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12.5% Sonic Heroes: [Star System] / Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Dreams & Frequencies
Sonic Heroes: [Star System] Sonic Heroes: [Star System] original

Sonic Heroes: [Star System]

Author: Mamma_Gamma

© WebNovel

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Dreams & Frequencies

In a cold sweat, Blaze awoke from her sleep gasping for air as if she had been drowning in her sleep. She sat in her barely lit room breathing heavily, grateful to be able be alive... but why? What caused this to even come about? She was perfectly fine, and so too her people. She had a rather good day and has had minor inconveniences altogether for several months now. So why does it feel as though she was never safe, why did she dream...about that Before she could further ponder on the odd circumstance she now found herself in, a new thought entered her mind and in turn, a new feeling she couldn't ignore. Back-to-back, these new anomalies seemed to be hitting her with little time in between, but this one was far bigger than the last.

 "The Sol Emeralds..."

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Blaze rushed through the halls with utmost urgency, her horror filled features in clear view as she helplessly ran toward the room where the Sol Emeralds lay protected by four guards all of whom became immediately alerted to the princess's troubled and shambled appearance.

 "Princess, what troubles you? Why are you in such a hurry?" One of the guards asked, worry evident in his voice. Blaze rarely shows concern when in the presence of her people, especially not in such a disorganized state, which she didn't even notice herself. Once it was pointed out, a flash of embarrassment flared her face, but she quickly shook it away and fixed herself the best she could before adjusting her stature.

 "The Sol Emeralds...something is happening and I need to see them." She panted but slowly she regained more and more of her composure as she spoke. " Please grant me access, so the soul may continue to burn. " The guards understood and she resumed on towards her destination once they moved out of her way.

 The room was large and dim with moonlight, yet glimmered with the power of the Sol Emeralds, and in the middle of all seven stands the Sol Scepter. All eight items were the only large source of light in the room, yet the darkness that abounds was very clear to Blaze, who looked on in worry, wondering what could be causing the relics to call her, yet remain unclear. For centuries, she and her bloodline have guarded the ancient wonders from thieving hands and protected the people from the very relics themselves for they pose a threat when used carelessly and have been for as long as all could remember. Though, as it is...this is the first time they called to her with such blurred words. Blurred yet panicked. It was enough for Blaze to put two and two together to figure out that whatever that nightmare was, had to be tied to the current state of the emeralds and the scepter. 

 She walked towards them hoping to wield it and get any further answers to this growing problem, but as she was reaching for the scepter, it shook...

 Quickly, a powerful burst of light flared before her very eyes, causing her to scream in shock and slight pain. The guards that were posted outside immediately barged in after hearing her yell, swords raised shields set.

 "Princess, what has happened?!" One guard asked

 "Is there an intruder?!" Another growled viciously

 All audibly gasped at the sight of Blaze sprawled out on the ground, groaning and rubbing at her eyes. The guards went to aid the confused monarch, gently sitting her up and checking to see if she was okay.

 "Hurry, inform the special aid of Her Majesty's-" Blaze grabbed the guard's arms before he could finish his command.

 "That will not be necessary!" Blaze commanded, eyes still closed from the intense flare. "Call Gardon over instead. I need to speak with him about meeting the girls." 

 "But, Your Majesty-"

 "Please..." She finally opened her eyes which were now a tint of red, yet earnest. The reluctant guard took a few moments to think about his decision, but ultimately gave in and ordered two guards to fetch the chief and had the other help Blaze to her resting quarters. On their way there, Blaze was in deep thought about the odd position she was now in and what came of the incident. All she could DO was think about it and the implications of what she had just seen. Not only that, the nightmare she had, so clear...so real. What was even happening...Why was he standing there, boring into her person, seemingly trying to figure out what too was before him? And who was that woman by his side? Nothing made any sense...

 "Your Majesty..." Blaze snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of one of the guard's worried voice. "If I may ask, what happened in there? What could have caused you to be in such a state?"

 "Should we make an alert of the incident? Dispatch supplementary safeguards and pursue the perpetrator?" The other wondered, leaning forward to get a better look at Blaze's tired face. She halted her strides to turn toward the two men before her, attempting to stay regal and poised but she was still unquestionably jittery nevertheless. She inhaled slowly, quieting the nerves building inside to further push back the unease eating at her.

 "Nothing of the sort should be acted upon. I simply need Gardon and the girls to handle this situation. The last thing I need right now is for the rest of the guards, and by proxy the people, to get worked up over this. It is an issue only I and those I let in be concerned with. For now, after walking me to my chamber, continue on as though nothing has happened. Be sure to let the other guards who are aware of this conundrum know as well."

 Both guards looked at each other with uncertainty but nodded with a salute, brushing away the concern with their trust in the monarch, and continued to bring her to her room. 

 As they quietly escorted her, Blaze closed her eyes, deep thoughts taking over once more, and looked on into the now burned image of what seemed to be a map, singed into her retinas.

 

 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

 Blaze, now in her room, patiently waited for her most trusted guard to finally make an appearance after drawing out the map-like optical illusion. With nothing else to do but wait, she bounced her leg impatiently, wondering what was taking him so long to come and see her, the wait was killing her! She paced back and forth, sat down, got up again, made tea, made a silly beat against her desk, read a book or, well, skimmed the book, wrote down her thoughts, and fell to her bed in defeat with a hopeless sigh escaping her lips all within 5 minutes. She was beginning to think that maybe she should go to him and was even about to storm out of her room before Gardon, in a huff, finally made it. 

 

 "While I know that it's currently the dead of night, is there any other reason why you took an absurdly longer time than usual to get here?" A slightly agitated Blaze asked with a dead-pan expression, scanning Gardon's form as he panted and wheezed comically, winning a small smile from the serious monarch. "Here, let me help you out." She grabbed a hold of his arm and led him to a nearby chair setting him down slowly before departing. Gardon exhaled, ease slowly entering back into his body. "I take it that you fought through a stampede of Gozo's to get here?" Gardon gave a half-lidded stare back at Blaze, who was now adorning a full-on smirk. Gardon closed his eyes to think of a proper response.

 

 A wobbled "Stampede is an understatement" was all he had to offer at the moment and in response, a light chuckle decorated the once dead-silent air. 

 

 "I apologize for my witty response prior. I know my requesting an audience with you at this hour is unbecoming and inconvenient," Blaze's smile faded once the main topic reared its ugly head once more. "But something of great worry has been brought to my attention." The words 'great worry' managed to make Gardon's eyes grew as wide as flying saucers as he sat up almost instantly.

 

 "Oh dear goodness gracious, what's happened, Your Majesty?! Has Young Cyboro gone and planned yet another hair-brained scheme!?"

 

 "I wish..."

 

 Gardon's attention was now fully on Blaze. Her demeanor was very concerning as she looked less assured and more tense. Her mental health seemingly on a steady decline.

 "Your Majesty," He somberly began, but her hand signaled him to cease any attempt to reassure her. Time is of the essence, she needed to let the necessary people know of what she had witnessed. No...not just her people.

 "Please send out a message to the girls so that we may act on this new obstacle at once. I need to get things ready for a trip to Mobius and get as much help as possible." She affirmed while pacing back and forth. 

 "A trip?" Gardon's eyes gleamed at what this could mean. "Ah! Princess, does this mean...?"

 "Yes," Blaze's eyes flared with determined hope. "This job is far too adventurous not to have him involved. Besides, he always manages to save the day somehow."

 Gardon hopped off the chair and headed for the door, his eagerness getting the best of him. "Well, why didn't you start with that, Madame?! I'll get everything ready!" Before she knew it, he bolted out of the door to start preparing everything. 

 Silence yet again. Blaze decided to take a breather on her balcony and let all that had transpired set in, thinking about the future whilst looking toward the clear starry night sky. Worry, anxiety, confusion...yet her trust in the Blue Blur's ability to fight against the unknown shone through the beady dark drops forming in her mind. She still had a long way to go if she wished to get to his level of willpower! But the journey is worth it if it means being as hopeful as he is. 

 "Sonic," Blaze whispered, hand on her chest, the hope continuing to build ever so boldly. "There is a deep steep darkness that grows impatient, it hungers for the destruction of our worlds. It will not stop until every light is extinguished, strength adorning its abominable cold stare. The end of all that lives. I hope that whatever this force is, you're will shall counter the void.I and everyone willing will most certainly fight valiantly by your side till then..." And with that, the sky illuminated with glimmering stars couldn't have felt any clearer

 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 A blissful wind danced through the ever-peaceful land of Green Hills whilst the flickies chirped in harmony amongst one another, setting the tone for their humble abode with much ease, longingly staring out to the clear blue skies of Mobius or the multitudes of grassy luscious hills and colorful flowers when suddenly the air had lost its slow and graceful rhythm to a more abrupt forceful hiccup that came as fast as it went and managed to knock some of the flickies over, some up and went out of their nest like a plastic bag flowing through the wind. Confused, the flickies frantically looked into their surroundings when they came to, hoping to find the source of such a strong gust of wind only to see nothing and no one in sight. Little did they know that a Blue Blur had passed by in the usual hurry, looping around at the speed of sound in careless wondrous bliss.

 As Sonic The Hedgehog sped from tree to tree, wall to wall, and loop to loop, he couldn't contain his boundless energy. He had no intention of stopping his wild adventure until he had his fill of quick and fun escapades to burn off some steam. Although the amount of land he covered in just thirty seconds was staggering, he didn't care. He was too focused on having fun. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following him, even though he was alone. Despite this, he ignored the strange sensation and continued his journey through the floating prairies of Green Hills, enjoying the fresh air and admiring the crystal blue lakes from a distance. After aiding in some of the restoration services for the people in various cities, he needed to get a little breather here and there. He doesn't mind helping, of course, but he did miss the good ole jogs. Luckily, they've been coming around smoothly so he most likely will be able to run wild and free like usual in a week.

