Chapter 33: Countdown to Chaos (Part 1)

"Hello Helen…we meet again."

"W-what?" Helen asked, lined up with her friends on the stage as chaos ensued, smoke obscuring their visions and the sound of screaming attendees filing their ears. Slowly, however, the dark silhouette of a mech not unlike hers appeared in the sight of the explosion at the far entrance of the auditorium.

Tails peered across the hall. "Is that…Chris?"

"Right you are, you impotent furball!" Chris exclaimed. "And you're not the only one who can build mechs!" The evil child slowly crept toward the stage, crushing seats in his wake.

"Topaz!" Rouge exclaimed as she pulled herself out from under a large metal door. She rushed to the aid of her human counterpart, who was lying unconscious in Chris' path. Just as the child was about to crush the unsuspecting agent, the jewel thief swooped in, nabbing her and disappearing into the shadows.

"What's the big idea?" Sonic asked, pointing a finger at the approaching mech. "I'm all for dukin' it out, but a warning would've been nice…and a secluded area away from pedestrians would've been even better."

"Silly hedgehog!" Chris exclaimed with a condescending laugh. "You think I care about the plebians and their safety? You think I even care about the President of the United States? Ha! My parents bought him out years ago while he was still a Senator. That chickenshit wouldn't dare raise his finger to me…and besides…" The evil boy gave a wicked smirk, now within a few yards of the stage. "…I'm not here for you. I'm here…for you." The mech's metallic finger pointed at Helen, who gasped in surprise.

"DON'T MOVE!"

Chris peered around as a group of Secret Service agents circled his mech, all wielding machine guns. The suited men took aim, and the sergeant directly facing him raised his arm.

"You have one chance to stand down! If you do not surrender yourself immediately, we will be forced to subdue you with lethal force!"

"I'm afraid you need to get the gunk out of your eardrums," Chris replied. "The President would never cause any harm to the heir of the Thorndyke Estate…right, Mr. President?"

Michael emerged from the curtains behind the stage, sweat dripping from his forehead. Multiple cameras were trained on him, broadcasting the event in real time, with millions of viewers at home watching to see what their commander-in-chief would do next.

"The President of the United States is controlled by no one," Michael declared, pointing at the smug face of the evil child. "I don't care about your family's money. What you're perpetrating is nothing short of terrorism. Not even your parents' status will save you from this stunt."

Chris stared at the President dumbfoundedly before breaking out in laughter. "Ah man, that's rich! Rich, I tell ya!" He made the mech slap its knee with its mechanical palm. "That's some strong rhetoric there, big boy! You may sound tough now, but once my mommy and daddy pull their money from your reelection campaign, your political career is going to be over!" The young boy turned his attention back to the Secret Service agents. "Now perish!"

With a swift swipe of his leg, he sent half of the men flying. The other half started shooting their machine guns at the mech, but a white aura shielding the mech deflected the bullets. Turning around, he slammed his metallic fist on the ground, shaking the floor and bringing the remaining men to their knees.

"Now…" Chris shifted his attention once more to the stage. "…we have some unfinished business…Helen."

"Just...what do you want?" Helen asked, gripping the armrests of her wheelchair as she furrowed her brow.

"Oh, you don't know?" Chris laughed maniacally as he approached the stage. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Cream all shielded the young girl, serving as a Mobian barrier between her and the mech. "Stand down, you filthy animals! This feud is between me and her."

"Why don't you start by answerin' her question?" Sonic replied, folding his arms as he tapped his foot on the floor.

"Helen humiliated me," Chris replied as he slammed his metallic fist on the floor, squishing some auditorium chairs and creating a hole into the building's basement. "I was about ready to prove my manliness by defeating her in combat, but then what did she decide to do? She pulled out her freakin' mech suit! That was totally unfair!"

"Are you jealous you didn't think of the idea first?" Tails asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"Heh, good one, Tails!" Sonic said as the two brothers exchanged a fist bump.

Chris made another hole in the floor with his mechanical fist. "No, you imbecile! Helen completely shattered my public image. To think, me, at the height of my masculine performance, could lose to a woman…a cripple no less!"

"Hey, watch your tone, young man!" Chuck replied, raising a finger at the spoiled child. "That term is derogatory and condescending. Listen to your elder and apologize!" The aging scientist took a puff of his joint.

