At the Kent house, the Tornado II stared down the driveway, ready for take off.
"Tornado II, ready for take off!" Tails reported.
The engine fired up and the plane disappeared into the sky. From the ground, Cream, Cheese, and Helen watched alongside Chuck and Tanaka.
"Do you think they'll be able to find that last Chaos Emerald, Mr. Kent?" Helen asked.
"It's possible, but they're not the only ones looking for it," Chuck replied.
"I'm certain they'll find it," Cream insisted. "Sonic always finds the Emeralds, no matter how many times they're scattered."
"Then… you'll be going home," Helen realized.
"Yes…" Cream replied, her face dropping.
Cheese let out a sad chirp, flopping onto Helen's head. Ella took notice of their sad faces and quickly clapped her hands.
"Who wants to help me put sprinkles on my homemade cupcakes!"
All three of them instantly brightened.
"Me!" the two girls cheered, Cheese waving his arms and chirping in agreement.
…
Up in the Tornado II, Tails, Sonic, Amy, and Keith were patrolling the city for the final Chaos Emerald.
"Any readings on that Chaos Emerald, Tails?" Sonic asked.
"Nothing showing up on my scopes," Tails replied. "How about you, Keith? Anything on your goggles?"
"Nothing yet," Keith replied. "Maybe that Emerald didn't end up in the city."
"That is possible," Amy admitted. "Still, we need some place to start, and the city's as good a place as any."
"Besides," Sonic spoke up, "We've got our star treasure hunters scouring the woods just in case. That Emerald is as good as ours."
"Yeah…" Keith replied, turning and looking out the window.
Sonic noticed his lackluster expression and grew concerned. He slid towards where Keith was sitting, leaning against the hatch.
"You alright, Keith?"
"Huh? Yeah. fine."
"You sure? You look a little down."
"I'll be fine, don't worry."
"Ok. Just… know you can talk to me."
Keith sighed, removing his goggles.
"I just… We've got a lot of ground to cover if we want to find the Emerald. I'm worried we won't be able to find it before Eggman does."
"Right…" Sonic replied, deciding to let the issue go. "Let's keep looking then.
…
Knuckles and Kat hiked through the woods on the outskirts of Station Square, the former holding the Red Chaos Emerald in hand.
"I gotta admit, this planet can be pretty beautiful at times," Knuckles noted.
"I imagine I could say the same about Mobius," Kat replied. "From all the stories you've told me, it seems like heaven. Plus, all the mysteries to solve. Like that voice we heard when we touched the Emerald."
"Right… the servers are the seven Chaos. I can only imagine it means the seven Chaos Emeralds."
"I guess so. But why tell us that? It feels like we're missing a big piece of a massive puzzle."
"I think so too… but I get the feeling we won't know for certain until we get all seven Emeralds back."
"Right. Well, Sonic and the guys have four, Eggman's got one, and then there's ours. That's six in all."
"But even if we get the seventh Emerald first, Eggman will never give up his. We're just going to have to find a way to take it from him."
"Then you get to go home..." Kat turned away, her fists clenching. "Back to Angel Island… just like you wanted..."
Knuckles turned towards her, seeing the pain in her eyes. He reached out to say something, then the sound of a fight reached their ears. Both of them perked.
"What's that?" Kat let out, instinctively grabbing her bat off his back.
"Sounds like a fight. Come on!"
The two of them instantly took off, following the sounds of the fight. They didn't have long to go before reaching a clearing, where a strange sight befell them. Several Swatbots were surrounding a purple Mobian cat, one wearing glasses, a black vest, and a pair of black shorts. She had strange wristbands on each arm which shot out long, metal whips that grabbed the bots and either ripped them apart or smashed them against rocks.
"Another Mobian?" Kat let out.
"I didn't think anyone else came with us," Knuckles admitted. "Still, she needs help!"
Knuckles leapt forward and punched through one of the Swatbots, tearing it apart. Kat's bat swung and knocked several more over. The cat continued the battle until all of the bots were nothing but scrap. When it was over, the cat let out a sigh of relief, bent over from exhaustion.
