PoC: So many climaxes, then none. PenFullofChaos819 doesn't think that often, but when he does, he admits to not owning Sega characters and to not being part of the Sonic Team!

Silver: I like…fish…fish… See Silver…fish…fish…Silver-fish. A Silver-eating fish…

PoC: Guys come on… Don't be broken for the final chapters, please? *Scrubs down Metal*

Metal: Well…I have a confession to make: I've had my bolts tightened by another robot before *sighs* Okay there, I said it! That plus the greasing after always leaves me so sticky and sore.

PoC: …TMI Met. Seriously, where did that come from?

Metal: *Shrugs* I don't know. Must have something to with being all buttered up.

PoC: …gross.

Metal: …sorry.

Silver: …fiiiiiiiish.

-l-

Curse of the Ancients

-l-

Too many variables… There were so many things falling in place and falling apart. This he had come to expect, especially when dealing with the unpredictable nature of chaos itself.

Of course, none of that mattered now, for soon the power would be his.

Not much time had passed since he had first discovered the secret isle of darkness. And truly, any lesser being would've been overwhelmed by the corrupting evil that lay within. But he was a good person, possessed of a clear conscience and noble intentions. However, even with his untarnished goodness, the dark power was too much for him to wield alone. Luckily though, the ancients had been 'kind' enough to leave a means by which the power may be harnessed.

By what he had deciphered, the criteria went something like this: "When purest sanctity is immersed in deepest depravity, true chaos will be revealed." The verse even came with a sort of 'key' for unlocking the power: A sort of disturbing mask in the shape of a beast's head.

In the past he tried many ways to achieve this seemingly impossible feat. The master first tried to infuse the elements directly into a 'vessel' by use of a certain scientist's experiment. But despite the chosen vessel being physically and mentally superior the rest of his kind, the plan had been an utter failure. However, in this failure, he discovered that one had to have a naturally strong alignment towards light or dark before they were infused with the opposite. Jamming both types of chaos in at once would merely break the vessel's mind, resulting in an amnesiac peon. In spite of these findings, it was still too late to enact the original plan. There was to be an agonizingly long delay to pay for this miscalculation…

Until he came along.

The master was not at first aware of his arrival, not until he detected an astronomical surge of pure positive energy. At first it died down, as did his spirits, but the readings yet remained static at abnormally high levels. The amount of innate power this singular visitor contained looked so false on record, to say nothing of his suspicious appearance.

"The 'blue one'…" The man whispered "I could scarce believe my eyes. That day brought a turn of events too dramatic, too wonderful to be true." In accessing facts of the past, the figure's voice grew markedly somber "Though I could, with this new arrival, now make my failure count for something, doing so meant…traumatizing the face I once saw in an innocent child's." Trying to shove the thought aside, the man said "No, they could not be one in the same. As I recall, a certain fat fool's first experiment had caused the true Sonic to vanish into thin air. Ergo this person…could not be the real Sonic…" but the very thought that they could be one in the same, sparked the tiniest ember of doubt in the master's cold mind…

…before it was swiftly snuffed out.

Regretful as everything leading up to this moment was…he could not turn back now. The fate of the world hung on his shoulders. Yes…they may hate him, may not forgive him, may even try to kill him, but it didn't matter. This corrupt world had thrived in it's insanity long enough. With the power of Chaos under his control, and his chosen 'hero' at his side, he could change the world forever.

Ending this train of thought had somehow left the master feeling anxious. He got up, or levitated, to his 'feet' so that he might pay his prized captive a visit.

"Sonic, or whoever you are, I need your help… No…the whole world needs your help." The master pondered, feeling ready to stake everything on his ultimate wish "Together, we can save people from themselves."

L

*With Espio's Group*

L

Training had demanded that he keep his body alert, even when on the verge of collapsing. Lord knows it was hard, but somehow the chameleon had roused both himself, and a fairly beaten up Shadow. Having come to, the pair saw a fiery blaze of blue crouching over a bloody mass of red fur. The blender mobian vaguely recognized the patient as the client-butchering Knuckles. Bad blood may've boiled in his veins at any other time, but this changed when he saw Rouge showing the criminal genuine concern. If she had shown such compassion, then so could he. Thus, he approached with respectful quietness and asked blue spirit/girl/person "How is he?"

