-Chapter 112-
The Mysteries of Chaos
Station Square
Amy and Cream walked down the street, hand in hand. Cheese was flying in lazy circles around them as they were out enjoying the day.
"Thanks for taking me out shopping, Amy," Cream said gratefully.
"Not a problem, Cream," Amy assured. "Maybe we'll find some nice gifts for the Birnbaums and your mom."
"I hope so," Cream looked down. "Mama has to be lonely in the village."
"Not with all the letters and drawings you're sending her."
After a minute, Amy stopped, sighing.
"What's wrong?" Cream asked.
"Oh, nothing," Amy replied. "I'm... bored. Ever since Sonic left on his little world tour, every day's the same old thing. Same place, different day... There's nothing for me to do but shop till I drop."
"Sonic will come back soon," Cream assured. "Just be patient."
"But I don't wanna be patient," Amy answered. "There was always something fun to do with Sonic around. I really miss him."
Suddenly, the sky darkened. They looked around in confusion.
"That's funny…" Amy remarked. "The sky's getting dark, but there wasn't anything in the forecast about a storm. Is there an eclipse or something?"
Cheese began chirping frantically, pointing up. Both girls looked up, gasping in shock to see the Egg Carrier flying over Station Square.
"A giant airship!" Cream exclaimed.
"Not just any giant airship," Amy let out. "One of Eggman's."
They squinted, seeing a much smaller biplane hot on the Egg Carrier's tail.
"Isn't that Mr. Tails' plane?" Cream asked.
"It is…" Amy replied. "And if he's chasing it…"
She grinned. "Sonic must be with him!"
After a minute, she perked in realization.
"Wait... Sonic's back in town, and Eggman's at it again. Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because it's your day to keep an eye on me and keep me distracted," Cream pointed out.
Amy nodded. "Okay, fair point."
Above, the Tornado 2 and Egg Carrier exchanged volleys of gunfire.
"Stay on 'em, Tails!" Sonic ordered.
"Don't need to tell me twice," Tails responded.
The Tornado 2 weaved around the turrets, soon getting in front of the Egg Carrier. Seeing this, Robotnik scowled, turning to Grimer and Snively.
"Ready the Egg Motion Gun (1)," he ordered. "I want those two blasted out of the sky!"
Snively grinned. "With pleasure."
"Beginning firing sequence now," Grimer replied. "Barrier shield activated. Anti-shock systems are online."
"Time to blow the Tornado away!" Robotnik declared.
As Sonic and Tails watched, the nose of the Egg Carrier opened up to reveal the barrel of a large laser cannon. Before they could react, a massive beam shot out, shearing off the Tornado 2's right wings.
"We're hit!" Tails screamed.
The plane began spinning out, Sonic losing his grip on the wing.
"Tails!" he yelled.
"Sonic!" Tails shouted.
"TAILS!"
Sonic was sent flying down toward the city as the Tornado spiraled away...
On the ground, Amy and Cream gasped at the sight of the downed Tornado 2.
"Oh no!" Cream cried out, mouth covered in shock.
They were about to run for where Sonic was falling, when something bounced off Amy's head, sending her sprawling.
"Ow!" she yelped, rubbing her head.
She looked down to see a small, blue Flicky laying on the ground, the remains of a containment sphere scattered around her, and a large necklace with an equally large gem around her neck.
"A Flicky?" Cream asked.
"She must have escaped from one of Eggman's Badniks," Amy scooped up the bird, looking over her carefully. "Are you alright? That was quite a fall."
The Flicky let out a soft chirp. Cheese started squeaking frantically, and the two turned to see a massive robot land nearby, setting its sights on them. The Badnik was vaguely humanoid and colored green with a trashcan-like head. On top of its head was a lid with a black surface and yellow lower rim, and on the bottom of its head is a red stripe. Situated on the bottom of its head up front was a black face section with two red eyes, and extending out in front of its face was a golden handlebar. On the back of its head were also two green prongs with red tips. On the sides of its head, next to its face, it also had two black bars for shoulders. Attached to these bars were its arms, which had thick green and red forearm armor and mitten-like black hands. Its lower body consisted of two stubby rocket thrusters attached on the sides of its hips. These thrusters were red on the top and have black exhausts on the bottom. It also had a fin on its rear, and up front it had a gray flap covering its pelvis. This pelvis plate had a black upper and lower rim, and a golden handlebar with a black grip attached to its bottom.
