Not only did we get a new Sonic Cyber Revolution chapter, but it is also on the day the finale of Sonic Prime has aired! I have already watched it and I adore every part of it (even though is still have questions). Also, Sonadow for the win!

Enjoy the chapter!

Entry 37

Breaking The Fields

'''Cause I can't look back, no more turning back! 'Til I find my way back home, and I know, I've gotta be so much more than this! But what can I be if not me?''

– So Much More… by Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

xXxXxXx

Silver and Makoto weren't completely sure how to approach the situation. They knew that them being stuck at Sky Canyon was most likely Dr. Eggman's doing. However, given how easily they had defeated the Boss of the Zone, it felt a bit out of place. The good Doctor wasn't usually this sloppy.

''Makoto, watch out!'' Silver suddenly shouted when their environment started glitching out and the platform below them disappeared. Fortunately for both of them, Silver used his psychokinesis to keep them afloat.

''That was close! Thanks, Silver!'' Makoto said, with Silver giving them a thumbs up before landing them safely on another platform. However, just as they landed, their environment started to glitch out once again. Feeling alarmed, both looked up at the flash of light before them, revealing itself to be a cyan diamond-shaped gem. Both of their jaws dropped as they realized what they were looking at, with Makoto breaking the silence. ''That's a Chaos Emerald! But, how?''

''I don't know,'' Silver replied, reaching for the cyan gem. He could feel it's energy crackling through his fingers. He glanced at Makoto with a confused look, fishing for an explanation. ''I mean, we did beat the Boss of this Zone, so maybe this is our prize?''

Before Makoto could answer, there was another flash of light, this one being green, with Shadow and Touka suddenly appearing before them, and Shadow still holding the green Chaos Emerald.

''Shadow!''

''Touka!''

The two siblings were surprised to see Silver and Makoto, but also pleased to see that the Chaos Emerald-enhanced Chaos Control worked properly. Nevertheless, there was a question on their mind.

''What are you doing here?'' Touka asked.

''We were a moment ago with Lily and Knuckles, who had asked us whether we had seen Rouge because she hadn't appeared for a while, and in the next moment, we found ourselves in Sky Canyon,'' Makoto explained. ''What about you?''

''We were helping out Tails and Warren, when we suddenly found ourselves in…'' Touka paused, only to resume. ''Okay, I don't know what the name of that place was, but it had a lot of snow. I'm just glad that we got somewhere with a moderate temperature.''

Shadow just rolled his eyes at her remark, with Makoto adding, ''Well, if you guys were in a snow filled-zone that is also from the Sonic Advance series, just like us, you were either in the Ice Mountain Zone from Sonic Advance, Ice Paradise from Sonic Advance 2 or Twinkle Snow from Sonic Advance 3.''

''We have more important things to talk about than names of Zones,'' Shadow suddenly interrupted them, pointing at Silver. ''I see that you also got a Chaos Emerald.''

''Yeah, we got it after beating… the Egg Saucer?'' Silver turned to Makoto, who nodded. He then turned back to Shadow. ''What about you?''

''We were confronted by Dr. Starline,'' Shadow explained, with Makoto and Silver being surprised to hear that name. ''He was piloting a mech, probably made by Dr. Eggman. We managed to defeat him, but it seems that my Chaos energy reacted with the AR Field and caused the Chaos Emeralds to appear.''

''Then we can use the Chaos Emeralds to escape this place,'' Silver said, elated to hear that there was a solution to their problem. Shadow then shook his head, his arms folded across his chest.

''I'm afraid that it is not that easy. The AR Field is quite unstable and one has to be very careful when using Chaos Control. I had tried to warp Touka and I out of it, but we landed here instead,'' he explained.

''Then, maybe we need all 7 of the Chaos Emeralds. Also, if you are trapped here and this is another of Dr. Eggman's schemes, this must mean that maybe the rest of the team is trapped as well,'' Makoto said. ''We cannot travel through Zones by any normal means, but we can use the Chaos Emeralds for that.''

