Sonic sprinted through several regions of Angel Island, searching for Tails and Nicole, but he wasn't having much luck. The more time passed without finding them, the more frustrated he became. Even though he was confident he would locate them, a nagging worry persisted. He decided to search near the edges of the floating land mass, taking a moment to glance down at the world below before racing along the perimeter. Almost completing a full loop around the island, he finally heard a voice.
" Sonic! "
' Was that...Amy!? ' He made a full stop and backtracked toward her call. He stopped to see a darker part of the forest that looked like it had seen better days. Running at a regular pace inside, he kept his eyes and ears peeled for any other oddities or calls only to get jumped by someone from behind. He shouted in surprise right before he faceplanted onto the dirt path.
"Oh, Sonic! I was wondering where you'd gone!" exclaimed Amy, sitting happily on top of the immobile blue hedgehog. Sonic responded with simple silence. "Thank goodness you're okay! With all the craziness going around, I was worried that you'd gotten yourself into a sticky situation!"
"mnhmm mhmn mmmm hmm."
"Eh?"
Sonic managed to pull his face out of the ground as much as he could. "You mind giving a man some space, Ames!" Sonic groaned, clearly strained from her body being seated on top of his. Amy huffed but did as he requested, releasing him from her added weight. He inhaled loudly, not sparing a spec of air from escaping his vacuum of a mouth.
"Oh please, quit being so dramatic!"
"Since when was nearly dying deemed dramatic?" Amy pouted at Sonic's snark response. "Anyway, what brings you to Paradise Lost?"
"Silver brought her here!" Sonic looked up to see Tails next to an unconscious Knuckles and Nicole. "He managed to bring Shadow, Rouge, and Omega too!"
"Tails! Oh, man!" Sonic dashed up to Tails to dab him up appropriately. "Had me worried there for a sec bro, won't lie! You guys aren't hurt or anything are ya ?" Sonic looked over to his two laid-out buds on the ground.
"Hey! What about me!?" Amy asked, just a tad annoyed. Sonic put his hands up anxiously.
"Ah, my bad, Amy! Was just caught up looking for Tails and Nicole everywhere on the Island is all ! Besides, you look great! Did you do something with your hair?"
Tails gave a nervous chuckle. "Sorry about that! Things took a turn for the worse a few minutes after you left! It led to us getting knocked out, thus explaining Nicole's current state. I managed to wake up in time and call out for help and luckily, Shadow, Silver, and the others found us and are now handling things."
"That's a relief! Also, great to know you at least slept through my messy encounter, sensory overload wouldn't even be the half of it."
Tails' eyes widened in shock. "Was that why there was smoke and fire in the distance!?"
"Ah that's right, there were a ton of explosions everywhere! They were so bright, that you'd have to be blind to miss 'em ! What was up with that?!" Amy asked eagerly. Sonic took his time to stretch out his arms and legs, wanting to reduce any leftover strain gained from that battle alone.
"BioLizard."
The byproduct of that answer was a monumental silence. Shock after shock, there never seems to be an end to this enthralling case. Tails shook his head, irrefutably astounded by his answer.
"Excuse me??"
" Yeeeep , just as confused as you are, bud. I was chilling, minding my own business, when BOOM BioLizard's big scaly butt started making quick work of the place."
Amy had her mouth covered with both hands. "Just like that?! No way!"
"Better believe it! I didn't even hear a peep from him until he started attacking! And I don't know about you guys, but BioLizard definitely isn't the stealthy type."
The consistent oddballs being thrown their way are starting to feel a bit too specific. Tails hummed in deep thought over this new information and tried to see if any other connections could lead to a sensible answer. Then, he remembered what he and Nicole were subjected to before getting attacked and wondered...
"Sonic did your ComLink, by any chance, act out of the ordinary at any point after our split?"
Sonic paused and snapped his fingers once it all came to him. "Oh yeah! It's why I wasn't able to call you all this time! In the middle of my fight, I got a ton of calls from Sally, Amy, and Rouge all at the same time." Sonic lifted his Comlink and held the power button to show off his glitchy screen. "But I ended up busting it during my tussle so if you were looking to analyze it, it's a no-go."
"So that's why we couldn't reach you! Ugh, we were worried sick!" Amy whined. "I'm guessing the same thing happened to Tails and Knux."
"Precisely! One of the abnormal occurrences that arose once Sonic left was our communicators ringing profusely. All the calls from various people appeared simultaneously to the point where it became sufficiently grating, so we had to deactivate it."
"My CL was acting wacky too!" Amy interjected. "Before searching for you all, me and the gang stumbled on a Chaos Emerald and tried contacting you with no luck, so I called Rouge hoping to find out where you guys were. Gee, if I knew it would bring this many surprises, I would have left it alone!" Amy remembered the uneasy feelings she had once the oddities started and shivered. "While you guys had delayed phone calls, I had Shadow and the others at my door ten seconds after our phone call!"
Sonic gave a low whistle. "Speed dial's never been quicker. Shadow didn't seem to waste any time getting to you, huh?" Sonic teased, brow raised slyly. Amy scoffed at his remark.
"You act as if only Shadow came by, Rouge and Omega were there too! Besides, he was more concerned over us mishandling the Emerald, nothing more!" Amy crossed her arms and turned her back to Sonic like a child, a blush ever so slightly visible on her muzzle. "Sides, I only have one moody hedgehog on myyy radar~"
"Amy please, not in front of Tails!"
Speaking of Tails, the young fox cleared his throat, hoping to move on from Amy's flirtatious advances towards Sonic. "W-we should seriously focus on the more dire details..."
"Full agreement!"
Amy huffed in rebellion but reluctantly let Tails speak his mind. "You say Shadow and the others arrived ten seconds after your call, but was this a shared timeframe between both parties?"