"Me, apologize to her?! Ha! That's so stupid I forgot to laugh!" Thorndyke's laughter filled the auditorium. "Helen's a nobody! She has nothing to lose, whereas I am the heir of the Thorndyke estate! My reputation means more to me than anything in the world!" Chris turned his attention back to Helen and frowned. "And yet, I offered my love to this wretch, but she repeatedly denied me. Despite my money, despite my fame, despite my good looks!" He flexed in place, his metallic arms emulating his movements. "And as her last cherry on top, she went and destroyed my reputation during the tournament!"

"You have done that to yourself," Helen replied defiantly. "Real men don't harass women who reject them. You should've taken the L and went home, but instead, you've continued harassing me and my friends." The young girl pulled the turquoise Chaos Emerald from the compartment of her wheelchair. "We've collected the Chaos Emeralds fair and square, and…" She peered around at her Mobian friends, her eyes starting to glisten with fresh tears. "…and while I don't want to see my friends leave Earth, collecting the emeralds is the only way to get them home…but you…" She pointed her finger at the young boy. "…you've been a jerk to all of us, and now look what you're doing." She gestured around the destroyed auditorium. "You're causing mayhem because of your fragile ego."

"It'll all be worth it," Chris replied, a sinister grin growing across his face, "when I get to take my revenge out on you!"

"Have you ever considered therapy?" Sonic asked. "I'm sure your mommy and daddy can afford it." Chris' face grew red in anger.

"Now, now, Sonic," Knuckles replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The brat's not going to listen to our words." He slammed a fist against the open palm of his other hand. "He needs an attitude adjustment."

"Does it really have to come to that?" Cream asked.

"Chao, chao?" Cheese added from atop her head.

"I don't think he can be reasoned with, Cream," Amy replied, pulling out her Piko Piko Hammer.

"No, none of you will fight me," Chris declared as he pointed his metallic finger at the young human girl at the center of the stage. "Only Helen and I will engage in combat. We will fight with our mech suits in the Station Square Park across the street."

"Why should we listen to your rules?" Tails asked defiantly.

"Because, you two-tailed freak," Chris replied, "I am a man of my word, and I have a little proposition for this fight." Pressing a button on his dashboard, the white Chaos Emerald started to glow in its central compartment in the mech's chest. "If I win, I will take all your Chaos Emeralds. If you win, you get my single Chaos Emerald and a million dollars."

Sonic scoffed. "Doesn't sound like a fair deal if you ask me."

"…Ten million dollars."

"It's not about the money," Helen replied. "You're not giving me a good reason to fight you."

"Fine then…" Chris peered around and, with a wicked smirk across his face, extended his mechanical arm to grab President Michael K. "How about this: if you don't agree to battle me on my terms, I will kill the President with my own two hands!"

"You wouldn't!" Helen shouted. "Put him down!"

"The choice is up to you: either you fight me…or the President dies."

Helen gripped her arm rests and bit her lips. All eyes were now trained on the young girl, who eventually took a deep breath, sighed, and nodded her head.

"Fine. You want a mech battle? I'll give you a mech battle."

"Are you sure about this?" Tails asked to her side. "That Eggman tech he's using means business. Plus, it's being powered by his Chaos Emerald, just like yours. It's gonna get dicey."

"I know," Helen replied, "but if this will save the President and get us the final Chaos Emerald, then I'm willing to do whatever it takes."

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Sonic replied, placing a palm on her shoulder. "Go kick his butt for all of us!"

"I will," Helen said with a nod. She and the rest of the party watched as Chris already made his way out through the enlarged exit he created with his mech. Police cars were waiting for him on the street, but they froze at the sight of the President dangling from his mechanical hands. The young boy stomped through the line of patrol cars as he made his way to the center of the community park.

Helen and the rest of the gang followed the evil boy, and behind them Topaz was limping to catch up.

"Where are you going, sweetheart?" Rouge asked, pulling Topaz's leg. "You're still hurt from the explosion. There's no way you can do any sort of rescuing in your condition."

"My job isn't complete until the President is safe," Topaz replied, "and he's being held captive by one of the most unstable billionaires on the planet! I need to rescue him!"

"You heard him, though," Rouge pleaded. "Chris wants to fight with Helen. If anyone tries to interfere, he may actually hurt Michael." Topaz grumbled under her breath, realizing that her Mobian counterpart was correct. "Hey, how about this…" The bat smirked as she grabbed the agent from the armpits, placing her on top of a medium sized building. "This is far enough away to where we should be safe while also close enough to intervene if necessary, and with your binoculars, you should get a good view of the fight."

Topaz pulled out her binoculars as instructed to find Chris waiting as the heroic party met him near the large water fountain at the center of the park. "I suppose this will work."

