Sonic was leaping from tree to tree, avoiding a large tail that aimed at flattening him. He had been admiring a stunning lake just a few minutes ago, but now he was running across it while dodging rapid-fire dark purple energy balls that were being hurled at him. The mighty roar was heard yet again, grabbing the attention of anyone who dared to ignore it. It was relentless and left no room for Sonic to breathe, but Sonic didn't mind the challenge. No, the blue hedgehog was not troubled by its power and versatility, but rather by what it was, and the memories that are etched along with it.
"Didn't think I'd be taking a trip down memory lane so often today," Sonic began as he jumped back onto the opposite side of the lake. "No objections of course! I love surprises, so keep shootin' your shots as many times as you'd like, Prototype!"
As if to respond, his enemy, the infamous 'BioLizard' charged up an attack that grew in spurts. Sonic was far too excited to wait this out and charged his enemy at full speed, crossing the lake yet again. The speedster was going to speed boost his way toward his weak spot, but the threat didn't allow the energy ball to grow its preferred size. Instead, it lifted its long neck into the air, stretching it to its full height, the attack it charged writhed upon the growth of its ever-abundant exuberance and so shot out miniature beams wildly with reckless abandon. Sonic tried to swerve away from the attacks but a large beam struck the lake causing a large wave to overtake Sonic's balance and footing. He shot backward into the lake with ease as water poured down from the blast. The shrunken orb grew yet again, the enemy planning on executing its obstacle with a finishing blow.
Underwater, an annoyed Sonic sat at the bottom of the lake finger tapping one of his crossed arms. His adrenaline simmered as the water cooled him down, as it always does when in situations like this. No one else to blame but him quite frankly, running across a lake probably wasn't the best idea, though to be fair to him, he had no idea he would be shot at by several. He noticed the water began to darken and glanced up with a comical frown before his eyes widened with horror. He saw that the beast charged up his attack again.
"Shoot!" He yelled underwater, barely distinguishable. He got up to run, but for a split second forgot that...
Oh yeah...water
As he struggled to stay afloat in the lake, he quickly searched for anything he could use as leverage to get out of the water. His search was fruitful as he spotted some rigid rocks near the edge of the lake. As time passed, the water grew darker and he became more desperate to get out. He moved as carefully as possible so as not to create any drag. Finally, he managed to push off the rocks and propel himself towards the edge. He made it just in time to climb out of the water and take a large gasp of air, but the clock regardless ticked by.
"I forgot, ugh, just how clever you're capable of being." Sonic got up and prepared to try attacking it again. "But we beat you once, we'll do it again." Sonic dashed once more toward the danger.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"[Arrived at Amy Rose's home.]"
Shadow, Omega, and Rouge finally reached her house. The silent hedgehog decided to call her and waited for her to pick up her phone.
"Her oddly quiet home, you mean." Rouge sassily stated. "After our little exchange, I expected a far more explosive welcome."
Shadow patiently waited while his phone rang. As he did, he noticed movement through one of her windows. Finally, Amy answered with a tired exhale.
[Hello Shadow! Thank goodness you called, I managed to put the Emerald somewhere safe but it's still acting weird!]
"We're outside your house. What's the situation?"
The door to her house swung open roughly to reveal a comically surprised Amy whose eyes were as wide as saucers looking back at him. She hung up right after a few seconds of silence.
"Huh?!?!" She was utterly puzzled. "How did you get here so fast?! Did you use Chaos Control?!"
"What are you talking about?" Rouge asked.
Shadow's eyes were slightly widened by her reaction. "We received your call some ten minutes ago. What do you mean 'how'd we get here so fast'?"
"That can't be right! I called you ten seconds ago!"
The team's faces were riddled with confusion and surprise.
"You're joking."
"Do I look like I'm joking, Rouge!" Amy huffed. "Besides, why would I lie about such a thing? If you want proof, I'll gladly hand over my communicator so you can see for yourself!"
Shadow walked up to her as she pulled up her call logs to prove to him that yes, to his confusion, she did indeed call them ten seconds ago.
"Amy, since finding this emerald, you've said you and the others were dealing with troubling situations. Could you tell us what exactly it is that's been happening?"
