A/N: New chapter after only two and a half weeks? It must be a dream, right? Nope, it's real and it's happening! I've been able to write so much because I've been streaming my story in Discord VC, and I wanna thank my friends OliviaGames1208 and CreativeKitty975 for helping me out!

I made a quick edit to the last chapter and the end of chapter 38 (ep. 40). Two of them, actually. The first is, I shifted the events from Saturday the 12th to Sunday the 13th so that things can flow a bit more smoothly in this chapter. The second is I forgot to add timestamps to the last chapter, so I went back and added those on.

Also, I have a pretty big announcement about this story. From this point onward until the end of Season 2, I will be taking a LOT of creative liberties. Like I mentioned at the end of chapter 37, I will be keeping the tournament, but other things, like the entire Homebound Saga from episodes 47-52 will be replaced with a completely different story.

Just like in chapter 21, this chapter will not have any POV indicators because all scenes will be in third-person POV. And while I'm not adapting the original episode 42, it's still canon, and it's taking place in the background of this chapter.

I would like to thank Jamari17 and brunopunck49 for favoriting and following since my last chapter!

Without further ado, let's move on to the reviews and what matters most: the story!


13 Reviews

Super duper waffles

Thanks for your review! And I like your theory about the Corona Corundum.

As for your questions, I would imagine that Earth's GUN was probably founded somewhere between the mid 60s and the early 70s. I'm not sure of the exact year though.

What do the other countries think of Sonic? I honestly haven't given that much thought at all! Most of them definitely either support or at least respect him.

Looking back through my earlier chapters, I realized I wrote this about GUN:

[GUN] seemed to be the marines of the FBI and National Guard. They were much like the United States Marines, but were more utilitarian.

Seeing as that was the only time I mentioned the National Guard in this whole story so far, I think it's a safe bet that GUN is their replacement, so I may amend that line soon.

soberan 123

Jerome is working with the Society, so chances are he could find out what Eggman is up to and fill in the Society on some of Eggman's plans so they know his full capabilities. With both knowledge and power, they could become a seriously dangerous organization.

1971kr

Thank you for your review!

While the Freedom Fighters and Julie-Su won't appear in this story, they are part of my headcanon, so if I do get around to writing either a Sonic Origins story or a Sonic Forces story, they will definitely appear.

blazenight01

That is true! XD They're gonna have to seriously reevaluate things going forward.

Dbehi01

Even if it seems like a trope is used to death, if it works, it works!

DB

Yeah, I was thinking the same for the longest time, so maybe that's the age she could be.

Five-Chosen

I totally forgot I wrote that! XD

snake screamer

That is fascinating to know! I didn't know that even Sonic Prime was considered canon as well!

For my headcanon, I consider most mainstream games canon, plus Shadow and Riders. It also borrows certain aspects from SatAM and Archie Sonic, and after Forces, I will need to find a way to balance IDW and Frontiers.

diamondb32010

How do they know who's full name? I'm confused.

iron maker2

This is my first time hearing about parthenogenesis, so thanks for sharing that tidbit with me! I'm not sure if Seedrians will have it in my headcanon, but it's very possible they will, so I'm not sure yet.

gregorian12

While the Xorda are not canon in my headcanon, I really like where you're going with your idea! In another AU, that could actually be the case.

Guest

In my headcanon, the Knights of the Round Table exists on Earth as a legend, but Sonic and the Black Knight is not canon.

CreativeKitty975

Thanks for your review! I look forward to writing these new chapters and exploring more of the Society!


Chapter 40
Episode 42
The Corundum Conundrum


Thorndyke Mansion - Mon February 14, 10:08 AM

Tails slowly opened his eyes the next morning. Letting out a small yawn, he stretched and looked over at the clock on the nightstand next to him.

AH! I overslept! It's already past 10! I'm not gonna have enough time to work on the Corundum today…

Throwing his blanket back, he jumped out of bed and sprinted into the ensuite bathroom. As far as he could remember, he had never brushed his teeth as fast as he did in that moment. In fact, he was in such a hurry that he accidentally dropped his toothbrush on the floor.

Okay, maybe I should slow down a bit… he realized. It's only 10 in the morning after all. I still have all day.

Picking up his toothbrush, he rinsed it out, followed by his mouth, before he ran out into the hall. Excitement took over once again, and before he knew it, his two fluffy namesakes seemed to spin on their own, and he flew down the hall and over the railing toward the foyer below.

He noticed how quiet it was when he arrived downstairs. Only then did he remember that it was just him, Chuck, and Mr. Tanaka who were home today. Chris was at school, Amy and Sonic were going on a date like they were talking about, and Cream and Vanilla were out somewhere, but Tails didn't hear where.

He ran through the living room, spinning his tails behind him for an added boost. He was just about to open the side door when he heard Chuck's voice from the dining room.

"Where are you going in such a hurry, Tails?" Chuck asked as he stepped into the living room.

"Gonna work on the Corundum!" Tails called as he opened the door.

"It's only 10 in the morning," Chuck reasoned. "And besides, you haven't eaten anything yet."

Tails paused for a moment before relenting and letting go of the door handle.

"Yeah, true," he admitted before following his friend into the dining room. "I didn't really get a lot of sleep last night, I guess I was just excited. I still am."

"I know you are, Tails, but you shouldn't forget the most important meal of the day," Chuck gently reminded him. "I promise you'll have plenty of time to experiment on the Corundum today."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Tails admitted as he slowed his pace a little.

The small fox made his way into the kitchen got out some ingredients to make himself a sandwich. Fortunately, there was a stool so that the relatively short Mobians could reach high places in the kitchen, but thanks to his twin tails, he didn't need it most of the time.

Within seconds, he was flying across the kitchen, getting everything he needed. After setting a knife and two slices of bread on his plate, he landed and ran toward the refrigerator.

"So did they get rid of the Solar Ball in the yard?" he asked as he rummaged around inside.

"Yes, the government took care of it this morning," Chuck responded from the adjacent dining room. "They told me they're collecting all the Solar Balls and refunding everyone who got one."

"Okay, good to know," Tails said. Pulling some turkey slices, fresh lettuce, and tomato slices out of the fridge, he closed the door and carried them to his plate.

"Even though you turned off its mind control function, there's still a chance it could have been dangerous," Chuck said, glancing out the window. "But, you know… having it there, it gave me an idea a couple days ago."

"Hm?" Tails asked, looking up at Chuck.

"Maybe Mr. Tanaka and I can buy some lights to place all along the walkways, maybe even the driveway too." He chuckled to himself. "I'm surprised I haven't thought of something like that sooner. It would make the house look a lot better at night."

"I like that idea," Tails said. "And it'll help me see better when I land."

"Oh yeah, it will!" Chuck said. "I'll make that a priority then."

By now Tails had finished preparing his sandwich, and now he was cutting it in quarters. The whole time, he was thinking about the Corundum and what secrets it might hold.

"I didn't think Sonic was gonna be this okay about going on a date with Amy," Tails remarked absent-mindedly.

"Actually, there was a change of plans," Chuck spoke up.

Tails tilted his head slightly in confusion. "What happened?" he asked.

"Amy called before you came down here," Chuck explained. "She said Sonic saw some leftover Eggman robots and he wanted to investigate."

"It's probably Jerome," Tails thought as he took his sandwich and a cup of apple juice to the dining room. "He was probably given orders to take over while Eggman's in prison."

"True, but you watch him," Chuck said, taking a sip of his morning coffee. "Knowing him, he's gonna let all that power go to his head."

"Mm-hmm," Tails said, sitting down. "But anyway, um… Was Amy okay with not going on a date? Because knowing her… she used to get pretty upset about these things."

"Oh yeah, she was fine with it," Chuck said with a firm nod. "She understood. She actually went out with Sam Speed for a bit today."

