CHAPTER 24: Band of Survivors


There is a war raging on
Between the right and wrong
And we have encountered the darkness
But as each night moves along
We face another dawn
To reach for the courage of love
As the faint hearted run for the shelter of home
There's a question that hangs in the air
When the smoke clears away from the battlefield
Who will be there

"Band of Survivors" – Twila Paris © 1996

The world has changed. What had not been destroyed had been twisted, reshaped into something course. As other worlds collapsed, the remains collided to become a new place, one of chaos and destruction.

Tails and Espio looked over the land. It looked like someone slammed together buildings until it was just one twisted lump of concrete and steel. The sky was white-washed, giving the city a misty appearance. The light alone made the two blink and squint.

"This reminds me of Soleanna of the future, but even then, there was some resemblance of a city," Tails said.

"Wouldn't know, but I suggest we get moving," Espio said.

Tails nodded, and both began to run. Both knew that at somewhere in this twisted place was a Chaos Emerald, one of the seven keys needed to bring back Sonic's soul. Time was also running short as Solaris was now busy devouring dimensions.

"Where do we even begin to look?" Espio said, scoping the twisted city.

"Hang on," Tails said, beginning to press buttons on his wrist communicator. "I installed a version of the X-Tornado's Chaos-energy reading software onto my wrist-comm. It's not nearly as good, but it should help us." Tails worked on it a few more seconds. "There! I got a signal! It's coming from over there!" Tails pointed towards a collection of ruined buildings in the distance, towards left.

"Then let's go!"

Tails and Espio started to run again, leaping over broken pavements and picking their way through sharp debris littering the surface. It was hard going, but neither complained.

They came towards an overturned building, sloping downwards, when Espio halted in his tracks. Tails noticed this and stopped. "What is it?"

Espio grabbed Tails arm and leaped to the side. Nearby, a sphere appeared out of nowhere. It looked like an eye, with one pupil slit in the middle, crackling with blue electricity. Tails and Espio braced themselves as a stiff wind was pulling them towards it. It was trying to suck them in! Espio whipped out one of his kunai blades and stabbed it into the concrete, providing a hold. Holding onto Tails with the other arm, he saved them from getting sucked into who knew where. Soon, the portal closed, as if it never existed.

"What was that?" Tails asked, bewildered.

"I don't know, but it obviously wasn't nice," Espio said. "Thunderhawk warned us that Solaris knew that we'd likely go for the Chaos Emeralds. I'm thinking it was a trap to ensure that we don't get it." Espio scanned the area, removing the kunai from the concrete. "We'd better move."

Swiftly, they were on the move again. More portals opened up nearby them, and both had to dash to avoid being sucked in. Tails began to see where they would appear, as for a few seconds, a bluish light would appear before it would explode into the portal. Because of how random and swift these would open, it made both jumpy.

Because of the portals, they have not traveled very far in the land. If Solaris wasn't going to suck them into oblivion, he'd delay them until it was too late.

"We have to keep moving!" Tails said.

"I'm open to suggestions!" Espio replied.

Tails scanned the area. When both Tails and Espio stood still, the portal did not materialize. Solaris was doing that on purpose, he realized this. How can you outsmart and interdimensional demon?

Tails looked at his wrist-comm again, getting the bearing on the Chaos Emerald. He looked in the direction where the reading indicated. The first thing he saw was an upright building. It looked very conspicuous as it was the only building upright among the twisted chaos around it. Tails guessed that if there was anywhere in this twisted place that housed the Chaos Emerald, that building was it. It was too weird for anything else. How to get there was the problem. Anytime Tails or Espio ventured from any spot, the portals would come fast and furious. If there was only some way to outrun them…

Tails suddenly had a brainstorm. He checked his shoes and with relief he found that he was still wearing the jet-anklets that he won at Casinopolis around six years before. Hopefully, they would be enough, and he also hoped that Espio wasn't heavier then Sonic. He fought back a fresh watering of his eyes and called over Espio and whispered his plan to him, feeling that Solaris was close by and trying to listen to their conversation. Espio listen meticulously, nodding once in a while and occasionally whispering back his own input. In the end, Espio thought it was a risky plan, but it was also the best chance they got.

"Well, if we're going to do it, we better do it now," Tails said.

