-Chapter 108-

The Adventure Begins

Knothole

The rain had begun to fall in buckets as Sonic made his way back to Knothole, thunder and lightning crashing as he went. He came speeding into the war room, closing the door behind him and shaking the water from his spines. They puffed up badly, making him look like a blue puffball before he shook again, smoothing them down to normal shape. It was at that moment, the group turned to see him, brightening up.

"Sonic!" Sally ran forward, hugging him.

"Hey, Sal."

Sonic returned the hug before pulling back, seeing her serious expression.

"You came back just in time. Knuckles just showed up with the Chaotix. Something happened. Something big."

Sonic nodded. "I might have a pretty good idea what that is."

He headed forward, all his friends grinning happily at the sight of him.

"Sorry the reunion isn't under better circumstances, guys," he told them. "What's the sitch, Knuckles?"

"The Master Emerald's been shattered," Knuckles said bluntly.

"Like kablammo!" Charmy added, throwing his arms wide for effect. "Shattered to a million pieces!"

"What?!" Sonic exclaimed. "Is that even possible?!"

"According to my dad, yeah," Knuckles confirmed. "Good news is, all we need to do is find the pieces and it'll regenerate itself."

"The bad news is what shattered it in the first place," Kat added, "Chaos."

Sonic perked at that.

"This Chaos... would he happen to be a freaky blue thing with green eyes? Made out of water? Visible brain through his 'skin'?"

"Right on the money," Kat replied. "But how'd you-?"

"I ran him out of Station Square before I came here."

"It got to the city?" Knuckles realized before letting out a silent curse. "Damn that drip is fast."

"Tell it to us straight," Sally requested. "What are we dealing with?"

"According to old man Locke, the Chaos creature feeds on Chaos Emeralds," Vector spoke up.

"With each one it absorbs, it gets stronger," Ray chimed in.

"And once it's eaten a full set of seven…" Mighty went on.

"Armageddon will begin," Espio concluded, crossing his arms solemnly.

"Crap…" Sonic cursed. "Explains why Eggman described him as a God of Destruction."

That got everyone's attention.

"Dr. Robotnik is trying to control Chaos?" Julie-Su asked.

Vector snapped his fingers. "Then he must be the one who busted the Master Emerald!"

"If that's the case, then we need to get to any and all Chaos Emeralds in Station Square before Robotnik," Julie-Su insisted.

Charmy let out a small cough.

"Sorry, Eggman," Julie-Su amended, Charmy nodding in satisfaction.

"Agreed," Sonic looked around, noticing someone was missing. "Hey, where's Tails?"

"At his new workshop in the Mystic Ruins," Rotor explained. "He set it up while you were gone."

"Let me guess, he took the Tornado II with him?" Sonic asked.

"Actually, he's working on a new plane if I recall correctly," Sally cut in.

"Well, looks like I'm headed for the Mystic Ruins," Sonic decided. "Can I count on the rest of you to be on an Emerald Hunt?"

"Sorry, Sonic," Knuckles cut in. "The Master Emerald shards are top priority for me and Kat."

"We're helping them, but we can expand our search to Chaos Emeralds to help out both sides," Vector offered.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sonic decided. "Now then…"

He was about to run off, before Sally touched his shoulder.

"Hold up, Sonic," she insisted.

"Sal, we don't have time to-"

"It's the middle of the night, and storming like crazy," Sally pointed out. "Get some sleep. We'll start the hunt in the morning."

Sonic was about to debate, before letting out a yawn.

"Now that you mention it, I am kinda bushed," he said. "Alright, you win."

Sally smiled. "Good. And I will be checking your room to make sure you're actually asleep. So no pillow dummies."

"That was one time!" Sonic objected as he headed for his room. "You sneak out once in the middle of the night for some primetime Badnik bashing, and you're branded for life…"

"I wish we could do the same, but we can't," Knuckles said. "We have to rebuild the Master Emerald."

"Wouldn't be the first all nighter we've pulled," Kat added.

