Sonic and The Harmony of Chaos
Ch. 9 (Unedited, will be 7 or Combined later on when I get back to edits someday XP)
By: Cutegirlmayra (Hands speeding past the mortal limit, all thoughts being typed down quickly, a movie playing in my head, and the sound of the angels begging me to have a life.)
-The Ground Beneath Harmony's Wing…-
Shade began to move stealthily in her suit further towards what looked like an underground bunker. Her eyes narrowed as the wind picked up more but she wasn't pelted by the dirt due to her getup. She took out her blade, seeing it shining brilliantly now, Harmony being sustained but at what cost?
She looked to the sky to see three lights flying towards her, and recognizing the colors as she squinted through her suit, widened her eyes at them in realization.
Without another thought, she jumped up into the winds, and much like Knuckles, glided a moment as she swiped out her blade multiple times. The pink then turned to Blaze's purple, Wave's violet, and Vanilla's gentle oranges…
She landed and rolled, dodging trees being uprooted and also the ground shaping into Eggman's odd paradise… She watched as the Elemental Giants and Robots constructed over the earth-made objects and figures, wondering why they were serving Eggman over Harmony, their creator.
'That madman… He's no better than our leaders.' She looked to see his arrogance in a giant sculpture of himself, '... Maybe… somewhat worse.' She put a hand to her mask, thinking how Eggman was wiping out the whole world and conjoining dimensions in his craze for power over just this world…
She held out her blade, closing her eyes while the suit powered up. She pulled away the helmet-piece and chanted, "Great Harmony of our old ancestors, heed my plea." She then cried out and spiked the ground.
Wave, Blaze, and Vanilla manifested… their ashes were pulled from their spot with the others, spinning like a cloud of dirt, mixing with the earth, and retook their forms.
Coughing out the dust that just created them, they fell to their knees, hacking and trying to breathe. Seeing their agony, Shade's eyes lit with compassion, and looked around for any life around her. There were only blades of tall grass remaining… everything else was barren and striped of itself…
She hurried, taking Blaze's hand and holding her Leech Blade in it, swiping to cut at the grass to restore her health, then doing so for the others.
With the wind whipping by, she pulled as they crawled in desperation for air towards the bunker, then used her blade to hack a sharp stab through the top, starting to saw it open.
Shade had been weakened with the others, but seeing her blade going out, had requested to be left to heal herself. At first, they refused, but she insisted, saying she'd catch up.
Really, she was the reason the Chaos Emeralds were found flying about and was able to catch and throw them to the others while caring for Rouge and Blaze.
She wasn't going to let a lack of energy stop her, with her suit powered by Harmony, the more power she gathered, the more the suit gave her strength that her body didn't possess.
Recharging after being drained, it was quite useful unless she ran out of life completely… that is…
She carved a slot and just pushed the slumped girls through it, then jumped in herself and dragged them into a corridor to start pulling out items for them.
She pulled out a Med Emitter, clicked some buttons, and let the soothing pulse heal her recently revived comrades.
"Not all of Harmony's power has been destroyed." She seemed to say in relief, realizing that some powers still remained well intact.
Vanilla clutched her throat, able to start breathing regularly again, "W-... What happened?" She asked, panting as she put a loving hand to Blaze's back, then turned to Wave, making sure she was okay, too.
"... Harmony was meant to give life." She showed her blade, "We make her take it." She helped the weakened girls to their feet, as Wave took her bead off and tried to contact the others…
"Darn… it's completely void of any battery life." She cracked open the necklace's bead and found not a spark within it but the casings of what looked like her metallic components and circuit boards.
"Harmony can't replicate technology." Shade explained, "You're lucky your clothes and objects are made of earthy things, she can't make electricity." Shade pointed to her gear, "We do that, too."
"Sounds like we pull our own weight," Wave smirked but tried to adjust her pants and stretch out her arms, rolling her shoulders, and flexing her back muscles. "Is that why she's powerless against Eggman?" She turned to Blaze and Vanilla, before raising an eyebrow, "And who the heck are all of you?" She squawked out as though annoyed there weren't any introductions.
Vanilla dusted off her clothes, "Kind of Harmony…" She somewhat gave a sarcastic undertone to her thanks… "She can give and she can willingly take…" She joked a little but didn't show any sign of it, mostly just fixing her ears and the top of her head.
"We… We need to regroup with the others." Blaze wobbled a moment, but her tail swished and she regained balance. "That was a nasty fall." She looked a bit judgementally at Shade, who shrugged.
"I couldn't carry you all down here." She admitted.
"And I thought cat's landed on their feet." Wave teased, gesturing out a hand as she flinched with a smirk back at Blaze lurching forward a bit across Vanilla to mutely hiss at her with gritted teeth.
Her ears drew back before forward again, as though a warning to Wave…
"Where are we?" She asked, ignoring the 'bird' and focusing on the task at hand, looking around. "Looks like an old Eggman look." She thought to herself, "I read up on Rouge's documents… He's usually the one with all the tech." She put a hand to her hip and looked casually to Shade with a flick of her tail. "Should we find him?"
"He put something on Harmony's wing, didn't he?" Shade inquired, "I saw it… She's directly above us, to the right some." She pointed skyward and slightly angled her arm. "Whatever he did, it's either enhancing her powers or making her create things by abusing her power."
"Wait… That blade thing." Wave took a look at it, "Can it recharge my-" She was cut off by Blaze stepping forward.
"If this is where Eggman is controlling her terraforming, we should try and find the signal and jam it. She may be able to free herself from that control…"
"Or better yet-!" Wave stepped forward, not liking to be overshadowed, "We use that device to control Harmony! No Chaos fight, keep her 'wing' tethered and we can stop her from draining the planet and worlds, right?" She spread her arms out wide, "I'm thinking this is the most logical plan of action." She leaned forward, looking between the two girls as though trying to get some validation that she wasn't the 'only' smart girl in the room here.
Though she pretty much figured she was the smartest.
She usually did.
No matter who was in the room.
