A/N: Season 2, let's goooo! :D It's great to be back from the hiatus!
During the hiatus, I was able to manually translate all the Sonic X eyecatch cards into English with the help of Google Translate and Yandex. I know it's not the most reliable, but I was able to understand it. And some of the most surprising things I was able to find out is that Dark Oak is shorter than all his generals, and the Blue Typhoon is actually bigger than all the Metarex Generals' battleships, even though I pictured it to be about three times smaller. And sadly, the President, E-23 Missile Wrist, and E-3000 don't have any cards, and yet the asteroid-type spaceship in episode 61 does have one.
And while I was writing these author's notes, sadly, the Transcripts Wiki got deleted, which means I lost all the Sonic X transcripts in both Japanese and English that I worked so hard on for months. However, I found a way to download the information, and after a bit of a search, I finally found a program that let me view the 477MB XML file without it crashing on me. And now I am copying all the transcripts onto a separate file. Crisis averted!
Anyway, is everyone excited for Sonic Colors Ultimate? I know I am! I sadly don't have a Switch (yet), but as soon as I get one, I really wanna play it!
I've been on a roll these past few days with writing this story, as every night, I sit down and write at least 1,000 words a night! That's how I was able to make so much progress lately.
Also, some of you might have noticed that I am active on Twitter now! That's right, I have a Twitter account, and I go by stardown77 over there, so feel free to check it out for story updates and stuff!
And also, I wanna thank you all for the 250 reviews and more than 70,000 views! This could not be possible without you all, so thank you very much!
Anyway, on to the chapter itself. Even though this is a post-Forces Sonic X rewrite, I am still going to adapt the Chaos and Shadow sagas. How, you may ask, when it already happened? Well, you'll just have to read and find out! I promise, I'll have an explanation for everything in due time.
Without spoiling anything, I will say that even though Angel Island will appear on Earth, sadly, Mystic Ruins will not appear, as it is not a detached land mass. If it were to appear, then by the same logic, all the land surrounding Eggman's base would have appeared on Earth too.
And the last thing I have to say is, up until now as I'm writing these author's notes as the very last part before posting a new chapter, the working title for this chapter was "The Servers". Now it's "Thunder, Rain, and Lightning", which is the opening lyrics to Sonic Adventure's theme song "Open Your Heart".
I want to thank blazenight01, VirgoDragoX, and H3LLF1R3IIO5 for favoriting and following since my last chapter, and I want to give a special thank you to my friend Natechico for favoriting and following too!
And one last thing, I want to give a special shoutout to one of my readers each chapter. So without further ado, today's shoutout goes to GuardianDragon98 for being my very first reviewer, and is still reading my story to this day!
Without further ado, let's move on to the reviews and what matters most: the story!
B4ttwell
If Infinite returns and he's amnesiac, will he get his memories back? I did actually have an idea for that if he were to appear, and maybe the Master Emerald might have something to do with it actually, despite the Master Emerald not appearing in Forces. And I agree, I too can see Infinite trashing with the mansion to mess with Sonic!
Will we see more of Dark Sonic? I actually don't know if he will appear again before episode 67, but only time will tell!
azzyofhyperdeath
The wait is over! Season 2 begins now!
SuperTailsFan0812
I really loved your input on this story, and without your ideas, it wouldn't quite be the way it is now. Thank you so much for your support since the very beginning.
And thank you so much, you keep being awesome too! :D
blazenight01
Sadly, Mystic Ruins is not going to appear on Earth, but I can totally imagine people trying to try out the Sonic gimmicks XD That could actually make for a great oneshot idea, actually!
Guest
Fear not, there will be plenty of Sonic and Tails moments throughout the story. In fact, you can expect one next chapter!
Guest
Umm, I have always imagined Classic Sonic as Sonic's younger self, which means there isn't really a Classic universe, sadly. And I always headcanoned the Classic characters to be physically about three years younger than the Modern cast.
And ooh, Chris meeting Metal Sonic sounds like a fascinating idea... Note to self!
CreativeKitty975
Hi! Sorry the hiatus was so long, but I credit that to both laziness and tidying up the first 13 chapters. But now I'm officially back!
And I always love when people get excited for my newest chapters :D
VirgoDrago
I can't wait to see your theories, as that's my favorite part of reading reviews!
PowerKey
While I am disappointed that you're not giving Chris a power suit, I'm still looking forward to Season 2!
Also, I want to say that I find it weird how Chris' world is a version of the real world where the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise doesn't exist, yet everything else does. I would think that the Sonic franchise not existing would cause some sort of Butterfly effect. But I like to think, what if the Sonic franchise did exist in Chris's world? How would Sonic and the others react once they discovered that in this universe, they are fictional characters from a popular video game franchise? Also, would the government come to accept Sonic and them sooner since they would already be beloved international icons?
Yeah, sorry about the power suit, but it still does make for a great AU idea!
I actually didn't think about that at all, but for the sake of the plot, this may be a slightly AU Earth to the one we live on, because it would be too hard to adapt Sonic X when everyone already knows who Sonic is. But Chris' reaction to meeting his favorite video game character would be absolutely priceless!
iron maker2
I love keeping people updated, as I know what it's like to be left in the dark when it comes to updates. And I also have updates on my profile page too for anyone who wants to follow my progress, not to mention Twitter.
snake screamer
You'll find out in due time :) I heard of Natsu-no-hi before, and I hear it is extremely emotional. I will definitely check it out!
Lightblade1121
You have put you much thought and planning into this…I'm in love…with this story.
Thank you so much! I sometimes plan out my chapters for months in advance so that I can fine-tune them when I get closer to them.
And sorry about not adapting episode 14, but the premise of a mandatory attendance to a party was a little bit far-fetched. However, I do plan on making a series of Sonic X oneshots at some point soon, and I can adapt episode 14 there. I really love the friendship between Sonic and Helen, and I can't wait to make it even better!
gregorian12
Thank you :) I will definitely check out Rise of the Wisps soon.
And I personally don't think THAT badly about the Archie Sonic comics, but I will say that Ken Penders had some weird fascination with echidnas. Isn't Knuckles supposed to be the last of his kind?
On the bright side, I will appreciate his world building skills in the comics, but I draw the line at the whole echidna thing. (But I will say that Julie-Su and Lien-Da are cool.)
Chapter 26
Episode 27
Enter Chaos, the God of Water – A New Adventure Begins!
Thunder, Rain, and Lightning
Angel Island – Thu November 17; 7:30 PM – Third-person POV
"The servers are the seven Chaos…"
A torrent or rain was descending upon the northern side of Station Square. A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed shortly after by a reverberating clap of thunder. It was the first storm the city had seen in three years.
"Chaos is power…"
Just over six months had passed since the downfall of Dr. Eggman and the destruction of his Eggsterminator. Since then, no one had found any sign of him. The government had presumed him dead, and there were many parties and festivals throughout Station Square and the United States celebrating their newfound freedom.
"Power enriched by the heart…"
A giant island was discovered very shortly after the Chaos Control explosion. The authorities were very surprised to learn that not only did it float miles above the ocean, but it originally came from Sonic's world. Knuckles had told the investigators that this was his island, and that he protected a powerful gemstone that rested in the very center of the island. Upon Knuckles' request, they stayed away from Angel Island afterward.
"The controller serves to unify the Chaos…"
Knuckles didn't mind the rain that poured down on Angel Island; in fact, he was quite used to it. Besides, he has the roof of the shrine to offer him shelter from the showers. The shrine was where he spent most of his time, even when it wasn't raining. He was just glad he was finally reunited with the Master Emerald. It didn't matter anymore whether he was on Mobius or Earth. He could still fulfill his destiny.
"Feel within…"
Knuckles froze as he thought he heard a noise behind him, and he suddenly became alert. He turned around, looking through the entire clearing and surrounding forest, but he didn't see anyone. He dismissed it as an illusion that the sound of the rain made.
He looked back as he saw part of the Master Emerald shimmering. He took a step back as his thoughts raced, wondering what was going on. And then he could see a familiar shape emerging from within the Master Emerald. He was puzzled when he recognized it as Chaos. Chaos almost never left the Master Emerald.
"The sea of Chaos…"
Before Knuckles could react, Chaos reached its arm back and dealt a powerful blow to the Master Emerald, shattering it into dozens of fragments and sending them in all directions. Knuckles was shocked. Chaos was the protector of Master Emerald that lived inside it, and it just destroyed it. And now that Knuckles thought about it, this gave him a slight hint of deja vu…
Without wasting a moment, he lunged for Chaos, but his fist went right through it, and it only resulted in Knuckles splashing himself. He forgot Chaos couldn't be damaged like that.
"The young waters…"
As the echidna drew his soaking wet arm back, Chaos began to ripple and dissolve into a puddle before his eyes. Knuckles could only watch as the water god seemingly evaporated.
And then he realized… This did happen before. There was absolutely nothing that could provoke Chaos. The past six months had been peaceful.
Suddenly the entire island began shaking, and Knuckles dropped to his hands and knees as he also felt a falling sensation. He knew exactly what was happening.
"O Master Emerald…"
The Master Emerald kept Angel Island afloat in the sky. Without it resting upon the altar in the shrine, the entire island would fall toward the earth below. Knuckles didn't know if Angel Island was floating over land or water, and that was extremely bad. He had to find out.
He glided down the stairs and ran through the thick jungle as fast as he could. Two minutes later, he reached the edge of the island, and he felt great relief that there was water all around the island.
He stood there panting in the rain as another lightning flash and thunderclap echoed across the dark sky, wondering how on Mobius all of that happened exactly the way it did the first time it happened so many years ago. He would have to seek answers.
He tightened his fists. One way or another, he would find out what was going on, and get all the Master Emerald shards back.
"May your everlasting brilliance shine upon us all and protect us."
Angel Island – Thu November 17; 10:40 PM – Third-person POV
In the middle of a forest north of Station Square, a Mobian cat named Big and his best friend, a frog appropriately named Froggy, were sleeping peacefully underneath a rock overhang to protect themselves from the rain.
Ever since Big was accidentally sent to Earth along with Angel Island, he had been doing his best to live off the land. It wasn't pretty, especially since he missed everyone very much, especially his dear friends Amy and Cream, and he even had emotional breakdowns about it, but it was what it was. He hoped that he would be able to be discovered by society some time soon.
A sudden explosion from nearby caused the gentle giant to stir. He sat up and looked around, and he could feel Froggy leaping off of his belly. He watched his friend hopping toward the source of the explosion. Big stood up and rubbed his eyes.
"Where are you going, Froggy?" he called. He didn't get an answer, so he decided to follow him.
As he went, he saw that there was smoke rising from a small indent in the ground. This had to be where the explosion happened. But that wasn't all.
Big squinted his eyes, and then he became aware of a glow coming from that spot in the ground. He slowly bent down and picked up the object. His eyes widened as he recognized it as the purple Chaos Emerald!
He examined the Emerald while keeping a cautious eye on Froggy at the same time. The Chaos Emerald was so beautiful, so mesmerizing, so-
Splash!
Big immediately became alert. There was no water anywhere in this part of the forest. He had been living here for months, and there was not supposed to be any water immediately nearby. So where did that splash come from?
And then he froze.
"Wait a minute…" he mused aloud. "This feels awfully familiar…"
A puddle began to slowly emerge from the displaced rocks. It was moving completely on its own like it was sentient. And it was moving in Froggy's direction.
"Froggy, watch out!" Big called as he ran toward his friend in an attempt to intercept the puddle, but it was too late. It was already prying Froggy's mouth open and forcing itself down his throat. Froggy couldn't spit it out no matter what, and he was left with no choice but to swallow it.
Immediately Froggy began to tremble and shake like he was having a seizure, and Big could only watch in worry as Froggy started to mutate before his eyes. A tail started to emerge from Froggy's back, and its eyes were glowing a dangerous shade of yellow.
"Froggy… No…!" moaned Big in worry as he took a few steps back. Then he turned around and ran for his life. He couldn't believe he had to run away from his best friend like this!
Froggy took several unnaturally giant leaps toward Big, and unknown to the cat, he was right behind him. Before Big knew it, Froggy leaped up and swallowed the Chaos Emerald right out of his hands. After he swallowed the gem, he hopped away and disappeared into the night.
Big sat down and leaned against a tree, burying his face in his hands as everything came back to him. This was exactly the same sequence of events that happened all those years ago. There was no way that it could happen again in exactly the same way!
Angel Island – Fri November 18; 2:04 AM EST – Third-person POV
Air Force One was on its way back to Washington from Station Square. The President himself had visited the Thorndykes' house to speak with Sonic and his friends for the first time since the battle, and they talked about the security of the nation and what they would do now that Eggman was gone.