Tails blinked in surprise, and his two tails stopped swaying behind him for a moment.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, he came over this morning around 8," Chuck answered. "He wanted to see Sonic for a bit, but he was already out and about, and so he and Amy were chatting for a bit, and Sam asked if she wanted to go on a drive with him for a bit, and she said yes."

"Okay," Tails said, swallowing a bite of his sandwich. "So, kinda like a speed date?"

Chuck laughed. "It's not a date, Tails! Just a friendly hangout." Tails giggled.

"I know," he said with a smile.

Not even ten minutes later, Tails finished his sandwich and juice, and after he put his dishes away, he was already on his way out the door.

"I'll come join you in a bit," Chuck called. "Just need to finish some paperwork first."

"Okay!" Tails excitedly responded. He broke into a swift run, before spinning his tails and flying across the yard.

He arrived at the garage in only eight seconds, and another five seconds later, he was up in his friend's laboratory above the garage. He spotted the corona Corundum resting inside the energy stabilizer that Chuck had built inside his lab when Tails first arrived on Earth. Chuck kept saying he wanted to move it down to the garage, but he had always been busy.

A flashback shot through his mind of when one of the Chaos Emeralds went haywire and nearly had a complete meltdown in the lab. That prompted the construction of the stabilizing chamber. Chuck had since asked him not to conduct any Chaos energy experiments in the upstairs lab, and that they were to be done in the sublab to avoid any long-term damage to vital equipment. Tails had honored that rule ever since.

With that in mind, Tails entered the four-digit passcode, removed the Corundum from the stabilizer, and toted it downstairs. As he carefully descended the wooden steps, he could hardly feel any power coming from the large gemstone, even though he wasn't Chaos-sensitive like Sonic.

That's weird… he thought. I'm gonna have to scan it to make sure it really doesn't have any power. There's no way Eggman drained it all.

Upon reaching the elevator, he set down the Corundum on the concrete floor and stood on his tiptoes before entering the passcode to the elevator. He could feel his little heart racing in excitement.

Before the elevator doors finished opening, he was already inside with the Corundum. He was more than ready to find out why Eggman valued it so much.


The Egg Carrier - Mon February 14, 9:49 AM

"If you are seeing this message, I have most likely been captured by the government, my enemies, or some other entity. This message is for all of my servants, both robots and underbosses alike. Your orders are to do everything you can to release me from prison. Don't let anything get in your way… especially not that pesky hedgehog. This overrides all other instructions you have been given. Retrieving me is your new priority one."

"Okay, so I'm not crazy," Bokkun mused as the message finished playing on one of his small yellow TVs. Putting it away in Hammerspace, he flew out of the mess hall and up toward the bridge. It was the second time he saw Eggman's message. He wanted to verify it just in case, because not everyone seemed to be doing their bit.

When he arrived on the ship's bridge, he found Jerome chilling in Eggman's command chair with his hands behind his back and his feet kicked up on the console. He was idly swiveling his chair back and forth with his back to Eggman's messenger robot.

"And you're still here!" Bokkun exclaimed as he got close to the human. "You're supposed to be helping us look for Dr. Eggman, he said so himself! Not lounge around here like you have the whole ship to yourself!"

"Yeah, well he can cool his heels for a bit longer," Jerome shrugged. "I got more important stuff to think about. And you're right, I do have the whole ship to myself. Feels great to be Eggman for a day."

"Eggman's gonna find out about this, you stupid idiot! He has cameras everywhere! You're sooo busted!"

"Oh, I'm scared…" Jerome sarcastically droned.

"You'll be really scared when he locks you up for a super duper long time!" Bokkun snapped. "I don't know why Eggman thought it was a good idea to have you around. See, this is why robots are better than humans!"

"Said the robot who was built by a human," Jerome said.

"Don't you dare diss the genius mind of the great Dr. Eggman!" Bokkun exclaimed.

Just then Orbot and Cubot hovered onto the bridge. Orbot was holding a tablet.

"Mr. Wise, if you are finished flexing your human superiority," he spoke, "I have discovered the boss' whereabouts."

"About time," Jerome said as he spun his chair around to face them. Orbot showed him the tablet, which showed a map of California on one half. A plot point of Eggman's emblem was situated in northern Oakland near San Francisco. The other half showed the surveillance of the inside of the prison that Eggman was in.

Jerome squinted at the screen. "You hacked their surveillance, huh…?"

"More than you can say," Bokkun said.

"But why so far away?" Jerome asked.

"I'm not 100% sure," Orbot shrugged.

Jerome knew deep down that it probably had to do with the breakout of Colonel Passer two days ago. They couldn't afford to put Eggman in a damaged prison.

He remembered having to juggle between commanding a small force of Eggman's robots to orchestrate the breakout, as well as directing the Egg Carrier toward the government buildings in Station Square, all while making sure that Bokkun, Orbot, and Cubot didn't know. He didn't know how he possibly hid the breakout from them. It probably had to do with him erasing all records of the robot's deplyals since the operation started, up until the news arrived that Eggman was arrested.

"Decoe and Bocoe are sharing a cell next to Eggman's cell," Orbot reported, "but they are both still deactivated."

"That's what they get for replacing us!" Cubot cheered.

"Not this again…" Jerome facepalmed.

"Mr. Wise is right," Orbot said. "As stuck-up as they are, we should show at least a little respect for our fellow robot assistants."

"You know what?" Jerome got up, his chair swiveling around a few feet behind him. "I'm gonna actually be Eggman for a day."

"What…?" Bokkun asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'm getting that Corundum back," Jerome said as he strode off the bridge. The three robots followed him. "The sooner I get it, the better. Besides, I'm pretty sure Eggman doesn't know it's missing, so that's a plus. So yeah, if I get it before he gets back, I probably won't get in trouble for that."

"You wish," Bokkun said. "Eggman's gonna blame you for everything anyway, and frankly, it's gonna be funny to watch."

"Oh, I'll be the one laughing in the end, when Eggman praises me for getting the Corundum back out of enemy hands," Jerome bragged. "Can one of you guys wanna show me where Eggman parks his combat robots?"

"You're seriously gonna drive one of those things?" Cubot asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Jerome said.

"You know the Eggmobile is password-protected… right?" Bokkun asked him.

"Of course," Jerome said. "The doc was dumb enough to leave the password lying around in plain sight. He gave me access to the surveillance center, and the password to access the password to the Eggmobile. Oh, I've been waiting for a day like this, where I can just stretch my legs in the name of the Eggman Empire."

"Give him an inch, and he'll take the whole empire, huh?" Bokkun whispered to Orbot and Cubot.

"Yeah, Bokkun's right, it's gonna be funny watching you get in trouble," Cubot said. "I'll even get popcorn–"

"Hold the popcorn," Jerome said. "Just watch, I'm not gonna get in trouble, not if that stone is back here before Eggman."

Jerome was walking so fast, he entered the elevator before the robots did. The doors shut right in front of Bokkun, who was forced to take the stairs.

When the three robots finally caught up to Jerome, he was already in the hangar inspecting the various combat robots that Eggman often used to deal with Sonic personally.

"Egg Viper… Death Egg Robot… Egg Dragoon…" they heard him muse. "Seriously, would it kill you to have a robot without the word 'egg' in it? Eh, whatever, Dragoon it is."

Jerome tapped into the console to undock the Egg Dragoon and open the bay doors. But as he was running toward the Eggmobile that was parked nearby, Bokkun picked that exact time to fly in front of him, cutting him off.

"Not so fast, hypocrite," Bokkun said. "You're so obsessed with not getting caught, but you wanna steal one of Eggman's robots– okay, that's another problem. The first one is, you don't wanna get caught, but you're gonna steal one of Dr. Eggman's robots and get out there so you can get caught?"