"Thank Aurora," she said with a long breath. "I didn't know how much longer I could keep fighting."
"You alright?" Knuckles asked, walking over to her.
"I am now," she replied. "You're Knuckles, right? Knuckles the Echidna?"
"Yeah. Who are you?"
"My name's Chesire. You can call me Chessie if you want. Oh you have no idea how happy I am to see another Mobian, especially after all this time. I'd all but given up hope."
"How come we haven't seen you before?"
"I was a prisoner on Robotnik's base when Chaos Control happened. He's had me locked up ever since. I just managed to escape, and I managed to take this."
She reached into the vest she was wearing, pulling out the purple Chaos Emerald. Both Kat and Knuckles went wide-eyed, their jaws on the ground.
"Eggman's Chaos Emerald..." Kat let out.
"This is great!" Knuckles declared. "Now we just need to find the last one, and it's Mobius, here we come!"
"We have to tell Keith and the others!" Kat insisted. "They're gonna be so relieved!"
…
At the Kent house, everyone was gathered in the living room, staring in shock as Chessie held out the purple Chaos Emerald. Tails did a quick scan, grinning.
"It's the genuine article," he proclaimed. "We now have all six of the discovered Chaos Emeralds."
"Just one more to go," Sonic declared before turning to Chessie. "Thanks again for pulling through."
"Don't mention it," Chessie replied. "Anything to stick it to that mad scientist."
"How'd you end up getting captured by Eggman, anyway?" Amy asked.
"I'm an inventor, trying to make weapons to combat Robotnik and his machines. I was looking for some spare parts in the Scrap Brain zone when I was ambushed by Swatbots. When Robotnik saw my designs, he decided to imprison me and steal some of my schematics for himself. Luckily, I managed to keep a few gems for myself."
She extended the metal whips from her wrist bands, smirking.
"Cobbled these together from parts I was able to scrounge up while locked up."
"Nice," Tails commended. "We should swap designs sometime."
"That could be nice," Chessie admitted.
"Well for now, let's get this Emerald locked up with the others," Sonic declared, reaching for the Emerald.
Chessie quickly pulled it out of his reach.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to hold onto it. I worked really hard procuring it and I don't feel safe just handing it over, even to you, Sonic."
"Uh… ok, sure. I guess that's ok."
Knuckles raised an eyebrow in response to her claims. Still, he kept his suspicions to himself.
"So, where are the other Emeralds?" Chessie asked. "You said you had six, including mine, right?"
"They're this way," Tails explained, hopping up from his seat. "Follow me."
He escorted Chessie out to the garage. Sonic went to follow, but Knuckles quickly intercepted him.
"Hey Sonic, anything seem off about Chessie?"
"She did seem a little protective of the Emerald. Why? Think something up?"
"Not sure. Something just doesn't sit right with her.. I just don't know what."
"Knuckles, you're being paranoid," Kat insisted. "She brought us the sixth Chaos Emerald. This is one gift horse we shouldn't look in the mouth."
"Agreed," Keith spoke up. "Let's just focus on finding the seventh Emeralds."
"Alright," Knuckles relented.
…
The Egg Fort II was sitting in the woods of Forest Hill, safely nestled in a large valley hidden by large cliffs. Inside, Robotnik was watching what looked like first person footage of the inside of the Kent house. At the moment, the footage was following Tails as he showed off the containment unit for the Chaos Emeralds.
"We keep most of them inside this device when they're not in use, but I do keep the green one in the Tornado II. It's what powers most of the plane's more high-tech functions."
"That's pretty impressive," Chessie's voice came from seemingly behind the camera. "How does it work?"
"Ooh, I love this show!" Cubot let out. "This is the one where we find out one of Tails' tails is a fake, right?"
"No you fool!" Robotnik replied. "This is the one where we learn where Sonic and his friends are keeping my Chaos Emeralds, and my precious mole steals them right under their noses!"