But that wasn't the only reason he visited. His staff was making a return trip to personally investigate the new floating island that had arrived. Their first trip was to survey and get a feel for the island, but their return trip was more of a research mission.
As it was so high in the sky, they needed a helicopter to get there, as well as Knuckles' permission. The President's staff wanted to talk about the battle and Knuckles' plans, as well as the Master Emerald itself.
Aboard Air Force One were the President, CIA agent Franklin Stewart, Secretary of Homeland Security Rod Stafford, and newly-appointed Chief of Staff Christina Cooper.
Mr. Stewart took a breath and let it out and then cleared his throat.
"So any changes in the land mass?" he asked.
"Angel Island?" Christina queried, to which Mr. Stewart nodded. "No change, it seems to be floating just the same as before. I think it's normal… well, at least normal enough for a floating island." She adjusted her glasses. "We got to speak with Knuckles, and he's still firm on keeping the island off-limits to the public. We told him we don't have any plans to go back there again, because we already know everything we need to know about it."
The President made a noise of understanding before leaning forward in his seat.
"It's been six months and there's still no answers," he said. "Not even the interview with Sonic told us anything about Chaos Control, and why it happened the way it did."
"Well, I'm pretty sure we established the fact that it's caused by some kind of mystic power he Chaos Emeralds have in them," Rod speculated. "But… There's no reason why it couldn't send all the off-worlders back home. I mean, yeah, there is, but… we don't really know why. And we thought Sonic would know, but… apparently he didn't know much more than we did."
"Oh, and speaking of Sonic," said the President, "Mr. Stewart. You were stationed at Oakview Elementary School over the past school year. Your mission was to supply us with information about Sonic and his friends while operating as Chris Thorndyke's sixth grade teacher. Now… Can you tell us how they're adapting to life on Earth?"
Mr. Stewart thought back. "I overheard quite a number of conversations between Chris and his friends. And they were always talking about Sonic this, Sonic that, rarely about anything else that I remember. They were always asking Chris about Sonic and his friends. And… to answer your question, Mr. President, they seem to be taking to society like a fish to water. It surprised even me, actually. I didn't think they would adapt this fast. Makes me wonder what life is like on their planet."
The President nodded.
"And Mr. Stafford raised a good point just now, because these past six months, I was never able to figure out why on Earth Angel Island got sent here, and yet all the Mobians didn't get to go back when all the ingredients were just right."
"Hm," thought the President. "That does sound impossible, but in this age of 3D printers and… Chaos powers, I guess anything goes." He looked at Chris' former teacher. "Good job, Mr. Stewart. Your CIA mission is officially complete."
Next he turned to Christina, and asked, "Miss Cooper, did you learn anything on the large gemstone the aliens call the 'Master Emerald?'"
"Well… Knuckles was willing to tell us that it is near-omnipotent, and we now have official confirmation that it is the direct power source of the Chaos Emeralds. We don't know much else about it though."
"So that's probably going to explain how this whole time the Chaos Emeralds were more… chaotic, so to speak," Rod said.
Mr. Stewart nodded. "Mhm. And what of Eggman?"
"We know just as much as you do," President Remerson said. "But perhaps GUN can give us some answers. Rod, I need you to put in a call to the Alpha Division, namely… Topaz and Rouge."
"I'm on it, Mr. President," Rod Stafford replied as he picked up his phone and dialed Topaz's number. A few rings later, the GUN sergeant answered.
"GUN Sergeant Topaz speaking," she said.
The President leaned forward. "Miss Topaz, it's good to hear your voice again. Uh, do you have an update regarding the search for Dr. Eggman?"
"Nothing yet," sighed Topaz. "If there was, it'd be all over the news like white on rice."
President Remerson sighed. "Topaz… A man, a war criminal as dangerous as Dr. Eggman… doesn't just go missing for six months."
"Well, this isn't the first time this happened," explained Rouge from the other end of the phone, gaining the interest of everyone else in the plane's cabin. "I can tell you that there have been times where he went on radio silence for months on end, and when he finally did come back, he came back with a vengeance."
"Recovering, maybe?" asked Mr. Stewart.
"Pardon?"
"Was he recovering after his loss?" Mr. Stewart clarified. "Licking his wounds, if you will."
"I've crawled through more air ducts and listened to more of his plans than I can count, so I can tell you he always finds a way to recover. Always."
"On the bright side, Mr. President," added Topaz, "the military is beginning development of a new network of surveillance satellites, so we may have a shot at finding Dr. Eggman faster than before. Right now we're going at a snail's pace, so this is really going to up our game."
The President nodded, even though he knew Topaz couldn't see him. "Now, is it correct to assume that the doctor has given up on his dream to establish his so-called Eggman Empire?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh no, no," Rouge quickly said. "He always comes back from the brink. But coming from a government spy, even I'm a bit baffled he manages to stay down for so long."
The President sighed. "Well, Rouge, Topaz, thanks for keeping in touch."
"We'll make sure to give you a call if there are any new updates," promised Topaz.
"Will do. You take care now," President Remerson said as he hung up.
Handing the phone back to Rod Stafford, he sat back in his plush seat.
"This may seem like a time of peace on the surface," he said, "but I feel like it's a tense peace."
"Mhm," nodded Christina. "I know what you mean. Peace does not come easily, and when it does come, it's not easy to keep it."
Rod put away his phone, bearing a grim expression.
"We need to find Eggman at all costs," he stated.
Christina nodded. "I couldn't agree more with you."
Thorndyke Mansion – Fri November 18; 7:34 AM – Chris' POV
"This omelet is like heaven, Ella," Grandpa complimented at the breakfast table. "I don't know how you do it, but I'm not asking questions."
"You know the magician never tells her secrets," replied Ella with a playful twinkle in her eyes.
"More toast, anyone?" Mr. Tanaka offered.
"Yes please!" Tails, Amy, Cream, and I all piped up at the same time.
As our butler served us our toast, Cream handed a slice to Cheese, who bit into it with a cute little squeak. It was so adorable watching the little Chao eat. Cream thought so too, judging by the big smile on her face.
A lot had happened in the six months since Sonic destroyed Eggman's robot and Chaos Control brought Anel Island to Earth. My friends' fame had skyrocketed to new heights, and we all got to be interviewed twice by the President himself along with his staff.
And it didn't stop there. Tails got to be a guest on a famous talk show along with Elon Musk, and they got to know each other very well and talked a lot about technology. Tails was especially fascinated by Tesla and Spacex, which both rivaled Starship Soft.
And just last month, Cream visited my middle school, and she brought Cheese with her for show-and-tell. She knew a lot about Chao, and so did my classmates once they learned about how they grew up to be Hero or Dark Chao, and what kind of berries they ate. For safety, she didn't go alone; Sonic came with her, and my classmates and I got to have a meet-and-greet with him.
On the home front, we threw a big birthday party for Sonic on June 23. While I thought Sonic was going to turn 16, he told me it didn't seem to work that way, as he felt like he had been 15 for the past 30 years. I didn't know how it worked, nor did I want to question it.
Tails had been really busy at home, as not only did Grandpa help him to build a brand new airplane hangar on the wide expanse of land behind the garage, but he single-handedly built some wrist communicators for himself, Sonic, Amy, Cream, Grandpa, and even me. It took me and Cream a little bit of effort to figure out how they worked, but we got the hang of them quickly.
This morning, all my friends and family were sitting at the breakfast table before I was due to leave for school. Sonic was the only one who wasn't with us, since he was out on his morning run.
"So did anyone else see the news this morning?" Grandpa asked as Mr. Tanaka refilled his coffee.
"I didn't," I shook my head, as Amy did the same.
"I did," replied Tails.
"What happened?" asked Amy.
Tails looked up from where he was buttering his toast. "It looks like GUN is working on some new satellites. They wanna use them to try and find Eggman faster."
"I hope it works," Amy said before taking a drink of her orange juice. She swallowed before adding, "'Cuz I'm pretty sure he never goes into hiding for this long."
I blinked. "Wait, how long has it been?" I asked. "U-Um, s-since we last fought him, I mean. Sorry about that…"
"It's okay," said Tails as he thought for a moment. "As of two days ago, it's been six months, so I think it's been, um… 188 days."
"That's a long time ago…" spoke Cream.
"Yeah…" replied Tails.
"I honestly wanna say… I feel like life is actually a lot better now that Eggman is out of the picture," I commented before taking another bite of my hashbrowns.
"But the thing is, Eggman isn't really out of the picture," responded Grandpa. "That's what's making this peace a pretty uneasy one. I mean, no one knows when or even if he is going to come back."
"And when he does come back, he usually has some… huge plan that's like, bigger than the rest of his other plans," remarked Amy.
"Yeah…" nodded Tails.
There was silence at the table as everyone reflected this information, until Cream spoke in a worried tone.
"Um… does this mean the Time Eater is going to come back?" Cream whimpered.
"I don't think so," replied Tails. "Eggman's doesn't have a lot of resources to work with here, so I don't think he has enough power to destroy the world or anything like that. But even with less power, it doesn't make him any less dangerous."
"I don't think he even needs Chaos Emeralds," I added.
"Yeah, all he needs are robots," Amy replied.
"Hey Chris, can I have your attention?" called Grandpa from my left, and I turned to look at him. "I called your mother a little bit before you came down for breakfast, and she told me she's still on to see you and Cream today."
I was excited to see my mom today, as it was the first time I had seen her in four months. I was overjoyed that she showed up for my 13th birthday this year.
"Make sure she pampers you!" joked Amy before she giggled, and Tails and Cream joined her.
"Guys…" I whimpered, feeling my cheeks heating up, before I glanced at the clock and gasped.
"Oh, I only got 20 minutes until school starts!" I exclaimed as I leaped out of my seat and ran for my backpack. "Thanks for the meal Ella! And Cream, meet me at school at 3:30! Bye guys!"
I tore through the living room, grabbed my backpack, and threw open the front door without ever slowing down. This was one of the fastest rushes I had to get to school yet.
The Grand Canyon – Fri November 18; 7:41 AM – Sonic's POV
I was standing at the edge of the massive Grand Canyon, looking down into the gaping chasm. From where I stood, it looked like a giant crack in the earth with a tiny river flowing at the very bottom.
Six months into peacetime, and I was getting super bored. It was hard to believe, and sometimes not even my friends could believe me, but Eggman had become a very important part of my life. I spent a lot of my time fighting his robots and foiling his evil plans, but when he disappeared, all that stopped in an instant. Now I had more free time than I knew what to do with.
In those six months, I kept setting and finding ways to break my own records for cross-country racing. And I mean it literally – no one had ever crossed the country from Atlantic to Pacific faster than I did.
During Eggman's absence, I sparred with my friends, especially Tails, Amy, and Knuckles, and we did tons of practice drills, including using the X-Tornado and practicing catching an imitation ring that Tails built. I even helped Chris practice self-defense a bit.
Speaking of Chris, he and I had gotten closer and closer during the time of peace. Even though he could never replace Tails, he was already like a brother to me. We had been together for a full year and two months by my estimate.
Granted, I was really devastated when I found out I wasn't going back home to Mobius, and I did my best to hide my sadness from my friends. But eventually Tails and Amy found out in separate instances, and I finally had to tell them because they were persistent, especially Amy.
But on the other hand, I was really enjoying Earth like a second home. Even if I did get a chance to go back, I didn't want to see Chris being alone again like he was before I came.
I saw down at the edge of the canyon and looked down. I had a lot of fun running around inside and jumping back up to the top. But now, before I moved on, I wanted to see if I could clear the entire canyon in one jump.
So I took a few steps back, then ran forward and took a mighty leap into the air. I found that I was able to make the distance as I soared through the air, and I landed successfully on the other side. I was getting a real kick out of nature's obstacle courses this planet was giving me.
Unknown – Fri November 18; 9:23 AM – Third-person POV
Unknown to everyone, Eggman was faring very well in his six-month absence.
Seemingly having gone through a fit of nostalgia, the doctor had reconstructed his original Egg Carrier in an unoccupied part of the California mainland. The entire ship was underground, so there was very little risk of the public seeing him.
Eggman was glad he had kept his original blueprints to the Egg Carrier, so that he could rebuild it to be nearly identical to his old one.
It had taken him an incredible five months to finish building the Egg Carrier with the help of his few surviving robots. Surprisingly, it had taken him even longer to salvage everything from his underground robot factory, where he retrieved most of his robots. It had taken him nearly six months and countless back-and-forth trips, but the task was finally done.
