They descended to depths far below, unaware of the lengths which they'd go but prepared for any impact they might face. As they fell, it became dark and cloudy, with no sense of order as they floated into the void. Movement was denied, yet they could see everything around them within their minds. How could they observe all that surrounds them when their eyes are closed and their heads locked in place? How?
" Can you hear me...? Please...Please tell me you can hear....me..."
They tried to respond, yet nothing, they could only see...a distant figure of a woman waiting so far away. How can they hear her as if she were right next to them?
"I..... I understand...
Nothing is sensible here.
Bodies are too overwhelmed to speak."
Knuckles tried tossing and turning, going left to right, yet he grew more sleepy the more fierce his attempts. Blaze stayed calm and collected though it was hard to stay still and to keep her thoughts steady, but over time, she managed.
" Last time I brought that one here, it was safer to speak but these plains were hard to sustain It doesn't belong to me after all....not at all "
Blaze paused, it felt as though eyes looked inside her, like a curious child looking inside a box.
"Ah, you are not of either element here. This must be especially taxing on you... Yet you managed to hear me much better than I had anticipated.
I suppose that's natural given who you are....Maybe...."
The both of them were suddenly spun about but were now 'facing her'. It didn't make sense. They could have sworn that they were already looking at her. Yet...the distant unmoving figure, still far away, felt 'closer' if that makes any sense. Blaze's mind struggled to regain the steady thought it once had while Knuckles remained tired and confused. Their lack of control was jarring coupled with the odd environment devoid of life and color. Only space and hollow stars. Time's halt is even more evident here somehow. Suddenly, a rumble was felt and the woman groaned in pain, alerting the two she had as an audience, and for only a moment did they see the figure shift slightly before she regained composure.
"You are good. You bear good allies. So please...the pain is unbearable. These pawns are unaware of what they are getting into, messing with the nature of order. Order is essential. Yet they wish to bring about a new..."
She stopped talking and what sounded like pitter-patter now sounded like rhythmic taps. When the noises died down, she started with a tired sigh and the clearest response yet.
"I've never felt so worthless before. Is this how it feels for the majority?"
Silence overtook them for a few moments before she continued.
"I wish to be rid of this unfavorable situation immediately. It has brought us much pain and will do so for many others. A group has formed and all harbor hatred for the blue one known as Sonic. If he goes, their plan flows forth. The lot of them seem to be mindful of three others but are nowhere near as much of a nuisance resembling that of the blue one. They are invariably meticulous with their identity, so I apologize for sharing so little, but I do know that one of them is the oldest and holds an ancient prowess. He is the biggest of the group as well, towering over all, and is the wisest. He's-"
A large suction unexpectedly occurred causing the two to be pulled away as a dark figure began to tower over them all with green glowing menacing eyes. It watched them all with indignation and slammed its powerful fist into the emotionless sky. Madness spilled through, their minds began to be seized by the incomprehensible and their fur turned into various colors, gold being the most prominent. It's too much...it's too much! The voice of the mysterious woman was garbled; incomprehensible. It was like she was a corrupted voice file. The entire space they'd grown used to was shattering with horrid shrieks piercing their ears.
PLE-ASE! I DIDN'T- I Hh-hHad cOmPLETE CONTROL! THE-THE-THE-THE ChAOS! IT BLED TH- HOW?! Y O U G E T A W A Y F R O M M E
DO Y- K N O W WHOIAM?
___________________REALITY____________AM- DON'TTTTTTT YOU DAR___________TOUCH ___R
Escape-
All that remained was white noise and another descent to the unknown. Stiff and unremarkable they remained until they hit the ground, merging with their lifeless bodies, where they awoke near where they originally entered the Master Emerald. They shivered, the entire experience was haunting! The shrieking, the pleading, the implications, the silhouette, everything felt scarily personal. They could sense it...the terrors she was going through as if their minds were intertwined. Knuckles grunted as he rose from the ground, the daze still fresh, taking a few moments to bring himself to speed before walking up to an equally shaken Blaze who lay on her back in utter shock, respiring sluggishly.
"What...just happened?"
