-Chapter 117-

The Perfect Storm

Mystic Ruins

In the midst of the Mystic Ruins, Robotnik's Egg Mobile puttered along, terribly damaged.

"Grr... curse that Sonic!" he spat. "He always ruins every good evil plan I have. Next time though, it will be doom for him."

He pulled out his communicator, connecting back with his base.

"Snively! Grimer! I'm coming back to base! When I get there, I want everything ready, understand?!"

"As you wish, sir." Snively replied.

"And don't you dare wake up Agatha!" Robotnik added. "She better still be sound asleep in her bed when I get there."

"Of course, Doctor," said Grimer.

Robotnik soon stopped short at a familiar gurgle. He looked ahead, seeing a puddle of water before him that reformed into a familiar figure.

"Chaos?!" he exclaimed.

Chaos glowered at Robotnik before jumping at him, the good doctor's scream echoing through the jungle…

Angel Island

Meanwhile, Knuckles, Kat, Locke, and the Chaotix were gathered around the shrine. Knuckles and Kat were examining the Master Emerald, while Espio looked up at the sky, seeing dark clouds overhead..

"Looks like a storm's coming," Espio mused.

"And we don't have an umbrella," said Charmy.

"The perfect addition to an already sucky evening," Kat remarked as she knocked on the Emerald. "Come on, wake up Master Emerald."

"I don't get it, Dad," Knuckles remarked. "We found all the shards. The Master Emerald is whole again. So why isn't it working?"

"Perhaps there is still a piece missing," Locke hypothesized. "Not from its physical form, but from its essence."

"Like a dead battery?" Knuckles compared.

"I abhor comparing the Master Emerald to something as mundane as a battery, but yes."

"So how do we charge it?"

"Makes me wish we'd get another Tikal vision," Kat sighed. "Maybe she'd be able to provide some clue."

Before they could ponder the question further, they heard a loud crash. All eyes turned to see Robotnik sprawled on the ground nearby in a heap, the Egg Mobile toppled over.

"Eggman!" Everyone screamed.

Locke snapped his fingers and several Echidnas quickly surrounded the doctor.

"Th-this is terrible…" Robotnik stammered, getting up. "Chaos is…"

"Is what?" Locke demanded.

Julie-Su looked up, her eyes widening at what she saw. "RIGHT HERE!"

Mystic Ruins

Out in the jungle, Sonic and Tails were searching for the X-Tornado.

"You sure it's out here?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah," Tails confirmed. "I kinda ditched it when Sally called. I was in a bit of a rush."

As they went along, Sonic looked to the distance, seeing the clouds rolling overhead. What really caught his attention was Angel Island still floating in the sea.

"Wait a sec…" Sonic piped up. "Knuckles said he and the Chaotix had all the Master Emerald shards, didn't he?"

"Yeah…" Tails confirmed. "So why isn't Angel Island floating in the air?"

"The X-Tornado can wait," Sonic decided. "We should go check on things on the island."

Angel Island

In record time, the duo made it to the island, making a beeline for the altar of the Master Emerald. Sonic and Tails skidded to a stop to see Locke, Knuckles, and the Chaotix sprawled all over the place nursing several injuries, Robotnik seated and fuming near the Egg Mobile.

"Guys!" Sonic shouted.

He went over to Knuckles and Kat, shaking them both. After a minute, he shot an icy glare at Robotnik.

"What did you do?!" he demanded.

"You're blaming me for this?!" Robotnik shot back. "I'm just as much a victim as they are right now!"

"Yeah, right," Sonic scoffed. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't-"

"Chaos…"

Kat groaned, sitting up slowly. "It was Chaos…"

"Chaos?" Sonic questioned. "Here?"

"He stole our Chaos Emeralds…" Knuckles added.

"All of them?!" Tails exclaimed.

"Afraid so," Knuckles nodded.

"We tried to stop him, but he decimated us," Kat included.

"With the Anti-Chaos Nullifier destroyed, Chaos is out of my control," Robotnik chimed in. "He wants the Chaos Emeralds for himself, and now he's just one away from becoming the beast of the apocalypse."

"The X-Tornado!" Tails cried out.