Despite Eggman's best hopes, Decoe and Bocoe did not turn up at all since Knuckles threw them into the ocean during his last fight. He knew they were waterproof, so they should have easily been able to crawl out of the water unharmed. But since Knuckles was the one who threw them in to begin with, he was known for his brute strength, so it was possible he damaged them in the process.
But with Decoe and Bocoe out of commission, that left him without any personal assistant robots, and he knew Bokkun couldn't do everything. So he was left with no choice but to reactivate Orbot and Cubot. He hoped they wouldn't be nearly as annoying as they used to be.
Eggman made his way down to his onboard robot factory. Like most of the rest of the ship, it resembled his old one almost perfectly, so Eggman had no trouble finding his way there.
"I am confident that my newest plan will work to perfection," he said to no one in particular. "The hedgehog won't even see what's coming for him."
Eggman entered his factory and walked down a staircase onto the main floor. There, he saw Orbot and Cubot making the finishing touches on five brand-new versions of his original five E-100 Series robots.
"Perfect, perfect," Eggman commented at the pristine new designs. "These new E-100 Series robots are virtually identical to my original ones. In fact, they make me feel nostalgic!"
Hands clasped behind his back, he approached his creations.
"How are they coming along?" he asked.
Orbot saluted. "We have just finished installing the power cores into the robots as you requested, Dr. Eggman," he reported. "In fact, we finished the very moment you walked in this room."
"Buzzer beater!" exclaimed Cubot. "That means they're ready to go, Doc!"
Eggman grinned. "Activate them."
Orbot and Cubot saluted and began to flip master switches on the backs of the robots. One by one, power flowed through their circuits, their mechanical arms started to move, and their LED eyes blinked to life.
"E-101 Beta: Active," stated the first robot.
"E-102 Gamma: Active," droned the second.
Each robot activated in this manner, up through E-105 Zeta, which Eggman had designed to be a bipedal robot like its other four comrades, rather than a cylindrical robot confined to one location on the ship.
"Excellent," declared Eggman. "All five of you are the perfect combat robots, fit to follow my every order and worthy of destroying Sonic the Hedgehog!"
All at once, the E-100 Series robots raised their mechanical arms and saluted their creator.
"All hail Dr. Eggman!" they exclaimed at the same time, and Eggman grinned.
"The brilliant thing about you all is not just the enhanced technology you have compared to your predecessors, and not even the fact that I am preserving nature by using power cores to power you instead of Mobinis. No, it is the limitless potential you have to serve me and bring forth the Eggman Empire! And in a few moments, all of you will prove your worth to me by undergoing several training exercises, the first of which is target practice!"
"Boss, if I may," Orbot spoke up, "if they are perfect in every way, shape, and form, then how come they still need to prove themselves to you?"
"To iron out any faults, what else?" Eggman grumbled, not appreciating the interruption from Orbot. "And quit interrupting my monologue. Anyway… I want a report on E-100 Alpha. Is it almost done?"
"Indeed it is, boss," replied Orbot with a nod. "We are being careful to not take any creative liberties as you requested."
"Aww, but I still think it would look good with a gatling gun…" whined Cubot.
"There must not be any deviations from the plan," warned Eggman. "And this includes equipping my robots with things that'll make them barely recognizable."
"Understood," Orbot said. "And furthermore, since E-100 Alpha is a prototype designed with bounty hunter programming, it will not participate in the target practice round."
"Just as I planned," Eggman stated as he paced the room. "He is designed specially to hunt down anyone who has a Chaos Emerald, and his orders are to bring them straight to me," he finished in a sinister tone.
"I'd be shaking in my boots right now," Cubot said before he looked down. "...Except I don't have any boots."
"Or feet, for that matter," added Orbot, before he was interrupted by Eggman.
"All of you, follow me to the training room," he ordered before he walked through a door near the back of the room. Orbot, Cubot, and the five E-100 robots followed him.
As they made their way through several maze-life winding corridors, they walked past several Badniks and other robots that were performing various tasks and making sure all of the Egg Carrier's functions were operational. Once everything was ready, Eggman would take flight, and his revenge would begin.
About ten minutes later, they arrived in a massive room divided into several sections, one of which included several digital targets of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Rouge, Silver, and Blaze.
Eggman gestured to the targets as the robots instinctively took up positions and got ready to fire.
"Now I took the liberty of replacing your normal laser cartridges with holo-laser cartridges designed for training, so that you don't end up doing any real damage to my ship," he said. "This training exercise will prove itself to be very useful should any of these threats manifest themselves to you, and believe me, they will. They are more dangerous than you realize, but I do not exaggerate when I tell you that you are prepared for literally anything."
"Now, on your marks… get set… FIRE!"
The training room was ablaze with muzzle flashes and loud laser sounds as all five combat robots opened fire at once on the targets. They blasted target after target that appeared with super-fast reflexes and deadly precision, speed, and accuracy.
At that moment, Eggman was hit with a feeling of nostalgia.
"This plan is virtually identical to one of my oldest plots toward world domination," Eggman told his hench-bots. "It may seem like a carbon copy on the surface, but I will make things slightly different this time around, while making sure it keeps its course. And this time, my revenge will be unrivaled."
He blinked, before he exclaimed, "Were you even listening to me?!"
"Ooh! Ooh! Go for the 1-up, Gamma!" cheered Cubot. "There are like three Blazes right in front of you! Oh, and a Shadow too!"
"Ohh, what a shame," Orbot moaned. "Espilon's blaster just jammed. He is surely going to fall behind."
"Beta's gaining on you, Gamma!" yelled Cubot, pointing.
"A magnificent eight targets in a row from Zeta!" cheered Orbot.
Eggman sighed. Sometimes he felt the need to get his monologues out of his system, and the only two robots who were willing to listen weren't even paying attention to him this time.
Regardless, as soon as his robots were finished with their training, Eggman planned to use them to his advantage, so that they could acquire the Chaos Emeralds. And he was excited that they were even more powerful and advanced than their predecessors.
"This is the perfect master plan," mused Eggman. "Absolutely nothing can go wrong if I play my cards right. Nothing! Just look at the firepower my upgraded robots possess! I'm certain Sonic doesn't stand a chance against me this time!"
Regal Valley Middle School – Fri November 18; 12:18 PM – Chris' POV
It was the last day of school for the week, and Danny, Frances, Helen, and I were all gathered at our usual table at the cafeteria. Adjusting to middle school was a bit challenging for us, but my friends and I were slowly getting the hang to it.
Just as I had gotten used to having Mr. Stewart as my teacher, I was going up to 7th grade, which meant it was time to have a new teacher. Miss Grant was a great math teacher, but somehow, Mr. Stewart still had a certain charm to him.
This morning's chat with my friends was still on my mind, and I wanted to see what my human friends thought about everything.
"Hey, so does anyone else think there's a chance that Eggman can come back?" I asked as we were finishing lunch.
"Eggman?" Danny asked from where he was fiddling with a fork and I nodded. "I don't really think about him anymore, so… I don't really know. But, like… I mean, he did come back that one time. And he was hiding for a while back then too, so…"
"Oh yeah, I remember…" I thought.
"I can't see how he can come back, though" Frances added. "And I honestly hope he doesn't, because… You know… I still can't believe he almost… killed Chris…"
The moment Frances mentioned that, I closed my eyes as the painful flashbacks returned to me. Not only did I almost die, but Sonic too. We both went through so much that night, and it actually gave me nightmares for weeks afterward. There were a few nights where I was afraid to sleep on my own, let alone at all because I would hear Eggman laughing and see Sonic's dead body in front of me, and I would wake up screaming.
Luckily for Sonic, he seemed to be coping better than me. He didn't suffer from any nightmares like I did, but he was still losing sleep over what could have become of both me and Tails. I was shocked when I heard that Tails nearly died too, because the X-Tornado was shot down and it was burned very badly.
Sonic had promised to spend more time with Tails, because he didn't know when his little brother's last day on Earth would be. In return, Tails wanted to spend time with Sonic and take him out to different places across the planet.
I, on the other hand, was suffering the worst from the fallout from our final battle with Eggman. Aside from the nightmares and flashbacks, I was a bit clingy to Sonic for a while, but I eventually got over it. He even offered to sleep with me for a while, which I accepted.
"Is it okay if we can not talk about it?" I asked. I didn't want my friends to know about my trauma.
"Okay, sure," Helen responded. "It's all behind us now, and I know as a fact that Eggman can't come back."
"What do you mean?" Danny asked.
Helen brushed a stray strand of her blonde hair out of her face. "Well, his giant robot completely blew up, like… completely blew up, like it was huge, and… I don't think anyone could have survived that."
"But even when he was dead, he came back, or at least Sonic thought he was dead," I pointed out.
"But it's been like six months!" Frances said. "How does he even eat?"
"I'm not sure…" I replied. "Maybe he makes his own food, like they have in the army?"
Frances shrugged. "I guess?"
"With no tech?" Danny asked. "He's gotta be eating somehow!"
"That's assuming he's even alive," Helen told us. "It's been six months and they still haven't found a body. But even so, people do live off the land."
"I don't think Eggman would like doing that," I pointed out, leaning back in my seat.
"Yeah, because he has so much technology, and besides, his robots can just make stuff for him," Danny said.
"That's lazy..." Frances said distastefully.
"I know, right?" I added. "I mean, Ella makes lunch and dinner for us a lot, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to make a sandwich, or even help out in the kitchen!"
"Yeah, I know how to cook too," Frances added.
"Hey Chris?" Helen asked, and I suppressed a small blush that my crush directly addressed me. "How's Sonic doing? Without Eggman, I mean."
"Oh, uh..." I thought for a moment. "He's okay, he's been hanging out with us a lot, but he's also running around a lot more than he used to. I kinda feel like he misses Eggman for some reason though..."
"How does he miss Eggman? He's a jerk!" Danny asked incredulously.
"I don't know," I responded. "That's just how Sonic works, I guess. Even now I have a hard time really understanding him."
"Oh, okay," Danny said.
The table was quiet as we finished lunch. After about a minute, Danny turned to me.
"Hey Chris, you still on for some Splatoon at my house later?" he asked.
"Sorry Danny," I answered. "But I'm gonna be busy later on."
"Oh? What's going on?" Danny asked as he leaned forward in his seat.
"Cream and I are gonna be having an early dinner with my mom at Olive Garden," I answered.
"Oh, I've been there!" Helen piped up. "I really love their pasta!"
"Yeah, me too," I replied. "But yeah, sorry about that… We can maybe play tomorrow if you want."
"Sure thing," nodded Danny.
Thorndyke Mansion's hidden lab – Fri November 18; 12:33 PM – Third-person POV
Down in the Thorndykes' hidden lab beneath the garage, Tails was hard at work tinkering with the X-Tornado. It had taken quite a bit of damage from his last battle, but ever since Chaos Control happened and Eggman disappeared, the young fox had a lot of time on his hands to repair it and make it even better.
It had only taken him a whole month to fully repair the X-Tornado, and since then, he had made sure to make it able to function better without a Chaos Emerald. It still had limited power, but instead of only two hours, it could fly for up to six hours without a Chaos Emerald.
He was so busy tuning the internal wiring and circuitry of his plane that he didn't hear the elevator door opening and a set of footsteps approaching.
"Hey, Tails," came Chuck's voice.
Tails was a bit startled, but he controlled the urge to jump at his friend's sudden voice as he turned to look at him.
"H-Hi Chuck," Tails responded. "I kinda didn't expect to see you there, sorry about that…"
"No, it's all right," Chuck responded as he slipped his hands into his labcoat pockets. "I just wanted to check up on you and see how you're doing. So anything new?"
"Yeah, definitely!" said Tails as his namesakes waved behind him in excitement. "I just found out a way to reduce the amount of turbulence we get in case we find another Chaos Emerald. So this is gonna make looking for them a lot less scarier!"
"That's definitely a good idea," Chuck nodded with a smile, "except one thing."
"Yeah…?" Tails asked as he lifted his visor, revealing his unsure expression underneath.
"Since the Master Emerald's here, doesn't that mean there's not going to be any more turbulence?"
"I mean, yeah, but…" Tails rubbed the back of his head. "Better safe than sorry, right?"
"Of course," Chuck replied.
"And also, if something bad happens to the Master Emerald, like if someone or something breaks it, then it doesn't have as much control over the Chaos Emeralds. But the whole thing with the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald when we got here was all new."
Chuck pondered Tails' words. "So what does that mean now?"
