-Chapter 156-

Casino of Calamity

Azure Lake

At Azure Lake, Lara-Le had taken it upon herself to care for the remaining Chao. All of them were fidgety and nervous. Team Chronic was with her, trying to keep the peace, but even they are noticeably somber. Lara gave them a small smile.

"Now, now. Calm down," she soothed. "Sonic and the Freedom Fighters are on the case. They'll get Drake and your friends back."

As she said this, the water of the lake began to ripple. She looked out, and went pale when she saw Chaos himself rising out of the lake. He gurgled softly, seemingly normal until he got a look around. His demeanor became confused, then he turned to Chronic. He gurgled something as if asking a question, and Chronic chirped a response. Chaos suddenly stiffened, and his green eyes began to turn red. Sensing the rising danger, Lara-Le began to back away as Chaos' body began to boil from his rage. He reeled back, unleashing a powerful, frenzied roar (1). As if reacting to his anger, a massive spout of water shot up from the lake behind him. As he came out of the roar, the Chao all pounced on him, chirping frantically as they clung to him. They all sounded desperate and scared, pleading eyes all locked on their god. Lara-Le carefully got up, approaching Chaos.

"I-... I know you're upset…" she began. "But everyone is out trying to find Drake. Him, all the other Chao who were taken, and Kathryn… all of them will be found. So please... do not give into your anger."

Chocola, who had come to the garden to help Team Chronic, flew up to Chaos and began talking to him. He turned to face him, listening a bit, then nodded. He then dropped back into the lake and vanished. Lara-Le watched him go, then turned to the brown Chao.

"Just what did you tell him?" she asked.

Chocola held up his nubs so they looked like bunny ears.

"Sent him to find Cream. Good plan. If anyone can soothe his troubled soul, it's her."

Empire City

Meanwhile, Teams Rose and Chaotix had just emerged in Empire City outside the old Chaotix Detective Agency building. Cheese perked, stiffening as he felt a disturbance in the air. He tugged on Cream's dress.

"Cheese, what is it?" Cream asked.

He chirped and Cream gasped, covering her mouth.

"Oh no…"

Amy perked, seeing Cream and Cheese's expressions

"Uh-oh... Chaos found out that Drake's been taken, didn't he?"

Cream nodded. "And Daddy's very angry."

Everyone exchanged worried looks, remembering all too well what happened last time Chaos was angry.

Robotropolis

At Citadel Robotnik, Eggatha was passing out food to the prisoners, along with painkillers to the semi-conscious Kat. Suddenly, Kat's eyes snapped wide open, and she bolted upright in the bedroll with a gasp.

"Shit!" she exclaimed. "Damn it, Metal, now you've done it!"

Nik popped out of Robotnik's coat, chirping frantically as Pitch came out of Eggatha's hair, in similar hysterics. The three villains were confused.

"What is it?" Eggatha demanded. "What's wrong?"

"Nearly a dozen Chao were kidnapped with me, and Drake was with them," Kat explained.

Eggatha raised an eyebrow. "Drake?"

Kat turned to them all. "Chaos' son."

"He has a son?!" Grimer exclaimed.

Kat nodded.

"His egg was laid after Super Sonic put a stop to his rampage. He was the target of the attack on the Azure Lake Chao Garden… and Chaos just found out. Even with my Chaos Energy in flux, I can feel the sudden shift, like the world just took a Dark turn. Capital D."

"So... the Chao god is active."

They turned to see Neo Metal at the door, a smirk on his muzzle. "Good."

"You wanted Chaos to resurface?!" Robotnik snatched up his empty cup, throwing it at Metal in a rage. "YOU FOOL!"

"He's an essential part of my plan," Metal replied simply, not even phased by the cup. "And if he's so drawn to these Chao, I may have a way of drawing him out."

That made everyone's blood run cold at that.

"The Syphon…" Kat gasped. "No! Put me in it, not them! I'm a Guardian, his Guardian! He'll come for me! Use me!"

Metal contemplated the idea for a few moments.

"Metal, please," Eggatha begged. "The Chao are innocent. If you have even a tiny iota of feeling left, you won't hurt them."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Aggie... but I don't."

"Come on, you Aurora-damned rust bucket!" Kat slammed her trapped arms against the bars. "Take me and leave them alone!"