He took off for the mainland, desperate to reach his plane.

"We've got to find it before he does!" Sonic insisted.

"You do that," Robotnik sneered. "I'm going to show that glorified puddle what happens when you betray me!"

He raced to the Egg Mobile, righting it and taking off. Kat was about to object when Knuckles held up a hand.

"Let him go. We've got bigger fish to fry right now. If Chaos gets that last Emerald, we're finished."

"No argument there," Sonic agreed.

"Then why are we just standing here?" Kat demanded. "We can't let Chaos do to Station Square what he did to the echidnas."

"Right," Sonic activated his com. "Sally, I don't have much time to explain. Chaos has resurfaced and on his way to getting a seventh Emerald. I need you and any available bodies to get to Station Square as fast as you can and get as many people out as possible."

"You got it," Sally confirmed.

As Sonic shut down the com, the red orb suddenly appeared, visible to everyone there. Sonic, Knuckles, and Kat gasped before everything went white…

-X-

When everything returned to normal, all of them blinked and rubbed their eyes.

"Aw man, not this again…" Sonic sighed.

"How many is this?" Kat asked. "I've lost count."

"You've seen this before?" Sonic questioned.

"Yeah," Knuckles confirmed. "We've had…" He counted on his fingers. "Three?"

It was then they heard a commotion, and looked ahead to see a commotion before the burning altar of the Master Emerald.

"Uh-oh…" Kat let out.

"This can't be good," Knuckles said.

Sonic thought back to his vision, his heart dropping into his stomach. "No… it's not."

They hurried forward, seeing Tikal and several Chao standing before the altar, blocking her father and several Knuckles Clan warriors.

"Get out of my way!" Pachacamac ordered.

"No!" Tikal shook her head.

"You will not heed your father's orders?!"

"I won't!"

"We need those Emeralds to defeat our enemies! It is for the good of our people!"

"No!" Tikal shook her head. "You only want them for your own selfish gain! I will not allow you to go down this path any further!"

"I told you to move!" Pachacamac roared.

"No!" Tikal was in tears at this point. "Greed is our enemy! Once it starts, you will always want more! You'll regret this forever, Father! I beg you to stop this!"

"I refuse to be swayed by the words of a child," Pachacamac dismissed. "The clan has made its choice, and we will seize the Emeralds."

He pointed with his spear. "Ready, men?! Charge!"

"Father!" Tikal screamed.

The echidnas all charged forward, trampling Tikal and the Chao in the process. The three observers could only watch in horror as they stormed the altar, grabbing at the Chaos Emeralds dotting the columns.

"His own daughter…" Sonic's fists clenched in disgust. "Never thought I could hate someone more than Eggman."

Knuckles just looked sick, gripping Kat's hand as he struggled not to lose his lunch. At that moment, the Master Emerald began to glow ominously. From the center of the gem emerged Chaos in his base form.

"What kind of vile demon is this?!" Pachacamac demanded in shock.

"Chaos…" Sonic, Knuckles, and Kat said in unison.

Chaos looked down at the fallen Chao and Tikal, his watery body boiling as he roared. A familiar wave of wrongness washed over the trio as the area grew cold. The Chaos Emeralds surrounding the altar dimmed, shimmering between their normal colors and pitch black before they were absorbed into his body. Darkened shadows washed over the entire altar, blinding everyone. When the shadows faded, everyone was left speechless. The Echidnas were all gone, but Pachacamac was laying off to the side, seemingly dead, as Tikal and the Chao lay strewn about.

"So that's how Chaos became the monster he is now…" Sonic realized.

They heard running footsteps, turning to see Solaran hurrying in at full speed.

"I remember this bit," Sonic remarked.

Solaran skidded to a stop, his jaw dropping in horror at the scene before him.

"No…" he gasped. "By Aurora, I'm too late! Patch, what have you done?!"

He hurried over to Tikal, gently gathering her up in his arms and shaking her.

"Tikal…" he urged. "Wake up… Please wake up!"

She groaned, slowly opening her eyes.

"Solaran?" she managed.

She sat up, tears in her eyes as she surveyed the damage. Picking up one of the trampled Chao, Tikal cradled it to her chest.