"It means it would still be bad, but not as bad as before," replied Tails. "I mean, this is only if something happens to the Master Emerald. Like, there would still be turbulence and maybe a Chaos Beacon or two, but no out-of-control Super Sonic or anything like that."
"Ah, I gotcha," Chuck nodded. "Do you need my help with anything?"
"It's okay, I got this," Tails responded with a smile.
"Right on. Carry on, genius!" Chuck invited as Tails put his welding mask back over his face.
As Tails went back to work, Chuck walked toward a large generator in the corner of the lab.
"Might as well get back to work myself on jumpstarting Uncle Sam's engine," he said aloud to no one in particular.
"Oh? What happened to it?" asked Tails. Chuck was a bit surprised that Tails could hear him. Even over a year later, he still found himself underestimating his fox friend's excellent hearing.
"He burned it out on a joy ride, so he brought it in to me for repairs," explained Chuck.
"Again?" queried a surprised Tails.
"Yeah," said Chuck. "Ever since the S-Team folded, Sam keeps looking for excuses to go fast."
"I guess Sonic is really that good at his job, huh?" quipped Tails.
"That's him all right," grinned Chuck.
"Hey, I can take a look at the engine if you want, Chuck!" volunteered Tails.
"It's all right, Tails, I got the engine covered," responded Chuck. "You should go ahead and keep working on the X-Tornado."
"Okay, Grandpa," smiled Tails as he watched his friend pull the heavy generator toward the elevator.
"Oh, by the way, Tails, one more thing," Chuck spoke as he finished moving the generator. "Did you find any Chaos Emeralds lately? I mean, besides the one you have now."
"Not yet," said Tails as he shook his head. "But if we do find one, you're gonna be one of the first to know."
"For certain sure," Chuck smiled as he pressed the button to close the elevator doors once he was inside.
The Egg Carrier – Fri November 18; 10:36 AM – Third-person POV
Over the next hour, the five E-100 Series robots went through a series of rigorous training exercises.
One such exercise was a staged hostage mission that involved holograms of Cream and Chris. Epsilon and Beta excelled at capturing the hostages, as well as blasting at a Sonic hologram that relentlessly went after them. Beta didn't do as well at the hostage capturing, but it scored a few hits on Sonic. Delta and Zeta took a few hits from Sonic, and therefore did not do as well at the challenge.
However, they did much better at the obstacle course challenge. Gamma aced the athletic aspects the challenge had to offer, including leaping from platform to platform.
"The final training exercise is complete, Doctor," reported Orbot once all five robots made it to the other side of the obstacle course. "All of your robots did an excellent job."
Eggman smirked and crossed his arms. "As to be expected from my genius," he said. "Now, I want a status report on the Egg Carrier. How close are we to takeoff?"
"Almost done, boss!" piped up Cubot.
"Yes, but if we put a number to that, I would give an estimate of 29 hours, 12 minutes, and 6 seconds," reported Orbot.
"Well, tell the engineers to hurry up a bit," ordered Eggman. "I am growing increasingly impatient to execute my master plan."
But before Orbot or Cubot could do anything, their audio censors picked up a beeping sound coming from his wrist communicator.
"Grr, of all times…" he grumbled.
"What happened, boss?" Cubot asked. "Something malfunction? Oh, oh! Is Sonic coming? I never got his autograph before! Can I get his autograph please?"
"How would I know what it is unless I go up to the bridge and check?" fired Eggman. "And for the record, good luck getting an autograph. You know how he is with Badniks."
With that, he ran toward the stairs that led up to the Egg Carrier's bridge.
"But I'm not a Badnik…" moaned Cubot.
"I know, Cubot," Orbot said, patting his friend's back. "Dr. Eggman appointed us to replace his old robots Decoe and Bocoe. We won't let him down!"
"Aye, we'll be the toughest and smartest helper bots ever!" cheered Cubot.
"That's the spirit!" encouraged Orbot.
Meanwhile, Eggman raced onto the bridge and looked around at the various robots that were setting the ship's controls and programming. He was about to speak when he saw a flashing indicator light on a panel close to him. He walked over and pressed a button, activating one of several large screens along the ceiling.
"The final piece of my plan, just in time," he grinned when he saw who it was. "And the most important part, I might add. Only time will tell how much chaos I can cause this time around!"
Regal Valley Middle School – Fri November 18; 3:28 PM – Chris' POV
"Bye guys!" I called to my friends as I slung my backpack across my shoulders and walked out the school doors.
"See ya, Chris!" Danny called with a wave.
"Take care!" added Frances and Helen almost at the exact same time.
I ran as fast as I could down the long driveway toward the road. With any luck, Cream was outside waiting for me. I didn't know why Mom wanted Cream to come too, but I could only assume she had her reasons.
Sure enough, when I reached the curb, there was the small bunny waiting for me, and Cheese was floating by her side as usual. When Cream saw me, she looked up with a bright smile.
"Hi, Mr. Chris!" she beamed. "Are you all done school for today!"
"Yup, I sure am!" I replied, smiling myself. Cream's radiating positivity was contagious.
"Yay!" cheered Cream. "So now we can go see your mom at Olive Garden! Hey Mr. Chris, how far away is Olive Garden?" she asked as a follow-up.
"Um… I think it's like two miles away…" I thought as I looked around. "I'm not sure, though."
We started walking in the direction I knew the restaurant as in, and Cream followed me. I felt her hand slipping into mine, and I held her hand for safety and comfort, because I knew being in traffic was scary for someone her age.
"It's okay," Cream said. "My mama always said to enjoy the time you spend going somewhere, because you don't have to rush. It's fun to walk and talk and spend time with each other!"
I was astounded at the wisdom coming from this six-year-old's mouth, and I realized that Cream's mother had to be a very influential figure for Cream to follow after her this well. It was something most children today didn't do very well.
"You know your way around the city really well, Mr. Chris," Cream complimented as we crossed a street a while later.
"Thank you," I said with a smile. "I, um… I lived here all my life, so… I'm kinda used to how all the streets are."
"That's good," replied Cream, before looking up at Cheese. "Please stay close to us, Cheese," she cautioned.
"Chao chao!" Cheese responded before fluttering closer to us.
About fifteen minutes later by my estimate, I spotted the Olive Garden at the side of the road. I was a little surprised that it wasn't as far away from my school as I thought it was.
"Is this Olive Garden?" asked Cream.
"Yup!" I replied. "Just need to check what time it is…"
I lifted my arm to look at my watch, and I was a bit surprised at the time.
"It's only 4 o'clock," I said. "We actually have a whole hour left until my mom gets here."
"So what do we do while we wait?" Cream asked as she looked around uncertainly. I could tell she didn't want to be bored for a whole hour, and neither did I. An hour was a long time for someone as young as Cream.
"Hey, I think I just thought of something!" I said.
"What is it?" asked Cream.
"We still have an hour left, so, um… And I know there's a jewelry shop right near here, so… What if we get her something there?"
Cream brightened up the moment I said that.
"That's a wonderful idea, Mr. Chris!" she cheered, and Cheese echoed her.
"I think I have some money on me…" I mused, before opening my backpack and pulling out some bills. I counted them in my head before I looked up. "Um… I'm not sure, but this might be enough for a gift for Mom."
I put the bills into my pocket and started walking toward the jewelry shop. Cream took my hand again, and Cheese made sure to stick close to us this time.
Olive Garden – Fri November 18; 4:50 PM – Chris' POV
About an hour later, Cream, Cheese, and I were on our way back to Olive Garden, this time carrying a small item wrapped in a plastic bag. Cream told me it had been a very long time since she had been to a jewelry shop last, and she and I helped each other to choose something I knew my mom would absolutely love and treasure, even if it was something small.
Once we stepped inside, we saw Mom sitting at a table near the back corner. She had been looking at her phone, but when she sensed us approaching, she looked up and immediately smiled.
"Well, look who's here!" she said warmly as she stood up. "Here, come sit down. I made sure to save you both a seat."
"Hi, Mom!" I said as Cream walked over. She was a little shy as this was only the third time she had ever seen my mom.
"H-Hi, Mrs. Chris' mom…!" she said as she gave her a small wave.
"Hello there, Cream dearest!" she cooed as she gently picked the small bunny up and gave her a hug before placing her onto the tall stool. "My, you've really grown since I last saw you!"
"Thank you!" Cream said with a smile. I didn't want to tell Mom that Cream hadn't really grown at all, though, because she wouldn't understand how Mobians aged… or how they didn't age for that matter.
Cheese sat down on the table to Cream's left, and I smiled because he looked just like a stuffed animal. Mom smiled and gently petted the Chao, causing him to smile, and his emotion indicator changed into a heart.
"Hi Cheese!" Mom baby-talked. "You're such a good Chao bean, yes you are, yes you are!"
"Chao chao!" he cooed, waving his stubby hands.
I was smiling at this interaction, and only then did I realize what Mom had already ordered for us in advance.
"Oh, thank you!" I said as I too sat down between Cream on my left and Mom on my right. In front of me and Cream and Cheese were two plates of my favorite pasta and chicken dish! And Mom had ordered one for herself too along with a salad.
"I know how much you love your chicken and pasta, so I made sure to get some for both you and Cream; and I'm not sure if Cream has ever been to Olive Garden before, so I wanted to get her something special," Mom said.
"Thank you, Mrs. Chris' mom!" thanked Cream. "And this is my very first time here!"
"Well, I'm glad you were able to come," Mom said, before looking at me. "So how are things at home?"
"Pretty good so far," I said. "Tails finally finished the hangar."
"Oh good!" Mom said. "Did he get his plane to fit in there?"
"The Tornado?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Yeah, he did."
"Oh, that's wonderful! He is such a busy fox and I'm glad to see all his hard work pay off," smiled Mom.
"Yeah," I agreed.
Mom adjusted herself in her seat. "But anyway, I know I didn't tell you this sooner, and I'm sorry about that, but there's actually a reason I wanted you both to come, and it's not just to catch up. Although, I missed you all dearly even though it's only been four months."
"I missed you too," Cream said after she swallowed, "but, um… why did you want me to come too?"
"I'll get to that, just give me one moment," Mom said before reaching for her purse. It was no secret that Cream was Mom's favorite Mobian, so that was my reasoning for why Mom asked her to come along.
Mom pulled a small box from her purse and set it on the table.
"What's that?" I asked around a mouthful of pasta, before swallowing.
Mom motioned to the box. "This is something your father gave me after one of his business trips. He said he found it near his home, and he knew I was stopping by Station Square, so he told me to get it to Sonic as fast as possible, and what better way to do it than through you two?"
I was just about to speak when Mom grasped the box and said, "You may want to shield your eyes, okay?"
I nodded and squinted my eyes just in case. I was very curious about what was inside the box, and it was a good thing I didn't have to wait any longer, because Mom promptly opened the box, revealing the yellow Chaos Emerald!
Needless to say, all of us were very surprised when we found the Emerald lying inside the box. It was glowing just benough to light the inside of the box, which meant it was very dim.
Cream started stuttering and stumbling over her words in shock, but Mom smiled at her and gently patted her back and rubbed her long ears.
"I thought of you when I found it, dear," she said. "I was thinking we can get it turned into a necklace for you, and some other jewelry too."
I was about to comment that the Emerald was too big to be a necklace, especially for Cream, until the bunny mentioned something even more important:
"Ummm… Mrs. Chris' mom…? I don't think Chaos Emeralds are supposed to be jewelry…"
"Oh, they're not…?" Mom asked, and she sounded genuinely clueless. Cream shook her head.
"Mm-mm," she said, before she broke off pieces of one of her breadsticks to give to Cheese, who eagerly gobbled them up with a squeak of joy.
"All right, if you say so. Now tell me, is this the same kind of jewel your father gave me back on our anniversary?" Mom asked.
"Yeah, it is," I answered.
"Really? Do you know what it's called?"
"Yeah, it's a Chaos Emerald," I explained. "There are seven of them, and Sonic told me that they can be used for a lot of good or bad things."
"Oh, that does sound kind of familiar…" Mom mused. "I think I remember Tails saying something about that back at the anniversary party, but so much of it went over my head that I can't remember half of what he said."
"Mr. Tails is the smartest fox ever!" praised Cream with a proud smile.
"So these Chaos Emeralds, are they the reason Sonic was golden in that last battle he had?"
"Mhmm," I nodded, right as Mom's cell phone started to ring.
"Oh, I'm so sorry dear, I have to take this," she apologized, before she looked down at her phone. "Oh, it's Director Cameron," she sighed.
She answered her phone, and judging by her half of the conversation that I was hearing, I knew exactly what was about to happen.