"Roger."

Tails twisted his tails together, then snapped them spinning. Tails lifted off of the ground, and grabbed Espio's outstretched hand. Sure enough, Espio was lighter then Sonic, which was a relief. This helped their chances. Espio on the other hand was a little nervous. He never cared for flying. Because of his nervousness, his senses were sharpened beyond normal, and when he saw the first sparkle of blue, he barked "Faster!"

Tails obeyed immediately, clicking his heels together. Tails' aerial-speed tripled, and Espio held on with both hands as speeds came close to triple digits. Portals opened up left, right and front, and Tails steered accordingly. He could feel the gravity-well like pull they had, but it was weak, and as long as they didn't get too close, they'd be fine. The increasing number of portals around the building also seemed to confirm Tails' assumption that the building had something special.

Espio on the other hand was turning green. Tails' evasive flying was making him airsick and he relished the thought of putting his feet back on solid ground. Screw the Chaos Emerald, land is what he wanted most now!

Soon, they came to the top of the building. Tails clicked off his anklets and landed on top of a pile of rubble on the building's top. Espio sat down roughly on the rubble, looking squeamish. Tails didn't appear to notice, but immediately was picking up the reading again. To his surprise, the Chaos Emerald now was closer than they thought. "Looks like we're right on top of it!" Tails scanned the area, and didn't see any glow of a Chaos Emerald. Jealously, he thought of Knuckles' emerald sense or Rouge's Chaos Emerald tracker that could track a Chaos Emerald to the inch. Espio moved off in another direction, slightly hunched over. He puzzled briefly at Espio's behavior when his attention went back to the rubble pile. In his mind's eye, Tails recalled the time he dug the Violet Chaos Emerald from the sandy riverside in Windy Valley.

Like a badger on amphetamines, Tails dug at the rubble like there was no tomorrow. He hadn't dug very long when his hand struck something hard and slick. Tails dove into the rubble, and soon there was so much dust and rubble flying about like a whirlwind that Tails was barely visible.

Suddenly, he plunged his hand into the rubble and pulled out a yellow glowing gem, holding it up high like an Olympic gold medal. "I found it!"

Espio had returned, holding his stomach and looking greener around the gills. "Happy for you. Now let's get out of here. And do try to go at it easier this time."

Tails turned to Espio and was about to ask why until he saw him. He immediately bit his lip to keep from laughing. Espio probably lost his lunch because of Tails' haphazard flying, and it amused him. He couldn't wait to tell Sonic about this when they revived him.

- - - - -

Young-Viper and Mighty were on a rock platform floating down a lava river. This place too had been twisted by the remaking of Solaris. Lava even flowed uphill in places.

"This place is too weird," Mighty said, looking at a drop of lava as it ascended into the sky. "It's like a lava lamp in here!"

"Weird may not be a strong enough word," Viper said. "Bizarre is closer to the truth."

"How are we supposed to find a Chaos Emerald here?" Mighty asked.

"With a great degree of difficulty."

"Thanks a lot."

"My pleasure." Viper looked around at the bizarre landscape. He had wondered the same thing as Mighty, as the Chaos Emerald could be anywhere. That frustrated him, but he knew that he had to look. Not looking would end in death, and so would not finding it in time. Viper spotted a land bank ahead and above them. Since it didn't appear to be moving, it must be anchored. "Mighty, on my back, and watch the sword. Last thing I need is a disemboweled armadillo."

Mighty nervously climbed on Viper's back, taking great care not to rub against the sword braced against the bounty hunter's back.

Viper braced himself for a leap, and when the time came, he leaped high off of the platform, onto the solid rock back above the lava flow. Looking around up here, the lava's flow was even more bizarre. Some of the lava flowed in vertical loops, parts flowed upstream, and bubbles of lava floated upwards into the sky. Viper saw above that there was lava in the sky too, doing more crazy things up there.

"I'm not even sure bizarre is a good word either…" Mighty said dryly.

"Point taken." Viper looked around the barren black rock, but couldn't help but be distracted at the tomfoolery of the lava flow. It was there that he noticed that the land was practically a giant cliff. They were near the bottom where the lava lake sat. Maybe the Chaos Emerald was at the top. Viper voiced his idea to Mighty, who agreed, but only because it was the only idea.