"I thought about that," Jerome said. "But these are Eggman's robots. You ever see him afraid of the police when he's driving one? Yeah, that's what I thought. In fact, they're scared of him, as they should be, which is exactly why I'm going with one of his combat robots, because who knows, I could run into Sonic and his friends." He paused for a moment to think about what he just said. "Actually, maybe I should bring some Badniks with me as well."

"I hate to be that robot, but I'm already seeing some flaws in your so-called plan," Orbot pointed out.

"Yeah, like how they're hard-coded to obey Eggman only," Bokkun added.

"Didn't stop me before," Jerome shrugged.

"Except this time, Dr. Eggman overrode them," Bokkun stated as he watched Jerome climb into the Eggmobile. "Good luck getting the Corundum alone!"

"I'll get it along if I have to, just watch me," Jerome called.

After entering the passcode, the Eggmobile started, and Jerome carefully piloted it toward the top of the Egg Dragoon on the other side of the hangar.

"So he wasn't bluffing about the passcode…" Orbot marveled.

"I'll be impressed if he can fly it out the door!" Cubot added.

"This is your first time in the Eggmobile, right?" Bokkun asked, hovering near Jerome as he slowly picked up speed. "Well, it's gonna be your last if you don't get back here and listen to Dr. Eggman!"

"If I stay here, he'll get mad at me anyway for losing the Corundum," Jerome explained as he stopped in front of the Egg Dragoon. "Trust me, this is for the greater good."

"More important than the doctor's freedom?!" Bokkun snapped.

Jerome didn't respond as he managed to dock the Eggmobile into the Dragoon. After a few moments of figuring out the controls, the human sealed the cockpit and started its engines. Bokkun, Orbot, and Cubot cringed as a loud burst of feedback emitted from the robot's loudspeaker.

"See?" Jerome said. "I can handle myself just fine. And so can you while I'm gone. By the time Eggman is back, the Corundum will be here waiting for him."

After another minute, Jerome piloted it out of the ship and flew out of sight. The three robots watched him go.

"There goes a good man," Cubot remarked.

"You know he'll be back, it's not like he has anywhere else to go," Bokkun said as he turned around. He pouted. "But this means we gotta do all the work of getting Eggman back on our own."

His face lit up as an idea crossed his mechanical mind.

"You know what else this means?! I get to be in charge!"

He let out a whoop of excitement as he did loop-dee-loops on his way out of the hangar. Orbot and Cubot followed him.

"He's not even on his usual sugar high," Orbot said.


Thorndyke Mansion - Sublab - Mon February 14, 10:32 AM

The ten seconds it took for the elevator to reach the underground laboratory felt way too long for Tails. When the doors finally opened, he ran out of the elevator, nearly dropping the Corundum in the process, but he regained his grip in time. He was excited, but also nervous because he didn't have a clue what to expect.

He set the large stone down on one of the workstations, letting his arms drop to his sides for a moment to rest from carrying it. While he had his own workstation, Chuck had told him he could have the whole lab to himself depending on his project. He didn't have any active projects going on in the sublab today.

He grabbed his Miles Electric from another shelf and placed it next to the Corundum, then opened a nearby drawer and chose a few wires, then set them on the workstation.

He didn't know how to go about experimenting with the Corundum, so he decided to just wing it. He plugged one end of one of the wires into his tablet, but as he reached the other end toward the Corundum, he hesitated. There was a chance that even though it didn't seem to store a lot of power, it could easily overload the Miles Electric. He decided to connect it to something different, and then use the Miles Electric to read its power level if it proved to be safe.

So he unplugged the wire from the Miles Electric and instead brought it over to a special computer that Chuck had built for various purposes. It was designed to support Chaos Emeralds, and it included shock absorbers and other hardcoded security elements in case the Emeralds ever went haywire. Ever since the Master Emerald was transported to Earth, that had never been a problem.

One of the wires had a suction cup attached to one end, and Tails attached it to the Corundum, making sure it was firm. Reaching up, he turned on the computer and nervously plugged the other end into a socket in the computer a foot above his head.

Okay… It's plugged in now… I guess it's time for the moment of truth…

He didn't realize that his hands were trembling. He remembered the radioactive explosion one of the Chaos Emeralds caused shortly after it was acquired. This time, he wasn't as scared of him getting hurt as much as he was of the possibility that Chuck's equipment could get damaged.

He finally tapped the button on the computer's touchscreen to scan the energy readings of the Corona Corundum. But to his surprise, nothing happened.

Tails squinted at the gemstone in confusion. If anything, it confirmed what Knuckles said yesterday, as well as what the stabilizer in the attic showed on its own readout.

Am I doing something wrong…? Tails thought, his namesakes swaying slowly in thought. There's no way Eggman would value this so much if it doesn't have any power.

But when Tails looked up at the readout on the computer's touchscreen, it revealed that the Corundum contained only a few units of Chaos energy, equivalent to roughly 0.7% of an idle Chaos Emerald's typical energy output.

Only 0.7%? Tails scratched his head in confusion. That's not enough power for any kind of vehicle. But… maybe it worth a try… just in case…?

He unplugged the Corundum, leaving the computer running, and took it upstairs to the garage. He then flew it up into the X-Tornado's cockpit. Only then did he realize how impractical such an idea was.

The Corundum was way too big to fit into the slot, because it was designed for Chaos Emeralds only. He wanted to make sure he tried everything with the Corundum and the X-Tornado, so he switched on the plane's auxiliary systems and held the stone to the slot. Not only did it not get warm, but an LED indicator above the slot continued to display "No Chaos Emerald Detected!"

I didn't think anything would happen, but at least I can say I tried.

He turned off the X-Tornado, but as he was about to take the Corundum back downstairs, he decided to pop upstairs and get the Chaos Emerald out of the stabilizer. It was currently the only Emerald he and his friends had; he had found it sometime during the time of darkness.

He couldn't hold the Corundum and pick up the Emerald at the same time, but he was determined to try. After picking up the Corundum with both hands, he used one of his versatile tails to grab the Emerald and drop it onto the Corundum. It made a satisfying clinking sound, but Tails was nervous for a split second because he thought there was going to be some kind of reaction. However, he let out a sigh of relief when nothing happened.

As he carried them into the elevator, he remembered what he and his friends were talking about last night. He, Amy, Cream, and Vanilla has never seen it before, Chris saw it inside E-99, and Sonic vaguely remembered Eggman mentioning it. No one was able to figure out why Eggman was keeping the Corundum a secret from everyone this whole time, but Tails thought it was to play with their minds and make them wonder where Eggman was getting all this power from. And up until now, it was working.

Tails returned to the computer and plugged the Corundum back in. He was a little more confident now that he knew it wouldn't damage anything. However, he was afraid of plugging the Chaos Emerald in simultaneously, but he wanted to see what kind of effect it had on the Corundum, or vice versa. The Corundum was not entirely useless, and Tails knew it.

Tails picked up the other set of wires and hesitantly used them to connect the Chaos Emerald to the computer. Still nothing happened, and Tails didn't know if it was a good or bad thing. He was using a very specific set of wires to avoid potentially short-circuiting the computer, and he knew to never connect a wire between the Corundum and the Emerald directly.

However, after a few seconds, something started to happen. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the energy readouts skyrocket on the screen, and almost immediately, pandemonium ensued.

The Chaos Emerald suddenly exploded with radiation, filling the entire lab with a bright green maelstrom. Electricity crackled everywhere, and the screen and overhead lights flickered. It was so loud.

"AHH! AHH! AHH!" Tails panicked.

He cowered, covering his ears and shielding his body with his tails. However, the reaction was still going without showing any signs of stopping. It was a miracle he wasn't hurt. But he knew that only he could stop the reaction.