"Hello? … Oh, okay. … Yes, I understand. … Yes, okay, I'll make sure to catch the earliest red-eye I can. … Yes… Okay, see you then. Bye for now."
Even though I was used to this cycle my whole life, and I now had my friends with me, I still felt disappointed that Mom had to go so soon. I had barely seen her for ten minutes.
Cream, on the other hand, looked confused. She didn't have any clue what was happening.
"Both of you, I'm so very sorry to break this up," she apologized as she put away her phone. "My director just called, and he wants me to fly out as soon as possible to film a new scene for the new Elites movie."
"It's okay, it is what it is," I responded half-heartedly.
Mom got off her stool and started to walk back toward the doors to leave the restaurant.
"I already took care of the food bill, so you can just walk on out when you're done eating," Mom said. "I love you both so very much, and I will miss you dearly."
She hugged me first, and then Cream, but just as she was starting to leave, Cream suddenly pointed to the bag next to me.
"Wait! You forgot something!" she called.
Mom turned around, looking very confused. "What? What did I forget?" she asked.
I got down from my stool and picked up the bag before placing it on the table.
"We got something for you before we got here," I said as I reached into the bag and pulled out the beautiful gold necklace we bought before giving it to my mom.
"Oh Chris, darling…" she cooed as she examined it. "I love it! You always knew my taste in jewelry."
The truth was, I really didn't, but I had seen a few of her pieces of jewelry in her room and saw something in common with each of them. Most of them were gold, and some of them were tiny chains, so it wasn't overly hard to find a gold chain necklace with a swan on it, as swans were her favorite animal.
"Again, I'm so sorry I can't stay," Mom apologized again.
"It's okay," responded Cream as she returned to her plate of pasta. "Do you know when you're going to come again?"
Mom sighed. "I really don't know… My schedule's been so tight these days. I mean, it's loosened up a little since last month, but only enough that it barely makes a difference… I still love show business though."
She pulled a few dollars from her purse and placed it on the table. "This should cover the tip," she said. "And tell everyone at home I said hi."
"We will!" Cream readily agreed.
After another hug and kiss, and a hug from Cream and Cheese, Mom turned to leave.
"Have a safe trip home now, okay?" she said. "And I will see you later!"
"Bye, Mom!" I waved, as Cream and Cheese did the same.
"Bye, darling! Bye, Cream!" Mom waved back.
With that, she stepped through the doors and out to her car, and I knew that would be the last I saw of her for several more months at least.
I turned back to my food, and I happened to notice that Cream looked a bit sad.
"Um… Are you okay…?" I quietly asked.
"I, um… I miss my mama…" Cream admitted in an equally hushed tone. Cheese looked just as disappointed, as he was slowing down on eating his breadsticks.
"Yeah…" I said. I was not used to comforting people, but I had to at least try. Just like Ella and Grandpa comforted me about things when I was sad, I wanted to try and comfort Cream in the same way.
"Um… I… don't know if you're gonna see her again, but… I was wondering, what if she somehow comes to Earth?"
Cream whimpered before she looked up from her plate. "But I don't think that's going to happen…" she stated.
"But what if she did come anyway?" I asked. "Because if Angel Island is here, then… maybe something can happen and she can be sent here, and you can see her again."
Cream thought about this. "Um… I hope so…" she said. "I just wanna see her again, but… maybe she will come here for a visit."
"Yeah," I said as I picked up the Chaos Emerald and looked at it, turning it over in my hand. Cream and Cheese looked over at it as well.
"I just noticed something…" I said as I gazed at it.
"Hm?" asked Cream out of curiosity.
"It feels like we're finding the Chaos Emeralds a lot slower than we used to," I said. "Because we found the first two in like a month, and this time it's been like six months."
"That is a little strange…" admitted Cream. "Mr. Sonic told me the Chaos Emeralds are very hard to find."
"Yeah," I agreed.
"If it's okay with you, Mr. Chris, I think that it's a good idea for us to finish dinner and then go home and show Mr. Tails what we found today," suggested Cream.
"Chao!" agreed Cheese.
"Yeah, we can do that," I seconded.
So over the next twenty minutes, we finished enjoying our dinner and headed out of the restaurant. The road was even busier than ever before, since it was rush hour. So I told Cream that we had to pick up the pace if we wanted to get home sooner, and she agreed.
I gently felt for Cream's hand, and she took my hand in return. Cheese was flying slightly ahead of us, darting back and forth and taking in all the sights of the busy street. It was a bit loud for me, but I was used to it.
It was too loud to say anything to Cream, and she was a bit nervous, so she stuck close to me and held my hand a little firmer. To me, it felt like she trusted me to take care of her.
However, a few minutes into our walk, Cheese let out a startled squeak, and I looked over to see that a large frog had suddenly bumped into him and knocked him to the ground. I was surprised to see a frog this big, let alone one in the middle of a busy city away from its natural habitat.
I was worried about Cheese, and I thought he was hurt, but as I walked over to help him, he pushed himself back up to his stubby feet and bewilderedly looked around. I fully expected Cream to show worry over Cheese, but instead, she exclaimed "Froggy?!"
She looked absolutely shocked to see this particular frog, and I was shocked at how she knew him too. Cream approached the frog, but it immediately hopped away into traffic. I couldn't possibly catch him without running the risk of jaywalking or getting run over.
But as the frog was escaping, I noticed that it had a tail sprouting out of its back. That was very strange to me, because I remembered that in science class, frogs started life as tadpoles in the water, and they grew legs and lost their tails before moving onto land. But this fully-grown frog had an indistinguishably large spade-shaped tail.
"It got away…" lamented Cream as she looked around for the frog.
I was about to say something when she flapped her ears and took to the sky to look around the streets for any sign of the strange amphibian. Thirty seconds later, she returned to me without any luck.
"Wait, you actually know who that frog is?" I asked.
"Mhmm!" she eagerly nodded, looking very excited all of a sudden. "He belongs to a very good friend of mine, and if Froggy is here, then maybe he's here on Earth too!"
I found that fact to be very interesting. Assuming Cream's friend was also a Mobian, that made me wonder how he made it to Earth. But I had another question to ask first.
"That's cool, but did you see that he had a tail?" I asked. "Is that normal for frogs on Mobius to have a tail?"
Cream shook her head. "Not really…" she admitted as Cheese fluttered back into the air and landed in her arms. "But my friend Mr. Big told me that Froggy used to have a tail before."
"And Mr. Big is here too?" I asked, before I did a double take, realizing that I didn't have to call Big "Mr.", and that it was just Cream's unique way of being polite.
"Froggy! Froggy, where are you?"
A deep voice that reminded me of Patrick Star came from somewhere behind us, and before I knew it, a giant Mobian cat was making his way through the crowd toward us, looking everywhere for the frog.
However, he stopped when he saw us, and his yellow eyes fixated themselves on Cream. I wasn't sure what to expect from him, but when Cream saw the cat, she gasped in joy and ran toward him.
"Mr. Big!" she squealed as she hugged the purple feline, who gently hugged her back. I stepped back to give them a little space, but I noticed that both of them were crying tears of joy as they hugged each other. It seemed to be true that they were very good friends.
"I m-missed you…!" Cream sobbed as Cheese joined the hug. "I missed you s-so much…!"
Big wrapped his arms around Cream in a big hug, and he too was crying.
"I missed you too Cream…" he said quietly. "I was very lonely…"
"Awww…" Cream soothed. "Please don't cry, Mr. Big, it's okay now because we're all together again, and Miss Amy and Mr. Sonic and Mr. Tails are here on this planet too!"
"Really?" Big spoke, before he felt himself being overcome with emotion at the reunion, and he had to close his eyes as he quietly cried.
Cheese perched himself on his shoulder and gently nuzzled himself against Big's face to gently calm him as Cream was trying not to cry too.
"Chao chao…" Cheese cooed.
Big was trying his best to take deep breaths, before he said, "I don't wanna live in a forest anymore… It's too lonely… and it's really boring…"
"It's okay, you can live with us if you want to, Mr. Big," Cream invited. "And you can see Miss Amy again! And have tea parties! Remember how much you loved having tea parties at my house?"
Big smiled through his tears. "Yeah… I love your tea parties… They're my favorite."
Cream smiled before giving him an extra hug.
"I'm so glad you're here, Mr. Big!" she squeaked.
"Me too," Big said before wiping away his tears. "Hey Cream… Have you seen Froggy?"
Cream looked behind her, before she looked back at Big and slowly shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Big, but he was just here, and now he's gone…" she told her friend.
"Awww…" moaned Big. "This is a really big city and a new planet… Froggy could be really lost!"
"It's okay Mr. Big, we'll find him!" promised Cream with a smile.
"Chao!" agreed Cheese, before Cream suddenly gasped in realization.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" she blurted, before turning to me and beckoned me to come closer, which I did. I had backed away from them to give them more space, but now I felt like it was okay to rejoin them.
"Mr. Big, this is my friend Mr. Chris, and Mr. Chris, this is my really good friend Mr. Big!" she excitedly introduced us to each other.
"Hi Chris," Big said as he offered his hand to me, and I shook it. I didn't know why, but I felt a little bit nervous around him. It was either because of the different mannerism that he carried, or the fact that he was actually bigger than me for a Mobian.
"H-Hi," I nervously replied.
"Um… Did you see Froggy too?" he asked me.
"Um… Yeah, he, um… came out of nowhere and just kinda… disappeared in the traffic," I replied.
Big looked a bit disappointed, before he looked at me. "Can you help me find Froggy?" he asked. "Me and Froggy have been best friends forever."
I was slightly caught off guard. I knew that Big just said that he and Froggy were friends, but… I couldn't even begin to think about searching the entire city for one frog. It just seemed pointless to me, and besides, we had a Chaos Emerald to take home with us.
I didn't know what to say to Big. But before I could speak, Cream took note of my predicament.
"Excuse me, Mr. Big, I wanna talk with Chris for a little while," she said, before she took my hand and took me to a quieter part of the sidewalk. I didn't know what Cream wanted to talk to me about, but it had to be important, whatever it was.
"Um… Are you nervous…?" Cream softly asked me, and after a moment of hesitation, I nodded.
"M-Maybe a little…" I admitted.
"Please excuse Mr. Big, because he's a little… um… different… in a special way," Cream said. "His friend Froggy is very special to him, just like Cheese is very special to me. So, um… is it okay if you can help me and Mr. Big find Froggy?"
Cream made a very good point. And now that I knew who Froggy really was and how much he meant to Big, it felt like the right thing to do.
I took a deep breath. "Okay, I can do that," I agreed.
What I didn't tell her was how long the search could last, and whether or not we would be home in time for dinner. Plus, an entire city of one million people was an unrealistically large place to look for a single frog, especially since it could go into a place where we might not be allowed to go, like the sewer.
Cream smiled before she walked back to Big, and I followed her.
"Okay, Mr. Big!" announced Cream. "We're ready to help you look for Froggy!"
Big had been glancing around at all the traffic, looking for Froggy, and only now did he notice us approaching.
"Huh, Oh, goody! We can all look together!" he said in excitement.
"Chao chao!" Cheese spoke to get our attention, and he pointed across the street in the direction I had last seen Froggy go in.
"Did you see Froggy go that way, Cheese?" asked Cream.
Cheese nodded. "Chao!"
"Okay, lead the way, Cheese!" invited Cream as the Chao led us to the nearest crosswalk. Thus began our search for Froggy.
Station Square – Fri November 18; 6:40 PM – Chris' POV
Well over an hour had passed since we started looking for Froggy, but to our dismay, there was no sign of the frog anywhere.
Luckily for us, we were now in a less populated part of the city. Big was getting overwhelmed by all the noise of the traffic, and he was relieved that there were not many people where we were now. Cream made sure to stay with him and give him support.
We were so invested in our search that we didn't even notice that it was starting to rain. Small drops were falling all around us, but over time, the rain was getting heavier.
"Um, I think maybe it's best that we wait until Froggy comes back, and… and if he's your friend, then maybe he can come back to you somehow," I said.
Big shook his head. "But I can't go another day without Froggy…" he lamented.
"It's gonna be okay, Mr. Big," promised Cream. "There were lots of times where he got lost, and you found him all those times, right?"
"Yeah…" Big admitted. "But still…"
Just then we heard the loud engines of a ship as it flew overhead, and Big's hands flew to his ears. I was a little overwhelmed by the sound, but not as much as Big was.
And then I saw it. It was an Egg Dropship.
I immediately had flashbacks to when I was nearly pushed into one back at Mom's resort opening, and I recall that Cream was actually kidnapped in one and taken to Eggman's base before Chaos Control happened.
