-----Chapter Two: The Emerald's Fate-----

Author's Note: Hello again, ppl! I hope everyone liked the last story I posted. Sorry for the delay, (I was spellchecking and adding little paragraphs) and if there was any confusion regarding Robotnik. I'm aware that there are two different Robotniks in the comic (one more commonly known as Eggman.) And even though in present day, Eggman is the one ruling Robotropolis and whatnot, the one mentioned in this story is Robotnik Prime, not Eggman. Most of your questions about how he is still alive should be answered in this chapter.

Another problem I'm concerned with is the Brotherhood of Guardians mentioned in this chapter. I have limited knowledge of them and their associations with Knuckles and Sonic, so please forgive any errors you may find with them.

One last thing. For those who haven't taken note already, this story is based more on the comics than the TV show. Some things do differ though, such as Locke being alive. Well, that's all for now. See ya!

Disclaimer: All Sonic the Hedgehog characters used in this story are trademarks or registered trademarks of SEGA CORPORATION or its affiliates, and Archie Comics or its affiliates except where noted, in which they were created and trademarked by me. Any attempt to steal ownership or make profit from this story will be considered a violation of copyright law. So there!

Sonia screamed as she turned around and saw that he was still chasing her. She had been running away from him for the past ten minutes, and he had been hot on her heels. She was so close to her base, to a brake from all that running. But she panted and continued on, searching the bushes and trees as she did so. Finally she saw it, cleverly hidden amongst the leaves of a large tree.

She turned around again and saw that there was now some distance between her and the fox that had been chasing her. She tried to keep out of sight as she crept toward the unguarded tree. "Almost got it," she thought to herself as she strained her arm trying to reach it. She could swear her fingertips had touched it when…

"Gotcha!" Sonia leapt back in surprise as Manik jumped out of a nearby bush. She attempted to flee to her base, but he and the fox had her cornered.

"Ha! We win!" Manik tagged her and high-fived the gray fox behind her.

"Oh, come on, Sonia! We were counting on you!" Lara-Su called from the opposing team's jail.

"Well what did you expect? I was the last one on our team!" Sonia called back as she walked over to her team.

"No excuses. Our team won fair and square!" exclaimed another member of Manik's team.

Meanwhile, inside the meeting hall, six adults sat around a long rectangular table, each with their head in their hands. Some of them appeared annoyed, while others simply listened to what was happening outside. Sonic could hear two distinct voices that he recognized all too well, and neither seemed happy. He glanced at Sally and noticed that she recognized them too. Knuckles, being one of the annoyed ones, was the first to speak.

"How are we supposed to concentrate on the task at hand with all of these distractions!" Knuckles demanded, pounded his fist on the table.

"Well, it's your fault, Sonic. You're the one who suggested they play capture the flag in the first place," Queen Sally said, glowering at Sonic.

"I didn't suggest it! I was just remembering how we used to play capture the flag in Knothole on the way here, and they must've gotten the idea from that!" King Sonic said, defending himself. "Besides, can you think of anything better for them to do?"

Before Sally could respond, Julie-Su began to laugh. "What?" they ordered.

"I think you two are even worse than them," Locke, Knuckle's father, said, pointing outside and also beginning to laugh.

"Well I'm happy everyone thinks this is so funny, but this is a very important matter!" Knuckles snarled. The room instantly fell silent. "Now I suggest you do something to control your children, Your Highness," he said, looking at Sally.

Sally hastily stood up and walked toward the door, embarrassed at herself and her children. As she entered the courtyard, she noticed that the argument was not only between Manik and Sonia, but among the crowd of teenagers involved in the game. It seemed as if Manik and Sonia had found every teenager on Angel Island and asked them to participate in the game.

"Sonia! Manik! What's going on?" Sally yelled over the arguments of the crowd, hands on her hips. The arguing stopped like someone had flipped a switch off. Sonia and Manik turned to face their mother. Both of their faces went pale white, and they backed up a few steps.

"Oh, h-hi Mom. W-we didn't interrupt the meeting, d-did we?" Manik stuttered, scared for his life.

"Actually you didn't. Thanks to you two, the meeting hasn't even started yet," Sally stated, sending them a glare. "I suggest you find something else to do, before Knuckles loses it."

She turned on her heel and walked away while the others watched in awe. "I thought we were really gonna get it," Manik murmured, his eyes wide with shock.

"So did everyone else here," Lara-Su said in reply.

"So what are we supposed to do now? The meeting's gonna last a few more hours," asked a female squirrel. Others mumbled in agreement.

"Yeah, we're going home. My parents are inviting people over, and they made us promise to help clean up," the gray fox from before said as he motioned toward his siblings. The crowd started to disperse as the others explained the reasons for their departures and soon Lara-Su, Sonia, and Manik were left standing in the backyard alone.

"You know, I think half of those excuses were fake," Manik declared.