With his ears still covered, he stood up and ran back to the computer before ripping both cables out. The meltdown immediately ceased, and the lights remained on.

Tails covered his heart with both hands. The poor fox was trembling, and his breathing was shaky. The way the noise reverberated and echoed off the walls especially scared him.

It took him two minutes to calm down enough to look up at the computer. It had gone into emergency shutdown mode. He let out a sigh of relief that it was not damaged.

Wh-What happened…? Tails thought as he leaned against the wall, still calming down. Where did Eggman even find something like this…? It has to have come from Mobius somewhere… This is far too advanced for Earth, that's for sure. And that reaction… that kinda reminds me of when the Chaos Emeralds used to have these really intense reactions in the past. That was back when the Master Emerald wasn't here to keep things under control. But this time, the Master Emerald is here, and it should have stabilized the Emerald… But it didn't, which means…

He let out a gasp of realization.

In a flash, he went back up the elevator and flew toward the house as fast as his tails would let him.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!" Tails called as he burst into the house. He found the professor in the dining room, finishing his omelet while he was looking over his paperwork.

"What happened?" he asked, turning to look at him, before blinking in surprise. "Tails, your fur is all ruffled!"

"Huh? Oh!" Tails patted down his fur to straighten it out as best as he could, telling himself he could get a hairbrush later. "Yeah, I kinda got scared really bad…" He looked up. "But I also had a super big breakthrough!"

"What happened to you? What scared you, I meant to say?" Chuck asked.

"Oh yeah, um…" Tails nervously played with the tip of one of his namesakes. "The Chaos Emerald had a reaction… just like the ones that used to happen when we first got here."

Chuck dropped his fork. "What?!"

"Yeah…" Tails admitted in a low voice. "Even though the Master Emerald should have been able to prevent it… I had to unplug everything to stop it. At least that worked."

"Tails, I'm sorry…" Chuck sympathized. Bending down, he reached out his arms for a hug, which Tails immediately accepted.

"I-I'm okay now, I promise," Tails said. "I'm not hurt… But yeah… That was really scary."

"I'm glad you're okay now," Chuck said as he gently released his friend from the hug. "I bet you didn't expect that to happen to you, huh?"

"Mhmm," Tails said.

"Is the computer okay?" Chuck asked.

"I think so," Tails said. "It went into emergency standby mode… That's the first time I saw it do that."

"Okay, I'll come and take a look at it," Chuck said as he took his dishes to the kitchen. "So what kind of breakthrough did you end up making?"

"Well, I…" Tails started to get excited all over again, his previous scare completely forgotten. "I figured out that since the reaction happened now and the Master Emerald is here on Earth… all these reactions that happened before, it's not because of the Master Emerald not being here to protect them like we thought this whole time." Tails was beaming now in uncontrollable excitement. "It's because the Corundum supercharged them!"

"For real?" Chuck said in curiosity as he ran water over his plate in the sink.

"Yeah!" Tails said as he followed his friend into the kitchen. "That means it had to have been there when Eggman sent us to Earth!"

"Okay, that's very interesting," Chuck said as he hurried to the garage. Tails followed him closely; he was like a kid on Christmas morning with his latest discovery.

"I don't know where Eggman even found the Corundum in the first place," Tails remarked. "So far I found out that it can supercharge Chaos Emeralds, but it doesn't have any power on its own."

"That is strange," Chuck said.

Just then they heard an engine approaching them from far away. Tails knew what different kinds of planes sounded like, and this was not a plane. He started to slow down to a stop as he scanned the skies.

"Tails?" Chuck asked.

Tails took up a fighting stance, standing in front of Chuck as the Egg Dragoon appeared over the tree line and approached them. His first instinct was Eggman, but he realized that he was in prison, so it had to be Jerome.

Definitely Jerome.

"Chuck, get down in the lab and see if you learn more about the Corundum," Tails ordered. "I'll take care of this!"

"Okay!" Chuck said as he hurried toward the garage.

Tails kept his eyes fixed on the Dragoon as it gradually descended toward him. There was a squeal of feedback as the robot's loudspeaker activated, causing Tails to cringe, and his ears briefly folded down to protect himself.

"Hand over the Corona Corundum in the name of the Eggman Empire!" Jerome ordered. He pivoted the robot toward the garage, but Chuck was already long gone.

"You're the worst fake Eggman ever!" Tails mocked.

"I said hand it over," Jerome told him, completely ignoring Tails.

"You're gonna have to get past me first," Tails told him, holding up a finger.

"Oh, that's the easy part, since you're the only one here," Jerome said.

Tails blinked. "How did you know that…?"

"Because everyone would have come out here to see me if your friends were here," Jerome stated.

Oh yeah, that's true… Tails realized.

"I can still stop you just as easy as Sonic!" Tails declared.

"We'll see about that," Jerome said. "C'mon, where's the button for the missiles…?"

Tails giggled. Jerome forgot to turn off his microphone.

He's an even worse pilot than Eggman, he thought. How'd he even get to work with him? Like… What did Eggman see in him that he liked?

Tails spun his namesakes and flew up to the roof of the house, right as Jerome finally found the controls and fired ten missiles in his direction. The fox flew up and over them as they arced completely over the house and exploded in the hedges near the tennis courts.

A pang of panic shot through Tails' heart. He realized that if they fought near the house, there would be a lot of property damage, not to mention the house itself could take extensive damage. He was not about to risk that.

"Hey, let's take this fight somewhere else!" Tails told Jerome, agitation seeping into his voice.

"Why? The Corundum is right here," Jerome said.

"But you almost hit the house!"

"Hey, I'm not leaving just 'cuz you wanna be an environmentalist. War has its costs. Deal with it."

Tails gritted his teeth, knowing he would have to risk damage to the house and the yard. He could already feel stress welling up in his head.

I'm sorry, guys…

He flew straight toward Jerome, but he reacted by launching the Dragoon's drill straight at him, forcing Tails to dodge out of the way. The drill struck the end of the driveway, not only creating a decent crack in the concrete, but also electrocuting the ground surrounding it. The Dragoon immediately primed its next drill as Tails landed on the ground.

"Heh, you wanna know something funny?" Jerome asked. "I have no idea how to fly this thing, and I still have you on the ropes. So let me tell you, you're probably better off waiting for Sonic."

Tails let out a soft growl. If there was one thing he hated the most, it was being belittled just because he was small and young.

"You don't need the Corundum, neither does Eggman! So why don't you just leave us alone?!" he shouted.

"Kid, you need to chill."

With those words, Jerome fired several ice blasts down at Tails. Tails jumped backwards out of the way to dodge some of them, but one of them managed to make its mark, freezing his right leg and tail to the ground. He let out a yelp, not just because he suddenly couldn't use those appendages, but because of the cold shock of having them encased in ice.

"Pun intended," Jerome laughed. "Man, I could get used to this. And to answer your question… I didn't come all this way to just… 'leave you alone.' I'm doing this for Eggman."

Tails tried to kick the ice holding his leg in place, but it didn't seem to budge. He then whipped his free tail into it. Small chunks of ice came off, but using only one tail was not nearly as effective as both tails.

As Jerome flew the Dragoon closer to him, Tails became more desperate and struggled against the ice even more.

Come… ON! he pled to himself, gritting his teeth. Just a little more…!

He started to panic when the ice wasn't breaking as fast as he wanted it to. But at last, he managed to free his tail, and then he used both his tails to free his leg.

Taking a step back to quickly massage his once-frozen tail, he flew back up to the roof, taking an occasional glance back at the Dragoon. It was slowly turning back to face him.

Jerome is surprisingly tough, but still way easier than Eggman, Tails thought as he landed on the roof.

The little fox immediately launched himself back off the roof and made a beeline for the combat robot, which attempted to back up for damage control. It even launched several rockets at Tails, but they all missed and flew past him, exploding somewhere behind him.