Blaze unhurriedly turned her head to Knux. Her lips barely parted when thinking of a proper response. What could she say? What could she do? This was a particularly brutal experience that her too-tired mind was not prepped for at all. Looking up, she shook her head with clouded eyes staring blankly at nothing.
"I don't know..." She sighed. Her heart was still racing and her mouth was still dry. She gulped as her eyes closed before forcing herself to sit up. She hugged her legs firmly trying to get the tension out before standing. She turned and walked to where everyone outside was waiting for them. "But we can't afford to neglect what we were presented with." On the other side, she became visible and the others watched Blaze place her hand on the smooth cold surface. Knuckles caught up with her despite his body screaming at him to rest and alongside her laid a hand on the emerald and waited for them both to exit the realm.
The two didn't know however that a rotting darkness was growing elusively, chewing away green strength with its selfish hunger.
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The two guardians, drained of all their vigor, carefully reflected on their experiences, trying to recall every detail from their foggy memories. They aimed to make everything clear and concise, ensuring that no information was overlooked. Once they were confident that everyone was up to speed, a sense of relief washed over them.
"So that voice from before, they were trying to warn us this entire time?!" Silver asked, baffled. "Who even is she?"
Blaze gave a tired sigh "We wish we knew. All we know is that she has some connection to the emeralds and that managing them was a too-taxing task."
Knuckles struggled to stand but wanted to waste no more time to get to business. "After seeing the state of the Master Emerald for myself, sensing its pain...safe to say that it's...doing far worse than we expected, so not too surprising that controlling it would be a major issue." The defeat was thick in his words. He was far too tired to try and hide the immense amounts of shame. He walked to the large gem, his dull eyes yearning to find a single ounce of sustainability, only to be met with the familiar endless green void staring back at him. "How....How could such a growing issue go unnoticed while I was on duty? How could I have...?"
"C'mon, Knux, cut yourself some slack. You couldn't possibly have known about this." Rouge attempted to reassure Knuckles, though he didn't seem fully convinced by the excuse given. "This is far beyond anything anyone could have anticipated—likely even more significant than any global threat we've encountered before. What's important now is how we plan to prevent it from getting worse."
Blaze built a small portion of strength to lean onto a nearby structure, grunting while keeping herself steady. "Woah woah!" Sticks caught Blaze just in time to prevent her from seriously hurting herself, with Sonic closely behind. "Take it easy will ya!? You just got back from a nightmare, the least you can do is sit!"
"You don't need to push yourself beyond your limits, Blaze. One step at a time. The same goes for you, Knux. You both need to take a breather after the adventure you guys were dragged into. We'll figure this all out." Sonic admonished. Knuckles clicked his tongue as he glared at Sonic.
"Like your one to talk..."
"Hey, I'm just looking out for the both of you. We all are! Take it from someone who's been on the other end of the chaotic stick."
Knuckles scoffed before turning back to the emerald in somber silence. Blaze's eyes scanned Knuckles' figure with heavy concern, contemplating all the emotions he might be experiencing and the depth of his pain. How could she not? Especially after everything they had both learned.
"It hid from us both, dear friend." Although no movement occurred, she proceeded. "Please, don't feel as if you were too blind to see. In spite of it all, we caught on, even if it was just a hint of what's to come. It's far better to be slightly aware than be oblivious to it entirely. Once you detected an anomaly, you were sure to let Tails know so others could be made aware of its condition and to better understand what was happening. You did all you could do at the time, and knowing you, you will do far more."
Knuckles looked down at his feet, unable to shake the sense of dread that loomed over him. How could he? The Master Emerald stood right before him, yet it felt as if it had been swiped from under his nose, just like all the other times. The key difference, however, was that there was no clear solution, and he couldn't restore it through force. After all those years spent protecting the Master Emerald, he could only grasp a part of the current problem? This realization alone is enough to make his blood boil with his disappointment in himself.
"From what you guys said about that woman, sounds like she's been held captive, presumably by the four enemies that want Sonic's head on a silver platter. How long she's been under their careful gaze is up for debate, however, along with her genuinity." Shadow surmised.