"Flicky located," it recited. "Retrieval in progress."
"Uh-oh…" Amy let out. "Cream, run!"
The two girls took off running, Cheese flying after them with the robot in hot pursuit. They ducked into a shop just as the robot rounded the corner. It looked through the windows as Amy and Cream ducked down, staying out of sight. After a few tense moments, the bot departed. Cream slowly lifted Cheese up. The little Chao looked left and right before nodding in confirmation the Badnik was gone. They all breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was close," Amy let out, looking down at the Flicky in her arms. "You escaped from that robot, didn't you?"
The Flicky nodded.
"Don't worry," Amy assured. "We won't let anything happen to you."
The Flicky nuzzled into Amy's hand gratefully.
"What's your name?" Cream asked.
The Flicky chirped.
"Lily?" Amy asked. "That's a beautiful name."
Cream blinked. "I didn't know you spoke bird."
"Tweet, actually," Amy perked. "Oh, no… Sonic!"
Emerald Coast
Sonic had crashed down headfirst in the sand and was currently making efforts to dig himself out. As he did, he felt a pair of hands grab his ankles. He stopped moving as he was finally pulled out of the sand, staring at an upside down lifeguard.
"That was quite a fall," the lifeguard remarked. "You alright?"
Sonic nodded before spitting out a mouthful of sand.
"I have no idea why worms like that stuff. Nasty." he gagged a bit, then looked around. "Was there anyone else who crashed down on the beach?"
"Just you, man," the lifeguard replied as he turned Sonic rightside up and placed him back on his feet.
"I was afraid of that…"
Sonic darted away from the beach, stopping near the train station as he felt panic bubble up at the thought of what might have happened to Tails. He began sparking before grabbing his stress ball and squeezing it.
"C'mon, Sonic... keep it together…" He took several deep breaths, struggling to compose himself. "Tails is fine. He flew free last time, and he will again. He's fine…" His breathing steadied. "He's fine."
The sparking faded as Sonic pocketed the stress ball, dusting the sand off his clothes. After a minute, his radio went off.
"Sonic?" Sally's voice crackled. "Come in, Sonic."
"Sally, hey. What's up?"
"We just got a call from Amy. She saw the plane get shot down."
"Yeah, I know. I literally just talked myself out of a panic."
"Panic?"
"Tails and I were separated during the fall. I landed in a nice patch of sand in Emerald Coast."
Sally was silent, taking a deep breath herself.
"He'll be fine. He's a tough kid. But for now, we'll need another means to get to the Egg Carrier."
"Yeah, I know. I'll figure something out. You just focus on the last three Emeralds."
He ended the call, and that was when a familiar voice reached his ears.
"Sonic! There you are!"
Sonic turned to see Amy and Cream running up
"Amy!" He called out, breaking into a grin. "Man, it is good to see a friendly face."
"Hi Mr. Sonic," Cream said with a small wave.
"Hey Cream," he replied as he ruffled her ears.
"Are you alright?" Amy asked. "Where's Tails?"
"I'm okay, but Tails and I got split up after the Tornado was shot down."
"We saw it go down near the Mystic Ruins," Amy informed him.
Sonic's shoulders relaxed at that.
"Alright, good... we at least know where he is then."
"Before you go, what exactly is going on?"
"It's…" Sonic sighed, "a long story."
-X-
He started at the beginning, detailing when he arrived back in town and the events leading up to the failed dogfight with the Egg Carrier.
"A deity of destruction that shattered the Master Emerald?" Amy questioned. "That's insane!"
"Eggman's found a way to control Chaos, and he gets stronger with every Chaos Emerald he absorbs," Sonic went on. "So far, he's got four out of seven."
"Not good…" Cream whimpered.
"Something else is going on too," Amy added as she showed Sonic Lily. "This little Flicky must've escaped from the Egg Carrier during the fight. One of Eggman's robots attacked us, trying to get her back."
"Is that so? Well then, he's definitely not getting his hands on her." He gave the Flicky a gentle pet. "You two better stick with me for a bit."
"No argument here," Amy declared.
"Right," Cream nodded as Cheese let out a chirp. Lily let out a chirp of agreement herself.
"C'mon," Sonic said.
They began walking, debating what to do when they heard frantic tweeting from Lily. The group whirled around to see ZERO down the street, heading their way.