"Ugh, It's...a real doozy..." Amy rasped, she looked as though she tended after a large group of children all on her own. This didn't sit well with Shadow. "Follow me, I'll show you what I mean." They all entered her house after her and continued to her room, which she welcomed all of them in. Cream and Cheese sat on top of a sleeping Big The Cat patiently watching over the emerald protected by a floral casing whilst Gemerl tried scanning it but would exit out of his scans almost every time. Cream turned to see Amy back with the three and wore a large bright smile.
"Mr. Shadow! Ms. Rouge! Mr. Omega!" She hugged each one lovingly, each person not objecting to the sweet gesture. Omega seemed the most content with it. "I'm so happy to see you all!"
"Chao chao chao!" Cheese followed closely behind and mimicked her lovely greeting.
"Right back at ya, kiddo! With all this craziness going around a cute face was the thing I needed most." Rouge pinched Cream's chubby cheeks causing the young rabbit to giggle playfully.
"[Cream seems to be in stable condition. Perfect.]" Omega announced. Somehow, he seemed a little more relaxed than before. Rouge wondered if he had worried ever since hearing that Cream was also in possible danger.
"Okay, so you see how the emerald is in that case?" Amy asked Shadow, who nodded. Amy walked up to the emerald pulled out a card she had been holding onto and showed them that it was a queen of hearts with red and blue symbols. She placed the card on the top of the flat surface, waited for five exact seconds, and took the card off the case. She scanned it, nodded astutely pretty comically, and showed off the newly morphed card. "As you can see, my red and blue queen of hearts turned into a black tower." Amy looked back at the three with a strained lip expression. "By the way, in tarot, the tower usually means danger, sometimes freedom and knowledge, but usually danger...sooo"
"Hmm, so it played a funny card trick? That is pretty concerning." Rouge said sarcastically.
"Ha Ha!" Amy mimicked laughter, albeit very strained. "Also, no that isn't the only thing it's done today! I just wanted to show one of the easier and smaller things it's capable of first cause the other instances are real wild! Though I consider this a bad omen, one it hasn't ever given before."
"[What else has it done?]"
"Well, you see Mr. Omega, it would sometimes rearrange the house or even make us go in parts of the house that don't exist almost like the house got bigger." Cream explained.
"{Moreover.}" Gemerl began to speak. "{It nearly released a hyper-stimulated blast that could have eradicated the entire location.}" Shadow was already on his way to confiscate the emerald after hearing that. "{It also seems as though it has a mind of its own but the mind in question does not match the emerald at all. I attempted to absorb its power to better comprehend its condition but overloaded my systems as a consequence. Luckily, I managed to receive some understanding of its nature.}"
"[Give details immediately.]"
"{It's as if someone is trying to control the emeralds manually. Who they are, is unclear, but it is causing distortions in time and space while also being incapable of merging with chaos energy, leading to friction and agitated reactions.}"
An audible gasp escaped from Amy. "So that's why everything has been so wacky lately!"
"Like how we called you ten seconds before our arrival when in actuality it's been ten minutes." Rouge added.
"{I apologize for not informing you all earlier. I was still recovering from the initial contact.}"
"Don't worry Gemerl! It wasn't your fault at all!" Cream reassured, to which Gemerl responded with a happy beep boop. Omega's eyes glimmered ominously at Gemerl after that interaction.
Shadow opened the case and grabbed the emerald only for Amy to grab his wrist in a hurry, he lazily glanced over to his side.
"Shadow, I don't think you should hold it directly! Who knows what effect it could have on you if you handle it carelessly like that! Gemerl nearly went completely offline thanks to it!"
"Must I remind you who I am?" Shadow said casually.
"I understand that but..." Shadow gently removed Amy's hand from his wrist and walked away. "I just don't want you getting hurt is all. I don't want any of you getting caught in any mess. It's...It's bad enough that I have no idea where Sonic is," Shadow stopped walking. "And that bad omen...I just have a really bad feeling about all of this and I wanna figure it out like you guys do!"
"Amy's right, y'know." Rouge flew toward Shadow, landing in front of him to stare into the gemstone he was holding. "The emeralds are gorgeous as ever, but my guts telling me that whatever's going on here lines up with the worries Silver told you earlier, and he was pretty serious about it too."