Amy shook her head. "Nope. This affected me, and anyone else in Cream's house, while the others only ten minutes pass."
Sonic tapped his feet as he pondered. "Any idea on what exactly is causing this?" Sonic asked Tails, who made his way to Knuckles and Nicole's bodies.
"The emerald's rampant anomalies are definitely the cause, which resulted in strange new instabilities, and if The Master Emerald ended up sharing the same power fluctuations, which I am now certain it does, the reasoning behind why all our communicators' behavior makes complete sense. I mean, Before you or Knuckles were even on your way over to my workshop, the emerald in my possession reverse-engineered my C.I.M into a far more capable device. It could better withstand the intense energy readings and better track its odd intervals for closer analysis. Why or how such anomalies managed to do something so calculated is beyond me." Tails looked back to his echidna friend's form, remembering what he had pointed out hours ago. "Though, Knuckles did mention that the Master Emerald's aura felt...alive. ' A mind of its own' he had said."
The details about Knuckles' words had sonic perking up.
"Ooo, that's so unnerving!" Amy whined, holding herself tightly. "It's bad enough that Eggface always wants his grubby hands on 'em, can you imagine them creating chaotic situations all on their own?!"
"Speaking of Chaos Emeralds, I wanted to tell you what I came across when I got to the shrine." Sonic began. "And let me tell ya, Knuckles is having the roughest time right about now."
"Wait...what do you mean by that?" Tails questioned, his eyes narrowing with confusion.
"Turns out Knuckles finally made his vows and became one with the emerald. The honeymoon phase didn't last very long, or maybe it lasted too long. Turns out being inside it is causing his memory to become all foggy."
Amy gasped. "Oh no! Tails, you were right!"
"I wish I wasn't, to be honest. This is awful ! He's completely vulnerable and is in direct contact with unstable chaos energy! If he's in there for any longer, who knows what'll happen!"
"Then let's not waste any more time, Blaze and her friends are watching over Red while I'm gone but we shouldn't drag our feet."
Amy blinked comically at the mention of that name. "Blaze is here too??"
Sonic was already readying himself to carry Knuckles' body. "Yep, with Bunnie and Sticks. Though, Blaze is looking pretty rough. Seeing as how even Silver's emeralds aren't doing so hot, It's safe to bet that hers aren't either." Sonic lifted Knuckles onto his back and made sure he was nice and secure. It had completely slipped his mind just how heavy Knuckles was. "Alright, let's grab Nic and run on over there!"
"I'll get her!" Amy was on her way to Nicole and like Sonic, lifted her onto her back. With both friends safely secured, the gang began to move onwards but rustling in the bushes drove them to a halt.
"Ah! Who's there!?" Amy yelped. Sonic and Tails stood guard in front of her, ready to attack whatever threat was approaching, but were surprised to see a friend appear instead.
"Woah, It's Omega!" Tails cheered! The robot made his way to the gang and gave Sonic a good long stare. "What's he doing here?"
Amy hummed. "Did the gang send him over to check up on us?"
"[Sonic The Hedgehog located. Allies secured]"
"Nice to see you too, pal!" Sonic chuckled. "Any updates on the situation that I need to know about? Cause at this point, I think I've only scratched the surface."
The low whirring sound occurred, which seems to be Omega's form of humming. "[We have captured the odd specimen that's referred to as Chaos. It is currently being held by Silver The Hedgehog. We plan on investigating the Master Emerald, for it has exhibited signs of instability, bearing another source of power my sensors have never seen before.]"
"Just like the Chaos Emerald I tested!" Tails.
"How convenient. We were just on our way there!" Sonic walked up to Omega and gave him a sly look. "Mind holding Knux and Nic for us, big guy? Would be bad if we slowed ya down!" Omega stayed silent for a few seconds before giving out garbled robotic noises, that sounded like...a growl? Sonic wasn't too sure but was elated to see him take both the unconscious bodies in his possession. "Hehe, thanks! I owe ya one, bud!"
"Thanks, Omega!" Amy sang as she ran past, after Sonic, with Tails following closely behind. Omega whirred and readied his blasters for a quick trip across the area to catch up after the three, but picked up something odd in one of his scans. He looked to Knuckles whose brain activity had greatly increased, and Nicole's body had been emitting Chaos energy at an alarming rate.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Shadow and Rouge lead the rest of the group as they rushed to reach the Master Emerald. Shadow was laser-focused on the new task, not saying a word, wanting to spare no more seconds on what could be a far worse issue than what he previously presumed.
"Is that guy always so uptight?" Silver looked to his side, Surge side-eyeing him while keeping pace. "And what's with your submissiveness to that scrub? What, worried he may give you a wedgie or something?"
"Captivating questions as always." Silver sighed. "First, usually. He rarely lets his guard down and frankly doesn't like when an operation is messy or inconvenient, so please try not to piss him off."
"No promises."
"Second, no, I am not worried nor scared of him. I just understand his viewpoints and think he handles everything better than most. He makes sure the job is conducted smoothly, even if he's ironically rough about it."
"Ugh, didn't think you'd be this much of a fanboy."
"I'm not!" Silver's hold on Chaos nearly slipped but luckily he managed to catch his near-devastating mistake in time. "Will you quit making me lose focus?! The last thing we need is for me to drop this thing!"
Surge's hand hovered over her mouth as she chuckled mischievously. Watching Silver get irritated is always a fun sight. "Yeesh Silver, sensitive much." She teased. Surge laughed as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Anyway, jokes aside, Is it really okay to leave Nic and the brat with that robot? Not even Melon-Head could protect those two, though I guess a giant robot would be far better security than that poser."
"Amy is also with them, who is no one to mess with when push comes to shove. Also, having them tag along when the emerald is the epicenter of danger wouldn't be very smart, so sending Omega to watch them is the safest bet until we figure out what's happening."