"That's him!" Amy cried. "The Flicky-napper!"
"Don't panic," Sonic said calmly, pointing to the entrance to Twinkle Park. "You two duck in there. I'll lead him away, slow him down."
"Will that work?" Cream questioned.
"Of course," Amy assured. "It's Eggman's Priority One protocol. The minute any Badnik sets eyes on Sonic, they'll drop whatever they're doing to go after him."
Indeed, the minute ZERO laid eyes on Sonic, his eyes began to glow.
"Alert!" he declared. "Hedgehog, Priority One!"
Amy smirked. "See?"
However, much to their surprise, ZERO stopped in his tracks, the eye glow fading.
"Priority Override initiated," he recited. "Resuming Flicky pursuit."
Amy went pale. "Say what?"
"That Flicky must really be something…" Sonic turned to Amy and Cream "Get going, quick!"
The two took off into the park as Sonic charged at the robot.
"Focus on me, bolt brain!" he snapped.
He knocked him back with a Spin Dash. ZERO recovered quickly, getting up.
"Disengage. Hedgehog not priority."
"Well that hurts," Sonic deadpanned. "But I'm making you my priority!"
ZERO's fist launched out, attached to a metallic tether that slammed into Sonic's face and knocked him on his rear. With that done, ZERO reeled his fist back in and continued into Twinkle Park. After a moment, Sonic pulled himself to his feet, shaking out the cobwebs.
"Crap…" he cursed. "I better catch Amy and Cream before that bot does."
Twinkle Park
As they entered, Amy looked over a sign at the entrance.
"'Cute couples get in free'," she read. "I'll have to remember that when this place opens back up."
Cream tilted her head quizzically. "But doesn't Sonic like Sally?"
"I never said it was with Sonic!" Amy said defensively.
"You didn't have to. You really like him, don't you?"
"W-well…"
The sound of ZERO closing in pulled them back to reality.
"We'll talk later," Amy said quickly.
They started running as the robot pursued. Cheese got an idea, tugging on Cream's ears before pointing at ZERO and landing in her hand. Getting her friend's intent, Cream reeled back before chucking the little Chao at ZERO like a baseball. Amy's jaw dropped as Cheese slammed into ZERO, knocking the robot off its feet and sending him skidding back.
"Wow…" she let out. "That is one tough Chao."
"Yes he is," Cream replied.
"Recalibrating…" ZERO said, slowly getting up.
"But not tough enough!" Amy cried. "C'mon!"
Amy grabbed Cream's hand as they ran off. They ducked into the castle of the park, finding themselves in a massive house of mirrors. ZERO pursued them, smashing through the mirrors as it tracked the duo. As he prepared to launch his fist at the two, Sonic jumped over the broken glass and kicked him in the back of the head, knocking him down.
"Run!" he shouted. "Get outta here!"
Amy and Cream immediately took off as ZERO got back up.
"Disengage," ZERO insisted. "Final warning."
"Hmmm…" Sonic tapped his chin. "You know you look like you weigh a thousand pounds?"
"Does not compute."
"Fat chance!"
"You were warned."
A gun almost identical to the Anti-Chaos Nullifier emerged from Zero's shoulder, aiming at Sonic. When it fired, Sonic was shot with a pulse that seemed to set his entire body ablaze with pain. He fell, struggling to control his body as his heart rate went erratic and just breathing became a chore. As he spasmed and convulsed, ZERO calmly jumped over him and continued after his prey.
-X-
Amy and Cream continued to run, but the maze was getting to them, making it hard to get out. Finally, when they heard ZERO's approach once more, Amy's patience ran out.
"Oh, the hell with it!"
She summoned the Piko Piko Hammer and began smashing through every mirror in her way. Cream covered her head, Cheese and Lily hugging her tightly.
"Let's move!" Amy shouted.
They hurried through the path Amy had smashed through. Eventually, they got out, rounding the corner and hearing nothing.
"I think we lost him," Cream said softly.
"Good," Amy sighed. "C'mon, let's-"
She cut herself off with a yelp as she fell to the ground, seemingly tripping over something.
"Amy?!" Cream exclaimed.
Amy pulled herself up, rubbing her head.
"What stinking park employee thinks to put a rock in a visitor's path?" she grumbled.
That was when they looked down, seeing the "rock" was green and sparkling.
"A Chaos Emerald?" Cream asked.