"Mr. Silver is on Mobius?" Cream asked, delighted.
"[Affirmitive.]" Omega answered.
"I get the concern, but let's think clearly about this." the hedgehog crossed his arms before continuing. "I'm the only person on this planet that can handle what the emeralds can dish out as of now. To hand this to anyone when even the likes of Gemerl can't analyze it without dying would be a careless act on my part. I acknowledge the risk factors, but the risks heighten when left with Amy or any other person." He explained sternly. Rouge sighed shaking her head.
"That's not the point, broodster. The point is that, regardless if you're the best fit for the job, handling it carelessly could lead to more harm than good. Sure, we're helping out and making sure your head doesn't get too big for your body to bear, but everything is still being figured out, just make sure not to forget that and let others in on the details when asking for it."
"Exactly!" Amy interjected. "You can be real pushy with your work methods Shadow, it can be a little worrying, even a tad annoying!" Amy pouted.
"How I work should be of no concern. It has rarely let me down."
"But this isn't like the usual job." Amy walked up to Shadow as she spoke. "This involves the emeralds being scrambled to dangerous heights! Surely you understand that much! Just be careful is all I'm saying!" Amy pouted again. Shadow looked her way, inevitably seeing her pout. "Protecting the world also extends to your well-being too!"
He sighed. "Fine. I'll be cautious."
Amy gave him a surprise hug. "Thank you! Sorry if I have been super naggy, things have just been eating me up ever since we found the emerald, and with the boys being missing!" Shadow had a tiny bit of a blush lingering on his face. Rouge caught it though, and gave him a sly smirk that he rolled his eyes at. He politely pushed Amy away.
"We're gonna head out now. I know that our communicators won't function the same, so when calling, try to do so once or twice. Hopefully, it'll reach us at the appropriate time."
"{I will try to contact you.}" All turned to Gemerl. "{As I've said before, I have come to a better understanding of the circumstances on a level no other has reached. I believe if anyone would have a better time reaching you all, it is me.}"
"Try not to tucker yourself out too much, Gemerl. After all, you did nearly turn into a toaster in your botched attempt" Amy gave Rouge a stern glare at her comment. "What? Am I wrong?"
"We'll keep in touch, for now, we'll keep-"
Shadow felt a strange energy spike somewhere. It was far, but not far enough. He ran towards a window and opened it, Amy and friends stood there confused, Shadow's on the other hand stood by wondering what he caught onto. He looked outside for a bit before suddenly jumping out of it, startling or shocking those inside.
"Shadow, where are you going?" He didn't answer, he skated away from the house searching for the source of the energy spike. He skated pretty far from the house, adamant on where this...familiar source was. He looked at the sky and noticed Angel Island wasn't too far off and it clicked. He stopped and gazed upon the massive landmass hoping to see anything out of the ordinary. Lo and behold, he caught sight of a spark of light that came as fast as it went. 'Of course!' Shadow thought to himself.
"Shadow!" His ears twitched but he didn't turn to face Omega and Rouge. he focused again on the Island to catch any other anomalies. "A heads up would have been nice."
Omega turned to stare at Angel Island as well, catching the sparks that would come and go. "[I presume you sensed an enemy on Angel Island?]"
"Not sure, but I sensed something...familiar."
"I'm guessing the boys are up there dealing with all sorts of trouble. That would explain the radio silence." Rouge added.
"Hey guys!" Shadow and Rouge turn to see Amy running their way. Shadow's eyes narrowed. Amy finally caught up and sighed in relief. "Geez, talk about a workout. A little warning next time, Shadow!"
"That's what I said!" Rouge chuckled.
"Why did you follow us?" Shadow asked sternly. "You should have stayed back, this no longer concerns you. I gave you my word to be cautious yet here you are doing the opposite of that." He scolded her like he was her father or something. Amy huffed.
"You think I'd miss out on all of this? When Sonic is missing? hah, when pigs fly!" Amy declared. "No way I'm going to sit around while everyone else gets down and dirty. I'm more capable than I look!"
"It doesn't matter how capable you are," Shadow growled. "You are still at a risk that is of great disservice. So, do me and you a favor and head on home!"
