Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Planet Earth
The Skies Above South Island – Sunset

It was a day just like any other, as the sunset loomed over the horizon, bathing the lands of this backwater planet in an orange-yellow hue, just as it had always done. The inhabitants of said planet—human and non-human—were getting ready to wind down for the day, a sense of safety washing over them, when there had been no traces of any danger for the past few years. But even then, a hero’s work is never quite done, as a looming threat could arrive at any moment.

The engines of a blue biplane whir as it glides at a cruising altitude high above South Island. In its pilot seat is a young fox cub—Miles “Tails” Prower—with yellow and white fur, with a set of two identical tails fluttering behind him; a pair of goggles covering his sky blue eyes, intent on finishing a routine inspection he conducts once every few weeks. Standing atop the biplane’s left wing is a blue hedgehog—Sonic the Hedgehog—with emerald green irises looking directly at the vast, open sky, his ruffled quills and tattered red scarf gently blowing with the wind passing through them.

“Think you’re almost done, buddy?” Sonic called out to his friend. “The wind’s nice and all, but I prefer it when running,” he says, breaking out into a stationary running motion for dramatic effect.

“Yep! It’s kind of a shame I can’t test the cannons much, though.” Tails replied, slightly dejected, knowing that it’d be risky to test it on anything that isn’t mechanical.  “On the bright side, I changed out the old Chaos Drive, so everything on the Tornado II should have enough power to last a good while,” he adds.

Sonic cracks out a big yawn. “Speaking of, the Chaos Emeralds haven’t exactly been around in a while, right?”

Tails shakes his head. “Nope. There’s been no readings on my tracker for months either, and I think we’ve scoured the entire planet multiple times over. Strangely enough, Eggman’s been gone too. Hope he’s nowhere near the Emeralds.”

Furrowing his brow, Sonic takes a moment to ponder, gazing at the horizon once more. “No sign of his Badniks either, right?” He shoots a glance towards Tails, to which he answers with a simple nod. “Hmm. Wonder what else he’s got up his sleeve this time.” The duo fall silent for a brief moment. Sonic breaks the slight tension, cracking a smile with a bold declaration. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll fend off any scrap metal he throws our way, just like we do all the time!”

Tails can’t help but chuckle. “Even after all these years, you still know what to say.” No matter the odds, they always come out on top, defying expectations. “But you’re right, we got this!”

The two best friends laugh to themselves while airborne. Years have gone by, and while they’ve had their ups and downs, their friendship has never wavered. By now, the sun’s gone further down; nightfall quickly approaches.

“Really should get down now, all of a sudden I’m itching for a bit of a night jog,” Sonic exclaims, stretching out his shoulders.

“Sure thing! I got what I needed anyways! Hang on tight!” Tails maneuvers the Tornado 2 downward for a swift descent, his routine maintenance evaluation successful. Though Tails can’t help but wonder about the Emeralds’ disappearance. “ I just don’t get it… The Emeralds still feel like too much of a mystery… They shouldn’t have wandered off far outside the planet… could they? I have a bad feeling about this...”

Planet Avalice, hundreds of thousands of miles away from Earth
Singing Water Temple – Nighttime

Far from Earth, lies a similar mass of water and rock in a neighboring star system—a planet not unlike Earth. Albeit with no humans, a race of similar creatures to that found on Earth, Avalice makes its home. It had been only months after the threat of a water dragon centurion’s efforts in seeking retribution for the genocide of her race by the earth dragons, but after the planet’s heroes had stepped up to face the threat head on, as well as make many revalations along the way, Avalice had returned to a state of peace; a peace it had longed for for so long, and harmony between the three major kingdoms… save for a few dwindling remnants of robots from an alien invasion of years past.

In a small laboratory stationed in the Singing Water Temple, a young hound–one of Avalice’s heroes, Milla Basset, adorned in a black bodysuit with a golden crop-top and wearing crystalline-like bangles on her wrists and ankles–is seen performing inventory on her equipment and ingredients for her various potions. “Yup-yup! Everything’s here and accounted for~!” Glancing at a small mirror and noticing a glint outside, she takes a moment to admire the moonlight from inside.