 Through all of this, he heard a familiar tune ring casually on his person, enough for the Speed Blitzer to take a brisk pit stop at a floating prairie with a beautiful view of all of Greenhills in its nostalgic glory, earning a good-hearted chuckle as a reward from an old friend. After reminiscing, he finally checked out his ComLink to see Tails' cheerful picture decorating the screen. 

 [" Sonic! "] an all too excited Tails shouted eagerly at his best friend, tired eyes sparkling with pure wonder and enchantment coupled with an equally wonderful smile lacking any signs of wear and tear, leading Sonic to believe whatever Tails was going to explode about must be of great appeal. [" You have to come over to my place! When I did energy readings on the Chaos Emerald we found at Never Lake, something bizarre happened! "]

 "Let me guess, a certain mustache-twirling egg with legs made yet another hair-brained scheme to take over the world?" Sonic said casually, clearly expecting the typical, but always welcomed challenges, from the all too goofy Dr. Robotnik, or as Sonic and friends love to nickname him, Eggman 

 [" Believe it or not, no! I have little reason to suspect Egghead had any hand in this phenomenon! "] This ended up piquing Sonic's interest a tad more. This time around, it wasn't Eggman related? The odds on that have been so unlikely in recent years that Sonic was reasonably suspicious of the circumstances.

 "Oh really?! What makes ya think he got no hand in whatever ya found?"

 [" Come by my lab and I'll show you! You won't regret it, Sonic! It's puzzling but still relatively cool! "] And with that, Tails ended the call leaving the blue hedgehog alone with his thoughts on the matter. Sonic scratched at his ear as he sat on the edge of the prairie platform. No Eggman? While it is highly likely that whatever is happening has no association with the evil scientist, Sonic can't help but feel that this could just be yet another one of Eggheads 'sly' shots at trumping Sonic and co. Wouldn't be the first time the monologuing tyrant tried to 1up everyone using underhanded or seemingly innocent discoveries. Besides that, Tails sounded pumped, so it's gotta be some less-than-ordinary sciency stuff, which Sonic didn't mind glimpsing into from time to time, largely since this always made Tails happy.

 "Well, no point in wastin' any more time! Better head to Tails' place for a better look at the damage, heh heh!"

 In a snap, Sonic spun back onto his feet and was ready to bolt for Emerald Coast...but for some reason, he felt an unfathomable energy nearby, causing him to spin sharply around to find nobody at all. 'What on Mobius was that?' he thought, but after analyzing the area for a few more seconds he simply shrugged it off and went on his way to the humble town, wondering the whole time why he felt so...uneasy all of a sudden. Like someone's eyes landed directly on him with much intensity.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 The calm ocean breeze blew throughout the humble town of Emerald Coast with not a single care in the world, cementing the tourist attraction's general vibe for all who visit to avoid the mundane ways of life to relish what living can truly offer. Besides the clear emerald ocean, white sandy beaches, clear lush blue skies, and bright green leaves of the tall palm trees, there lies a new sight for sore eyes and he was within the confines of curiosity itself as he worked away at his humble workshop, a place that reflects his hard work while proudly wearing tails signature emblem, his tails! He continued fiddling with his gadgets and tinkering with a modified piece of his creation.

 "Imperative!" Tails has never witnessed such eloquent data readings like this before! When he began to adjust the C.I.M (Chaos Interval Meter) around the chaos emerald after it exhibited notable behavioral patterns, he didn't expect it to transcend the very arrangement of his custom energy reader by reverse engineering it before his very eyes into something looking far more complex and intricate, like it went through a form of 'upgrade'. Bit by bit, what he knew as his innovation turned into something he could barely identify, followed by analytics from the tests being burnt onto the graphs with an idiosyncratic 3D-esque silhouette gazing back at the young fox with a heightened energy reading that indicates instability within the emerald itself rather than a mere power boost. Odd, strange, mystifying, ludicrous, concerning, all in all, wrapped in such inquisitive mannerisms. He couldn't figure out why the chaos emerald showcased such a feverish fluctuation nor how it came to be in such a state, but whatever was provoking it to act this way didn't seem to be of any artificial means or foul play by any external origin. Especially not Eggman...

 Looking at the extreme power levels, it would be far too risky to do anything with the Chaos Emeralds since they would just overload any system and cause an outage for any mechanical object it touches or flip the configuration of any machine, maybe even beings, it comes into direct contact with, much like it did with his C.I.M which thankfully only went through a makeover. But most bewildering of it all, if Eggman would for some reason go with such a course, why make it where he would have a roadblock towards the very thing he wishes to use to attain ultimate power? There would be no real adequate justification to go to such lengths to hinder Sonic and everyone else only to self-sabotage his own goals in doing so. Eggman has accidentally crossed himself in his conquest, but it was usually due to a variable or two he missed in a seemingly stable plan or info omitted and/or hidden from him, not ever on purpose or based on a whim with a small success rate. He may be a big talkative know-it-all, but he knows his limits and wouldn't deliberately leave any opportunities to bruise his already scarred ego

  Knock

 Knock  Knock

 "Oh!" Tails ripped his eyes away from the emerald and ran towards the door, excitement barely contained as he fumbled to open it.

 "Sonic, you finally arrived! Was wondering how much longer you were gonna take to get here." Tails jested, rolling his eyes playfully as he made his way toward the door to open it, "You gotta check out-" Tails stopped in his tracks after facing not his speedy blue pal, but a strong red pal instead. "Woah, Knuckles??" What are you doing here?!" 

 Here stands Knuckles the Echidna, staring down at the boy genius with a confused look on his face.

 "You rarely visit unless there is an emergency or a huge party." 

 "What do you mean?"

 "Well, I mean, aren't you supposed to be guarding the-" Tails paused and put two and two together, "Wait, are you here about the Master Emerald by any chance?" 

 "Not initially." He began as he crossed his arms, worry flashing quickly over his features but vanished all the same, "I'm here 'cause you called me to come visit you not too long ago. From the way you were speaking with me over the ComLink, it sounded urgent, so I made my way here as fast as I could."

 Tails called him? He doesn't at all remember contacting Knuckles! He was too focused on the Chaos Emerald to have made any other calls to anyone besides Sonic. He did think of calling him over too, but waited for Sonic's insight first before involving any other person since Sonic and Tails were the only people investigating the weird activity surrounding Never Lake.

 "Although," Knuckles began, bogging tails out of his thoughts while pushing past him to sit on the boy genius' cozy red bean bag chair. "It is weird how you mentioned the Master Emerald. Recently, I've noticed that its energy has increased but the growth in power almost feels unreal, or just downright unnerving. It got to the point where the aura itself seemed to have a mind of its own."

 "Mind of its own?"

 Knuckles nodded, resting further into the soft material. "Yeah! I swear, it's almost like it's...alive, or something. The Master Emerald has a rich history, history that predates me and my entire race of people." He huffed at the very thought of it all. "So whenever any new funny business comes about, I can't help but shudder at what secrets that is begging to be revealed at any moment."

 "That's...so bizarre."

 "Bizarre is one heck of an understatement."

 Tails pondered on this new piece of information carefully, pacing back and forth as he tried to pinpoint any connections to this unprecedented phenomenon. Aside from the chaos emerald he has in his possession and the weird signals coming from Never Lake, he hadn't seen any other peculiar cases arise in recent days. ' Mind of its own '.

 "I may not know why the Master Emerald is acting this way, but I can relay to you what I found about the chaos emerald Sonic and I found at Never Lake."

 "I'm guessing that's why you called?" Knuckles sighed, head resting against his hands while getting more and more comfortable in the soft bean-shaped chair.

 Ah, that's right! The supposed call Tails made. "To be frank with you Knuckles, I don't recollect ever calling you at all this week. There hasn't been any real motivation to disturb you from your duties, so when you arrived saying I contacted you, I was pretty puzzled!" 

 

 Someone must have done a pretty good impersonation of Tails or something, cause the sudden expression on Knuckles' face tells Tails that he couldn't at all wrap his head around how he didn't call him! "That's impossible!" He firmly stated a little too passionately, startling Tails just a tad, "There's no way anyone else could have gotten my com info, I mean come on, I may have made some...inconvenient choices in the past, but there's no way I'd just hand that out! I'm not an idiot, Tails!" He seethed, squinted eyes piercing through Tails' soul. 

 

 "I'm sorry, Knux! I don't mean to offend you in any way, but I promise you, I never contacted you this whole week! I've only called Sonic over to check out what I found on the Emerald on my workstation. The last time we met up or spoke at all was 2 weeks ago when you were free to hang out with the rest of the gang." Tails carefully reminded. The last thing he wanted to do was aggravate Knuckles further, which sadly was inevitable. 

 "This doesn't make sense!" He declared, sitting up straight with gritted teeth, "You even told me that there was something strange you found and wanted to share with me! Lo and behold, you do just that!" Knuckles stood from the bean bag chair and walked towards the emerald sitting majestically on Tails' workbench. "Not only did I see your mug on the screen, but I also saw this very emerald, same color and setup, when you communicated with me! It even felt like you wanted me to look at it. I don't know if you bumped your head or were sleepwalking that entire conversation, but I'm not crazy! You called me, 100%!" 

 What was Tails supposed to say to all of this? Knuckles seemed adamant on the notion that Tails did indeed call him, yet the young lad had no memory of such a moment. He strictly recalls working on a modified device to read peculiar energy readings emitting from the emerald and calling Sonic to check out what new info he picked up from it. However, Tails did work all day and yesterday to make a special version of his C.I.M. and managed barely any sleep...man, maybe he did sleepwalk. Sighing, he took a seat on a chair nearby and really tried to see if there were any vestiges of such a moment bouncing in his big brain, only to find nothing of the sort coming to mind.