"Uhmm…" Vanilla put her hands in front of herself, looking a bit sheepish to step in, "I'm not sure what all this… i-is really about. I have heard very little about 'Harmony'..." She needed some help. She closed her eyes sweetly, embarrassed by her lack of information, "You see, I only heard a bit from the others… and by then, I was already a bit drained of life,... I figured those giant pink liquid things were her, and that those lights she was pulling were my own life force." She cutely twisted her hands up by her face to demonstrate the fluid, see-through vines and the colors of life being drained from the girls. "I connect the dots very well." she tapped the side of her forehead, being cutely cheeky.
"Ah, a civilian was involved." Shade seemed to conclude, as Blaze shook her head.
"I'm sorry, we won't be able to protect you very well while we're solving this mystery ourselves…" She held out a hand as though to mime 'stay here' in a way, "We can't guarantee anything…"
She put a hand up to her chest and looked a bit scared, but shook her head, "N-No… that's alright. You all need to focus on far more important things. I'll be alright." she smiled, trying to be brave. "This old gal's still got a kick left her feet, em-hmm~" she winked and tried to giggle off her nerves.
Blaze nodded, smiling at her courage, as Shade also thought about her mother… but looked to Wave.
"If this is an Eggman facility, there may be electricity to charge your pendant." She concluded.
"Uhhh… Sure, that sounds like a plan!" Moving on from the weird older woman's strong but dainty vibe she thumbs-upped Shade at the sound of something that actually benefited her.
'Who knows how panicky the others are being right now…' she thought about Storm and Jet… 'Just be okay, you guys. I'm coming.'
"Let's find Eggman," Blaze stated, pivoting her pointy shoes towards a direction down the corridor. "We may find some clues on Harmony here…"
The others nodded, and Blaze led the charge as they followed her.
Taking out some minor Eggman robots, they came to the room where Harmony had been torn from the Crystal, now lying split and shattered. Her hurricane had also torn up the room, leaving it an open space where the wind blew heavily now. "... So, she's gotten enough energy to break her seal." Shade concluded, walking over to pick up a piece and move it around, having water slosh around inside it due to gravity.
"... Could we… seal her back in it?" Wave picked up another piece, but dropped it instantly, "It's like magma!" She shook out her hand.
Blaze, burning her own hand with fire, walked over, "Let me see that." She stated, "I have an usual resistance to hot things…" She bent down and picked it up as her hand showed heat waves.
"Darn… love to get a reading on that." Wave folded her arms, upset she didn't have her tools and devices anymore…
"I can do it." Shade didn't hesitate, "If you can burn the pieces back together, I can seal her away." She looked to Blaze, walking up to her and keeping her eyes fixated on the burning piece. "It still… seems to contain her, even broken apart." She looked at the piece she was holding, noticing that she didn't feel any heat because her suit was absorbing it for her. "It must have been forced asunder by Chaos's power… Which means-"
"The Chaos Emeralds." Vanilla was looking up,... the girls looked to then have their eyes turn to a scary observation…
The Bunker below… had been made purposefully knowing that it was going to cause a massive power leak, and the explosion must have been caused from equal force tearing it apart.
"... He tortured her…" Shade closed her eyes, dipping her head in respects to Harmony, an old goddess of theirs, somehow, still honoring her. "He ripped her out so he could command the stars…"
"She's going to supernova into a star if we don't do something soon!" Wave stepped up, "I could care less about her distress!" She swiped out an arm, hunching down, "The power readings I read… there's no way she can absorb that much power into her… she's gonna ignite the skies with light!" She threw a hand back behind her, "And when she finishes off the sun-!"
"All life vanishing… at the speed of light." Blaze then turned to where she figured the cliff was, "... Sonic."
She could see through the heavy winds, Sonic's blue… "Through it all, it always comes down to him." She looked down, "...Knuckles told us that Sonic was chosen to be a vessel for Chaos's form."
"What?" Shade turned as though shocked to hear that, "A vessel?"
Vanilla went to investigate, walking over to something and kneeling down daintily as she pulled on it, moving some debris, and looking delighted as she found a cellar entrance way…
"If Sonic is the only one that has sustained Chaotic Energy within his body… and can move at the speed of light… maybe… Chaos actually is anticipating the need to cut off the death blow?" She wasn't sure, but thought deeply about the possibility, "If I'm correct… Only Sonic could be the vessel for Chaos. With him, and his natural abilities, Chaos could stop the supernova… but that would also mean getting close to Harmony and draining her of her power." She looked behind her to Shade, "Could Chaos drain life?"
"Yes." Shade lowered her chin and nodded, showing a bold sense of seriousness, "Harmony was only meant to give, as I have stated. Chaos… is the true taker of all strength."
"Which is why they fired on her, taking him as their 'weapon' instead of her." Wave saw what Vanilla had seen, putting a hand to her shoulder in what Vanilla thought was praise, smiling at that, before being shocked as she was pushed away without a single shred of care.
Wave began to tug on the two doors, trying to open them, using her foot to strain as she spoke to the other two, "RRRRahh! … Hah… Hah… Harmony shouldn't absorb life, but she is. She's not 'removing it' but 'displacing it'. KIIYYAHHH!" The handles pulled off and she stumbled backwards, looking at them and then getting so mad she broke into a fast-forwarding record again, stomping the ground and becoming incoherent.
Blaze looked to Shade, not sure how to take the dramatic fit, but walked past her to help Vanilla up, who was pouting at Wave's rudeness.
After all, she had found it first…
"If Chaos does that, then no one can be revived." Shade quickly interjected, "I was only able to bring you all back because I held onto your life forces." She held up her blade, "Without that ingredient… Chaos can't make anything… but Harmony can remake a soul!" she swiped it out, "You'd be leaving the world barren yet."
"What do you care? Not your dimension, anyway." Wave tossed a hand back, fanning her off after seeing Blaze walk over to the cellar doors and start blazing them with fire. It melted, cracking… and soon curled to open a hole at its center… "Heard you two aren't even from here…" She had overheard them talking while fighting the eggbots…
Shade made a face, but closed her eyes to twitch an eyebrow, trying to restrain her anger. In that sense, she looked a lot like Knuckles in that moment… with better self-control, "This was my original home long ago… in a way, it still is home."