"No…" Amy realized. "A Master Emerald shard."
Both girls reached for it. As they picked it up, the red orb of light appeared, floating overhead. Before either of them could question it, the entire world went white…
-X-
When they opened their eyes, they found themselves before what appeared to be the Master Emerald shrine.
"Huh?" Amy let out. "What is this place?"
"I don't know…" Cream said.
Cheese looked around in awe, chirping slowly. They headed for the altar, stopping short to see Tikal amongst a group of numerous Chao.
"Hello, little friends," Tikal greeted with a smile.
Cheese cheered at the sight, flying over to the Chao.
"Cheese, wait!" Cream cried.
While surprised to see the newcomer Chao, Tikal took it in stride.
"Welcome," she greeted, giving Cheese a pat on the head. "You seem to grow in numbers each day."
The water at the altar began to ripple, from which a humanoid figure began to emerge. Amy and Cream were on the defensive, but Cheese smiled, letting out a happy wail as Chaos 0 appeared.
"Oh, hello there," Tikal greeted. "I- I didn't mean to intrude."
Chaos let out a soft gurgle, patting Cheese on the head gently before descending from the altar. "I can leave if you want," Tikal told him, backing away nervously.
Chaos held up a hand, stopping her gently. He stood before her, cocking his head as he seemed to look her over. He then reached out, poking her in the center of the forehead. There was a soft glow where watery skin met echidna fur, Tikal letting out a shudder.
"What was that…"
Chaos gurgled again, Tikal letting out a gasp.
"I… I can understand you. You want me to stay?"
Chaos nodded.
The Chao all chirped and cheered, gathering around Tikal before harmonizing with one another. Cheese got in on this little number, celebrating with the others.
"What is going on?" Amy asked.
"I think... I think Chaos is friends with the Chao." Cream replied.
Amy blinked. "But... the way Sonic described it, he's a monster. A demon from Hell that'll destroy Mobius."
"Maybe…" Cream began thoughtfully. "Maybe he didn't start out that way."
At that moment, everything began to go white again…
-X-
As reality returned to the pair, they were horrified to find that they were in the clutches of ZERO.
"Flicky retrieved," ZERO said. "Returning to base."
"No!" Amy screamed.
"Amy!" Cream exclaimed.
Amy struggled to free herself, but couldn't. She couldn't even get into a good position to swing her hammer. Cream was just trapped, Cheese and Lily pressed into her chest so they couldn't escape either. There was only one option left, and Amy took it.
"Sonic!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Wherever you are, HEEEEEEELP!"
-X-
Back in the house of mirrors, Sonic had gotten himself under control again. He stood up slowly, shaking off the dizziness.
"That… was an experience," he muttered, looking at the hole where ZERO had gone. "That robot no doubt hauled butt after Amy and Cream. I dunno how I'm gonna get past that gun, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."
He tried to run, but his equilibrium was still off. He dropped to his knees, grunting in pain.
"What the hell was that thing?!" he demanded.
At that moment, he heard approaching footsteps, and turned to see Tom enter, gun in hand. He lowered it when he saw Sonic.
"Donut Lord?" Sonic let out. "What're you doing here?"
"Got a call about a lot of racket going on in the park," Tom explained. "Especially since it's closed for the season."
"One of Eggman's robots chased some of my friends inside," Sonic explained.
"And you're not chasing after them?"
"I can't. The bot hit me with something. My entire body just feels... wrong."
He stood up with an effort, propping himself against the wall as Tom came over.
"Maybe you should see a doctor," he suggested.
"I don't have time for a doctor. I need to help Amy and Cream…"
"You can barely stand," Tom insisted. "You're going to a doctor."
As he argued with the hedgehog, the omnipresent red light came flickering in, settling on Sonic's head. His entire body shuddered as everything settled back down. His body stopped revolting and his balance returned. He pulled himself away from the wall, standing straight.
"Well... looks like my issue has resolved itself. I'll worry about the hows and whys later."
Tom blinked in confusion. "What the-"
That was when they heard Amy's desperate scream for help.
"And that's my cue," Sonic zoomed off so fast he created a sonic boom in his wake.
Station Square
By the time he'd gotten out, ZERO was on the rails of the train station, heading for the Mystic Ruins.
"I'll head him off at the pass!"