"Duty calls, I suppose," Sally conceded. "Just try not to push yourselves too hard."

"No promises!" Kat and Knuckles declared simultaneously before heading out into the rain.

The next morning…

By the next day, the rains had stopped. The other Freedom Fighters came out to see Sonic already up, in the midst of making eggs and bacon.

"Who's hungry?" he offered.

"Did you even sleep?" Sally asked.

"Of course," Sonic assured. "I woke up at the crack of dawn."

Johnny looked over the frying pan. "What, no chili dogs?"

"Johnny, just because they're my favorite food doesn't mean I live on chili dogs alone," Sonic pointed out. "Besides, they ain't exactly for breakfast."

Johnny just nodded. "Point taken."

He started doling out the food to everyone, taking his own plate.

"After this, I'm gonna bolt for the Mystic Ruins," he told them. "Meet up with Tails and get his help. His Miles Electric will make this so much easier."

"See if he can add Master Emerald shards to his search," Rotor added. "We can send the coordinates to the Chaotix to help them out too."

"We'll call up Keith and the others and let 'em know what's up," Bunnie tacked on.

"Who knows?" Porker said. "Maybe Keith's mom has an Emerald we can take. Her research in Power Rings is tied to Chaos energy."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sonic agreed.

Station Square

Once he was done eating, Sonic headed out. He was just passing through Station Square when he heard a jet engine going off. He looked up, squinting to see what appeared to be a jet flying over the city.

"Is that…"

-X-

Indeed, it was. Tails was doing a test run on his prototype plane, taking it on a flight over the city.

"Everything's looking great. All systems go, full speed ahead!"

It was at that moment the plane began to shake. Tails sighed.

"...I just had to say something, didn't I?"

The engine started to sputter and give out, soon belching black smoke before going out of control.

"Mayday! Mayday!"

-X-

On the ground, Sonic gasped in shock as the plane spiraled down toward Emerald Coast.

"Tails!" he screamed.

He made it to the beach and quickly started running in a circle, kicking up sand and creating a wind funnel that began to cushion the fallen plane. Tails looked around, seeing a blue blur and realizing who it was.

"Don't just sit there, Tails!" Sonic yelled. "Punch out already!"

Tails quickly hopped down. Sonic stopped running and the plane dropped, Tails landing gracefully before hugging Sonic.

"Welcome back!" he greeted. "Perfect timing, too."

"I was in the neighborhood," Sonic told him. "You're lucky I saw you come down. Unfortunately, it's not a social call."

As Tails sat down to compose himself, Sonic brought him up to speed.

"A deity of destruction?" Tails let out. "And Eggman's in control? Yikes…"

"It powers up using Chaos Emeralds," Sonic told him. "So as usual, we gotta get them before he does."

"Well then, I'll need to get the Miles Electric from my workshop," Tails decided. "But first…"

He headed over to the crashed plane, popping the hood before pulling the purple Chaos Emerald out of the engine.

"A Chaos Emerald? Sonic asked.

"Came across it while I was working on my new plane," Tails explained. "If we used it on the Tornado 2, it would overload and blow up. But with the X Tornado here…" He patted the prototype's wreck, "it just might work."

Sonic looked it over. "Seems you gotta iron out a few bugs first."

"It's a work in progress," Tails pointed out. "After all, Spagonia wasn't built in a day."

"Okay, fair point," Sonic conceded. "Now then…"

Sonic reached into his pocket, rummaging around before sighing.

"Blast it…" he muttered. "I was in such a rush this morning I forgot to grab any Warp Rings."

"I didn't bring any either," Tails told him. "Guess we're taking the train."

-X-

Meanwhile, Keith, Chris, and Hope had gathered together and were talking to Sally on the coms.

"Eggman smashed the Master Emerald last night?" Hope asked.

"And set forth a creature with the power to destroy the world." Sally confirmed.

"Is Kat okay?" Keith asked in concern.