 "You seriously don't remember talking with me?" Tails looked at his brooding friend who went from agitation to slight worry. 

 "I mean it when I say that I don't...remember any of this happening. Not one bit of what you described rings any bells." Tails quietly admitted. Knuckles was genuinely stumped. He knows he didn't hallucinate it all, he's sure of it. "But," Tails started, rubbing at his chin as he went into deep thought, "I may have an idea of what is causing all of this!" 

 "Oh?" 

 "Both you and I have been in contact with Chaos energy for a while, and based on our current findings, the strange energy that we have engaged with to some degree may be causing us to go through some sort of-"

 "Tails, I'm not going nuts..." 

 The Boy Genius paused, not changing expressions or stance, and neither did the blunt red individual standing before him who had a half-eyed, annoyed look on his features. Slowly, Tails felt his face shift from stern resolve to tired hopelessness.

 "I am aware, Knux. I'm not saying you're going crazy." Tails stated matter-o-factly, "I'm just presuming the chaos energy may have done something to our environment, maybe locomoting reality as we know it into something else."

 "I get that everything about the emeralds even today is still shrouded in mysteries, but what makes you think it's specifically that? I mean, any reality-bending tricks these stones conjured were always by the hands of those who wielded them or had the most direct influence on them like Chaos. They never just randomly started acting abnormal."

 "It's very much a prospect worth the inquiry! These readings on my C.I.M may be energy from the emeralds and the culprit since whoever it is has a form of understanding on the chemistry that makes these gems tick." A worrying thought flashed into Tails' mind. "Maybe Chaos came back?"

 "No chance," Knuckles shot down that theory with full-on confidence. "He and Tikal found peace after what happened all those years ago, there's no way they'd randomly come back. The closest thing to making them come back has to revolve around the Chao or Master Emerald and even then, I swore to defend against anything that dares to harm it." Knuckles leaned against the messy workstation with crossed arms. "On top of that, the offish behavior of the emeralds doesn't scream 'Chaos'. He isn't the type to plan things out and probably thinks it wastes too much time. It also doesn't feel like his presence either, so whatever we're dealing with is something completely different." 

 "A whole new friend or foe causing this unanticipated power imbalance, or the emeralds just have a newfound enigma to analyze..." The two possible outcomes seemed far too restrictive as options, but as of now, they were the only ones most likely to happen. This whole situation was beginning to sound a lot more concerning than what was initially inferred. The vagueness of it all makes it extra harrowing, for this could be the work of anything at this point. Maybe Eggman did have a hand in this! 

 Any further thoughts were halted after Tails' ComLink buzzed a catchy tune which Tails checked on to see that Sonic was trying to contact him.

 "Wouldn't happen to be a certain cocky blue bud of ours, would it?" the jesting echidna chuckled out, rolling his eyes once the young fox happily nodded in response. "Surprised he took so long to get here. Did that idiot get sidetracked by a chili dog stand again?!" 

 "I hope not..." Tails shuddered as the thought of Sonic's last chili dog incursion flooded his mind. 'Never again' . Tails answered Sonic's call expecting Sonic to have gotten sidetracked with some silly shenanigans but was instead met with an explosive voice filling the once calm and collected air.

["You're just begging for my fist to------

 -------blue hue right off ya! " ]

 "Who the heck is that?!" Knuckle's attention was now fully on the visceral response that came about from Tails' ComLink, it genuinely startled the daylights outta him. Tails' eyes shot wide open once he registered that distinctive rough voice. 

 "Sonic, is that!?-" Before he could get an answer, a loud crashing noise, akin to that of lightning, and a very very irate woman continued to fill the air with the equivalent of a declaration of war.

 

 [" The One and Only, Tails! "]

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 Sonic laughed as he continued his smooth and effortless movements away from danger.

 Quick astute turns around palm trees, ricocheting off the checkered walls, skirting an imminent electrifying threat. This usually would be the typical day for the speedster considering all the foes and rivals he has carried onto his bracket, but this time around the situation seems to be a little more...complex. Oh, who was he kidding, this was just confusing through and through. 

 "You think you can keep avoiding me forever, damned idiot!?" The Tenrec screeched, twirling through obstacles like a supercharged top before spin-dashing after the the blue blazer who had seemingly been chuckling on throughout most of their battle. Finally catching up, she began readying an electrocharged assault in hopes of blasting him into smithereens. Luckily, Sonic is far more agile and managed to spin and dash out of harm's way, flitting quickly around the assailant in a blue windy tornado, removing any semblance of control she had.

 "I don't think I can keep avoiding your attacks, " Sonic began his taunt, high in the air, unbothered and collected, "I know I can!" He smirked with a wink before homing straight into his green adversary, bouncing off of her within impact and knocking her to the ground with an explosive thud. "Seriously, how long will this feud go on? I'm all for a good old-fashioned brawl, but I'd be lyin' if I said it didn't leave me feeling a 'lil bad for ya, Surge ol pal!" 

 [" Sonic! "] Tails' call finally reached the Hedgehog's twitching ears, prompting him to give the worried lad a goodhearted laugh as his first response along with a wink for good measure.

 "Hey don't worry about me, Tails! Everything will be fine and dandy in a lickety split!" The smirking speedster reassured his now appeased best bro. "Wouldn't ya agree, Sparks!?" 

 The dust settled as a gloved hand emerged from the rubble with no issue or sign of fatigue "I'll wipe that stupid cocky grin," An angry Surge completely emerged from the ground "Off that detestable, oafish face of yours for good, you rat!!" Pure electrical energy coursed through her, which earned a more serious look from her opponent, though his smile never faded from his face.

 "Sorry, didn't mean to get you so riled up! Just trying to light'nin the mood!" His try at poking fun at the tense moment only managed a raspy snarl from her and a bigger ball of electrical vibrancy surrounding her. "Yeesh, tough crowd..."

 "Heh," Surge positioned herself in a combative stance "Keep digging your grave, rat! Less needless work for me..." Both bore into each other for what felt like hours, the crackling of electricity alongside the robust cool Green Hill breeze meeting at conflicting ends of each other and being the only sounds heard throughout. Sonic adjusts his foot, Surge clenching her fists, the wits of two strong wills on the verge of causing all the more deterioration to the beautiful fields that surround them. Just when they nearly unleashed all their pent-up rage and excitement...

 "Surge! Enough of this madness!" a new voice disrupted the fierce scene...


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Mamma_Gamma Mamma_Gamma

I hope you all enjoy!

[Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!]

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: When Classic Meets Futuristic

Surge could barely react before a hexagonal forcefield enveloped the living ticking time bomb and prevented further casualties from commencing. For obvious reasons, Surge was very unhappy with the new turn of events, striking at the current obstacle before her with supreme militancy and feverish resolve.

 

 "For crying out loud, Holo!" Surge roared at the top of her lungs, sparks flying from her earrings coupled with her comically gnarly expression of rage. Sonic watched as the familiar figure floated into the subverted fray, disbelief layering his shocked features. A distinct look Sonic could barely distinguish, but when he put two and two together, only one other person rocked anything similar to what he was looking at right now. 

 

 "Nicole?!" Sonic exclaimed, processing the person standing before him. " THEE Nicole Holo-Lynx! Old Freedom Fighter member Nicole Holo-Lynx!??" the befuddled hedgehog chortled loudly, the disbelief turning into unadulterated joy he never expected to experience today, let alone while fighting Surge of all people. She quickly rushed to greet her old friend who welcomed the embrace with open arms, laughing joyfully from pure nostalgia.

 

 "It truly has been ages since I was granted the chance to lay any of my photoreceptors on such a familiar face, Sonic! I missed everyone dearly!" Nicole mused, hug tightening as the memories of all her old friends flooded her mind further.

 "Where have you been?!" Letting go of her, Sonic still attempted to grasp what was happening right now. Before Nicole could answer, rumbling came from underneath the both of them, growing more intense as time went by! The pair looked toward the forcefield, noticing that only a large messy hole was within it. 

 "Guess we should put a pin on this reunion," Sonic suggested rather nonchalantly right as he began winding his arms in preparation for the onslaught Surge planned on delivering. "Gotta know what cool adventures you've been hogging without us, hehe!" Right on cue, the Green Menace emerges from the ground, already in hot pursuit of her target and full of red-hot energy.

 "Surge! Stop!" Nicole's pleas fell on deaf ears. Surge was set on stomping the hedgehog into the ground, but this did not sway Nicole's resolve to prevent this pointless battle from persisting. Instead of talking her out of this, she instead charged up a new plan.

 "Quit avoiding me, coward!" Surge threw lighting spears her opponent's way, but just like before, he continued to evade them with near-perfect control. The more he ended up dodging her attacks, the more agitated she became. Here she is, giving it her all and he, prancing about like some kid galivanting at recess, couldn't even be bothered to show even an inkling of a sweat drawn. It was seriously pissing her off.

 "I don't think you'd be able to handle the heat if I were to fight back! 'Sides, I wouldn't wanna distress an old friend by having her witness your butt getting kicked in!" Sonic taunted, clearly humored by the entire spectacle that is Surge's tantrum. He spun her way with what would seem like a usual spin attack, so Surge prepared his offensive with a defensive electrified stance. Little did she know that he was aiming for a fake out! Before fully reaching her, he quickly backtracked into the air, still spinning but at a far more accelerated pace, and as he was in the air sharp slices of wind began to pummel Surge's form. While she was in a defensive stance, the strong currents of wind hammering her made it hard to stay in place. Once she lost her footing, Sonic made one last strong slash by kicking the remaining streams of air toward her, ultimately knocking her off her feet entirely. The strong gust persisted even after the fact, causing her to grip the ground helplessly while struggling to even open her eyes and see the Blue Bastard in the middle of his assault. As if this onslaught wasn't enough, what appeared to be a grid started to form below Surge's body and fold into the shape of a cage. 

