Chapter Seven – Reunion
No one was actually surprised that the Ultimate Lifeform was still around. He was immortal, and had been known to survive anything. But that Blue Blur? Vector gulped, through the surrounding silence, that had responded to the Fox.
"That's impossible. We all saw that bomb. There was no way Sonic could have gotten out of there." He stammered. Everyone there, was aware of the whole imposter fiasco with Zephyr, and why it was needed to be done. The people of Mobius still desperately needed their hero to cling on to, and he filled the massive gap Sonic left behind. But Tails nodded.
"I know it sounds absurd, but it's true, I swear." He stammered, but Blaze just frowned.
"You've physically seen him?" She asked. Both Tails and Amy nodded, to the utter shock of everyone. But then Blaze rounded on Rouge. "And Shadow too?" She wondered. The Bat nodded. But Tails panicked.
"I don't know what's going on, but the Hedgehogs have gone to ground. The chances of us finding them are zero, so I thought the call-to-arms would bring them to us." He cried. But Silver frowned.
"But it hasn't worked." He shrugged, but Blaze snapped at him.
"Not yet. Give them time." She smiled. But Tails heaved.
"Well, they'd better hurry, because we don't have long. The Black Arms are back, and their heading straight towards Empire City. That's why I called you all here." He announced.
There was gasping, shock, and squeals all over the workshop. Vector gulped and hard, remembering their last visit, and it's dire consequences.
"Please tell me your joking, Fox?" He wondered, but Tails shook his head, as he held up his handheld computer, clearly showing the alien readouts. Vector squealed. "You know that this is a fight we can't win, without the Ultimate Lifeform." He stuttered. There was again utter silence. All they could do now, was wait, hope and prey.
Sonic and Shadow had both separately bolted back to their apartment in Westopolis, after the conventions. The experience had shaken them both up. In fact, Sonic was so wound up, with the panic, that it took Shadow several days just to calm him down. Seeing all their old friends again, really put it into prospective just how much the both of them had changed, and whether they were really ready for that old life again. They decided to wait it out, but they didn't get a chance. Sonic, during his transformation, had kept on himself, everything he was wearing during the original bomb blast. His gloves, socks and shoes, and by sheer luck, Tails's communicator, which he just slapped on his wrist, just before the battle. Incredibly, despite everything, it was still working, when suddenly, it went off, much to the surprise of the Hedgehogs. During the changes in Sonic, he got the signal several days later, then everyone else. Shadow had long since ditched him, as he liked to work alone, as the Blue Blur stared at the communicator. He gulped.
"Tails?" He wondered. In the apartment, Shadow looked over his shoulder, and knew exactly what he was looking at. He seen G.U.N. do it in the past. He growled.
"It's a call-to-arms." He spat. "He saw you at the convention. I bet he's just doing that to get your attention." He added, believing it to be fake. But Sonic frowned. He knew his best friend, and crying wolf was not his style.
"No." He stammered. "I know that Fox. He wouldn't have pushed that button unless it was a real emergency." He blinked. "It would have literally have gone out to everyone, not just me." He added. But Shadow himself frowned, now confused as to what the Fox was playing at. He looked towards the door of the apartment.
"Trust me, if there was a new evil tyrant on the loose, on this planet, I would have heard about it." He growled. Sonic nodded, completely believing that. Shadow was that streetwise. The Hedgehogs looked at each other. What was going on? Regardless, they decided they were both going to find out together, and they knew they were walking into, yet another, lion's den.
With all their changes, would their old friends accept them? Shadow had no idea, but if they wanted his or Sonic's help, then they'd have to, otherwise he'd just take the Blue Blur and leave. Sonic still wasn't mentally stable enough to deal with this on his own. He was, however, getting better, and would get there, eventually, but truthfully, Shadow didn't really want to be alone either. If he had learned anything from the two months with the Blue Blur, and their friendship, it was that it was alright 'not' to want to be alone, especially for eternity, and that, he could ask for help.