"She's just fine," Sally assured. "She's with Knuckles searching for the shards."

Chris smirked. "Yeah cuz, your girlfriend is fine."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Keith snapped.

"Right, and I'm a Flicky," Hope retorted.

"Please focus," Sally cut in. "This is serious."

"Sorry, go on," Chris told her.

"We need to gather any and all Chaos Emeralds in the city," Sally said. "Keith, your mom works with Power Rings, right? Does she have an Emerald?"

"Not sure," Keith replied. "We can swing by her lab and ask."

"Alright. Sonic is headed for Tails' lab to pick up the Miles Electric, so that'll help out a lot."

"We'll meet up with him after we stop by the lab," Hope told her.

"Hang on, weren't you going to have lunch with your Grandma?" Chris asked.

"She'll understand. Fate of the world and all that."

Nonetheless, as they headed for Laura's lab, Hope called Agnes up.

"Sorry, Grandma. Something's come up. I'm gonna have to take a rain check on lunch today."

"Is something wrong?" Agnes asked.

"Eggman's controlling a deity of destruction and we need to keep him from getting his hands on Chaos Emeralds."

"Oh, my… Hope, maybe you shouldn't get involved in this one. This sounds far more dangerous than your usual escapades."

"Grandma, I know you're worried, but I can't just sit back and do nothing," Hope insisted.

Agnes let out a long sigh.

"You are so much like your mother," she remarked. "Just... be careful, alright?"

"Careful's my middle name," Hope quipped. "Never forgave Dad for that one."

They shared a laugh at that.

"I love you," Hope said.

"Love you too, Hope," Agnes replied.

Hope ended the call, pocketing the phone.

After a quick bus ride, the trio found themselves at the Station Square branch of HEXAeco, a green building bearing the logo of a stylized green hexagon. Keith hit the buzzer on the door.

"Keith Kent and friends to see Laura Kent." he reported.

The door opened, allowing them in. They walked in as Laura approached them, smiling as she bent down to hug her son.

"Keith, what a surprise," she greeted. "I can't remember the last time you came to visit me during work hours."

"Good to see you too, Mom," Keith replied, pulling away. "But it's not a social call."

"Freedom Fighter business?"

Keith nodded. "Freedom Fighter business."

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it has something to do with the monster Sonic fought at City Hall last night."

"It's a God, Aunt Laura," Chris explained. "A God of Destruction that eats Chaos Emeralds."

"So…" Hope clapped her hands behind her back, rocking on her feet as she looked to the side and chewed her lip. "Do you have one?"

Laura smiled in response before leading her to her lab. There, floating in a capsule, was the green Chaos Emerald, connected to a device that had a glow similar to the Lake of Rings.

"Is that what I think it is?" Hope asked.

"Yep. One of old Nate's classic Ring Forges."

"Did we ever tell you about the actual forge we found?" Keith asked.

"I believe I've heard the story at least five times." Laura then ruffled her son's hair. "But I never get tired of hearing it." she straightened up. "Anyway, after your friend Kat mentioned the Red Star Rings Dr. Ellidy discovered, I was inspired to try to make my own. The problem was finding a Chaos Emerald."

"Speaking of which, where'd you find it?" Chris questioned.

"Between you and me, I won it off Renfield T. Rodent at a poker game in Casinopolis."

Keith blinked. "You… were gambling?"

"I do have a life outside this lab, y'know," Laura pointed out. "I wouldn't normally do it, but it was the fastest way I could get an Emerald."

"And we thought Uncle Sam was the wild one," Chris mused.

Laura laughed a bit as she pulled the Emerald from the forge, handing it to Keith.

"You three be careful, alright?" she said. "And make sure to eat something. It's almost lunchtime."

"You're just giving it to us?" Hope asked. "What about your research?"

"I already have a few Red Star Rings, plenty for my research and a few spares," Laura replied. "Besides, I'm sure I'll find another Emerald one day. Especially if my wonderful son and his brilliant friends keep an eye out for me."