In reply, the girl monotonously stated "He is…not dead. However, I can feel very little life in his arms. I'm afraid they will be of little use to him now, in the combative sense anyway." The chameleon formed a bitter grin at this. How odd that when, for the first time in his sad life, Knuckles tries his hand at 'heroism' he ends up losing his ability to fight. It never occurred to Espio to distrust the words of the mysterious Aquamarine. Maybe this seemed strange coming from the ever-skeptical ex-ninja, but there was something about her that…just rang true. There was no way for him to describe it besides that.

"It may sound cold of me, but shouldn't we be on the move?" Shadow suddenly suggested, bearing an itching sort of tone in his question "Yes I can see our…unexpected ally is in dire straits, and I'd still like to know more about you." This last statement clearly had been directed at the glowing girl "However, time is of the essence. We must seek out and eliminate our real foe, or this victory will have been pointless."

Unexpectedly, Aquamarine shook her head gently, her shining aura altering at his comments "No need to hide behind soft words, Shadow. You seek revenge, this I know, but vengeance is a path to one's destruction." Sighing almost disgustedly, Aqua kept on "Do you creatures never learn? Power used improperly can only cause misery." Shadow did appear the slightest bit annoyed at her dismissive words.

She apparently understood this too, and moved to speak again "Yes…you say 'who am I to talk'? After all it was my siblings that nearly took your lives." Rising up to her 'feet', assuming they could be called such, Aqua affixed her empty gaze on the upset hedgehog "Sadly, there is no way for me to make you understand. You must simply take the word of one with greater knowledge."

Eager to break up some of the building tension, Espio spoke as well "Spirit, or whatever you are, can you help us? I know firsthand how dangerous this place is, so I think it would be a mistake to leave without some sort of 'protection', if you get me." He was no coward, but he was no fool either. Espio knew his mind was vulnerable to this place's 'curse'. Madness would surely take all of them sooner or later. He assumed these spirits must have SOME sway over the evil here (he did not go mad in the Amethyst fake's presence after all).

At this too, Aquamarine shook her radiant head "I can see your thoughts; I know that your assumptions are incorrect. I have not had the power to protect you, not since I surrendered my strength to this nocturnal friend of yours." Here she gestured to Rouge, who looked a bit shy at being pointed out "How you are immune to the darkness is as much a mystery as how I was able to reclaim my selfhood." Folding her hands across her chest, the being recollected her recent past "But there was something odd… Before I 'woke up' I saw a figure, I spirit if I am not mistaken. It was, compared to my family, a normal spirit, but it carried an abnormal strength about it. I believe I heard it call me back from the beyond."

Rouge nodded almost excitedly and joined in "Hey, same for me! But I swore…I swore it told me something too…hmm…something like 'please help them' or 'help him'…that sound right to you boys? And maybe I'm crazy, but I thought that voice sounded…almost like an old friend." No one had much to say, until Shadow closed his eyes and started nodding as well.

"Hmm yes…. The voice…it did sound somewhat familiar, now that you mention it." Curiosity nagged the hedgehog into scouring his thoughts. This preoccupation lasted all of five seconds until the right answer struck him out of nowhere "Of course, it had to be, her…! But…"

Rouge had seemingly arrived at the same conclusion and said, almost in a whimper "No…y-you don't think…?"

The chameleon at last voiced the dread passing through everyone's mind "Ame…A-Amethyst? But how? How could she have…? That…that doesn't make any sense! She couldn't help us; she'd have to be…"

Espio swallowed hard, trying to push the truth away by force "No…it-no…that's not right. It…must've been another trick of chaos, a technological interface, or…something. S-She…" The lizard fumbled. His gold irises darted to and fro as if physically searching for an excuse "She must've planned this…there's…no other explanation…there's…just…" Reality and good sense was begging him to stop. Persisting in wishful thinking would only worsen the raw pain.

For all of a millisecond, sorrow was allowed free reign…until, out of the blue, Aquamarine shattered the silence "That's enough…all of you." Her words were as rude as they were cutting; enough to make even Rouge cast a look of shock in her direction "What would you have us do? Hold a ceremony for your lost friend? How many more will lose lives if this hesitation continues?"