“I still can’t get over how pretty it looks,” she mutters to herself. Her messy orange hair and big ears flow with the wind, as she looks on in a sense of melancholic awe. Her sense of wonder hasn’t left her in the slightest. “I wonder how big outer space really is… I wanna go there for myself and explore,” she exclaims, “preferably not when the world’s in danger,” muttering under her breath. After meeting her best friends, she shared their wish to explore the vast reaches beyond the atmosphere. “We’ll go together, I’m sure of it! Maybe we can visit the Commander along the way…” Her tone turns somber. “And maybe… find out what happened to mommy and daddy.”

A glint of yellow light stronger than the one she saw flashed above the clouds. “Eh? A falling star? Wait… It’s been a while since one of those happened… why–” The glint of light began to glow brighter, as the trail left in its wake illuminated the trajectory it would quickly fall down to; the woods of Dragon Valley. “Oh no, this might be bad!” She quickly rushed out of the lab, off to head for a deeper part of the valley.

“Bye, Mr. Stumpy! Please take care of the lab for me,” she exclaimed to the aptly named tree stump stationed outside her laboratory as she ran to the scene. The tree stump that was adorned with a face, being an inanimate object, said nothing. Meanwhile, a streak of purple light is also seen heading in a similar direction.

Dragon Valley

“It’s getting closer!! Wait… huh?” The young basset hound stops in her tracks and observes the comet, realizing the trajectory will narrowly miss the treehouse. She sighs in relief. “Thank goodness…” The purple blur of light from earlier whizzes past her, giving Milla momentary chills. “Brrr…! Wait…” Her nose twitches slightly, recognizing a familiar scent—a friendly scent that she knows all too well. “Isn’t that…?”

Inside the treehouse lies a fluffy wildcat with lime green fur and dark green accents, asleep on the couch with the TV on, when she hears a knock at the door. A voice on the other side calls out, “Carol? You there?” The familiar voice gets the wildcat’s ears to perk up. “Mmm… huh?”

She opens the door, a purple water dragon hybrid adorned in white and blue garments and accented with gold standing on the other side, with a smile on her face. “Lilac…?” The dragon girl responds in kind, “I’m home.” Rubbing her eyes and snapping awake, she realizes that her best friend, who had been gone for months, was finally home, and immediately gives her a big hug. “You’re finally back! We were getting pretty worried, y’know?” Lilac responds, “I know. It’s good to be back too.” Carol adds, “Oh yeah… How’s Merga?” Lilac sighs, but gives a smile. “She’s alright, thank goodness. But I’ll tell you guys about that story another time. I’m glad I came now, though, ‘cause…” A small explosion is heard. “...Y-You might wanna look outside.” Carol gives her a raised eyebrow before she’s brought outside the treehouse. The yellow-colored meteorite from earlier had just landed on the planet’s surface, however the speed it was going, coupled with it being a small object, meant that not much damage was done, if at all. Before they have a chance to figure out what to do, Lilac gets hug-tackled by another familiar face.

“Lilac!!!” Milla excitedly exclaims. “You’re here!!!” Like a true dog, she practically nuzzles up against Lilac’s neck.”

“Woah-hey! Easy there, Milla!” Lilac chuckles in turn. “It’s nice to see you again too.”

“What a funny coincidence! You came running back as soon as you saw the falling star,” Milla adds. “Well, I don’t think it was a falling star. It looked more like a meteorite. Good thing you’re alright!”

Carol interjects. “Hellooooo? Guys? We should probably check the thing out?? Might have super rare shiny stones in there,” ending, throwing her arms up.

Milla puts a finger on her chin while one of her ears raises up. “Umm, if that’s the case, then maybe we should be careful…”

Lilac nods. “She’s right. We don’t know exactly what just landed, but just in case it’s dangerous, we need to investigate and take care of it.” She adjusts her gloves and urges her friends to get ready. “Let’s go, girls!” Practically jumping out of the treehouse balcony, they head over to the crash site. It doesn’t take long for them to make it, and as they do, they bear witness to a fair bit of damage to the surrounding area. Surrounded in smoke, what was once a source of light strong enough to be seen in the night sky, had been reduced to a small glow once the unidentified object landed.