He smirked. That was massive deal from the Ultimate Lifeform, and he was extremely grateful for it. So together, they left for Tails's Workshop. Sonic wanted to go, and as for Shadow, well, as usual, his curiosity got the better of him. They arrived at the Workshop just as Silver landed, as they turned themselves into their pure elemental selves, and snuck in through the roof. Sonic as a singular blue spark, and Shadow's living flames, as they both sat, unseen, on the roof rafters and watched events happening below. The both of them took immense pleasure watching the Babylon Rogues getting kicked out. Neither of them like them much, but upon hearing the Black Arms were back, Shadow just outright gasped.
What?
But Sonic frowned, turning towards the ball of flames next to him.
"Wait, Shads, the Black Arms? Well, that explained the call-to-arms." He heaved, but then his frown deepened. "I thought they were telepathic and stuff. Shouldn't you have felt something by now?" He whispered, his electronic voice zippy. But Shadow frowned, shaking his flames from side-to-side.
"Er, yes." He hissed, his voice crackling in time to his flames. "But granted, I've changed, but I have also retained all of my powers and abilities from before, including all of my Black Arms traits. Last time, I remember they were all over my mind, even from deep space, but now, nothing. I had no idea there were even there." He explained. But Sonic puzzled through his spark.
"But I thought you killed them all." He wondered, but Shadow growled and hard.
"Not thought, Sparky, I 'did' kill them." He repeated. "So where have these fake alien doppelgangers come from?" He hissed. But Sonic just outright giggled.
"Sparky?" He bounced. "Nice one, Shads, I like it. Regardless, I think we'd better get down there, and find out what's really going on." He added, indicating the people below them. But Shadow smirked.
"You first." He hissed, not wanting to immediately dive in. Sonic, as usual, took the bait, and just landed on everyone, in pure excitement, his electricity causing absolute chaos.
It come out of nowhere. The massive blue sparks just exploded from thin air, and caused everyone to squeal and move to the sides of the barn, for safety. Sonic's spark just zipped all over the barns, and workshop at incredible speeds, zapping and cracking, as it went. Unfortunately, the more the Blue Blur did it, the more excited he got, and suddenly, the voltages began to hit dangerous levels. But Knuckles frowned.
"Fox, what's going on?" He growled, but Tails frowned.
"I have no idea." He admitted, as he huddled against the wall, along with everyone else. But as Sonic began circling around everyone and everything, leaving lines and trails of blue light everywhere, he was giggling, and hard, which could very clearly be heard. Suddenly, Tails blinked.
"Wait, I know that giggle." He gasped, but then he stood tall, and faced his own workshop and the bright blue electrical pandemonium ahead of him. He still didn't understand the how, or why, but one think was for certain, his best friend was back. He used to be like this, the Blue Blur, before the war ended. The biggest child in the universe, and now ten years on, he still was. Tails growled and hard, shouting in utter frustration, at the top of his voice.
"SONIC!"
Despite everything, nothing had changed, as with a blinking flash of blue light, the Blue Blur himself was, literally, among them, having instantly changed to his Hedgehog form. Tall, lanky, and very blue, and unfortunately, due to incredible momentum, he was travelling at, he went hurtling towards one of the walls of the workshop barn. He squealed.
"Whoa, whoa. Brakes." He screamed, but completely failed to stop as he went, rather amusingly, smack into the wall. He bounced right off of it, and was left extremely wobbly on his feet. He shook himself off, but suddenly, he saw absolutely everyone looking at him. He gulped, but then as saw Tails come towards him, grinned inanely.
"Boo!" He giggled again, and with another flash of light and a crack of electricity, Sonic had vanished, the blue spark, was back, and began whizzing around the workshop again, this time at the speed of light. Shadow just rolled his eyes. Time to intervene. The Blue Blur had had his fun. He was well aware, if Sonic kept this up, he might potentially kill someone, and right now, the Ultimate Lifeform didn't want another dead body on his hands. He slowly moved his living flames along the roof rafters and towards the barn wall, leaving a trail of blacken scorched ashes behind him.
The speeds the spark was traveling at was mind-blowing, as Tails just grabbed his handheld. He tried scan the spark as he moved around as best he could, as he gasped at the screen.