"Silver." Rouge slows down just a little bit to be right next to him. "Sorry to intrude on your conversation, but I've been meaning to ask you this. Do you happen to have any sample information on hand from your set of emeralds?"
"I don't but my friend Nicole does. Why, got a new plan?"
"It involves what we discussed earlier."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Did either of you manage to check up on the Master Emerald in any way, shape, or form?" Shadow firmly asked, eyes boring into both of them.
"No. Once I arrived, I dropped everyone else off before heading straight to you guys . Why?"
"Depending on how unstable it is, the island is at risk of falling, or worse. Its current residence at the shrine is why the island stays afloat, but it could very well cause considerable hazards with its ample influence."
Surge scoffed. "So what, you're saying that rock is causing drips over here and the dinosaur to come back from the dead?"
"Shadow's onto something," Rouge looked around the area and noticed that the aura of the island, and even some of the wildlife, all function and act...unusual. "He isn't the only one who can sense chaos energy with ease. Only way I can get my hands on any delectable emeralds when I can. So, I've felt that the whole area's been....off."
Shadow hummed, still scanning his surroundings. "You picked up on it too...didn't you?"
Rouge nodded astutely. "Almost like a switch s'been flipped. But I couldn't properly grasp it. It comes and goes as it pleases."
Silver looked to his surroundings with curious eyes. "I haven't noticed any environmental changes, but...yeah. The atmosphere does feel almost unreal."
Shadow shut his eyes and focused. Chaos energy sprinkled about, the usual occurrence, however, the energy and its behavior aren't alone this time. "Omega-"
"[I have already scanned the perimeters.]" He made the final adjustments to his results before turning to the group. "[There is a layered energy source that I can not identify properly. If I were to gamble and delve further, I could end up in a similar state to that of Gemerl. The potent levels of Chaos energy deemed potentially life-threatening. The Master Emerald's energy output has seemingly affected even the wildlife in the vicinity.]"
"explains why most of the little guys haven't come outl since we've got here. " Rouge added.
"W-what happened to- "
"Settle down, kid, He just short-circuited. He'll be up and at 'em once he's reconfigured himself."
Silver sighed in relief at the news. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of one of his friends possibly...He's just glad that it was only an inconvenience.
"Another power source's been a tidbit we covered with your twin's brat and our very own brainiac. It's why we even came to this dumb planet to begin with !" Surge scratched at her ear and was getting tired of learning about this same detail multiple times. She's grown bored of the moping around and simply wants to get to the meat of the situation instead of being stuck with three self-righteous bozos. Though, the mention of their walking talking info-machine reminded her of one of the reasons why she was even here. "Speakin' of Brainiac, where the hell is Nicole?! You guys seen her anywhere?"
"She's currently with Tails but is unconscious after Chaos' ambush. From the looks of things she and Knuckles have been out cold for a while."
"So your answer to our info-bucket being knocked out was leavin' her with the brat?!"
"We had no other choice, Surge! Chaos was loose and we couldn't let him slip by! Besides, Tails isn't alone. Amy is with him so he's not defenseless but we shouldn't leave them for too-"
Shadow opened his eyes and swiftly turned in the direction of the shrine. "We need to get to the Master Emerald. Now."
Silver flinched with the dark hedgehog's quick switch of tones. "What about Tails and the others?" Silver asked. "We can't just leave him and Amy to watch over those two by themselves! What if another random threat appears?"
"Wasn't planning on leaving them alone. Omega will guard them while we're gone. Right now, we can't afford any more distractions."
Omega didn't seem very pleased with this decision at all, providing a very dissatisfied whirring sound in response.
Rouge pats the towering robot's arm. "We know how much you hate being stuck on guard duty, so think of it this way. The quicker we get the job done, the sooner you get to go back to destroying more of Egg's tech."
Omega made another low whirring sound, though it was a lot less garbled. He silently nodded, making his way to his newfound duties with no objection left to spare for he knew that it was futile trying to argue his stance. After all, Rouge did make a solid point. The quicker the better.
Surge clicked her tongue as she watched Omega walk away. "You sure about this, Fluff? It looks like your typical bucket of bolts."
"Don't underestimate Omega." That was all Shadow said before sliding onwards to their next destination, not giving anyone else any time to respond.
Surge rolled her eyes but settled on following him alongside Silver and Rouge. His vibe was nothing like Sonic's, yet he had the same sort of cocky snark that she loathed about the blue rat. One of these days, she plans on putting both these frauds into the ground where they belong.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
They were nearing the location of the Master Emerald, so Shadow's pace quickened slightly. Rouge and the others followed his hastened tempo, but Surge was quite tempted to run past the bossy brooder. Rouge continued where she left off.
"While it's great that you let us in on the situation, direct data findings could confirm a little theory I've conjured up. But if your hard-hitting info's locked in the mind of an unconscious person, that just makes our job a tad more troublesome."
"Why don'tcha just wait for her to wake up?" Surge chimed in. "Not like she's in a coma or anything...is she??"
Silver shook his head. "I doubt it, though it's clear she got knocked out hard. I'd be lying if I said it didn't have me a little worried."
"Do you guys at least have proper data readings on the Chaos Emeralds?"
"I don't have it on hand, but I do know that that them rocks have identical stats to our own. The weird glitchy 3D aesthetic starting to look like a growing trend"
"3D effect? What an odd reoccurrence. Any idea on what that could mean?"
"Don't look at me! Hell if I know what any of this crap means, I'm no nerd! Maybe Fluff remembered some junk about all of this. He hung around Holo enough for something to stick, I bet."
Silver contemplated carefully and recalled Nicole mentioning something he found interesting. Originally, she assumed based on her research that the effects weren't just a result of opposing polarities but rather a foreign influence willingly trying to coexist with the native energy fluctuations. She later dismissed this after further tests, but that hypothesis always stuck out to him. It wasn't much to go by considering what they know now, he wonders...