"I though she was a cat," Cubot pointed out.
"Not the point. What is the point is if I play my cards right, I'll be able to snag all seven Chaos Emeralds in one fell swoop."
"How are you going to do that?" orbot questioned. "It doesn't appear Sonic and his friends have found it yet, and when they do, what's to stop them from just using the Emeralds and stranding us here?"
"They're not going to find it first. You see, I have designed the perfect robot, one that has the one trait needed to find the last Chaos Emerald first..."
A set of metal doors opened up, prompting Orbot and Cubot to turn and see a tiny robot waddling into the room. It was shaped like a bell, had two wings sprouting from its head, the number 7 on its forehead, two rabbits feet, and both a four leaf clover and a horseshoe on its chest. It even had a squirrel's tail sprouting from its back.
"That's your perfect robot?" Orbot asked. "He doesn't seem very… capable."
"Yeah, he makes us look down right deadly," Cubot replied, trying to put a square peg into a round hole.
"He may seem like a dud, but Lucky here is just that: lucky! With him on our side, that final Chaos Emerald is already ours."
Lucky began waddling towards the exit, chirping with each step. The ramp descended to allow him to exit, where he almost immediately tripped and fell all the way down.
"Oh, we've got plenty of luck, Doctor," Orbot remarked. "Just not the kind you want."
…
The next day at school, Mr. Stewart was in the middle of a geometry lesson, writing down stuff on the board. As he finished up what he was doing, the lunch bell began to ring. He smiled, setting down his marker.
"Alright everyone, lunch time."
Everyone immediately began gathering their things, heading for the door. Keith and Kat, however, both seemed to be moving a bit slower than usual, their faces down and their gaze a million miles away. Mr. Stewart took note of this, stopping them before they left.
"You two alright?" He asked. "Usually, you're both scrambling to get out of here."
"Not really hungry," Kat shrugged dismissively.
"Yeah, what she said," Keith agreed.
Mr. Stewart didn't buy it for a second.
"Why don't you two come with me to the counselor's office," he offered. "Something tells me you both could use someone to talk to."
"I'll pass," Kat insisted. "I don't do shrinks, even teacher-spies acting as shrinks."
"As you wish," Mr. Stewart allowed. "How about you, Keith? You willing to let me try and help you?"
Keith mulled it over, then just gave a shrug.
"I guess," he decided.
Mr. Stewart smiled, then ushered Keith down the hall. Kat watched him go, then headed off in the opposite direction.
…
In the counseling room, Keith was laying down on the couch as Mr. Stewart sat in a chair across from him.
"Are you comfortable?" He asked.
"I guess," Keith answered.
"Good. Now, why don't you tell me what's bothering you."
"I don't know honestly. Lately I've just been feeling… confused."
"How so?"
"Like I'm… torn."
"Is it about Sonic?"
"Yeah. I want to help him and his friends get home, but..."
"But you don't want to lose your friends either. You're being torn between your selfless desire to help them, as well as your personal desire to keep them in your life."
"Yeah. that's it!"
Mr. Stewart nodded, then reached into his pocket, pulling out a piece of gum.
"Here, eat this," he prompted.
"Ok…" Keith replied skeptically.
He took the gum and popped into his mouth.
"You like the flavor?" Mr. Stewart asked.
"I guess."
"Well, that flavor will eventually disappear. However, you'll still remember the taste. It's the same with your friends. They may leave, but their memories will stay will you."
"Huh… I guess you're right."
"I know that losing them is difficult, and it's okay to feel bad about them leaving. So long as you don't lose sight of what's best for them."
"Right… thanks Mr. Stewart. I needed that."
"Anytime," Mr. Stewart nodded.
Keith got up, heading out of the room. Mr. Stewart watched him go, then his watch beeped. He lifted it to his mouth, answering the call.
"Yes?"
"Just checking in, Chalkboard Charlie. Any problems?"