"[Danger growing at rapid speeds.]" Shadow turned back to where Angel Island floated, seeing the flashes of light grow in intensity.
"Look Shadow," Amy put her foot down, arms crossed with an intense frown to boot. "No matter what you say, I'll end up finding a way to get involved anyway. You know me enough at this point to see just how stubborn I am capable of being, that no obstacle is too big or fast for me to trounce! So instead of trying to move an immovable object, use its strength to your advantage." Amy walked next to Shadow to view the damage in the distance, ignoring Shadow's glare altogether. "If me running after Sonic all these years has taught me anything," She snapped her trusty Piko-Piko Hammer into existence and lugged it over her shoulder. "It was resilience."
"You might as well throw in the towel, slugger." Rouge cooed. "Not to say you have time to even use it, but we have more important matters at stake here. Plus, Amy is no pushover."
"[You all are taking too long. It's now or never.]"
Shadow was at his wit's end. He was absolutely aggravated by Amy's hard-headed behavior but wasn't going to bother with pushing her away either. He sighed and pinched between his eyes before responding.
"Fine. But if you end up dead..." Shadow warned.
"Like that'll ever happen!"
"[Silver the Hedgehog, located.]" Omega pointed to a small orb in the distance.he zoomed in for a better look to see that he was not alone.
"[Four other figures accompany him. Their destination seems to be Angel Island.]"
"If I knew we'd be having such a huge party I'd wear my best outfit."
"How're we even gonna get up there?" Amy asked, befuddled.
Shadow looked on in the distance as Silver got closer to the island and pulled out his communicator. He went through his logs until he landed on Silver.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What in the heavens is going on? up there!?"
Silver and the rest of the crew watched as they inched closer to a fireworks show, a collection of roars rumbling the atmosphere with ease. Silver held Blaze tight and strengthened his forcefield as he got closer to the Island.
"Look I know I said take it slow with your high speed zips, but, uh, YOU MIND GOING FASTER?!!" Surge screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Why are you yellin' at him if you JUST acknowledged why he's taking it slow?!" Bunnie angrily shouted at Surge.
"What I'm seeing is a bunch of action that stupid hedgehog is getting to have fun with while I'm here with you guys. I'd LOVE to sock whatever threat is causing such a commotion and get the joy I rightfully deserve!-"
"La la la la, I'm tuning you out, crazy lady!" Sticks yelled. "Silver, Sonic and the others still ain't picked up?"
"Ooo-hoo-hooo cut me off one more time, freak, I dare ya!-"
"No! Sonic, Tails, Nicole, and Knuckles, still aren't answering! Whatever's going on is real serious!"
"You reckon the one causing this mess is behind the emeralds actin aloof?" Bunnie asked.
Blaze gazed at the madness while her heart thumped madly. "It is a likely answer, but we have no other way of knowing besides facing it ourselves."
Silver heard his communicator ring and answered it. "Shadow! I'm guessing you're calling about the light show on Angel Island?"
"That's exactly why I'm calling. Silver, I need to get up there to assess the damage. Once you've reached it. I need you to come back down and pick us up."
"Understood! I'll come get you once everyone else has been dropped off!"
"Hurry Silver!" Amy pleaded, surprising Silver. "Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles could be in grave danger! Get here as fast as you can!"
"You got it, Amy!"
"We will make sure the boys are safe and sound, I assure you! While Silver is off to get you, we will make quick work of this fiend."
"Yeah, whatever! While you guys play hero, I'll be turning whatever's up there into mincemeat!"
"Wait...is that Surge??!!"
"Long story! Will explain when I get to you guys!" Silver hung up before another word could be spoken. "Surge, I'm all for you going crazy, just please play nice with Blaze's team while I'm gone!"
"No promises!"
Silver gave her a look that screamed 'You're on thin ice'. Surge found it funny but knew that he was serious so she sighed, mischief never leaving its post.
"Fiiine, I'll be 'moderately' mean to 'em."
Sticks and Bunnie gave her half-lidded eyes in the back, not believing her one bit.
They finally reached the island and Silver made quick work of flying over most of the landmass. One half stayed intact and gorgeous but as he flew it gradually grew more disastrous. His heart ached as he watched the once peaceful land succumb to destruction, grip tightening around Blaze, who also watched on in horror. She felt as he tightened up, his heart bleeding with anger over what he was witnessing. Surge too noticed his repulsion. looking at him from the side, reading his expressions.