''Well, you two can do that,'' Silver said, holding out the cyan Chaos Emerald to Shadow and Touka. ''I don't even know how to use Chaos Control.''

Shadow stared at the cyan Chaos Emerald that Silver was offering to him, then glanced back at the grey hedgehog, clearly assessing the situation and their options. If their assumptions were correct, their teammates were all separated and it would take some time to find them, even with the Chaos Emerald, as surely Dr. Eggman would try to intervene. Shadow then held up his hand, showing that he wouldn't take the Chaos Emerald, much to Silver's confusion.

''I will give you a quick crash course on using Chaos Control. You will be able to utilize it with the Chaos Emerald, even if you had never used it before,'' Shadow replied.

''B-But…'' Silver wanted to protest, feeling that this was something he wouldn't be capable of, but after seeing Shadow's grim gaze, he then nodded. ''What do I have to do?''

''You can use the Chaos Energy within the Chaos Emerald to sense the presence of other Chaos Emeralds, and you can let this sensation guide you,'' Shadow explained. ''All you need is to focus, and you will be able to find them.''

Silver nodded, holding the Chaos Emerald and focusing on the Chaos Energy within. At first, it was quite overwhelming, as he never felt something like this before, but as he got used to this new power, he could feel something tugging him to several sides, unsure which path to follow. He assumed that one energy signature, the strongest one, was the Chaos Emerald Shadow was holding. So he tried to focus on the other energy signatures, finding one that was much further from him. It was like a thread hanging in front of him, and all he needed to do was to reach for it.

''I think I got it,'' Silver said, opening his eyes. Shadow nodded.

''You and Makoto will go there then,'' he said. Silver smiled, with both him and Shadow holding up their hands, arms crossing.

''CHAOS…'' Silver started as the energy around them crackled.

''CONTROL!'' Shadow roared, with a blinding light engulfing the whole group.

xXx

Tails and Warren had to leap each towards a different side to avoid Silver Sonic's attack. It appeared that the robotic version of Sonic seemed to have some kind of regenerative ability, as no matter how powerful Tails' EMP field was, the robot would always stand up. They needed to find another way around it.

''Any ideas?'' Warren asked, him and Tails hiding behind a metallic pillar and flinching when Silver Sonic lost sight of them and smashed a different pillar.

''I'm not sure. I'm not as good at combat as someone like Sonic or Knuckles…'' Tails said, only to realize that admist all of the chaos he had forgotten that he was still wearing his backpack. He quickly took it off, starting to rummage around it.

''Watch it!'' Warren grabbed Tails, running off to the other side of the Zone as Silver Sonic smashed into the pillar they were hiding behind. Whatever was left of Chaos Surge had already faded, leaving them quite vulnerable. However, Warren was given a small toy-like laser gun by Tails, who then reached for another gadget in his backpack.

''Keep him busy, I have an idea!'' Tails said, starting to tinker with the electromagnetic discs. Warren used Tails laser gun to fire at Silver Sonic, surprisingly managing to get a few good hits, but the robot seemed to be unstoppable. When he got too close to the two, both managed to slip away, with Tails slapping the disc onto Silver Sonic, while Warren took the other and put it on a piece of debris, then pushed it off the edge of the Zone. The magnetic pull was so strong that Silver Sonic followed it, falling off the platform.

''All right!'' Tails cheered, him and Warren high-fiving in relief, especially since Silver Sonic didn't return this time. However, as they celebrated, they saw a flash of light, revealing a diamond-shaped yellow gem that landed in Tails' hands.

''T-That's a Chaos Emerald!'' Warren stuttered in shock.

''A Chaos Emerald?'' Tails replied in a stunned state. ''But, how is that possible?'' Before any of them could continue their conversation, they were met by another flash of light, revealing two familiar figures. ''Silver? Makoto? What are you doing here?''