Wrong words…at an especially wrong time. Any would presume Espio to be the first to snap, but instead, a maroon wave of raging ire flared up from a very…very ill-composed Shadow "You…you wretched specter! Do you think we're as heartless as you and your worthless siblings? Tch, fool! We actually care for those that die, unlike you who calmly walk over your family's graves!" Furious as the fires of Hell itself, the tactless Shadow forcefully took hold of Rouge's hand and Espio's shoulder "Still, we do agree on my original point: We DON'T have time to spare." Not sparing Aqua another look, the dark hedgehog said "Rouge, if you think Knuckles worth saving, grab hold of him now." The albino-furred bat gave him an expressionless stare, but then nodded and leaned down to touch the fallen echidna.

Aquamarine reached forward too, using her somewhat proven ability to know what others thought "Shadow the hedgehog…I mean your friend no disrespect. But this is not the time for sorrow or revenge. This is the time to set things right…" Her hand rested upon his right forearm; effectively sending a shiver of warmth through him "To this end, may I accompany you to ensure this; to ensure that your emotions do not misguide you?" Her request was sincere, if a tad blunt, almost like she didn't care how her words sounded at all.

Sporting a fanged grimace the dark hedgehog concluded "Just don't get in my way…demon." There was no masking that open threat. Regardless, the spirit quietly agreed to these shaky 'terms'.

Shadow remained doggedly determined to get his revenge, and confirm or deny the fate of their comrade. Still, to satisfy either or both ends, Shadow would have to use a trick up his sleeve. Recalling how Sonic was able to harness this place's power, perhaps he too could borrow enough of it to use his infamous 'vanishing act'. But, in the presence of such interference, who knows if it would work here?

Obviously there was only one way to find out, so Shadow right away tapped into the facility's abundance of energy. He did not know the location well enough to navigate out on his own, so he tried a new strategy: By focusing on the area with the least negative energy, he might be able to get them to, or very near, the entrance of this crazed zone…or so he hoped.

Not feeling sure of this move, but aware that his other options were spent, the hedgehog grunted heavily and cried out "Chaos…CONTROL!"

L

*With Tikal/Maria/Vector's team*

L

Upon dismounting and 'parking' their crustacean vehicle, the team made for the entrance. Doors that barred access to the crumbling C. Control heaved open with a whining creak. The state of disrepair and misuse on it's lonesome was a sad enough thing for the scientific Maria. She and Julian had a policy of never mistreating old machines or letting any factory's they built fall to ruin. She remembered how heartbroken he'd been the time his C. Control imploded (not to mention the loss of Shadow and the original Sonic). So much as being near this scarred facility must have caused her poor cousin unspeakable grief.

On the inside, the zone was quiet, empty, and void of any vibrant color. Everyone swore this place sported a boredom and lack of décor that would make any hospital look like a carnival. Dull shades of grayish-white walls and nearly no 'working' machines in sight, only added to the lonely atmosphere. Maria had somehow expected to find slave robots, or even live laborers, tirelessly serving the master's ends. But without a single soul to save, or at least question, how were they going to find Julian? The thought of him being neglected in these halls a second longer was too much to bear.

"You know…I get that I should keep a lid on it and all that jazz, but…" Vector humbly started to speak, a nice change from his usual loud self. It was pleasant enough that no one shushed him, but actually gave the croc their undivided attention "I mean, I was just thinking…could you tell us more of that story, Tikal? I know it must be some rough business for you, but I'd really like to know more about what's going on." The group of stressed out comrades seemingly agreed with this proposition, but they knew the choice still lay with Tikal.

It only took a glance over her teammates' longing stares for the tribal maiden to say "I was hoping you'd ask, actually." Tikal rubbed her ghostly chin after this, no doubt searching for where she had left off "Hmm…ah yes. Do you remember what I was saying, about the seals? Did I tell you that Angel Island was the 'body' of the three?" After another pause, each of the group nodded except for Vector, allowing the echidna to continue "Good. Now as I said, each of the Seals served to provide the great power with stability. The body alone of course wasn't enough. No, one needs a 'mind' to govern the body."