 

 

Nicole hovered near the enclosure to make sure it was nice and sealed to prevent Surge from escaping. This time around, there was no way for the temperamental fighter to dig her way out of this one since the trap was far more solid and guarded with bars below compared to the last one, though this didn't sway her from still attempting to break out of her newly-founded prison.

 

 "Sonic is an ally, Surge! Why must you persist with this bestial rampage?! He has done nothing to merit-"

 "Shut it, Holo!" Surge spat, not even bothering to look her partner's way. Strangely enough, after a few more attempts at clawing and striking the cage floor, Surge eventually gave up, sitting down in a huff with her legs and arms crossed, which of course, Sonic found especially weird. 

 "What happened to all your thunder, Surge?" Yet another sly pun from the speedster left Surge with an intense need to stuff his mouth with dirt.

 "One more awful pun from you, clown, and blue won't be the only color you'll be known for." Surge rasped at a still passive Sonic, who tried his hardest not to crack another smirk at the sight of Surge's childish demeanor. He doesn't mean to offend her so much, he has made this clear in the past after all, he understands where her anger comes from. However, her trying to kill him so vehemently doesn't necessarily help.

 "Come on, Surge, don't act like that! I'm just lil sho-er, confused, really! You gave it your all then suddenly gave up. What's gives?"

Surge avoided eye contact, making Sonic even more curious.

 "I have used this aviary before on her." Nicole answered, tugging Sonic's attention. "As I am sure you are knowledgeable, she's not precisely the, uh...easiest to manage. So, I designed a safe gridlock to keep her at bay that didn't resort to inhumane methods or bring much harm to her." Nicole plucked a few blades of grass from the ground and poked the grid bars with them. The blades of grass went limp completely, turning a duller shade of green as a result, but reverted when Nicole pulled it away. "It numbs anything that comes into contact with it, but only if you continue holding onto it. It's also resistant to fire and electricity."

 "Woah. She must have done a number on ya to make ya go this route."

 "Mmmm, an enclosure of this nature was bound to be of great assistance, at least for me and everyone else whom she has consistent contact with when enraged."

 "Yeesh, don't you ever get a 'lil tired of doing that? Sounds like a handful, no offense, Surge."

 "Shut up."

 "Periodically!" Nicole giggled lightly. "But, Surge isn't all too bad...'usually'. I knew of her disdain for you, prior to our reunion, but I didn't think it was to such an extent! This goes beyond my previous estimates! What is the history between you two, if I may ask?" 

 It fell silent for a few seconds with Surge and Sonic's expressions bearing matching saddened gazes into nowhere, thinking back on everything that had happened between the two. Sonic decided to shoot Surge a glance and caught her sharing the same quiet somberness that laced the once cheery air, which she quickly masked with her usual stubborn indifference after catching Sonic looking her way, turning from his eyes that retold the story with ease. Sonic turned his attention back to Nicole, who looked exceedingly perplexed. He quickly switched off the frown, replacing it with his trademark confident grin instead.

"It's one heck of a story, a 'lil long too! It's also not really my place to talk about!" Casually he brushed off the question as he waved his hand dismissively. Surge's ears twitch. 

"Everything about the situation is a bit per-"

"Course you'd want no part in this." Silence again. Sonic usually always had a witty comeback, a few pieces of advice here and there, and so on...but her situation was very special in the worst way possible. Sure he could try to give her advice, but what could he say that he hasn't already to her? She doesn't wanna hear him, and that's fine. He can't talk everyone out of hating him the same way he can't talk people outta loving him. He might as well stick with his methods and if things work out, they work out.

 "Ah, I believe I understand. If it has a likelihood of troubling her, let's abstain producing more cause for her agitation. We've already had to haggle with her disproportionate amounts of dudgeon for months on end." Nicole rubbed her head at the mere thought of past escapades the living volcano has put her and others through. 

 "Months?!" Sonic could hardly believe it. Nicole has been with Surge for months ? That's...That's...

 

 "You survived living with Surge for that long?!" 

 

 "Affirmative!"

 

 "Also, you knew her for months?"

 

 "To be transparent with you, I was anticipating your second inquiry to be the first."

 

 "How did you guys meet? Why are you guys, buddies? HOW are you guys, buddies?!"

 

 Nicole giggled at Sonic's confusion. She couldn't at all blame him for finding everything far too out of left field. She took his hands gently and looked hopefully into his eyes, a smile proudly on her face. 

 "I will explain everything, don't fret, dear friend. There is a lot to discuss, so perhaps we should-"

 "Sonic!!" everyone paused to look up in the sky to see a stern Knuckles and a delighted Tails flying and soaring their way. 

 "Heya, Tails! What took you so long, buddy?! Did knuckles slow you down or something?!" Sonic's quip didn't go unnoticed as he caught the red echidna's face scrunch up in an unamused boredom, rolling his eyes as if he had heard this joke far too many times before. The two landed on the ground and raced the rest of the way forward before noticing the caged-up vexed Surge sitting in the middle of it.

 "Guessing the party's over." Knuckles surmised. Sonic shrugged and walked toward his buddies greeting them accordingly. "Wouldn't mind giving us a quick rundown, would ya?"

 "Knux, if I tried explainin' everything, we'd probably be here for days to make sense of it all!" 

 "Wait..." Tails walked up to Nicole, who had been standing there patiently with a too-wide smile, wondering which of the two familiar faces would recognize her first. It took a few seconds for Tails to process who exactly he was staring at, but it all fell into place the more the seconds ticked by, and a wide-eyed Tails gasped, mouth agape as the realization struck.

 

 "It's been quite some time now, hasn't it Tails?"

 

 "Nicole!!?" Tails took no time to warmly embrace a dear old friend whom he thought he'd never see again after all this time. Knuckles was dumbfounded, an always amusing sight for Sonic's gleeful gaze to scour! He couldn't get what he was looking at. The last thing he was expecting was seeing Nicole alive and well, but honestly he couldn't have asked for anything else! "I can't believe it's you! Where have you been!? How are you here!? How are.... you ?!" 

Oh, how joyous this moment was! She had been anticipating this for some time, but nothing ever beats the feeling of living through the reunion itself!

"There has indeed been a very large gap in time, but all will be explained in the appropriate setting." Nicole's happy vibe slowly turned into a more serious one. "I must ask this first, however, for the circumstances which brought me and Surge here are of major concern. A concern we have yet to fully pinpoint, but certain leads have helped us get a general idea of where to look for more answers."

 Tails stared Nicole in her eyes for a few seconds. 

 "What do you mean 'brought me and Surge here'?"

 "It means what it means, brat." Surge answered for Nicole. She shot Surge a glare for her rude behavior. 

Sonic chuckled. "According to Nicole, it's pretty complicated."

 "Very..." Nicole said with a tired sigh.

 "We'll touch on that a little later, bud, don't you worry. But for now, Nicole needs our help! So, lay it on us! We're always down for some action, especially with an old buddy of ours!" Sonic said, delight and excitement gushing through him. Things have been really boring lately so a new reason to stretch his legs and fly is always welcomed! Nicole nodded with a good-natured smile.

 "If possible," Nicole tinkered with her holographics, conjuring an image of the Chaos Emeralds. "Could you tell me if your emeralds have acted in an unorthodox manner recently?"

 The boys looked at each other, stunned faces abound. The Chaos Emeralds?! There have been some very odd circumstances surrounding them lately, enough to be worth several weeks' worth of investigation for any new information worth noting that wasn't just sparks and explosions...well, until today that is....

"Actually, yeah! The emerald in my possession along with the Master Emerald have exhibited peculiar behavioral patterns in recent days! Why do you ask?" Tails questioned. Nicole peeked at Surge, who even in her bad mood couldn't help but look her way as well. Eventually, a spikey smile spread across her face. Nicole cleared her throat, visibly nervous about that response, thumbing her braids as she thought of a reply.

"Well, a large assortment of intricacies have come our way, and may very much be a roadblock, maybe even more, for you all." Nicole's thumbing slowed down once she got her thoughts in neat and tidier order but she jolted quickly before anyone else could respond, "Do not be alarmed regarding this issue! So long as a highly particular phenomenon does not occur, like the chaos emeralds emitting a high voltage and irregular energy reading, all should be fine!"

"Oh, that's right!," Sonic chimed. "Tails' didn't ya call me to check out what ya found about it? 

A nervous chuckle tumbled out of Tails' mouth, a bead of sweat racing down his temple while he scratched at his head, wondering how exactly to break the news to Nicole that this very scenario did in fact happen. Of course, Nicole began to feel her inner mechanisms coil away fiercely, leaving her with a massive weight of dread impeding her mind with not even the slightest bit of hesitation. Surge, on the other hand, laughed at this revelation, clearly not caring enough to find this situation startling. She stretched before laying across the cage floor, eyes closed and relaxed before she opened them to give Nicole a sly mischievous look, almost as if she was telling her something she already knew.

Nicole, unamused, stared back, knowing what exactly this look meant but not daring to even bring further attention to it. "Tails', are you saying that the Chaos Emerald in your care behaved in said concerning manner? I need complete confirmation." Calmly she asked, staying reserved while Surge's gaze stayed fixated on her.

"Well, me and Knuckles, while waiting for Sonic, were discussing the oddities that accompanied us in the passing days. Knuckles let me know that the Master Emerald has acted as though it has a mind of its own and even told me that I called him over to my home despite never doing so."

 

"Maybe that geezer was right after all, heheh." Nicole shot Surge a concerned stare after hearing her comment. "Gotta be honest, this squirt's babbling confirming that weirdos chattering has been the only highlight of my day so far. Wonder how Fluff's gonna take this."