''It's a long story, but from what we've figured out, Dr. Eggman and Dr. Starline have trapped us here and we need to collect five more… well, four more,'' Makoto corrected himself upon seeing the yellow gem in Tails' hands, ''Chaos Emeralds. Touka and Shadow got one already.''

''Shadow also taught me how to use Chaos Control with a Chaos Emerald, and if we collect all of them, we'll be able to escape this place,'' Silver explained.

''Where are they?'' Warren asked.

''They went to another Zone. Shadow had figured that it would be easier for us to collect all the Chaos Emeralds if we split up,'' Silver explained.

''Okay,'' Tails nodded. ''Let's see what we can find.''

xXx

Knuckles punched Mecha Sonic, sending him flying across Sky Sanctuary with ease, almost causing him to fall off the platform. Mecha Sonic barely held himself onto the edge of the platform, when Lily suddenly appeared, having found a metallic rod and giving him an apologetic look.

''This will hurt me more than you,'' she said, swinging the metallic rod at Mecha Sonic, knocking him off the platform. Knuckles approached her, looking rather satisfied with the result.

''Nice job,'' he said.

''Oh, please, that was all you,'' Lily replied, with both being surprised by a sudden flash of light. Above them, a diamond-shaped purple gem appeared, falling right on Knuckles' head. Fortunately, he managed to catch it before it fell over the edge of the platform.

''Huh, what's that?'' Knuckles stared at the gem, which Lily immediately recognized.

''Knux, that's a Chaos Emerald! That's one of the most powerful gems in the world!'' she said, looking quite awestruck. Knuckles rose an eyebrow, turning it in his hands.

''Why did this appear before us?'' he wondered.

''I don't know… I mean, this is an area from a video game. Maybe we got rewarded for beating Mecha Sonic?'' Lily suggested. Before their conversation could continue, a flash of light appeared, revealing itself to be Shadow and Touka. ''Woah, what are you two doing here?''

''It's a long story, but we are currently in an AR Field created by Dr. Eggman and Dr. Starline, and the rest of Team Neos is also trapped here, and the two Doctors are probably going to try to collect the Chaos Emeralds,'' Touka quickly explained. ''We already came across Makoto and Silver, and they're on the search for the others.''

''How many Chaos Emeralds did you manage to gather?'' Knuckles asked.

''Two so far, but with you, it's three. If Silver and Makoto had managed to find another, then we'll have four out of seven,'' Shadow explained.

''How did you even manage to travel between Zones?'' Lily asked. ''We tried to leave Sky Sanctuary to get to Hidden Palace Zone, but we were just teleported back.''

''It appears that one can travel between the Zones via Chaos Control,'' Touka explained.

Just then, Sky Sanctuary suddenly started to shake, with their surroundings glitching out, only for a crowd of EggRobos to surround them, as well as Mecha Sonic reappearing, but this time in a golden colour, having returned as Super Mecha Sonic Mark II. Above them, flying in a smaller version of the Egg Mobile, was Dr. Starline.

''You again!'' Touka shouted, with Dr. Starline grinning at them.

''Surprise! I had figured that I should get back-up. Maybe you two can take down a whole mech, but what about getting outnumbered?'' he said. Knuckles and Shadow took a battle stance, with the echidna glancing at Shadow.

''That's Dr. Starline?'' he asked. Shadow nodded. Knuckles huffed. ''He doesn't look like much of a threat.''

''He may not have a mech, but I would still be cautious,'' Shadow warned the echidna, being on guard.

''It doesn't matter how cautious you are, I will make sure to take you down and bring those Chaos Emeralds to Dr. Eggman!'' Starline told them, smirking. ''Then, the Doctor will have nothing but words of praise for me!''

xXx

''Okay, question; how do we find a Chaos Emerald here? We saw that one just appeared in front of Touka and Shadow,'' Lucas said, as he and Sonic searched Green Hill for the elusive gem.

''Well, this is a location based on a video game. Maybe we have to follow video game logic,'' Sonic replied.

