PoC: Back again so soon. Here I present chapter ate!

Metal: Found you…and your gags still aren't funny.

PoC: Hello…to you…too?

Metal: *Aims laser at PoC*

PoC: Not now okay? PenfullofChaos819 doesn't claim Sonic the Hedgehog.

Metal: I DEMAND RESPECT DAMMIT! *Fires, barely missing PoC*

PoC: I warned you, piss-bot. Only the disclaimer can be in bold text!

Metal: What are you gonna do about it?

PoC: Perhaps we should see just how far I can take that "pairing" of yours? How does a one-shot find you? Maybe even a nice and twisted le-

Metal: You wouldn't dare…

PoC: Now for the title…perhaps "Luvin' on Metal". Better yet how about "Metal's Love Spark"? No wait, I have it! "The Nuts and the Bolts"! Bet a few odd fan-girls (boys?) would love that! Feeling tough now?

Metal: NO! No! I'm…shutting up.

PoC: That's right. The Pen holds the power.

NOTE: This chapter contains implications of abuse that may push it up to an 'M' rating. Skip to POV *Emerald Fields* if you want to avoid it. I will have a summary at the chapter's end for those that chose NOT to read the first part. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

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The Devil's Greeting

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Sonic paused.

He couldn't believe what he heard. No, wouldn't believe it…

"Sonic?" Rouge touched his shoulder gently, causing the hedgehog's body to jerk backwards "What's wrong?"

Sonic frowned "What's wrong? WHAT WRONG?" the hero shouted, scaring the bat witless "You're telling me…that Knuckles is a thief and a murderer! Worse than that, I can't believe that he…that he…GOD! What isn't messed up in this world? That has to be a lie, tell me you're lying!"

"Sonic…I don't get it. Why are you acting like this? Why would I make all that up! Especially when I-I…" Rouge snapped. Tears welled up in her eyes. Sonic seemed more concerned about Knuckles than her.

"Knuckles wouldn't do any of this…" Sonic told himself. He thought that he had finally accepted this world; that he had come to terms with his fears. His head ached at the thought of his dear friend murdering, terrorizing, and even…sexually tormenting his friends. In this world, he was no longer the noble guardian Knuckles, but the Bloody Knuckles, a sadistic criminal with a thirst for battle and corruption.

"Who does he work for, and why?" Sonic asked with no more emotion left.

"I told you! We at G.U.N. know next to nothing about him! According to the latest reports, he works for someone named Maasawd, and that's all I know…" Rouge replied, shooting Sonic a grimace "But why does that matter so much? I just got through telling you how he tried to kill Tails more than once, and about what he did to…to me. How can you only be worried about him?"

Sonic couldn't understand, what was going on before he arrived?

Looking back at Rouge, the hedgehog knew he had made a mistake. Make that an awful one. The truth is, he was so angry about what Knuckles had done that he was in denial. He had sounded sympathetic with his former friend, rather than considering the courage it took for Rouge to tell him the truth. His anger left him upon seeing her distraught face.

"Rouge…I have something to tell you." he was ready. It was time to tell the truth. It would all make sense once he explained. Sadly, Sonic found his words cut off by her enraged voice.

"So do I Sonic." her glare burned a hole through him "I want you to get out, and never come back! I don't know what happened to you, but you're not the Sonic I remember!"

"W-what?" the hero was stunned by her dismissal.

"Rouge I…" but no more words followed. How could help his hurting friend now? No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find any way to explain. It was a reality he knew would be impossible for her to accept while she stayed mad.

And he knew it was his fault.

"Just get out…" the bat turned for her bedroom.

Making no attempt to stop her, Sonic merely cradled his head in his hands "What more can go wrong?" Sonic never felt more chaotic in his life. A swirl of emotions, positive and negative, surged within him. He wondered what kind of transformation he would undergo if the emeralds were here right now.

Amidst this tangent, Sonic was suddenly smacked by eureka. He knew just the way to solve the mess.

"The emeralds are the key!" he snapped his fingers "The emeralds in my world must be reason I'm here in the first place! I bet anything that Chaos Control place caused the Sonic from this world to be warped away too. Could it be that we might've even switched places? Anyway, I've got to start by-" but suddenly his thoughts were stopped by the sound of a sharp scream. Fast as he could, the hedgehog raced in the noise's direction. Confused, Sonic couldn't find anyone, but he did hear the faint sound of broken glass hitting the floor. Opening one of the room doors, Sonic saw a broken window, and signs of a brief but painful struggle.