Silver watched as Blaze, even with Bunnie's added assistance, struggled to keep herself stable. By the time they walked her to the grassy base of the shrine in between everyone else, she wasn't even supporting her own weight anymore. The grimace he held was clear-cut. "Seems every world-ending or reality-bending threat that comes and goes always wants Sonic dead. Just how many people have you on their hit list?!" He felt a sudden nudge from Surge who kept her focus on the rest of the group but made her case clear.
"Enough for me to start several comics, games, and movies made for over 20 years, the sword's sharp but still pretty double-edged," Sonic jested, keeping tabs on Blaze's condition. "So my stupidly long list of fangirls makes finding the culprit a real headache. Old egg-head being the ringleader would be the easiest answer, but we all know how flashy he is. He'd never miss a chance to rub his overly tedious plans in our faces, 'specially mine."
"Still, I wouldn't overlook that high-faulutin four-flusher. He ain't no rookie, after all!" Bunnie warned, straightening her back out.
"Heh, all the more reason for me to doubt it's him! Eggman's left a "mark", a "signature" he calls it and I've tussled with him long enough to where it might as well be second nature. Egg-for-brains needs to show off otherwise he might just go crazy! Whether it's robots with his 'name' written all over it or making a racing tournament just to find where a lost civilization is hidden, he always finds a way to outdo himself. No extravagant entrance or display more than likely means he isn't the real villain of the story this time 'round."
Shadow sighed. "Sonic holds a good point. The doctor's hubris has always been his downfall yet he seems to enjoy the spectacle just as much as Sonic does." Shadow with half-lidded eyes was subjected to yet another one of Sonic's cheeky grins. "I can't imagine he'd cut off what he deems satisfactory for the sake of an underwhelming victory. This case reeks of someone else's stench."
"And you'd be correct." Blaze began, her tone darkening. "The severity of the situation extends too far from what Eggman could want. This destruction...."
"I agree, completely!" Tails declared. "Aside from Eggman being too much of a showboat, these plans he would hypothetically entice us with would be placed under heavy risk due to the emeralds' hazardous state. There is no sound justification for him to utilize them in their existing condition. Besides, I doubt he was the cause of the time manipulation, energy overflows, or any other irregularities we have yet to uncover! It also doesn't explain why our old foes have come back!"
Silver's eyes grew wide like saucers as he looked around frantically now remembering why he felt so uneasy earlier. Surge jumped in surprise, watching as he darted from place to place in search of the creature.
"Dude, what's gotten into-"
"Where's Chaos!?" he shouted. Everyone froze. "I-I was holding onto him not too long ago and n-now he's..."
Tails shuddered. "Oh no..."
Nicole made notable movements while panic began to rise, her face scrunching up as if in a struggle. Omega caught her odd reaction before she settled down.
"How'd that creature leave your sight?! How...did I not notice??" Shadow placed his hand on his head, confusion evident.
Sticks gulped audibly, nipping at her nails. "Did we all...collectively forget about a dangerous water creature that's hell-bent on ending all our lives??"
Sonic glanced back at the Master Emerald and noticed something terrifying. "Hey, guys, you see that too, right?" Sonic pointed to the black gaseous substance building inside it like oil in water. It was small but its presence was stark. Knuckles, already on his feet, was in horror at what he was witnessing.
"Wh-what is-" Knuckles was cut off by a sudden chill up his spine. Blaze too felt that uncomfortable feeling that ravaged her body, the chill too intense for words to describe.
"Blaze? You alright?" Bunnie asked, worried.
"Knux...?" Sonic nudged his red friend, but he remained motionless, lost in a daze. "Hey bud, you're starting to worry me-"
Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream erupted from Nicole. She winced in pain as she continued to scream in anguish, tossing and turning as if caught in feverish nightmares.
"Nicole?!" Sonic rushed to her side with Silver, Surge, and Amy following closely behind. Nicole thrashed and contorted, her voice began to glitch the longer it went on. "Omega, what's happening?"
Omega tried to scan her... ["I am unable to get proper readings without placing danger upon myself. But from what I can discern, she seems to exude highly lethal amounts of chaos energy, which I surmise is causing her to overload."]
"What the hell do we do then!?" Surge yelled, Silver's hand in his quills, stress levels higher than ever. His heart raced as he began thinking up ways to fix this.