"This is awful... How could my father do something so horrible?"

Solaran looked over her bruised and battered form, and then at Pachacamac's body, fists clenching.

"Your own daughter... I never thought you'd stoop so low, Pachacamac," he spat.

Tikal wept as she cradled the dead Chao. "I knew this would end in disaster. Why, Father, why didn't you listen to me?"

They heard an ominous roar, looking to see a massive monster in the distance, prepared to lay waste to its surroundings.

"Oh no…" Tikal gasped. "Solaran, get me to the Emerald."

"What?" Solaran let out.

"Please! There's no time! I have to stop him!"

Solaran nodded, scooping her up and carrying her up the steps of the altar. Sonic, Knuckles, and Kat followed, arriving just as Solaran set Tikal down before the Master Emerald.

"My grandmother's prayer... I understand it now," Tikal explained. "The seven Chaos Emeralds... Unified by one that is the controller... The Master Emerald is our only hope."

"Tikal, what are you saying?" Solaran asked.

Tikal got into a praying position.

"The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, enriched by the heart, the controller serves to unify the Chaos."

The Master Emerald began to glow.

"Tikal!" Solaran cried, realizing what she was planning.

"Until his heart is purged of darkness, Chaos must be contained," Tikal insisted. "And someone must ensure he remains."

"But you'll be trapped with him for all time! Never to rest or move on!"

"That is a sacrifice I am willing to make, for the good of all of Mobius."

Realizing there was no other option, Solaran clenched his fists, tearing up slightly.

"Forgive me," he let out. "If it'd just tried harder, if Pachacamac had just listened to me from the start... none of this would be happening!"

"You did all you could," Tikal assured. "My father's crimes are his own."

She closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her face. "Just promise me… promise you'll protect the Emerald for me. Make sure it can never be used for ill again."

"I will," Solaran assured. "I'll ensure this tragedy never happens again. Your sacrifice will not be in vain, Tikal."

Tikal smiled as her body dissolved into red lights, dissipating into nothing.

"Thank you…" her ethereal voice came.

As she disappeared completely, Solaran, wiping tears from his eyes, knelt for a few moments, bowing his head in respect. That was when things began to fade out once more…

-X-

When reality returned, everyone was left completely stunned.

"Whoa…" Sonic let out.

"It all makes sense now," Knuckles said. "Chaos isn't a monster... he never was."

"He just went Dark…" Kat realized. "And he's been Dark this whole time."

Sonic nodded. "Pachacamac hurt his friends in front of him... and he's been wallowing in anger and despair all these years."

"And if he gets that last Emerald…" Knuckles began.

"Then he's gonna be unstoppable," Kat finished.

"We need to find that last Emerald yesterday." Sonic insisted.

Mystic Ruins

They hurried into the jungle, soon finding a clearing in the woods where Tails was standing before the X-Tornado.

"Tails!" Sonic cried. "Are we…?"

"It's alright, Sonic," Tails held up the seventh Emerald, smiling. "I got it!"

"Nice work," Sonic grinned. "Now let's get outta here!"

As Tails was heading back to them, the ground rumbled ominously before a massive geyser of water shot up, swallowing Tails and launching him into the air.

"TAILS!" everyone screamed.

Sonic wasted no time diving in after him. He grabbed hold of Tails' hand, trying to pull him out as Knuckles and Kat ran in themselves. Knuckles planted his feet, grabbing Kat's hand as she reached out for Sonic.

"Grab on!" she shouted.

Sonic's hand shot out of the geyser, grabbing hers as Knuckles pulled with all his might. All four of them landed in a large, sopping wet pile.

"Tails, are you okay?" Sonic asked.

"No, I'm not!" Tails cried. "He got it, Sonic! He took the Emerald!"

He held up his hand, revealing the Emerald was indeed gone. "He's got a full set of seven now. It's all over…"

Thunder cracked ominously as the four looked to the sky.

Station Square

The Freedom Fighters were talking with the police, who were doing what they could to get people to high ground. The kids came running in.

"The school's been cleared out," Keith informed them.

"Good," Sally sighed.

