Chapter 15
By the time Sonic and Shadow made it back to the house, Sonic was breathing heavily. The hedgehogs slowed to a walk and entered the living room. The blue blur plopped onto the couch and tried to catch his breath. Knuckles was in the room too. He was watching TV.
"Hey there, guys. How'd the run go?" he asked.
Shadow, still standing, was going to let Sonic reply, but he was still out of breath, so Shadow answered for him. "We ran until he started to get tired. He agreed to come back, although he made sure to take the long way home. That's why he's still breathing a little harder than normal."
Sonic nodded. "It felt good to be out there again, but I knew if I tried to fight to stay out longer, Shadow would beat me. But only because I'm still recovering," he added quickly. He smirked at the black hedgehog. "Any other time, I would win."
Knuckles rolled his eyes at the remark. "Whatever you say, Sonic." He chuckled and turned back to the screen.
"Anything good on?" Sonic asked.
"No, not rea-" he was cut off by a familiar jingle coming from TV. He stared at the screen in disbelief. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."
Sonic tensed. His face went slack as he recognized the tune. "No. No! Not yet!" He looked over at Shadow. "Get Tails and Amy!"
"Right here," the latter said as she was coming in from the garage. The males all turned to her, worry splashed across their faces. She took in the anxious expressions. "What's wrong?"
Sonic looked back at the television. "That's what!"
Amy stepped in front of the screen. She gasped at the logo that popped up, along with Eggman's voice echoing out of the speakers, shouting, "GUESS WHO!"
"Amy. Where is Tails?" Sonic demanded. The pink hedgehog didn't turn away from the TV, but she did stutter an answer. "H-he's in the garage."
In a flash, the cobalt hedgehog was gone, and then came back with said fox in tow. "Ow! Ease your grip, Sonic! I don't need a broken arm! What's got you so tense?"
Sonic didn't speak. He just pulled the young fox next to Amy, where he could see the television clearly. When he did, fear filled his bright blue eyes. "How could he move so quickly?"
He had barely finished the sentence when Sonic grunted in pain. He fell to the floor, and a second later, Shadow followed. They both clutched their heads, their friends rushing to help them up. After a couple seconds, the pain began to dissipate, and the two hedgehogs were able to pull themselves onto the couch.
Sonic's face was a little pale. He and Shadow, who was also pale, exchanged glances. "What the heck just happened?"
It took a while, but finally it clicked. In a whisper, Sonic said, "Guys, I think Eggman just finished draining an emerald."
Shadow, always the quiet one, nodded in agreement.
Then the villainous doctor began to speak. And his words chilled the five mobians to the bone.
"Y'know, I've been trying for world domination for a long time. And I mean a long time. But every time I tried to make a move, this pesky little rodent always got in my way. He's always trying to be a hero and save everyone. And, sadly, he usually comes out on top. You know who I'm talking about. Who doesn't? I wonder if he's listening. Probably. Soniiiiiic! Are you watching this? I sure hope so. Because now is the time for me to be on top. This time, I'm gonna win!
Sonic stiffened even more. Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen.
Now, I know I always say that right before I fail, but this time, the hedgehog will be at a disadvantage. Wanna know why?
A pause.
Because I just happen to have all of these!
On the screen, Eggman pushed through a set of doors. Amy gave a small gasp, and Tails was shaking his head, muttering 'no' over and over again. On the other side of the double doors there was a large, stone chamber. And inside that chamber were six of the seven chaos emeralds and the Master Emerald, each resting on it's own pillar.
Sonic could almost here the gasps of everyone else watching their TV right then. He couldn't believe how much Eggman was putting on the line. But maybe his reasons weren't just to stop Sonic. Maybe he wanted to spread fear. The fear of the villain actually winning. Because that fear would cause chaos. (pun very much intended)
As if in response to Eggman's presence, the emeralds glowed. That is, most of them did. Two colors were missing. The yellow chaos emerald was dim, it's bright sunny gold replaced with the ugly dark yellow of a bruise. It uselessly sat on its pillar, unlike the others that hovered above their perch. And the other emerald, the dark blue one, was absent from the others. It's pillar was empty, but Sonic knew where it was.