Gritting his teeth, Tails quickly curled himself into a tight ball in midair, wrapping his tails around himself and tucking his hands and feet inside. This allowed him to increase his forward momentum, and he effortlessly smashed into the Egg Dragoon's cockpit. A small crack formed in the canopy.

"I-Is this what Eggman goes through?!" Jerome panicked as he shielded his face.

"Yup, every day!" Tails responded as he flew backwards to distance himself from the robot in case it launched an immediate attack. He suddenly gasped as panic set in, his eyes glued to the roof of the house as smoke rose from it.

"NOOO!"

He flew straight toward the smoke rising from the roof, and stared down in horror when he saw that the missiles had exploded on impact on the roof. Now there were three gaping holes where Tails could see straight into one of the upstairs bathrooms. He was speechless.

While there was no fire coming from the damaged roof, there were flames in the small fox's eyes as he turned back to face Jerome, who was now hovering toward the garage.

"Look what you just did!" he shouted, pointing at the roof.

"That was a total accident," Jerome said. "But it just goes to show the cost of your little resistance. Now give me the Corundum now… or I'm gonna have to destroy the entire garage to get to it… on purpose."

Tails was breathing heavily, and his gloved hands balled into fists.

"No! I won't let you!" he exclaimed as he flew straight at Jerome again.

"Oh, that got you going, didn't it?" Jerome taunted.

But right as Tails was approaching the Egg Dragoon, he stopped when he noticed about fifty Buzz Bombers and Egg Pawns with jetpacks flying into view.

He called for backup…? Tails thought.

"Oh, I thought you said I couldn't have any robots," Jerome spoke into his hot mic.

Huh…?! Oh… I think he's talking to the robots in the Egg Carrier. Uh… No time to get distracted, Tails! Not when he's distracted!

Tails glanced from the robot to the garage, before running straight for the garage. After he disappeared inside, the main garage door opened, and Jerome could see Tails starting to climb into the X-Tornado.

"Do it and I'll fire," Jerome challenged.

Tails froze. He didn't know if he should call his bluff or back down, but something deep down told him that Jerome was not bluffing.

"I'm still brand new to this, and yet… I got you feeling hopeless. You would be a coward to rely on a machine to help you."

"But you're using a machine!" Tails protested as he got down from his plane.

"Yes, and I'm a human," Jerome countered. "And us humans are not as powerful as you Mobians. Consider it evening the odds."

Tails was actually starting to feel worried. He didn't know what to do.

At least Chuck is safe, he thought, but what about me? D-Does anyone else know what's going on…? No… I'm the only one who knows… I'm the only one here… So that means I gotta be the one who saves the day!

He tightened his resolve as he saw all the Badniks flying straight toward him into the garage.

"I don't care what you said!" Tails declared. "I'm not gonna let you win!"

He immediately leaped into battle, spin-dashing and whipping his tails into as many Badniks as he could reach, while simultaneously trying not to damage his plane or anything else in the garage.

But when he looked over, he saw that four Egg Pawns were gradually hacking into the elevator.

"Hey!" Tails shouted, launching himself into them. He managed to destroy the Egg Pawns, but the damage had already been done, because the elevator doors were opening.

Tails was determined to stand his ground and not let the robots into the elevator. It was too late for him to grab anything to use as a weapon to protect himself.

I can do this… I have to do this, for Grandpa's sake, and for all my friends!

But he wasn't ready for all the remaining robots that suddenly swarmed around him from all sides at once. He tried fighting them off, and he managed to destroy two Buzz Bombers with his tails, but he was quickly overpowered. He yelped as he felt an Egg Pawn pull one of his tails, and he fell back on the concrete floor. Right as he was getting up, he felt a stun laser hit him squarely in the chest.

His senses immediately became dull, and his body became limp as he collapsed. His vision and hearing were like he was underwater. One of the Egg Pawns pulled him aside and then followed five others into the elevator.

Tails felt helpless, and the worst part was even his thinking was fuzzy. He wasn't able to organize his thoughts clearly; even trying to imagine himself collecting rings and dodging spike traps gave way to abstract colors and shapes. However, he was able to tell that Jerome was probably holding his fire so he wouldn't damage his own robots.

He struggled with all his might to resist the effect of the stun ray. However, the best he could do was move one of his fingers slightly. Fortunately for him, the robots left him alone; they didn't seem to consider him a threat anymore.

By the time Tails was nearly fully recovered, the elevator door opened, and the six Egg Pawns flew out carrying both the Corona Corundum and the Chaos Emerald. He realized his dire the situation was and leaped to his feet with a yelp, wobbling a little bit because he was still a bit unsteady.

With literally all his strength, he spun straight toward the escaping robots, prioritizing the one carrying the Corundum. He made his mark with a satisfying crunch, and the Egg Pawn exploded and dropped the Corundum. Tails dove for it like an outfielder, catching the gem just in time. However, the other five robots made it outside with the Corundum.

But then the Buzz Bombers that were waiting outside turned and pointed their stingers at him while the three empty-handed Egg Pawns flew back toward him to reclaim the Corundum.

"I… w-won't let you… have it…" Tails groaned, holding the gem tight to his chest.

But right as the robots were reaching him, his super-sensitive ears twitched as he detected the sound of approaching police sirens. He let out a small gasp as hope filled his chest.

"Police…" Jerome muttered. "And that's my cue to leave, just when it's getting good. I guess you can keep the Corundum for now, but I have your Emerald! So yeah, if you value your lab and house… don't follow me."

With that, Jerome flew away and disappeared with his robots and the Chaos Emerald. Tails picked himself up and lifted the Corundum off the ground, brushing the dirt off of it. He was surprised and a bit confused that Jerome didn't put up more of a fight than he did. True to his word, Jerome was still new to using Eggman technology on his own.

Eggman probably keeps him on a tight leash, Tails thought. I kinda feel sorry for him…

Setting the Corundum down safely on a shelf in the garage, Tails ran to meet the officers who were gradually pulling in front of the house.


The Egg Dome - Mon February 14, 11:29 AM

Having successfully undocked the Eggmobile from the Egg Dragoon, Jerome piloted it down into the forest toward the Egg Dome below. This was his first time there, but he had received word that the Society had moved into the dome. The reason for that was because it was no longer safe for them to be in a neighborhood, where they would be unprotected from the law.

Jerome landed and stepped out of the vehicle. Upon looking at the outer surface of the Egg Dome, he saw signs of damage; mostly several dents, but there was a large gaping hole that seemed to have been hastily patched with random sheets of metal.

But as he approached the hole, a hidden door a few feet away slowly slid into the ceiling, causing him to jump. Jerome was impressed at how it was camouflaged with the rest of the dome.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the entrance and into the dome. There were several pathways, but the main hall seemed to go straight. He started walking down the hallway, when he saw Dr. Kai Narasu approaching him.

"Follow me, the control room is this way," he told him. Jerome nodded and followed him at a brisk walk.

"I hope I didn't come at a bad time," Jerome said. "I mean, I didn't give you a call or anything."

"It's all good," Narasu shrugged. "We knew you'd come eventually after we broke the news to you."

"Yeah, true."

When they arrived at the command center, Jerome found Howard Watcher, Colonel Card Passer, and Ray Browning there. There were dark gray, semi-metallic walls everywhere, and the neon red lighting gave the room an ominous futuristic glow. A command chair sat in the center of the room, occupied by Watcher.

"Welcome to our new base," Watcher said, setting down his can of Mountain Dew. "Infinitely better than the old one for sure."

"I'm still impressed how you guys moved in here so fast," Jerome said, looking around at all the monitors and consoles lining two of the walls. The screens showed various views outside the dome, and others even showed views of Station Square.

