Knuckles woke with a start, getting to his feet. The emerald was gone and his body ached, and the wreckage of Metal Sonic was gone. He growled, putting a hand to his head when a voice echoed around the ship.

"Where did you go, you blue pest?" It yelled. Knuckles recognised the voice as Julian but couldn't see where it was coming from.

Knuckles tuned out. "Sonic's fighting Julian." He mumbled.

"Knuckles?" The echidna turned around, nodding at Tikal.

"Yes?"

"I think I found the source of power on this ship." Tikal replied. "I did some scouting while you were unconscious."

Knuckles nodded. "Sonic's going to need some help. If we can shut down the Egg-Carrier, it'll probably disable whatever Sonic is dealing with." Knuckles left the small room, looking around the interior. It looked the same as it had been, just damaged from his previous battle. "Lead the way."

Tikal nodded, then pointed at the hole in the ceiling. "It's up there."

Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "Why is it up there and not hidden down below?"

Tikal shrugged, and Knuckles rolled his eyes, beginning to clamber up the metal walls. He climbed up to the second floor, then paused. "Tikal…"

Tikal looked down, then hovered back over. "Yes, Knuckles?"

Knuckles sighed. "This will probably be the only time we can talk, so…" He looked up. "How have you been?"

Tikal paused, mouth open, then giggled. "Oh, Knuckles… I've been fine. It's been difficult dealing with Chaos' rage, but I have done my best to keep you all safe."

"Even through all of this, you'll still end up back there." Knuckles pondered aloud. "Can't we let you stay? Calm Chaos and allow you to live with us?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Knuckles." Tikal explained solemnly. "I'm… well, I'm dead."

Knuckles' head shot up. "W-what?"

Tikal nodded sadly. "Only my spirit remains, bound to Chaos to keep it from breaking out. I have enjoyed our little talks and adventures, and I respect your protective nature, but once this is over, I want you to let me go."

"B-but I can't!" Knuckles yelled, stepping forward. "I spent years keeping you safe, and now you want to leave?"

Tikal sighed. "Please don't be selfish, Knuckles. I want to move on – it's tiring to keep watch on Chaos for as long as I have."

"But then… who will watch Chaos in your place?"

"I have a plan." Tikal replied. Before she could explain herself, the ship rocked to the side, and Knuckles lost his footing.

"What was that?" He cried. Tikal shook her head.

"Now is not the time to explain – we have to move." Tikal floated away to the hole before Knuckles could continue, and he sighed, beginning to climb up the ceiling. Suddenly the ship rocked forwards and he lost his grip, falling to the floor with a bang.

"Are you alright?" Tikal called out. Knuckles waved her off.

"I'm alright…" He muttered, getting up with a wince. He gripped onto the wall, making sure his hands were lodged firmly in the ceiling, and climbed back up the hole.

"What will I do when you're gone?" Knuckles asked, but Tikal didn't reply.

Knuckles felt the wind brush his face as he climbed back up to the top of the aircraft. He winced. "I'm going to have to walk it. If I glide, I'll shoot off this ship."

Tikal nodded, flying ahead. "This way!"

Knuckles nodded, moving forward. As he peered past the control room of the ship, he could see the emerald entering Chaos, and he was forced to shield his eyes as Chaos roared afterwards. He winced. "We're in trouble."

Tikal hummed, pulling her lips into a fine line. "Chaos has had much more time to regain its full strength. We may be in trouble if it gets all the emeralds."

Knuckles looked down at the large engine, of spinning conveyor belts, cogs, and gears. "Is that it?"

Tikal nodded. "I suppose it may best to stop it via the control room, but I'm not sure if there's a backup power source."

Knuckles pulled back from the wall, pushing a hand against the door. When it didn't budge, he growled, smashing it to pieces and entering the room.

Through the thick glass windows, he could see Miles throwing bombs at Sonic, of which exploded in a cold, freezing aura. Snarling he looked away – he'd dig Miles his grave later. Tikal eyed the controls. "I'm not sure which one will – eep!" She squeaked as Knuckles slammed a fist into one of the panels, turning it into a frizzing mess.

"Then we'll just break all of them!"

Tikal watched Knuckles' destruction, before turning around to watch Sonic fight Chaos. Her eyes widened as she watched Chaos be destroyed, and Sonic letting Miles go. The fight was over, and the blobs were coming for the emerald in Sonic's hand. She twisted around to stop Knuckles, but it was too late. The ship had begun to heave.

Sonic shifted warily as the engine shuddered to a stop, tilting. Losing his balance, he fell onto his rear. "W-what's happening?!" He yelled to himself as the Egg-Carrier began to lean forward, grabbing onto a pillar for support with one hand, emerald in the other. The blobs of Chaos had begun to fall, slipping past him.

His fingers began to slip. It was difficult to hold on with the angle shifting so much. Then, an explosion rocked him free as the Egg-Carrier began its speedy descent. Shocked from the sudden shift, the emerald fell from his grip. "No!"

Sonic pushed himself down through air as he began to free-fall, reaching for the emerald. It spun in the air as his fingers barely scraped it.

Then a watery blob fell past his head and absorbed the emerald. It began to reform in a glowing fashion. Watery tentacles rushed past his head as a lizard-like creature formed from a large tsunami. The streets of the city below began to flood, people screaming and running in terror as the beast coated its surroundings in a thick layer of water. Green eyes with black slits peered up at him as it roared, the large rainbow-like horn sticking from its head.

It slammed Sonic to the side, and he flew. Landing roughly on a roof, he grabbed onto the edge before he fell into the raging rapids below.

Meanwhile, as Sonic tried to get to his feet, Knuckles was gliding past, looking at the beast that was Perfect Chaos. Worry etched across his face. "What do we do?"

"I… I s-sense the emeralds. They're not in there, they're…" Tikal stuttered, before looking up. Knuckles followed suit, seeing the greyed-out emeralds falling through the air.

Knuckles shifted to stop gliding, turning himself around to collect the emeralds. All but one fell into his grasp, and he yelped, trying his hardest to collect them when a bat shifted past, grabbing the emerald and rolling onto a rooftop.

Growling, Knuckles landed by Rouge as Sonic pulled himself up. "What did you do?!" Rouge yelled. Sonic grunted.

"We did nothing!" Sonic yelled back, catching Rouge's attention. "This was all Robotnik! We've been trying to stop him this whole time!"

"And a fat lot of good you two did." Rouge muttered.

The trio's attention was pulled away by a fox's voice – Miles' voice. "Chaos!" He yelled, flying in on his pod. "You have seen your true form! Now, we shall lay waste to this city, and –"

Miles was cut off as a watery tentacle slammed into his pod, knocking him aside. He yelped, almost falling into the surging water when a metallic entity swooped in and grabbed him. Metal Sonic, twitching from its repairs and struggling to hold Miles, spotted the group on a rooftop.

His eyes flashed green as he sensed the emeralds, pulling the fox towards the room. The trio prepared for battle, but Metal sat down instead.

"The emeralds are useless." He droned. Miles sat up, groaning.

Knuckles moved to attack the fox, but Metal stood up. "My protocol is to protect Miles Robotnik. Do not waste your energy."

Rouge looked up at the beast. "You." She glared at Miles. "You did this. What did you hope to achieve?"

Before Miles could answer, a wispy spirit spoke up.

"Everyone." The group all looked over in shock – except for Sonic and Knuckles, who regarded Tikal with respect. "It may appear bleak now, but I… no, we – can fix this."