In short, both of us were petrified, and seeing the dropship, I knew this meant only one thing.
Doctor Eggman was alive and kicking.
"I think Eggman's back!" I realized as I nervously took a step back.
"Y-Yeah… That's one of his ships…" Cream said in a shaky voice. "We gotta go home as fast as we can!"
By now the rain was starting to come down heavier, and my clothes were getting drenched. Going home had never sounded like a better idea than now.
"Yeah," I agreed.
"Froggy will come back, I promise, Mr. Big!" reassured Cream in an urgent tone. Big still looked unsure and worried, but there was nothing we could do about it now.
"But-"
"Come on, hurry!" I called as I started running back toward the intersection. Cream and Big ran after me.
I didn't know if it was a sound that the rain was making, but two minutes later, I heard a sudden splashing sound coming from one of the nearby side streets.
"What was that?" asked Big. I looked back to see that he seemed spooked, because his nerves were up.
"I don't know," I called back. I knew we couldn't stick around and find out, because I was getting wetter by the minute without an umbrella.
"But I wanna find out what it is," insisted Big as he wandered in the direction the sound of the splash came from. I sighed before following him, and Cream and Cheese followed too.
As soon as we reached the corner of Redwood Avenue and Short Street, I looked around for anything that could have caused the splash. But no matter where I looked, I couldn't see anything. Even more eerie was that there was no sign of the ship either. The few people we could see were just minding their own business.
"Um… Maybe it was just water falling off the roof…?" speculated Cream as she looked up, but she flinched and quickly closed her eyes as a raindrop hit her face.
"Maybe, but… What even was that?" I asked. "It's, um… It's pretty strange for some reason, like… We saw Eggman's ship, and now this… It doesn't really add up."
Just then I spotted something unnatural about thirty feet away from us. Even though the pavement was completely wet by now, there was one specific part of the roadway that was fully saturated, and the ground was too flat and even for it to be an ordinary puddle. I stepped closer to investigate, despite all the warning signs going off in my mind to stay away from whatever this phenomenon was. But I was too curious to resist.
The saturated part began to ripple, before it rose out of the ground in front of us. Where there was once a puddle of water, there was now a roughly four foot tall humanoid being made completely out of water. In fact, I could see completely through it out the other side.
I was shocked and quite scared, because I was literally in front of a monster made of water. I had no idea what it was, but apparently Cheese did, because he gave several excited squeaks and floated around the monster like they knew each other for a long time.
"Ch-Ch-Chaos…" stuttered Cream, and turned to see that she looked shocked at the sight of the water monster. "I-It's r-really y-you…"
"Wait, what?" I asked, before Big's eyes also widened.
"You look really familiar…" he mused.
"I only saw pictures of you, but… Oh my gosh, I never thought I would see you in real life!" squealed Cream.
"Wait, can someone tell me what's going-"
But Cream didn't get a chance to answer me, because there was a dangerous gleam coming from the monster's eyes, and it swung one of its arms, barely missing Cheese. The Chao gave a squeak of fright and cowered back before landing in Cream's arms.
"Wh-what are you doing?!" exclaimed Cream. "Mr. Chaos, please stop it!"
But the monster didn't stop. It lumbered toward a nearby light pole and slammed one of its hands I to it, causing it to fall over and noisily land on the road in a shower of sparks. Then it walked up to a parked car and smashed its hands on its hood, setting off its airbags and car alarms.
That was when the pandemonium started. People all over the place started screaming and running and calling 911, all the while the monster was still going on a rampage. It cleanly sliced a fire hydrant in half, sending water shooting into the air.
"Does anyone know what this thing even is?!" I shouted incredulously as I saw the broken top of the fire hydrant lying near the rest of it.
"I-I think so," Cream shakily responded as she backed away, carefully holding Cheese.
"We gotta go home right now!" I shouted as I took off running.
"Okay!" replied Cream as she ran after me, and Big followed suit.
As we were running, I knew we wouldn't be able to hold out forever, and I was already starting to feel a little tired from being out all day, and the rain wasn't helping matters at all. But I knew that the longer I took to get home and get help, the longer this monster would be allowed to roam free and destroy the city.
But then I realized… I had completely forgotten up until now that I was wearing my wrist communicator! For security reasons, I was not allowed to bring it to school with me, but I was able to collect it from my locker afterward and wear it ever since.
I knew I had to use my wrist communicator to call home as fast as possible. I was probably able to call Sonic, but I didn't know if he was out and about or not. And I wasn't sure how I could tell Amy or Grandpa this news, so I deduced that the only person I could call at the moment was Tails.
The communicator I was wearing had a function to call a certain individual, or add people into a conversation to chat as a group, kind of like a Discord voice chat. I navigated to Tails' name and tapped it, and soon Tails appeared on the screen. He looked like he was relieved to see me.
"Hi, Chris!" he called. "Are you coming back home now? Because your family's getting really worried about you."
"Is Sonic there?!" I replied hastily, completely disregarding what he said in light of the urgent situation.
Tails looked a little bit flustered. "Uh, h-he's out right now, um… I-is something wrong?"
"Yeah, we're r-running away from s-someone called Chaos, and he's destroying everything… Uh, do you know anything about it…?"
Tails dropped the rag he was holding, and his pupils narrowed.
"W-Wait, d-did you say Chaos?!" he practically screamed, making me flinch.
"Y-Yeah," I responded, my voice starting to shake.
There was a pause as Tails looked at something nearby, before he said, "Okay, I got your position! Just keep running, I'm on my way!"
"Okay!" I replied.
I wanted a moment to see if Tails would say anything more, but he didn't, so I quickly hung up. Cream flapped her ears to keep up with me.
"What did he say?" she asked me.
"He said he's coming, and… and we gotta keep running!" I panted.
"But where's Froggy?" moaned Big. "I wanna find Froggy-"
"We'll find him, just not right now!" I shouted, feeling slightly annoyed.
Cream glanced behind her, before flapping her ears for extra momentum to keep up with us.
"I don't see Chaos anymore!" she reported. "So that means we're finally safe!"
To be honest, I seriously doubted that. We may have been in the clear, but the danger was still far from over. And for all we knew, this Chaos creature was not only a waterbender, but a shapeshifter who could morph into a puddle. Because when it appeared in front of us, it was a puddle, so chances were it could turn back into a puddle and go pretty much anywhere.
Soon the sound of police cars started to fill our ears, and even though we were still running, we could start to see the reflections of their lights from off the buildings in front of and around us as they turned onto the street we had just come from.
But we had no time to stick around. We had to keep moving, especially since it was still raining buckets all around us.
Suddenly, a cry from Big made us stop.
"Guys… look!"
We looked back to see a puddle moving out of a nearby manhole in the street, completely on its own and against the flow of the water that was already pouring into the manhole. My theory was right. Chaos was actually a shapeshifter.
I slowly backed away, as did my friends, as the water creature took its original form in front of us. It was strange looking at it, as it was about as tall as I was, but it looked like it could kill in a single strike if it wanted to.
But its attention was not on us. instead, it turned toward the vehicle that was nearest to it. Since traffic was light in this part of town, the nearest car happened to be one of the police cars.
Chaos stretched one of its hands toward the car like it was elastic, and punched a hole cleanly through its windshield, sending glass raining into the otherwise empty car. Then it turned to look at the police officers as they were all equipping themselves with riot gear and firearms.
"Aim!" shouted one of the officers as all of them pointed their rifles at Chaos. "Open fire!"
At once, all the officers fired their guns at Chaos, and we all covered our ears since the guns were really loud. But I was astonished to see that Chaos was showing no sign of weakness whatsoever, as most of the bullets littered harmlessly onto the road in front of it, and the rest it either absorbed or allowed to pass right through it.
"What is this thing made of?!" shouted one of the officers.
"Looks like water-"
"Get down!" shouted another cop as Chaos flexed itself. All the bullets it absorbed flew everywhere, but miraculously, none of them hit anyone.
In the moment that followed, there was a sudden blue blur which started me. I looked over to see that Sonic had arrived.
"Good thing I found you guys when I did, huh?" he greeted. "And hey, long time no see, Big!"
"Hello, Sonic!" replied Big.
"Mr. Sonic!" Cream cheered.
"Did Tails tell you about this?" I asked.
"Yeah, he told me the moment I got back home," Sonic said as he flinched from the perpetually falling rain. "And you guys should get home too, okay?"
"Okay!" Cream replied as she took off running down the road.
"Good luck!" I called as Big and I followed after Cream.
Station Square – Fri November 18; 6:54 PM – Sonic's POV
I watched my friends go before I turned my attention back to Chaos.
"Huh, Chaos… Long time no see," I said. "Looks like somebody got up on the wrong side of bed today!"
Chaos immediately responded by taking a swipe at me with its watery hand, and I leaped backward out of the way to dodge it. Then it began to take a few steps toward me.
"Say, aren't you, uh, supposed to be inside the Master Emerald?" I asked. "Cause last time I checked, you're kinda its guardian."
I sidestepped as it stretched its arm to punch me, but it was too slow.
"I mean, Knuckles is doing a really great job, but he can't do it alone, you know," I continued as I brushed the rainwater out of my quills.
I realized that I wasn't going to go anywhere trying to reason with Chaos, because it was completely out of control in its rage. So my next best course of action was to get all the civilians and cops to safety and then deal with Chaos myself.
So in a flash, I ran over to the police who were watching me, all the while keeping Chaos in my peripheral vision.
"Yo, I'm gonna need you guys to stay back and control the crowds if you can," I told them. "I got this covered."
The officers nodded and moved back, and I turned around to face Chaos once more. I caught it drawing its hand back right as it was punching a hole through a storefront window.
"Doin' a little window shopping, I see?" I quipped as I attempted to home-attack Chaos, but it saw me coming and quickly flexed itself out of my way. I had to pull out of my tight ball just in time to avoid crashing into the store.
I casually glazed in the direction I saw my friends running in. I couldn't see them anymore, so that was a good sign they were getting to safety, just like I wanted them to. Even though I didn't know if they could run all the way home this late at night in the rain, I knew I could always find them later and call in Tails to come pick them up.
Speaking of rain, it was really getting on my nerves. I had to shake the water out of my quills for the third time that night, and not to mention that the enemy I was up against was completely made of water… There was just too much to handle at once. It was my worst enemy. In fact, despite my friction-resistant sneakers, I almost slipped on the wet ground once.
But then I remembered… Chaos wasn't completely made of water. It had a spinal system that held its mass together, and two glowing yellow eyes, but all of that was controlled by its brain in its head, and I had completely forgotten until now that it was Chaos' weak spot.
So I ran up to the roof of the store that Chaos had vandalized, flinching as the rain stung me as I ran upwards. Now that I was on the roof, I leaped down from the roof, executing a perfect home attack that pierced right through Chaos' brain, causing it to collapse onto the street in a puddle.
I landed next to the puddle and watched as it became idle and completely still.
"I know you're not exactly the chatty type, but really… what are you doing so far away from Angel Island?" I asked Chaos.
"Having fun with Chaos, I see?" came a familiar voice from somewhere above me. It was a voice I hadn't heard in six months.
Sure enough, as I looked up, I saw Dr. Eggman floating above me in his Eggmobile.
"Eggman!" I called. "Long time no see, pal! Care to tell me what Chaos is doing back here?"
Eggman smirked. "Well, let's just say, that's for me to know and you to find out," he stated. "But I just wanted to let you know that you let your guard down… big time. Get the hint?"
"Wait, what hint? What do you-"
And then I realized exactly what he was talking about. He was referring to Chris, Cream, Cheese, and Big who were all escaping and running home.
"Leave my friends out of this," I told Eggman. "This is just you and me, Eggman."
"And Chaos," added Eggman as he lifted a finger. "But I wanted to let you know that my scanners picked up a powerful energy signature that was coming from around this area, and there are still trace amounts of said energy signature, and as fate would have it, it gets stronger the more you go that way."
Eggman pointed in the direction my friends went in, and I was quite sure he didn't even see them himself.
"But if you want the abridged version, your friends found a Chaos Emerald. And as we speak, a group of Motobugs are searching for them right now to bring that Emerald back to me."
"Well, like I said, you're not gonna drag 'em into this," I said as I ran off.
But in the split second after I started running, a sudden laser blast from the Eggmobile impacted the ground right in front of me, forcing me to dodge backwards. I was shocked how Eggman was able to anticipate my move. I grit my teeth.
"I thought you didn't run from challenges, Sonic," taunted Eggman.
"You gotta know when to run, Eggman," I said.