"Great!" Rouge replied before sitting on the edge of the roof, pointing to the spot next to her. "Now sit so we can enjoy the show!"

"I wouldn't really call it enjoy, per say," Topaz said as she sat next to the bat.

"…How is your arm?"

"It's…fine…" Topaz held it up for Rouge to see: her limb didn't appear broken, but the cloth of her tactical gear was scrapped, and the bat noticed a bloody spot.

"Except for the shrapnel here," Rouge noted.

"I've had worse," Topaz said, putting on the tough woman persona for her girlfriend.

"Yeah, well, you still need some medical care," Rouge replied as she reached into Topaz's utility belt for her portable first aid kit.

"How'd you know I had that?!" Topaz exclaimed with a blush.

"Trust me, I know everything you carry around," Rouge replied with a smirk. "With all the handcuffs you keep on hand, I guess I was right about the S&M."

"Jewel thief." Topaz scoffed.

"You will never let me live down my past, will you?" With a set of tweezers, Rouge gently pulled some small metal pieces from the human agent's wound.

"Once a thief, always a thief?" Topaz asked before wincing in pain.

"Perhaps…or perhaps not." Rouge gave Topaz a grin before pulling out another piece of metal. Inspecting the wound further, she pulled out a cloth and ointment from the kit. "I don't see any other debris in your wound, but you should get that looked at by a medical professional when this is all over."

"I will." Topaz nodded as Rouge cleaned the wound, applied ointment to a large bandage, and covered up the spot on her arm. "Thank you, Rouge."

"Anything for you," Rouge replied with a wink before giving her companion a kiss on the lips, which was jointly reciprocated.

"You know," Topaz noted, "this would be romantic under the right circumstances..." She pulled out her binoculars once more. "…but, time to get serious."

"Yeah, yeah," Rouge replied with a shrug. "Maybe after this you can take me out for a drink."

"Maybe," Topaz replied with a smile as she focused her attention on the upcoming battle.

"Now stand back, rodents," Chris said as he lifted the president in his mechanical hand, "so I can fight Helen alone. Failure to comply will result in the untimely demise of your leader here."

"Hey, put me down you scoundrel!" Michael called, dangling helplessly.

"Don't worry," Helen said, peering back at her Mobian counterparts. "I got this." They did as she commanded, stepping back to let Helen handle Chris by herself.

"Very good." With a chuckle, Chris threw Michael over Helen's head. Tails jumped up in the air, activating his rotary namesakes so he could catch him in the air before falling to the ground. "Now, let's engage in combat: one-on-one with no distractions."

"Fine by me." Helen pressed a sequence of buttons on her armrest, allowing her wheelchair to transform into the Helengelion 1.1. She attached her Nintendo Switch Pro controller to her dashboard, and placing the white Chaos Emerald on a separate holder and pressing a button, the emerald shot down through a tube, landing in the center of the mech's mechanical chest, glowing brilliant shades of turquoise as it shimmered through the transparent display, matching the glistening white emanating from the gem in Chris' mech.

"Onetwothreegooooooooooooooooo!" Chris yelled as he dived forward.

"Whaa—" Chris punched Helen in the torso, sending her mech flying back and forcing her friends to dive for cover. Detecting Chris' second attack incoming, she firmly grasped her controller, pressing the shoulder buttons to block the boy's incoming jump with her legs, kicking him away.

Helen pulled herself up. "Resorting to dirty tricks? I thought you wanted a fair fight?"

"What, like the one you failed to give me during the tournament?" Chris retorted as he pulled himself up as well.

"You kidnapped the president because you're a sore loser!" Helen yelled. "I just don't understand you. You have everything you could possibly want, all the wealth in the world, so why are you like this?"

"I don't have everything," Chris replied as he jumped up in the air, slamming his fist toward the head of Helen's mech, swiftly deflected by her arm. "I don't have you." Chris launched himself off her head into the air, and when he reached the apex of his jump, he pulled a massive sword from his back, and charged it behind his head.

"Helen, get out of the way!" Tails yelled.

Helen rolled to the side, barely missing what would've been a lethal strike.

"What's wrong, Helen? Scared of my impressive sword?" Chris asked with a grin.

"Hardly," Helen replied as she aimed her arm at the young boy. "You're the one who should be scared!" Pressing a few buttons on her dash, she shot several lasers in succession, all of which dissipated when colliding with Chris' energy field.