Mighty hopped onto Viper's back again, and Viper began the ascent. Normally, they hopped up the platforms on the side, but a couple of time, Viper had to crawl up the side of the cliff. Very soon, they encountered the portals that were going to suck them into oblivion. Viper picked up the pace.

Soon, they reached the top of this cliff. Viper had a wild look on his face from the near misses from Solaris' portals. "Geez…"

"You can say that again," Might said, climbing off of Viper's back.

Not wanting to stay in one spot long, they began to run. All around the cliff-top the portals came fast and furious. It was by Viper's and Mighty's respective strengths that resisted the pull. Mighty soon came to another cliff wall, and found a rock that looked really strange, decorated by purplish lights. Not hesitating, he smashed through it with a punch. As the rock collapsed, it revealed a cavern. "Viper, get in here!" He called out as he dove in blindly. As he did, he smacked his head against something hard. At once, the portals closed with the sound of an eagle scream.

Viper looked around bewildered, and then spotted the cave. Running into it, he found Mighty looking a little dazed, leaning against a marble sphere, with a stone eagle at the top. It was glowing hotly. Viper guessed that it was able to banish the portals, even if it was temporary, so it was welcome. "That's using your head, Mighty."

"Shut up," Mighty said, shaking his head out.

Viper smirked. In spite of the situation, even he couldn't resist the pun. He looked around the cavern. It led straight on through the cliff-side. He marched determinedly through. Mighty followed, rubbing his head. The shell protected his head, but it still smarted.

The tunnel gave way to another cliff with more crazy lava flows. It wasn't nearly so tall, but on the other side of this area, the lava flowed up the cliff, and it kept going up even past the top of the cliff. Viper shook his head.

Mighty looked around for anything out of the ordinary, and through the lava's glow, it was hard to see much of anything. It would really suck if the Chaos Emerald was red or yellow, because then it would be impossible to see against the lava.

Viper and Mighty began to ascend the cliff. Again, they were assaulted by the portals. Mighty hoped there was another statue close but couldn't see one. Viper wished for the same. He wasn't one to take the easy route, but these portals unnerved him. Solaris was serious about wiping them out, and probably was furious that he didn't last time.

But the two would not stop. There was more than one life on the line here, and there was no turning back. Failure was not an option. Viper recalled his military training to drive him forward. He was the only homunculus alive now, and he wasn't going to make some demon end that now!

Viper and Mighty climbed onto another ledge farther up the waterfall. Both collapsed on it, relieved they made it to this ledge. Fatigue was still a foreign concept to Viper, for being a homunculus granted him unnatural stamina, but it seemed that the portals were not just gravity wells…they sucked the energy out of people too. Effective tactic, and it ticked Viper off.

Viper suddenly became aware that his left arm was glowing hotly, which usually meant something with a lot of energy was giving off, and it was responding to him. Looking up, he heaved a bemused sigh. Mere feet in front of him was the Red Chaos Emerald, glowing hotly like a blast furnace core. Mighty saw it as well, and sighed. "Why did it have to be the red one?"

Viper picked it up with his left arm, where it didn't burn him. "If wishes were fishes…but we have no time for that. Let's get the hell out of here."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

- - - - -

"What is it with this place!?" Knuckles cried out. He and Vector had come upon a jungle, except the trees were growing out of the sides of cliffs and stone pillars. The water in the jungle was fiery red. All in all, it was a bizarre world.

"What is that Solaris trying to do?" Vector said.

"If he's trying to get us lost, it's not working." Knuckles closed his eyes and focused. The Chaos Emerald was here somewhere, and he could tell. Being the Guardian of the most powerful power gem in the world had blessed him with a few things, including sensing the Chaos Emerald's presence. It was all about direction and intensity. Knuckles turned in a slow circle, holding out a hand as if it was a needle on a compass. As he turned, he found the direction where he needed to go. The intensity told him how close it was. It behaved a lot like sonar.

Knuckles snapped open his eyes and pointed towards the left. "It's over there."

Vector looked in the direction. "Ok, but looks like it's going to be choppy."