 

"What's she talking about, Nic?" Knuckles asked with a bit of annoyance in his tone, not liking how nonchalant the tenrec is. 

Nicole was clearly unhappy with how Surge handled this topic but wasn't all too surprised by her rudeness so instead of arguing with the rebel she decided to stay calm and collected. "As previously stated, it's best to venture all of this information within a new location, preferably the one with the emerald in question then later the Master Emerald for further inspection," Nicole firmly advised, making her way towards Tails and grabbing his hand, optimism taking the reigns at the moment. "I believe we can deter this new foreboding threat with enough research and determination, but only if you, Sonic, and Knuckles are in the picture. You all have helped the world through the toughest obstacles time and time again, if anyone were to help us in stopping an imminent threat, it is you all!"

Surge rolled her eyes so hard and instinctively that if she had moved it any further, she was sure it would have rolled into the back of her head. How boring and gross this whole exchange was. She really must have died and gone to the underworld, cause this was one of the worst kinds of hell. Imagine having to deal with such a squeaky-clean, unproblematic, and unrealistically idealistic point of view within a cage that can make your body fold like an omelet. Surge wanted to commit game end right then and there.

"Don't you agree, Surge?!" Nicole chirped, eyes sparkling and shining a little too brightly...no seriously, her eyes were glowing which aided in making Surge's cringing face grow more wrinkled and ugly from the pure rays of light emitting from the Lynx's orbs of luminous terror.

"Ack! God, Yeah, whatever! I get it, I get it ! Can you stop flashing me already!!" Her reaction was enough to earn a hearty laugh from the boys, much to Surge's dissatisfaction. "So do we call Fluff about this or what!? I wanna get this whole crappy experience over with so we can get the authentic bidness!"

"Fluff?" Sonic stopped the conversation from going any further, Nicole and Surge's eyes were now on the blue hedgehog. "Aw shucks, Nicole! When were you gonna introduce us to you all your new friends!" Sonic playfully questioned. Nicole giggled and Surge continued to roll her eyes.

"If everything is as urgent as they say, wasting precious time will do us no good, so we should start discussing details while Nicole checks the emerald out." Knuckles declared, arms crossing as he scanned the two girls before him.

"I agree! Let's head back to Tails' place! We'll chit-chat more there and get to the bottom of all this. The suspense is killing me!" Before anyone could interject further, Sonic was already on his way there. "Last one there is a rotten egghead!" 

"Wait for me, Sonic!" Tails followed the blue blur with Knuckles following closely behind before quickly stopping to wait for Surge, who was staring intensely towards the direction Sonic and Tails ran in, and Nicole, who was just about to release Surge from her short-term confinement.

Within a split second of her release, Surge immediately raced like her life depended on it and vanished into the distance, making the two left remaining spin like mini tornadoes. Knuckles managed to recover rather easily while the poor Lynx felt like her inner programming turned into spaghetti code. 

"What's her problem?!!" The echidna's fists began to clench with burning fury, his annoyance was slowly bubbling before Surge's hot feet stunt just now, but he was for real starting to get really annoyed with her. If this is how she decides to adorn the rebel persona she carries with her at all times, Knuckles just knew he and her were gonna clash an unimaginable amount of times.

"Pay her no mind Knuckles," Nicole placed her hand on her furious friend's shoulder. "She has driven me up a wall as well, more times than I'd care to admit, actually, but there is more to her than she likes to lead on! Just give her some time." With that, Nicole began to float and fly after the rest of the gang, who were most likely at the house waiting for them to get there already. Knuckles stood by, arms crossed, the annoyance irrefutably failed to leave him despite Nicole's best efforts to soothe them, but her words still managed to have a big enough effect that the Red Guardian sighed and kept all his grievances to himself...for now. Knuckles finally went on to follow the rest of the group, silently thinking over all that had happened so far regarding the emeralds.

 

—----------------------------------------------------------

The heavily guarded civilian area bustling with life of all kinds known as Central City looked far more spectacular than before. The memories of the city may have been a bit foggy since the last time this well-structured cityscape was in full view for familiar eyes, but it was a nostalgic sight rest assured. The bright atmosphere is only bolstered by gorgeous green trees and grass accompanied by a beautiful clear blue sky, exquisite establishments, tall geometrically sound buildings, friendly smiles pressed wide, lasting upon flourished faces...

 

"His world..." There, a hedgehog floating above the outskirts of those glorious sights whispered beneath his breath. He continued to gaze upon it all with starry eyes scanning every little detail he could gather with not even a shred of hastiness. He drank in the glow of a once dull city and made sure to bring in every last feasible drop. In spite of seeing these magnificent sights on more than one occasion, he can never really get used to how it all was so...kept together. Sometimes he even felt slightly envious of the unity. As certain thoughts crept into his mind, resulting in him shaking away those negativities, he finally determined to enter the area as opposed to eyeballing it, for he had very pressing affairs to attend to. He flew further above the area passing by various skyscrapers, amassing a few enthusiastic hellos and waves from the humans who caught a bit of a looksy his way within those very buildings. ' Ah, that's right,' He thought shyly to himself as he waved back, ' I am kinda popular here.'  

 

He forgot how much attention he managed to collect after helping G.U.N and friends handle a large containment breach a few years back, though he'd be lying if he did mind the extra attention from onlookers...it felt pretty good to be recognized by so many people. He rubbed his nose timidly while getting even more waves and hellos from onlookers, some of whom were little kids who beamed so brightly at the hedgehog with so much hope, that it was enough to brighten up his stressful day just a little...

 

Looking around the city, he was hoping to spot a certain someone but to no avail. He settled on asking around in hopes of finding his person of interest which also led to nothing. He had wished that he wouldn't have to go to G.U.N headquarters to get any info on him since he didn't wanna accidentally drag them in on something they may try and take into their own hands, so when he did end up finding a clue from a little blonde girl who had just come from a large park area, he felt immense relief. Making his way over the beauty that was Emerald Central, the largest tree in the area had a figure standing proudly underneath it, arms crossed, straight face straighter than ever, yet the eyes contradicted the seemingly bored look. ' Yep, that's him alright '

 

Emerald Central was a large park that was outside of Central City and was very windy and grassy. Its views from the main grasslands, forests, and city made it a very popular place to relax and let your stress melt away. It was especially popular when the sun was setting! Man, it should have been the first place he checked! Completely slipped his mind that this was a beloved spot for this black and red hedgehog. 

Floating silently to not disturb the serenity his person of interest was having, he landed on the western side of the silent hedgehog and made his way up the small hill he stood confidently on. 

 

"Why are you here, Silver?" He stopped in his tracks and went rigid at the mention of his name. "Your energy feels off. Did something happen?" 

 

"Even when you're peaceful you're on high alert..."

"Of course I am. It'd be foolish to let any of my guards down, especially with the city nearby. Now spit it out already...Why are you here?" Shadow finally turned to look Silver's way, looking the same as he always does. "I'm assuming this news is major if you decided to traverse this far away from your planet."

"Well," Silver scratches at his head with darting eyes. "It is a serious matter, but before I tell you what has been happening these past few months, how have you been?"

Shadow's face remained expressionless for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and hummed, taking some time to come up with a good answer. He opened them again to look over the city that was ahead of him and sighed deeply as the fresh breeze took center stage.

 

"Alive...and well. Things aren't simple, but they are simpl er ."

 

"Hah...that's good." Silver sighed with contentment, happy to see a good friend doing well. Shadow glanced over at Silver again carrying an expression he couldn't read, making him feel a little nervous. "Um....yeah heh..." Silver cleared his throat as Shadow's stare came off more intense than he had hoped for. 

"Thanks." Silver blinked comically at this appreciative response. He was thoroughly caught off guard by this! He didn't complain, however, and smiled merrily. "But seriously, why are you here?"

"Oh, ah, right!" Silver fixed his posture, adorning a firm expression before he began explaining his venture to find Shadow. "The reason why I'm here is because I need your help with a particular task." 

"A task?"

"Yeah," Silver's eyes seem to look through Shadow's form, his mind elsewhere as though reflecting on a distant memory. What does he see? "If what I have been told comes to fruition, it's severe enough to bring about disarray and misery to all who are bound to succumb to it."

Shadow's eyes narrowed at the thought. "How exactly did you find out about this?" Walking his way over, Silver handed Shadow a device with a strange insignia on it.

"Time tells all. I suggest taking this and running it in a secure area of some kind to see the full picture with trusted allies at G.U.N. I don't want the entire organization to get involved just yet since we are still endeavoring to figure out the verity behind this revelation. We should only let them know once everything has been investigated by us and our friends."

Shadow took a long hard look at the ivory device sitting in the palm of his hand elegantly. It looked to be like some kind of high-tech holographic disk that gleamed a fuzzy white color near the edges. Shadow nodded Silver's way and placed the disk somewhere safe.

"Y'know," Shadow crossed his arms again, eyes shut thinking over what he was about to say before making direct eye contact with the hedgehog before him. "I'm surprised you went to me first."

"Huh? Why?"

 

"Do I look like the type of guy to seek help from?"

 

"...I mean, yeah." There was a pause, Shadow's face looking a tad bit more bored with that answer. "no..."

 

"So, why me?" Shadow probed, truly confused by the decision made here. After all, he has always been deemed the last resort when things went south because, unlike a spikey blue hedgehog, Shadow never goes halfway. Fear of hurting and destroying anything beyond repair was never on his mind...at least not nowadays.

"Chaos Emeralds."

Shadow's interest was baited just a tad once the mention of those powerful stones was brought into the equation.

"You are one of the few individuals I have met who was able to tap into Chaos Energy in the rawest way yet. Not even Sonic has tapped into that much raw power with little effort. You've even managed to challenge Knuckles when it comes to having a psychological link with the emeralds!" 