"No way…" Sonic noticed something else, a small scrap of paper. Picking it up he found it to be a letter, or rather a ransom note. Sonic's forehead began drip with cold sweat as he read the contents.

"You know what this is about Sonic. I have someone special with me, and if you want her back, you better find the Chaos Emeralds. I trust you know what will happen if you ignore me. Once you've gathered the gems, meet me at the Derelict Ruins. The gems mean less to me than fighting you, but my client makes the rules.

P.S. I still owe you for the humiliation earlier. If you don't want to play, I'm sure the 'fun' I'll have with your friend will more than make up for it.

Yours truly, the Bloody Knuckles.

"RRRGH!" Sonic screamed, smashing the letter through what remained of the window. Controlling his rage, the hero knew his last target. The one he'd been after this whole time.

"Tails…wherever you are, I will find you. I need you bro…to help me set this right." Sonic jumped out the crack at the greatest speed he'd ever traveled.

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*Emerald Fields*

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"Tails! What's gotten into you? First you wake me up in the middle of night, and then you drag me out here on a wild goose chase! Can you please tell me why we're visiting them at five in the morning?" Amethyst panted. Tails had them running non-stop ever since the two had left for Rouge's.

"Have a bad feeling…no I have a horrible feeling. It feels like a weight on my shoulders." checking his reader, Tails discovered a dense wave of chaos energy in the air.

"Now that you mention it, the sky does look a bit strange doesn't it?" Amethyst noticed a thin blanket of what looked to be black mist tainting the early morning sky.

"Come on." Tails urged the vixen as he sped ahead "We have to reach Sonic."

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*Outskirts of Evergreen City*

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"Urrgh…what is up? This place feels so…messed up." Sonic said, not sure of what to make of the city now. It should've been a lot brighter by now. Undeterred, Sonic rushed towards the metropolis, determined to find someone that knew where Tails really lived.

"A little early for a stroll, isn't it Sonic?" a deep voice asked him.

Skidding to a halt, Sonic took notice of the shrouded figure "Who the hell are you?"

"Not in a pleasant mood I see…" the voice responded "Well I suppose it's understandable, given you're position. Speaking of which, where are my Chaos Emeralds?"

"YOUR Chaos Emeralds? Just who the heck do you think you-ARRGH!" Sonic's body thrashed in excruciating pain, as the figure sent a bolt chaos energy through him.

"How irritating. Your time in this world limited as it is. Don't make me shorten your already brief stay."

"What are you talking about, who are you?" Sonic rasped. His injury hurt worse than a gunshot wound. The person eyed him suspiciously before speaking again.

"My name is Maasawd Sorih, but why does a fake like you need to know that? As I said, I only came for the Chaos Emeralds." Maasawd said calmly.

"Fake? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I know the truth about you. I know you're a fake Sonic that has stepped into the real one's shoes. While others may not know the difference, I do; as does the fabric of nature itself." Maasawd spoke enigmatically.

"You must be the creep that sent Knuckles to kidnap Rouge! Cut the BS and tell me where she is!" the figure waved off the blue hero as he began to vanish "I'm not done talking to you!"

Attacking only sent the hero right through the figure. Sonic turned to hear Maasawd speak again.

"Find me the emeralds hedgehog. Find them before you disappear entirely."

Once the figure was gone, so was the strong presence of chaos in the air.

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End of Chapter Eight

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Another quick update. Mystery strikes again (should've been part of the genre). So Knuckles is indeed evil, as is our main antagonist (at least it sure seems that way). Can't say when next update will be, as I just returned to college today.

Note: For those of you that skipped ahead, here's a little summary: After getting into an argument with each other, Sonic and Rouge went in to separate rooms. At that time, Sonic heard Rouge struggle and investigated to find that she'd been captured. Sonic read a note that had been left for him, discovering that it was Knuckles that took her. Now Sonic is even more determined to find Tails and learn more about Knuckles and the world he's been tossed into.

Okay, not a great summary to be sure, but hopefully it will spare some of you from this story's nastier parts.

Thank you DanceDream and Ghostkid33 for your consistent support. It means a lot. And that goes for anyone else that reads this.

Until next time.