The inky black gas grew in size abruptly, grabbing Knuckles' attention yet again. His eyes were full of trepidation.
"There's gotta be a way! We can't just leave her like this!" tears began pooling in Amy's eyes, the sounds of Nicole's shrill voice too heartwrenching to bear. Silver, with gritted teeth, was forced to watch both his teammates writhe in either turmoil or uuncertainty. Surge looked as though she had seen a ghost.
Sonic looked back to the Master Emerald, a frown laid sternly upon his face as he thought quickly about what to do but noticed Tails flew post-haste to his beloved plane. The young fox hopped in, readying himself to rev its engines but, as he had feared, was met with an out-of-control and heating mess of a plane. "I knew it!" He shouted. "Just like the emeralds, the Master Emerald is causing severe damage to all forms of complex machinery." The Tornado began to rumble and steam violently, parts of it even started to fall off and were red hot. Even when Tails tried to deactivate all functions, it grew hotter and hotter with intense energy.
"I think it's going to blow!" Bunnie wailed. Everyone ran as fast as they could away from the impending explosion, with Silver even using his telekinesis to ensure they escaped safely. They watched as the once-beloved Tornado transformed into a massive ball of energy and flames. The blast pushed some of them further into the forest. Silver created a protective barrier between them and the epicenter, but the intensity was far more than he initially expected and he couldn't hold his ground long enough without being blasted back several feet.
Amongst the aftermath, the crackles of small flames can be heard faintly, coupled with the groans of the dazed heroes. Sonic coughed harshly waving away any remaining smoke that was nearby.
"Is everyone okay!?" His question was met with a variety of responses like louder groans and coughing.
"If we were 'okay' I'd be at home with the gang right about now!" Amy whined. Shadow and Sonic made sure to lift her back onto her feet.
Knuckles sat up with Rouge's assistance, his face frozen in shock as his heart sank. Rouge felt her concern grow when she noticed his eyes widen in horror. Knuckles rose from the ground, limping, alerting his friends' gazes. His mouth hung open, unable to form any words, while Rouge, wearing an equally stunned expression, walked beside him with her hands covering her mouth.
"Wh-what—" Silver didn't finish his sentence. What he saw shook him to his core, and soon everyone else joined in their silent symphony, their gazes fixated on the illogical collection of blights. They were witnessing the Master Emerald, largely dominant with its iconic green hue, its other side plagued with a cluster of turquoise and black, the foundation stained with a sickly, dark moldy complexion. Sonic felt queasy just from the sight of it as if he were peering at something he wasn't meant to see.
"Why... why does the emerald...?" Blaze trailed off, watching as the Echidna fell to his knees. Out of everyone present, she alone understood what he was feeling: the connection he had with the emerald, his sworn duty, was rotting right before him. Rouge was utterly revolted. Her favorite jewel had been reduced to a monstrosity beyond comprehension. Why? Hell if she knew! She was so upset by what she was witnessing that she nearly missed Knuckles' body trembling. With a raised fist, he slammed the ground in red-hot fury, forcing back any further emotions and concentrating on releasing his anguish.
"WHY?!" he yelled. "WHY, WHY, WHY?!" Amy was about to walk over to him until Sonic stopped her, never taking his eyes off the scene. Tails watched anxiously; his friend's pain affecting him deeply. "Of all the damned scenarios to play out, WHY THIS!? Who's the sick bastard behind this crummy joke?!" As his words echoed through the tense air, a slight tremor followed. The cold chill returned, accompanied by Nicole's wails resuming, louder than before. Her cries were hoarse and painful, her eyes tightly shut, still asleep yet her pain felt so visceral and aware...One you'd never expect to be a result of horrible nightmares. Silver knelt beside her, trying to ameliorate her, only for his efforts to seemingly agitate her more.
"T-ther-there's something here." Blaze stuttered, her voice a whisper. Sticks held her hand tightly, listening closely to her words. "Could this be "her" doing?"
"No." Knuckles growled. "I...don't think it is."