"No sir, nothing I couldn't handle."
…
Meanwhile, at the White House Oval Office, the President was talking with Rouge and Topaz about the current situation. Considering how close both Team Sonic and Robotnik were coming to finding all seven Chaos Emeralds, he was grilling the ladies for all the information they had.
"So what you're saying, Rouge, is that the Chaos Control explosion that sent Eggman here was caused when the seven Chaos Emeralds came together."
"Exactly," Rouge nodded. "I will admit, usually when they come together it's not as explosive, but there's always been a lot of mystery surrounding Chaos Control. You could call it one of Mobius' local legends."
"I see. So if we could create our own Chaos Control, we just might solve our Robotnik problem."
"I don't know if that's the wisest course of action, sir," Topaz chimed in.
All eyes turned to her.
"Chaos Control brought several unknown creatures and a madman to our shores last time. How do we know something worse won't be transported this time, or maybe people from our world get sent to Mobius? There are too many unknown variables."
"She has a point, sir," Jerome admitted.
"Hmm…" the President pondered. "Very well. Until we know more, we need to keep the Chaos Emeralds from coming together. The question now, is how?"
"You just leave that to me," Rouge reassured, smirking slightly.
…
Back at the house, Keith returned from school and made his way up to his dad's lab.
"Hey, guys," He greeted as he entered, seeing that there was no one there. "Oh… guess everyone's out."
"They are," Chessie's voice came from behind him.
He turned, seeing the cat tinkering with her wristbands with a screwdriver.
"Oh, hey Chessie. Everyone out looking for the Chaos Emerald?"
"Yep. As for your dad, he had a meeting to go to or something. Not really sure." she set down her screwdriver, looking him over. "You alright?"
"Yeah… just... realizing a few things."
Chessie nodded, putting the pieces together.
"You don't want us to leave, do you?"
"... no. Sonic and the guys… they were some of the first real friends I had. I mean, Kat and I were always close, but outside of her, I didn't have anyone else. Well, anyone who didn't wanna be my friend because of who my parents are. Sonic and the guys were the first people who just wanted to know me. Now that they're leaving..."
Chessie let this sink in, then she stood up.
"What if… what if you didn't have to say goodbye?"
Keith perked up upon hearing that.
"What do you mean?"
"The reason I took the Chaos Emerald was because I was trying to create a portal back to Mobius. I had almost finished it when the Swatbots attacked me. If we get the six Emeralds we have, I could open up a portal to Mobius. We could come and go as we please, and you could even come and visit us on Mobius. Everyone wins."
"Wow… can you show me?"
"Absolutely. But, we need the other Emeralds for it to work. Can you get them out of the containment device for me?"
"Sure, but we might have a problem. Knuckles is still holding onto one of them."
"I'm sure we can talk him into letting us borrow it. Let's just get the four we already have."
"Alright then."
...
Keith went to the Emerald containment device, pulling out the Emeralds from inside. He was just about to grab the one from the Tornado II when he heard a cough. He turned, seeing Knuckles standing in the doorway, tapping his foot.
"Hello, Keith," he greeted. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Knuckles," Keith replied. "You won't believe this, Chessie has a way for you to get back to Mobius."
"What?" Knuckles replied.
"It's true," Chessie confirmed, walking into the garage. "I built a portal device. It needs the Chaos Emeralds though, all six if that's possible. Then, I can create a stable portal to allow travel between Earth and Mobius."
"That's impossible. Only Chaos Control can allow us to travel between worlds, and that needs all seven Chaos Emeralds."
"I found a way that only needs six. Why do you think I stole the Emerald from Robotnik?"
Something in Knuckles' head clicked and a small smile slid onto his face.
"You know, it's funny you should say that."
Both Chessie and Keith blinked.
"Mention what?" Chessie asked.
"Robotnik."
"What about him?"
"No self respecting Mobian would ever call him that. Everyone I've ever met calls him Eggman, except you. Gotta wonder why though."