Ahhhh. Isn't that a sight? All of the emeralds in one place... but wait! One is dead. Dark. Empty of power. Now, how could that have happened? Oh, I know! Because I caused it!
Here it comes, Sonic thought.
And how could I have caused it?
Another pause.
Because I rebuilt this!
Eggman stepped aside to reveal the chaos syphon behind him, a robot standing next to it. Now, Sonic figured the audience was pretty confused. They've never seen the syphon before now, and they have no idea what it can do.
Now, there are probably a lot of people out there who don't know what this thing is. Let me explain. The chaos syphon is a tool used to drain power, although I've modified it to do other things. Sonic, you know what I mean.
Eggman shot a pointed look at the camera. Then he walked to the front of the syphon. There, sitting in the opening of the device, was the dark blue chaos emerald. Sonic felt Shadow stiffen and clench his fists. The doctor smiled like he knew everything in the world.
This little baby I stole from another very special nemesis, who looks a lot like Sonic. I'll give you a hint. He's black and red, wears rockets for shoes, can run really fast, and, last but not least, is immortal! The answer should be obvious. Eggman sighed. Remember when he was evil and worked for me? Ahh, those were the good old days. But remember what my old ally did? A shake of the head. He went over to the hero's side! Talk about betrayal.
Sonic snorted. This history lesson was getting old. Yes, he was still a little worried, but getting more confident every second his enemy rambled on.
As if hearing his thoughts, Eggman abruptly closed his mouth. He was quiet for a second, a thoughtful look on his face. Then he glanced at the chaos syphon. A smile formed on his face.
And now I'm gonna show you the true power of my device! Throw the switch!
The robot did as commanded. It pressed a small black switch, and the chaos emerald glimmered and glowed navy blue. However, after a couple seconds, the powerful light slowly began to dim. Somewhere in the background of his heart pounding in his ears, Sonic heard Shadow growl under his breath. He glanced at the black hedgehog, and was surprised to see the downright murderous look in his ruby eyes.
Sonic turned back to the TV. He wondered how long it would take Shadow's emerald to be drained.
Eggman was admiring the syphon's progress. This is my betrayers' chaos emerald. That is, was. He chuckled. And since Shadow the hedgehog used it sooo much, I know it should drain very fast. Like, in the next five to ten minutes. The villain looked at the camera again. For all those people on the heroes' sides, stick around! Cause I'm gonna let you watch this emerald slowly fade away.
And Sonic and his friends did. They all stayed stone still, didn't even make a sound, just watched as the emerald slowly turned black. Finally, something happened. On the screen, there was a flash...of darkness. Sonic had never seen anything like it.
And then all clear thought dashed from his head, replaced by a familiar, gut-wrenching explosion of pain in his skull. He fell to the ground, eyes squeezed shut, hands gripping his head, and Shadow followed a split second later. Knuckles, Amy, and Tails unfroze and ran over to help the hedgehogs. Even though it all only lasted for a few seconds, Sonic felt like it went on for hours. Finally, the pain ebbed to a dull throbbing, and he was able to open his eyes again.
With one glance at Shadow, Sonic knew Eggman had just made things personal for the black hedgehog.
The TV screen had gone all snowy, but soon the image came back. It was Eggman. He was bent over his knees, laughing in joy at his success. Sonic could see the dark, cold emerald sitting back on its pillar, but it didn't float anymore. It just sat there like a regular, dull, boring rock. Drained and empty of power.
The blue hedgehog shook his head. He had pulled himself into a sitting position with a little help from Amy. "We can't let Eggman get away with this. If we feel a lot of pain for just one emerald, what will it be like if he drains them all? I won't stand for it."
"Neither will I," Shadow growled quietly.
Tails nodded in agreement. "I'm in."
"So am I," the pink hedgehog next to Sonic said. Knuckles also nodded.
Sonic smiled. "Alright, guys. We need a plan."