While Knuckles thought over his words to speak, Shadow picked up on strange vibrations coming from the island. He analyzed the pebbles and leaves and noticed that they were...quivering. He snapped a look to the Master Emerald, noticing that the more the rotten parts overtook, the stronger the vibrations. "Knuckles, I think we have greater matters at hand right now. Whatever you wanna warn us about can wait. We need to go now!"
" Go? After all of this, you want me to up and leave the Master Emerald by itself??! That explosion must have blown that brain of yours up to smithereens!!" Knuckles yelled, infuriated. Nicole began to sweat profusely, tears streaming down her eyes while she squeezed Silver's hands, whining. "If you wanna run away, be my guest, but I ain't leaving until I figure out what's wrong!"
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?! Must I remind you of your own little horror story involving that overgrown gemstone?" Rouge snapped at him. "If you stay behind with no team, plan, or even an iota of a clue on what is going on, you could very well be bringing more harm than good! The last thing we need is more of your hair-brained bitter shenanigans obstructing OUR mission, ya hear me!?"
"I'm sorry, I don't remember permitting you to boss me around! 'Hair-brained bitter shenanigans', HAH! Sure is laughable coming from you! Seem far up your alley, don'tcha think?!!" Knuckles growled sternfully.
"Are we really doing this right now!?" Bunnie shouted. "We got ourselves a girl screamin' in pain and y'all's first instinct is ta bicker down each other's gullet??"
Blaze's eyes widened by the odd levels of outrage that grew more fierce the longer it stirred. It was to be expected, everything so far has been too nonsensical, not to mention tiresome ...yet this all is far too extreme. She glanced over to a thrashing Nicole, eyes still wrung with sleep, who she has noted to be quite reactive whenever things get too intense. While observing she noticed that Surge's body language was increasing in agitation, she looked like she could either crawl into a ball or explode....or maybe even both. Inevitably, tensions are very high, so why is it that these reactions from everyone give off a peculiar feeling all of a sudden?
"That's enough." Sonic and Tails stepped in between Rouge and Knuckles. "We'll stay with ya, Knux. After all, asking you of all people to leave is like trying to drive a big red truck with no wheels." Knuckles bore a large fiery frown full to the brim with spikes for teeth, clearly unhappy to hear such a low-effort diss come out of Sonic's mouth, but he let it go for now. Sonic's offer for him and Tails to stay by his side chipped away at his anger enough for him to scoff, eyes bright with newfound determination, which of course, Sonic was quick enough to notice. "Whatever happens, we'll be here every step of the way to fight it. There's enough of us where a fight over what to do shouldn't even be happening-"
CRRRACK
All eyes fell onto the large emerald once more, met with a new anxiety to battle. A large violent crack lay boldly across the face of the eroding jewel, distracting everyone from the now dead-silent atmosphere. Everything was still, the calm breeze was removed entirely, the wildlife astoundingly absent. Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Blaze's fur began to rise, for something was amiss. A sudden uptick in airflow and trembling emerged, Flickies in the sky panicked, trees tumbling down as the seconds ticked, and tremors grew more violent.
"What now!!" Surge snarled.
Knuckles' shocked expression pulled into a more saddened look. "The Master Emerald....It's... failing to hold Angel Island afloat." A strong quake jolted everyone off balance, Silver managed to stabilize everyone before anyone hit the ground. "It's too badly damaged to maintain it's energy! We're falling!!"
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"[Amy Rose here! Can't talk now, sorry, but you can leave a message after the beep, especially if you're a certain blue hedgehog I've been eyeing, heehee!]"
"[Rouge speaking. I'm afraid I'm unavailable at the moment, so do leave a little message for little old me, will ya~]"
"[The caller you are trying to contact is unavailable at this time, please leave a message after the tone]"
"Not even Shadow is picking up..." Sally sighed. She sat alone at her desk, rubbing away the tension building in her temples to hopefully reduce the chances of her succumbing to a stress-induced frenzy. All of this happening right after the Metal Virus incident was anything but ideal, considering how vulnerable everyone still is, so having a majority of the heroes missing was....extremely concerning, to say the least. Sally turned to look at the clock hanging above her door and saw that it was 5:24 PM. It's been several hours since everyone has gone dark and her worries have made a significant uptick.