"You fool," Chris laughed maniacally. "What hopes do you have of defeating me? Eggman's tech plus the power of my Chaos Emerald are no match, and before long, I'll have all seven at my disposal!" Chris slashed his sword at Helen, who dodged once more. "I will topple governments." Another slash, and another dodge by the young girl. "I will topple militaries." He slashed again, and Helen performed a backflip out of the way. "World leaders will bow to me." Chris shot some lasers from his wrist, but Helen dodged with a roll to the side. "I will have control of everything! And you…" He dove forward, grabbing Helen by the mechanical neck. "…will be my BRIDE!" Chris slammed Helen on the ground, creating a crater below her and making the earth shake.

"You…" Helen's vision was dizzy; what little she could see was Chris' mech on top of her. "You're a disgusting animal."

"Am I!?" Chris laughed maniacally as he pulled out his sword. "Am I really?" He pointed the sword at Helen's head. "I will give you two options. See, animals don't bargain like us civilized humans." An evil smirk grew across his face. "You can either agree to marry me, or I will kill you on the spot. Either way, I will prove my superiority and show the world just how powerful I truly am!" The tip of Chris' sword tapped the glass shell shielding Helen within the confines of her mech. "Well…what will it be?"

"I…choose…" Helen furrowed her brow as she grabbed the sword with a single mechanical hand. "Neither." She proceeded to bend the blade, electrical sparks flying as her metallic hand sustained damage.

"What?" Chris froze as Helen snapped his sword in half before pulling herself up, a slew of sparks falling from her right hand. Helen dove forward, headbutting Chris in the chest, sending him flying across the park and landing in the water fountain.

"Do you give up yet?" Helen asked as she slowly made her way toward the destroyed fountain.

"Never!" The Thorndyke pulled himself up and shot his laser at the young girl. Pressing a button on her dash, a turquoise energy shield made the laser dissolve upon contact. Chris tried several more times, but it was having no effect. Finally, Helen stood over the young boy's mech, grimacing.

"Pathetic…" With her good hand, Helen pierced through the protective shell and yanked Chris from his seat, her mechanical fingers wrapped around Chris' body.

"Okay, okay…" Chris peered up at Helen. "Let me go…and you can have the Chaos Emerald."

"Really?" Helen's demeanor shifted sharply.

"Yes!" Chris replied. "I've given up my greedy ways! I will turn myself over to the authorities, and once I bribe my way out of prison, I'll start a charity to help the wheelchair bound!"

"You're…not lying, are you?" Helen tilted her head, suspicious of the young boy's sudden and apparent change of heart.

"No, no, not at all!" Chris shook his head. "Getting my ass handed to me twice in a row by a crippl…I mean, handicapped girl has really given me a fresh perspective on life."

"…you promise to change your ways?" Helen dropped to a single knee and lowered her arm to the grass below, preparing to loosen the grip on her captive.

"Yep! I've definitely learned my lesson." Chris nodded vigorously.

"No, Helen! He's lying!" Knuckles exclaimed. "He's just telling you what you want to hear!"

"Yeah, don't listen to 'em," Sonic added. "Knuckles may not be the brightest bulb, but he has a point! He has first-hand experience when Eggman pulled this exact trick on him many times before."

"Hey!" Knuckles bashed the top of Sonic's head with his fist. Sonic chuckled as he rubbed the resulting bruise.

"I…don't know…" Helen watched as Chris gave her a set of shimmering puppy dog eyes, his eyelids fluttering as if to imitate an adorable dog begging for table scraps. "Are you absolutely sure that you've changed?"

"Yes, yes! With a cherry on top!" Chris nodded profusely.

Helen peered back at her friends and family, all of whom were shaking their heads aggressively. Even Cream, who was usually the first to forgive someone for their faults, was agreeing with the overwhelming, unanimous consensus that Chris had not changed one bit.

"Well…" Helen peered into the distance to find Rouge and Topaz watching from a nearby building. She waved at them and gestured her arm toward the battleground, signaling to the agents that their assistance was needed. "I'm going to hand you off to the authorities. You can ask them for forgiveness instead of me."

"What?!" Chris exclaimed as Rouge and Topaz, who was hanging from the bat's hands, arrived at the scene. "You're really going to throw me, your classmate, your admirer, to the hands of the police?"

Helen nearly vomited at the idea of Chris being her admirer. Instead, she tuned out the young boy as she lowered her mechanical arms and loosened the artificial hand of her mech, freeing Chris for a few seconds before the two agents secured him.