"Well, isn't that a sight for sore-eyes!" Rouge flew ahead of even Shadow once the Master Emerald came into full view. Its glass-like surface reflects its beauty effortlessly with each angle and edge, confidently letting the world in on its marvelous existence. Now Rouge would usually swoop down and lay on top of her prized obsession, basking in its glow like that of the sun, but with all of this talk of instability, it would be for the best to admire from afar, at least until all things were accounted for. Her gaze met the three young women who sat before the behemoth.
"Why are you losers still here!?" Was all Surge muttered, their argument still fresh in her mind.
Bunnie and Sticks gave Surge the stank eye, Sticks not skipping a beat with her growling. Blaze lay peacefully on Bunnie's lap in slumber, looking like she was in the best sleep of her life. Silver smiled softly as he relished in her tranquillity.
"I'm assuming they were the ones dropped off?" Shadow questioned while walking towards the Emerald.
"Yeah. They helped Surge and Sonic finish off the threat causing the large explosions on the island." Surge stared Silver down, her intense glare hardly getting his attention. "Did you guys visit the Master Emerald to study it too?"
"Originally, Sonic wanted to check up on Tails and those wit 'im, but, er um," Bunnie looked to Blaze with clear concern. "We stumbled on another issue."
Rouge's eyes narrowed. "And what might that be?"
Sticks got up from the ground to stretch her limbs."Uh, is Knuckles being trapped in the Master Emerald and slowly losing his memory on anyone else's bingo card?"
"Huh?!?" Silver and Rouge said in unison. Surge burst into laughter at the news, unable to contain herself in time.
Rouge shook her head. "Whaddaya mean he's inside the emerald!? We saw his unconscious body with Tails not that long ago! A-and losing his memory?!"
"Man, Sonic wasn't lying when he said Rouge'd be pissed..." Sticks whispered.
"Now hold one fidgety second, you found Knuckles' body? Where in tarnation-"
"A creature named Chaos, the one I'm currently holding right now, was found with Tails, Knuckles, and Nicole in its possession. The latter two were already unconscious by the time we got there while Tails was calling for help. Luckily, we came just in time before Chaos tossed them off the island's edge." Silver explained.
Shadow eyed the Master Emerald and then glanced over at Blaze, who had been completely peaceful all this time... too peaceful . Not a single movement had come from her since he and the others had arrived. He and Blaze had never really had the chance to get to know each other very well, but he at least knew one major detail about her—her attentiveness. He always respected her for that alone, as she was never the type to miss a detail or drag her feet to get a job done while staying unfailingly aware of her surroundings, maintaining that mindset and attitude. So why was she still asleep and looking as if she hadn't moved an inch since they arrived?
"Alright, what's with the weird monsters that've been waltzing around?!" Sticks shouted and tapped her feet before pacing back and forth unable to stop the ball from rolling. "Does Knuckles just fight big bads on the regular up here? I mean come on guys, let's be fo' real here! Two bad guys want to kill us around the same time the emeralds have been wacky-doo all over the place, one of the enemies glitched right before my eyes, three of our friends nearly died, what gives!?"
While Sticks rambled further, Shadow walked up the stairs to get a closer look at Blaze. Bunnie watched as he got nearer and nearer and felt slightly uncomfortable with how close he was to her face.
"Anyone else thinks that a giant lizard-dinosaur-whatever just vanishes after being burned to a crisp? Can I even say that it got barbecued if its body jus' ain't THERE anymore?"
He looked over her features carefully, being careful as to no mistakenly assume the worst. Bunnie pulled Blaze away from him.
"May I help you??"
"Why isn't she waking up?"
Silver's eyes widened a little. "I-isn't she just sleeping?"
"How is it that you know her better than me yet haven't found it odd that she has slept through how noisy you all have been?"
"Have you seen how tired she looks?! It's not that hard to assume that maybe she just so happens to be in a deep sleep!" Silver argued.
"Oh, Blaze's in the Emerald too!" Sticks said bluntly surprising Shadow and the rest of the gang, besides Bunnie of course who put on a face of understanding over Shadow's odd approach.
"Heh, sorry for not keeping y'all up to date with everythin'. Got a little side-tracked with the new beast y'alls were talking about. Not to mention how fast everything came about. She had entered the Emerald on a whim after Knuckles told us what had happened inside."
"Two of the most annoying people trapped inside a stupid rock? Karma is definitely on my side today. Now if only that blue bastard fell in with them..." Surge chuckled darkly.
Sticks glared. "Unless you wanna join 'em, I suggest you shut yer trap!" Sticks shouted even though Surge was barely phased by the threat.
"The good news is that Blaze's whim ended up being a great leap. So long as her body can make contact again, she's able to reenter her body, so I'm guessing the same applies to Knuckles. Y'all having found his body is mighty helpful!"
"Red also mentioned there was a voice inside that told him something huge!" Sticks snapped her fingers
"A voice?"
" Don'tcha remember, Fluff? Melon Head had screeched out that the emerald was speaking to him back at the brat's place. Made sure everyone in a fifty-mile radius heard him."
"Ah right! Sorry, so much has happened today, it's been getting harder and harder to keep track of everything."
"It could be the very lead Blaze's been looking for! Heck," Bunnie looked to Silver with hope in her eyes. "I think Silver's gonna wanna pay close attention to this as well !"
This piqued Surge and Silver's curiosity. It feels like it has been forever since they've found another lead to the case but finally, it seems their patience has paid off. Silver nodded, paying close attention along with Surge who also chimed in on what news they had in store.
"Whoever that lady was, she's directly tied to why the emeralds are going nuts, even mentioning that she didn't mean for things to be this way, but had no choice!" Sticks elucidated, witnessing all their faces stupefy.