Raising her hands up, Tikal showed an image of the old temple again. This time however, the image moved inwardly towards the green glow they had seen before, revealing a massive traditional-colored emerald "Behold the Master Emerald. It is the 'mind' that maintains the balance of the Sacred Seven." The group nodded, gaped, and, salivated (Vector & Charmy) in awe at the almighty gemstone "Now I know some of you want to ask where it is now, but allow me to finish. Now we know the body can be destroyed and the mind can be corrupted, so one must have a 'soul' as the cornerstone for both." Casting the image away for a moment, the girl suddenly changed the subject "Tell me, how many of you know what a Chao is?"

Amy, Vector, and Charmy had absolutely no idea. The large reptile, either in earnest or in poor humor, suggested the human-used Italian word for a greeting/parting, but this was expectedly frowned upon. Maria at this time hazarded a guess "In the oldest texts, some scholars spoke of a friendly race of creatures born from a benign sort of chaos. Some research says they were even raised as pets, and that their bodies changed depending on treatment and personality."

Once the blond was finished, Tikal brought the temple image back up again "What you said is almost entirely true. They were the cutest, most adorable creatures one could imagine. But what I am about to show you next, shows their more imposing side."

In her next motion, Tikal caged her hands around the Master Emerald, allowing an even closer view. So close that they were peering into the gem's glassy green center "Not all were selected as mere creatures to be doted on. One Chao, considered to be distinct from the others, was 'trained' by the great power itself, so that it might become it's guardian." Now the center of the large gem glowed even brighter until it was almost a white light. After the light faded, the image of a fiery creature took it's place. It's fierce green eyes shone and trembled with pure might "This is Chaos, sentinel of the Sacred Seven, and the 'soul' of the three Seals."

Amy was the first to gasp, stunned to see something she'd only read about in old fairy-tales "T-That awful thing is REAL? So then…is it really an echidna god or something?"

The echidna maiden motioned a sound 'no' in response "Certainly not, but most of your era have mistaken him for one. Chaos was indeed mighty enough that some tribes worshiped him, but that was foolishness; he had little power beyond that which he was given." Having gotten the larger details out of the way, Tikal returned to her original point "Now what does all this have to do with my father, you might ask. *Sigh* Suffice to say, even with these deterrents guarding the power, my father grew desperate. Or rather…became embittered by the evil around him." Here she showed a scene of an echidna city burning. Terrible deeds were done openly and barbarically in the city streets. Vector clamped his hands over Charmy and Amy's eyes as the mayhem unfolded.

"I know what changed my father that day." Tikal whispered, looking down on the destruction with countless emotions "It wasn't just his city; his family too…was sacrificed to the flames of war." Maria and Vector looked woefully at the transparent girl "No…I survived that day. It was not my doom, but my mother's and brother's that was enough to drive my father past the edge of madness."

Still retaining her old temple image, Tikal showed how Angel Island began to change "With his still-strong warriors ready to exact vengeance, my father descended upon the invaders. But he did not kill most of them…no he thought that too good for their filth. He instead tortured them and confined them here: In the catacombs beneath the temple." She revealed the halls beneath the temple that had once been used to pray for the ill and injured "He knew very well, that this place was to be used for those that need protection and shelter, not for the cause of punishment. However…this act was intentional. He was ready to correct the evil he saw be force; by using the forbidden power. And the only way to gain such a power was to shatter the three Seals." Whirling images showed the temple slowly transformed back into it's grimmer state. Soon it looked once again more like the Derelict Ruins, though it retained the green aura

"But the island's seal was too strong. No matter how he contaminated it with his sacrifices, the body remained steadfast. Combined, the island and Master Emerald could not be broken completely." The scene in her palms shifted over to another underground channel, not far from the temple grounds "That's when it occurred to him. Perhaps the mind could not be broken here, but splitting it and the seven up from the island might weaken it's power."

"Wouldn't that be hard to do? I mean with Angel Island being air-borne and all?" Amy spoke from what she'd been taught. Tikal corrected the hedgehog girl shortly afterwards.

"No Amy, Angel Island had been integrated into the earth by this time. It had much greater use on land, than in the air." Though a little surprised that anyone left alive knew about the island's secret ability, Tikal went back to her old point "At first, my father presumed this impossible as long as Chaos kept standing guard. But…with my help, he was able to pacify the volatile creature so that we could safely move the great stone and the other seven."