Lucas rose an eyebrow, wondering what Sonic meant. Technically, they were trapped in some kind of infinite loop of the Green Hill Zone, unable to break out, which is why they needed the Chaos Emerald. However, they also needed to figure out how to make one appear, and if they went by video game logic, then they would have to enter the Special Stages, but as noted above, that was impossible. Nevertheless, there was something Lucas noticed as he observed the screens showing his friends.

''We would have to beat the Boss of the Zone… However, we know that this Zone doesn't have a Boss due to what Dr. Eggman did…'' he trailed off, exchanging glances with Sonic. ''Actually, maybe we just have to pass the Goal Plate.''

Sonic snorted. ''That would be the easiest way of getting the Chaos Emerald. As a matter of fact, it's too-'' Sonic stopped, seeing the Goal Plate in front of him. Last time he and Lucas passed it, they found themselves back at the beggining of Green Hill. Nevertheless, both sped up and passed it. ''Easy?'' To their surprise, there was a flash of light, with a blue diamond-shaped gem appearing before them, with Sonic snatching it out of the air. ''Okay, Eggman really should've put some Badniks around to at least give me some kind of challenge.''

''Well, that not our problem anymore,'' Lucas replied. ''Now, how does one use Chaos Control with this thing?''

Both him and Sonic fell silent, as despite Lucas' knowledge of the lore of the Chaos Emeralds and the various Chaos-related abilities, they still had no clue how to properly use it like Shadow and Touka did. Sonic just stared at the Chaos Emerald, as if expecting it to do something, weighting in his hands carefully, before shrugging.

''Well, all I can do is trust my instincts,'' he said. Lucas gave him a dubious look.

''I hope your instincts won't make us permanently trapped here,'' he said.

''Heh, just trust me, I know what I'm doing,'' he said, holding up the Chaos Emerald. Lucas couldn't help but roll his eyes, even though he did trust his partner with his life. ''CHAOS CONTROL!''

xXx

Amy had managed to catch up to Metal Sonic, trying to hit him with her Piko Piko Hammer, only for Metal Sonic to block it and grab her hammer, throwing her backwards, leading to the pink hedgehog landing right on Minami. Due to being fueled with the power of Chaos Surge, Sonic's metallic rival was much stronger than before. However, neither Amy nor Minami were ready to give up, having overheard the conversation about the Chaos Emeralds between Ferra and Dr. Eggman.

''You two should really should know when to give up!'' Ferra said, her whole body crackling with energy. The same energy surrounded Metal Sonic as he prepared to blast away the two, only for a blue flash of light to appear right above them. Metal Sonic and Ferra could only look up before something heavy fell right on top of them.

''Aghh...'' Sonic fell his head spin and his body ache, but he was still happy at the results, clutching the blue Chaos Emerald in his hand. ''Nailed it!''

''Ugh, what was- huh?'' Lucas' dazed look was quickly replaced by surprise when he realized that he landed right on top of Ferra, while Sonic landed on Metal Sonic. ''I guess this might count as defeating the Boss of Stardust Speedway?''

''Get off me!'' Ferra shouted at him, kicking Lucas off of her, with Metal Sonic doing the same to his organic counterpart, although with a lot more force. Sonic rolled over before getting into a battle stance.

''All right, Metal! If you want to fight, we'll fight!'' Sonic said, still clutching the Chaos Emerald in his hand. Lucas, meanwhile, went over to Minami and Amy.

''Are you two okay?'' he asked.

''Yeah, but how did you get here?'' Amy asked.

''Sonic used Chaos Control,'' Lucas said, pointing at the blue gem Sonic was holding, then noted the questioning looks Minami and Amy gave him. ''I'll explain everything later, but what you need to know is that all of Team Neos is trapped in different Zones of this AR Field and we're trying to find the Chaos Emeralds before Dr. Eggman does.''

''How many do we have?'' Minami asked.