"Alright, alright, we can take a hint," Keith said with a small laugh. "Once the crisis is over, we'll find you a new one."

Laura smiled. "Thanks, son."

She kissed his forehead.

-X-

Once they left the lab, Keith, Hope, and Chris made a beeline for Meh Burger.

"Normally, Meh Burger wouldn't be my first choice," Hope noted. "But I'm so hungry, I could eat a Streaking Pasha. (1)"

"Then let's eat," Keith said. "Rock paper scissors for who buys?"

"I got it," Chris assured.

"C'mon Chris, you always buy," Hope pointed out. "The two of us can spare a few Mobiums."

"Guys, c'mon," Chris insisted. "You know I'm just gonna go behind your back and pay anyway, right?"

"Yeah, that's a good point," Keith conceded. "Well made."

As they talked, a small Mobini frog with a tail came hopping down the sidewalk. It jumped up, landing on Hope's head. She let out a yelp in surprise at the moist thing in her hair.

"What is it?!" she exclaimed.

"Easy," Chris soothed. "It's just a frog."

"Ew!" Hope squealed. "It's gonna get slime all over me!"

"Not slime," Keith corrected. "Just a mucus membrane that-"

"Just get it out of my hair!"

Chris carefully reached out, plucking the frog off of Hope's head. She smoothed out her hair, and that's when they took in the frog's full appearance.

"Are my glasses working?" Keith asked. "'Cause if I didn't know better, I'd say that frog has a tail."

"They're working," Chris assured. "Because that is definitely a tail."

"HEY, FROGGY!"

The trio turned to see a massive Mobian cat running up to them at full speed. Before he could stop, he crashed into them, sending them all to the pavement. Froggy then hopped down the sidewalk and out of sight. The cat picked himself up, then saw the three kids he'd squished.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry! Did I hurt you? I didn't mean to! Please don't be mad!"

The trio pulled themselves up carefully. Nothing seemed to be broken.

"Don't worry," Keith adjusted his glasses. "We've been through worse scrapes than this. Can't think of any right now, but…"

"Is that frog a friend of yours?" Chris asked.

The cat nodded.

"Something's wrong with him. Ever since he swallowed that weird water, he's been acting strange. He grew that tail, ate my lucky charm, then kept running away."

Hope perked. "Weird water?"

She exchanged looks with Chris and Keith, having an idea what it was.

"Say, what's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Big," the cat replied. "Big the Cat."

"When did this happen?" Chris questioned.

"Just last night, in my hut at the Mystic Ruins."

"Timeline adds up," Keith mused. "It was probably after that he attacked Station Square and Sonic fought him off."

Big tilted his head quizzically. "Why're you asking me all this?"

"We may know what's wrong with your friend," Chris explained. "And if we're right, Froggy's in serious trouble."

"He's not bad!" Big insisted.

"No, no," Chris clarified. "I mean he needs help."

"Oh…" Big relaxed. "Sorry."

Hope held up a finger "Excuse us for a minute."

She and the boys huddled together.

"If Froggy's possessed by some part of Chaos, I think we should help Big out,"' Hope said. "Preferably before the main body comes looking."

"But we still need to get this Emerald back to the guys," Chris pointed out.

"Then you guys go regroup," Hope decided. "I'll stick with Big."

"Alright," Keith nodded. "If anything happens, give us a holler."

"You know I will."

They broke the huddle and Hope approached Big.

"Alright Big, you're with me," she told him. "We're gonna find Froggy."

Big smiled. "Thank you, Miss…"

"Hope."

"That's a pretty name."

Big reached down and picked her up, placing her on his shoulders. With that, Chris and Keith departed, Big heading off with Hope in search of his polliwog pal. As they went, Hope looked down at Big, peering through his ears.

"I don't mean to pry, but are you from País Misterioso, by any chance?" she asked.

Big looked up at her. "How'd you know?"

"You're a Mobian cat from the Mystic Ruins. I just figured it out."