While on the lookout for any danger in the featureless area, Vector offhandedly commented "I don't get it. If you knew your dad was off his nut, why'd you go along with it? Why'd you help him with his crazy plan?"

For the first time, and probably the last, the calm tender-heart echidna girl lost her composure "'Why'? 'WHY' YOU ASK? Did I not tell you, or was ignorance clogging your ears? My mother and brother had both been murdered and my home lay charred to cinders! Did you not think that I too was eager to see some justice done? Call me a fool if you like, but I daresay YOU would be no nobler than I! Besides I-I've regretted my actions since then…n-not a day goes by that I don't hate myself for doing what I did…"

Doing her very best not to cry, Tikal hid her face from the group. Amy meanwhile bared her little fangs and pulled out her hammer, ready to pulverize the great green klutz. Maria was able to intervene fast enough to get her to set the hammer down, but the pink fireball still managed to slap the croc for his carelessness. Vector made no effort to stop her, knowing he had once again been far out of line.

Holding her hand firmly upright, Tikal warded off Amy and Maria's offered comfort. Instead she bottled her despair back up to explain "A-As…ahem, as I was saying, we successfully removed the emeralds and took them here." She lit the underground pass up again for them to see "This passage here led, and still does, to the Cavern of Trials. It was a place where most of our sons would traverse as their coming of age or rite of passage. In our case, it was where it led that was more important than anything else. Take a good look."

By this time, most of the group had walked off their tension by searching the blank halls of C. Control with greater care. Maria also made sure to keep tabs on Tails/Amethyst's scanner for any signs of emerald activity. But what Tikal had to show them next, nearly made her drop the delicate device "T-That's…! That's the place we saw Sonic and the others enter!" The rest of the team put their full attention on Tikal again.

Acknowledging their surprise, Tikal explained "Small world, yes? Back in the days of my father's reign, we called this island's sole structure the Sable Tower, or Temple of Illusion. The thick tower had long been abandoned by all but those that still practiced dark magic, or as you call it, the use of negative chaos. My father was sure a place like this would be perfect for destabilizing the Master Emerald." The innards of the Sable Tower looked very plain, with very little detail on anything. It was so unlike all the dramatic temples one often hears about in legends. But a single detail DID stand out wickedly: A small altar of white marble stained with sickly yellow and dark red splotches. The sight of it made the four viewers gulp in discomfort.

"From this point on, I began to see how far my father had fallen. He resumed making sacrifices of his enemies, but these were not enough to break the second Seal. Enraged that his newest plan had failed…he started offering up refugees of his tribe instead, along with any that interfered with his designs." Tikal did not dare show the acts in process, but the altar did grow markedly more gruesome as time passed on "Finally, the Master Emerald had been imbued with so much chaos that it…shattered under the 'weight' of our sins." An image of the green gem grew darker and darker, until it was almost black, and then disintegrated into several pieces.

"The second Seal was broken, and by that my father knew the influence of the first had vanished as well. Now there was but one last obstacle in his way…"

Right as she almost finished her sentence, the blond Robotnik cried out "Okay guys I've got something here…it looks like we've got a nearby chaos reaction." The less secure heads of their team freaked out a little upon hearing this. Nothing was helped when Maria added "N-no way. It's…it's headed right for us!"

Just as the group was about to dive for cover, a flash of light blinded the crew. Before any could ask what had happened, a crushing force from above flattened every 'physical' member of the party. Interestingly, aside from being annoyed by this latest interruption, Tikal showed little concern for the recent 'attack' from above.

The same could not be said for the rest of the panicked crew.

-l-

End of Chapter Forty-Seven

-l-

This chapter was long, boring, and hard to write. With the last chapter on such a high note, I was hoping to get more 'action' scenes squeezed in here. *Sigh* But history is a part of this plot too, so I hope you guys enjoyed something about this chapter.

On a sadder note, I have an important request for everyone. My sister-in-law saw on the news that her long-time classmate, Dominic Murphy, lost his son Andrew in an armed robbery. Apparently Andrew was shot while protecting his sister from the gunman, or so I heard from the reports. Anyways, if those of you that pray could keep Dominic and his family in your prayers that would be wonderful. I hadn't met the guy until recently, but from what I saw I think his family could really use all the support they can get.

Sincerely,

PenFullofChaos819.

Until next time.