Bunnie gasped at all the horrible sights, Sticks to her side and covering her mouth in astonishment at how bad everything had come to be.
"How could this happen? Such a beautiful place, regressin' to what feels like...the end..." Bunnie spoke softly, sadly. It was beginning to look like a wasteland full of fire. And in the middle of that anguish, was a repulsive creature they had all never seen before.
"So that's the demon that's caused all of this!" Sticks announced "Oooooh let me at 'em! Let me at 'em!"
"For once, Cavewoman, you and I are on the same page!" Surge cracked her knuckles, ready to pounce. "Hey, Fluff, I'm ready to get crap done, so you can drop us off right here right now." She looked over her shoulder to see a face she'd never seen Silver make before. It was blank for the most part, but his eyes...it looked...infuriated. She felt...bad seeing him like that.
"Silver," Blaze pushed herself off of him, he let go but his attention didn't move from the beast roaring ferociously and launching a strange beamed attack that relentlessly ravaged the land. "There's no time for sightseeing. Focus on the mission at hand. Boring into the enemy won't stop it nor restore what has been lost."
"You ain't shootin' lasers with them, that's for sure," Silver looked to Surge pointing at her eyes to indicate Silver's intense stare. "So quit looking so hopeless, let us fight that thing already! Get to that Shadow guy you mentioned ASAP so you can get back to beating this thing up with us!"
Silver looked back at the beast one more time, scowling. "Alright. Good luck guys. I'll get back to you all as soon as possible!"
Silver was ready to release his forcefield, and all members of the team were ready to fall into battle with determined looks in their eyes. Blaze took a deep breath and looked to the great heights below, her heart pounded against her chest but she didn't care. She'll eat away the fear before it does her. Sticks quickly grabbed onto Blaze's arm, getting her attention. She winked at Blaze while Bunnie leaned against her shoulder ready to engage with the danger below.
"Let the bloodbath begin!!" Surge yelled during their freefall.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sonic ran far away from the Master Emerald shrine as fast as he could so that any stray attacks wouldn't head the other's way, but he began to worry if Tails and co were fine or if they had already been struck with one of BioLizard's blasts. He wished he could contact them but his ComLink was already out of commission even before this beast decided to pop up out of nowhere. At least Knuckles was with them in case they both struggled with getting out of the commotion safely. BioLizard summoned egg-like spheres to throw at Sonic, who bounced in various directions to avoid its onslaught. He used the debris from the fight to his advantage to have a sneak attack on it, gauging the openness of its weak spot, its life support system on its back. While Sonic could very much reach it and attack, BioLizard has been far more aggressive than he last remembered, which says a lot. His blasts scattered across the island, ruining the beautiful scenery.
"Ruining the scenery and being a pain in the butt is one way to make people hate your guts." Sonic rasped. "If only there were rings nearby, the added boost would have been perfect, but wingin' it seems to be the best option right about now."
"Look out below!!" Sonic looked to the sky and to his surprise, backup came in the form of four familiar faces. Bunnie, Blaze, Sticks, and Surge were ready to engage in battle with Bunnie and Surge being the first to strike. "Here, have one of my famous knuckle sandwiches, Suga'!" They landed a strong blow to BioLizard's weak spot causing it to give out a shrill roar. She bounced off and somersaulted to the ground before it could nab at her and Surge continued to give electrified attacks. Bunnie never stopped hovering circles around the enemy, shooting it from the sky rapidly.
It was ready to charge an attack but Blaze shot a ball of fire to its face before it could complete its act. She skated across the battlefield with fire under her shoes and twirled around various miniature attacks thrown her way. She dashed forward toward the enemy as it raised its head to the sky, a dark purple orb writhing with energy as it grew, ready to spurt as many rays as possible, but a swift strike at its weak spot again kept it from completing it. It was Sonic!
"Well, well, well who do we have here!?" Sonic was still airborne, rubbing his nose with a wide smile on his face. "Long time no see, Blaze! Didn't expect you to join in on this party!"