Milla proceeded to sniff the air once more. “Aside from the smoke, nothing smells weird… It might be safe? I’m gonna go check it out.” Lilac puts a hand on her shoulder. “Just be careful, okay?” Milla nods with a determined look. “I will!” Cautiously, she approaches the small crater, with her head and body to the ground on all fours. Eventually, she reaches the small crater, and spots a small object emitting that same yellow light, as the smoke clears. “I think I see something,” Milla exclaims to the group. Carol shouts from the distance, “How big is it,” with Milla replying, “Something small… Like a… gemstone of some sort?” She hops down to inspect the gemstone in question. “Is this… a diamond? But this one’s yellow…” She carefully picks it up to inspect it up close. Its glow might be faint, but it hasn’t lost its luster, even after falling from the sky. Milla also feels something… strange. Like a warm and inviting sensation. “It feels kinda… nice, holding it… Like it’s emitting some kind of energy wave…”

Deciding it was safe enough, she decides to pick it up and show it to her friends. “Everyone, look at this!” Lilac and Carol proceeded to huddle around Milla, so they could witness the splendor of the mysterious gemstone in its full glory.

“So shiny…” One look and Carol practically had stars in her eyes. As for Lilac, she could feel a slight tingle. Something that has a very similar feeling to what’s covering the atmosphere of Avalice. “Hey Milla, did you feel anything different when you held the gem in your hands,” Lilac inquired. Milla’s ears straighten up, and her fluffy tail wags faster. “Now that you mention it, yeah!! It’s like it was radiating some kind of energy...”

“I could feel it too,” Lilac adds. “ To which Carol remarks, “Huh, would ya look at that! Guess I’m not crazy after all!” Lilac just rolls her eyes in amusement. She continues, “It’s almost as if it has the same kind of energy as the Kingdom Vortex…” Carol comes in with another remark, “I’d say you were crazy if it weren’t for the fact that I kiiiinda believe it.” Milla interjects, “Maybe we should let Lady Neera and the Royal Magister know? They might know something we don’t!” Lilac nods in agreement. “You’re right. If anyone can help us figure it out, it’s them.” In a bit of slight frustration, Carol scratches behind her ears. “Man, this sounds like it has ‘adventure’ written all over it! And here I was enjoying my sleep a few minutes ago…” Lilac laughs, responding, “Hey, c’mon now! We won’t know unless we get some answers, right?”

Milla excitedly raises her hand. “I vote we head straight to the Royal Palace!” Lilac raises her hand as well. “Me too!” Then they both look at Carol.

“...”

“What?” Carol says, looking confused with a raised eyebrow.

Lilac remarks with a smug smile, “Even if you don’t vote, we were gonna go either way..” Carol groans and reluctantly raises her hand. “Fine, I’m in…” Milla exclaims, “Adventure! Yay!” Lilac declares, “Then it’s settled! Off to the Royal Palace!”

Planet Earth
Arsenal Pyramid – Sunset

Doctor Ivo Robotnik—sworn arch nemesis of the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog, whom he dubbed “Eggman”—decides to visit an old base of operations that has long since been abandoned after the Resistance, a faction long since disbanded, took back control of the world—a weapons facility just on the outskirts of Green Hill.

“I’m quite surprised this place is still standing after all these years, considering it looks like it’s about to fall apart at any moment” the good doctor remarks. A digitized, young-sounding feminine voice speaks out to him, “Father, why are you revisiting one of many abandoned bases of yours?” Eggman replies, “Oh don’t worry about it, Sage. Might as well sift through some intel I might’ve forgotten to collect back then.” Sage–an AI created by Dr. Eggman during his attempts at experimenting with and understanding ancient technology on the Starfall Islands, taking the form of a young human girl—replies simply with, “I see.” Eggman manages to get an old EggNet PC working and authorizes himself inside, where he begins to upload many old files to his database, including preliminary schematics of a failed reproduction experiment of a gemstone he once called the “Valtron”. “If only that blasted hedgehog didn’t interfere with my plans,” he remarks in disdain.