The pieces fell into place for Keith, his gaze falling to Chessie. The cat looked at him, then Knuckles, then at the Emeralds.
"Damn..."
In the blink of an eye, she shot out both of her metal whips, snagging both Keith and Knuckles. She smashed them into the ground, instantly knocking Keith out cold while Knuckles was left reeling. She dropped them both, grabbing the Emeralds from Keith and even fishing the red one out of Knuckles' fur. She then grabbed the one out of the Tornado II, stuffing them all into her vest.
"Thanks for the Emeralds."
She then shot a line out the door, latching onto the front gate and yanking her off her feet. Knuckles reached out to try and stop her, then passed out himself.
…
Meanwhile, Lucky was wandering the streets of Station Square, looking aimlessly for the final Chaos Emerald. As he looked around, someone accidentally kicked him, knocking him into a wall. He fell hard, then began rolling down a hill. He chirped frantically, trying to stop himself, but nothing seemed to be working. He rolled right into a back alley, hitting a wall hard before finally coming to a stop. He waved his arms and legs in a frantic big to pick himself up, but it was to no avail.
…
Meanwhile, Keith slowly opened his eyes, feeling something shaking him and a familiar voice calling out to him.
"Keith… Keith!"
Keith shook his head in pain as he looked up to see Kat standing over him.
"Kat… Chessie! Where is she?!"
"She's gone," Kat answered. "What happened?"
"Chessie was a spy," Knuckles growled, picking himself up off the ground. "She stole all the Chaos Emerald we have, and she's no doubt on her way back to Eggman's place."
"What?!" Kat let out. "Why would she work for Eggman?"
"I'll be sure to ask when I find her," Knuckles replied, pounding his fists. "If she's still breathing."
"Come on," Kat insisted, "we'll head back to Forest Hill where we found her. Eggman has to be near there."
"I'll come with," Keith volunteered.
"No, stay here and tell Sonic what happened," Knuckles told him. "Kat and I are going after Chessie!"
The two quickly took off out of the garage, hopping into Kat's truck. She gunned the engine, tearing out of the yard. Keith just stood there, feeling lousy over what happened.
"What have I done…"
…
Back at the Egg Fort II, Robotnik was installing some new programming for the Egg Fort II when the door opened up. Chessie came walking in, pushing her glasses onto the top of her head as she pulled the Chaos Emeralds from her vest.
"I got them, doctor," she told him. "It was a close call though. Why didn't you tell me that everyone calls you Eggman?"
"That name is an insult to my glorious prowess, and I'll have no spy of mine use it!"
"Why not?" Cubot asked. "We call you that all the time when you're not paying attention, don't we Orbot?"
"Cubot, you're not supposed to tell him that!"
"Whoops. I mean… this is all a dream…"
Chessie rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. I've upheld my end of the bargain. You have all six of the Emeralds currently in circulation, and when we get back to Mobius, you help me find my people."
"Oh, of course. I'm nothing if now a man of my word."
Chessie nodded, dropping the Emeralds onto a table before walking off. Once the door closed behind her, Robotnik grinned.
"I'm a man of my word alright, but whether my words mean anything is another matter." He scooped up the Emeralds, dumping them into Orbot's grip. "Get these installed, immediately!"
"Yes sir," Orbot replied.
"And don't think I've forgotten about those Eggman comments!"
"Don't worry, you'll forget about them once you wake up," Cubot reassured.
Robotnik just growled in response.
…
Back at the Kent house, Sonic and the others arrived as Keith explained what had happened. He looked positively miserable as he told them of Chessie's lies and his own desperation making him miss the red flags. Tails immediately went to check the Tornado II, but came back with a morose expression.
"She took them all, even the one in the Tornado II..."
"I can't believe she duped us so easily," Sonic commented.
"Sonic, I am so sorry..." Keith apologized for the umpteenth time. "I was so desperate to keep you here that I played right into her hands… Now Eggman has all the Emeralds..."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Sonic insisted. "Chessie fooled us all. You can't blame yourself for that."
