but more importantly please… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave a review. I haven't even gotten one review yet, and I'm hoping someone will give me some helpful criticism to be a better writer. Other than that, I'll see ya next time.

*Sincere A/N*

Holy flippin' bat turds, Batman. I was hoping to get this out LAST WEEK. But life had other plans. Next week, I have finals, followed by like five weeks of freedom. So maybe, MAYBE… I'll be able to push out two chapters during my winter break. MAYBE! No promises.

Also, I had no clue this chapter would be this long. Jeez. Overall, I felt that it was good, but I might do some minor revisions and additions in the future. Not a rewrite, that would make me kill myself. But, who knows. I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter. I'm hoping that I don't have to re-rate this AGAIN to M. If I do… well, prepare for disappointment, because I will refuse to write any lemon scenes in this story.

All have a great time! Hope you come back for more. And I'd like to say to everyone: Have a Merry (Early) Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, and/or a Happy Holidays. And if you have a problem with any of those, then have a Happy Go F*** Yourself. See ya next time!