"You think?" Lara-Su said sarcastically as they walked toward the house. "Like anyone has to pack so they can visit their uncle in the circus."

"Well, anything's better than staying here and listening to a bunch of adults talking about…uhh...nothing important, I'm sure," Manik confirmed.

"I'm not so sure about that. If it's so important that Mom had to come out here and tell us to keep it down, then it has to be something big," Sonia reasoned.

"So you're saying we should eavesdrop?" Manik asked excitedly.

"Nothing new for you, I'm sure. The sooner we find out, the better. Besides, what else are we supposed to do?" Lara-Su said as they reached the house. They quietly snuck in, crouching down behind a sofa in the neighboring room. They could clearly hear the adults speaking.

"So Knux, are you saying that you're finally telling us what's so important about this meeting?" Sonic asked in false shock.

"Well, if there weren't any interruptions, I would have finished by now," Knuckles said through gritted teeth.

"The reason we called this meeting is because of Ivo Robotnik. I'm sure you two already know of his return, considering your latest encounter with his "Metal" bot," Sabre, another guardian, explained, gesturing towards Sally and Sonic, "But we are here to discuss not only his return, but also what we are going to do to stop him from terrorizing Mobius once more."

Lara-Su looked at Sonia and Manik in surprise. "Your parents fought Robotnik again?" She whispered.

"Not exactly. It's a pretty long story," Manik whispered back.

"Just how did he come back anyway?" Sally questioned.

"It happened about two weeks ago," Knuckles started. "I was guarding the Master Emerald, as well as the Chaos Emeralds. But it was late at night, and I had been on duty all day, so I thought that it couldn't hurt to take a nap. When I woke up, I saw this short, bald overlander with a long nose dragging Robotnik towards me.

"Snively," Sonic growled. "Can't believe he's still around."

Knuckles ignored him and continued on. "I tried to say something, but he shot me with a stun ray before I could finish. Then he started chanting something that I couldn't understand, and Robotnik was surrounded by white light. Next thing I knew, Robotnik and that overlander got into a hovercraft and took off."

"Something seems off here," Sally interrupted. "Why would Snively want his uncle alive again? Wasn't he the one who killed him?"

"We know little of the history or desires of Snively. Your guess is as good as ours," Locke confessed.

"We held a small meeting the next day after the stun ray wore off," Julie-Su continued. "Locke and Sabre said they recognized what the overlander had said once Knuckles repeated it for us."

"He was using The Spell of Life," Locke explained. "It can only be used once every fifty years. It uses the all of the Chaos Emerald's power, as well as the Master Emerald's power, to permanently bring someone back to life."

"SAY WHAT? PERMANENTLY!" Sonic and Sally exclaimed. "It'll be the coup all over again," Sally said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "All of our hard work, restoring Mobotropolis, rescuing the Robians and de-roboticizing them; it'll all be in vain!" She sobbed, wrapping her arms around Sonic's neck and putting her head onto Sonic's shoulder for support. All he could do was put his arms around her. He knew exactly how she felt, and so did everyone else there. All of the Guardians silently lowered their heads in silence, except for Locke, who spoke.

"But like Sabre said earlier, we are gathered here to discuss means of defeating him once more."

"Well, do any of you have any ideas?" Sonic asked as Sally collected herself and wiped her eyes.

"We had come up with one plan before you arrived," Julie-Su said. "Sabre said that we may be able to reverse the effect of the emerald's spell. The rebirth of a creature through the emeralds can take place anywhere within the fiftieth year, and being that the year isn't over yet, we could change the effects of the spell."

"As in?" Sally queried.

"As in take the power from Robotnik and return it to the emeralds," Julie-Su answered.

"Then why's everyone here worrying?" Sonic asked.

"Because there is one problem with that theory," Sabre responded. "There would be no way no get Robotnik to Angel Island to start the process." A long silence followed this statement.

Finally Sally spoke. "What if the Chaos Emeralds are far enough away from each other and the Master Emerald that their powers weaken?"

Knuckles shook his head. "The Chaos Emeralds are more of a minor power source in this case. Most of the life that Robotnik has came from the Master Emerald, and there's no way we can move that." More silence followed that.

"Hey, I have an idea! Since none of us can think of anything that'll work, how about you guys hold a 'reunion' at your place?" Julie-Su asked, motioning to Sonic and Sally.

"What kind of reunion?" Sonic asked, puzzled.

"A Freedom Fighter reunion! They're sure to come up with something! And maybe they can help us fight Robotnik too!"

Sonia looked at Manik, her face completely ecstatic. "What's up with you?" asked a confused Manik.

Sonia noticed Manik's expression and something clicked in her mind. "Oh, I forgot, you never met them before…"Sonia drifted off.

"Met who?"

"We'll explain later," Lara-Su whispered, her attention focused on the adult's conversation.

