Chapter 23: Peace
"Get ready, guys," Sonic said. "We don't want to be thrown off-guard if Eggman attacks us."
While Amy summoned the Piko Hammer, Knuckles made the same metallic claws he used to fight against Chaos before appear.
"What are those things?" Sonic asked as he got into a running position.
"I found them during my search for the Master Emerald shards," Knuckles replied. "At first, I didn't know what they were, but then I remembered that they're called Shovel Claws. They were used by my tribe as weapons for fighting or tools for digging."
"Sounds good to me," Sonic replied.
The Egg Mobile landed, and Dr. Eggman stepped out with his hands raised.
"I'm not here to fight you, Sonic," Dr. Eggman insisted. "I just want to talk."
"Yeah, right," Sonic replied. "Isn't this what you wanted? To destroy Station Square so you could build Robuttnikland or something."
"Robotnikland, and yes that was the original plan, but Chaos betrayed me."
Sonic and his friends looked at each other in confusion.
"He went off and looked for the Chaos Emeralds without telling me, and then as soon as he found all of them Chaos left to destroy Station Square even though I didn't order him to," Eggman clenched his fists. "I should never have let a mindless creature like Chaos do all the dirty work for me."
"Chaos is not a mindless creature."
Sonic and his friends looked behind them where the voice was coming from while Dr. Eggman raised his eyebrows. It was Tia, but her pupils were slanted and she had a tail that was similar to Knuckles' in shape. She also wore a golden tiara with a bright-blue gem in the center around her forehead.
"Tia," Knuckles said in bewilderment.
"That is one of the many names I have been called," Tia replied solemnly. "My real name is Tikal, and I share a connection with Chaos that goes back to a distant time before the world was reformed."
"So you are a ghost?" Miles asked.
"In a way," Tikal replied. "A long time ago, I was the princess of an ancient tribe who sought to use the Master Emerald to gain absolute power. But in the process they harmed the Chao, who were harmless creatures that occupied Angel Island, which angered Chaos who was their protector. He then used the Chaos Emeralds to transform into the monster that you see and nearly destroyed the world as a result. But I intervened and sealed Chaos into the Master Emerald at the cost of my mortality. Then several centuries later, a mad scientist released Chaos from his imprisonment in order to use Chaos' destructive powers for his own purposes.
"However, Chaos did not obey and he would've destroyed the world if it hadn't been for the bravery of one blue hedgehog. I was released from the Master Emerald as well, and I showed the hedgehog and his friends images of the past so that they could stop Chaos in the present. Then after Chaos was defeated, his spirit and mine were at peace. The world itself was then destroyed and reformed, and a new Angel Island was formed when the tribe that Chuck is descended from used the Master Emerald to levitate a large piece of land to make a new home for themselves as the Mystic Ruins' resources ran dry. But after a while, the tribe's leader tried to use the Master Emerald to wage war on the other tribes.
"Angered, Chaos decided to teach the tribe leader a lesson, and used his true form to cause Angel Island to plummet into the ocean. So I sealed Chaos once more into the Master Emerald, and saved Angel Island's people. But instead of being sealed into the Master Emerald as well, I reincarnated for four thousand years into the bodies of young women who met tragic fates waiting for Chaos to return. Tia Kale was one such host, but she did not realize she was dead due to the suddenness of it and thus I did not awaken till she was aware."
"So the reason Chuck saw you as a girl instead of a floating orb is because you're from the same tribe I'm apart of," Knuckles said. "Where did Tia go after you woke up?"
"Her spirit passed on to the afterlife while I remained," Tikal answered. "My spirit will not rest until Chaos is defeated once more."
"Now this blue hedgehog that you mentioned," Sonic said adjusting his hair. "What did he use to defeat Chaos?"
"The Chaos Emeralds, of course," Tikal said. "They were originally powered by hatred, but the blue hedgehog and his friends demonstrated that the Emeralds could also be powered by friendship."
"But that doesn't really help us," Knuckles responded. "Chaos still has the Emeralds inside of him, and we have no means of getting them if Eggman's missiles couldn't even puncture his skin."
In the distance, Chaos suddenly roared and spat out seven objects that glimmered for a few seconds before fading out.
"He's used up all the energy the Chaos Emeralds could give him," Tikal said. "We must collect them all and restore their power quickly before he destroys the city."
"That's sounds like a plan to me," Sonic said, and leapt off the building in a spinning ball.
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As Station Square continued to flood, Sonic and the others searched around the downtown area for the disregarded Chaos Emeralds. They managed to keep a safe distance from Chaos, who hadn't moved from the building he emerged from, and made themselves less noticeable by splitting into three teams: one team consisted of Sonic and Tails, the second was Knuckles and Dr. Eggman, and the third Amy and Tikal. While Sonic and Tails managed to find two Emeralds pretty quickly, Dr. Eggman attempted to sneak off with the two Emeralds he found until Knuckles threatened to beat him up. Amy and Tikal, on the other hand, weren't having much luck until Big the Cat sporadically showed up and with his help they managed to obtain three. Afterwards, they rendezvoused at a freeway that was close to Chaos but far enough to where he couldn't see them. There, all three teams presented the Chaos Emeralds which were now dull in color and not glowing like before.