After a minute, Metal shrugged. "If you pine for it, who am I to deny you? If what you say is true, Chaos will come to me either way."

He opened the cell and grabbed Kat, dragging her out.

"I hope you do have a soul in there, Metal," she spat. "So you can burn in hell for this."

Metal just scoffed as the door slammed shut behind them. Eggatha looked after him sadly.

"What happened to you, Metal?" she asked aloud. "Was it the power of the Neo form that turned you rabid... or is it something else?"

"Whatever it is, for once, I hope Sonic comes," Robotnik growled. "And when he takes down Metal, I'm throwing him in the smelter."

He gathered Nik in his arms, trying to soothe the Chao.

Ocean Palace

Back at the Ocean Palace, Sonic and Knuckles slowly came around. As they sat up, they saw Tails and Team Dark standing off to the side, on the com-link.

"Alright, we're on our way, Amy," Tails concluded.

They ended the link, the group turning to see Sonic and Knuckles standing up.

"Welcome back," Rouge greeted.

Neither of them said anything, but Knuckles stalked right over to Omega. He grabbed the robot, slamming him into a wall.

"Just whose side are you on, machine?!" he demanded. "Why the hell did you do that?!"

"You two almost went Dark," Hope explained. "If Omega hadn't gassed you, Metal and his plan would've been the least of our problems."

"We could have ended it there, Hope!" Sonic objected. "Destroyed Metal and stopped all this!"

"At what cost?" Shadow demanded. "Losing yourselves to rage and grief? Imagine what the two of you could do if allowed to spiral like that."

They took that in. Knuckles sighed, pulling away from Omega.

"We've got another thing to worry about right now, Sonic," Hope informed them. "Chaos knows that Drake's been kidnapped, and he's out for blood."

"Damn…" Knuckles cursed. "I thought I felt something off in the air."

"I just assumed that was us," Sonic remarked.

"Same here, but if Chaos is loose-"

"Chaos?" Shadow asked. "Drake?"

Hope held up a finger. "Allow me to borrow him for a minute."

She took Shadow aside, bringing him up to speed as the others discussed the situation.

"Metal just had to stir Chaos up, didn't he?" Sonic muttered bitterly.

"That walking scrap heap is trying to destroy the planet," Knuckles insisted. "That's all I can figure."

"I get the feeling Chaos is just one part of this plan," Rouge voiced, "a plan that's getting more and more convoluted."

"The Chaotix have offered one useful bit of information," Omega informed them. "Metal Sonic is currently in Empire City."

"Did they give specifics?" Sonic asked.

"A region known as Casino Park."

Sonic perked at that, his eyes widening.

"Casino Park?" Tails repeated. "Isn't that-?"

"The capital of Breeze Media…" Sonic finished, his voice laced with dread. "Breezie's in the main office there!"

He took off so fast he left a sonic shaped dust cloud in his wake.

"Sonic!" Tails shouted.

"Damn it, we have to catch him!" Knuckles snapped.

Shadow saw Sonic running off and quickly turned to Hope. He pulled her onto his back piggyback style, then took off after him.

"I'll help him! Catch up when you can!"

"Damn it…" Tails let out. "I haven't been to Empire City. Looks like we're getting there the old-fashioned way."

He pulled out the Miles Electric, pressing a button.

Casino Park

Meanwhile, Sonic arrived in Casino Park, Shadow not far behind. They took in the sight of what was essentially a giant casino lit with neon lights. Scattered about were giant pinball tables and roulette wheels, as well as rotating dice platforms.

"So this is Casino Park," Shadow mused. "Fitting, I suppose."

"Sonic, where is Breezie's office?" Hope asked.

"Straight shot through the BINGO Highway from here. Follow me."

They headed in, only to be cut off by multiple Badniks. An Egg-Robo floated overhead, speaking in Metal's voice.

"Sonic, welcome. Why don't you have some fun while you can? After all, you only have two days left, and we all know who's going to win!"

"What's the matter, Metal?" Sonic taunted. "Too scared to face me after Knuckles and I wiped the floor with you?"

"I simply have other matters to attend to at the moment. But the Horde is more than willing to play." The Egg Robo pointed directly at the trio. "Get them!"

The Badniks immediately began swarming.