"All right, wise guy," Topaz said as she restrained his arms. "Rouge, you know what to do."

"Aye aye, captain, I learn from the best," Rouge replied as she handcuffed Chris' wrists. "Your parents are gonna need the best lawyers around if they have any hope of keeping you out of prison."

"No, this isn't happening!" Chris screeched as he frantically peered around, surrounded by the Mobians and a group of police officers and secret service agents. "You can't do this to me…you know how much my parents sacrificed!?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Topaz said as she escorted Chris to the nearest police car, the backseat already open for him.

"No! I will never be told what to do!" Chris placed the sole of his shoe on the side of the car. He was foaming at the mouth as multiple agents restrained him further.

"Michael!" Chris yelled at the President, who was watching from a distance with several agents on either side. "You're going to regret this for the rest of your political career."

"You're already lookin' at hard time," Topaz said as she shoved Chris into the squad car. "You've just added resisting arrest to your list of crimes."

"Helen!" Chris peered over at the young girl, who had since transformed her mech back into her wheelchair. "Please, won't you tell them that this was a play? A…ruse for charity! Yes, a charity event to help people in wheelchairs!"

"Oh, shut up," Helen replied from the other side of the police car's open window.

"Yeah," Sonic replied from her side. "Nobody's gonna believe your lies."

"Let's just hope," Tails added, "that this will be an important life lesson for you."

"Life lesson!?" Chris laughed hysterically. "I don't need lessons when I have money!" He shook violently in the backseat of the car.

"Let's go," Helen said as she spun her wheelchair around. "Seeing Chris like this is making me sick."

"Agreed," Sonic replied as he, Tails, Knuckles, Chuck, Cream, Cheese, Bokkun, Rouge, and Topaz followed the young girl back to the Thorndyke's downed mech.

"You know, maybe I could harvest this machine, maybe learn from Eggman's designs," Tails said as he crawled to the mech's chest to secure the white Chaos Emerald.

"Hey, aren't you the one who always complains about Egghead's shoddy craftsmanship?" Sonic asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"Well, yeah," Tails replied, as he jumped off the mech, gem in hand. "You know what they say, though: even a broken clock is right twice a day!"

"But Eggman," Sonic replied with a shake of his head. "He operates more like an egg timer." The group laughed at the blue hedgehog's bad comparison.

Vrrrrrrrrmmmm.

"Ahhh, oh no!" Tails cried as the two emeralds in his possession floated away from his grasp, the green gem from his namesakes and the white gem from his palms getting sucked up into the sky. Helen, Sonic, Knuckles, Cream, and Rouge also gasped in shock as their emeralds were vacuumed away, getting sucked up into the compartment of a floating vehicle above.

"That's…" Sonic peered up. "Dr. Eggman!"

"Wooahhooohoohooo!" Eggman bellowed as he juggled several of the Chaos Emeralds in his possession, the rest in the palms of Decoe and Bocoe. "Thank you for offering up the emeralds on a silver platter! Seriously, that was the easiest ploy of my entire life!" The evil doctor laughed once more as he shifted his focus to Chris, who stared up at Eggman in disbelief from the police car.

"Help me, Eggman! You gotta free me!" Chris cried.

"Me, help you? This time, I don't think so." Eggman smirked as he approached Chris' mech.

"You traitor!" Chris yelled. "I literally saved you from drowning after the government blew up your old base![1] I gave you your own lair! We were a team!"

"I wouldn't call it a team, more so a rich kid thinking he had power over a genius mastermind," Eggman replied as he massaged his mustache. "We were never a team! You were merely a pawn in my ultimate quest for world domination, and your little stunt with the President, with everyone all in one place, gave me the perfect opportunity to gather up all the emeralds in one fell swoop! And now…" Eggman and his robotic assistants jumped into Chris' vacated mech and placed all seven gems into their respective slots on the dashboard, triggering the mystical emeralds to glow a brilliant display of rainbow colors.

"Oh no…" Tails peered up at Chris' mech as it floated in the air, constantly shifting colors every second and a yellow aura glowing around it. "Sonic, this is bad…very very bad."

"Yeah, I know lil' buddy…" Sonic peered up at the mech as well, joined by his speechless Mobian and human counterparts.

"Wooahhooohoohooo!" Eggman laughed as he lowered his arm at the party. He opened his metallic palm, a ball of energy forming within.

"Say goodnight…rodents."

1: See Chapter 17.

Happy New Year! Figured I would start things off right with an update to Bridge! The season finale will be up next, so stay tuned!