Mystic Ruins
As Tails laid out cold on the field, his mind wandered to Sonic, and his first encounter with him…
-X-
Six years ago, in Mobotropolis, a five-year old Tails was being tormented by bullies, who were mockingly pulling on his tails and laughing while calling him a freak. As Tails cried in pain and fear, a new voice cut in.
"Hey!"
All eyes turned to see an eleven-year-old Sonic, clad in a simple blue hoodie and black shorts along with a pair of brown boots, glaring at the bullies.
"Leave him alone!" Sonic ordered.
"Or what?" one bully demanded.
"Or I'll give you an atomic wedgie before you have time to say 'oops'."
The bully scoffed. "I'd like to see you try it."
"Fine. Just remember you asked for it."
Suddenly, he was right in front of the bully.
"What the-?!" the bully managed before Sonic spun him around, grabbing his underwear and yanking it over his head.
"Next print undies," Sonic mused. "Cute."
He turned to the other bully. "So, you gonna be smart about this?"
The answer proved to be yes as the other bully turned and ran away from Sonic, the young hedgehog grinning before giving the first one a boot to the butt.
"Go on and scram. And next time you pick on someone smaller than you, I'll do worse than a wedgie."
The bully waddled off, grunting in pain from his super-stretched drawers. With that, Sonic turned to Tails, offering him a hand up.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Y-yeah," Tails took his hand. "Thanks."
"Anytime. I was out for a run, getting a lay of the neighborhood when I saw those creeps messing with you. What's their deal, anyway?"
"They think I'm a freak…" Tails rubbed his twin tails nervously. "I didn't ask to be different. Just because I like to build and repair stuff and have two tails, other kids like to mess with me."
"Seriously?" Sonic asked. "That's pretty cool, actually."
Tails perked. "You really think so?"
"Totally! I mean, I'm different too."
He ran around him at super-speed to demonstrate. "I've never met anyone as fast as I am."
"Wow…" Tails let out.
"See? Different is awesome."
Before long, the two were seated and talking.
"So you moved here from Christmas Island?"
"Yeah," Sonic confirmed. "Just last night."
"What's it like?"
"An island. Not a lot of places to run. And most of the people living there are hedgehogs. But this place? Mobotropolis is cool! Lots of running space, and people come in every shape and size."
He cleared his throat. "Well, enough about me. What's your name, squirt?"
"Miles Prower," Tails replied. "A lot of people call me Tails, for obvious reasons. And to be honest, I prefer that name. Miles is kinda dorky."
"Alright, Tails," Sonic smiled. "I'm Sonic."
"Really?" Tails asked. "Is that a nickname too?"
"It's the only name you need to know," Sonic said a bit too quickly.
"If you say so," Tails offered a hand. "I hope we can be friends."
"Oh, definitely," Sonic took the hand, shaking it. "Best friends."
He gave Tails a big grin as everything began to fade to white…
-X-
Tails came to, sitting up and rubbing his head. He looked around, wincing in pain.
"That could've gone better…" he muttered before noticing there was no sign of Sonic. "Sonic… where'd you end up?"
He stood up carefully, seeing the crashed remains of the Tornado 2 off to the side.
"The Tornado 2's not gonna cut it. If we're gonna stand a chance against the Egg Carrier, I need to finish my prototype. Problem is, though, it needs a Chaos Emerald to work."
He rushed to the plane, fishing in the wreckage for the Miles Electric. "Guess that means I better start looking."
He pressed a few buttons, soon getting a reading.
"Sand Hill?" he pondered. "Guess Sally's group couldn't find it. Not surprising, given how big the area is."
He twirled his tails and got to flying.
Sand Hill Zone
It didn't take long for Tails to get to Sand Hill, where he immediately got to looking.
"Alright…" he muttered. "Where are you…"
He began following the signal, the red light descending on him. It landed on his head, and he received images of a toppled cactus.
"What was that…?" he said aloud before rubbing his eyes and shaking his head to clear it.
"Haven't been here long enough for the heat to get me… Mirage? No, that's not possible…"
As he tried to rationalize his vision, something caught his eye in the distance, the toppled cactus itself.
"It's really there?" he asked.
He approached it, seeing something large and green sticking out of the cactus itself, and an ethereal glow from where the cactus had been uprooted. Careful of the cactus' thorns, Tails reached for the green object. He pulled it out, revealing it to be a shard. Before he had a chance to even register the fact, the red light swirled around him and everything went white…
-X-
When the light faded, Tails found himself in the ancient Echidnaopolis, dominated by Echidnas. He looked around in confusion.