"That's impossible." He gulped, as he finally understood what his handheld was telling him. With everyone watching, Sonic finally stopped, as the electricity finally died down, on the top corner of a table. The spark was still giggling like crazy, wriggling around, rippling with beautiful bright blue electricity, it constantly crackling and snapping. They watched in baited breath as Tails suddenly put his handheld down, and began slowly moving towards and try to put his hand out, and touch the spark. But someone got there first. The deep, dark voice of a certain Ultimate Lifeform sounded across the now silenced barn, as he slithered his living flames down a nearby wall, leaving black streak marks behind him, in full view of everyone. He now no longer cared what everyone thought. He scowled and hard.
"I wouldn't do that, Fox, if I were you. That spark is concentrated with so much Chaos Energy and electricity, that you'll die instantly on contact." He hissed. Gulping hard, Tails stopped, becoming motionless, utterly terrified. Immediately, Sonic squeals in pure delight, jumping off the table, away from his best friend and began circling around the Ultimate Lifeform's living flames as he came down the wall. He grinned.
"Yay, Shads finally joins the party." He beamed, his voice snappy, as Shadow just huffed, sounding crackly.
"Hardly, I hate parties." He spat. "Besides, we are all here for a reason." He hissed, as he moved his now ball of flames, from the floor, as he bounced across the workshop, very quickly, leaving blacken scorch marks in his wake, and landing perfectly on the top of the back, of the chair, at Tails's computer console. On the screen, was a live feed of the approaching Black Comet. He stared at it, through his fire, as Sonic's spark suddenly, zipped up the wall, along the ceil and then down the long light cord, which finished just above the console. A flash of blue light later, and a Blue Hedgehog was hanging upside down from said light, staring at the computer monitor. He frowned.
"Whoa. Is that it?" He wondered. Shadow rolled his eyes.
"Apparently, so. Still no telepathic signal though. But it looks unusual. Something feels odd about it, but I can't think as to what." He admitted. But Sonic just shrugged.
"That might be all the Eggman tech attached on the thing." He smirked. Shadow stared, as Sonic began spinning around, still dangling from the light. Suddenly, there was a intense flash of red light, as the Ultimate Lifeform's ball of flames, jumped from the chair, and perfectly manifested himself as a Hedgehog. The enormous, jet black and red-orange stripes, the full adult, he was nowadays. He grabbed the Blue Blur, stopping him was spinning, frowning hard.
"What?" He growled, but Sonic pointed at the Black Comet, on the screen.
"Look, around the tentacles at the back and the front nose area. That's metal, and riveted in such a way, that only Eggman would do." He grinned. Shadow looked closer, he saw for himself, and then promptly swore very harshly, right at the Blue Blur's face, causing him to giggle.
"You observant git." He spat, throughly annoyed at being outdone. Sonic nodded, grinning hard. Tails gasped, but daren't go anywhere near the speedsters. In fact, no one did, as they silently watched in terror. The sheer size of Shadow was shocking as well as his entrance, and right now, Tails was registering on his handheld, ruthlessly high temperatures, on the Ultimate Lifeform. So hot, that he was surprised the Black Hedgehog didn't just burst into flames. He sighed, decided to push past all that, and get to the task in hand. Tails frowned.
"But Eggman's dead." He declared. But Sonic nodded, still upside down.
"Yep, so's Gerald." He added, but then he frowned, rounding on fellow speedster. "Hey, Shads, is there anyone else in the House of Robotnik family?" He asked, completely clueless as to who it could be. Shadow frowned, pacing slightly away from the console.