"Don't tell anyone, okay? I'm just Big the Cat, and that's all I wanna be." He sighed. "The other Felidae are all a bunch of barbaric meanies. I left their territory the first chance I got."

"I don't blame you," Hope confessed. "I've heard stories about how... insane they can be."

"I just wanna fish and be with Froggy," Big said. "I just wanna be me, so I'm just a cat. Not Felidae."

Hope nodded. "Nothing wrong with that. .You remind me a lot of my cousin honestly."

Big raised an eyebrow. "I do?"

"Leaving home so you can be who you wanna be," Hope clarified. "She did that too."

Eventually, they came to City Hall, which was walled off with police tape. Nearby, Hope saw something small and green hopping.

"Big, I see him!"

They hurried after him, only for Froggy to slip into a manhole beneath a parked car.

"Aw man…" Hope sighed. "How are we gonna-"

Big grabbed the car and picked it up, setting it in the next spot over.

"...Nevermind."

With that, Big hopped down in the sewers, keeping Hope safely on his shoulders.

"C'mon, Froggy!" he pleaded. "Don't run away!"

He took to the sides, away from the water as Hope held her nose.

"Ugh…" she let out in disgust. "Poop water. Gross."

"This is a storm drain, not a sewer," Big told her. "It's just normal water. Only mildewy."

"But you're avoiding it," Hope pointed out.

"Still deep," Big said. "Still smelly, and really fast after the storm."

"Fair point," Hope conceded. "I'd hate to get flushed out to sea."

"You'll be fine," Big assured. "I won't let anything happen to you."

They heard a frog croaking up ahead.

"That way!" Hope exclaimed.

They soon surfaced from another manhole, looking around and seeing they were in a theme park. Every inch of the area was designed to give off a magical feel, with neon lights and sparkly objects everywhere.

"Wait a sec…" Hope took a closer look. "We're in Twinkle Park!"

"Twinkle Park?" Big asked.

"Big outer-space themed park, one of our biggest tourist attractions," Hope explained. "It's closed this time of year."

"Should make things easier," Big cupped his hands. "Froggy! Froggy, come out!"

They heard a plop, turning to the giant swimming pool in the center. Hope squinted, seeing the tailed frog paddling around within.

"He's in the pool!"

"I got this!" Big declared.

He pulled Hope off his back, dropping her and pulling a fishing rod off of his back.

"Come on, Froggy," he urged. "Let's play the fishing game."

Hope stood back and watched as Big cast the lure, kicking back.

"Fishing for frogs…" she mused. "Not how I expected to spend today."

"Get comfy," Big told her. "We'll be here for a bit."

Final Egg

Deep within the jungles of the Mystic Ruins sat the Final Egg, a secondary base constructed for Robotnik's evil schemes. Robotnik stood before the four E-Series robots, picking up a microphone.

"Testing one, two, three…" he cleared his throat. "You, my elite E-100 model machines, are here today to hear a very special announcement."

A screen behind him projected an image of Froggy.

"If you'll turn your attention to the screen behind me, you'll see a very unusual tailed frog. He is absolutely vital to our plans. Your mission is to get the jump on this frog, and bring him to me. I don't care what it takes for you to grab him, just do it. Is that clear?"

"Mission: Find tailed frog." the robots intoned in unison. "Your will be done, Dr. Robotnik."

They headed off at that. Robotnik headed deeper into the lab, showing Chaos in a containment field as Grimer and Snively tinkered with something.

"And… done," Grimer held up a magnifying glass-shaped gauntlet with a grey frame. "Here you go, Doctor. The revamped Anti-Chaos Nullifier."

"Excellent," Robotnik took the device, slipping it onto his right wrist before turning to Chaos. "From this day forth, Chaos, you work for me."

He pressed a few buttons. With each press, Chaos raised one leg, moved a certain limb, and nodded at them. Robotnik grinned.

"Perfect," he declared before turning to Snively and Grimer. "Have you gotten anything on the Emerald Radar yet?"