She pushed her chair back to stretch her legs and lay lazily on the birch seat, contemplating all the possibilities for her friends' disappearances in order to organize a proper search. Suddenly, her mind drifted back....to "her" vanishing. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to block out the memories, but everything about this situation reminded her too much of the day she disappeared. One moment she was there, and the next, she was gone.
As her eyes began to sting, signaling a need to refocus, she got up and paced a bit to clear her mind. People's lives were at stake; she couldn't afford to dwell on the past right while so many mysteries have been surfacing, one by one. Once she figured out where her friends went, she would allow herself to confront other important matters. Turning back to her ComLink, she began thinking up other options, like contacting other freedom fighters who have been out on other duties.
She's been thinking of calling Rotor or Mina but both have been mainly out of town for months on end and been in zones that managed to maintain a heavier defense of the damned virus only now beginning their trips back home, so their knowledge on anything is greatly limited. Ah, but who knows! Maybe they do know something...it couldn't hurt to try she supposes.
She sat down and rolled her chair back to her desk, preparing to call Rotor when suddenly, there was a tremor. It wasn't too violent, but it shook her room noticeably, causing some of her belongings to fall to the ground. She held on tightly to her desk until the tremor subsided, then hurried to her balcony to see what had been happening.
To her horror, she saw from a distance that Angel Island had plummeted into the sea below, now accessible to anyone on the ground. Her pupils shrank to tiny dots as she watched the waves thrash violently beneath the island, even hearing screams of fear from afar as hysteria ensued. She took a few steps back, bumping into one of the tables, and then rushed back to her room to grab a wall phone. She cranked the device and took a deep breath.
"Attention all Royal Knights, there has been an unforseen event that is causing panic across all nearby lands, We must investigate the cause post-haste, and prevent any further casualties from transpiring! I repeat--"
All the knights rushed to get their necessities and poured swarmed out of the castle, heading straight to their duties to safeguard as many people as they could from the impending dangers.
"--Arm yourselves, I will need a squad to ready themselves to head to Angel Island this instant, we must make sure that whatever circumstance befalls us is swiftly dealt with, by all means necessary!" Hanging up the wall phone, Sally was just about to leave her room to go investigate the problem first-hand along with her knights, but was met with a trembling coyote, teeth chattering, hands shaking, knees buckling. It was a contagious sight to behold. On his wrist, his Comlink looked as though he had just finished speaking with someone, which was the only sort of good news to come from all of this right now.
"M-M--MM---MM-Madame S-S-Sally! I don't m-mean to al-alarm you, b-b-but-"
"I'm aware Antoine! I can't waste any more time!" She stated firmly, running past him. "I have to head to Angel Island and see what caused it to fall! Its drop means the Master Emerald has been taken from Knuckles who we all know has been radio silent for hours on end!"
Antoine followed closely behind her, along with his chattering and shivering. "I-I-II-I reeaaallly don't think that's a very wise choice to make princess! Who's to say that Knuckles isn't just busy dealing with that very obstacle that minute!? Going there is far too risky, it could very well disrupt any of his efforts to remove the accursed foe!!"
"Leaving this up to 'what-if' is far riskier. Besides, I won't be going alone." Sally halted and pulled up her ComLink and finally called various Freedom Fighters before proceeding to look Antoine dead in his eyes. "For the time being, I need you to watch over the kingdom and make sure no one suspicious infiltrates our home! All the heroes going MIA is no coincidence and could very much happen to any of us. We have to be cautious. Can you do that for me?"
Antoine puffed his chest, full of faux-courage, but his pride was still intact. "Puh! T-to think you had to ask!! Why would I, the fearless Antione D' Coolette, refuse my duties given to me by none other than her majesty herself-" by the time he opened his eyes, Sally was several feet down the hall.
"Thank you! I'll be sure to return quickly!" Sally's eyes were full of determination, but behind her fierce eyes lay a block of worry pressing against her mind. Her ComLink finally stopped buzzing and a familiar chubby face appeared on her screen, relief flooding her rapidly.
"Sally? What's up? Didn't expect a call from you so suddenly. I was actually-
"No time, Rotor! We got ourselves a dire situation!"