''From what I've seen, two are missing. We need to find the Chaos Emerald of Stardust Speedway,'' Lucas replied. The three then turned towards Sonic, who was currently locked in a brawl with Metal Sonic. Not only was Sonic's robotic counterpart after the blue Chaos Emerald his rival was holding, but he went back to just trying to beat up Sonic for the sake of beating him up.

Ferra, on the other hand, seemed to have spotted something, and Lucas saw the same. He grabbed his hoverboard and shoved it into Minami's hands. ''Get the Chaos Emerald! I'll help Sonic!''

Minami and Amy, who both took note of Ferra's behavior and her taking off towards the far end of Stardust Speedway, having spotted the red Chaos Emerald, quickly got on Lucas' hoverboard and sped off without a word. Even though Ferra had a headstart, Lucas' hoverboard was much faster thanks to the modifications Warren and Tails added.

''Com'n… Com'n!'' Minami hissed under her breath, hoping that her and Amy's combined weight didn't slow them down. Ferra turned around, spotting the two going after her and gaining speed. However, Ferra was incredibly close to the Chaos Emerald, reaching out for it…

''Oh, no you don't!'' Amy leapt from the hoverboard, throwing her hammer at Ferra, causing her to stumble and fall off. She was then caught by Minami, with both reaching for the red diamond-shaped gem. ''Yes!''

''No!'' Ferra cried out furiously as Amy held onto the Chaos Emerald, while Minami just gave her a smug look.

xXx

Dr. Eggman rubbed his temple as he watched the screen of the Egg Mobile, being annoyed to see that Dr. Starline clearly underestimated the combined force of Knuckles and Shadow, both equipped with Chaos Emeralds, and groaned when he saw Ferra failing to acquire the red Chaos Emerald. Even though he had faith in his Enforcer, he had to admit that he expected failure to some extent. He knew that it was a tragedy that Team Neos managed to get six of the Chaos Emeralds, but he still had a chance. There was one Chaos Emerald remaining and Dr. Eggman knew exactly where to find it.

As it turned out, there was an area between all AR Fields, a so-called no man's land that connected to each of the AR Fields, containing the glitches and bugs that formed thanks to Shadow's Chaos Energy and the place of origin for the Chaos Emeralds. It certainly looked nothing like the other Zones, but was more of a mish-mash of all of them, with the grey diamond-shaped gem being placed on a stone pedestal in the middle of the Zone.

''Ho ho ho… even if Team Neos managed to get all of the other Chaos Emeralds, they still cannot escape when one Chaos Emerald is missing,'' Dr. Eggman said, lowering the Egg Mobile to get to the pedestal, only to get startled by a flash of light, with Silver, Makoto, Tails and Warren having a hard landing.

''Ugh… That hurt…'' Warren said, rubbing his head.

''Sorry, I guess I miscalculated,'' Silver, who was holding onto the cyan Chaos Emerald, replied as he rubbed his head.

''At least we got out of the Death Egg Zone,'' Tails said, holding onto the yellow Chaos Emerald.

''Dr. Eggman!'' Makoto gasped when he realized that they weren't alone.

The rest of the group looked up, surprised to see Dr. Eggman hovering above them. Dr. Eggman was fuming at the sight of them, having hoped that they wouldn't find out about this Zone.

''I will not let you ruin my plans!'' Dr. Eggman growled, pressing a button and unleashing a barrage of homing missiles, forcing Silver to raise a cyan barrier with his psychokinesis to block the attack. Dr. Eggman took advantage of this, pressing another button that caused a mechanical claw to be lowered and snatched away the grey Chaos Emerald from the pedestal.

''Oh, no, he got the Chaos Emerald!'' Makoto cried out. Dr. Eggman laughed as he flew away, well aware that they will be now trapped forever here, only for the laughter to stop when Tails flew towards him, hanging onto the claw and trying to pry it open.

''Get off the Egg Mobile, Prower!'' Dr. Eggman yelled at the twin-tailed fox, who desperately clung onto the mechanical claw. Dr. Eggman started to drive the Egg Mobile in an erratic manner, hoping to shake Tails off.