"Hope, make for BINGO Highway," Sonic ordered. "Shadow and I will handle these goons."

Hope hesitated before nodding and hurrying away. Sonic and Shadow scooted back to back, the Badniks surrounding them on all sides.

"So... think you can handle this many bots?" Sonic asked Shadow.

"Well…" Shadow pondered, "might be tough if one more shows up."

"Just follow my lead."

He took a deep breath, focusing, and was soon surrounded in blue lightning. Shadow did the same, red sparks surrounding his own body.

"What in the…?"

"I'll explain later! Let's do this!"

They began rapidly running around the Badniks before them, forming a pulsating red-and-blue electrical field in the center of both their orbits. The energy began to rise, gathering into a massive ball of pure energy. Just as it reached critical mass, the entire thing exploded, killing all of the power for a good two blocks, including the Badniks. The two hedgehogs stopped, taking in the blacked out areas.

"Whoops," Sonic let out. "We might've overdid it a little."

"Worry about that later," Shadow insisted. "Right now, we need to catch up to Hope."

"Shouldn't be too hard."

They took off.

After meeting up with Hope, the group headed down the BINGO Highway, soon coming across the Breeze Media building, virtually identical to the one in Studiopolis, but a few acres bigger.

"Here it is," Sonic noted. "Where Breezie started out."

"I'm sure she's okay," Hope assured. "And I'm positive she's not involved in this. Not after last time."

With that, they hurried in, looking around.

"It's quiet," Shadow muttered. "Too quiet."

"Hello?" Hope called. "Is anyone here?"

They hurried up to the top floor, where Breezie's office was. Hearing noises, Sonic kicked the door open.

"Breezie!" he shouted.

All three blinked to see her at her desk, casually looking over the latest profits.

"Uh…" Hope let out. "Miss Breezie?"

Breezie looked up, perking.

"Oh!" she let out. "Hello, Sonic. I heard about the Badnik attacks. I already sent my staff home for their safety."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you remained?"

"I had a feeling you'd come by and check on me, especially after that incident with Sonic Man," Breezie explained. "Plus, risks have to be taken in order to keep the company running."

Sonic shrugged. "I hope you don't mind if we take a look around."

Breezie shook her head. "Not at all."

She stepped aside as the trio spread out, looking over the office carefully. As Sonic's back was turned, looking under the desk, he missed a malicious smirk spread across Breezie's face. Her arm raised as her hand began to transform and change, the fingers sharpening and combining until her forearm had turned into a wicked metal blade. She crept up, preparing to run Sonic through. Shadow happened to glance back and his eyes widened. As if on instinct, he summoned a Chaos Spear into his hand.

"Sonic!" he shouted.

Sonic turned and Shadow threw the spear, getting 'Breezie' right through the chest. She stumbled back, revealing a gaping hole through her torso oozing liquid metal. Hope gasped.

"It's him!" she cried. "It's Metal!"

"Metal…" Instantly, Sonic's lightning had turned black. "First Kat, now Breezie?"

Seeing he was found out, "Breezie" scowled, shifting into Neo Metal's form as the hole closed.

"I knew your cousin wouldn't help me voluntarily. So I took matters into my own hands."

"What did you do to her?!" Sonic demanded.

"Oh, relax. She's still alive. But she's a bit tied up at the moment."

Hope was already running off to find her.

"Sonic, don't lose yourself," Shadow insisted. "Don't go down that path."

"What. Did. You. Do?" Sonic hissed.

Metal shrugged. "Like I said, she's still alive. I just gave her a tap on the head, tied her up, and locked her in the broom closet."

"See?" Shadow asked. "She's okay. You don't need to do anything rash."

Metal snorted. "Those words ring hollow coming from you, Shadow."

Sonic's heart skipped a beat as Shadow looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, the Freedom Fighters kept you in the dark, did they?" Metal questioned. "They didn't tell you about how you almost destroyed all of Mobius?"

Shadow's jaw dropped as he went pale. "I… what?!"

"You were so angry, so sad over the loss of one little girl that you decided to send a space station on a collision course with the planet," Metal informed him casually. "Had it succeeded, this planet would be a dead rock."

"Me?!" Shadow exclaimed, clutching his head. "I... I can't believe…"

He dropped to one knee from the shock.