"Um, 'had no choice'?" Surge repeated with a snort, the very thought boggling her.
Bunnie shrugged. "We don't get it either, but based on Knuckles' account, she seemed genuine."
"That alone is enough for me to doubt whoever this mystery woman is."
While Rouge spoke, Shadow looked to his surroundings, making sure nothing else was amiss, and noticed something glimmering in the corner of his eye.
"Knucklehead is trusting to a fault. Trust me out of everyone here, I'd know just how much of an imbecile he can be. He may try and act all tough but that softy is as sharp as a circle."
"I'm with Batwoman over there." Surge walked forward, surprisingly more serious than expected. "I spent only, what, an hour with that guy, and he struck me as an easy-to-string-around kinda dude. For all we know, the lady he saw could be another freakazoid."
Silver noticed Shadow hopping down to the lowest part of the shrine where the dark hedgehog found what he assumed to be a Chaos Emerald. Shadow analyzed it seeing that it held a dark purplish black gas moving around inside of it, fuzzy like mold. Slowly it moved within like a passive-hungry parasite.
"Y'all are being way too harsh on the poor feller. Bad enough that he's stuck inside the very thing he's spent his whole life protecting!"
"On top of having his memory slowly being wiped, I'd say the guy deserves a little more love, c'mon guys!" Sticks added, crossing her arms. Rouge, looking troubled, looked away in annoyance at the mention of his mind going blank.
"Stop losing focus," Shadow ordered. "There is more at stake here. These trivial complaints and arguments won't help Knuckles or anyone else, for that matter. Silver, I need you to look over this emerald real quick,"
Silver nodded astutely and ran over to Shadow. Once he reached him, he paused in shock. Before him was a startling sight indeed.
"Any idea what this is?"
"N-no! I've never seen anything like this before!"
Surge jumped onto Silver's back, slightly surprising him. "The hell is that? It kinda looks cool..."
"Shadow, I don't know what that...thing is..." Silver was distraught. The sight of it brings him great pain and confusion, yet another dark reminder today, though this time it is less flashy and destructive and more haunting and foreboding. Surge took note of his expressions.
"My guess is that this is just another dumb side effect. Maybe it's just taken on a new look to fit with its new rebellious stage." Surge was half-joking but she did think some of what she said was true. Shadow gave her an 'Are you serious' kinda look and she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "What, you got any other bright ideas then, maestro? Last I checked, you were as lost as me, so what's with the judgment?!"
"I won't disregard all of what you said, but the rest I will choose to ignore. You may be correct in this being another new ailment it's caught, but the question is, why ?"
"You reckon this got anything to do with them two inside the emerald?" Bunnie asked.
Shadow shrugged. "No way of knowing unless we were to check ourselves, but jumping into the emerald when there are already two of us in there doesn't seem ideal. The best we can do is wait."
"Goddamnit dude." Surge groaned, laying herself dramatically on Silver's back, who was too dazed to care. "Another waiting game!? I should've left when I had the chance!"
' You really should've ' Bunnie and Sticks thought to themselves.
"Maybe while we wait, we should take the opportunity to check up on the others and grab Knuckles' body," Rouge suggested, rubbing her chin. "Leaving it so far away when we don't know what may happen in the next few minutes to hours doesn't sit well with me."
"Oooo ooo, I can go with ya , if ya want! Didn't ya say there were two unconscious people? Maybe I can pilot Tails' Tornado and carry people back. It'd be way faster!"
"You know how to work a plane?" Surge questioned, not trusting the erratic woman one bit.
Sticks scoff. "Of course I can! Who do ya take me for- don't answer that." And in a snap Sticks got in the tornado, activated it, and had it working like clockwork. "Ay hey hey! Look at that! A working plane!" Surge with half-lidded eyes stared blankly having no choice but to stay silent and deal with Stick's onward mockery so Silver wouldn't get on her case again.
"I appreciate the offer, but I'd prefer only taking Knux with me . It'd be better to keep anyone else who's been injured away from the danger we'll inevitably get ourselves into." Rouge explained.
Bunnie scratched her head. "Wouldn't keeping them so far away from the rest of the group be more dangerous though? I mean ain't that how things got complicated?"
"Yes, it can be dangerous, but I'd prefer they stay hidden and out of sight than lumped with us while holding us back. Now that they're more aware of a looming threat, they'll continue to be alert, securing their safety, unlike us, who are in the spotlight."
"Can't argue with that." Surge yawned. "Though I would have preferred having at least the brat here so I can bully the ever-loving crap outta him."
"No."
"Yeah."
"No..."
"Oh wait, holy crap, you're awake!"
Silver sighed as Surge snickered on. "What am I gonna do with you?"
"Nothing-"
"There you guys are!" Everyone turned to the distant forest area and were greeted by Sonic and the other's presence. "Hopefully nothing too crazy happened while I was away."
Surge rolled her eyes as everyone else made a spectacle of their return.
"Aw, sweet! You caught Chaos! Nice work 'Fluff'!" Sonic had a sly look on his face as he witnessed the slight blush on Silver and Surge's face form, Surge being especially shocked since she wasn't focusing.
"Shut up!" Was Silver's only response but it didn't make him feel any less flushed seeing Sonic laugh a little harder. Silver was close to doing whack-a-mole with Sonic until his eyes landed on a familiar, sleeping face. Nicole's still frame was being held by Omega carefully, ear still twitching like she was in a deep sleep. Surge displayed a flash of worry that was immediately trounced by her quick plain expression right after just as quickly, trying to hide her unusual expression with a facade of indifference. She followed Silver when he made his way over to the towering robot to check on his unconscious friend, and couldn't help giving out a tired sigh when seeing her up close. "Nicole is still out like a light, huh?"