The com went off at that, Sally picking it up.

"Sally!" Sonic practically shouted. "Is everybody okay?!"

"Sonic? Yeah, but-"

"Listen! Chaos beat us to the last Emerald! You've gotta get outta there RIGHT NOW!"

"WHAT?!"

Just then, the entire street started to shake. Everyone looked in horror as a manhole exploded into the sky, a geyser of water shooting into the air.

"What the hell?!" One of the officers exclaimed. "Did a water main burst or something?!"

"It's him!" Mina shrieked.

"Everyone take cover!" Keith shouted.

Sam, who was among the police officers, grabbed his son and began running for a building Across the entire city, manholes were launched into the air by the sheer force of water, sending people screaming and running. The Freedom Fighters sprang into action, getting as many people to safety as they could as Station Square was flooded bit by bit. Many people were swallowed by the water, which tore through everything.

When it was all over, the city was a flooded ruin. Several windows on one wrecked building continued to blow out before a huge rush of water burst out, forming into the head of a monstrous creature. Its main body resembled a thick snake whose head, back and sides were covered in dark blue reptilian skin while its underbelly is clear liquid, and it had pointy liquid spikes protruding from its back. It possessed a large mouth with green razor-sharp teeth and a green tongue that extended far beyond its eyes, which were green and had slit-like pupils. It also had flaps of skin hanging from just behind its eyes, green horns on its nose area and behind its eyes, and a "fin" on top of its head containing its organic brain. Also, running from the base of its body to its back spikes and brain were green-glowing arteries. The base of its snake-like body ended in a flood of liquid with several liquid-composed tentacles extending from it. This was the form of Perfect Chaos, who observed the carnage before looking up at the overcast sky and letting out a loud, powerful roar.

Area 99

At GUN HQ, Commander Tower and several of his men observed a news report by Scarlet Garcia on the situation.

"Station Square is flooded! We don't know the exact cause of the disaster yet, but eyewitnesses reported that something went horribly wrong in the city's water system. As you can see, there's complete devastati- Oh my.. There's something down there…"

The screen showed an image of Perfect Chaos, roaring as he moved through the city.

"By Aurora... what is that thing?!" Tower demanded.

"Whatever it is, it's going to destroy the city!" Sarah exclaimed.

"And I doubt it'll stop there…"

"Then we need to stop it, now!" Tower shouted. "How long until we can mobilize fighters?!"

"Already on it," Topaz assured. "Your orders?"

"Do whatever it takes to stop that thing."

Station Square

At the Thorndyke Mansion, Laura, as well as Danny, Frances, Helen, and Sam Baker, had gathered with Chris' family. Sam was pacing around, talking with his father on his cell phone.

"The Commander's mobilizing to try to fight the monster?" he demanded. "Dad, he's sending them to their deaths! That thing decimated Station Square in less than a minute!"

"I'm trying, but can you honestly expect them to just sit on their hands and let that thing tear everything apart?" James questioned. "We have to do something."

"Here's something to do! Leave it to Sonic and the Freedom Fighters!"

"We can't depend on them all the time to solve our problems. You know that," James insisted. "You stay safe. It'll all be over soon. I love you."

"Love you too," Sam conceded.

He ended the call, then just barely stopped himself from chucking his phone into the wall in frustration. On the other side of the room, Hope was on the phone, trying to call her grandmother, but was getting nothing.

"Come on, pick up…" she pleaded. "Pick up! Grandma, please be okay…"

Laura was in the middle of a phone call with Sam Speed. Her shoulders sagged in relief.

"Keith's okay?" She sighed. "Oh thank you, merciful Aurora…"

"I'm not letting anything happen to our boy," Sam assured. "Let Lindsey and Nelson know Chris is alright too."

"I will," Laura promised. "All of you, be careful."

They all looked at the TV as Chaos continued his rampage.

"Where's Sonic when you need him?" Danny questioned.

Hope sighed, pocketing her phone. "Judging by all the stories I've heard, I don't think he can do a thing about it this time."

"But knowing Sonic, he'll find a way... somehow," Frances insisted.