"You're a monster, Shadow!" Metal taunted, cackling. "A murderer! No better than me! We're one and the same!"

"No!" Sonic shouted, stamping his foot. "He's nothing like you! Shadow was brainwashed into doing that! And the second he broke free, he gave his life to save everyone! He's not a monster! Not like you, a sadistic machine getting his rocks off torturing an innocent girl and angering a freaking GOD!"

"All a means to an end, Sonic. In two days, you'll see what I mean."

"How about I junk you right now, and stop your little scheme right here?!"

"You have bigger problems. Like the Ultimate Lifeform's little moral crisis." He then perked as if remembering something. "Oh, and the bomb I placed somewhere in Breezie's office building."

Sonic and Shadow both perked at that.

"So what's more important? Catching me, or stopping the new and improved Egg Bombom from reducing Casino Park to a smoking crater?"

Sonic looked back at the building, then at Metal.

"Damn you…" he cursed.

He grabbed Shadow's arm and they sped off.

Meanwhile, Hope was running back and forth down each hallway, opening doors left and right in the hopes of finding Breezie. After no luck, she perked, putting a hand to her ear as she heard a faint pounding. Following the sound to the janitor's closet, she opened the door, and promptly jumped back with a yelp as Breezie fell out, tied up with thick rope and gagged with duct tape. She quickly flipped the older woman over, yanking the duct tape off. Breezie yelped in pain.

"Okay, ow!" she let out. "Why don't you just rip my lips off while you're at it?"

"Sorry, gotta get the hang of that." Hope got to work untying Breezie.

"Who's with you?" Breezie asked.

"Sonic and Shadow."

Breezie gasped. "Shadow?!"

"He's good now, I swear," She struggled to undo a particularly tight knot. "Damn, this is good knotting. If he wasn't a Badnik, I'd swear Metal was a Raptor Hawk Scout (2)."

Finally, she managed to get it done. The second she did, a black and red blur grabbed both her and Breezie, getting them out of the building. As they got their bearings, a blue blur zipped through the entire building, searching for the bomb. Eventually, Sonic found the bomb, mere seconds from exploding, on the roof.

"I don't know how to defuse this thing…" he realized. "Damn it! What am I gonna do?!"

After a minute, he got an idea. In desperation, he began running as fast as he could around the bomb, whipping up a Blue Tornado. As the wind picked up, Sonic focused his speed, beginning to spark as he compressed the air pressure of the vortex around the bomb. The bomb exploded, the force somehow contained within a cocoon of speed that Sonic kept up as best he could. When the blast finally trickled out, Sonic stopped running, flopping to the ground in front of the others.

"Sonic!" Hope cried.

"He'll be fine," Breezie assured. "He just needs rest and to regain some lost calories."

"I got him." Shadow reached for him, but Breezie beat him to it.

"I can take care of my cousin." she insisted.

As Breezie picked Sonic up, Shadow sighed, turning to Hope.

"I know," he informed her, Hope immediately realizing what he meant.

"About what you did? The ARK incident? But how-?"

"Metal Sonic told me everything in the office," Shadow said bluntly.

"Shadow…" Hope took his hand. "Listen to me. You weren't yourself when you did that. Your mind had been tampered with, and you were turned into a weapon, but you broke free and saved everyone."

Sonic weakly raised his head at that.

"Hope's right," he insisted. "Your past, what you were created for, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now."

"And you chose to be a hero, to join GUN and make things right," Hope held out a hand. "And I say that makes you good in my book."

Shadow hesitated before taking that hand. Sonic winced, a hand going to his growling stomach.

"I, uh... don't suppose anyone has a bite to eat on hand?" he asked.

Hope held up a finger, fishing into her jacket.

"Here. We all started carrying them after what happened on Cocoa Island." She pulled out a SPEED Energy bar. "Your Uncle Chuck cooked them up."

Sonic immediately grabbed it, tearing off the wrapper and chomping down.

"Aside from your cousin, why was Metal here?" Shadow pondered. "What purpose did Casino Park serve in his plan?"

Sonic and Hope exchanged looks, realization dawning.

"A diversion," Hope realized. "Locking up Breezie, the bomb... He was stalling for time!"