“Father, this base does not seem to be guarded in any way,” Sage informs him. “Bah, what difference does it make? No one’s gonna come here anyway. Why bother?” Eggman continues to sift through files.

“Ah yes, I almost forgot. The Chaos Emeralds haven’t been seen anywhere in a while, correct?” Sage replies, “Yes, my sensors have not detected a single trace of Chaos Energy for months. Except…” Eggman perks up in intrigue. “Oh?” She continues, “That is what my data would suggest. However, I have picked up a faint signal nearby, as well as a known biosignature heading in our direction.”

Eggman is taken by surprise and disbelief. “What?! Who?!” A few miles outside, the sound of thrusters skating along the sand gets louder as the detected being gets closer.

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: Ignition

Arsenal Pyramid – Nightfall

“Gah! That blasted…!” The doctor curses the oncoming “threat” and orders Sage to deploy every available Badnik inside the base, remarking that he needs some time to think. With a small nod, Sage disappears as the command center’s interior lights up.

The outskirts of the desert-ridden segments of Green Hill illustrate the scorching marks and faint electricity-like energy traces on the sand, heading for a once abandoned base in Arsenal Pyramid. Racing towards the destination is a jet-black hedgehog bearing a significant resemblance to Sonic, and with speed extremely close to the blue blur himself. Having received intel about Eggman’s approximate whereabouts from a certain trusted colleague not long ago, this hedgehog is intent on stopping the good doctor from launching another one of his nefarious schemes off the ground before he even has the chance.

Sirens blare from within the pyramid as hundreds of various Egg Pawn models attempt to assault the oncoming black blur. He weaves through the massive onslaught, who are nothing but small-fry to him. One after another, they’re dismantled effortlessly with an array of spin attacks and Chaos Spears. Even after a long time, he’s not slacked on honing his skills, as he’s already made it halfway across the pyramid’s road.

“Tch. I have no time for this.” Emitting a golden-hued glow, his voice rings out throughout the hills, enunciating…

“Chaos Control!”

Time slows down to a crawl, as he makes up the last few meters on the road, merely deciding to avoid everything else coming his way, and dives into the opening on the top. Chaos Control lasts just long enough for the hedgehog to get to the control room. He announces his presence with a cold tone. “I finally found you, Doctor.”

“What do you want, Shadow?” Eggman’s tone, in turn, is one of exasperation. He doesn’t exactly have time to deal with whatever he’s aimed on doing. Catching a glance at the lit monitor with a folder open of a familiar gemstone’s schematics, Shadow simply says, “Rebuilding the Phantom Ruby are you, doctor?”

Sage reappears from behind Shadow, simply calling out his name in a monotone voice. Shadow, unphased, turns nothing but his head to address her. “And who might you be?” Sage does not answer the question, and continues with her assessment. “I am detecting an unusually large amount of Chaos energy emanating within you; energy strong enough to have been a recent use of Chaos Control.” Once again, Eggman’s eyes widen in intrigue. Sage’s tone raises slightly, as if to be interested. “Do you perhaps have a Chaos Emerald within your grasp?” Shadow scoffs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Eggman puts a finger on his chin. Shadow with a Chaos Emerald? He thought all of those went missing from the planet a while back. How could he have one? Well he’s not gonna find out exactly why with just speculation. With a single sentence, Eggman commands, “Sage, frisk him.”

“Yes, Father.” Putting up one hand to Shadow, she traps him in a bind of a mysterious digital energy.

“Gah?! What the?!” Shadow encases himself in a blue aura and attempts to teleport out of the bind using Chaos Snap, to no avail. Phasing in and out of Shadow, she obtains what seems to be the yellow Chaos Emerald, to which his bind is subsequently and unintentionally released. Sage, of course, hands the “emerald” to her “father”. Sage notes that “the energy of this emerald is noticeably weaker than a legitimate Chaos Emerald. Perhaps that emerald is that of a counterfeit?” Shadow growls in anger.