On a rooftop in the city, the Freedom Fighters were overlooking the carnage when a Warp Ring opened up. Sonic jumped out, followed by Tails, Knuckles, and Kat.

"Oh Aurora," Kat managed.

"The mosaic didn't do Chaos justice…" Knuckles muttered.

"If I hadn't seen what we saw... I'd call Chaos a true monster," Sonic said.

"What are we going to do?" Knuckles demanded. "It's not like Kat can dunk Chaos until he mellows."

"Yeah. I'm mildly off balanced, not insane," Kat added.

Sonic looked among the others, relieved to see them all safe. His jaw dropped at the sight of Cream standing next to Amy.

"You brought Cream with you, Amy?" he demanded. "What were you thinking?!"

"Mr. Sonic, I'm sorry, but I couldn't just sit back and do nothing!" Cream defended.

Cheese was fluttering behind them, looking over Chaos with a sad chirp.

"If you've got a plan, Sonic, now's the time," Bunnie pleaded.

"I'm open to suggestions," Sonic told her.

A shadow suddenly passed overhead, and the group looked up to see what appeared to be the Egg Carrier flying in.

"The Egg Carrier?!" Antoine questioned. "Didn't you say it went down?"

"It did," Sonic recalled. "This must be his back-up."

Robotnik's voice then came over a loudspeaker.

"A successful evil genius always has a Plan B. That's why I have the Egg Carrier 2. The price for disloyalty to the Robotnik Empire is death, and it's time to pay up, Chaos!"

"So…" Johnny let out, "what are the odds that he'll actually make any dent?"

"You kidding?" Sticks snorted. "There's a hole in that plan you could drive a tank through."

"Meaning?" Shorty prompted.

"The simple fact that Eggman himself bragged to us that his Egg Carrier would be nothing compared to Chaos at full power."

There was a moment of silence.

"...For an evil genius, he sure is dumb," Rotor remarked.

The Egg Carrier 2 fired many missiles at Perfect Chaos, but they were quickly deflected by a force field that the monstrosity summoned to defend himself with. The creature then followed up with a massive beam of Chaos energy from its mouth that sliced through the Egg Carrier 2 like a hot knife through butter. The machine began crashing down in a matter of seconds, smashing into one of the sky scrapers, Robotnik ejecting at the last second. The Freedom Fighters looked on, their hope fleeting as several GUN planes tried, only to be shot down themselves.

"Mon dieu…" Antoine let out. "We are fini… (1)"

"Game over, man!" Porker cried. "Game over!"

"Well…" Sally sighed in resignation, "as they say, grace is the acceptance of the inevitable."

"Yeah?" Sonic piped up, turning to them. "Well, I don't 'accept'. It's not over until it's over."

"Sonic…" Sally began.

"No!" Sonic cut her off. "It's not over for me until my last breath!"

His lightning began to spark a brilliant blue.

"Sonic, Chaos is more powerful than any of us," Tails pointed out. "He destroyed the city and shot down the Egg Carrier like it was nothing."

"So you'd rather do nothing?" Sonic demanded. "You'd rather sit back and cry for help, lay down and die? I have a saying for you all. I got it from a fortune cookie. 'Fall down seven times, get up eight.' You know what that means? That means you don't ever just lie there. You always get up. You always come back for more. You never surrender. Maybe you die, but you never surrender. And even if we can't win this, at least we go out in a blaze of glory."

The others looked on, taking in his words.

"Like my Uncle Chuck always told me: when life gets tough, you keep on running. Now, are you gonna go out fighting, or on your knees begging? I don't know about you guys, but I've never been much for begging."

Just then, the red lights that had been following the group for the past few days began to show themselves. All eyes turned as they began to form together.

"Spoken like a true member of the hedgehog tribe," came a familiar voice.

They gathered up into a swirling mass, coalescing into the form of Tikal.
"It's you…" Sonic managed.

"Those lights, the visions, it's been you this entire time," Knuckles realized.

Tikal nodded. "Yes, and it's good to see Solaran's convictions live on through his descendants."

The only reason Sonic wasn't thrown for a loop at that reveal was because he'd already begun to suspect it himself. Tikal looked up at Chaos sadly.