That is true. Ever since he has been in contact with the emeralds, he has had little to no issue handling them in any way he pleases. He even has abilities that only he possesses despite Sonic and the others having a richer history with the gemstones. Of course, Shadow being the Ultimate Lifeform comes with its perks, which include being more adaptive and skilled at things others could only dream of. 

"Your link with the emeralds is a huge asset in locating and understanding the current state they're in."

 

" Current state ? Why do you need to know that exactly?" Shadow asked firmly, the particulars of this situation being very peculiar, enough so to have Shadow keep mental notes in case all goes awry.

"They may be suffering from...well..." Silver paused to take his time with his words. Even he seemed lost in what he had been explaining. Rubbing his chin while lost in thought, he snapped his fingers once the appropriate comparison came to mind. "A fever!"

Shadow's face for a second showcased shock and confusion, but quickly reverted to his poise demeanor. I mean, can anyone blame him? A fever? The Chaos Emeralds? Surely this must be some kind of elaborate joke. That's like saying the sky is falling, and even that pales in comparison to what Silver uttered. Silver most definitely caught Shadow's reluctance to believe him, and reacted accordingly.

"I know it's hard to believe that such powerful items would succumb to something as trivial as the flu, but it's worth investigating! I'd explain it all in detail right now, but time is of the essence!" Silver shouted his concerns passionately to Shadow, eyes glowing with determination. His vigor over the subject has led Shadow to believe that whatever's happening has gotten Silver on edge, true or not. Moreover, Silver isn't the type to lie about these sorts of things but he is capable of being misguided and making a mistake, which would help no one regardless of how valid everything stands to be. He hummed and walked away from Silver, processing everything.

"What do you plan on doing now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Shadow turned his head to look at Silver, but his back was still proudly facing the telekinetic hedgehog. "What do you plan on doing now? I shouldn't have to repeat myself." Silver got a little nervous at the sound of Shadow's slightly irritated voice, a few beads of sweat forming in response. "Obviously, you gave me this disk to catch up while you handle business elsewhere to savor as much time as possible, so what are you gonna do?"

 

"Oh, well...I was gonna meet up with-"

"What, is this a picnic or a race against time?!" 

 

To his shock, Silver watches Rouge appear from behind the tree casually. She looked vexed and pouted at Shadow's impassivity. Tapping her feet against the green grass, she crossed her arms glaring at her indifferent friend who was more interested in all other details surrounding the case instead of the precious stones she loved dearly.

"The Chaos Emeralds are possibly keeling in sick, and you instead wanna bog down the little time we have in preventing it from getting worse?! Here I thought you had a heart, where's your sense of responsibility, even?!"

"R-Rouge?! When did you get here!?" A shocked Silver stuttered as he took a few steps back. He never really had time to get to know the special agent all that well, so while he never has had any doubt over her abilities, it's still surprising to see just how sneaky she is capable of being. 

Usually, Silver's reaction would be seen as cute, charming even, but Rouge's focus was on the horrific news that her lovely emeralds were on sick leave, and she was not having it!

"Listen here, Brainiac," Rouge was now in Silver's face, sly in tone but the fury was in her eyes. "There are only so few things I care for and my emeralds are one of 'em! You gave us what we need to catch up, now it's your turn to play your part, UNDERSTAND ?!" Silver landed on his butt quivering at the now flaming hot Rouge...which he supposes could have more than one meaning but currently her anger was of more concern. 

"Y-y-yes b-but.." 

"Oh, I'm sorry, was there more to know about the emeralds' status?"

"Well...not that we know as of-"

" Get moving, kiddo ." Rouge begins to push Silver near the edge of the hill where she makes one final rough shove to send him rolling down the bottom, resulting in a loud thud. "Don't show your face unless you've got further intel on my babies!" 

"O-okay!" He got up from the ground, dizzy and confused, trying to find his footing. He began to awkwardly fly off before stopping, to Rouge's dissatisfaction. "Uh...sorry??" He left on that note. 

"I wasn't done getting information outta him." Rouge looks back to see a still apathetic Shadow staring blanker than ever at her. She sighed boringly, facing him with half-lidded eyes as she made her way towards him. "It's probable that the individuals he has as teammates could be people of interest."

"Who cares, darling?" Rouge spun her way toward the brooding mister. "Silver's a big boy, he can handle a few swindlers when push comes to shove. 'Sides, even if they were enemies, Sonic and friends can handle the mess he got himself into" She waved where the psychic once stood before walking off towards the opposing edge of the hill, ready to take flight. "Now can you hurry up already? Maybe you've already forgotten but there is a LOT at stake here! We need to make sure that the emeralds aren't in any disrepair!" 

"You mean, 'Your babies'?" 

"Of course!"

Rouge began to fly off in the direction of Central City, leaving Shadow behind in her haste to get to G.U.N headquarters. He pulled out the device Silver left him with and looked over its design. It looks like it was made with elegance in mind first, compatibility second. Who exactly made this thing? Thinking further back, Shadow realizes he hardly knows much about Silver and his home planet aside from helping his people from certain death. He should take time to investigate further when he and Silver have another one-on-one talk. 

Putting the odd device away, Shadow makes quick work of catching up with Rouge in the city lying ahead.

 

————————————————————

 

The gang has now settled down at Tails' place, doing their own thing while two geniuses look over the emerald found at Never Lake. Nicole is making sure to do some careful surveying without being in direct contact with it after learning of its strange modifications of Tails' C.I.M

She pulls out her holographics which runs scans on the emerald for any defects and overabundance of energy compulsions. Sonic, Knuckles, and Surge waited around for the two brainiacs to find anything worth a discussion by either sitting around to rest or fiddling with some of Tails' belongings without his permission.

Of course, Surge was the one doing the snooping, and handling complex technology like a kid in a candy store with the grace of a lion playing with a giant ball in a store filled with fine china, but no one was surprised by this result. Tails at one point couldn't ignore this and reluctantly turned around to face the very scary woman fiddling carelessly with his stuff as Nicole stayed glued to the emerald. 

"Hey, uh," Tails started, hesitantly looking on in sadness at Surge dropping yet another one of his beloved inventions. "Could you possibly...not do that?"

"I'm bored."

"I wouldn't mind you inspecting them if you didn't drop them so frequently...and also refrain from being somewhat err...harsh while holding them..."

Surge looked disgusted...almost as if his timid, trembly, response was an insult to her or something, so she settled on doing what she was already occupying her mind with. Sonic was quietly observing her at this point and only stayed immobile for one good reason.

"Hey!" Knuckles' loud voice managed to make the two brainiacs flinch, causing an annoyed grunt to come from Nicole who adamantly tried to focus on what was truly important here. "Tails' said knock it off! Unless you want a piece of my mind on the matter, I suggest you listen to him." Knuckles threatened, growling his warning at the tenrec who rolled her eyes.

"Awww, what, the poor baby can't live without his rinky dinky little toys? He needs his big red momma to give him milky wilkies and fight his battles for him?" Surge mocked with a faux baby voice and puppy dog expression of pure dejection and depression, laughing at the sight of Knuckles' extremely deep frown on his face, red cheeks hot in embarrassment. Tails managed to stay pretty level-headed but was still visibly offended by the bullying. "Cry me a damn river! If I wanna touch his stupid trinkets, I touch his stupid trinkets, end of story!"

"You're begging for another beatdown, aren'tcha!? Dirt a fine delicacy where ya from, 'cause with that attitude, you're begging to be reunited with it!!"

Surge heard a snicker coming from Sonic, who's been silently letting Knuckles handle things from here on out, and that managed to paint a spikey frown on her face.

"Whattaya laughing at, rat!?"

"Oh, nothing serious...don't mind lil old me, I'm just enjoying the show is all."

"Tch, course-"

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Knuckles roared

"Surprise surprise, I'm not!"

Nicole was slowly but surely getting more and more agitated the more they kept responding to each other.

"Are you seriously so bored that you're willing to get your butt kicked two times in a row within a single day?"

"Yer delusional if you think-"

"Cause let me tell ya, your win streak must be embarrassingly low if you feel the need to start random fights you know damn well you're incapable of finishing! Desperate much!?"

" Desperate?!? Listen here melon head! "

" Melon Head??! Have you looked in the mirror recently, girlie?!"

Sonic busted out in laughter at this new heated exchange, the insults thrown about being a treasure trove of entertainment. He doesn't know how these two can take this seriously at all.

"Don't call me girlie!-"

"I'll call you just about any damn thing I want, girlie!"

"Wanna take this outside, reject!?"

"With pleasure!!"

" Stop it both of you! " Everyone turns to Nicole who has steam pouring out of her ears from the total annoyance of this entire debacle. Her eyes twitched and firmly fixated on the two in front of her, but especially on Surge, who caused the argument from the start. "Surge, forgo interacting with anything if you're going to destroy items that aren't under your reckless ownership! It is the least you can do for those who are volitional in aiding us and are very close companions of mine!"

"Ya say this like ima listen to ya or something."

Nicole didn't even bother giving a verbal response, all she needed to do to shut Surge up was have a cube float in her hands, one that looked like a miniature version of her cage from before.

"Ah, screw you..." Surge seethed, earning a hearty chuckle from the guy who usually doesn't , totally satisfied with her being scolded like a kid. Of course, Surge was fuming, but what could she do after that? She has quite a high esteem for herself and her abilities, seemingly, but four against one, one being a teammate of hers who knows her a little better than the rest...yeah the odds were stacked slightly higher than she cared to admit, so she yielded only cause Nicole decided to grow pair after pair these past few days...

"Thank you." Nicole huffed. She went back to her duties after all was settled, missing Knuckles' rub in Surge's face and she mimicked a slow slicing motion across her neck as a silent comeback.