''Chaos Surge!''

Much to Dr. Eggman's horror, the Egg Mobile was stopped by the combined power of Silver and Makoto's psychokinesis, who were keeping the vehicle in place. Tails grinned, managing to get the grey Chaos Emerald out of the claw, and now holding two of them flew back towards his friends.

''No! How dare you steal from me?!'' Dr. Eggman growled.

''We know exactly that we cannot trust you with the Chaos Emeralds, so we're taking them with us!'' Warren replied.

''Then I'll make sure that you're going nowhere!'' Dr. Eggman shouted, pressing another button. Suddenly, the whole Zone shook, with Silver, Makoto, Tails and Warren staring at their surroundings in horror. Dr. Eggman laughed, well aware that he just activated a program to close the AR Field. If they all didn't get out as soon as possible, they would be erased from existence along with the collapsing AR Field. ''Enjoy the afterlife!''

Dr. Eggman then vanished from the AR Field, clearly retreating. A sense of panic enveloped the four as they realized that they were now on a timer.

''The whole AR Field is collapsing! Silver, can you warp us to the others?'' Tails asked. Silver nodded, although panic was already setting in.

''I-I can… But there are two energy signatures I'm detecting,'' he said, only to shake his head. He wasn't sure which path to take, but he needed to pick one immediately. ''Everyone, stay close!'' He held up the cyan Chaos Emerald, focusing on what seemed to be the stronger energy signature. ''CHAOS CONTROL!''

xXx

Sonic curled into a ball, performing a homing attack on Metal Sonic, who managed to quickly dodge it. His sensors detected that his own Chaos Surge was running out of power and if he wanted to get rid off Sonic once and for all, he needed to be quick. Not only that, but Sonic was also holding onto the blue Chaos Emerald, and since they already lost the red Chaos Emerald to Amy and Minami, he needed to at least get that one.

Metal Sonic targeted his organic counterpart, firing several blasts from his chest. Fortunately, one of them managed to hit Sonic, causing him to fall on the ground. Metal Sonic rushed over to grab the blue Chaos Emerald, but Sonic managed to throw it towards Lucas, who caught it.

''If you think that we'll give you the Chaos Emerald, you're dead wrong,'' Sonic told his metallic counterpart, who shot him a glare, then suddenly rushed over to Lucas. The teenager's eyes widened, and he managed to dodge Metal Sonic, then started to run towards Sonic, with the robot being on his heels.

However, before Metal Sonic could swipe at Lucas, the whole Stardust Speedway shook, and it looked like it was falling apart. Ferra, Minami and Amy were also stunned by what was going on, with Ferra getting into contact with Dr. Eggman.

''What is going on with the AR Field?!'' she asked.

''I decided to close it! Get out unless you want to get yourself killed!'' Dr. Eggman replied, disconnecting the call. Ferra felt her heart race as she realized that the AR Field would collapse all around them, and turned to her partner. ''Metal, we need to leave! NOW!''

Despite wanting to complete his mission and beat up Sonic, Metal understood the urgency in Ferra's tone. He flew over to her, with both then vanishing from the AR Field. Meanwhile, Minami and Amy joined Lucas and Sonic, noting how the roads all around them were collapsing.

''We don't have all of the Chaos Emeralds!'' Lucas pointed out, giving the blue Chaos Emerald to Sonic. ''We need to find the others before we get trapped here for good!''

''I think I know where to find the others! Hold on tight!'' Sonic said as his friends gathered around him, holding the blue Chaos Emerald up. ''CHAOS CONTROL!''

xXx

''Chaos Spear!''