That was the understatement of the year. Almost immediately, they were assaulted by the portals. Solaris must have known that Knuckles could find a Chaos Emerald in any given area if allowed to, and he didn't want that. For Knuckles, he had a new treat. Red portals opened up, looking identical to the purplish ones, but these were rimmed with fire and instead of sucking in, they launched unidentifiable debris at the two. Only Knuckles' punches through them have saved them.

"Damn," Knuckles said. "He's not taking any chances."

"And I thought finding the ARK's computer room was an adventure," Vector mumbled.

Knuckles had no idea how hard it was for the Chaotix to find the last journal entry of Professor Gerald before the Black Arms nearly took over the world, but decided not to pursue the matter.

The pair continued to go through the surreal world, continually assaulted by the gravity wells and portals. It just made Knuckles angrier and more determined. He wasn't going to give up. Sonic wouldn't, and quitting here would make Knuckles weaker then Sonic , and he'd rather die than admit that. So, Knuckles punched and shoved his way through any obstacle Solaris threw at him. Knuckles was so focused that he was sure he could have done this alone, but Viper was right; no one should go alone, especially since they were fighting a demon here. Vector's strength proved invaluable as well, as his punches were solid and furious as well. He felt Knuckles' fury and determination, and it radiated through the air into his reptilian flesh, creating the drive. Knuckles' fury was either scary or contagious, depending on what it was targeting.

Knuckles kept going, driven by his fury. Sonic was dead, and against all odds, there was a way to save him. Sonic may be a running mouth, but Sonic helped Knuckles many times, most importantly by restoring the island by saving the Master Emerald from the clutches of Robotnik. Knuckles owed Sonic a lot, and Knuckles had a way to pay Sonic back.

"Heads up!" Vector cried out a warning.

Quickly, Vector and Knuckles dodged a large rock bigger than either of them, travelling as fast as a car on the Speed Highway. One of the red portals had hurled it at them from their side.

"Solaris is really beginning to tick me off." Knuckles clinched a fist as he drove it into a nearby stone pillar. The base shattered under his attack, and the pillar toppled forward over the water. It crashed against an island across the water from them, creating a stone bridge for them to cross. Without a word, Knuckles and Vector crossed over quickly.

Knuckles concentrated on the ring of the Chaos Emerald in his head. It was close now, so close that Knuckles could almost taste it. Another indicator that it was close was that Solaris was beefing up the attacks on them. Knuckles and Vector almost walked straight into one of the purple portals, and Knuckles barely saw it coming. That near miss infuriated Knuckles even more, and he sped up. Vector was hard pressed to keep up. When Knuckles wanted something, he wouldn't rest until he got it. Sometimes, it took the Chaotix AND Julie-Su to drag him down so he could rest. Vector wasn't about to do that now though.

Soon, they came to a pair of islands, connected by one single bridge. The resonance in Knuckles' head was very loud now, and Knuckles was sure the Chaos Emerald was on these two islands.

"Keep your eyes peeled, Vector. The Chaos Emerald has to be here somewhere."

"Roger," Vector saluted.

Solaris must have also heard Knuckles' statement, for at once, several portals began appearing all around them. Knuckles and Vector took off, concentration divided on the Chaos Emerald and to avoid being sucked into oblivion.

Knuckles found that the Chaos Emerald must have been on the other island, and told Vector so. Quickly, they charged over the bridge. Solaris opened up two red portals, and both hurled out boulder the size of a small car. They struck the bridge with such force that the bridge collapsed. Knuckles leaped upwards into a glide and made it to the farther shore with ease. Vector had to run as fast as his stubby legs could and leap for the coast. He was now hanging off of the edge of the island, and he couldn't get up on top until Knuckles pulled him up.

"Thanks, Knux. I don't mind a swim, but not in that junk," Vector said, looking at the orange-colored water. It also looked oily.

"You can thank me later," Knuckles said dismissively. Inwardly, he was glad he saved Vector, but now was not the time. "Look there."

Vector looked to where Knuckles was pointing. In the center of the island was a green gem the size of a softball, glowing bright green.

"Now that's a welcome sight," Vector said.

"Oh yeah," Knuckles said, scooping up the Chaos Emerald. "Let's go! Sonic's counting on us!"

- - - - -

Silver and Charmy stood upon a pillar over a warped desert, where the sand flowed like water, and they could even see a few maelstroms in the sand.