"Ahem, um, found any substantial data yet, Nicole?" Tails broke the awkward silence by turning the attention back onto the chaos emerald, his voice trembling still after having to speak up to Surge. Nicole opens up the results from the scans and sees that all her readings are going awol. They all had inconsistent numbers and some had not even managed to register what was found on the scans. One thing they do share in common is that the energy is too much for even her advanced systems. 

"Hmm, I am finding some very odd spikes in chaotic energy that I don't think have ever been recorded before. While they are mysterious all in all, the emeralds have had examinations done in previous years that all usually track with its organic makeup, making extra research to uncover their unique vibrational frequencies and how or why they have them," Nicole ceases all further observations once a strange hitch in her frequency scans caused a glitch to all her holographic modules, freezing them on one particular energy reading, a wave graph that now had two separate waves overlapping each other, creating a trippy 3D effect with faint gold and turquoise vertical glitchy lines. This caught everyone's attention, especially the two girls. "But, now, it's as though there is an addition to its massive energy spikes, something foreign but familiar enough that it doesn't topple over and ignite a violent reaction."

"I'm guessing ya got not a single clue as to what this new add-on to chaos energy could be, right? Not even a little?" 

 

"To tell you the truth Sonic, no. Nothing from my research has assisted in me extrapolating what this additional power source is."

 

"Ain't the failed results here the same crap you got from the emeralds back on Torque?" Surge in a bore asked Nicole as she picked at her teeth. The boys' eyes lit up.

 

"Emeralds??!" A reasonably surprised response from Tails boomed, his inner geek reaching critical heights. "I-I thought the Sol Emeralds were the only other sets of emeralds to exist!"

 

"Ditto, bud! This is pretty huge news!" Sonic had to sit up for this one. A new set of emeralds they had never heard of was worth the full attention. 

 

"Wait a second," Knuckles began, confusion evidently laced upon his features. "Isn't Torque Silver's planet? What were you guys doing over there? How come he never talked about these emeralds?" 

 

Nicole and Surge paused before giving each other a knowing glance as if waiting for which one of them would start spilling first. 

 

"You are correct, Knuckles, that is indeed his planet," Nicole answered, "A Dr. Starline brought me to this planet for additional testing so he had fewer eyes on him."

 

Everyone bore stone-cold expressions at the mention of that name. Dr. Starline, a monster of a person who has shown that he isn't afraid to get his hands real dirty to get what he wants. 

 

"Woah, woah, woah, whaddaya mean "testing"? What did he do to you?"

 

A scowl formed on Surge's face, Sonic's tone feeling extra annoying to her ears. "Quit askin' stupid questions!" Surge snarled at a startled Sonic, "The bastard pulled some stupid strings to get the results he wanted, clear-cut lunacy you can find nowhere else but Starline's self-absorbed dome! What else do ya think he did!?" a calm hand was placed on the angered woman's shoulder, gripping her attention away for a moment.

"Surge, Sonic's query is appropriate for all of them to get the full picture. While Starline's acts can be boiled down to unadulterated cold-hearted apathy for all he invests in..." Nicole paused, slightly frowning at her teammate's more solemn expression. "...his deeds must still be listed, no matter the result of the past-" Surge shrugged her hand away harshly without saying a word, causing a deeper frown to form on Nicole's face. 

"Whatever..."

"I get it." Everyone's eyes looked Sonic's way. "I mean, Starline's pretty bad news, a heavy understatement I know, but if I were to list all the things he is, we'd be here all day! So if the information's rougher around the edges-"

"It is, but don't worry. I will refrain from saying...the 'classified' info..." Nicole reassured whilst looking over to a half-lidded Surge, scratching at her ear in agitation. "Dr. Starline saw potential in my existence and sought to uncover where my unique coding and form stemmed from, scientifically speaking, for he deemed my very person revolutionary, groundbreaking! This was around the time where he would talk of Eggman in a rather...overly enthusiastic light."

Tails shuddered at the thought. "How enthusiastic are we talking?"

"Obsessive." 

"Yep, checks out." Surge quipped. "Even when it looked like he hated that dude's guts, he'd talk about him and his work with a weird kinda admiration, not a single day without what felt like five feverish rants about the idiot. It'd get creepy sometimes. Though the sick sucker would use any other time during the day to talk about his dumb inventions or vlog about himself like some sad influencer."

"I can't imagine being so into Eggman that you end up obsessed with that overgrown poultry product. Heh, guess the buffoon really does have fans after all!" Knuckles laughed as the thought of this 'Dr. Starline' wearing a fan made shirt with Eggman's face poorly drawn on while he held a crude sign saying "Eggman Is Eggcellent!" emerged in his head. Pretty funny sight if he did say so himself.

 

"Fan or not, his analysis and procedures rivaled that of his idol and he would replicate structures analogous to that of badniks...but a step further-"

 

"The question was about what he did to you specifically, though. Focus on the question at hand, we don't have time to chit-chat the details of his dorky science projects!"

 

"Can you stop butting in?! Geez, this is the second time already within two minutes, you're not gonna start chiming like some snot-nose brat all cause you feel like it!"

 

"Whazat, Melon Head?!" a visible vein was pulsating from Surge's forehead, a stark contrast to her large menacing smile. "Mind repeating that?" she took the time to raise her hand to her ear to mock him further, which of course he wasn't happy about.

 

"Guys, c'mon." Tails groaned

"It's fine, I'll cut to the chase." Nicole sighed regaining her composure. "Like I have made clear, The Doctor found my being to be very interesting, especially because I am not a, as he puts it, "Eggman-Made stroke of genius", so he tried to read into my mind and physicality to figure out my origins once I refused to give him any further details, not daring to spare a chance to miss out on any components that could be of any use in dissecting my background and coding. He had made several tests that drained me various times through the use of his high-tier equipment, using odd polarities to help in figuring out how I function and if I truly do exist in the real world as opposed to being a simple hologram." Surge noticed Nicole looking at her trembling hands, recollecting unfortunate memories. "I was convinced that I would cease full operation from any new missteps by his hand...until Silver came into the picture that is." Her trembling slowed once she peacefully clasped her hands together. "His intrusion aided in my escape and he fought bravely to ensure that I stayed unassailable. He didn't leave a second spared on acting out what he considered just."

Surge, without him knowing, quickly glanced at Sonic before looking back at Nicole who continued to reminisce fondly. She too was unaware of the silent gaze Knuckles gave her way, who furrowed his tight-knit eyebrows further by the seemingly meaningless glances.

"How did Silver know you were there?" The young fox asked, invested in the story completely. "From the sounds of things, it seems as though Silver was already on some sort of mission."

"He was. Silver had gotten reports about The Doctor involving several missing people who were many within the abundant devastated lands, wishing only to find refuge away from the ample flames that had cursed the once utopian planet. During my capture, Starline made sure that I had no way of viewing any of his other " projects", but when Silver encountered me and aided in my escape, is when I saw the test tubes..."

The silence. It was deafening.

"How can anyone...be so vile...?" Tails quivered, the very thought of taking life and augmenting it as a plaything, removing all aspects of who they once were, thoroughly in such detail...it's sickening. It was genuinely beginning to scare him how far removed Starline was capable of being compared to Eggman.

"I'm guessing Silver kicked his butt for us and everyone who wishes they could wipe that arrogant grin off of his smug mug?" Sonic said, a frown prominently laid on his face.

 

Nicole flashed a sad smile "When the opportunity presented itself, yes, he made sure to give him a piece of his mind. But Silver wasn't the first to lay his hands on The Doctor."

 

"Well duh! I'd feel like such a wuss if he was the one to kick Starline's butt on repeat when I'm right here!" Surge interjected, proud with her chest to the sky. 

 

"But how did you get from Mobius to Torque? Appears to be such a stark jump from the scenery here to there." Tails pondered before a new question entered his mind. "Wait, that reminds me, where's Kit?"

 

"Do we seriously have to answer every single question they ask?"

 

"They are completely out of the loop, Surge, it's only natural they ask us about certain subjects. To answer your question Tails, Kit resides-"

 

"On Silver's planet, far away from you losers!" Surge quickly butt in, covering Nicole's mouth and side-eyeing her aggressively, earning an indignant look from the lynx. "Seriously, why do ya yap yer mouth off about MY business so damn often?" she removed her hand, crossing her arms and shutting her eyes to ignore a growingly annoyed Nicole. " Anyway , to answer your first question, me and Kit saw Starline, landing himself somewhere dim, ominous, and with a large gemstone slab in the dead center of this cave he seemed so comfortable in, and when I say large, think bigger than this nerd's little playhouse. It was blue with pink swirls and looked pretty important, too. He already had his sciency stuff set up and everything! Complete overhaul over the damned place! On top of all that, he was pretty out of it, more than usual. He'd talk to himself constantly and walk in circles muttering some mumbo jumbo nonsense loudly."

"What the heck happened to leave him in such a state?" Knuckles asked. 

"Pfft, beats me! All I know is that he'd fidget with his stuff and end up turning the gemstone on or whatever!" Tails tilted his head trying to figure out how one turns on a gemstone, so he figured that he most likely had his devices flow power through it to make it function, much like he did with The Warp Topaz.

"He said something about ' Leaving for further tests ' or something. Obviously, I wasn't about to let that pest slide right outta the mess he created, so me and Kit jumped him. Would ya know it, we wound up in Torque."

Ruminating with this newly found information, Tails paced back and forth wondering how Starline found such a valuable tool. Locating it was of course now a top priority, for it can be of heavy significance to any who stumble upon it. That includes Dr. Eggman. The last thing they need is another hair-brained scheme by Egghead to go amiss.