Siphoning the energy from the green Chaos Emerald, Shadow summoned a barrage of Chaos Spears, flinging them towards the EggRobos, shattering each and every one of them. Next to him was Knuckles, who gave the purple Chaos Emerald to Lily so he was free to fight Super Mecha Sonic. The Sonic look-a-like curled into a ball, flying towards the echidna. Knuckles braced himself, attempting to punch the robot, but was instead sent flying and landing on the platform just at the edge. He was fortunate that he didn't fall off. He saw Super Mecha Sonic flying towards him once again, summoning an energy ball and firing it at Knuckles. The echidna managed to roll over, dodging it, then getting up and rushing towards Super Mecha Sonic. However, before he could land a hit, Super Mecha Sonic suddenly glitched out and vanished.

''What?!'' Dr. Starline was shocked to see that the robot was gone. ''This was not supposed to happen!''

The screen before him suddenly crackled and he was surprised when Dr. Eggman appeared. ''Starline! The AR Field is collapsing, so unless you want to get killed, get out!''

''B-But, Doctor-! The mission-!'' Dr. Starline stuttered, but the screen already went black. The whole Sky Sanctuary Zone shook, slowly vanishing out of existence, with the data particles fading away. ''No, no, no! How could you do that, Doctor?! We need the Chaos Emeralds!''

''Chaos Blast!''

Dr. Starline cried out in panic when Shadow's Chaos Blast hit the Egg Mobile, causing it to fall and the platypus Irregular hit the ground hard. He sat up, feeling numb from the impact, only for his eyes to widen in horror when he saw Shadow and Knuckles approach him, both with murderous looks on their expressions.

''I guess I should listen to the Doctor,'' Starline muttered. As much as he wanted to fulfill his mission, he valued his life more. He could try again another time. Quickly pressing the top of his glove, he vanished before the dark hedgehog and red echidna could murder him in a brutal fashion.

''Darn it, he's gone!'' Knuckles growled, with Shadow turning to him with a grim look.

''We have more pressing matters to worry about,'' he said, pointing at their surroundings. Touka and Lily had joined them, taking note of how the floating platforms were falling into the dark abyss below.

''We need to find the others and get the rest of the Chaos Emeralds,'' Touka said in an urgent tone. ''That the only way for us to escape!''

''Right, but how are we going to find-'' Lily started, only to be startled by a flash of cyan light. To their relief, they saw Silver, Makoto, Tails and Warren.

''We got three Chaos Emeralds!'' Tails shouted, his group rushing over to them. ''How many more- Agh!''

The platform they were standing on suddenly tilted, forcing the group to run towards the next platform. They were all breathing heavily, their surroundings becoming smaller and smaller as Sky Sanctuary was falling apart. They exchanged glances, only to get startled by a flash of blue light, with Sonic, Lucas, Amy and Minami appearing before them.

''Guys, are you-?'' Sonic was cut off by Shadow, who had managed to gather the Chaos Emeralds from Knuckles, Silver and Tails.

''Ask questions later, Sonic! We need to escape!'' he growled, with Sonic nodding, him and Amy giving up their own Chaos Emeralds. The seven gems started to surround Shadow as he focused on their energy, now far greater than the one he sensed from just one Chaos Emerald. A bright glow surrounded him and the rest of Team Neos as their surroundings grew darker and darker, turning into an unending void. ''CHAOS CONTROL!''

xXx

There was a blinding flash of light, with Team Neos losing all sense of direction, only to find themselves a moment later back on solid ground. Feeling somewhat dizzy, it took them a bit to recover. Sonic was the first to break the silence, rubbing his head.

''Woah… Hey, we're back at the workshop!''

The rest of Team Neos looked around, realizing that, indeed, Shadow had warped all of them back to the Taylor Workshop.

''Thank goodness that we got out of that AR Field,'' Amy said, taking a deep breath, with the rest of the group agreeing with her.

''Yeah, I don't want to repeat this experience,'' Lily said, glancing at Shadow, who was currently being looked over by Touka. It seemed that using the Chaos Emeralds like this did affect him as well.

''Shadow, how are you feeling?'' Touka asked. Shadow just shook his head, getting up.

''The Chaos Emeralds are gone,'' he said. This caused a moment a silence, with the group exchanging confused glances.