"Well, Eggman and Maria were cousins, which implies that Gerald had two offspring, both male, each of which parented one of them. Eggman's father, whose name I don't know, I suspect, built, in secret, the empire, which was later inherited by his son. Which was why it was so vast, and as for Maria's father, Kintobor, he vanished before I was even created, according to the story she told me. Apparently, he brought her to the Ark, and then vanished, into the thin air. No sight nor sign of him, on either on the space colony or the planet. The fact that Eggman never mentioned him, I suspect, he never knew what happened to him either. Something else I know nothing of, but suspect to be the case, are the females of the family. You can't breed without them. Like Maria, but there were others. There was mentions of them, during my time on the Ark, but I have no idea what happened to them, or if they're still alive. Regardless, they are of no threat. Robotnik females, tend to be small and delicate, but extremely intelligent. Starting wars isn't really their style." He shrugged.
Maria had female relatives, but where were they? Shadow heaved. The chances of them surviving the war, was remote. They were Robotniks, related to Eggman. They all had heavy prices on their heads, during the war, and if one, did survive, the last thing she probably wanted, was the Ultimate Lifeform on her doorstep, especially with his involvement in Maria's death. Shadow had decided, a very long time ago, to leave well alone. It was better for everyone.
Suddenly, Sonic giggled at him, and hard, still upside down. Shadow growled. "What?" He spat, but Sonic just grinned inanely. That was significantly more detailed intelligence then the Ultimate Lifeform ever used to give, suggest he was putting some of his own thoughts and assumptions in there. He smiled, and hard.
"Whoa, is Shadow The Hedgehog learning to think?" He smirked, sarcastically. But the Ultimate Lifeform just rolled his eyes, and walked right up to the Blue Blur, almost nose-to-nose.
"I know, Sparky. Scary, isn't it." He hissed, raising an eyebrow, catching on, as he smirked and hard. But Sonic just outright giggled, but then suddenly heaved.
"Regardless, we're got a potential Robotnik hanging out with the Black Arms. That's a combination, I'm not sure, I like the sound of." He admitted. Shadow stopped and thought. He scowled.
"Agreed." He hissed, him to also not liking the idea, but then he suddenly, rounded on the Fox. "What's the flight path of that comet? Where will it may landfall on the planet?" He demanded, his deep growl rumbling the entire room. Trebling hard, Tails nodded.
"Er, Empire City." He stammered. But Shadow just smirked and walked away.
"Really." He hissed. "Then good riddance. I'm done." He spat, and began leaving the barn. Sonic panicked, turning back into a spark, and immediately chasing after the Ultimate Lifeform. He reformed himself standing between Shadow and the front door, stopping him. He panted.
"Wait, Shads? Don't you care?" He panted, but Shadow just gritted his teeth and growled.
"No." He hissed simply, but as Sonic blinked at him, he heaved. "Two things, Hedgehog. One, I'm banned from that city, and two, it's the hub of G.U.N. and the Mobian Authorities. If those two organisations get obliterated, it'll make my year." He smirked. He was fed up of being told what to do, especially by those two, and everyone knew this. But Sonic growled, in response, his temper flaring.
"I'm not a Hedgehog." He spat. "Not anymore, but truthfully, I have no idea what I am." He admitted. But suddenly, Tails piped up, cutting into the speedster's argument. He heaved.
"Your an Elemental. You both are." He squealed. Suddenly, the Hedgehogs looked at each other, and then at the Fox. Shadow just stared, and Sonic gasped.
"What?" He stammered. But the Fox nodded.
"I always believed Elementals to be pure myth, but the readings I'm getting from both of you, is literally confirming the impossible. The stories are that Elementals are immortal creatures made of pure Chaos Energy, that represent themselves, as a singular element. One of a possible eight. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Electricity, Energy, Light, and Dark. Some elements are opposites, mortal enemies, and others are friends. No one knows where they came from, or how they are made. I think that explosion ten years ago, with the Chaos Emerald that Shadow had, changed you both forever, and I suspect, in the process, saved your lives. Sonic, you're Electricity, and Shadow." He gulped, pausing. "You're..." He stammered. But the Ultimate Lifeform just held up his hand, and suddenly, it exploded in deep red-orange flames, his eyes glowing hard, them causing him no harm.
"Fire." He smirked, as several people backed off. But Sonic frowned, as he looked at Tails.
"But are we friends or enemies?" He wondered, but Shadow just rolled his eyes, growling, vanishing his flames. The last two months had proved they weren't enemies. Tails smiled.