"I would never miss the opportunity to have another dance in battle with you, dear party-goer!" Blaze cheered while evading the tail of the enemy.
"Quite the dance we've got ourselves into don'tcha think?!" Sonic laughed before spin dashing up BioLizard's tail. He was aiming to strike at its life support system again, but Surge beat him to the punch. They both bounced off the beast at the same time and exchanged looks once they reached the ground. "Heya Surge! Thought you were through with this whole saving the world schtick?"
"I don't need to explain myself to you, rat! I'll deal with your life sooner or later, but right now, killing an overgrown reptile is my current appetizer!"
"Alright!" Sonic rose from the ground planting a firm fist against his palm. "Spare some of the grub for me, Sparks! I could go for an appetizer right about now, phew!"
Surge smirked and balled her hand into an electrical fist. "Sure, open wide, chump-"
"Outta the way! Comin' through!" Sticks ran between the two of them with two acorn shaped grenades in her hands. Sticks threw both of them the monster's way, It didn't do much to affect it but did nab its attention.
Surge ran up to the enemy while behind Sticks, it was ready to shoot off a dark energy orb. "Nice work, hobo, you did absolutely nothing! Least aim for the large target on its back!" Surge was planning on blasting the attack to smithereens, but Sonic stopped her. "What the hell are you doing!? I'm trying to keep that idiot alive, 'less you plan to watch her die?!"
"Check it!" Sonic pointed to Sticks' smirk. The monster shot off the anticipated attack which was hurled her way. She got struck by it and Surge was in disbelief, wondering if she got seriously harmed. No, she wasn't hurt. In fact. She was completely fine. She landed on her feet as if she hadn't been struck at all.
"Checking it ain't all she'll do, Blue!" She looked at the two with a crazed smile and readied herself in a crouching position as if to sprint, bits of the dark purple energy spilled out through her stripes before she charged forward at extreme speeds.
"Huh?!"
Sonic chuckled at Surge's surprise. Sticks went everywhere. up down, left right, it didn't matter. She landed a good smack on the enemy's head, which left a purple and irradiated palmprint on it, she continued to leave a bunch of palmprints everywhere she could while avoiding its attempts at stopping her to the point where it was now a decorative feature coating on the monster. She made sure to leave a considerable amount on the metallic parts of its life support system. She finished her work with a spin back to the ground.
"Great work, Springs!" Bunnie cheered, both she and Blaze fashioning confident smiles. "We'll take it from here!"
"Surge, with me!" Blaze shouted as she avoided its tail. Surge looked on in confusion but noticed the palm prints glow a bright purple around the center of the beasts back. It looked super charged and the abundant hands littering the weak spot looked like it was begging for a spark. Her bewilderment grew into knowing excitement, a grin she had worn when playing mischievous misdeeds had adorned a darker vibe.
"I'm likin' what you're cookin', Princess." Surge charged up instantly, eyes locked in on the vulnerability, now heavily damaged on the back of the creature. "Hey extras, do me a solid and keep that freak of nature preoccupied while I blow it to smithereens!"
"Oooo you're lucky that the situation is mighty hectic! Otherwise, I'd wipe that petty grin right off your obnoxious face!" Bunnie cracked her knuckles before dashing off with Sticks so the beast's eyes were on them. BioLizard summoned more of its egg-like explosives but they both dodged as many as they could. Sonic dashed in as well to lend a hand in distracting it while Blaze also began to charge up an attack. The creature roared as Sonic spin-dashed around it, which desperately tried to follow him only to fail at catching up. While it was being duped, Sticks landed right back onto its body right as Sonic did and they both made silly faces to agitate it further. As Sonic made a run for it after his silly gestures, right then and there, Sticks noticed something peculiar. It was as if the beast had blipped out of existence for a few seconds. It was hard to catch with all the fire around and noise distracting them, but Sticks caught sight of it with no problem since she was up close and personal. However, she was too caught off guard.
While Sonic quickly jumped off, she took a few more seconds to do so, enough time for the beast to make an abrupt movement that caused her to stumble off, landing on the ground and spraining her ankle.