Tails nodded, a frown present. "Yeah. She got hit pretty hard when Chaos ambushed us..."
"To think this is how I see her again after everything that's happened." Amy looked to her good friend with saddened eyes. "Poor Nicole, seems like she always gets the short end of the stick." Amy held the lynx's hand tightly, the thoughts of what could have happened after all these months swirling in her mind.
"Nicole is no rookie." Sonic placed his hand on Amy's shoulder, reassuring her. "She may have gotten hurt now, but don't forget her strength after all these years." Sonic comforted. Amy gave a small smile and nodded with a slight blush on her cheeks, which Shadow caught on to.
After his tiny "pep talk", Surge walked away from everyone else landing herself at the shrine's base to avoid eye contact...except for one person. Sonic walked up to Shadow, his expression unchanged from when he first arrived, grinding Surge's gears as she silently seared into his soul. To her, it seems everything he comes into contact with ends with someone taking the fall, even though he and his stupid friends were supposed to be...capable. As she expected, it all led to Nicole suffering from their sloppiness.
Shadow didn't hide his small grimace upon seeing the blue hedgehog make his way to him. "For someone titled 'The Fastest Thing Alive' you sure are slow to appear for the most vital situations."
"Hey, cut me some slack here, Shadow ol pal! I had to be sure everyone was safe and sound. Sides, you guys seemed to be doing fine all on your own!" Sonic said, light chuckles here and there.
Shadow growled, causing Sonic's chuckles to sound more nervous. "in other words, you're too slow."
"Ack, you sure know where to hit me where it hurts, buddy! Guess we'll have to settle this later on to prove who the slowest of the two really are."
Sonic's grin grew wider when he noticed the slight rise in Shadow's competitive spirit, but in the usual Shadow fashion, he grunted at the mere challenge.
"Let's focus on more pressing matters before we discuss my inevitable victory."
"Yeah yeah, whatever ya say. So, what's the damage."
Bunnie cleared her throat to grab the boy's attention. "After ya left, Blaze took a huge risk and jumped inside after Knuckles."
"Wait what!? Why would she do that?! Has she lost her mind?!"
"That's what I said! But she had a hunch and reeaallly wanted to test it out. Lo and behold, we find out she can come and go from inside that Emerald as long as her body makes contact with it." Sticks explained. "Yeesh, hopefully, that'll be the last time I have to say all this."
"But what exactly causes them even to get in this predicament in the first place? from the sounds of it, their soul gets zapped out of their body, but why?" Rouge questioned.
Omega scanned Knuckles' body to get any further data. "[Signs of life are still present in the body. Breathing is stable, blood pressure, while low, is at reasonable levels. However, brain activity is at a concerning level of detriment.]"
Sonic frowned at that news. "He wouldn't happen to have any brain damage, does he? Wouldn't want our famous Knucklehead to get worse."
Omega replied with a low whirring sound before speaking. "[Unlikely. Although, It does seem he is facing constant nightmares, or dealing with heightened activity while inside the emerald. His brain's current state is how I could detect the anomalies. Outside of this, he appears normal.]"
"So ya mean to tell me that this is all stemming from the emeralds going haywire?!" Sticks asked, scratching her head.
"It's hard to say. While the most noticeable answer would be the existing state of the emeralds being a direct link, we have no real solid proof of this yet and the only tie-in is that all of the emeralds have not been acting themselves, but the direct cause is uncertain. Regular tests would need to be done but we hardly have any tech that could endure a single Chaos emerald's instability right now." Tails explained thoroughly.
"What about your upgraded C.I.M? Wouldn't that work?" Amy asked
Tails was going to answer, but Shadow intervened. "It would be less risky using them on the emeralds rather than the Master Emerald. After all, it is a far greater source of power. If this new tech Tails has is one of our only ways to get proper feedback, the cost of the risk is too wide to make back. We need to study what we can as much as possible. Which reminds me." Shadow swiftly turns to Tails, startling the young fox with his icy cold stare. Tails awkwardly waved with a meek 'hi'. "I need you to take a look at what I found at the base of the shrine."
Tails' face decorated a more serious expression. "What is it?"
"Over here!" Silver gestured Tails and the others to come to him, where they would eventually see the ominous glowing stone pulse with a dark purple aura.
Amy grabbed onto Sonic's arm in shock of the sight. "N-no way! Is that a-"
"Chaos Emerald." Silver finished her sentence, clear pain in his expression. "This has gotten far worse than I could ever imagine. The phenomenon has gotten so bad that the emeralds look as though they're rotting from the inside out!"
Surge clicked her tongue. "Not even our emeralds back on Torque looked this rough. Did Elise and her sisters even mention crap like this?"
"I don't think she even knows this can happen!"
Sonic tapped his chin while analyzing the emerald. "I have the sneaking suspicion that if we touch it we'll keel over and die."
"Hey Rat, take one for the team?"
"In your dreams, Sparks." Sonic chuckled
While everyone was distracted, Sticks grabbed a bundle of twigs and leaves she collected and without any warning started to throw a bunch of them at the sick emerald.
"The hell are ya doing, Springs." A half-lidded Bunnie asked, already tired of what her crazy friend was scheming.
Sticks nudged her buddy with eagerness. "This what I do when I wanna be sure an animal is friendly, deadly, or dead. Usually works."
"Sticks, this is a powerful unpredictable rock, not a wild unpredictable animal!" Amy shouted in annoyance.
"Yeah, but it might as well be! We wanna know what'll happen if we try touchin' it, and no one here's got any other solution. Plus, lots of these twigs and leaves are fresh and vibrant from an organic source. Don't knock it till ya try it and all that jazz!" With that, Sticks continued with her oddball plan like clockwork, receiving a slow shake of the head from Bunnie.