"Since the day of my father's invasion, I've journeyed across the seas of eternal time with Chaos to help keep his power under control. His heart is filled with anger and sorrow, and if it continues, he will eventually destroy all of Mobius."

"Then what do we do?" Knuckles asked.

"There's only one thing we can do," Tikal replied. "Contain him within the Master Emerald once more."

"No!" Sonic insisted. "That won't work. It'll keep him contained, but it won't change how he feels inside. His heart will remain in turmoil, and his anger just won't vanish. He'll just be trapped forever, wallowing in his own sorrow and pain until someone else breaks it and the whole mess starts all over again. We need to remind him of who he used to be."

"The kind, gentle guardian of the Chao," Cream added.

"Get him to open his heart to love and compassion again," Kat said.

"And show him everything's gonna be alright," Sonic concluded.

At that moment, Chaos roared and the Emeralds were spat out of him, rendered gray and lifeless.

"No!" Tikal cried. "He's absorbed the Emeralds' power!"

The Emeralds begin raining down, and the Freedom Fighters quickly spread out to get them.

"Not quite," Sonic said. "I've seen them like that before, when I went Dark. He only used the negative power of the Emeralds. The positive is still there, and that's all I need."

"Sonic!" Amy cried, running up with one of the gray Emeralds. "I found one."

One by one, the Freedom Fighters all gathered the Emeralds and brought them to him. Before long, he had six.

"Hey!"

They looked up, seeing Robotnik in the Egg Mobile. He held up the final one before tossing it to them.

"You need this more than I do right now," he said.

Sonic blinked. "Wait, you're serious?"

"I'm evil, not insane," Robotnik replied. "You're the only chance any of us have, so do what you do best and stop that thing."

"Never thought I'd say this, but… thanks, Eggman."

"Don't mention it. Ever."

Across the city, the survivors on the rooftops and shelters began to cheer Sonic on. The Emeralds began to react to the cheers, regaining their usual color and luster.

"It's working!" Tikal exclaimed. "Their selflessness and belief is restoring the Emeralds!"

"Caring and love is stronger than hate and anger," Sally said. "And that's how Sonic is gonna beat Chaos."

The repowered Emeralds began spinning around Sonic before they were absorbed into his body. He floated up, his fur turning yellow and his clothes white as he pointed at Chaos.

"Time to save the world, Super Sonic style!"

He darted right at Chaos. Chaos roared, sending out a jet of water so powerful that it tore through a building. Sonic shot right through it, going through Chaos' body before bursting out of his head and hitting the brain. Unfortunately, even his Super State was not enough to pierce far into the gelatinous body. Chaos lashed out with a tentacle, slapping him into a building. As Sonic was shaking off the cobwebs, he was ensnared, Chaos beginning to constrict him. After a minute of struggling, Sonic smirked, beginning to spark.

"Physics 101, Chaos! What happens when you mix water with electricity?"

The blue Chaos lightning began to rip through Chaos, causing him to cry out in pain before tossing Sonic aside. Sonic flew back, focusing to keep the charge going.

"Looks like I've found his weakness. Time for some righteous power to cut through the hate in your heart!"

He charged in, Chaos firing a beam to counter it. Sonic struggled against it, overpowering him bit by bit.

"Your path of destruction ends here, Chaos," he said. "Here's hoping after this, you go back to the way you were before."

Finally, Chaos was overwhelmed by energy, exploding as a result. People all over cheered as Sonic landed back with his friends, powering down as the waters receded. A puddle began to form, reverting to Chaos in his base form. Everyone was tense, but Cheese let out a happy wail before flying over to him. Chaos looked at the Chao, gurgling and gently patting his head.

"Looks like Chaos changed again," Knuckles mused. "This time, for the better."

"Indeed," Tikal confirmed.

Several familiar chirps reached their ears, and the gang looked to see numerous Chao emerge from the water, floating over to Chaos and gathering around him. He looked around, happy for the first time in four thousand years.

"These are the Chao you kept watch over," Tikal told him, approaching. "They stayed alive for generations and now live peacefully with humans and Mobians alike."

Upon seeing the echidna, Chaos' face grew remorseful. He lowered his head, gurgling again as he bowed before her.