"Uh… wasn't I just in Sand Hill?"
"Hello there,"
Tails jumped before turning to see Tikal. A few Chao were floating around her, smiling warmly.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's fine," Tails assured. "I… I just don't think we've met."
"My name's Tikal," Tikal said. "Welcome to the Emerald shrine. I was just about to start my prayers. Care to join me?"
"Uh…" Tails shrugged. "Sure."
Tikal smiled, then began walking up the stairs of the shrine. Tails followed, still completely confused. Tikal turned to Tails as they reached the Master Emerald.
"My grandmother, Chief Huaca (2), taught me this prayer when I was a child. I'm never to forget it."
She bowed her head, small, red lights emanating like stars from her as she began her prayer.
"The servers are the seven Chaos," she recited. "Chaos is power, enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos."
Tails' eyes widened, recognizing the prayer as the same mantra Knuckles recited when they first met him on Angel Island.
"That prayer…" he began. "What does it mean?"
The red lights faded as Tikal looked up. "Pardon?"
"I've heard that prayer before," Tails clarified. "What does it mean?"
"I wish I knew," Tikal replied. "All I know is that it is about the Chaos Emeralds that populate this great land."
She rested her hand on the Master Emerald. "And this one most importantly."
Before Tails could ask for clarification, everything went white…
-X-
When he came back to, he found himself back in Sand Hill.
"That was weird…" he muttered. "Is that what Knuckles and Kat were talking about?"
The spot where the cactus was uprooted got his attention at that. He dug through the sand, soon finding the yellow Chaos Emerald.
"I'll ask them about it later," he decided. "For now, I need to get this back to the Mystic Ruins."
He pulled out two Warp Rings, one to Angel Island and the other to his workshop. Tossing the shard through the first, he closed it and hopped through the second, eager to get to work.
Angel Island
The shard was snatched up by Knuckles almost as soon as it arrived.
"Thanks, Tails," he said gratefully.
"How're we doing, Locke?" Kat asked.
"With the aid of your companions, the Master Emerald may be in one piece by tonight," Locke replied. "But there's still many more shards to go."
"Any idea where to go next?" Kat questioned.
"While you've all been running around, I've been focusing my Chaos sense, trying to track them myself. I've pinpointed more than one shard in the ancient temple in the center of the Mystic Ruins."
"Then that's where we're heading next," Knuckles decided. "Any idea on specifics?"
Before Locke answered, a red light touched down on Kat's head, filling her mind with images of the temple itself, as well as where the shards were embedded.
"I know where to look," she informed them.
Locke and Knuckles turned to her, confused.
"You do?" Locke asked. "How?"
"I'm not sure," Kat pulled out a Warp Ring. "I just... do."
She threw the ring and the portal opened, revealing the exact temple. After a minute, Knuckles shrugged.
"Well, no use looking a gift horse in the mouth," he decided.
The two hopped through, the ring closing as Locke stared, barely comprehending what had happened. One of the red lights seemed to linger on him, its luster a bit dimmer before it blinked away into nothing.
Mystic Ruins
Kat and Knuckles arrived before the temple, taking in its ancient, weathered appearance.
"This looks a lot like some of the ruins on the island," Knuckles mused. "Must have been part of Pachacamac's empire back in the day."
"Yeah…" Kat looked it up and down. "In fact... isn't this the temple Tikal and Solaran were talking in front of? In that second vision we got?"
Knuckles perked. "Mother of Aurora, you're right!"
"Then this is ancient Echidnaopolis," Kat realized. "Before whatever happened that nearly wiped out the Echidnas."
"C'mon, let's check it out."
They entered the temple, finding it decorated with sculptures with murals of serpents along its staircases, as well as statues of Echidnas, weathered and chipped with age..
"When this mess is over, Relic's gonna wanna see this." Knuckles remarked.
"We'll make sure to tell her about it next time she comes to town for supplies," Kat decided, tracing her fingers along a large mural. As she got a good look at the mural, she froze.
"Knuckles... Remember when you thought the Death Egg was an egg for a large world-eating dragon?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Is this what you pictured?"
Knuckles looked up at it, the blood draining from his face at the sight. The mural was a mosaic, one depicting a large, blue monster with bright green eyes towering over the ruins of Echidnaopolis. Everything was flooded, and the monster itself seemed to be spraying everything in anger and rage.