"As for me," Blaze stopped firing her continual blast of heated flame to look back at them, "We could use Eggman's machine to bring it all back… then have Chaos stop her."
"If she returns life, she won't have a supernova, nor a catalytic event to trigger it." Shade held up a hand and walked over to her as Wave followed.
"All this talk, talk, bak, bak, you guys need to settle on a course of action!" She complained, animatedly through her hands speaking and moving them as though mouths. "My advice in the beginning was sound. Only now you're considering it?" She held up her hands and then folded them with a pout, "Even Storm and Jet aren't this dense…" She tsk'd, not really meaning that, but surprised the girls weren't paying her any heed.
"Only Order can restore all things to a new era." Shade reverently closed her eyes, "And that is through the union of the united forces which are the gods. Any other attempt leads to catastrophic consequences." she then opened her eyes only to narrow them at Wave, "That is why we talk. Talking can sometimes solve everything."
"Not everything…" Wave rolled her eyes.
"... Communication." Vanilla looked up at Harmony's form, the wind keeping her up in the sky. "... Can Harmony and Chaos even communicate?"
As they headed into the hole made by Blaze, Wave explained quickly, "Sure, they can, and they did."
Shade and Blaze had already heard of this from Rouge, so kept hacking and slashing through any robots they found, making their way deeper into Eggman's bunker.
"However, turns out men still suck at any form of communication." She snickered a little at her own words, but Vanilla's eyes bent.
"That's not very nice." She blinked lightly, "You seem to have a lot of opinions on men…"
"I live with them." She looked over at Vanilla and put her hands on her hips, "Sorry if I'm a bit 'jaded' about it."
"... Then you should know," Vanilla put a hand to her cheek, smiling as she leaned into it, "How warm and kind they can be…"
Wave's eyes twitched from her cruelness to a sudden gentle look at being scolded.
It was such a heartfelt look in Vanilla's wise and caring face… Wave looked away as though conflicted.
"You must have wonderful memories with your friends," Vanilla continued, seeing her look away and opening her eyes to show a bit of confidence in herself now that Wave was reacting the way she thought she would. "Memories… that bind you together with them. Like a family… you know of their hearts, and couldn't bear to live without them… yes?"
Wave said nothing, but her eyes drifted down as her mind flowed with an outpour of memories that held laughter, thrills, and great adventures within them…
Jet and Storm's moments of kindness and affection… Since the jungle, to the shrine, and even at the cliff with them looking down on her as her world went black…
"... Yeah, okay? I need them." She looked away, not liking to admit that as she wiped her arm over her beak's nose, not wanting Vanilla to see she was getting emotional.
"See? How can you say men don't feel the same?" She looked ahead, holding her dress up down the stairs as there were multiple levels. "I have known a great and marvelous many men. Young ones like Sonic and his friends, or older ones… like my beloved." She stopped to put her hands to her heart again, then looked ahead with sparkling eyes as Wave looked at her, puzzled.
"Cream's father was a man of purpose, reason,... and although he tried to communicate with all his heart, I still had to learn how to read him." She tilted her head with a soft giggle, "He was a man of few words, but when he did speak, I always laughed!" She covered her mouth, "Oh, sure. There were times we argued, got upset with one another… but we never let ourselves go to bed angry." She closed her eyes, remembering, "Some men are blessed with wonderful, patient women that take the time to get to know who they really are. Despite their flaws or weaknesses, men are truly just as lonely and desperate for connection as we are." She turned then to look lovingly at Wave, then look overly understanding at her, as though asking her to trust in what she was saying.
"My dear, the sooner you learn how much you love the men in your life, the quicker you'll realize how hearts are communicating with each other all the time… whether with words, or actions,... Even a gentle look or smile can say a thousand words." She looked down and closed her eyes again before bouncing up as though cheery. "Now, then! Let's help Chaos win back his Harmony! Shall we?" She lifted up her dress and continued on.
Her merriment… it hit Wave a bit too hard, and she rubbed behind her neck and just groaned, walking after her.
"Ughhh, I hate you sentimental types!" she blurted out, but Vanilla just lifted her head, confidently stating–
"Takes one to know one~"
She replied in a chiming, sing-songy way.
"Ohhh, shut up! You old hag! Acting like you know everything! What are you?! My Mother!?"
Vanilla threw back a powerful foot into her stomach.
"OHHH-HOOOO!"
"Manners~" She smiled but then puckered her lips, muttering, "So crass."
As though that was the most insulting thing she could ever politely say…
As they journeyed farther into Eggman's bunker, him completely unaware until an alarm signal went off and he looked down from his infamous gloating to notice it. He ground his teeth together and started clicking more buttons, "See to it they don't make it past the doors!" He called out, as many normal Eggbots scrambled about, hitting one another, and then raced to try and stop… a truly unstoppable force.
-Sonic and Team on the Cliffside-
"Amy..?" Tails held out a hand to her but stepped back when she flung herself about, gripping her head, and then crying out a piercing cry that synced with Harmony's in the air.
"I never meant to hurt anyone!" Amy's voice sounded in so much pain that it startled everyone, even some out of their moments of shock and grief to turn and see what was happening. "I was just trying to protect them all!"
Jet took his head out of his hands and looked over his shoulder with one eye to see what was going on, and Storm couldn't even close his open mouth, this all happening far too quickly.
He had had a hand on Jet's back, leaning up to try and see what was happening with the hedgehog girl.
Silver, clutching a fist tightly and shaking it about, closed his eyes tightly before opening it to reveal some ash from Blaze had drifted out of his glove… He got up with so much righteous fury, holding out his hand but the power surrounding him seeming to flash and blip off and on around his body. "W-What?" he looked at his hands, "I'm… growing weaker…"
If the future wasn't saved, he wouldn't even… exist?
If the world was barren… he'd never have been… born.
The future was extremely uncertain...
He gripped his arms, shaking as he realized this… Having not quite let that reality settle from the first time he somewhat gave it a thought, but had moved on thinking all would be alright if they worked together.