Omega placed Nicole and Knuckles' bodies on the ground. Out of curiosity, he decided to scan Nicole again which piqued Tails and Amy's interest. they departed from the rest of the group.
Omega finished his scan and made a whirring noise, thinking over the growing problem.
"Noticed anything, Omega?" Tails interrupted the brooding robot with his sudden question.
"[Ever since my first scan, I have noticed an astonishing rate of chaotic energy surging through her body. I theorize that since she is much like Gemerl and I, a technological entity, she has been at high risk of being purged by the anomalies. Her condition is even similar to Gemerl's condition when we visited Cream's place of residence.]"
Amy placed a balled hand in her palm. "Aha! That's right! Once Gemerl came into contact with the emerald me and Cream found, he was knocked out for a while, but he did wake up once Shadow and the others showed up!"
"But Nicole had no physical contact with the Master Emerald. Hmmm, though it is a far greater power source than the emeralds combined, Maybe the excess amounts of energy may have lead to her being in essentially a coma...But she was completely fine before getting knocked out..."
"[Perhaps her vulnerable state led to her succumbing faster to the side effects the emeralds now exude. Unlike, Gemerl, she and I are more aware of the instability, and so are more prepared.]"
"But I don't get , wouldn't being in the area alone be enough to- "
"Will she wake up, yes or no?"
All three turn to see Surge leaning on a tree not too far away, tossing a pine cone up and down like a baseball.
"You guys keep talking about this and that, but not when she'll wake up?"
Tails frowned. "We want Nicole to wake up as much as you do, Surge, but-"
Surge cackled out loud, gripping the pinecone harshly once it landed i her gloved hand, crushing it to tiny little pieces. "Yeah sure, and that's why you're talking over her like she's one of your stupid science experiments? You sure know when to make me laugh, kid!"
Tails sighed, he knew his words would be of little help to make her feel any better, but it was worth the shot regardless. Amy suddenly stood in from of the young fox with her arms crossed and a strong frown.
"Who do you think you are talking to Tails like that?! He's trying to help Omega find a reason for Nicole's condition and you berate him? How do you think Nicole would feel if she caught you talking to her friend this way?!"
"And you are?"
"I'm the girl who'll kick your butt if you know what's good for ya ! Now leave Tails alone!"
"Oh no! I'm so scared! Wouldn't want the dweeb's big sister to give me a proper scolding! Oh what shall I ever do!" Surge cackled and laughed harder once Amy's growing red-hot angry expression was too much not to notice. "Listen, how's about you let the kid handle his own battles. You wouldn't wanna get hurt, now would ya-"
"[For your safety, I highly recommend not touching Amy Rose.]"
Amy and Tails both looked surprised hearing this from Omega.
"Aww, why? You'll try and stop me?"
"[I would not need to.]"
Amy puffed up her chest in pride. "Ha! See that! Even Omega thinks I'd kick your butt. Better watch out, ya big bully!"
Tails looked back to the rest of the group for a quick second, hoping that Silver or maybe even Sonic would come by and quell the heated exchange but instead his whole frame froze, spine-shivering. He quickly decided to step in between the two girls hoping what he was about to do would work. "You know what Amy, She's right!"
"Huh?! Tails what's gotten into you!?"
Surge silently observed his sudden shift in tune, noticing how much more shaky and cowardly he's gotten. She finds the brat to be annoying and lacking his sense of pride, but when it comes to his dumb courageous side, she won't deny that the brat does have at least ONE redeemable trait. Plus, he didn't showcase anything of the sort before when she started getting on his case...so why now?
"I'm sorry Surge! I in no way meant to make you feel like we've been ignoring the main issues! We'll get right to figuring out when Nicole will wake up!" His shakiness started to melt away once he started to speak more truthfully. He honestly did want to find a quick solution to Nicole's current state . He dawned a warm smile, which reminded Surge of a certain someone. "I'll do my best!"
Surge stared blankly for a few seconds at the young fox and scoffed. "Whatever. Make sure not to screw up anything in that Brainiac's nuts and bolts. We need her." Surge softly stated before finally walking away from the three. She was growing more and more restless and the situation surrounding Nicole was making things worse. Now she for some weird ass reason feels worse when looking at this brat she not too long ago hated?
"Why'd you take the blame?! I could have easily taken her on!" Amy shouted at a sheepish Tails. He scratched his head trying to come up with a good excuse. "How is it that Omega had more faith in me, but not you!?"
"[He preserved that girl's pride, maybe even her life. You should be thanking him.]"
"Eh?! From what?!"
Surge was walking back to the base of the shrine , watching as everyone is dumbfounded by Stick's plan having worked and showcasing considerable results. While everyone was distracted, Shadow walked in Surge's line of sight and once they both crossed paths, he placed a stern grip on her arm. She was caught off guard by his sudden grip and tried to break free only to fail at each attempt. He wasn't even looking at her and yet he didn't falter and made it clear that until he was done with his direct order that she had no choice but to shut up and listen to, she wasn't gonna go free no matter how hard she tried. She glared darkly at the dark hedgehog yet his gaze didn't change. He watched as Amy and Tails were bickering with each other. Surge looked back and it dawned on her. 'So that's why he brat- '
"If I ever catch you pulling another putrid stunt like that, you won't be Silver's little helper anymore," After his red eyes have been staring intensely at that one particular area, he finally turned to Surge, who even in her best efforts tried to stay tough squirmed under his frightful gaze. His eyes were hotter than that of the sun and pierced through all her guards. "You'll become my personal chew toy." His grip grew tighter with each word spat at her. She shivered but fought with every fiber of her being to not succumb to his threat. She scowled, trying her hand at making him know exactly who she was dealing with...but his eyes. They held a malice she'd never seen before. "Have I made myself clear?"