"...Yes," Knuckles answered after a moment.
They looked it over, both unnerved and horrified by the image and what it entailed.
"That's gotta be Chaos when he's at full power," Kat rationalized. "And the doc thinks he can control that thing?"
Knuckles shook his head.
"Eggman is an insane fool!"
"Tell me something we don't know."
Knuckles took a deep breath before turning away from the mural. "All the more reason for us to restore the Master Emerald."
"Right," Kat nodded. "The shards are in the main chamber, embedded in the throne."
"Ladies first."
Kat led him along. They reached the main chamber, where they found an ancient stone throne with three large shards embedded in it, a massive hole in the roof showing how they came in.
"Three more shards in the bag," Knuckles declared.
"Let's get to pulling," said Kat.
Both of them pulled two of the smaller shards out themselves, then worked together for the third. The red light then hopped off Kat's head, but unlike all the previous times, the two Guardians took notice.
"What in the-?!" Knuckles exclaimed.
"What is that?!" Kat demanded.
The world went white before either of them could get any answers.
-X-
The lush area of the Master Emerald Shrine came into view as the two Guardians blinked spots from their eyes.
"Well... at least now we know the source of our visions," Knuckles mused.
"Even if it just raises more questions than answers," Kat remarked.
They went forward, stopping at the sight of Tikal speaking to Chaos, numerous Chao surrounding them.
"Not even Solaran could get through to him," Tikal sighed. "While he may have at least delayed the inevitable, it's only a matter of time. You must flee, Chaos. Take the Chao and leave this place."
Chaos gurgled, gently cupping her face as his thumb carefulliped a tear from her eyes.
"You… you can't leave this place?" she asked.
Chaos shook his head, glancing back at the Master Emerald before gurgling again. Tikal wiped her eyes.
"I understand. Let me talk to my father again. There must be a way to convince him."
Chaos nodded, lowering his arm as Tikal turned away. The Chao all watched her go, looking sad and scared. They crowded around Chaos, who hugged them all, gurgling in a manner that almost seemed gentle and assuring. Knuckles and Kat exchanged confused looks.
"That's Chaos?" Knuckles questioned. "The horrible dragon who nearly wiped out my kind and destroyed Mobius?"
"He... he kinda reminds me of my dad," Kat mused. "Kind, gentle... caring. How did this…" Her mind flashed back to the mural, "become that?"
It was at that moment things began to fade, turning white once more…
Angel Island
When they opened their eyes once more, they were not in the temple. In fact, they were laying on the ground in front of the Master Emerald, the three shards laid out in a neat row above them. Knuckles sighed, rubbing his head.
"This is beginning to blow my mind…" he let out.
"Took the words right outta my mouth," Kat remarked.
Locke appeared at that, the Chaotix behind them.
"You're back already?" he let out in surprise.
"We didn't see any Warp Ring." Vector added. "What happened?"
"Wish we knew," Knuckles said simply. "But we did find these. Some of the biggest shards we've seen."
He and Kat scooped them up, holding out the shards and allowing them to merge back into the Master Emerald's base. Once it was done, they saw the emerald was almost completely restored, save for a chunk taken out of the top.
"It's still incomplete…" Knuckles muttered.
"We've searched everywhere by this point," Espio pointed out. "Where could the remaining shards be?"
Charmy buzzed up to it, seeing something in the emerald.
"Look at that!" he exclaimed.
Shimmering inside the Emerald was an image of the Egg Carrier.
"Of course," Julie-Su remarked. "Eggman would take some of the shards for himself."
"Then the last few shards are on his ship," Mighty deduced. "But... how are we gonna get to it?"
"The Special," Kat piped up. "We'll head back to Knothole and borrow it. I highly doubt Sally will mind."
"I can pilot it," Julie-Su offered. "I have some experience."
"We should also get Big as well," Ray offered. "His frog friend is on the carrier too."
Kat nodded, pulling out her phone to call Hope as Knuckles pulled out a Warp Ring.
Author's Note:
(1): Play on Wave Motion Gun.
(2): As Tikal and Pachacamac are named after Peruvian ruins, I named Tikal's grandmother after one. Huaca Pucllana.
The climax is nearing. Can Chaos be stopped before he destroys everything?
Please R&R. Until next time!