Existential dread set in then… as Amy continued.
"The Echidna's lied to me… A human has tortured me… Why… Why are all my-… your creations against me!?" She hunched her body and swayed, as though so emotionally tired, before pointing a finger towards Sonic. It was as though she wasn't taking responsibility for the creation of 'men'... what was going on in her mind? In her heart?
Sonic took a step back, but Chaos burst with water behind him, showing her true target… was him.
Sonic looked behind him and stepped back, seeing Amy's finger stay on Chaos.
"Is it..?" He looked to Tails. "Harmony?"
Tails nodded quietly, worriedly looking between Chaos and her.
Shadow gritted his teeth and rose from the ground, "She's trying to take Amy as a host." He was about to summon a Chaos Spear but Knuckles held up a hand.
He got up, slowly, wobbling a bit and still recovering from the shock of Rouge's supposed death, and turned to Amy.
"Harmony… I won't let you end my world." He stood to face her, "Our world!"
He gave such a threatening, intimidating pose, that when Amy turned to see him looking as though ready to fight… and an Echidna, her eyes widened and she screamed, falling backwards off the cliff.
"YOU ARE TRYING TO DESTROY ME! You're still entrapped by the Echidnas!"
"No!" Sonic raced and slid against the cliff's edge, holding out his hand for Amy.
He strained… but her body kept falling back, the pink tentacle reaching up and moving like a living root from the earth, twisting and spiraling, before sucking Amy into its being and flinging her up its form… all the way to Harmony's center.
Amy looked fainted, her body like a ragdoll as Harmony's fluid began to seep into her body at a quickening pace in the sky.
"AMMMYYY!" Sonic cried out, turning back to Chaos, "What it is you really want!?" He got up, his fur turning darker shades a moment, grabbing Chaos, "You want to save her, right!?"
Chaos, remaining surprisingly calm, looked up to Amy being forced into Harmony's vessel, then down to Sonic, knowing what must be done.
Sonic twitched a noble eyebrow, his anger completely justified. "Grrr… What do you really want to do, Chaos?" He asked again, lowering his head in his contained rage, "Because all I want to do… is save Amy and do what's right!"
Chaos lowered his head as though to show he was matching the wrath Sonic was portraying, and this made Sonic loosen the tense muscles on his face, looking as though he was seeing Chaos try and emote that he felt the same for the first time since-
Sonic felt his consciousness get sucked into his mind, and a memory brought him to a scene where he had never been before.
He looked around the memory, "Am I… in Chaos's mind?" He looked over, "Huh?" And saw Harmony and Chaos sitting in a beautiful meadow, both up on a rock, their faces close as though rubbing foreheads together, as multiple Chao appeared in still-images, showing how many eras of Order they had created together…
Sonic walked up to the boulder they were sitting on, "Ohh..?" He was in awe at the beauty of the scene, and the many, many Chao he couldn't even number.
He lifted his arms as many more stilled images of unique Chao appeared, starting to litter his feet, before he looked back up with a serious look in his face to Chaos, "... If you love her, why are you allowing her to get hurt?" He asked, accusing Chaos. "You're a coward!" He swiped out his hand, "You may have hurt her without meaning to before, having your hand forced by another-" Sonic extended his hand out to the side and bounced it a few times, jerking his arm, "But that doesn't mean all is lost. You're angry at what they did to her, not yourself, right? Or is it both?" He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, "I can understand that much…" He then closed his eyes and lowered his head, showing some Empathy.
"Tikal calmed you, I fought you… but the real enemy all along… was how much grief you weren't allowed to process… all this time… you had thought she was lost forever. You remember attacking her, don't you?" The scene rapidly changed as Chaos's form moved at last in the picture of the perfect meadow in his mind, and a scene lost long ago to time…
Now, it was Perfect Chaos, Firing a slow-moving beam with his head coming down from being reared up and back, heading towards Perfect Harmony, her wing completely splattering as a shrill cry echoed the one he had heard from Amy, but even more heartbreaking of a sound.
"For the longest time… you thought you destroyed every part of her… or you worried you did something unforgivable… and wanted to punish the Echidnas… isn't that right?" He looked to his side, and Chaos's image appeared as though through the rippling of a faded dream, still looking like the reflection of Sonic upon the water, but a different image replacing his own.
When Sonic looked at him, he waited a moment before turning his head to Sonic.
Sonic nodded, "Okay. I can get that." He felt like he was finally connecting to Chaos, "You sent them to the Twilight Cage… But that wasn't enough, you hated what you created together. Everything reminded you of Harmony… and the times you could never get back." It showed all of time moving quickly by them, like a blurry, sped-up tape.
"You mourned and grieved, but it was never enough… You wanted to find her, if there was any part of her remaining, but couldn't leave your imprisonment she crafted for you by the Echidna's commands and orders… their deceit made it so you couldn't even leave Angel Island and pursue your true wish… to see her again… to go back to those times of peace that were only made through her… by your side." The scene showed Chaos's bubbles flowing backwards, looking up from the rain, and using the teardrops to mix with the flowing bubbles and make it look like he was lamenting.
"Every day… every year… you longed and yearned for your friend to come back… back to your side… back to the meadow… back to a perfect Order again…" Sonic continued as he spoke for Chaos, the words that he didn't have a voice for.
"One day, you got your wish." The scene then stopped on a powerful signal beam of colors.
Sonic then heard Amy's voice, as though Chaos was trying to give Harmony a sound, too. "Chaos…" So fearful and quiet, though the blast was hugely powerful… Its range intensified by the desperate but soft voice that called so sweetly out into the universe.
A blast followed, one of urgency, "Where are you!?" Sonic responded, speaking for Chaos again.
Another gentle sound, but a beam that pulsed through the world, "I regret… I loved being with you… so much… I'm so sorry…" Amy's voice began to fade, and Chaos's beams upon the shrine became exponentially more desirous, prominently pressing, and despairing.
"Where are you..?!" Sonic's voice shook in his delivery of Chaos's desperate replies, but Sonic shook his head, gritting his teeth in the anguish he felt from how pathetic-...