"Sticks!" Bunnie and Sonic yelled in unison, Blaze gasped and stopped charging up outta fear but Surge was already done. Sonic dashed toward Sticks who was mere seconds away from being stomped into ground beef. Luckily, Sonic is far faster. He saved Sticks and ran to a safer part of the area. Bunnie flew down to her side to make sure she was okay. Blaze was distraught and so was about to run to her best friend's aid, until...
"Hey, Dinosaur!!" Surge yelled. Surprisingly, it turned around to face her. "Eyes on me."
The beast conjured up one of its attacks as Surge carefully aimed her finger at its back. The handprints were now at their brightest, begging for a shot of energy to spark an explosive chain reaction. Surge smirked before finally releasing all her energy in her hand.
"Flash,"
A wild spark began to flare wildly at the tip of her index finger, it was so bright that it was nearly blinding to everyone in the area. Blaze, who was closest to Surge's little light show, had to completely turn away even while shielding her eyes. BioLizard roared one last time before Surge lowered her thumb onto her index finger like a hammer.
"Bang."
The large flare shot alarmingly fast toward the creature's weak point leading to the large explosion that now engulfed it. The blast sent the rest of the gang flying, Bunnie holding onto Sticks as much as she could until the force of the explosion died down. The beast roared its loudest cry as it burned to cinder from the mighty flames in front of those who brought about its fall.
"Finally, something cool happened today!" Surge cheered watching on with extreme excitement as her enemy crumbled to the ground. Her maniacal laughter filling the turbulent air.
"We sure she ain't a villain?" Bunnie asked Sonic, who merely shrugged sheepishly at her. Sticks was laser-focused on the body of the once ferocious monster, trying to see if maybe, just maybe, she wasn't seeing things amidst the chaos. As it burned away, she noticed that its body seamlessly disintegrated just thirty seconds after catching on fire. This...was not normal.
"I don't like that one bit..." Sticks whispered, Blaze caught her worries though.
"What happened, Sticks?" Blaze asked, worry clear in her voice. "You seem spooked."
"I've seen you go nuts over all kinds of things, but that time, you genuinely looked like you saw a ghost." Sonic added, his worry also evident.
Sticks looked back to where the creature was, the flames all that remained at this point. "I probably did see a ghost! Now that I think about it, its energy was way off."
"In what way, Springs?" Bunnie quizzed.
Surge was on her way to the rest of the group, her bloodlust satiated. She scanned what remained of the area until she remembered something vital.
"Was that thing even real?" Sticks muttered, eyes darting back and forth.
"Hey!" Surge marched up to Sonic until they were inches from each other. "Where's Nicole?"
Sonic's eyes widened, remembering his earlier worries about the others being caught up in the chaos BioLizard brought.
"Shoot! That completely slipped my mind! I was too focused on BioLizard!"
"How do you let stuff like that 'slip your mind'?"
"Hey, cut me some slack! If they had been in any sort of danger, Knuckles would take care of it along with them. Tails and Nicole aren't pushovers either, y'know."
"I'm having a hard time believing your wimp of a sidekick could muster up even a fist." Surge chuckled.
"Why must you be so cruel in your approach?" Blaze scolded. "You walk about with tremendous envy and shrivel up with sourness."
"Well excuuuse me, princess!" Surge comically said before cackling. The girls really didn't like her. "Not my fault that the brat's backbone is as frail as a flower!"
Sonic wore an expressionless look. He greatly disliked her disregard for Tails' bravery. Even if he were to fail at winning the battle, Tails has always been a person willing to help regardless. Especially if there are lives on the line. But he forced himself to remember that her case is not at all like the others. The closest instance he could think of was Shadow's, but even then, he didn't face continuous lies and torture the same way Surge has. She has to handle a great deal of trauma like no other. However, this should not be an excuse for her to place the same sort of pain on others.
"You know, Sparks," Sonic began. "Maybe if you sat down to get to know us, instead of keeping a preconceived picture, you'd understand us a lot more."
"What, so I can become one of your lackeys, desperate for attention?" She scoffed while rolling her eyes.
"No," Sonic shook his head before looking her dead in the eyes. His lack of a reaction to her comments caught her off guard. "If you don't wanna be my friend, that's fine. I don't want anyone to feel the need to be my friend. That's not how I roll."
"Sure seems like it."
"Why would I wanna befriend someone who sees it as being caged?"