"Now in order for this to work, I will need all of you to close your eyes and concentrate all your thoughts on the Chaos Emeralds you have," Tikal commanded. "With enough positive thinking, the Chaos Emeralds should be restored to their proper forms."
So Sonic and his friends did what Tikal told them to do, including Dr. Eggman. Several minutes passed, but nothing happened. Then Tikal started to murmur a prayer.
While it didn't do anything special, the prayer seemed to encourage everyone to concentrate harder. Then in a few moments, the Chaos Emeralds glowed brightly and levitated from the hands of those who held them. The Emeralds circled around Sonic and was then transformed into his Super Sonic form. He flew towards Chaos and penetrated right into the monster's chest. Next, he made his way up through Chaos' head from the inside and popped out from it at top speeds. This in turn caused Chaos to explode and disintegrate into droplets that fell into the water below. But then Chaos reformed itself and the pattern started again.
After one more attack, Chaos disintegrated permanently. Then just when Sonic's friends cheered and Dr. Eggman smirked, Chaos appeared before them in the form that Sonic and Knuckles first encountered. Sonic flew down and blocked Chaos, but Tikal ran around him.
"It's all right, Sonic," Tikal assured. "His anger is gone and he wants to speak to me."
"How do you know that?" Sonic asked.
"I share a connection with Chaos. Remember?"
Reluctantly, Sonic changed back into his regular form while the Chaos Emeralds still circled around him. Tikal then walked over to Chaos, who was about her height now, and spoke to him. Sonic was too far away to hear exactly what Tikal was saying, but he got the impression that she was relieved. Above them, the clouds parted and a single shaft of sunlight illuminated the two. Chaos' skin shimmered in the light, while Tikal was barely visible.
"History may have repeated itself here," Tikal said, loud enough for Sonic and the others to hear. "But I hope this will be the last time it does."
"We'll make sure of that," Sonic responded, and turned to his friends. "Right, guys?"
"Yeah!" Amy and Big shouted.
"Right," Knuckles nodded.
"I guess I'll try not to destroy the world in the near future again," Dr. Eggman said wearily.
"Thank you all, especially you, Knuckles," Tikal said as she and Chaos grew fainter. "You showed kindness to Tia when no one else would, and allowed her soul to rest in peace."
Then as the clouds completely cleared up, Tikal and Chaos vanished with them. After a brief pause, Dr. Eggman summoned his Egg Mobile, got into it, and flew off before Sonic and the others could stop him. But they didn't give chase, and waited till he was far away to transform back into their regular selves. The only one who didn't change was Knuckles, which surprised the others.
"What's wrong, Knuckles?" Sonny asked.
"It's nothing," Knuckles replied quietly. "I'm going home to restore the Master Emerald now."
Before the others could stop him, Knuckles glided up toward the nearest building that faced the sea and climbed it.
"Knuckles, wait!" Sonny shouted, and was about to transform again when Amelia pinched his shoulders.
"Let him go, Sonny," Amelia said firmly. "He wants to be left alone right now."
"All right, but you didn't have to pinch me," Sonny replied, rubbing his shoulders.
"So what do we do now?" Biggs asked.
"Wait till the rescue crews arrive, I guess," Miles said. "There's not much we can do unless we want to transform again and risk being seen."
"Miles, you worry too much," Sonny said. "Besides, these Emeralds aren't going to hide themselves."
Sonny then transformed into Super Sonic and levitated several feet into the air. Once he was above the tallest buildings, Sonic made the seven Chaos Emeralds appear around him. Next, he raised his hands and flung them outward, causing the Chaos Emeralds to fly off in different directions till they could no longer be seen. Then just after Sonic changed back, a rescue helicopter appeared in the distance and flew quickly towards him and his friends.
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Several miles away across the ocean, Angel Island was crawling with G. U. N. soldiers. Unfortunately, they were too busy dealing with the traps Knuckles had set up prior to leaving to notice him as he glided to the altar. There, he took out all the shards he had collected and placed them at the foot of the broken Master Emerald. Then Knuckles raised his hands and repeated the prayer Tikal was muttering when they were restoring power to the Chaos Emeralds.
"The servers are the seven Chaos.
Chaos is power,
power enriched by the heart.
The heart is the controller.
The controller serves to unify the chaos."
As soon as the prayer was spoken, the shards glowed and floated into place, creating a complete Master Emerald. Next, the Master Emerald shined brightly, and a familiar rumble trembled beneath Knuckles' feet. The G. U. N. soldiers that were stationed there immediately felt the tremors and quickly got into the helicopters that brought them there. While they flew away, Angel Island rose out of the ocean and into the sky once more. After the island stopped above the clouds, Knuckles changed back into Chuck who then sat on the steps of the altar and cried silently to himself.
To be continued…