This chapter is more or less an epilogue of the previous story-arc and a transition into the next one which will be based on Sonic Unleashed.

Chapter 69: Transformation

It was the week before Finals and Sonny was on his way to the cafeteria for lunch. He passed by the classroom where The Blue Blur Fan-Club met, but he didn't stop to look inside. After getting his usual meal of a hot-dog with chili on the side, Sonny met up with Miles and Amelia at a table near the back.

"Hey, Sonny," Amelia said as she greeted him. "Miles was just telling me that he's planning to go to Spagonia for Winter Break."

"You're going to Spagonia?" Sonny said in disbelief as he looked at Miles.

"It's for an internship I've arranged with Professor Pickle, who's a leading expert on ancient literature and mythology," Miles said. "But I won't go unless you had something else in mind for us to do during Winter Break."

"No, you should totally go, Miles," replied Sonny. "It'll get you out of the apartment and the Secret Hangar for a while."

"Actually, I finished repairing the Tornado 2 and decided to paint it red and yellow."

"That's great news," Amelia responded. "Are you going to call it the Tornado 3?"

"No, just Tornado-1," Miles replied. "And I'm going to bring it to Spagonia with me."

Sonny was about to answer when his cellphone started ringing. "Hello?"

"Hello, Blue Blur," said a familiar but imposing voice.

"Commander!" Sonny exclaimed, which got Miles and Amelia's attention.

"I thought I'd let you know that Dr. Eggman is up to no good again. He was last seen in Soleanna stealing a mysterious object known as the Scepter of Darkness from the Duke's former palace in Kingdom Valley. I'm appointing you to investigate since Shadow and Rouge are currently busy training two new agents who were survivors of the Westopolis disaster."

"Oh? And what makes these two agents deserve more attention than Dr. Eggman?"

"They are possessed by spirits that claim to be allies to Sonic. Their names are Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat and the hosts' names are Silva and Blake Hedgeworth respectfully."

"So they're brothers?"

"Actually, they are brother and sister. Now when can I expect you to start investigating Dr. Eggman's whereabouts?"

"I guess I don't have much of a choice then, do I?"

"Unless you want to endanger the world, then no."

"I'll start looking for him after Finals are over. Satisfied?"

"Fine. Then keep me posted, and don't say anything about this to anyone."

"Okay, bye."

As soon as The Commander of G. U. N. hung up, Sonny immediately told Miles and Amelia about the phone conversation. While Miles offered to drop Sonny off in Soleanna on the way to Spagonia, Amelia decided she would meet up with Sonny in Spagonia once the investigation was over. Sonny in turn accepted their offers and made his way to class after lunch.

###

After arriving in Soleanna during the Festival of the Sun, Sonic ran through the crowded streets along the main canal but briefly stopped when he saw a large ship approaching the altar in the canal's center. On the bow of the ship was a young girl of sixteen with short chestnut brown hair and wearing a white dress with orange tights. He looked at the girl carefully, and realized she was the reincarnation of Princess Elise. Then for a split second, she made eye-contact with him before he continued toward Kingdom Valley.

"Is something wrong, Princess Elise?" asked one of the maids who accompanied the girl.

The girl shook her head in response. "No, I just…thought I saw someone who looked familiar."

###

Along the way, Sonic collected all seven of the Chaos Emeralds before reaching the abandoned castle in Kingdom Valley the following night. There, he found a note inside that said, 'Gather the Chaos Emeralds and meet me up in space' and was signed by Dr. Eggman. After crumbling the note, Sonic concentrated his thoughts on the Chaos Emeralds and used them to transform into his Super self. Once that was done, Sonic flew up into the atmosphere and into the vacuum of space where he saw a fleet of Eggman's ships lingering within Mobius' shadow.

Upon seeing them, Sonic immediately flew toward the fleet. The ships fired lasers at him the minute he was in firing range, but Sonic managed to dodge them all and obliterate every robot that got in his way. He eventually made his way to the bridge of the main ship where he found Dr. Eggman cowering behind a control-panel.

"So...I take it you got my note," Eggman said trying to sound calm.

"It wasn't hard to find," Sonic said smugly. "And that includes the Chaos Emeralds."

"Well, now that you're here, let's see if you can keep up with me this time," Eggman replied as the control-panel was covered with a glass dome and disappeared beneath a hatch that opened up.

"Not a chance, Eggman!" Sonic exclaimed as he flew down the hole which led back out into space.

As Eggman's Egg Mobile flew away from the main ship, Sonic pursued right behind him. Eggman then retreated into a ship that was shaped like a scepter and crashed his Egg Mobile in the main room. But then just before he could get up, Sonic bursted through the metal doors that Eggman closed behind him.

"Don't hurt me, Sonic!" Eggman pleaded as he groveled on the floor. "I'll stop possessing Dr. Robotnik if that's what it takes."

"Is that so?" Sonic said as he landed and walked toward Eggman. "With no way to tell you two apart, how do I know which one I'm talking to?"

In response, Eggman took out a hidden remote from his jacket-sleeve and pressed a big red button on it. This in turn caused several panels to appear around the circular area Sonic was standing in which trapped him and the Chaos Emeralds in a field of electrical energy that was purple in color. While Sonic cried out in pain, Eggman laughed maniacally as he was lifted into a control-panel high above where he pressed yet another large button that was multi-colored instead of red.

Outside the big glass window of the main room, the shaft-shaped part of the ship opened up to reveal a giant laser-cannon that fired a beam of purple energy directly at the planet Mobius. There was a visible explosion seen from space, followed by a short pause, and then all around the globe several unusual fissures appeared. As a result, the planet's molten core became exposed and from it emerged a mysterious being with purple tendrils and a serpent-like head. Meanwhile, the Chaos Emeralds dropped to the floor with all the color drained from them along with Sonic.

"It's just as the Gaia Manuscripts predicted!" Eggman exclaimed as he held up a small scepter adorned with a purple gemstone and sculptured wings. "With the Scepter of Darkness' power boosted by the Chaos Emeralds, I have now unleashed Dark Gaia from Mobius' core! And once I harness its energy, Eggmanland will become a reality!"

"You…have no idea what forces you're tampering with, Dr. Eggman," Sonic said, though his body had changed as well as his voice. Sharp fangs replaced his teeth, sharp claws outlined with white fur replaced his hands, and his hair had grown longer and spikier with white coloring along the edges.

Dr. Eggman looked down at Sonic with arched eyebrows and said, "Is that you, Sonic? It seems the energy from the Scepter has left some unusual side-effects on your body."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked as he got up wearily.

"I'd like to study you further, but I'm on a busy schedule and you've given me what I've needed so sadly this is goodbye," Dr. Eggman responded as he pressed a button which covered the control-panel with glass as the big window opened up.

Immediately, Sonic was sucked out along with the other Chaos Emeralds into space and toward the planet below.

To be continued…