"Well, Energy is the opposite of Electricity, and Water, and subsequently Ice, is the opposite of Fire. So your friends." He grinned. That had been very obvious, every since the speedsters arrival. Their interactions heavily hinted at a friendship, that just wasn't there before. It was weird but a delight to see, regardless, as it meant a huge amount to the Blue Blur. But the nicknames they gave for each other, were new, and it significantly gave that away. The the Fox deeply thought. "It's interesting that the Chaos Energy, within the both you, went for electricity and fire, rather then light and dark. I think it honed in on your personalities, rather then your alignments, for your elements. Sonic's horrendous hyperactive, and Shadow's furious temper." He added. Shadow deeply sighed. That made a huge amount of sense. There were indeed Elementals, but as he looked at the Blue Blur, Sonic rounded on him. He grabbed him.
"Come on, Shads, please. We can't fight the Black Arms without you. I know you hate Empire, but when that city falls, what then, when they go after a place you do actually like, say Westopolis?" He growled. Shadow gritted his teeth, straight at the Blue Blur. That irritating Blue Elemental, had a point. He heaved, and closed his eyes.
"Fine." He blasted, not happy, but Sonic was right. They literally, couldn't fight the Black Arms without him. No one else knew the aliens as well as he did. His intelligence, knowledge and skill were going to be absolutely vital. Sonic was about to celebrate, but Shadow grabbed him, looking to the door, behind him. The Ultimate Lifeform's sensitive hearing could hear subtle movements and voices, the other side, and with the direction and tone, they heavily indicated military. Shadow growled, looking at Sonic.
"G.U.N." He hissed, giving the subtle signal to run, and in the blink of an eye, both Sonic and Shadow vanished in a cloud of both blue sparks and red flames, just as the barn was raided by the organisation. They came, out of nowhere, as everyone screamed, as fully armed soldiers stormed in and forced everyone against the walls, at gun point. General Luther, charged into the Workshop, desperately looking for a certain Black Hedgehog. He growled, hard.
"Where is he?" He spat, looking around. "That blasted Ultimate Lifeform. We heard his voice the other side of the door." He hissed. But Tails gulped, holding his ground.
"Well, look around, he's not here. Your mistaken." He snapped, but the Rhino just rounded on him, unimpressed.
"Oh, I know your hiding him, and with the return of those damn aliens, I knew he'd eventually show." He smirked, as he eyed up the Fox. "Oh, you think, your the only person watching the skies. The call-to-arms signal was useful. It lead us straight to him." He spat. "Now where is he?" He demanded. But Rouge just growled, in retort.
"He'll never do as you ask, especially now. He's through with you. He's changed, and now has true freedom, and there's nothing you can do about it." She spat. But Luther just laughed, straight at her face.
"We'll see about that, Bat. Once our scientists get hold of him, he'll be ours, and then we'll see who in charge, when we have " He hissed. But as Rouge was distracting the Rhino, her husband stood, slightly to the side of her, was panting. His brain had been badly blown, with the incredible revelations that not only, was the Blue Blur alive, but that Shadow was now more dangerous then ever. Suddenly, Knuckles immediately had all his fears instantly eased, when he subtly noticed a certain, now familiar, small blue light of a electric spark and the orangey-red light of a fire, sulking in the roof rafters, high above them. He smirked, when he realised that the powerful Elementals hadn't abandoned them.
He discretely nudged Tails, and indicated upwards, with his eyes, and quickly, the Fox saw, as the Elementals silently moved along the rafters, towards the G.U.N. soldiers. He grinned, immediately knowing the setup of an ambush, when he saw one. He nodded. Time to play stall. The Fox growled.
"Once you have Shadow, what you going to do with him?" He spat. But the Rhino just rounded on him, with a look of pure loathing.
"Use him to destroy this place, for a start. You and your Resistance, Fox, have meddled and hijacked G.U.N.'s plans for far to long. You don't deserve this setup." He hissed, indicating all around him. But with that, Shadow growled. That was pushing it too far, and now he'd heard enough. Now in position, above them, the Elementals pounced, and G.U.N. had no idea what hit them.