"But the only reason I helped her is so that I wouldn't lose you guys."
Sonic perked up at that.
"What do you mean?"
"She said she had a portal that could allow travel between Earth and Mobius. I thought this could be a way for you to go home and us to stay connected… guess that can't happen now…"
Sonic walked over to Keith, placing a hand on his arm.
"Hey pal, truth is, I'm actually gonna miss this place too. We all will."
Keith looked at Sonic, his eyes falling on Amy and Tails. All three looked at Keith with sympathetic
"But you have to go back, right?" Keith realized.
"Yeah, we got people back home waiting for us," Sonic told him. "As much as we all want to stay… we can't."
"I know. I'm just… gonna miss you, that's all."
"Keith, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that nothing in life lasts forever. I know that's kinda sad, but that's why we gotta make the most of the time we have left. At least, that's what I figure."
Keith began to tear up, then he pulled Sonic into a hug. He returned it, gently patting his friend on the back.
"Thanks Sonic… for everything."
"Any time, pal. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some Emeralds to find."
Sonic then took off in search of Chessie and Robotnik.
…
Back with Lucky, he was still trying to get back on his feet, only to roll into some nearby trash cans, toppling them over. Just when he thought his luck couldn't get any worse, a garbage truck came by and began emptying out the cans. One of the garbage men absentmindedly grabbed Lucky and tossed him into the back of the truck. He chirped in fear as the truck took off with him inside.
…
Meanwhile, Knuckles and Kat made their way through Forest Hill, approaching the spot where they'd encountered Chessie.
"It should be somewhere around here," Knuckles insisted.
Kat let out a growl, kicking a swatbot head across the field.
"How could she do that?!" She grabbed a swatbot arm and chucked it. "She played us! Played Keith! How could she?!"
"I don't know…" Knuckles replied. "But what's important is getting those Emeralds back."
Kat just yelled again, stomping over and over again on a robot's chest. Finally, Knuckles stepped forward and grabbed her arm.
"Why do I get the feeling it's not just Chessie you're mad at?"
Kat began breathing heavily, then just fell to the ground.
"This isn't fair… none of this is fair. Why do you have to go?"
"Kat… I know this is hard, and I have enjoyed spending time with you… but I have to go home. I have responsibilities there."
"I know, I know! I've tried to tell myself that, tell myself that you're needed back home but it just makes this burning sensation in my chest worse… I don't want to lose you, Knux… You're the first friend that I've felt a real connection with. Sure I had Keith but… but with you… it's different. I don't want to lose that feeling."
Knuckles looked at his companion, then gently placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. After a minute, she wiped her eyes and got up.
"Come on," Knuckles told her. "Let's keep looking."
…
Meanwhile, Lucky pulled himself out from under a massive pile of garbage. He chirped and booped, looking around and finding himself in a massive landfill. He let out a sad chirp as he walked along, accidentally stepping on a tin can that was in the junk pile. He tumbled down the pile and slammed head first into a trunk. Upon impact, the trunk opened up, shining a bright light on Lucky. Lucky then looked inside the trunk and was instantly mesmerized. He reached inside, and pulled out the silver Chaos Emerald.
…
Meanwhile in Forest Hill, Topaz led a small team of agents to scan the forest, attempting to get a signal on the Chaos Emeralds.
"The signal's coming from somewhere around here," She relayed. "Everyone stay on your guard."
The agents all shared nods, then split up to search. As they did, Rouge poked her head out of a tree, hanging upside down right next to Topaz.
"Why am I hanging around?"
"I need you to keep watch if we're going to find those Emeralds."
"You mean the Emeralds I just located?"
Rouge then flew off, prompting Topaz to follow as she led her to a cliff overlooking the Egg Fort II.
"Whoa…"
"Yep. That thing's got Eggman written all over it. That's where we'll find at least one of the Emeralds."
Topaz then pulled out a radio and called headquarters.
"This is Topaz, we found Robotnik."