"Damn it!" Sonic cursed. "That's why he didn't actively fight us! He just manipulated us and kept us busy!"

"And we fell for it!" Hope exclaimed.

Robotropolis

At Citadel Robotnik, Metal strolled in. Kat was still strapped into the Chaos Syphon.

So... Chaos still hasn't arrived." he noted.

"He's a god…" Kat spat. "Got better things... to do than... squash tin cans…"

"One way or another, I will draw him out. I suppose it's time to bring out the heavy artillery."

He threw the lever, cranking the setting up to four. Kat actually whimpered when she saw that, tensing herself for what was to come…

Empire City

As the Badnik Horde was called back, Teams Rose and Chaotix had managed to capture Scratch. Vector had him pinned to the wall.

"Last chance, Scratch," the croc warned. "Tell us what we want to know, and I might not bite your head off."

For emphasis, he opened his jaws wide, positioning them right over Scratch's head.

"You think I'm scared of you?" Scratch asked, unintimidated. "Your jaw may be big, but all it's good for is talking."

"We're not playing around here!" Amy brought the Piko Piko Hammer down on Scratch's left foot. He screamed in pain, hopping up and down. "Now start clucking, or your toes won't be the only thing I flatten!"

"Oof, someone's got a temper on her," Scratch mocked. "No wonder Sonic chose the princess over a psycho brat like you."

That was the mother of all cheap-shots. Amy's eye twitched before a vein popped in her forehead. The Piko Piko Hammer began to enlarge in response to her rage.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Immediately, Mighty had to physically restrain her.

"I'd start talking," he warned. "I don't know how long I can hold her."

"You kidding? She smashes me and you get nothing."

As he was talking, a shadow began to rise up behind them all.

"There's nothing any of you can do to make me… make… me…"

Scratch trailed off, gulping.

"Uh... what was it you wanted to know?"

They blinked in confusion before everyone turned to see Chaos standing behind them. His expression was calm, though his eyes were a dull red, and one could almost feel the wave of blistering fury that came from the Chao god. Vector immediately seized the opportunity.

"What is Metal Sonic doing with the Chao?" he demanded.

"He figured that your watery friend would be drawn to them if he grabbed them," Scratch replied quickly. "He found one with a butt-ton of Chaos energy and snagged it. He's using them as a lure."

"Drake…" Cream realized.

"So this is all so he can lure Chaos to him?" Big asked. "But why? Dr. Eggman tried controlling him once already, and it didn't work."

"He doesn't want to control him," Scratch clarified. "He wants to drain him of all his Chaos Energy and take it for himself. Make himself an all powerful mechanical god."

"The Chaos Syphon…" Julie-Su let out.

Chaos gurgled threateningly.

"Is Drake hurt?" Cream translated.

"No, he isn't," Scratch assured. "None of the Chao have been harmed. Last I heard, Psycho Kat's been taking all the hits for 'em." He scoffed. "Serves her right. I hope she croaks in that thing."

Chaos' fist slammed into the wall less than an inch from Scratch's head, shutting him up.

"Anything else?" Espio questioned.

Scratch looked left and right nervously.

"...I'm the one who keeps leaking in the middle of the night, not Cubot." he confessed.

They all looked disgusted at that.

"Okay, TMI," Charmy let out. "I think that's all he knows."

Vector slammed him hard into the wall. With him dealt with, Cream turned to Chaos.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Your eyes are all red."

Chaos gurgled for a few moments.

"I see," Cream nodded. "You're scared and worried for Drake. Chocola sent you to find me."

Chaos scooped her up, holding her against his chest.

"I got you," she assured. "I won't let you slip. I promise."

She hugged him. Almost immediately, Chaos seemed to relax, his eyes reverting to their usual green.

"I guess Cream is Chaos' Froggy," Big mused. "His friend to keep him happy."

"Looks like, and all for the better," Amy agreed. "Last thing we need is another Dark Chaos."

"C'mon," Ray cut in. "We need to find out where Metal was headed next. We're running out of time."

They all headed off with their new companion in tow.

Author's Note:

(1): Think like the Creeper's screech in Jeepers Creepers.

(2): Mobian equivalent to the Eagle Scouts.

Now Chaos has returned! Can they stop Metal Sonic's insidious plot?

Please R&R. Until next time!