"This is so cool!" Charmy said. "I'm so psyched!"

Silver side-eyed the bee, but shrugged. He continued to scan the area, seeing if he could see a Chaos Emerald from afar. He could not, but he knew it was around here, and he wouldn't give up until he found it. What he did see were strange statues. Stone eagles on top of big blue-green globes; he never seen anything like them before, and wondered what they were doing here.

"We'd better get moving," Silver said.

"Gotcha!" Charmy said.

Silver saw that the gaps between solid platforms were too large to jump over, so he had to consent to levitation. Charmy kept up by flying, although his mouth was a constant stream of chatter, especially concerning how cool Silver's psychokinesis was. Silver hid his annoyance at the young bee, who couldn't seem to focus on the task at hand.

Ironically, it was Solaris that Silver would thank for bringing the bee's attention back on track, for right there and then, a red portal opened up and spat out a piece of sharp rock. Silver barely had the presence of mind to catch it with his power and toss it aside. Charmy drew closer from the near shock of it. "Shutting up, now."

"No time!" Silver said. "Let's go!" Silver dashed forward in flight, and Charmy was quick to follow his example. The pair dashed forward as more portals opened up, soon discovering the gravity-well like purple portals, which nearly sucked Charmy in, but Silver pulled him out with his psychokinesis.

After several close encounters, Silver came to a flat where one of the strange statues sat. As soon as he landed on it, three more purple portals opened up directly in the way he was going. Any attempt to get by them was asking to get sucked into oblivion, and Silver was sure Solaris would be more than happy to oblige him if he did. Silver bit his lip as he thought. All problems had a solution, but this one was not clearly visible. Still, there must be a way around this.

Unseen by Silver, Charmy was hovering around the jeweled eagle statue. He too had seen the three portals opened up, barring their way. It gave the bee the creeps as they looked like three gigantic lightning-ringed eyes staring at them, daring them to proceed. He saw the statue nearby and couldn't help but wonder what it was doing in such a crazy place. Something clicked in his head and he immediately went into detective mode. While he was commonly ridiculed for his spontaneity and acting like a kid, he was a credit for the team, for he didn't get a B in the detective registration exam for nothing. He looked again at the statue. What happens if one touched it?

Charmy set his wonderings into action and laid one hand against the cold blue stone. The air suddenly changed and at once the portals evaporated with the sound of an eagle's screech. Silver looked around, perplexed at this new development. He looked at Charmy and saw that he had one hand on the statue, which was now glowing hotly.

"Thanks!" Silver said.

"You can thank me later," Charmy said. "Let's get out of here before they come back."

Silver nodded, and levitated towards the staircase the portals were guarding just moments before, Charmy right on his heels. Silver began to run over the ruins with all the speed he could muster. All he could think of was seeing Sonic dead right before his eyes. It was strange that just a few days before, he was the one who was going to end Sonic's life for justice, and as the time rolled on, he began to feel like it wasn't his job. Now, the very thing he sought originally was in front of his eyes…and it terrified him. This brought speed to his legs and boosted his focus. Sonic must live, even if it was just so that Silver could erase the guilt from his heart for wanting to kill Sonic to begin with.

They began to fly over a large gap of shifting sand, and halfway across, a red portal opened up and was hurling debris so fast that Charmy felt like he was in the batting cages of the pros. Silver caught them and hurled them to the side as fast as he could, but more kept coming. It was blocking them from proceeding as well.

"Charmy, fly around this thing and see if you can find one of those statue things!" Silver cried out, hurling aside a large rock.

The bee saluted Silver. "Gotcha. Cover me!" Charmy buzzed away.

The portal's "eye" seemed to follow Charmy and started hurling things at it with precise aim. Silver was hard pressed to catch them and throw them aside. Charmy picked up the pace, knowing Silver couldn't hold on forever. He was relieved to see another statue on the other side, just past the portal a ways. Darting quickly towards it, he pressed his hands against it. Instantly, the red portal vanished. Silver sighed in relief and hovered over, landing just beside the statue.

