Disclaimer: Same as first
The next day Sally called the team to the infirmary. All the heroes who usually do not stay in New Mobotropolis stayed the night there. Knuckles and Shadow where the only ones who did not stay and went back to their respectful duties. Sally wanted to run a quick diagnostics on the members who turn super. Rotor wanted to assist her but had other duties to attend to.
"Sally gurl," Bunnie came in with Antoine with a big yawn and stretch. "Ah'm usually the early bird type but ah kinda wanted to see what it'd be like t' sleep in fur once!"
"Oui!" Antoine agreed. "I am still poop-ed from last night-ooh- and sore from ze battle!"
"Sorry guys." She said as the Rouge, Tails, and Big walked in. "But I wanted to be absolutely sure that you guys are okay."
"Well if you must know, Princess, I'm tired," said an irritated Rouge.
"Okay, I'll make this quick and you guys could go back to sleep."
With that said, Nicole materialized out of thin air. She held out her hand towards them and scanned each one who turned super starting with Rouge.
Meanwhile Sonic was taking a rest on a tree branch over a walkway. Amy was sulking by and noticed him sleeping in the tree. Amy could not resist missing a chance to talk to Sonic alone. She sneaked up the tree to try and surprise him. She made it to the branch undetected. As she was ready to pounce, the branch started to give way to them. Sonic noticed this quickly reacted and saved himself and Amy.
"Amy you really know how to spoil a moment," Sonic said as Amy opened her eyes to find that she was in Sonic's arms.
"I'm sorry, Sonic," Amy said as Sonic let her down. "I just really wanted to talk to you."
"Yeah? Mind telling me when jumping on people became a way of communication?"
"Sorry, I guess all I do is screw up stuff. At least that's what Sally probably thinks of me. I'm some baby just ready to ruin her plans!"
"Hey, now, where's this all coming from?
Amy and Sonic began to walk down the walkway together and continue their conversation.
"Yesterday she didn't let me do anything at the battle. She just told me to get out of the way. I helped Rotor and Rouge find those emeralds. If it wasn't for my help we would've been in trouble. I'm not little anymore! I can fight! You know I can! Why can't she see that?"
Sonic placed his hand on her shoulder to help console her. "Hey, Sally's just being protective because she doesn't want you to get hurt," he said. "She sees you as part of the future freedom fighters. She hasn't seen you in battle like I have. But don't worry you'll get your chance!"
Amy sighed and agreed with him. "Maybe your right, Sonic."
"Heck, I know I'm right. Chin up, kid."
With that Amy cheered up. The two of them set out to go grab some breakfast. But they were interrupted by a flying echidna. Knuckles screeched his way to a halt and frantically approached Sonic.
"Sonic," he said practically gasping for air. "Something's wrong…the Master Emerald…its…hatching!"
"You're kidding," Sonic said to him.
"I'm afraid he's not," said an older voice from behind them. It was Athair, the mystic guardian. "We are in grave danger."
Back at the infirmary Nicole was finishing scanning the freedom fighters.
"I'm detecting no abnormalities, Princess Sally," Nicole confirmed. "Just faint traces of chaos energy."
"Okay, Nicole. Thank you," Sally said as she wrote down some notes.
"There! I'm going back to bed," said Rouge as he began to walk out the door. But she was bumped into Amy who was coming in.
"Hey what's the big idea!" Rouge said as she staggered to her feet. Sonic came in with Knuckles and Athair. Everyone was a little shocked to see the Neo Walker in their presence so casually. Sally immediately saw that this was not a good sign as neither of them had a sign of delight on their faces, especially Sonic. This was a dead give away for bad news.
"Your highness," Athair began just to break the silence of shock. "I come to you with uneasy news. It is good that the freedom fighters are all here. Everything is as it should be."
"Athair! Is everything ok?" Sally asked.
"I'm afraid not, Princess freedom fighter. It would seem that the Master Emerald has become to hatch open."
"Hatch?" said Bunnie. "You make it sound as if it were an egg er sumthin'"
"You're absolutely right, bionic freedom fighter. It was always an egg. As are the other chaos emeralds."
"Wait, what?" Sonic questioned.
"Um, perhaps we should show them, wise one," suggested Knuckles.
"Perhaps that is best," Athair agreed as he positioned himself towards the middle of the room. "Everyone grab hold of each other." Everyone did as commanded. Athair began to close his eyes and concentrate on teleporting them to the Master Emerald's Chamber back on Angel Island. He started to glow green, then Knuckles who was touching him, then Sonic who was touching him, the Sally who was touching him, then Tails who was touching her, and so on and so on until everyone in the room was levitating. Then with a bright green flash they all vanished.
The group soon found themselves in the chamber of the emeralds. It was with a blink of an eye they appeared there. They all made their way to the Master Emerald. Since the time Knuckles first discovered the crack till now the crack has made progress. It was more than half way down the middle of the emerald. The other seven emeralds began to glow as well.
"Oh no," said Tails. "The Emerald is broken!'
"But Angel Island is still afloat," Sally pointed out. "How is that possible?"
"I'm afraid there is no time to explain right now," Athair said. "We must make haste and keep this emerald from hatching."
"Maybe you should tell them the whole story now, Walker." A voice came from the shadows. A figure came into the light and everyone saw that it was Shadow. "Stop delaying and tell us what's inside that thing!" With that the island began to shake and the Master Emerald began to glow rapidly.