Eggman smirked before he pressed a button on his console. Before I knew it, a force field was projected around the entire city block, trapping me inside with Eggman and Chaos.
"I'm afraid the running will have to wait, I'm afraid," Eggman said. "Now, as I was saying… Oh, right! Sonic… it's been so long, but on the topic of food… I know you enjoy chili dogs so very much, but do you ever ask yourself what water monsters like to eat?"
"Yeah, Chaos Emeralds," I deadpanned. "Each one makes this thing bigger and more powerful."
"Precisely," Eggman nodded as he held up the red Chaos Emerald. "It's been so long I was afraid you would have forgotten. It seems your brain is as fast as your feet after all."
"Of course it is!" I retorted. "You questioning my intellect or something?"
"No, not at all," Eggman said as he dropped the Chaos Emerald onto the ground near the puddle, and I heard it clink as it landed. "I'm questioning how you're going to manage to overcome your hydrophobia in a few short moments."
I drowned him out as I made a mad dash for the Chaos Emerald. As much as I hated to admit it, Chaos was faster, and it immediately began to absorb the Chaos Emerald. I watched as the puddle rose out of the ground and Chaos began to take its original form. Then it began to mutate even further, and it got slightly taller.
Chaos 0 was now Chaos 1.
"Chaos, attaaaack!" ordered Eggman.
Station Square – Fri November 18; 7:08 PM – Chris' POV
Cream, Big, and I were still running as fast as we could back to my house. It had stopped raining, so we had that going for us, because it had been raining for most of the time we had been running.
We were now entering a neighborhood that I knew wasn't too far away from home. In fact, it was the block right next to where Frances lived.
My lungs were on fire, and I felt myself gradually running out of energy, not to mention I was soaking wet from the rain. I didn't know how much longer I could last.
Cream was way smaller and younger than me, and I was a bit surprised that she didn't seem any worse for wear that she was running this far. Sure, she did get tired, so she flew after us for a little bit before opting back to running on foot once again.
But even more surprising was that Big didn't seem any more tired than Cream either. He was much bigger than us, and he seemed to be able to run for quite a while. However, only now did he seem to be getting tired.
"I-I… I c-can't… keep up…" I panted.
"You can do it, Mr. Chris!" Cream encouraged me. "We're gonna be home soon!"
"My lungs hurt…" Big said. "Can we stop and rest?"
"Um… I think so…" Cream said as she slowed down before stopping.
Big and I stopped too, and I was panting from the adrenalin rush I was having. We had all been running for over twenty minutes, and I was exhausted.
"S-So… wh-who is this Ch-Chaos…?" I asked in between breaths.
"Well, um…" thought Cream. "I don't know Chaos really well, but… um… I'm worried because it's really angry just like last time, and last time, it got so angry it destroyed all of Station Square on my planet."
Deep down, Cream's words scared me. Eggman was bad enough, but now we had an even worse threat on our hands. Eggman's robots were made of metal, but Chaos was completely made of water, so Sonic had little to no hope of destroying it.
"Um… So does that mean he's gonna do it again?" I asked.
I heard a small whimper from Cheese, and Cream said "I don't wanna think about it…"
Just then I noticed Big's ears perking up, and he look back in the direction we had come from.
"Froggy…?" he spoke quietly.
I started to hear whatever noise it was that Big was too, and so did Cream. But it didn't sound like any noise a frog would make. Instead, it sounded like a mechanical whizzing sound, kind of like a drone. In fact, it sounded like several drones.
Suddenly Cheese flew high into the air above us, and looked down at us urgently and pointed in the direction the sound was coming from.
"Chao chao chao-chao!" he cried.
And then I saw what was making the noises. Eight Motobugs were coming into sight and driving across the street at the intersection behind us. It was a miracle none of them spotted us.
"R-Run…!" Cream shouted as she turned and ran away from the Motobugs. It didn't take me and Big any convincing either to do the same.
"Where do we go?" called Big. "Those guys are really fast!"
"I know this neighborhood!" I shouted. "Follow me!"
Most of the houses in the neighborhood we were in had fences surrounding the front yards. I spotted one such fence and, without thinking, climbed over it and into a complete stranger's yard.
"Mr. Chris, what are you doing? That's not your yard!" Cream called.
"I know, but we gotta hide!" I shouted back. For our safety's sake, I figured a little trespassing wouldn't hurt anyone. In fact, we would be hurt if we didn't do it.
I was already in the house's front yard, and I knew Cream could easily climb over the fence if she flew, but there was no way Big could get in the yard without potentially breaking the fence. But Cream atoned for this by doing something I didn't expect in the least.
"Take my hands, Mr. Big!" she told the purple feline.
Big nodded and reached up to take Cream's hands, and Cheese pitched in too. Together, they actually lifted Big completely off the ground and over the fence before setting him down. I was left speechless.
"I-I didn't know you could-"
My voice immediately died in my throat as I started to hear the Motobugs coming back.
"This way!" Big called as he ran toward the side of the house. Cream was a bit skeptical, but there wasn't any time to waste, so she and I ran after him, hoping Big would have the right idea, and that the people who lived inside the house wouldn't know we were ever there.
Big yelped as he almost slipped on the wet grass, but since the side of the house still seemed so far away, he thought for a moment before he scooped up Cream and ran after me. Cream held her breath as her friend carried her.
We stopped right next to a generator at the side of the house and carefully crouched behind it. The noise of the Motobugs generally got louder, and I could see them speeding down the street where we had just been. That was a narrow bullet we had just dodged.
"I think they're looking for us…" I said in a shaky voice.
"Y-Yeah…" agreed Cream from Big's arms. Her hazel eyes were wide, and she was scared too. Big was scared, but I could really tell if he looked scared or not, but judging by his body actions, he seemed to not be as composed as I was, because he kept nervously looking everywhere.
I then realized that something was missing from me, and I started to search my pockets. Cream strained to see me better, and she was a bit worried at what I was doing.
"Mr. Chris, did you lose something?"
"Yeah, I think we… yeah, we lost the Chaos Emerald back there somewhere!" I realized.
"Wait, did we?!" Cream exclaimed, before she tried to take a deep breath to calm herself.
"I didn't notice," Big said. "Was it the shiny yellow rock I saw on the ground a while ago?"
"Yeah…" I said, trying not to deadpan. "How far back was it?"
"Um…" Big tried to think, and Cream looked up at him, hoping he would come up with an answer. "I think I remember there were big buildings and not these houses…"
"That's… that's too far back!" I said, trying not to stress myself out.
"Well, maybe Mr. Sonic can try and find it," Cream said, looking on the bright side of things. "But we need to go home soon because we can't go back for the Chaos Emerald."
"Yeah…" I agreed.
My heart leaped out of my chest as I suddenly heard a dog barking from right nearby. It was in the next yard, separated by only a wooden fence in the backyard, and while it could see us, it wasn't able to approach us. However, that didn't stop it from barking at us and practically alerting everyone that we were here.
"Um… I honestly don't think we should stay here…" I admitted. I could have laughed at myself, because only now was I taking Cream's warnings into consideration.
"Y-Yeah…" nodded Cream. "We gotta go…"
She snuggled closer to Big as he held her closer and more firmly but gently, and I stood up and carefully ran back toward the fence and the road, with Big following me, and Cheese floating next to us.
"Why is Eggman chasing us…?" Cream asked quietly, and I had to really strain to hear her.
"I don't know…" I admitted. "I think Eggman just doesn't like us… I don't wanna get kidnapped again, that one time was really traumatizing already…"
"Wait, what?" asked Big.
"Never mind," I responded; I didn't want to talk about that time any more.
By now we reached the fence, but instead of waiting for Cream and putting her down, he tried to climb over the fence himself.
"Wait, Big…" Cream started to call in dismay, but she saw that he was actually doing it. I stood by watching and feeling very nervous, as I thought that the fence would crack or even collapse under Big's weight.
"Um…" I started to say, until I noticed that the fence ended at the driveway, and we could have just cut through the lawn using the driveway. I mentally facepalmed. We were so overcome with adrenalin that we didn't notice that minor detail!
So I ran toward the driveway and around the fence before running back to Big, who was just finishing climbing over the fence. It was very difficult for him while also carrying Cream at the same time, and I wasn't sure how he did it. However, part of the fence was bent from his effort, but there wasn't any time for us to think about it.
"Um… The driveway was right there, we could have just used that instead," I told Big.
"Oh, I didn't even notice," Big realized as he looked back at the driveway. Then he put down Cream and started running back down the road. I knew he had the right idea, so I carefully ran after him, followed by Cream and Cheese.
I knew we could not have been more than two miles away from the mansion, so I figured another 20 minutes of running would get us there if we didn't completely burn out first.
But as our luck would have it, we hadn't even been running for two minutes when I heard the sounds of tiny motors yet again. The Motobugs were back.
They rounded the corner in front of us and sped toward us, driven with the intent to capture us for Eggman's purposes.
"Oh gosh!" I shouted in surprise.
"This way!" Cream ordered as she immediately turned around and ran back the way we had come.
But Big and I didn't get a chance to run, as I noticed a sudden red blur running in from out of nowhere and completely making short work of the Motobugs with his spiked fists. A single punch deactivated each of the Badniks, and the echidna had a bit too much fun throwing one robot at another.
"You guys okay?" asked Knuckles once he was finished destroying the robots.
I was too out of breath to answer Knuckles right away, but Cream was getting her breath back as she made her way back to us.
"Y-Yeah…" she admitted with a shaky voice. "We're okay, Mr. Knuckles. We're just trying to get home."
"Well, what are you all doing out in the rain?" Knuckles asked next.
"Um…" I started to say now that I was getting my breath and voice back. "We were having lunch with my mom, but then a monster came, and I think his name is Chaos, and Sonic is fighting him right now.
Knuckles suddenly looked serious.
"Did you say Chaos?" he asked in a pointed manner.
"Y-Yeah," I replied.
"You guys get home," he said as he started to walk away. "I got a score to settle with that thing."
Once he was gone, I looked back at Cream and Big.
"I didn't know he knew about Chaos," I commented. I would have asked Knuckles about it when he was with us, but there wasn't enough time because he left so suddenly.
"Mr. Knuckles said he lives inside the Master Emerald," Cream explained. "But maybe we can ask him if he knows why Chaos is bad. But I think we need to go home now."
I couldn't agree more. I was cold, wet, tired, and hungry, all at the same time, and I was sure that Big was practically starving from living in the woods on his own. We could all use food and sleep, not to mention a fresh change of clothes and a warm shower, as soon as we got back home.
Station Square – Fri November 18; 7:11 PM – Sonic's POV
When I fought Chaos for the very first time all those years ago, I never got the chance to find out what all it could do. But this time around, I would finally get that chance.
Chaos turned to me, and lifted one of its upgraded hands and pointed it directly at me. I fully expected it to hit me directly with a jet of water, as I remembered that Chaos had that ability when it got a little stronger. Sure enough, the jet came, and I sidestepped…
…except the jet didn't come directly at me. Instead, it was aimed at the ground right where I was running, almost like Chaos knew I would step there. As soon as I ran into the path of the jetstream and the newly-created puddle, I slipped, and everything happened too fast for me to catch myself before I fell.
As I landed on my hands and stomach, Eggman laughed at how foolish I must have looked. As soon as I heard him laughing, I immediately leaped back up to my feet.
"Everyone point and laugh at the hedgehog while he's down, why don'cha…" I mumbled.
I was forced to leap backward as Chaos suddenly reached its hand toward me, but this time, it smashed the ground right where I had landed before, causing big cracks to form where the hand impacted. It tried to punch me again, but I leaped out of the way, and its hand left a lasting mark in the building next to me.
Now that Chaos was more powerful than before, it was able to do a lot more damage, so I knew I had to put an end to its rampage before it could absorb more Emeralds and become even more powerful. And the only way to do that was to attack its brain, just like the last time.
I ran up the side of the building and propelled myself downward toward its brain, but this time, Chaos was ready for me. Not only did it step out of the way, but it used one of its massive hands to slap me into a wall, creating a hedgehog-shaped hole in the brick wall. That left me winded, and I attempted to pry myself free as Chaos ran toward me to finish me off.
I started to hear the sound of an engine above me, and I pulled myself free from the wall and ran a few dozen feet away before looking up. I smiled in relief when I saw that it was the X-Tornado. Tails had arrived to provide backup.
I watched as the X-Tornado launched a ring down to me, and before Chaos could reach me, I leaped into the air to grab it before landing on the other side of Chaos. Then I curled into a tight ball, and ricocheted myself off of the surrounding buildings to gain enough momentum to smash myself directly into Chaos' brain.