"I'm not so sure they'll be willing to come," Sally said across gravely. "We've been out of contact with them for quite some time now."

The excited expression on Sonia's face instantly vanished. "Guess I forgot about that too…"

"I don't know about that, Sal. If we mention Robotnik, they'll be willing to come," Sonic reasoned.

"I hope you're right," Sally said, still unconvinced.

"Course I'm right! The Freedom Fighters never turn down a chance to beat up old 'Butt-nik," Sonic said, his voice full of bravado.

The smile returned to Sonia's face. "Count on Dad to change Mom's mind about everything," she thought.

"Well then it's settled. Get your group back together, and come back here later on to fill us in," Knuckles said.

"Wait, I have a better idea. Why don't you, Julie-Su, and Lara-Su come back with us so you know what's going on?" Sally requested.

"Sounds good to me," Julie-Su said.

"Yes!" Manik yelled, punching the air with his fist. He immediately covered his mouth as Sonia and Lara-Su took off outside, knowing their eavesdropping was no longer secret. Manik rushed after them without further delay.

"Guess they got bored," Sonic shrugged.

"Well, we best be on our way," Knuckles said. "See ya Dad. Grandfather," He said, nodding to each of them.

"Good luck," Locke replied as they watched them go.

"We'll keep in touch," Sabre added.

Aboard the personal royal plane, Manik desperately tried to get a straight answer out of the girls, but they were seemingly toying with his patience. "For the hundredth time, who haven't I seen before?" he asked Sonia and Lara-Su, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Don't you like surprises?" Sonia asked, stifling her laughter. It was pure entertainment for her and Lara-Su to see Manik being tortured, his desperation growing by the minute.

Manik thought for a second. "Umm, no. Not really."

Sonia and Lara-Su decided to give up on the stalling, seeing that Manik had a strange look in his eyes that reminded her of the eyes of a serial killer.

"Fine, we give," Lara-Su sighed. "Your sister was excited because it's been twelve years since we saw the Freedom Fighters and their families, and we finally get to see them again."

"Families? You mean they have kids? Who are they? How old are they?" Manik asked eagerly.

"We were getting there. Tails and Lena-"

"Who's Lena? Don't remember her in any of the stories Mom or Dad told me," Manik questioned confusedly.

"Tails married her after the Freedom Fighters overthrew Robotnik, so she's probably not in any of the stories Mom or Dad told you," Sonia answered. "Anyway, Tails and Lena have a son named Miles. He should be around 16 now-"

"So they are our age?"

"Well, our age, not yours."

"And Bunnie and Antoine had twins named Bridget and Jacques, who are the same age as Sonia," Lara-Su said, making a cute face at Sonia when she said 'Jacques' and 'same age as Sonia'. Sonia turned a bright red, but Manik didn't seem to notice.

"We don't know exactly what happened, but I think Mom and Dad sorta just…drifted apart from them," Sonia said, trying to move the subject along. "We saw them fewer and fewer times, until we stopped seeing them altogether."

"How old was I when we last saw them?" Manik queried.

"Uh, I think you were still inside Mom, so they probably remember me mentioning that I was getting a baby brother," Sonia inferred.

"Alright, cool. Does anyone wanna play cards?" Manik requested, holding up the deck. "We still got a few hours till we're home."

"Sure, why not?" Lara-Su said. They tried their best to form a triangle

"Sonia, why was your brother excited when he found out I was coming?" Lara-Su whispered when Manik was dealing the cards.

Sonia rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious?" she whispered back.

While they were playing cards in the back of the plane, the adults were exchanging words in the front.

"It's getting late. I'm think I'm gonna try to get some sleep," Julie-Su yawned.

"Sounds good to me. I'm exhausted," Knuckles also yawned. They leaned back against their seats and instantly fell asleep.

"Guess they weren't kidding," Sonic said to no one in particular, because Sally was staring out the window. Sonic had noticed her change in demeanor and was worried. "Sal, what's wrong? You haven't said a word since we left Angel Island," he asked, put his arm around her shoulders.

"I just hope it works," she said, keeping her arms crossed but no longer looking out the window. "I mean, what if they blame it on us for being out of contact for so long? What if they treat us like complete strangers when we see them? What if they don't come and Robotnik-"

Sonic put his finger over her mouth, his face lined with worry. "Sal, I haven't seen you like this since Robotnik was in power. Stop worrying! You know the Freedom Fighters don't play the blame game. And they'll never treat us like strangers, no matter how long it's been since we last saw them. And Robotnik's never taking over again; don't even think like that!"

She was silent after he had said that. Everything he said had been true, and she was now more confident. It was amazing how he could instantly make her feel better. She had always deemed it to be one of his "gifts." Sally wordlessly put her head on his shoulder as he placed his arms around her. As soon as they had done that, they had fallen asleep as fast as Knuckles and Julie-Su had.