"There's no time," Athair said urgently. "We must stop it now! Sonic, Knuckles; hold the emerald together as Shadow uses chaos control to bind it back together. I'll help as well."
Shadow gritted his teeth and got in position to do what was instructed of him. Sonic and Knuckles got on both sides of the emerald and began to push it together. Once they did Shadow and Athair began projecting beams of chaos energy at the cracks of the emeralds. The walls of the chamber were shaking and parts of the ceiling were falling. The others dodged the debris as they watched the chaos team work together to seal the crack. The energy was enough to turn Sonic and Knuckles super on and off like a flickering light.
Sally watched with great aspirations that they could stop the emerald from hatching. She noticed that some progress was being made by them. Inside her head she was cheering them on. Suddenly Sally heard a voice. It sounded like a whisper in an ancient language. She looked around to see who, if anyone was around. She looked at the emerald and two big evil yellow eyes were before her's. She saw a flash of light and she blacked out but she was still standing and her eyes were open but there was no sign of life in them. Sally was under a trance.
The spelled Sally picked up a big rock and sneaked up behind Shadow undetected. Sonic took a glace at Shadow and saw what Sally was about to do. "Shadow! Look Out!" Sonic yelled. But before Shadow knew what was happening Sally smashed the rock on his head. Shadow was knocked unconscious. Sally then took another rock and threw it at the Master Emerald. Knuckles stopped what he was doing a smashed the rock. With little resistance on the emerald it began to crack again and the island shook harder.
"Never mind her, stop the emerald!" Athair urged. But before Knuckles could get back to helping bigger chunks of the ceiling came down and hit the Emerald. It was enough for the crack to finish quickly. A blast of energy fired back at Athair and sent him hurtling toward the wall behind him. Knuckles rushed to Athair as Sonic rushed to Sally.
Everyone watched helplessly as the Emerald began to fall apart. Then suddenly the shaking ceased. Everything was quiet and still. Everyone looked at each other to see if everyone was ok or if anyone knew what was happening. The Emerald was in shatters. There was a glow coming from underneath the pile of broken emeralds. Sally heard another foreign whisper and freed herself from Sonic's arms.
"Sally, gurl…" Bunnie said as Sally walked over to where the Master Emerald was. She dung into the emerald pile ignoring the cuts she was getting from the shards. She picked up an oval shaped object and faced everyone else. It was a chao egg. She held it close to her body.
"What is she doing?" Knuckles questioned. He heard a moan from Athair and figured that Athair was coming to. "Stop…" Athair began. "Possessed…the Princess…stop her…evil power…is inside…" Knuckles was trying to make sense of what he was saying. He then gathered that Sally was doing something she wasn't supposed to do.
"Guys, we gotta stop her! He said to everyone else. Sonic almost hesitated when he heard that. But he knew that Sally may be in danger so he bolted to her to try to talk some sense into her. When he tried Sally said something in the ancient language and Sonic was reflected from Sally. She said another incantation then she became surrounded be a force field keeping her friends away.
"What's going on?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, why is Auntie Sally doing that?" Tails backed her up.
Rouge went off to try and break the force field after Knuckles tried. Bunnie asked Big to protect the younger freedom fighters as her and Antoine went in to help. Sonic also tried again. But it was no use. There was no penetrating the field. The egg began to glow. The warmth from her body was enough to hatch the egg. Shadow and Athair were reviving and they watched what was happening. It wasn't an ordinary egg. It looked like Sally was holding a light in the shape of an egg. Instead of hatching the light took on another shape. The light died down and everyone saw that it was a baby chao.
Knuckles ran to Athair who was trying to stand up. "What's happening, Athair?" he asked.
"That baby chao has taken the princess as a host," he began. "It is passing its powers through her."
Sally held the chao in her arm as she held out her hand and said another incantation. The seven emeralds began to levitate. As she kept chanting, something began to come out from the emeralds like spirits physically escaping from the emeralds. When the where fully extracted the emeralds stopped glowing and turned black. The spirits were franticly flying around the chamber, rotating around the possessed Sally. As soon as she finished her chant the spirits froze and zipped out of the chamber, off of Angel Island, and flew far away in different directions. Sally then waved her hand in the air and a portal opened in front of her. She walked through it without looking back at her friends and saying a word. Sonic yelled her name and started after her but before he could get to her the portal closed. Sonic began to break down and cry. He then noticed Athair. Sonic dashed to him and grasped his shoulders.
"What just happened, old man!" Sonic yelled and forgetting that he was a Neo Walker. "Earlier Shadow said something about you knowing something about whatever what was inside that thing, so spill it!"
Athair took Sonic hands off of him and began to explain as the others crowed him. Before he began he was interrupted by Shadow.
"The Princess was possessed by an evil entity known as Deiga. He probably took her to the location of his fallen fortress. Am I right, Walker?"
"That is correct Shadow" Athair solemnly agreed.
"But I don't understand, Athair?" Knuckles said. "Why did this happen?"
"Yeah, who is Deiga and what came out of those emeralds?" Rouge followed.
"Young Freedom Fighters," Athair began. "I am about to grant you knowledge of a forbidden event in this planet's history. I will reveal to you the secret of the Chaos Emeralds and the story of The Mobonites!"
*Things are starting to move along now. So whatcha think so far?