She didn't answer. She refused to answer. She was so done with everyone thinking they could boss her around, everyone thinking they could control her. She's through with all the garbage everyone's tossed her way...yet she can't bring it upon herself to even say anything either...She hates how she can't seem to get along with anyone, can't even bring herself to follow simple orders, can't bring herself to even care yet she still...cares? Nothing about anything has made sense since getting here and she thinks to herself....why the hell did she tag along? Why did she think this would all fix anything? She doesn't even care if the entire planet and those currently on it...
"I asked you a question."
Her mind was going blank, her mind going numb with how mad she was getting, how tired this crap was becoming to her. She just wants to kill this bastard in front of her and get it over with, yet she's also too scared, too fearful for her life. Why is she like this? Then he started appearing in her mind. His stupid smug grin and his sickening confidence over her. Taking everything from them. Her eyes were beginning to water so she tried fighting back the tears but it got harder the more stubborn she got with it.
A soft hand was placed on her shoulder and she looked up to see Silver staring blankly at Shadow, her eyes were wet and surprised to also see Sonic right beside him.
"what's more important, the mission or personal beef?" Silver said coldly.
" Obviously , the mission. But if your dog-"
"Her name is Surge. " Silver stated sternly eyes glowing briefly once her name was mentioned and catching everyone's attention.
"Woah woah, let's chill out." Shadow's eyes might as well be lasers at this point with how pissed he looked. "Shadow, let's not forget how most of us were when we first met. We weren't exactly buddy-buddy as we are now if you get what I'm sayin'. If you knew what Surge went through, I think you and her would come to a huge understanding. Whatever she did was probably really bad, but at least give her a chance. She's trying...in her own brash way hehe!"
Shadow paused to reflect on Sonic's words then took a few seconds to look back at Amy. He closed his eyes and after mulling it over, released Surge from his grip she walked beside Silver, clearly dejected. He frowned and wanted to do something but knew better than to agitate her more.
"They're back!"
All eyes snapped immediately to the large rock as two hands displayed themselves patiently. Bunnie quickly picked Blaze's body up and Rouge grabbed the unconscious Knuckles, both quickly lined their hands so they could finally reenter their respective bodies.
It took a few seconds but eventually, their eyes began to open and they finally saw the bright blue sky once again. They didn't speak, they didn't move any further. Keeping the silence to appreciate the peace with which they didn't for what felt like an eternity was preferable to jumping instantly into action. Sonic ran up the steps with Tails and Amy closely behind looking into Knuckles' eyes and seeing how dazed and glossy they were.
Tails' face scrunched up in worry. "He's not looking too good."
"Neither does Blaze." Sticks added. "They look like they've seen several ghosts. What...did they see?"
Shadow narrowed his eyes at the Master Emerald before turning to the dark and clouded Chaos Emerald. Whatever they've witnessed, it was certainly worth a thorough investigation. He will be sure to let Chris and Topaz know of these new discoveries. "Seems like what that princess of yours said was true Silver. The dark reality she was worried about had already infested its way inside our world."
"Why though? What could cause this to happen?' Tails pondered. "Unstable Emeralds, old enemies returning from the grave? What on earth has the power to do any of that with seemingly little issue?"
Shadow was already halfway up the steps by the time Tails was done speaking. "Key word 'seemingly'. Until we get more clues any further guesses are moot."
Silver was about to follow but felt a tug at his arm .He turned to see Surge, head resting in her hand while the other firmly grasping his limb. "How much longer?"
Silver exhaled through his nose, worry flooding him. "If you want, I can-"
"I'm not quitting."
Silver's eyes bore into hers, some tears have fallen yet her eyes are determined.
"I'm no dog, no mistake, no defect, and definitely no quitter. I'm just...It's just tough is all. Being around everyone tied to the person I can't help but hate."
Her words hurt to hear. She sounded so tired and fed up with it all. Deep down, she knew her actions were never truly 'hers' but she has leaned into it a lot more ever since she's gotten involved with Sonic again. Silver hummed and thought over his words carefully until he found what he was looking for.
"You know, it may seem bleak...but you never know....maybe one day this wall will be dealt with. Whether it be working through it, around it, or destroying it, it doesn't matter so long as it means you'll be fine and this dead end becomes the start of something amazing! Me and Nicole will be there that amazing day," Silver helped her straighten herself back up. "I guarantee it!"
Surge didn't understand it. Was it naivety? Stupidty? Brain damage? She didn't know but at that moment, she didn't really care. His words were surprisingly, exactly what she needed to hear right now. But of course, she can't have him knowing that and growing a big head about it, so she settled on swiping her hands away and turning her back to face him instead. The least she could do after he stepped in for her when she needed it, especially toward someone he made clear he respected.
"Yeah...whatever."
Silver's initial shock faded with a smile in its place, sensing that she was bouncing back better than usual. He wonders what made it different this time. But something else began to nag at his mind. He feels as of he had forgotten something important but his mind felt so...foggy for some reason.
Knuckles sat up randomly, startling Sonic and Tails. He breathed heavily as he remained seated, droplets of sweat forming on his forehead, all of the thoughts finally being properly processed. He turned to look at Sonic who was none the wiser to his friend's erratic behavior.
"Hey, Knux, you doin' alright?" a concerned Sonic asked. "Quit looking at me like that, man, your giving me the creeps here." Sonic chuckled sheepishly. Blaze carefully sat up and also looked at Sonic, but her eyes were far more tired and fearful. She couldn't help but feel that the warnings held far more stakes than any other foe or obstacle they had dealt with, so when gazing at her blue comrade's clueless face, she felt a sense of urgency she had felt once before : The dream she had. That woman. That man.
"There are four foes who all want you dead," Blaze said bluntly. "The one who told us this...She was the same one I saw in my dream...the dream that brought me here, the one who was held captive within it."