Silver needed to rest, but his drive wouldn't let him. He kept going. It wasn't just for Sonic that Silver pressed forward; it was for the one who gave her life to make sure this wouldn't happen. Silver blinked away fresh tears. Blaze died so that Iblis would never hurt anyone ever again, and thanks to Mephiles, her work had been erased. Mephiles was going to pay for that, or Silver would die trying. And he wouldn't die, for if he did, Blaze's sacrifice would be meaningless.

Up ahead rose a spiral tower, where the walkway wrapped up and around the outside like a Sumerian ziggurat. It wasn't very tall, and Silver thought he could hover up there himself, but Solaris doubtless would be watching and would pick them off before they got half-way up. Silver looked ahead, across the bridge that would take them to the spiral walkway, and nodded. Time to move.

Silver and Charmy began the ascent, and very quickly they were assaulted by Solaris' purple portals, seeking to suck them in to their demise. Neither the hedgehog nor the bee would give in, so they surged forwards. Each step was earned in sweat and blood, but neither complained; it a small price to pay to bring back Sonic from the land of the dead.

They reach the summit of the tower, covered in dirt and muscles aching, but victorious. On a pedestal in front of them rested a glowing white gem: the White Chaos Emerald.

"Super-dooper!" Charmy said, racing forward to snatch up the precious Emerald. "and thank goodness it isn't the red one." Charmy rubbed the spot on his hand where the Red Chaos Emerald had burned him a few days before. Silver heaved a sigh of relief as Charmy came rushing back. "Now let's get out of here!"

Silver nodded and was about to turn around to go back, but then a thought occurred to him. He had learned Chaos Control and Chaos Summon practically on the fly, but Silver had only managed to stop time with Chaos Control. But since Chaos Summon worked on a similar principle with Chaos Control, could he in fact use Chaos Control to teleport himself and Charmy? Shadow could do it, and it should be easier than going all the way back on foot.

"Charmy," Silver called to the bee. "I have an idea."

Silver took the Emerald out of Charmy's hand and concentrated hard. He brought up a picture of the dark platform that they had appeared on some time before. Taking Charmy's hand, he shouted. "Chaos Control!"

Silver and Charmy disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the desert ruins behind them. Their task was complete here.

- - - - -

Back on the platform, Thunderhawk was marking something on a parchment, and measuring out the circular platform. This meant nothing to Elise, and she didn't particularly care, although Thunderhawk in his mumblings had said that it will regulate the power flow that would revive Sonic, so Elise left him alone. She was too wrapped up in herself to help effectively, and was thankful that Thunderhawk didn't ask her to help. She wanted to stay beside Sonic's body, like a guard.

Tikal remained at Sonic's side, sitting upon the earth in an Indian cross-legged posture and observing Thunderhawk work meticulously, watching as the elder Echidna made gestures around the platform.

There was a flash of light, and Silver and Charmy appeared, bearing the White Chaos Emerald. The sight of a Chaos Emerald lifted Elise's spirits some, as they were the key to Sonic's return.

Thunderhawk looked up at them. "Ah, you have returned, come help an old man!"

Silver and Charmy joined Thunderhawk with his work, but not before Silver gave the Emerald to Tikal, and asked her to hold it for him. Elise watched the three at work. Thunderhawk was discussing the array he was going to mark on the ground. Silver's eyes widened after seeing the smaller array on the parchment, but didn't say anything. Immediately, the three got to work. Thunderhawk had them survey the ground, marking the earth where the circle would lay. Thunderhawk was adamant that the measures had to be precise.

While the three worked, Elise talked to Tikal, while stroking Sonic's spines. It comforted her somehow. "Tikal," Elise inquired. "How do you know Sonic and his friends?"

Tikal looked up from the Emerald and looked at Elise. "To tell you that, I will need to tell you my story."

Elise nodded understandably.

"I came from a great tribe of Echidnas. We lived in the Forests of Indra, just off the ocean. It was my tribe that helped forge the Blue Chaos Emerald deep inside the temple erected in our village. Actually, we built our home around the temple, for it was there longer than us. The Blue Chaos Emerald was given to the Guardian Tribe that dwelt on Angel Island, an island that sailed around the seas like a ship. That's where Elder Thunderhawk came from."