Sonic's spark exploded, causing electricity to be fired everywhere, until finally, after whizzing, he appeared in his Hedgehog form, out of nowhere, and suddenly, he stomped his foot on the ground. Lines of bright white electricity, flowed across the floor, out from his point of origin, and immediately shocked into unconscious every single G.U.N. soldier in the barn. Within, seconds, they were all on the floor. He tasered them. It was beautifully controlled, as Sonic hit none of his old friends. He giggled, as he put a hand over his mouth.
"Oops." He grinned, as General Luther, the only G.U.N. soldier still left standing, just outright stared.
"That's not possible." He gasped, as the Blue Blur himself was now stood before him. But Luther saw that explosion. He'd planned it. There was no way Sonic should have survived, and yet here he was, in the flesh, ten years later. But before the Rhino could ask any questions, he was immediately set upon, as Shadow The Hedgehog himself, just landed on him, out of nowhere.
With his now enormous size, Shadow just grabbed the huge Rhino, by the throat, and lifted him high in the air, badly burning him, blistering his fur and skin. He screamed, as the Ultimate Lifeform, using his immense Super-Strength, just slammed him onto the floor, hard. He squealed, as Shadow dangerously loomed over him, his temper just got the better of him, and bright orangey-red fire erupted from the stripes down his back, his eyes glowing hard. The temperature was extremely hot, and caused everyone to move away. Luther cried in pure fright, genuinely fearing his life, as he became desperate to get away. Shadow didn't need to declare his own freedoms, this act of pure defiance was enough, and he just bend down to the Rhino, and hissed, extremely coldly.
"Get out!" He spat.
Nodding hard, and screaming in agony, Luther painfully, got to his feet, and as the other G.U.N. soldiers were coming too, Sonic stood united with Shadow, and suddenly, whirled extremely dangerous quantities of bright blue electricity around himself as he growled. The voltages easily high enough to kill. Upon seeing this, G.U.N. just outright fled on pure terror, many helping their now crippled General out of there.
Within minutes, they were gone, and Shadow quickly calmed the his flames, and he just smirked, into the resulting silence.
"I think they got the message." He sniggered, as he rounded on Tails. "They won't be back." He declared. "But right now, we have an alien invasion to deal with." He heaved. Tails nodded, still shaking but he knew the Ultimate Lifeform, meant none of them any harm. Suddenly, Shadow looked over to Sonic, and suddenly, he rolled his eyes, swearing hard. The Blue Blur was desperately bouncing on his heels, intensely struggling to keep still, and he was failing. Shadow heaved. "Oh, he gonna blow." He groaned, indicating his counterpart. "Five, four, three, two, one." He hissed under his breathe, and the with a massive smirk, he watched Sonic just explode, screaming extremely hard, as he started bouncing around the room so fast, in all of his different forms, zipping, whirling, wizzing and cracking, as Sonic just couldn't hold together the tension any more. Electricity went absolutely everywhere, as the Blue Blur just wouldn't stop talking. After dodging his counterpart several times, Shadow just groaned, rubbing his face. "He should calm down in about twenty minutes." He added, having seen this before. But Tails just blinked, still somewhat astonished, at what just happened. He gulped, but he knew exactly what to say.
"Thank you." He smiled. Shadow stopped, and blinked, but then nodded in return.
"Your welcome." He replied. But when he dodged the Blue Blur again, he'd very clearly had enough with him. He looked at the Fox, and then pointed upwards, towards the roof rafters. "May I?" He asked, desperately wanting to peace and quiet, out of the way. Tails nodded, and smirking hard, Shadow vanished, with a deep flash of red light, and suddenly his living flames, bounced across the workshop, avoiding the Blue Blur, yet again, up the walls, and to the ceiling, where Shadow settled himself down into a corner of the roof rafters, and rested, now rather tired. Being an Elemental made him sleep, more then he ever used to. But until the Black Comet arrived, there was nothing he could do. Shadow was aware the Ark had been destroyed, so no Ellipse Cannon to fight back with. He'd noticed it was missing on Tails's computer console. It was done during the decade he was missing. He was sure that Luther had signed that off, hence why he was so angry at him. But he'd lied to the Fox. He'd had every intension of killing that Rhino, but Sonic had talked him out of it, saying it was better to scare G.U.N. off, rather then have them seek revenge on him later.