He had been with Amy…
Through the door…
No wonder she was still giving him a hard time, but…
"She could never stay mad at you forever."
He gripped his fists tightly, "You scared her… but you just have to tell her…" He remembered Tails's words and paraphrased with a soft sigh to refocus himself, and not get too upset with himself. "How much she means to you." He knew it was different, a completely different misunderstanding between the two of them… but Sonic had still failed to really communicate to Amy anything…
And it led to further misconstrued actions between each other… Even Sonic having deceived her to try and resolve the conflict without actually doing anything to cure the root of it.
Sonic… closed his eyes as though trying to not accept his flaws, but nodded as though needing to. "No… not a coward." He remembered how Wave had called to Jet, and how that was probably the worst thing a girl to say to a man…
"It's not cowardice…" He touched his fist to his heart, "We just don't know how to say it… what we're really feeling… It's not hiding it, it's not knowing how to put it into words that make sense even to us."
The scene dimmed and Chaos was now in front of Sonic, turning around as though he was watching the past memories as well.
The two, face-to-face… we're now communicating as one.
"You need my form to calm Harmony down." Sonic declared, opening his eyes with a newfound seriousness of a true 'worlds' hero. "You don't hate her creations… but she believes you hate her now." He held his chest up high, closing his eyes again. "... Chaos…"
"For the sake of those we love…"
"I give you…"
"My spirit, my will,... and my heart."
Chaos formed into a wave that encircled Sonic, the water flashing with light before Chaos seemed himself into Sonic and the Chaos Emeralds glowed their brilliant color from his Super Form still being activated.
He rose into the sky as his friends watched in awe.
Sonic curled slightly, his arms and legs ducking in before spreading out his body into a large cry, his eye-sockets now glowing green.
"HARRMOONNNYYYYY!"
At the same time, while Perfect Chaos had formed to have Sonic's body at the center of his chest, straight below his long, dragon-like neck that he flung around with Sonic's head mimicking the same crying gesture, Harmony had reformed into Perfect Harmony.
Amy was in the same location as Sonic, but Harmony's heart pulsed over her own… as Sonic's head revealed the same ghostly image of Chaos's mind pulsing over Sonic's… the strings attached were tightly now over the organ of each lifeform, and they were finally one in host…
-Eggman's HQ Bunker-
"Blast it..!" Eggman bit the end of his gloved thumb, stretching the fabric out and grinding it between his teeth, "She's escaped the Harmony Crystal." He looked to see a blue image doing the same, "Gah! And Chaos had the same idea! Hmm..? Who'd he get as a new host for his power..?" He leaned towards the screen, raising an eyebrow. "No… that can't be…" Seeing a blue dot, he doubted it, shaking his head and leaning upwards. "Not a chance, not even one as fat as me… For Sonic to dare give up his indomitable will? Pah! Humbug!" He cleaned his glasses, but hearing a blast from behind him, he shrieked as Robot were thrown in to the right and left of his feet, sparking as the girls walked in.
"Mind if we drop in?" Rouge haughtily moved her body in a sexy form, putting a hand to her protruding hip and lowering her eyes. "Quite the shindig you've got here, Egghead, but…" She winked and held her hand palm-up, pointing out her index finger towards him, "You wouldn't mind a woman's touch to it, would you?" She suddenly flew up as Blaze littered the room with fire, and the oxygen tanks began to take effect from the instant, rising heat.
Eggman threw off his oxygen mask and jumped, as his technology blew up into flames.
Shade rolled in to block the door from the Eggbots that had been racing after them. "Do what you gotta do," She hit the door and it slammed shut behind Vanilla and the gang.
Orbot and Cubot tried to sneak away, but Eggman grabbed them and rolled under his control panel to the left side of the room.
He covered their mouths… waiting…
Wave rode in on her hoverboard over the fire, "... I can't see him!" She called back to them, "Think we fired him?"
Eggman smirked, pulling out a device that whirled as he pointed it and endued the flames on his long arm to send a red laser to the Air gear.
"AH!" Wave cried out as it began to malfunction, making her wobble and about to topple into the flames before Rouge dived in with a twirling save, catching her as her Air gear fell to the flames. "That son of a-!"
Vanilla lifted her skirt by where Eggman was, kicking the device out of his hand. His eyes widened in surprise before Vanilla reached under the control panel and pulled him up to her face, also looking confident as he went limp and just gave her a weary smile.
"Eh-heh… heh… Ehem, ladies~" He greeted in a comical way, as though knowing he was beat.
He was slammed into a chair, tied up, and spun out before hitting a wall and trying to hop to not fall over, Orbot and Cubot rushing to his aid.
"Wave, you get on those controls," Rouge instructed, as Vanilla put on an oxygen mask and coughed.
Orbot and Cubot, seeing that, gasped as their programming made them care deeply about Eggman's state of being, turning to see him coughing as well.
Their arms reached out, twitching forward in their hovering as though wanting more than anything for this to stop so he'd stop ruining his health.
"We need to put out the rest of the flames," She spoke while coughing into the back of her wrist, smoke coming out of the mask.
Rouge nodded, "Blaze?" She looked over as Blaze was already ripping out a fire extinguisher from the wall and putting out her own mess. "Good." Rouge sighed in relief, then turned to Wave, more determined than ever.
She put her hands on her hips, "We're commandeering this goddess!" Rouge declared, and pointed to the controls, "Wave! Turn us around!"
Wave smirked, typing in things as the code flew up on the glitching screens, "How about a world completely made for Air gear?" Wave's greediness was showing as Vanilla then stepped up to her, smiling down at her, extremely intimidating, as the lines between her eyes were black and foreboding.
Wave winced, her beak spreading out to reveal her teeth as though submission. She turned back to the computer, "How it was, then… Boring and dull of life, anyways…" She typed in the code.
Shade opened the door, "What did I miss?" She walked in without much emotion, but behind her… a massacre of robotic heaps… sparking or twitching in their cold, hard sleep…
-The Skies of the World-
Amy reared back as Perfect Harmony did the same, her metallic contraption glowing again and instead of Eggman's landscape, they were protruding out of the metal casing and destroying the Elemental Robot army, disfiguring the already created monuments, and crumbling other constructed zones that Eggman had sent his goons to work on.