"One day, the chief…and my father, Pachachamanac, was bitten by greed and envy. He was jealous at the Guardian Tribe, for they possessed all the Chaos Emeralds, and the one thing that controlled them…the Master Emerald, the very thing that the Guardians live to protect. My father wanted it, and the other Emeralds. He prepared the tribe for war, and in secret, I snuck onto Angel Island. It was resting near our ocean coast, you see.

"While on the Island, I discovered curious little creatures that the Echidnas have affectionally called 'chao,' and there was this creature that loved the chao. His true name was unknown, so we called him 'Chaos.' He seemed really shy around me, but soon got used to me, seeing that I was friendly with the chao.

"Then, one terrible night, my father led the attack. I tried to stop them, but I couldn't do anything. My father had the chao killed and when he charged to the Emeralds, Chaos attacked them, and when he saw the chao, he lost his mind."

Tikal breathed before speaking again, as if the memory was uncomfortable. "I had to do something, or Chaos would have destroyed the world. I used the Master Emerald to seal Chaos away. I succeeded, but the anger still festered in Chaos' heart. I sealed myself away so that I could attempt to calm him, but to no avail.

"Millennia later, Chaos broke out of the Master Emerald, and with the help of that evil man, Dr. Robotnik, Chaos again got the Chaos Emeralds and was about to destroy the world again, then Sonic used the Emeralds against Chaos and defeated him. Before that, I helped Sonic and his friends see parts of my time from my memory so they could be warned. Miraculously, chao had come forth and calmed Chaos, for Chaos thought all of them were destroyed. He let go of his anger, and then we left together."

Elise looked down at Sonic. "Did you know that Sonic would save the world then?"

"No…" Tikal said, and then continued. "I believed he would though, and I do now."

Elise looked at Sonic. "I wish I had your faith."

"How much faith has nothing to do with it, Elise." Tikal looked into Elise's eyes. "If there's just one sliver of faith within you, that's all you'll ever need. You can't size up faith, but if you put your full heart into your faith, then even the tiniest flicker of faith will become a roaring fire. All it takes is one small spark in a forest to start a raging forest that will destroy the forest. Just believe, and let He do the rest."

"He?" Elise inquired.

"Yes…the Divine One. He has many names, for people have given him many, for they do not know his true name, not one. He sees the heart, and if he sees that spark, he'll fan it into the flames you need."

Elise pondered these words. Before Solaris had been unveiled as a demon, she and her people had thought Solaris of a similar nature. Her faith had been hurt because Solaris had deceived all of them, and wasn't sure how to believe after that, especially now that Sonic was dead. She had promised that she would believe, but how could she when the very things she did believe in are gone?

Silver accidentally dropped a wooden stake he was holding, distracting Elise a moment from her gloomy thoughts. Thunderhawk tried to hide his amusement. "I dare say, Silver, you're more fidgety then a baby sparrow on his first flying lesson."

"Sorry…" Silver said, picking up the steak with his power. He heard Charmy say, "I still think that's so cool," but tried to ignore it.

"What's on your mind, child?" Thunderhawk said, rolling up the parchment he was looking at.

"It's this circle we're making," Silver said, motioning to the black lines marking the ground. "My dad was alchemist, and I remember him telling me about the circles. Most alchemy arrays have six-sided figures inside them. Ones with seven-sided ones were usually linked to a taboo." Silver kept looking at the ground nervously. He expected Thunderhawk to laugh it off as nonsense, but when he dared to look up at him again, Silver saw that Thunderhawk looked serious.

"I know," Thunderhawk said. "Many of those arrays are marked for taboo. I will be honest with you, Silver. In alchemy, it is a taboo to attempt to raise a being who has fallen back to life, for the price is too great to give. What we are doing is a taboo, according to the laws of alchemy."

Silver paled. Thunderhawk smiled and continued, "But this isn't alchemy were doing. This array is used in the Hidden Palace, and on the Marble Garden's Emerald shrine on Angel Island. It was designed by the Echidnas so that each Chaos Emerald may be the same distance away from the Master Emerald."

"But the symbols…"

Thunderhawk chuckled. "Those are symbols of what each of the Chaos Emeralds' powers are, are they not?"

Silver opened up his mouth to reply, but closed it again. He didn't know at all, as the only powers of Chaos he used were Chaos Control and Chaos Summon.