"You weren't yourself, old friend," Tikal assured. "Nor have you been for centuries."

He lifted his head, surprised. She just smiled at him, holding out her hand.

"The fighting's over. Harmony's restored, and life goes on. It's time for us to go."

Chaos nodded, then his eyes fell on Cream. Sensing his intent, Cheese flew over, tugging on Cream's skirt.

"Chaos wants to see me?" she asked.

Chaos nodded. Cream approached, looking up at him curiously. Chaos raised a finger, which glowed weakly as he gently tapped her forehead. She blinked as a shiver passed through her.

"What was that?" she questioned.

"You have been marked by Chaos," Tikal explained. "He has chosen you to be his priestess like I was in my lifetime."

"Priestess?" Cream asked.

Chaos nodded and gave a gurgle, causing Cream to gasp.

"I understood you!" she exclaimed.

"Whoa…" Sonic let out.

"So... I can talk to Chao now?" Cream asked, getting a nod from Tikal.

Chaos let out another gurgle, and Cream curtsied to him.

"Yes, of course," she assured. "I'll watch over the Chao in your place."

Chaos nodded, ruffling her ears gently.

"Come, my friend," Tikal urged. "It's time to return."

Chaos nodded, going to her. Hand in hand, the two walked out into the ocean, slowly fading from sight. In the distance, a rumble sounded, and Angel Island rose skyward once more.

Knuckles! The island!" Kat exclaimed.

"So that's what was missing," Knuckles realized. "Chaos and Tikal."

Cheese chirped, and Cream perked.

"Hmm?" she asked. "Chaos left something in the water?"

Cheese nodded.

"I got it," Rotor assured.

He dove in, resurfacing with what appeared to be an emerald-green egg with a glittering jewel texture.

"Is… that what I think it is?" Tekno asked.

"It's a Chao egg," Rotor confirmed.

"Not just any egg," Cream realized. "Chaos'."

They blinked at that.

"Wait," Mina piped up. "I thought Chaos was a boy."

"For Chao, it doesn't really matter," Cream explained.

"And isn't Chaos a deity?" Amy asked. "I don't think logic plays a part with him."

Cheese took the egg, floating over to Knuckles and offering it to him.

"You want me to take it?" he questioned.

"Well, Chaos does reside in the Master Emerald," Cream pointed out. "And this egg is his, so it only makes sense."

Knuckles nodded, taking it. The Chao that had appeared before flocked to the egg, circling around it and harmonizing.

"If we're going to take the egg, we may need to make a Chao Garden of our own," Kat said. "And a big one."

"You'll need a clean environment with lots of fresh water," Cream informed them.

"Azure Lake will do nicely," Knuckles decided.

As this went on, the rest of the Freedom Fighters surveyed the damage to the city.

"Well, Station Square's seen better days, but the worst is over," Sonic said.

"No doubt Eggman got away," Tails mused. "Off to plan some other way to take over the world."

"If he shows his massive backside again, we'll be ready for him," Sonic assured.

Knothole

Later, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix had gathered outside, sitting in numerous chairs. Vanilla was among them, smiling proudly as Cream walked down the aisle to where Sonic and Sally were standing.

"Cream the Rabbit, despite your young age, you've shown much courage and compassion, and gone above and beyond the call of duty to aid those in need," Sally said. "It's with great pride that I name you an honorary Freedom Fighter."

Cream beamed happily as Sonic knelt down, gently pinning a badge bearing the crest of the Kingdom of Acorn to her dress right above her heart.

"Welcome to the team, squirt," he told her. "You've earned it."

The people cheered and applauded as Cream waved, laughing happily.

Author's Note:

What a beautiful end to the Chaos arc. And yes, that egg will play a part in future chapters. Stay tuned.

Next few chapters will be breathers, dealing with the aftermath of Perfect Chaos' attack and the like.

Also, as for Solaran, he's actually based on a character in Sonic the Comic. Bravehog, also Sonic's ancestor; his name is a reference to the movie Braveheart. Author of the Insane convinced me to change his name; we'll find out more about him and his life in later arcs.

Please R&R. Until next time!