"The Organizer's a man of opportunity," Browning said from the other side of the room. "Even for me, it was a gamble worth taking."

"I see you're healing up good," Jerome said.

"Yeah," Browning said with a nod. "I'm surprised GUN didn't come back here a second time. That being said, we checked all the defenses of this place, so it should be more than enough to keep them out."

"But you know they'll find out we're here sooner or later," Jerome told him.

He was then distracted by the view one of the screens showed.

"Why are you guys monitoring Thorndyke Mansion?" he asked. "I thought they weren't on our hit list."

"They're not," Watcher explained. "It was there when we got here. But it'll come in handy since Sonic and his friends live there, and they are on our hit list."

"So you guys saw me try to get the Corundum," Jerome guessed.

Narasu blinked. "Corundum?"

"It's a new gem that Eggman's been keeping under wraps for some reason," Jerome explained. "Even I don't know what all it can do. Tails was kind of a pushover, but the only reason I left is because the cops showed up. I am not gonna risk going to jail."

"Neither are we," Passer said, having gotten comfortable with the Society by now, "which is why we're coming up with a plan to fortify ourselves. A plan that neither Sonic nor GUN can undermine.

"Huh? Oh yeah, that plan," Jerome realized after a moment. He took a step toward the exit. "But anyway, I just stopped by 'cuz there's something here I wanna pick up."

"What is it?" Narasu asked as he followed him.

"The Phantom Ruby," Jerome called behind him as he proceeded further into the base. "The EggNet says it's here."

Howard got up from his chair and followed him, and the rest joined him.

"What the EggNet?" Howard asked. "Is that Eggman's database here, like his version of the Internet?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Jerome answered as he stepped into the engine room.

"Well then…" Howard smirked. "This means we got free access to the EggNet… which means we can keep tabs on Eggman whenever we want. And we can see what his endgame is!" He laughed. "Man, I didn't think he would get that careless. We just waltzed in here and he didn't even lift a finger."

"Because he was too busy getting arrested," Narasu said.

Jerome was looking around in the engine room for any sign of the Phantom Ruby with fruitless results. He did, however, notice a heavily-damaged robot in the corner.

"Was that there before?" he asked.

"Yes, it was," Browning said. "I'm heavily considering rebuilding it, so we can still have a combat robot even if we can't get the GUN robots."

"Our priorities lie in other areas," Passer spoke up. "But yes, if all else fails, that is more than a suitable Plan B."

"So this is where it was…" Jerome said, looking directly at the reactor. There were sections where the Master Emerald, Phantom Ruby, and Corona Corundum would have rested, but now there were sealed metal doors. He assumed the Phantom Ruby was under the floor somewhere.

So he turned to the nearby computer and navigated a few settings, searching for how to bring the gemstone back up out of the floor.

"I'll tell you, Eggman tech is really different," Jerome said. "It's organized, sure, but not in the way I would do it."

"Speaking of Eggman technology," Browning said, examining the robot, "that's what this robot seems to be made of. I think I can work with it, because I already have some expertise in the field of mechanics, and specifically Eggman's robots. I'm already coming up with plans for an overhaul of its weapons and even implementing some new ones."

"There!" Jerome said as he successfully entered a password. There was a mechanical sliding sound as the panel in the floor opened, and a platform containing the Phantom Ruby ascended into view.

"So that's the Phantom Ruby," Colonel Passer said.

"Yes," Jerome said as he reached toward it. "It's highly unstable, it'll cause something like augmented reality sequences, the likes of which you've never seen. I have to get it back to the Egg Carrier before Eggman realizes it's gone."

"Good call," Watcher said. "Do his robots know about this?"

"They do," Jerome responded as he turned to leave. "Though, I almost got busted today. I have to be super careful keeping everything here under wraps, and so should the rest of you guys. GUN could descend on us at any moment, and then there would be no Society."

"Well, that's where Passer comes in," Narasu explained. "On that front, the rest of us have finalized planning for the diversion, and I'm nearly finished all the necessary code."

"That's good," Jerome said. "I can't wait to see how that works out."

"Pandemonium, that's all I can really say," Browning said with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Jerome said. "I gotta get back now, I'm kinda supposed to be helping Eggman's underlings break him out of prison."

"Maybe not," Watcher said as they proceeded toward the entrance of the Egg Dome. "After everything he's done to our infrastructure, it's better for him to just rot in prison."

"Uh, while I agree with you, I'll be fired if Eggman finds out I disobeyed him," Jerome responded cautiously. "Or even worse."

"If push comes to shove, you could work with us full-time," Watcher said.

"Eggman probably won't allow that," Jerome said.

"Not if you quit first," Watcher suggested. "Once we get those robots, we won't need him anymore, and neither would you."

"Hm," Jerome thought. "Good point. There'd be no use staying with him anymore 'cuz we'd be the new winning team."

"Exactly, you're catching on," Watcher said with a grin.

"Oh yeah, where are Li Yan and Hector Dragg?" Jerome asked, looking around.

"They're on patrol," Browning responded.

"With all the surveillance in the command room, and they're still on patrol?" Jerome asked in surprise.

"There's too much forest out there for it to cover it all," Browning responded. "They're also hooking up more cameras to cover our blind spots."

"Gotcha," Jerome said. "So if Eggman doesn't find out I'm with you guys, I should be good."

"Do you happen to know how to work the Phantom Ruby?" Passer asked, eyeing the red gem in Jerome's hand.

"Not… really…?" Jerome responded with a dry chuckle. "I'm not really allowed near it… something to do with me being a human and betrayal… but I'm sure I can figure it out.

"What would you being a human have to do with anything?" Narasu asked in surprise.

"It's kinda complicated," Jerome replied. "I think it has something to do with Eggman back on Mobius with one of his schemes or something. There's a big difference between humans and Mobians after all."

"Ah," Narasu said.

"So are you gonna use it?" Passer asked him pointedly.

Jerome glanced down at the gem and the swirling patterns on its surface.

"I don't know… maybe…" he said. "You know what, I'll see if I can poke through the EggNet a bit, and if I can find out what Eggman was gonna do next with Operation Second Chance, then I'll see if I can figure something out."


Thorndyke Mansion - Sublab - Mon February 14, 10:58 AM

Chuck didn't want to admit it, but he was scared.

He was hiding in the sublab in case the robots decided to return for whatever reason. They didn't hurt him when they were down there; in fact, they all but ignored him when they came for the Chaos Emerald and the Corona Corundum. He tried to fight them with a sledgehammer, but they were too fast, and he didn't want to risk any real damage to his lab.

So now he was hiding behind a generator with his sledgehammer, waiting to see if the robots would return. He didn't see any reason for them too, unless Jerome was desperate for a hostage. The whole time he was researching on the Corundum, he could hear the sound of fighting, even with the reinforced concrete ceiling above him. He could only hope Tails was okay and there wasn't too much destruction.

The elevator doors opened, startling Chuck, and he instinctively gripped the handle of the sledgehammer. But when the footsteps didn't sound metallic, he relaxed when he saw that it was just Tails. And to his relief, he was holding the Corundum.

"Are you okay?" Tails asked him. He could hear the undertone of urgency in Tails' voice.

"I think so, just a little shaken is all," Chuck responded as he stood up and put down the sledgehammer. "But I'm all right, they didn't hurt me. What about you?"

"I'm okay too," Tails said, attempting a thumbs-up even though he was holding the Corundum with both hands. "Jerome did get away with the Chaos Emerald though… but I saved the Corundum!" He held it up with a smile.

"That's good, that's very good," Chuck said with a smile. "So that was Jerome who came here?"

"Yeah," Tails said as he set the Corundum down on a shelf near the computer. "He took one of Eggman's robots and some Badniks. I did do some damage to it, but I didn't get to destroy it." He glanced over at the gem on the shelf. "He almost got the Corundum too, but the police came and he left right away."