"Two Chaos Emeralds near our position," Snively replied. "One is in Station Square, while the other is rapidly approaching the Mystic Ruins."

"Judging by the angle and speed, it's headed our way through the train station." Grimer said.

"It's as if they're practically giving them to me," Robotnik grinned. "I'll take Chaos on a little test run. Handle those Chaos Emeralds personally. I want to see the look on that hedgehog's face when I feed those precious gems to my pet deity."

Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails were just getting off the train. In the distance sat a sizable red house decorated with the same twin-tail logo that the Tornado II had.

"There it is," Tails said proudly. "My home away from home."

"Nice set up," Sonic mused.

"C'mon, let's go on in," Tails insisted.

Before they could take more than a few steps, they heard a familiar laugh.

"Well well, if it isn't my old buddies, Sonic and Tails,"

They stopped short, looking up to see Robotnik floating above them in a new Egg Mobile, modified with extra drill attachments on the sides and a large rocket thruster on the rear.

"And if it isn't a giant talking egg," Sonic quipped.

"You dare insult me?!" Robotnik demanded. "I am Dr. Ivo Robotnik! The greatest scientific mind in the world!"

"Seriously, Eggman?" Tails asked. "You do know that we're never gonna call you by your 'real name'."

"Yeah, Sticks' nickname is better," Sonic agreed.

"Enough!" Robotnik roared. "I've got big plans, and I require your help to put them to work. I'm well aware that one of you has a Chaos Emerald. So hand it over."

"And if we refuse?" Sonic shot back.

"Simple. I take it from you."

"Bring it on, old man!" Sonic retorted.

Robotnik grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that. Prepare to feel the sting of the Egg Hornet!"

He unleashed several homing missiles, Sonic and Tails scrambling to avoid.

"That all you got?" Sonic retorted.

"Not impressed? Then get a load of this!"

The drills extended, heading right for them. Sonic and Tails joined hands before performing the Rolling Combo, colliding with the drill in a shower of sparks. Eventually, the Egg Hornet hoisted the white flag and exploded, leaving Robotnik crashing to the ground, smoking.

"Sting of the Egg Hornet?" Sonic mocked. "More like the pathetic bitch-slap of the Egg Hornet."

Robotnik got up, pressing a button on the Anti-Chaos Nullifier. Before the duo could react, something hit both Sonic and Tails hard, knocking them back and Tails' Chaos Emerald out of the air. They got up just in time to see Chaos catch it with ease.

"Oh no!" Sonic screamed.

"Ha!" Robotnik boasted. "Eat up, Chaos!"

The Emerald was absorbed into Chaos' body at that. Sonic and Tails could do nothing but watch as the monster grew in size and mass, a line of bones traveling down his right arm to his hand. In the center of the skeleton was the Emerald.

"So the legends are true," Robotnik declared. "With every Chaos Emerald he consumes, Chaos becomes stronger. More powerful! Once he has all seven, he will be my ultimate weapon in world domination. Through his power, Station Square will be wiped off the face of Mobius! And on its ruins, I'll build Neo Robotropolis, the capital of the Robotnik Empire!"

"Not on my watch!" Sonic insisted.

"We'll see about that," Robotnik said flippantly. "Come Chaos! Let's find another emerald!"

They departed at that, Sonic punching the ground.

"Damn!" he swore. "He got one!"

"We have to find the others before he does," Tails insisted. "Or else…"

"Yeah, I know," Sonic rose to his feet. "If we can stop him from getting even one, Chaos won't be able to power up completely. We'll still have a chance."

Author's Note:

(1): A breed of Mobini horse from the Archie series.

Well, the arc begins in earnest. Can Sonic and co. stand against the might of Chaos?

The Felidae, Renfield T. Rodent, and País Misterioso are all from Archie, just FYI. As for HEXAeco, it's an ecofriendly energy company that first appeared in Heroes; Laura works for them and specializes in Power Rings for energy sources.

Please R&R. Until next time!