"It's all right, child. We all start as novices. At the great risk of committing the sin of pride, I do have extensive knowledge of the Chaos Emeralds."

Silver smiled sheepishly. He felt Thunderhawk's amusement at his naivety, and Silver felt obliged to laugh at it with him. Blaze often criticized his naivety, but she was never mean about it. Perhaps she was amused at it too, but showed it differently. He suddenly wished she was here now.

Thunderhawk called Silver over again, and once again Silver gazed at the diagram of the array. It was a heptagon circumscribing a thick banded circle. From the angles of the heptagon were seven rays, each with a symbol in the head. All the rays were converging upon the middle, a seven-pointed star.

"Now see, Silver. Each of these symbols merely represents a power of each respective Chaos Emerald. In Hidden Palace, all of these rays converge upon the Master Emerald, which controls all of the Chaos Emeralds. The symbols simply represent these seven powers: earth, water, wind, light, ice, lightning and fire." The elder Echidna handed Silver a paintbrush and a can of black paint. "Would you please lay down the symbols while I finish the array? Oh, and one more thing. Make sure you put them in the exact order I have on this diagram. It cannot be any different. Understand?"

Silver nodded.

"Good lad," Thunderhawk smiled, and stooped down to work on the star. The circle was half-complete now, and Thunderhawk was eager to finish.

Silver sat down the can and paintbrush on the stone and looked over the diagram. A green-blue glow enveloped the paintbrush and it rose out of the paint. Rubbing against the inside of the can so no drips would remain, Silver moved the paintbrush to the heart of the ray and began painting.

Using his power to do the simple things may be lazy, but Silver wasn't banking on his hand-eye coordination to make it look good. As he painted, he was thinking on how the others were doing collecting the Emeralds. He figured Shadow would have beat him here, but as of yet, there was no sign of him. Maybe once he finished here, he would use the Emerald to see them, and if they were in trouble, either jump in to help them out or pull them out of it.

Elise and Tikal watched the three work on the array, neither having moved from their respective spots. Elise was trying in vain to lift her own spirits on her own, but she was having trouble. Seeing Silver and Charmy return with one Chaos Emerald was a lifter to be sure, but something in her soul was squashing her hopes like ants. Were the others all right? Are they succeeding with their task? What if the Chaos Emerald was never to be found?

Elise looked at Tikal, whose head was lowered, and her hands clasped. She was praying again. Elise had to really respect Tikal. She seemed to never lose hope…just like Sonic.

As quick as lightning, Sonic's words echoed through her mind. Nothing actually starts unless you actually do it. Worrying is a waste of time. Take it from me, Elise. If you've got time to worry, you've got loads of time to get up and run like the wind. Elise kicked herself mentally. How could she have forgotten that!?

She began to stand up, laying Sonic's head down gently on the ground as if she was tucking him into bed, and took off her shoes. She looked at Sonic's still form once more, and breathed. "Thank you, Sonic." Then she began to run laps around the platform.

Charmy watched her go with a puzzled look on his face. Silver looked up, momentarily distracted and the paintbrush clattered to the ground. Thunderhawk looked up from his work, smiled and got back to work. Tikal opened her eyes and saw Elise running, but she said nothing.

Charmy wasn't so silent. "Uh, did I miss something?"

Silver blinked, trying to come up with some logical reason for this sudden change of behavior, but was failing to do something.

Tikal didn't understand the details, but she felt that this was a good sign. "She's letting go of her worry…by running. Just like Sonic would do." Without another word, she joined Elise in running.

"Wild," Charmy said, then grinned big. "but I like wild!" He darted towards them, hovering behind.

Thunderhawk chuckled. "Ah, to be youthful again. Don't you agree, Silver?"

Silver barely heard these words. He was still trying to get his thoughts back together from witnessing this weirdness. Looking down, he realized he dropped the paintbrush. He picked it back up, breathing a sigh of relief that it didn't leave paint behind and got back to work. He guessed there were just some things he would never understand. But who knows? Maybe it was better that way.

Elise was feeling her spirits rise. Sonic was right. It was better to run then worry. If only she remembered sooner. Oh, well. Better late than never. She hoped Sonic would be proud. She felt a breeze kick up in her face, a soothing gentle breeze. Yes…he was.