"Because he's afraid of being arrested?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah," Tails said. "I remember seeing him on the Egg Carrier, and he begged us not to tell anyone he was there. Except the mayor said he already knows he's there. I think he's starting to get sloppy."

"Seems to me like he's letting his new power get to his head," Chuck said, before his expression changed. "Tails, did something happen? You look nervous."

"Um…" Tails thought for a moment, and it was true, he was nervous to admit what happened during the battle. "Yeah… Jerome shot some missiles at me, but they missed, and… they kinda hit the roof… And the hedges behind the house."

To Tails' relief, Chuck didn't look all that shocked or frightened. He was rightfully concerned though.

"I was worried something like that would happen," Chuck admitted. "You tried to lure him away from the house, right?"

"Mhmm," Tails admitted. "Except he wouldn't leave because the Corundum was here."

"How bad is the damage?" Chuck asked.

"There were three holes in the roof, each of them maybe a foot wide," Tails explained, holding out his hands for a rough size estimate. "And I could see right into one of the upstairs bathrooms. I don't know how bad the damage in the backyard is though…"

"It's okay, I'll call someone to repair the damage as soon as we go inside, and I'll make sure to text everyone else about it too," Chuck said as he pulled out his phone from his labcoat. "So no using that bathroom until the repairs are done. And on that note, I sure hope it doesn't rain before then."

"Yeah…" Tails said, fidgeting with one of his tails nervously. "I know it's not my fault, but… I still feel like I couldn't done a little more to prevent it from happening."

"Tails, you did everything you could have done," Chuck told his friend. "Sometimes some things can be out of our hands, and we have no control over what happens next."

"You're right, Chuck," Tails said. "I got really mad when that happened."

"I'm sure you did, and you had every right to be angry at him," Chuck replied. He tapped send and put his phone away. "That was bold and rash of him to come all the way out here."

"He's the worst fake Eggman ever," Tails said quietly, letting go of his tail.

Chuck laughed softly.

"Maybe we can help to take your mind off of the roof for a bit, because I want to show you what else I found out about the Corundum," Chuck said.

"Oh yeah, what'd you find?" Tails excitedly asked, bouncing back from his earlier mood as he ran to Chuck's side. The professor tapped a few buttons on the screen, bringing up a chart with various properties.

"So I was able to find a numerical value of the energy input of the Chaos Emerald while it was supercharged, and, well… you tell me."

Tails was quiet as he studied the screen. Then his blue eyes widened, and he let out a soft gasp.

"This… this means…"

"What is it?" Chuck asked in interest.

"This… this is five times the amount of energy a normal Chaos Emerald has at max energy!" Tails exclaimed. "And if this gem caused Angel Island to get pulled here, then that means I'm pretty sure the Corundum sent everyone here in the first place, which means it had to have been there in Eggman's machine! I do remember Eggman saying something about an energy amplifier back then, so maybe this is what it is?"

Chuck smiled as he watched the gears in his friend's mind turn. This was the first time he saw him so happy since before the eclipse.

"In other words…" Tails breathed in awe, laying a hand on the Corona Corundum.

"This is our ticket home."

Chuck pondered this information, allowing it to sink in. This was a huge and revolutionary find. Now he realized why Eggman valued the Corona Corundum so much.

"I understand," he said at last. "So what's the plan going to be from here?"

"So as soon as everyone comes home, I'm gonna tell everyone, then we're gonna go out and find all seven Chaos Emeralds and bring 'em together. And while we're doing that, I'm gonna start coming up with some blueprints for a new portal device that supports the Corundum."

"Okay, and I'll help you out with anything you need," Chuck volunteered.

"Thanks! I'm really excited to get started!" Tails said, beaming, and his tails were waving excitedly behind him. "But yeah, I have no idea where Eggman even found something like this. I know I keep saying that, but still!"

"Is it natural to find something on Mobius like this?" Chuck asked.

Tails thought for a second. "Mobius does have a lot of things that are pretty strange for Earth humans… but I don't think I have any idea where it could have come from. But somehow Eggman found it somewhere. That's all I know." He ran a hand through his bangs as he glanced at the Corona Corundum. "I still can't believe this was responsible for sending us here. It must have overridden the machine's original function."

"Which was…?"

"It was gonna roboticize everyone within 100 miles."

"Yikes…" Chuck shuddered. "After hearing all your stories about how he used to roboticize people in the Great War, that's a scary thought."

"Yeah, it was scary…" Tails admitted.

"But yeah, it must have been like there were thirty-five Chaos Emeralds gathered there that night," Chuck said.

"There aren't even that many Chaos Emeralds in existence!" Tails agreed. "I know we have the Sol Emeralds, and we used to have the Super Emeralds… but they were never powerful like these supercharged Emeralds." He started pacing back and forth in excitement as he talked. "So yeah, it wasn't the Master Emerald not being here that made the Chaos Emeralds go crazy the first year. Well… that was part of it, anyway. It was this Corundum the whole time, it supercharged them beyond belief. Fortunately, the Master Emerald was able to stabilize them afterward, so that's good."

"That is very fascinating," Chuck said after hearing Tails say all that. "I would never have guessed."

"Me neither," Tails said.

"So now you just need to supercharge all seven and make Chaos Control happen again, right?" Chuck asked.

"Right," Tails said with a smile. "But stabilizing it may be a huge issue, because this kind of Chaos Control is probably even more powerful than the time when Super Sonic and Super Shadow saved Space Colony ARK from falling to Mobius."

"This is some crazy power we have right here," Chuck said with a small laugh. "And Eggman's been holding onto it all this time until now."

"Rouge said it even supercharged the Phantom Ruby!" Tails exclaimed. "That's what made it so powerful this time. Even on its own, it can make illusions, and it could even make water. But I guess Eggman wanted even more power, so he got the Corundum and the Master Emerald together, and that's how he could make hyperrealistic water and the Space Colony ARK and the whole entire eclipse happen." He stopped pacing as he took another glance at the Corundum. "But now that we have the Corundum, and Knuckles got the Master Emerald back, Eggman should be a lot weaker now."

"We still need to be careful, though," Chuck told him. "Eggman still has the Phantom Ruby, and that alone is extremely powerful."

"Yeah, definitely," Tails said with a nod. "We should probably find a way to get the Phantom Ruby too, but I don't think it's a really big priority right now, 'cuz we already have all the winning pieces. For now, we need to find all the Emeralds and protect the Corundum until it's time for us to go home."

"Sounds like a plan," Chuck agreed.


The Egg Carrier - Mon February 14, 12:12 PM

With some difficulty, Jerome finally managed to fly the damaged Egg Dragoon all the way back to the Egg Carrier. The docking mechanism was murder for his patience; not only had he never flown any of Eggman's vehicles before, but he had to undock the Eggmobile from the Dragoon just to get to the Society's new hangout. Figuring out how to balance the Dragoon in the air without it falling over, as well as redocking without the aid of the various platforms and mechanisms in the Egg Carrier's hangar, nearly made him lose his mind in frustration. He had no idea how Eggman did it. But his saving grace was that he used to be a pilot before becoming a politician.

He spent three minutes meticulously docking the Egg Dragoon back in the hangar, and Bokkun flew in right as he was finishing.

"Did you have fun disobeying Eggman?" he asked.

Jerome gritted his teeth. Bokkun could be so annoying sometimes, especially since he was flying so close to him right now.

Jerome fished the Chaos Emerald and Phantom Ruby out of the Eggmobile as he undocked it from the Dragoon, and held them up for Bokkun to see.

"Will these lessen my punishment?" he asked.

However, to Jerome's surprise, Bokkun burst into laughter. Jerome stared in confusion and irritation.