Chaos was quickly losing track of me, and it tried to spray jets of water everywhere to try and stop me, but I was too fast for it. I made a satisfying impact with its brain, causing it to revert back into a puddle, this one being larger than the previous puddle.
As my ring power started to wear off, I was left panting, not to mention shivering from the water that was all around me. At least it had finally stopped raining for the most part. I was done with water for a long time, and Chaos was the last enemy I wanted to fight.
"Are you finished now, Sonic?" asked Eggman. "'Cuz Chaos certainly isn't!"
He grinned as he held up the yellow Chaos Emerald. I was a bit surprised that Eggman had been holding back this whole time.
"Is that an Emerald…?" I exclaimed. "How many more of those things do you have?"
"You're lucky this is my last one, but luckily for me, this is the last one I need to finish you off for good! You're all washed up, Sonic!"
"Really? Cheesy puns?" I deadpanned.
"Pot calling the kettle black, I see?" Eggman replied as he got ready to toss the Emerald to Chaos.
But before he could do that, there was a sudden electronic smashing sound coming from all around us, and the force field surrounding us vanished. I looked around to see what happened, until I saw Knuckles racing toward us. He had broken through the force field.
"Hey, Knuckles," I greeted. "You got any clue how Chaos came back?"
Knuckles shrugged. "Sorry, I got nothing," he replied. He looked like he wanted to say more, but because of the direness of the situation, he probably couldn't, and I couldn't blame him.
"Well, if it isn't our bumbling knucklehead," said Eggman. "Come to pick up your out-of-control water god?"
Knuckles opened his mouth to speak, but Eggman continued:
"Actually, let me rephrase that. Chaos is not out of control. He is in control – my control, that is. And now, watch as he becomes even stronger with the power of two Chaos Emeralds!"
He quickly tossed the Chaos Emerald down to Chaos. Knuckles lunged forward to grab the Emerald, just like I did earlier, but Chaos absorbed it too quickly.
"Chaos requires a strict diet of raw Chaos energy, and where better to get that energy than at the source that generates it!" crowed Eggman. "Chaos is ravenous for revenge!"
"I know Chaos, he wouldn't be this senseless!" Knuckles fired back.
Eggman was about to speak, but stopped himself.
"You know, I don't have the time to argue with you when you can't even keep your deity on a leash," Eggman shrugged as he watched Chaos as it rose back up into its Chaos 1 form, then morphed gradually into its more powerful Chaos 2 form. "So I'll leave you to it. Have fun!" called Eggman as he flew away.
Knuckles watched him, debating if he should chase after him.
"Let him go, Knux," I said. "We gotta protect the city first."
"Right," Knuckles nodded as he turned to Chaos.
The water monster wasted no time, immediately liquefying itself and speeding toward me. It was pretty mind-boggling how a puddle could move so fast.
However, I was much faster, and I had plenty of time to jump over it and land on the other side. I looked back just in time to see Chaos rising back into its full form.
"You know where its weak spot is?" I asked, but I realized I was a moment too late to say that, because Knuckles was already charging full force toward Chaos. His spiked fist was extended toward its brain.
However, Chaos was quick to react, and it started to generate an electrical force field that completely surrounded it. Knuckles collided with the force field, and he was blasted backward. Fortunately for him, he landed on his feet.
"Forgot how much I hated that force field…" mumbled Knuckles.
Chaos then extended both its arms out and tried to fire giant streams of water at us. One of them almost hit me, and it instead struck a nearby building, causing major damage in the form of giant cracks. I had forgotten just how powerful Chaos 2 was.
"Oh, I almost forgot, Eggman was sending his robots after three of my friends," I told Knuckles.
"I already took care of that," nodded Knuckles as he took a defensive stance against Chaos. "They're on their way back home now."
"Good to hear," I replied, before a sudden movement from Chaos caught my eye.
Chaos began to morph and change shape once again. This time, it split up into dozens of tiny balls of water, and one by one they threw themselves at us, and we were forced to dodge them with lots of sidestepping and even ducking.
"There's gotta be a reason this thing is back," Knuckles said, his breathing labored.
"We'll find out soon enough," I answered with a smirk.
We looked back at Chaos just in time to see it regaining its form, and all the water bubbles fused back into the form of Chaos. But as it was reforming, I saw a moment out of the corner of my eye. I looked up, only to be met with a strange mist landing in my face, being sprayed by Eggman who had suddenly returned without warning.
"I knew I was forgetting something…" mused Eggman as he flew away once more.
My body felt completely limp, and I felt drained of all energy. I collapsed on the ground, and my eyes started to flutter closed.
"Sonic…!" I heard Knuckles call out in concern as he ran toward me. He held me up gently. "Fight it, Sonic! Stay with us!"
"I… can't…" I whispered, and it was true. I was fighting the sleeping gas with everything I had.
The last thing I saw before I fell asleep was Tails running toward us with a second Power Ring in his hand.
Station Square – Fri November 18; 7:19 PM – Third-person POV
Tails saw Sonic collapsing and ran as fast as he could toward his big brother. It was too late for him to give Sonic a Power Ring, but at least he and Knuckles were capable enough to hold their own against Chaos.
"Did… Did Sonic get sleepy-gassed?" Tails asked in confusion as he looked down at Sonic.
Knuckles nodded. "Yeah…"
Tails sighed as he looked up at Chaos, who was moving away from the heroes and resuming its rampage.
"That was pretty low…" Tails admitted as he put his ring away. "Just stay here, okay, Sonic? Knuckles and I can take care of this!"
With that, he and Knuckles ran off after Chaos, and Tails hoped Sonic would be okay where he was.
"So how did you know to find us here?" asked Knuckles.
"Chris told me," replied Tails as he spun his namesakes to keep up with Knuckles. He really wanted to talk more about Chaos and break everything down, but there was no time to with Chaos as an active threat. "And I would have come a lot sooner, but Chris wasn't really specific about where he was."
"You're here now, and that's all that matters," said Knuckles. "Whoa, I keep forgetting how powerful this thing is with just two Emeralds…"
As Knuckles ran, he looked around at all the carnage that was caused by the rampant water monster. Various buildings, including a casino, were damaged; and cars were destroyed beyond repair. He grit his teeth. Chaos had to be stopped at all costs.
At last the two Mobians caught up with Chaos, who was walking at a quick pace down an adjacent street.
"All right, I'll distract Chaos, you go in and hit the brain!"
"Got it!" replied Knuckles.
Tails flew to one side of Chaos and waved his hands to try and distract Chaos.
"Hey, Chaos! Over here! I'm the one you want!" he shouted. "I'm not afraid of you!"
Chaos immediately responded by firing a water blast at Tails, but the fox narrowly dodged to the right. However, part of the water jet struck one of his tails with such force that it knocked him off balance, and he fell onto the street below.
"Oww…" moaned Tails as he rubbed his sore elbow.
Even with Tails' misfortune, this was exactly the distraction that Knuckles needed. Scaling a nearby building for momentum, he propelled himself downward at the water god, but it instinctively sensed his presence and projected its force field. Knuckles readied himself, and smashed both his fists into the force field, greatly weakening it.
Landing on the ground next to Chaos, he looked up into its glowing yellow eyes.
"Chaos… I don't know what you're doing, but you're betraying your nature," Knuckles said. "You were supposed to protect the Master Emerald, not destroy it! And this isn't even the first time it happened. Look, I don't know what's getting into you this time, but I will tell you one thing for sure. We're gonna get all the Emeralds, and keep you from getting you all, and if Sonic could change your ways before, he can do it again."
Knuckles took a deep breath as Chaos turned to look at him, seemingly intrigued by what Knuckles was saying.
"You know me, Chaos. You knew me for the last 20 years. And I know you. You can do better than this.
Knuckles wanted to smash his brain in so badly, but he was holding on to that last ounce of hope, just in case Chaos would cease his rampage.
But he was wrong.
Chaos swatted Knuckles into a nearby wall, and Tails gasped and ran toward him.
"I don't think he's gonna listen," Tails told Knuckles as he helped him up.
"Yeah, I don't think so either…" the echidna said.
Chaos took advantage of this distraction to attempt to strengthen its force field, but before it could charge up too much, Knuckles bolted forward, and in a series of quick jabs, he neutralized the force field, leaped up, and made quick work of the monster's brain, causing it to collapse back into a puddle again.
Tails and Knuckles watched as the puddle that used to be Chaos merged with other water and flowed down a sidewalk culvert and into the sewer.
They were both looking at where Chaos once was, taking a moment to let their adrenalin levels calm down, and both were left panting.
"None of this makes any sense…" Knuckles mused.
"Yeah, I know…" agreed Tails, before he went silent again.
"I didn't wanna do that… but he didn't leave me with any choice…" Knuckles said.
"Hey, you did what you needed to do, Knuckles," Tails said quietly. "But I'm starting to think that if it won't even listen to you, then we're gonna have to keep the Emeralds away from it like you said."
"It's not just that, Tails," Knuckles said. "It's like he doesn't even recognize me."
"Okay… That I can't explain," said Tails. "But we can talk more back at home. We gotta get Sonic out of the rain."
"Yeah," Knuckles said as he followed Tails back to where they left Sonic.
"Are you coming too?" Tails asked.
Knuckles sighed before he nodded.
"Yeah," he said. "There's no way I'm sleeping on Angel Island tonight, the way it is now. I just can't have another night of insecurity there, not like last night."
Police sirens could be heard everywhere by the time Tails and Knuckles found Sonic, who was still unconscious. Knuckles carefully picked him up and followed Tails back to the X-Tornado.
Soon, Tails was getting the X-Tornado ready, and Knuckles carefully climbed toward the second seat carrying Sonic.
"I can't wait to get some sleep tonight," Knuckles said. "My poor brain can't take any more of this."
"Tell me about it," agreed Tails as he helped to sit Sonic down in the seat behind him, and buckled him in.
Knuckles sat down in the third seat, and as Tails closed the compartments, he buckled himself in. He wasn't used to flying in the X-Tornado, but at least he could use the seat belts without any problems.
He was exhausted, not to mention cold, wet, hungry, and absolutely baffled. Even though he was already starting to doze off by the time Tails took off en route to Thorndyke Mansion, his brain was working in overdrive. He knew he couldn't get any sleep, but he had to at least try.
As soon as he was awake enough, he vowed to find out what Chaos was doing back, and what was really going on behind the scenes.
A/N: And that concludes Pure Chaos! This was a surprisingly fun chapter for me to write, as well as a nice way for me to get back into writing this story as we kick off the Chaos Saga. And we got four new characters I never wrote with before!
I hope I did well writing with Big, Chaos, Orbot, and Cubot. I wanna say, Orbot and Cubot were pretty fun to write with, especially since I didn't really need to make them sound robotic like Decoe and Bocoe. Also, you might be wondering if we'll see Decoe and Bocoe again. Yes you will, but not for a little while.
I wanted to touch up on Big's personality too. I am well aware that he is one of the most hated Sonic characters, and I wanted to update him that, while some people may think he is dumb on the outside, he is actually kind of smart on the inside in his own unique way.
One of the biggest changes is that since Mystic Ruins is not going to appear here, neither will Tails' workshop, so Tails is working from home. Also, Amy will not have her own apartment, so she is still home too. Besides, they are barely referenced, and Tails and Amy are still living in the mansion anyway from the Egg Moon Saga onward to the end of Season 2.
And I am a bit nervous to admit this, but I actually cried in real life when I was writing the reunion between Cream and Big. I knew that they were both very good friends, and a reunion scene was in order, especially since they never met each other before in the original episode.
I was originally going to not have Sonic be sprayed with the sleeping gas, but when I watched through the Sonic Adventure cutscenes, I knew I had to include it. I gave some of his parts to Knuckles instead after I included the sleeping gas bit.
Also, I am super glad I had Chris, Cream, and Big listen to reason and run home, and I also wanted to add Tails to the fight, as I saw room for him. Hopefully he isn't acting cowardly around Chaos like he did in Forces!
And lastly, Knuckles' speech with Chaos was completely improvised as a last-minute addition, and I feel like I did a very good job with it.
Anyway, that's all the notes I wanted to say on this chapter. If anyone is out of character, or sounding too formal, please let me know and I will fix it.
Also, keep an eye on your inboxes in the coming days as I am working on a oneshot that is based on a Sonic dream I had last month, and I combined the premise of it when two other ideas I had.
Next time is A Chaotic Day, where Sonic and Tails go head to head against an even more powerful Chaos, and Eggman officially returns! Don't miss it!