…
"Mr. President," Jerome addressed, entering the room. "We've found Dr. Robotnik's base."
"Finally," the President let out. "Deploy the Beetle Drones. That madman won't escape this time."
"Right away, sir."
…
Back in Forest Hill, Topaz and Rouge prepared to infiltrate the Egg Fort II. Before they could move, Rouge noticed something in the distance.
"Hold it, there's someone down there."
Topaz looked, seeing Kat and Knuckles approaching the Egg Fort II. Kat was on the phone, speaking quieting into it.
"Keith, we've found the Egg Fort II. It's in Forest Hill."
"Roger that. Sending word to Sonic. He'll be there soon."
"We don't have time," Knuckles spoke up. "We gotta move!"
Knuckles then punched the side of the ship, creating a hole for the two of them to enter. They began climbing inside, the two agents above just watching.
"What are those two doing here?" Topaz asked.
"I don't know, but whatever they're up to, it's not gonna end well."
…
Inside the Egg Fort II, Chessie was making some adjustments to her cables when a wall was smashed open. Chessie turned to see Knuckles and Kat walk in, staring her down.
"You! Just the traitor I wanted to see," Knuckles remarked.
"Knuckles, you came." Chessie got to her feet, looking a bit nervous. "I'll admit, I didn't expect you to find me so quickly."
"Where are the Chaos Emeralds?" Kat snapped.
"With Robotnik," Chessie answered. "Now we just need the last one, and we can all go home."
"You're not seriously thinking you can trust Eggman, do you?" Knuckles asked. "Take it from someone who knows, it will not end well for you!"
"I don't have a choice," Chessie replied. "Robotnik is my only chance to get back to my people."
"There's no way Eggman will stay true to that! He'll just stab you in the back and take what he wants for himself!
Chessie gritted her teeth.
"Liar!"
She whipped out her metal cables, aiming right at Knuckles. Knuckles leapt out of the way as he took a fighting stance. She tried whipping another cable at him, but he just grabbed it and swung her around, slamming her into a wall. She hit it hard as Knuckles ran up to her. She quickly leapt up into the air as he tried punching her, only for her to shoot out her cables and pull herself down on top of him, landing on his head.
"Get off him!" Kat screamed, swinging her bat right at Chessie.
Chessie easily ducked out of the way before launching a cable at the bat, wrapping around it and throwing it aside. Now weaponless, Kat settled for her fists, decking Chessie across the face. Chessie stumbled back as she clenched her jaw, shooting another cable right at Kat. it wrapped around her, trapping her arms at her side. Kat growled, grabbing the cable and yanking, pulling Chessie off of Knuckles. Knuckles took the opening to ram into Chessie from behind, knocking her to the ground. Kat freed herself from the cables, reclaiming her bat. Just as Kat turned towards Chessie, two cables shot out of nowhere and hit Kat in the chest, shocking her. Kat cried out in pain as she fell to the ground, out cold.
"Kat!"
"Well well," Robotnik greeted, lowering himself into the room on a metal chair. "If it isn't my favorite knucklehead."
"Eggman! Give us the Chaos Emeralds or-"
"You're not in a position to make demands. Stand down now, or your little friend isn't going to be waking up."
Knuckles growled, slowly backing off while holding his hands in the air.
"There's a good boy."
Robotnik then pressed a button on his chair, activating a giant slab that fell towards Knuckles. Knuckles quickly reacted and caught the slab before it fell, straining under the weight. Robotnik cackled, then he got off his chair, grabbing the unconscious Kat by the ankle.
"I hope your strength holds up, for her sake."
He then tossed her right underneath the slab.
"You rat!" Knuckles let out.
"Doctor, this was never part of our deal!" Chessie snapped. "You said that if we went through with your plan, no one would have to die."
"No one 'has' to die, my dear. It's simply a matter of preference."
"Then was all of it a lie? Do you even plan on helping me find my people?"
Robotnik chuckled in response.