"The dimwit was shivering in his fancy boots, begging to be set free, tch like I'd be coerced into doing anything as dumb as that, guess the idiot forgot to tie some of his forsaken loose ends. But hey, me and kit got the chance to see him trembling in fear, facing the two people he scrambled the brains of. It felt damn good to be so close to erasing the mistake that he truly was off the face of reality. Too bad the coward managed to escape thanks to the dumb planet deciding to shoot fireballs that very second!!" Surge roared, startling nearly everyone with her boisterous presentation of agitation. Luckily for them, her exuberant display didn't last long, as she loudly sighed sadly thinking back on it all. "At least I managed to pummel him a little before he could make a run for it..."

"Around this time was when Silver and I met Surge due to our converging goals. Initially, she wished to finish Starline off and desired no other interferences from those whom she believed unaffected by his impetuous abandon."

"Until it was brought to my attention that the bastard had wormed his way into her life too, so I allowed her to get a few wacks in for good measure, and man those measures were long and bountiful, seeing her in action was worth every second!" Surge cackled on, a bashful Nicole looking away in embarrassment. "For a techno-geek, you sure can be brawny, ay Holo? Hey, remind me to call you into the ring when I feel extra lazy to finish a job!" Nicole felt brawny then and she felt particularly brawny now after witnessing the cheekiest grin in existence smeared on Surge's face. Nicole couldn't even properly enjoy her revenge for a bunch of reasons and Surge first-hand knows why she can't. 

' Guess she's trying to make light of it to feel better. '

"Well, when push comes to shove, Nicole is pretty reliable, and can be pretty scary when she wants to be in combat!" Tails cheered, making Nicole blush even further from embarrassment, causing little steam balls to escape her ears.

"W-well, denoting my behavior to that of forcefulness doesn't seem so accurate, surely!"

"What about the emeralds you guys mentioned?" Nicole and Surge turned to a stone-faced Knuckles who tapped his feet impatiently. "You mentioned emeralds being on Silver's planet and how the results of your scans between those sets of emeralds are exactly alike to our emerald. Is that the only thing that prompted your surprise visit?"

"Ah, that's right!" Nicole walked to the center of the room to conjure up a snap she had taken when completing her research on the other set. "As you can see, the results are nearly identical to that of the energy readings found on the Chaos Emeralds."

 

Within the pictured graph were the same characteristics: Vertical glitched lines, this time turquoise and white, a trippy 3D effect, and of course the out-of-this-world data readings.

 

"The experience of scanning these emeralds was quite the joy since they were hidden from the rest of the planet for centuries! It's a shame that our current worries are tied to its condition."

 

"Oh, so that's why Silver never brought them up! He found out recently himself!" Tails cheerfully guessed. Nicole nodded to confirm Tails' assessment. "But how could such powerful gemstones go undetected for so long!? Was it during the collapse of the planet that they were lost until now?"

"My guess is that the guardians are the reason for why they went missing." Knuckles cut in, his face hardening at the thought. "If Blaze and I are anything to go by, Torque's no different when it comes to having protection for their own sets of omnipotence. I'm betting that whatever induced Silver's world into disrepair was caused by some bad guy who got his grubby mitts on them for all the wrong reasons...and unlike us here on Mobius and Blaze on Étale, they weren't fast enough to stop it or lucky enough to have a hero stop it for them. So instead of leaving 'em where anyone could encounter 'em, they hid somewhere no one can."

"Heh, ya sure can provide a solid outlook in a conversation. Impressive! Didn't think you had it in ya!" Knuckles shot daggers with his intense glare at a smug Surge, who could care less for his attempt at intimidating her.

"What she's attempting to say, Knuckles, is that you may be accurate in your inference! When we transited the ruins belonging to the emeralds, some of the remaining wall art showcased a ruinous event withstood by four mighty beings. In an adjacent depiction, there was what appeared to be wreckage while the figures loomed overhead."

"Talk about depressing..." Sonic added. "Ruin, death, hopelessness..."

"It's as if his world has stayed a permanent shadow of that event, never granted permission to reenter the light." Nicole thumbed her shawl, the thought of it all leaving her with a sense of unease. Sonic took note of her demeanor and quickly grabbed her shoulder and her attention to him.

"Hey, don't sweat it! Silver's a pretty cool guy and has been making huge strides in rebuilding all he can with the survivors. I'm sure with you and Surge's help, sooner or later all will be well again. One step at a time."

"If there's one thing I learned about Fluff within all these passing months," the two turn to Surge, looking on elsewhere as the thoughts raced through her mind. "Is that he gets the job done. He doesn't waste time. If he finds out someone or something is causing unnecessary damage, being evil, leaving scars where no one else can see...he makes sure those scars become a rarity..." Surge bore into Sonic's eyes with her own, not once shying away. Despite that, Sonic didn't feel annoyance, rage, or even shame. In fact...

"And that's what makes Silver an upstanding guy!" Sonic chuckled, pride in his friend being the only thing he felt at the moment, leaving Surge to feel her blood boil at the sight of Sonic seemingly missing the point. "He always thinks about others before himself, willing to do what he can to make sure that everyone can live a bright future, no matter the cost, no matter where they're from. It's why I feel that regardless of his worries about me and the guys getting involved in his battles, We will help in any way we can if it means not only saving the universe from a big threat but also helping his own."

"Yeah!" Tails cheered

"So long as I get to find out what's wrong with The Master Emerald and return to my normal duties, fine." Knuckles scowled, crossing his arms, and fashioning his iconic frown, but Sonic and Tails knew what he truly meant. ' Anything for my friends '.

 

"Ugh, whatever helps you sleep at night, just know once this entire mess has been settled, I'm tearing you a new one front and back!" Surge threatened. Sonic chuckled, to Surge's dismay.

 

"Whenever you're ready, Sparks!" He playfully quipped. "I'm always ready to throwdown!" Surge felt a weird mix of anger and unease with how little he seemed to...care...

 

" Don't call me that, Rat! " She hissed. Nicole comically went in between the two, her nervous smile trembled. She knew bringing Surge along to get Sonic's help would only aid in stunting progress, but she had no option in the matter.

 

"A-Anyway back to it!" Nicole tried her hardest to keep Surge's anger levels low and she didn't wanna reprimand or even tell Sonic to stop his playful behavior either since he quite honestly did nothing wrong. 

 

"I'm guessing since they've been found, so too have the guardians protecting them?" Knuckles helped in continuing the conversation, curiosity gracing his eyes, hunger for more information on who these guardians are and where they've been hiding. 

 

"Yes! Though I believe seeing them in due time would be of much more benefit to you all than to merely state it." Nicole laughed nervously. Knuckles raised a brow.

 

"Why's that?" 

 

"Also, 'them'?" Sonic asked.

 

"Well, the entire situation involving the emeralds and its guardians is, er....'complex'. The most I can say without taking too much time off is that there is more than one this time around."

 

The boys were surprised yet very much so interested in the juicy new details.

 

"It's all making more sense now." Tails thought out loud. "The guardians must have seen something and decided to ask for some help, given how huge of an impact this could be having universally. So they sent Silver on a mission to see if what was happening to them was happening to other planets' emeralds as well, hoping that what they'd seen wasn't at a rapid state of growth."

"Correct." Nicole clapped excitedly. She knew that Tails of all people would catch immediately.

 

"Sounds like another space adventure is in our future." Sonic jested with a chuckle. Nicole laughed along.

 

"I hope this isn't too much to ask of you all."

 

"No way! I'd never pass up on an opportunity like this!" Sonic cheered zipping next to Nicole yet again. "Can't be letting you guys hog all the fun after all!"

 

"I'll come too!" 

 

"I'd tag along, but with all this noise about the Master Emerald possibly being in danger, I can't risk it. It's safety comes before anything else." Knuckles said astutely, tho there seemed to be a hint of sadness in his words. Sonic caught it. He walked up to Knuckles a little slower than usual.

 

"Don't worry, Knux..." Sonic placed his arm on Knuckles' shoulder. He gave him a reassuring look, one Knuckles understood and his spirits lightened just a tad, though he tried not showing it, but a small smirk slipped through. "I'll get yah a souvenir-"

 

"Shuddup!" Knuckles tried to punch a giggling Sonic who dodged it easily. Everyone had a chuckle at that exchange, all but Surge. She lazily laid against the chair she sat in.

A sudden knock on the door interrupted the conversation, capturing Surge and Nicole's attention.

 

"Is this the fabled 'Fluff' we've kept hearing about?" Sonic joked, yet again earning a scowl from the angry tenrec.

 

"I'll get the door!" Tails sprinted ahead to open it before anyone else could offer assistance.

 

Knuckles, however, thought back on what was discussed. He began to think about all his times guarding the Master Emerald, hoping to find anything worth the concern, but then he remembered that odd situation between him and Tails which in turn reminded him of the odd energy emitting from the Master Emerald earlier in the day.

  please help

 he is trying to

 trying to  t rying to begin-

Knuckles' eyes shot wide open and like an explosion he charged out of his seat towards the emerald lying on Tails' desk, not minding the fact he nearly knocked Nicole down into the ground. He slammed his hands onto the messy workbench with extreme concern, helping to expound wordlessly just how distraught he was at the moment.

"What the hell is your problem, freak!?" Surge roared, who just about had it with the Knucklehead and was about to give him a piece of her mind.

" Trying to do what?! " Knuckles yelled, his heart pumping hazardously as he began to sweat profusely, awaiting a response. He didn't know why he was feeling this way, why he felt as though he was being watched, but whatever it was, it most definitely wasn't good.

"Knuckles, what happened? What did you see?"

At first, there was no response from Knuckles and his friends were becoming increasingly worried about him. However, he slowly turned around and it was clear that something was wrong. He looked as though he had seen a ghost, his eyes were wide and fixed on the ground as he breathed heavily but slowly.

"A woman...cried for help..."

The Chaos Emerald began to glow rapidly...


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Mamma_Gamma Mamma_Gamma

[Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!]

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