-Eggman's HQ Bunker-
"NOO! My perfect world!"
Eggman rocked in his restraints, "Orbot! Cubot!" he stomped both feet to the ground, trying to roll around to catch their fleeing forms and roll over them, "Untie me this instant!"
Shade was standing guard of Eggman, but folded her arms and watched the funny scene play out, just making sure he couldn't escape his restraints.
She noticed a strange scroll… and went to collect it, reading it lightly while keeping her ears and perception open to whatever Eggman might try next… Light reading, truly… skimming the pages… of her people's lost and wishing to be forgotten history…
"S-So-Sorry, Boss!" Orbot cried out, running with his arms outstretched in front of himself, "But for your own safety, it's actually best you let this one slide!"
"WHAT?!" Eggman slid to a stop, roaring his confusion.
Cubot was running with arms moving like a runner, but also turned around to hug Eggman's leg and plead with a crying voice, "Doctor, sir! Pllleeeass-he-he-he-eeeaseeeeee! Our programming is to protect and care for you, you're making it very difficult to do that protocol objective..!" He simulated a sobbing sound by his leg.
"... Hmm?" Eggman raised a very angry eyebrow but seemed to be receptive. "What do you mean?"
He looked to Orbot as he twiddled his fingers nervously and came forward, "O-Our objective… the one… you gave us?" He looked up, sheepishly, "We care about you, Doctor Eggman." He finally admitted, and spread his arms towards him, trying to show sincerity before placing a hand to his heart. "We may be robotic entities without real emotions and natures… but we… still… can compute the different intricacies between relationships, and well…" He rambled a little, before also rushing up and hugging Eggman's other leg, "Please, Boss! Just let us help and love you!"
Eggman looked at the two oddly crying robots at his feet, his face still a bit hardened, before leaning back in his chair with a 'Hmph'.
"OH, THANK YOU, DOCTOR!" The two cried even louder, seeing his mustache twitched as though adhering to her genuine pleas to not ruin his health any further… and that meant not completely destroying all of nature and the world that he belonged to as well.
Vanilla looked behind her at them, but Eggman just shrugged.
"I may have accepted my defeat, but that doesn't mean Harmony will likely do the same." He darkly lifted his grin up and snickered to the girls as they all then turned to look at him.
"... Old geezer." Wave 'pfft'd the comment away and went back to work. "Someone ought to lock him in a home."
"I would have made my own too, if it weren't for you rotten, meddling kids and you're giant rabbit with kicks-Oh, heh-heh…OFFPH!" Eggman tried to fight his own restraints, kicking out a leg before Vanilla's heeled footfalls rang on the floor, coming towards him. Shade put her blade at his throat and he smiled up to her with a goofy smile of 'I'll play nice,' but Vanilla arrived and turned around once making it to him, back-rearing a powerful bunny kick into his stomach.
It sent him hitting the back wall, spinning with stars flying over his head, and his tongue sticking out before falling on his chin to bite his tongue and have little birds hatch from eggs and join the stars flying around his head.
Shade smiled at Vanilla, who nodded, satisfied with shutting him up, and dusted off her hands, "Now then, Orbot? Cubot? Let's clean up a little bit, shall we?" Vanilla walked calmly over to a bucket and mop and smiled warmly to them.
The two robots looked at each other, checking on Eggman's knocked-out form, and nodded with a sigh to Vanilla. "Yes, Ma'am." They both conceded.
"I'll take the mop…" Orbot outstretched his hand to her and she nodded sweetly back, giggling as she handed him it and gave Cubot the bucket.
"Where do we start first, tall lady?" Cubot asked, as Vanilla nodded, bending down to them and putting her hands on her legs.
"Em-hmm, why not start at the corner there?" She pointed to it, "Where Blaze has finished putting out the fires with the extinguisher." She put a hand to her mouth then, "I, oh, so admire young, strapping men who like to help clean around the place every now and then…" As she returned to a standing position, the robots suddenly held up their items proudly, sticking out their stem chests, and immediately went to work with vigor.
"Yes, ma'am!" They called out, wanting to do a good job now and be praised by the kind, womanly rabbit.
"Way to go, Wave. We're doing it." Rouge put a hand to Wave's shoulder, looking at the screen to see what she was doing.
"Are we?" Shade lightly spoke, coming up to stand by Eggman to continue to guard him, letting her hands hold tightly to her twin-blades that she just pulled out for the robotic army in the corridor a moment ago.
"Yeah… but there's no way to reverse what is done." Wave frowned deeply, looking back at the controls that her hands now hovered over, "I can only manipulate what structures she creates… I can disfigure and distort them, even destroy them by spiking them through, but there's no guarantee… the land is still wrecked, gals." She looked to Blaze, Shade, and Vanilla, too, rolling out from another chair from the room that she was in.
There was a quietness, as though they all already knew there was nothing else they could do here…
"What now?" Wave looked to Rouge, then lifted up a suggesting hand. "Regroup with the others?" She longed to see her teammates again… deeply worried about how they were taking her 'loss'.
Rouge was silent… looking at the controls with narrowed eyes and brows twitching.
She raised her hands up and hit them into tight fists upon the keyboard, making a hard hit sound as some electricity sparked from that, startling Wave.
"H-hey!" she rolled back from the controls but looked to Rouge.
She had her eyes closed, "Is there… nothing else we can do?"
Blaze took in a calming breath, and walked over to her, putting a hand to her shoulder, leaning so that Rouge's downward-facing eyes could see her.
"We should remove the device from Harmony… It's up to Sonic and Chaos now to sort this out." She then looked to the screen, as Rouge looked up and her eyes opened wider.
"That's…" Her mind raced to the image and vision of the Ultimate, Perfect Harmony rampaging with the the Ultimate, Perfect Chaos duking it out as the world suffered under their wings and tendrils.
Her eyes shook… before seeing Amy and Sonic within their beings.