Shadow growled. The Blue Blur was right, as usual, as Shadow hadn't gotten complete grips with everything he could do. He heaved. So he was now a Fire Elemental. He smirked, liking the sound of it, but he knew there was a huge amount of work to do. So many unknowns he had to deal with. Why were the Black Arms back, and where was Black Doom? Shadow growled. No, Black Doom was dead. He'd personally killed him, so who was now in charge, and why the Robotnik involvement? Shadow had no ideas, to any of these, and what of the Chaos Emeralds? Last time, it took a Super Shadow fight to win. He gulped. He had no absolutely idea if he could still wield all the seven Chaos Emeralds in his new form. He heaved. Truthfully, he suspected not. He generated his own Chaos Energy now, and vast quantities of it. He no longer needed the Chaos Emeralds, and neither did Sonic. But still, what do they do with the mighty gemstones?
Finally, he sighed as he looked down. Sonic was finally giving up, as, after half an hour, he'd burned out, was on the verge of collapse. Yawning hard, he stretched, until suddenly, he landed on a nearby table, which had just been quickly cleared, by his friends. Soon, the Blue Blur was fast asleep on top of it, much to the relief of everyone, as all of his electricity immediately died down.
Shadow nodded in approval. He'd been surprised by their rather pleasant reaction to him, but then he realised he hadn't really given them much of a choice. Or rather, Sonic hadn't. The Blue Blur had been rather clingy to him, and if they wanted their precious hero back, then they had to put up with the mighty Ultimate Lifeform as well. Soon, everything settled down.
Tails heaved, in utter relief.
"I go through my entire life fascinated by Elementals, only to then have two of them, literally land on me, and then be complete and total handfuls. Of all the elements they could have been, why did they have to pick the two most dangerous ones." He sighed, careful to keep his voice down, aware that Shadow was still around. But Knuckles just sniffed.
"What happened to them?" He wondered, specifically looking at Sonic. But Tails gulped.
"During that explosion, their bodies literally disintegrated, leaving behind pure Chaos Energy, which there minds clung on to, transforming them into Elementals. The Chaos Emerald fuelling the entire process, which I didn't think was possible. The Hedgehog's individual superpowers and abilities, along with that bomb, creating the perfect environment, with the Chaos Emerald, for it to happen. It was a total fluke. I doubt it will ever be recreated." He explained, but Knuckles looked disheartened, but Tails smiled. "Hey, I know their transformations are hard to deal with, the it saved their lives, especially Sonic's. Without it, he just wouldn't have survived." He comforted. The Echidna had been desperately struggling with the idea. He sniffed.
"But they have been missing for ten years?" He growled. But Tails just thought and hard.
"Well, Sonic and Shadow were both incredibly powerful even before they were turned into Elementals. I get the impression from the both of them, that they've not been living like this very long. The transformation from powerhouse Hedgehog to Elemental may have taken the whole decade to complete, with them unconscious the entire time, as the Chaos Energy slowly converted them from one to the other. But the addition of the incredible but very complex superpowers they already had, may have significantly increased the time needed for the conversion, on potentially something that should have instantaneous. As I saw, they still have all their original abilities, on top of their new Elemental skills." He summated. But Knuckles heaved.
"Can Sonic be turned back?" He wondered. Tails looked at the Blue Blur, and shook his head.