"What?"

"You were going out to get the Corona Corundum back, and here you came back with everything but the Corundum!"

"Look, it was the best I could do, okay?" Jerome said as he piloted the Eggmobile back to where he found it. "At least the doctor can keep his operation going thanks to me."

"Y'know, this is why robots are better than humans," Bokkun said smugly as he followed him. "'Cuz we're better at following order than you are. You're lucky I didn't give you one of my exploding TVs, 'cuz I don't think you can take the explosion… or the joke, for that matter."

"They don't hurt, you said so yourself," Jerome pointed out.

"Whatever," Bokkun shrugged. "Meanwhile, I've been a good robot and found Eggman, and now we're coming up with a plan to get him out of jail."

"Cool," Jerome said. "Being Eggman is kinda tiring actually."

"Yay, you finally know your place!" Bokkun cheered. Jerome rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah, were you the one who sent the Badniks?" Jerome asked. "'Cuz they were a real lifesaver."

"Well, um…" Bokkun thought for a second. "I guess I figured, if you were going through a bunch of trouble to help you with something, the least I could do was help you out a bit."

"I thought they had an override code," Jerome told Bokkun.

"Not all of them~" Bokkun responded in a sing-song voice.

"…You didn't tell me that…!" Jerome said in irritation. Bokkun crossed his arms.

"I didn't have to," he said smugly. "You only know what Eggman wants you to."

"That's the thing I hate about being here," Jerome said, "and the worst thing is, I'll take being here over being in police custody. I get cool suits, hot meals, my own room… but I still feel babied. Why did Eggman even bother hiring me if I keep being pushed aside?"

"Eggman doesn't really have time for surveillance and monitoring stuff on Earth." He winked at Jerome. "You have that kind of time, though!"

"Fair point," Jerome said quietly.

"And if you wanna start a union, be my guest! But try not to actually do that, 'cuz Eggman doesn't really like when people resist him, okay?"

"Fine…" Jerome shook his head in annoyance.

About a minute later, they both made it onto the bridge, where Orbot and Cubot were typing on a keypad. They turned to them as soon as they noticed them approaching.

"Here, take these," Jerome said, holding out the two gems to the robots. They were a little confused, but Orbot took the Chaos Emerald and Cubot took the Phantom Ruby.

"Good to see you retrieved the Phantom Ruby!" Orbot praised. "The boss will be so thrilled!"

"Yeah, whatever," Jerome said as he sat down in the command chair. Accessing the chair's built-in console next to the armrest, he tapped into the EggNet and navigated through its settings.

"What are you doing…?" Bokkun asked, cocking his head to one side.

"He seems to be accessing Eggman's personal log of his previous schemes," Orbot said, peering over Jerome's shoulder.

"You idiot!" Bokkun shouted at Jerome. "That's top secret!"

"Is it?" Jerome inquired. "I mean, I already know about Eggman's plans, he keeps talking about them nonstop. Why would they be secret?"

"Huh? I thought the diary was secret," Cubot said, scratching his metallic head in thought.

"It is the diary!" Bokkun said, feeling exasperated. "That and Eggman's plans are pretty much the same thing! I think…"

"Relax," Jerome told him. "I'm just gonna throw Sonic into a tailspin while we get Eggman out of jail."

Bokkun's lime green eyes widened. "You mean like a distraction?"

"Yeah."

"I like it! Except there's one thing."

"Yeah?"

"We're supposed to be focusing on Eggman only."

"It's not like we can't multitask," Jerome shrugged. "We have thousands, tens of thousands of robots, and a lot of them don't have a lot to do sometimes."

"'We…?'" Orbot queried.

"What are you talking about?" Bokkun asked. "They're constantly scanning for GUN. We already had them attack us three times! But thanks to them, we beat them every single time. And that means the Egg Carrier is unstoppable! It's way better than the two Egg Forts!"

"I found them…" Jerome mused, scrolling through item after item on the OLED display. The page seemed to go on forever. "There are… there are thousands of entries, literally… and close to nine hundred total complete schemes…

Bokkun blinked. "Wow… Eggman doesn't tell me all that."

"He never had to," Jerome said smugly.

"Touche," Bokkun responded, peering over at the computer along with Orbot and Cubot. "But you never said why you're looking at Eggman's plans."

"Oh, right," Jerome mumbled. "I'm just gonna find something noteworthy that Eggman did, and then recreate it with the Phantom Ruby, but better."

"Are you crazy?!" Bokkun exclaimed. "That's for Eggman to do, not you, Wise guy!"

"I know," Jerome said, his expression unchanging. "And as close as the Chaos and Shadow phases were to succeeding, there's got to be more…"

As he kept scrolling through through the diary entries, he wondered why he didn't start writing a diary himself.

"He's thorough, I'll give him that…" he mused.

He saw something called the Time Eater listed in one of the entries, but just from its name, it sounded far too complex, because time was not something he dared to mess with, even if it was an illusion. He wanted to look for something easy since he was a beginner at tapping into the Phantom Ruby.

As he kept scrolling, he saw various minor plans that didn't appeal to him and his interests. Then he saw the name Dark Gaia pop up. Its name reminded him of Perfect Chaos, but when he tapped on it and scanned through the entry, it mentioned how Sonic defeated him again. But he was turned off when he saw that it would involve splitting the Earth, and he was not about to try that because even though the Eclipse Cannon was an illusion, he didn't want to risk going through that scare again, even for himself. Besides, the Phantom Ruby no longer had the aided power of the other gems.

Several more plans involved one particular robot called Metal Sonic.

"Lame…" Jerome droned as he scrolled past them.

"Metal is not lame," Orbot corrected. "He is just as fast and strong as Sonic."

"Yeah, but he still looks like Sonic," Jerome pointed out. "Sometimes Eggman's not original."

"Don't say that about the great Dr. Eggman!" Bokkun demanded.

"It's true though, but…" he shrugged. "Eh, whatever. Wait… what's this…? Emerl…? You guys know what that is?"

"Um…" Bokkun scratched his head in thought, silent for a moment. His jetpack was the only sound in the otherwise silent bridge, and it sounded like a quiet blowtorch. "Isn't he the ancient Gizoid or something?"

"I guess you know just as much as I do," Jerome said, looking back at his screen as he typed Emerl's name in the searchbar. It didn't take him long to sit up straighter in his seat and reach for the Phantom Ruby in Cubot's hands.

"I think I have the one," Jerome said, turning the pink gemstone over in his hands. "Now to figure out how to activate this thing… And once I do…" He let out a chuckle. "Sonic is gonna be in so much trouble."


A/N: And that concludes The Corona Corundum! I had a blast writing this chapter, especially since Tails is one of my comfort characters, and Jerome and Bokkun's dynamic is so fun to write.

Now that the Corona Corundum's secrets are out, I can talk about it for a little bit. I've had that concept in my head since at least 2019, and I slowly started fleshing it out, before I realized one day that it could 100% work in Chaos on Earth and make sense. Besides, Eggman did call his machine in episode 1 a "power amplifier" despite not explaining what exactly it was. So what if he was referring to the Corundum and not the machine itself?

Since the original episode 42 didn't have either Tails or Chuck in it, it worked out really well that this chapter took place at the same time as "A Date To Forget". I know that Cream and Chris were home the whole time in the original episode, but I made a few adjustments.

Let me know what you thought of Tails' personality in this chapter, and your thoughts about the Society! If anyone's out of character or needs improvements, or you have other ideas to improve the quality of the story, please feel free to let me know!

Next time on Chaos on Earth: "Mean Machines", where Sonic has to deal with an apocalypse of mechanical proportions! Don't miss it!

Anime title: Tails' 300-IQ Breakthrough! The Substitute Dr. Eggman is Jerome Wise!?