Wave shook her head, folding her arms and leaning back in the chair, one leg propped up to have her ankle resting on the other's knee. "How are those two gonna command giant gods?" She skeptically stated before Vanilla stepped forward and she looked to her.
"They're going to have them talk." She declared and looked promisingly towards the ensuing battle.
"... You look at it… as though it's not the destruction of our, or any, world," Blaze stated, pivoting to address her.
"Or all our people," Shade reminded everyone, giving a side-eye to Vanilla.
"... Em-emm." Vanilla closed her eyes and shook her head delicately, looking back at the two with love and hope. "They shall give the gods… a voice."
Her eyes arched back, "And with it… their minds and their hearts… shall become one… and they shall save and restore the world… All worlds," She nodded to Blaze, "to their proper forms, place, and Orders…" She then grinned back to Orbot and Cubot.
"Then, it will be up to you little ones to take care of that world. Clean it up!"
She chuckled cutely.
-Skies of the World-
The device began to break off in chunks, disconnecting itself as Harmony flapped her one wing and got all of it off of herself, ripping and tearing it with her mouth to get it off of her.
The parts fell hard to the ground below, spiking it or leaving huge craters of burning metal in it.
-Cliffside Viewpoint-
"HARMONY!" Sonic's voice rang from the cliffside, as the others had quickly moved and gotten out of the way of his transformation. "Cease this right now!" He called out, "You're only hurting things, making the world, and the Planet Egg, worse!" He swiped out his arm as Chaos had swiped out a few of his wiggling appendages. "You're taking everything!"
"He's too harsh." Tails looked to Knuckles, "He needs to be gentler!"
Knuckles looked worriedly to him, and then to Sonic, "SOOONIIC!" He cried out, as Chaos turned his head and Sonic did the same. "You gotta speak from your heart, pal! You can't fight Harmony!" Knuckles was conflicted, he wanted to take down the goddess for Rouge's sake, but-
"Now there's a voice that can beat out over anything!"
"H-huh?"
Knuckles turned his head, seeing a flying image of Rouge carrying Blaze back, Vanilla riding on Wave's scorched but still operational Air gear.
"WAAVVEE!" Storm and Jet cried out, Storm hugging Jet as his hands were in front of himself, but palm-facing up as though incredulous but so incredibly happy.
"You're alive!" He cried out, as Storm just sobbed and blabbered as though unable to speak through his joy.
"Blaze!" Silver's desperate cry had him trying to use his powers to reach her, flying up in spurts before Rouge swung her to him, and Blaze and him took blipping spurts of jerks back to the ground. "I'm so glad…" He cried into the back of her shoulder, rubbing his muzzle to it, "That you aren't hurt because of me…"
"It wasn't your fault, Silver." She stroked his head, not knowing him very well, but feeling like… they probably make a pretty great team.
She leaned her head into his, comforting him silently.
Rouge landed and Wave turned her Air gear to let Vanilla off, offering her her hand.
"Mi'lady." She joked, as Vanilla kindly took it but then was swarmed by Cream, Cheese, and the entire Team Chaotix.
"VANNILLA!" – "MAMA!" – "CHAO-CHAOOO!"
They all cried as she patted Cream's and Cheese's head, then smiled to all the Chaotix.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry I worried you all so terribly much."
Her voice made the whole scene a tender one.
Rouge then was about to flap down to the ground as though collapsing to sit back and take a breather, when a pair of duo-hands caught her and she looked to see Shadow and Knuckles.
"Welcome back… Partner." Shadow smiled.
"Good to see you're still 'stealing' the spotlight,... Bat girl." Knuckles also smiled down to her.
Hearts appeared in her eyes, "Wow" She seemed to be swooning over them, "Two handsome and broody men to my rescue? Can a girl be dreaming?" She fawned in a mischievous way, which made Shadow close his eyes with an understanding smirk of her antics and Knuckles just roll his eyes and make a frown.
He 'hmphed', but the two helped her back to her feet again.
She put a hand on both their shoulders, "Harmony… and Chaos… are we sure they won't fight?"
"No." Shadow admitted, "But if they do… Chaos will have to take more than her wing… this time… and all life will be affected because of it."
Shade had walked up the cliffside, using her blades as rock-climbing tools, jamming them into it before making it over the top.
She looked at Chaos Sonic, then at everyone reunited… thinking no one cared about her and just was going to be fine with that.
Then…
As she was getting up, neutrally just putting her blades to her sides, a mittened hand reached out and she paused in shock at it, looking up at Knuckles gently, but confidently with kindness, smiling to her.
"I'm guessing… you had something to do with this?"
Referring to the revival of their friends.
Shade looked away, blushing slightly, "It was… nothing. Ah!"
She was even doubly surprised by his hug.
"... Thank you, Shade."
She blinked her eyes rapidly.
"I owe you one."
He put a hand behind her head, and she softly… embraced the hug back.
"... We must atone," she stated.
"I couldn't save my mother." She looked away.
"I would be a disgrace to the Echidna race… if I didn't at least save them."
She looked at the girls reuniting with their people, as Rouge and Shadow smiled at the sight as well.
Rouge batted her wings, another small thank you.
Shade smiled, and nodded to her, letting Knuckles help her up.
"That still leaves the same question asked before," She stated, looking… upwards…
"Will they fight? Will Order be restored? Or… will the past repeat itself?"
Everyone looked to the skies…
-Skies of the World-
The sun still dripped with black…
Harmony reared her head back, and fired out a warning shot as Perfect Chaos moved back, then fired out his own as she twirled, and as though slow-motion, revealed how her other dodge had made her lose her wing…
Rouge, Shadow, and Knuckles remembered that scene… now seeing it play forth as though a rewind.
Chaos Sonic's face turned to one of deep pain from the horrible deja vu.
"Harmony… We have to end this mess…"
He tried to sound gentler… but …
"By ending me!?"
Amy's voice rang through the sky, along with the iconic cry of Harmony.
Harmony Amy shook her head, "I cannot allow you to destroy what we have created… no matter how wicked or evil they have become… I shall not let the rest of all life be wiped out by your anger towards me!"
She began to pull life again.