It became silent, the crackling of the remaining flames being the only noise to fill in the atmosphere. Surge held an odd expression, one the others couldn't pinpoint precisely but one Sonic had seen before.
"Free will itself is a choice." Sonic began to walk past Surge, his voice holding some sympathy, never hatred. She watched closely as he got closer, not a single shred of disdain was expressed. "Are you willing to be free, or forever stay trapped by the one who leashed you? If I were you, I'd fight till the bitter end if that meant being able to run free every day. Don'tcha agree?" Sonic flashed a wide confident smile as he left, making his point clear. He ran ahead to where the altar was, leaving the rest behind to think on his words.
"He's right, y'know."
Surge looked to Sticks who appeared a lot more calm now.
"I can't imagine livin' in a world where I was under someone else's careful eye or being told what do by some wackjob who thinks they know the secrets to everything! But," Sticks shouted near the end of her statement. "I ain't gonna go 'round and start treatin' everyone like dirt all for the sake of being free. There are better ways to achieve freedom. And you, girly, aren't doin' that."
Surge growled. "You have no clue what the context of all of this is."
"I got enough context to know that you went through somethin' worth listenin' to. I know that much now."
Surge scoffed. 'Where's this sudden interest even coming from? She hated my guts not too long ago but now she wanna act like she cares?'
"Her story is her story." Blaze added. "Regardless of what reasons you hold for your actions, it doesn't change just how awful you have been to others, even to those in your immediate circle. I'll refrain from dubbing you certain titles out of respect for Silver and Sonic's willingness to give you chances to change and grow, but you'll have to earn any other ounce of respect I barely have for you."
"You can go ahead and shove your respect somewhere nice and dark, cause I could care less about what you think of me."
"For your safety, I'd suggest you start caring..." Blaze said darkly. She earned a good glare from Surge for that threat.
"Go on...show me why I should care..."
Bunnie got between the two of them before things got any more heated. "This is not the time! You two can settle any beef later! Blaze, remember why we're here!"
Blaze and Surge were still giving each other death glares for a few more seconds before Blaze sighed and shook away her anger. "You're right, I apologize, I let her get to me, which is giving her too much credit." And with that, Blaze went on to follow Sonic to the Altar, not even bothering to look back to see a now-conflicted Surge. Bunnie flashed a concerned look the tenrec's way before grabbing Sticks and flying away after Blaze, a look Surge wasn't able to catch.
Surge scowled at the ground in deep thought. She felt very...weird about everything. But she couldn't put an exact pin on why that was the case. Sure, Sonic told her his genuine thoughts and that did contribute to how she's feeling, but she still feels as though there's a little...more to it. She hated how confusing everything was. She thought once she got here to deal with Sonic with her bare hands that one of her major issues would finally be settled and that she could finally move on to other things. Sure, that would piss the ever-living hell outta Silver, but the finer details were an afterthought...at least back then they were. Now, she's starting to realize...
Surge shook her head. "Screw that! Screw it all!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "You think yer so slick, tryin' to make me another thin-skinned loser like your lame hell posse?! Manipulating me!?" Her voice cracked, her fist trembled. "You won't get me with your sick trick."
"Help!"
Surge turned quickly to the sound of someone crying for help from the south of her position. They continued to cry for help until they abruptly stopped screaming altogether. 'That voice...sounds like Sonic's brat...' Surge thought. Her eyes were fixated on the area where she heard the distant cries before she frowned deeply and began to walk away. Why should she help him in any way after all that's happened to her and Kit? Why does she have to fix their mess? these sorts of questions bounced through her head. Though, despite her indifference, she halted and felt a strange twinge of...guilt. Where was this even coming from?! She never gave a single damn about that brat in her time being....well herself. So why the sudden pulse of empathy?
....
She sighed once she realized why.
"I hate Silver's goddamned guts..." She turned around to where the scream was last heard and was just about to run, but then another very important reason reared its head, slowly making her realize why even further she needed to run in that direction...and also cause she reaaaaalllly needed an excuse for why she decided to save that dumb fox.
"Nicole I swear, if I find out you're kidnapped alongside that stupid little brat, consider yourself short-circuited!" Surge bolted immediately into action.