"Quite frankly, my dear, I never really cared for returning home in the first place."
"What?!"
"The only thing I care about is establishing my Robotnik Empire. I can do that on Mobius, or Earth. It makes no difference to me."
"Then… my people..."
"Your people?!" Robotnik remarked before cackling maniacally. "You have no people!"
"What?! What are you talking about?!"
"You have no people because you were never born! I created you right here on this ship!"
Chessie's eyes went wide, as did Knuckles' as he strained to keep the press up.
"What are you… talking about, Eggman?!" Knuckles demanded.
"My family dabbled in genetics once upon a time. I figured that it was time to dust off some old schematics and try something new. It didn't take too long to program some basic memories and make her believe she was a true Mobian, one so desperate to return back to her fictitious people."
"And programmed… without the knowledge… of the name, Eggman, I bet."
Chessie looked down at her hands, shaking.
"You… used me… "
"Essentially, yes."
"Now you know how it feels to be duped," Knuckles told her.
"Duped or not, she's still my creation. And she'll obey my orders without question. Isn't that right, 'Chessie'?"
Chessie began breathing hard, then her back went straight and she shot out her cables once more. They wrapped around Kat's ankle and Knuckles' chest, and with a hard yank, she pulled them free of the press. It crashed down just as the press hit the ground.
"No!" Robotnik howled. "What are you doing?!"
"Fighting back," she snapped. "Knuckles, is your friend okay?"
Knuckles went over and checked on Kat.
"She'll be ok… thanks."
"It doesn't matter," Robotnik insisted. "I still hold all the cards."
"You may have six of the Chaos Emeralds," Knuckles replied. "But you'll never get all seven."
"We'll see about-"
Just then, Robotnik's phone started ringing.
"One moment." he answered it. "Hello?"
"Sorry to bother you Doctor," Orbot called in. "but you have an urgent call on line two."
"Alright put it on." the call transferred, Robotnik instantly perking up. "Ah, Lucky, how are you old boy? …What?! You found the last Chaos Emerald in a pile of garbage?!"
Chessie and Knuckles gasped in response.
"Well done! Stay where you are, I'll come to you."
Robotnik hung up before turning to the two of them.
"It seems I have them all after all. What else you got?"
"Just two fists that have been wanting to rearrange your face for a long time!" Knuckles declared.
"Mind if I help hold him down?" Chessie asked, snapping her cables in her hands.
"I don't think so!" Robotnik declared, pressing another button.
Instantly, a tile underneath Knuckles opened up, dropping him down a chute.
"Knuckles!" Chessie let out, turning to Robotnik. "What did you do?!"
"I think I've heard quite enough out of you," Robotnik snapped.
He pulled a remote, aiming it right at her. When he hit the button, she received a horrible shock to her neck. She screamed, falling to her knees before her entire body shuddered. She then stood back up, her eyes glazed over and lifeless.
"There we go. Now, get the brat strapped down before she comes to."
Chessie wordlessly moved over to Kat's body, grabbing her arm and dragging her off. Robotnik returned to his seat, hitting the intercom button.
"Fire up the Egg Fort II! We have one last Emerald to collect."
"Aye aye, Doctor!" Orbot and Cubot reported.
…
Outside, the Egg Fort II's engines began roaring as the craft began to lift off the ground.
"He's leaving," Rouge realized.
"HQ, come in!" Topaz shouted into her radio. "Emergency!"
As the craft continued taking off, a hatch opened on the side, dropping Knuckles out. He hit the ground with a thud before turning back to the ship.
"Eggman!"
At that moment, Sonic arrived at the scene.
"Knuckles, where's Kat?"
"Up there! Eggman's got her, and he's on the way to get the last Chaos Emerald!"
"What?! Where's he going?"
"Some junk yard in town, I think! Sonic, we have to save Kat!"
"Don't worry, Knux! I won't let anything happen to her!"
Sonic then sped off, hoping to stop Robotnik before it was too late.
"Good luck Sonic!... and be careful…"