-Cliffside Viewpoint-
All the girls fell to their knees.
"NOT AGAIN!"
Jet grabbed Wave, "I won't let her take you again!" He held a hand to the back of her head and one to her back, pulling her into him, closing his eyes, "NOOO!"
"Get a hold of yourself, everyone!" Silver got up, one hand using the remaining strength of his power to keep Blaze up as well as she twitched an eye, all the girls turning a fainter color. "Let's strengthen Harmony! If that's what she's after, we can give her an alternative other than them" he called out, gesturing to Blaze, but his eyes remained steadfastly to his fellow men.
"Look!" He gestured to the Elemental Robots still moving about. "She hasn't drained them, yet! If we destroy them, the power will replenish her, but it will keep her from draining our friends!"
Chaos Sonic looked back to everyone and nodded his head.
With his approval, the men gently set the girls down, Knuckles looking to Team Chaotix, "Alright, old chums. You take care of the women." He looked very serious about this, "I mean it, don't leave their sides!"
Team Chaotix nodded, but Charmy flew up to Knuckles with his fists bundled up, "W-We want to help, too!" He admitted.
"Y-Yeah… we agree someone should stay, guard, and take care of the girls, b-but…" Espio gestured back to the weakened girls, but it was clear he wanted to aid in the battle, too.
"You guys go on ahead," In a kneeling position, holding Vanilla close to his chest, and one hand also holding her own, Vector spoke up with true, brave chivalry.
"Ah! B-B-Boss!" Charmy kicked out his legs, holding his hands to the side of his face.
"Are you sure, Vector?" Espio asked him, watching Vector nod with a serious look in his face.
"I'm the older gent here, and not just that, but I got the real muscle to keep those earthy bots away from these ladies!" He gently placed Vanilla's hand to Cream's head, Cream laying in her lap against her stomach.
He looked up at Cheese, "Cheese, you go in my place. Be a strong boy, now." Cheese looked nervous, his pudgy little hands up by his mouth as he looked worriedly between the two women, then hugged Vector's face, and flew to join Team Chaotix.
The three turned around one last time to Vector…
He gave them a confident wink and supportive thumbs-up, "You guys all GOT THISS! YEEAHHH!" He gave his best warcry out, using a loud voice like he would in his rapping, as Espio and Charmy smiled with twinkling eyes at their leader.
"Okay." They both said in unison, walking away and wiping their eyes as they were unified in proud they were of their cool and awesome boss man.
With the men going to war, the women guarded and taken care of by Vector, Wave looked to see Storm and Jet walking off…
She held out a hand… "Jet… Storm…" Her voice was weak, her vision blurry. "This… sucks…" Her hand dropped, the exhaustion getting to her.
Storm suddenly stopped and looked back, before Jet saw him do so and looked as well.
She was breathing weakly but saw their blobby images stop and smiled faintly. "Ah… Guys…"
As she tried to lift her head, she saw the green blob get bigger and bigger… closer and closer… before leaning down and feeling a feathery head pressed to her own.
Then, his voice, "Don't worry, Wave. We're gonna kick some butt and then have you do the rest of the clean-up work!" He tried to encourage her, which made her so happy, quipping back with her eyes closing as the two of them weren't looking down on her weakness with pity or ridicule.
She smiled the brightest she had ever done in her life, feeling his hand gently guide her head delicately back to the ground so it would stop straining her to look up. "T-Typical men…" She shed one tear, beaming with joy, "You better clean up… after yourselves… or else I'll… clean you up… off the floors of the blimp." Seems she was quoting a typical dialogue between them all, and Jet tenderly smiled back to her, his eyes bending in compassion and love for her, and lightly sliding his hand from under her head as she seemed to drift off into a forced sleep…
The rest of the girls started to drift, Rouge hanging on for dear life, trying to grip the ground with soft twitches that yielded no strength.
"Knuckles… S-Shadow…" She strained to speak, "I don't want to go."
Shadow placed a hand on her head, "I promise… you won't go anywhere."
It was the third greatest promise he had made in his life… and he intended to keep it… with all his fury and might.
He walked away as he passed Knuckles, just standing over in the front of her, judging him for his silence.
Knuckles went to open his mouth, "Rouge… Ah..!" He noticed her strained breathing fall into a sleep… and seeing he had missed his chance, lowered his head and walked over to adjust her hands that were once clinging to conscious life.
He put them up on her stomach, turning her head to face him. He leaned down, and gently placed his forehead to her own, closing his eyes.
He got up and walked to follow Shadow, who seemed to now respect his silence and walked on ahead.
Silver and Tails looked back at the others before Tails pulled up his Miles-Electric. "I'll be here with Sonic and Chaos, you guys-... Ah… take care." He looked down, as though feeling guilty for not coming.
Silver shook his head, "You're a real man, Tails. Choosing to fight the toughest battle by far." He put a hand to his shoulder, smiling, "Supporting a great friend."
Tails, showing his deep appreciation for Silver's validation and acknowledgment, had his eyes gloss over with shine as he gripped his technology tighter, and nodded with gratitude, "Em! I'll do my best!" his bottom lip quivered, "Em-hmm… I won't… let Sonic or Amy down!"
But… how was he supposed to help Chaos and Harmony communicate!? When he could barely give any good advice that helped Sonic for when he and Amy were having a dispute!?
He looked out over the skies and nodded, narrowing his eyes, "I just… have to try."
And thus, the greatest wingman stood upon the cliffside… while a line of soldiers glared down with murderous intent on the fused abominations of both robot and nature… the Elemental Army… their red eyes from the robots they were combined with, and their pink eyes from the life Harmony gave them…
Soon to be temporary…
One Elemental Giant looked up from his littler earth robot brethren and saw the line of men rushing towards them. He was working on repairing the new earth that shot through some metal casing they had just finished.
He looked to Harmony… then to the corrupted earth.
In some part of his somewhat alive energy…
He knew what was to come.
That energy was being used wrongly.
They all would have to return it… somehow.
Then a black and red spindash broke him apart into pieces.
And his pink energy floated back to its origins… gathering… into Harmony's heart.