"No." He relied simply. "But would you really want him to be?" He asked in return. Knuckles just shrugged, having no idea, as Tails sighed. "Right, let's leave the Elementals alone." He asked, as he saw Amy slowly moving towards the Blue Blur. He growled. "No, seriously. Sonic's still generating enough electricity, voltage wise, even while sleeping, to kill, so 'please don't touch'." He blasted, as Amy squealed, but then heaved. She then carefully placed the photograph of herself close to him and then moved away. The Fox turned to the barn, in general, as all his friends looked at him. "Everyone." He hollowed. "Thank you for coming." He smiled, and then he heaved. "And sorry about the...er.." He paused, looking at Sonic, and then at Shadow in the roof rafters. "Mess." He added, to much nodding. Everyone was still somewhat shaken, but now everything was easing. Then Tails grabbed his handheld and looked at it, and then back at the crowd. "Look, we have twenty-four, maybe forty-eight hours, before the Black Arms arrive. We'll need to make whatever preparations we can, before they get here. We'll need to evacuate Empire City." He declared, but several people sniggered. But Tails heaved. "Yes, I know few people will believe us that the Black Comet is heading directly for the city, but try and get out as many people to safety as you can." He ordered. Immediately, the Chaotix, the Rabbits, along with Nite, and Don all nodded. The Owl smiled.
"Yeah, we could do that. Get a broadcast out there, if you sent us some footage of that alien craft, then that should get people moving." He smiled, as Tails nodded.
"Yeah, I can do, thanks guys." He beamed. Sighing, he now rounded on Jewel. She was still panting, like everyone else, reeling from the day's events. She nodded, as he smiled at her. "Jewel, did you mothball the Restoration?" He asked. She again nodded, but Tails beamed. "Well, please take your crew and get it up and running again. This is the Black Arms we're dealing with." He ordered. Immediately, Tangle gave the double thumbs up.
"Yeah, on it." She confirmed, as Jewel nodded. Then Tails turned to Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Omega, Blaze and Silver, but they all nodded, knowing the routine. The Echidna growled.
"Ground crew." He confirmed, as they all would fight the Black Arms directly in Empire City. Tails nodded, and everyone agreed, but then Rouge rounded on the Fox.
"But what about you?" She wondered, but Tails grinned inanely.
"Dealing with the cavalry." He beamed, as he pointed to the Blue Blur. "Sonic and Shadow are now both Elementals, and consequently, they are packing some serious power. Our aces. Therefore sending them out first won't be tactful, though I might struggle to get Shadow to agree to that." He heaved. "Regardless, I need to quickly learn and understand them as fast as possible. They barely understand themselves, I could see it, in both their eyes. But if I crack this, and get the most out of the both of them, well have the leverage we'll need to win this fight." He panted.
Soon, it was all agreed, as everyone left, going their separate ways, as Tails was left alone, in his workshop, with the Elementals. But as they left, the Fox discretely collared Knuckles and Rouge, on the way out. He gulped.
"Guys?" He asked, but Rouge cut across him. She smiled.
"I know what your gonna ask for, Sweetie, Chaos Emeralds?" She guessed. Tails nodded. But Knuckles frowned.
"I only have five of them, sat on their pedestals, where their meant to be, on Angel Island, around the Master Emerald. Even after ten years, two of them have never been found." He growled. But Rouge heaved.
"Actually, I have heard rumours, but I've never perused them, as it wasn't a necessity." She admitted. But Knuckles growled.
"Can either of those 'Elementals' in there." He hissed, indicating the workshop. "Even still wield the Chaos Emeralds?" He leered. Tails gulped.
"I have no idea." He admitted. "But regardless, Silver can, and right now, we need all the help we can get." He blasted. Both Rouge and Knuckles blinked at each other. The Fox had a point, and they had all seen the sheer power the Psychic had in Super-form. Granted, it was a long time ago, and Silver did regularly get forgotten about, simply because he was never around. But now he was. Tails heaved. With Sonic and Shadow now Elementals, was Silver the new guardian of the Chaos Emeralds. Was that now why he was permanently stuck in the past. Was it meant to be? Regardless, they had to find the Chaos Emeralds, and fast.
Soon, Knuckles and Rouge nodded their goodbye, as Tails looked to the night sky, that now surrendered his workshop. A deep, red streak across the sky, indicated the fast approaching Black Comet. He gulped, they didn't have long.