Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Cream all gathered to discuss the recent calamity. "So Tails," Sonic began, "tell us what you infer is happening from the information we have."
"Well," Tails replied, "it seems Metal Sonic was sent as a distraction to lure us away from Mobius while Eggman himself kidnapped the Chao. I thought Metal Sonic's attack seemed quite deliberate, but I made the grave mistake of disregarding it. Anyways, I speculate Eggman has figured out that with all the mystical energy within the chao, his machines will become far stronger when powered by chao instead of flickies."
"Well," the now-recovered Knuckles asked, "is he right?" Tails looked to his feet and nodded.
"I'm afraid that I indeed concur with his theory. Any move we make next against Eggman will prove to be far more challenging as his machines will be much more powerful. And I can't even begin to imagine what would happen if Metal Sonic were to be powered by a chao and chaos emerald." Amy shifted uncomfortably.
"Actually, Tails," Amy spoke up, "Eggman has different plans for Metal Sonic."
"What do you mean, Amy?" Cream asked.
"When he kidnapped me years ago," Amy said, "I overheard him speaking to himself. He's planning to instal a nuclear reactor in Metal Sonic as his power supply. " Knuckle's eyes grew wide.
"What?!" he exclaimed. "A nuclear reactor?! He'd be unstoppable! Why the heck didn't you say anything sooner?!"
" Because, " Amy replied, "I didn't expect him to return. How was I supposed to know he could survive exploding after falling off a highway in outer space!?" Sonic stepped in between Amy and Knuckles.
"Alright, that's enough, you two," he said in an effort to prevent any further conflict. "We need to figure out what our next move will be, and fighting isn't going to help us accomplish that." As if on cue, a missile zoomed past the team. Alarmed, they all turned their heads and saw an old foe. Cream looked around, realizing she was apparently the only one oblivious to this oppressor's identity.
"Excuse me, Mr. Tails," Cream said as she tapped lightly on his shoulder, "but who is this?"
"That pile of junk is a petty imitation of yours truly that the Doc attempted to create," Knuckles replied, "Metal Knuckles." Cream examined the foe.
"At the very least," she noted, "he bears quite the physical resemblance." Knuckles shrugged.
"Let's just incapacitate him already," Tails told his friends. "I assume Doctor Eggman sent him to us with the task of eliminating any possible nuisances." Everyone nodded. They proceeded to battle the mechanical monstrosity with the same strategy of engaging in combat individually until the robot fell. This time, Metal Knuckles refused to be destroyed. He flew away in retreat, but Sonic and his allies gave chase. With his enemies in pursuit, Metal Knuckles needed a distraction to get away. It was futile. The only thing he was carrying was the capsule full of chao. But he was not going to die again; he couldn't go through that once more. With the slightest bit of reluctance, Metal Knuckles threw the capsule at his enemies. He could always re-capture those Chao anyways.
"Woah!" Sonic exclaimed as he halted his momentum by digging his heels onto the ground to avoid being crushed by the colossal capsule. Knuckles didn't react quickly enough and crashed into the blue hedgehog. "Watch where you're going, knucklehead," Sonic complained. Tails turned around and noticed someone approaching.
"Guys," Tails pointed out, "is that…Tikal?!" As the figure got closer, it was clear that the subject was indeed Tikal. Amy ran to her and wrapped her in a hug. "Tikal!" she cried, "it's so good to see you again!" Tikal laughed joyously. "I missed you too!" she replied. "I arrived as soon as I discovered that the chao were in danger here. Immediately when I appeared in front of the Master Emerald on Angel Island, I was greeted by a hostile and ignorant female bat." Knuckles scowled.
"Rouge," he concluded, "She must have taken advantage of when I was recovering. Tikal continued.
"She attempted to steal the Master Emerald, and when I impeded her plan, she attacked me. I fought her for a while, and suddenly the Master Emerald flashed brighter. When Rouge opened her eyes, they were lifeless and blank. She lost her eyesight." Everyone gasped.
"Poor Miss Rouge!" Cream commented. "She may not have been the most righteous of people, but she didn't deserve to-" Cream suddenly stopped. She pointed to the capsule that Amy realized the had completely forgotten about. "In there," Cream began, "I sense a large presence of-"
"-Chao," Tikal finished.
Tails meticulously examined the large capsule and jumped onto the switch on the top of it. The capsule opened, releasing a swarm of chao. They all flew to Cream, Cheese and Tikal. "Oh my!" Tikal interjected. "What were you all doing in there?" she asked the Chao. The Chao responded with numerous repetitions of their species, but Cream, Cheese, and Tikal seemed to be understanding.
"Goodness!" Cream exclaimed as Cheese "chao-ed" in shock.
"That's terrible!" Tikal exclaimed. Sonic scratched his head, puzzled. "What did they say?" he asked. Cream shook her head.
"I can't bear to say it," she told Tikal. "Can you explain it to them?" Tikal nodded.
"Eggman has been raiding numerous groups of Chao and imprisoning them in capsules until they pass out from suffocation. When they are passed out, Eggman inserts them as the core of his machines."
"That heartless savage!" Amy yelled.
"Okay," Sonic told his allies, "if every one of his stronger inventions is carrying a chao capsule, we should split into pairs and go after individual enemies. Tails, you're with me. Knuckles, your fists hit as hard as Amy's mallet, and you can glide and wall climb, while she is easily the most acrobatic of us. You two would make a formidable team together. Cream and Tikal, you both have a unique and powerful connection with Chao, so I think you two should be in a pair. Does anyone object?" Nobody said anything. "Good, then let's get going." With that, all of the pairs went their own separate directions, leaving themselves at fate's hands.