''How could they just vanish?'' Minami asked. Tails, who got up, reached for the Miles Electric in his backpack, having kept it on during this whole adventure.

''I think I may have an answer…'' he said, connecting the Miles Electric to the computer and analyzing the data. ''Since the Chaos Emeralds were created inside the AR Field, once it ceased to exist, so did the Emeralds. I would have to put a bit more time into this, but it seems to be the most logical outcome.''

''So, even if we attempted to take them out of the AR Field, we wouldn't have been able to do so?'' Silver asked. Tails nodded in response.

''Well, that's good news. This means that Eggman wouldn't have been able to take them either,'' Sonic said.

''Yes, but wouldn't he be able to re-create the AR Field and the Chaos Emeralds?'' Knuckles asked.

''I doubt it,'' Lucas said, drawing everyone's question. ''Sonic and I saw that the Chaos Emeralds were a result of Shadow using his Chaos-based powers, so unless Eggman had access to Chaos Energy, he wouldn't be able to repeat this on his own.''

''So, it's over?'' Makoto asked. Lucas nodded.

''It's over.''

Team Neos was quite relieved to hear that their adventure was indeed over. While this was quite an exhilarating adventure, they all just wanted back to their normal life.

xXx

''Doctor, why would you cause the AR Field to collapse? We could've taken the Chaos Emeralds!'' Dr. Starline said, completely baffled by his idol's decision.

''As it turns out, that wasn't possible after all,'' Dr. Eggman responded, pointing at the screens behind him. ''The Chaos Emeralds were a by-product of the AR Field and Shadow's Chaos Energy. Even if I attempted to replicate what happened, I wouldn't be able to do that without the hedgehog.''

''So, this whole mission was a failure from the start?'' Dr. Starline asked, quite disappointed. There was a sigh coming from the other side of the room, the source of it being an annoyed Ferra and Metal Sonic. To everyone's surprise, Dr. Eggman grinned.

''Oh ho ho ho, on the contrary, Dr. Starline; I believe that this mission was quite important. We know now that it is possible to create Chaos Emeralds, and while we don't have the means, we do have the necessary data for that. So, I wouldn't shelve this plan yet,'' Dr. Eggman replied.

''Ah, so it was a success then!'' Dr. Starline said, clasping his hands, looking quite happy with the news.

''Indeed,'' Dr. Eggman replied, sitting down in his chair as he observed the data on the screen. ''All we have to do is to take advantage of what we know.''

xXx

Rouge shivered as she crawled through the air-vent, tugging at the golden collar around her neck. She knew that she was in a very dangerous place and that she needed to escape, but for that, she needed more information and a way out. She was trapped in this place, and all she could do was to spy on those who have trapped her here. She managed to come across an opening at an office, hearing voices coming from it.

''This is the autopsy report from the Sakamoto case.''

There was a pause as the other person in the room, a man with dark grey hair and wearing a grey and dark green uniform read the autopsy report the agent brought him.

''So, the Professor had indeed died from blood loss, and his body was moved. Have you managed to track down where his body was before someone tampered with it?'' the man, who appeared to be a quite high-ranking officer.

''Unfortunately, we haven't,'' the agent replied, with his superior frowning. ''We are doing our best to find Hiroshi Sakamoto's murderer.''

Rouge felt chills flowing down her spine as she overheard this. She did not have pleasant memories associated with that name.

''What about Project Shadow? Have you managed to track down the Irregular?'' the man continued. Rouge gasped, quickly covering her mouth and hoping nobody had heard her.

''It appears that Miss Kageura had been keeping him at her house. We don't know how he was found, but it is possible that Touka may have been able to recall her memories,'' the agent replied.

''I see…'' the man furrowed a brow. ''Get them over here. We believed that Project Shadow was a waste of time, but perhaps the weapons project may end up being a success.''

Rouge felt sick to her stomach after hearing this. She wanted to warn Shadow and Touka that they were in grave danger, but that was impossible, especially with her current situation. She just hoped that they would be able to avoid capture.