“Unhand that, Doctor!” He attempts to charge at the Doctor, but Sage protects him with a digitized barrier, Shadow unable to break through. “Oh no, you don’t!” He presses a red button on the console, which causes sirens to blare and the command center to flash red. A voice erupts from the speaker system,

“SELF-DESTRUCT ENGAGED. ARSENAL PYRAMID DETONATION IN T-MINUS 2 MINUTES.”

Eggman grows a maniacal grin and lets out a chortle. “Good luck running away now!” In a flash of energy, the two disappear. Shadow snarls once more in agitation, cursing to himself that he let the Doctor get away. With no choice but to run, he charges up his energy, performing a boost across the interior of the pyramid, ramming through multiple remaining Egg Pawns along the way.

“DETONATION IN T-MINUS 1 MINUTE.”

Crap. The situation’s getting desperate. The pyramid’s about to explode and he doesn’t have enough time to get out. Worse still, he’s being surrounded by bigger Egg Pawns blocking the exit path.He hesitates slightly on his next move, but if the base is about to explode anyway, he might as well open up a new path himself. Using an ability of his that requires no Chaos Emerald, he quickly envelops himself in a red aura. The Egg Pawns attempt to subdue him as per their directive, but it’s too late.

“Chaos Blast!”

Fiery energy encases a wide area as Shadow makes like a ticking time bomb and detonates, utterly eviscerating the robots well within his line of sight, though he remains unharmed. The explosion also opens up an alternate path on the base of the pyramid for him to escape through.

“DETONATION IN T-MINUS 30 SECONDS.”

With no time to lose, he quickly bolts out, making it as far out as possible and takes cover in anticipation for the explosion. Shadow just about made it out far enough when he hears the timer count down to its final moments. “3. 2. 1.”

In a flash of white, the massive explosion proceeded to shake the ground, debris and dust clouding the air. Luckily, there were no signs of life anywhere near the desert regions, so there were no casualties to speak of. Chunks of the pyramid scatter around the massive crater left in the wake of the base’s self-destruction. Once it was all clear, Shadow emerges from a small hiding place, looking on at the sizable dent to the surface of the Earth. Shadow grumbles, failing in his mission to stop the Doctor. Despite the smoke being far away, he manages to catch a whiff of smoke on his person. Looking down, he realizes the light blue and golden yellow scarf he had been wearing had been slightly singed, possibly due to the stunt he pulled inside the pyramid. He groans at his actions, possibly lamenting the fact that something to remind him about his past is slightly damaged, but he has no time to dwell on that for too long, for he has to retreat.

Many Miles Above the Earth’s atmosphere
Death Egg

Eggman and Sage are seen having just arrived at the command center of the Death Egg, where they witness the explosion having just concluded. “Hmph. I know he’ll come back, but hopefully he won’t be a thorn in my side for too long.” Sitting on his chair, he pulls out the “emerald” from his pocket. “As for this emerald…”

Sage interjects. “It seems to be the one that was created by Miles Prower. The properties of it match with the records in my database.” Eggman muses for a bit. “So it’s that same one? I always thought it was left on the Ark.” But then, Eggman cackles, his voice barely above a whisper.

“ Perhaps this could prove useful in locating the Chaos Emeralds.”

The Doctor had a long night ahead of him.

Planet Avalice
Shang Tu Royal Palace – Night

The heroes of Avalice make their way to Shang Tu’s Royal Palace. As expected, the palace was guarded, but seeing the three approach, the guards decide to let them in. Near the Magister's hall, a person of interest catches their attention: the currently appointed Regent of the kingdom, who is seen talking to one of the bird soldiers.

Lilac happily calls out to the Regent like an old friend. “Lady Neera!” She turns, the trio now having gotten her attention as the bird soldiers excuses themself. She can't help but crack a little smile, seeing trusted allies she's grown close to once more. “Isn’t it quite late for you three to be out?” Carol can't help but be snarky while side-eyeing Lilac, mildly annoyed. “Maybe if someone had just let me go back to bed.” Lilac raises an eyebrow with a smirk. “Hey, you do realize this is serious, y’know!” Carol lets out a yawn. “Whatever… hope this won't ruin my naps~”

Milla steps forward. “Lady Neera, we found something. We thought you might know something about it.” She presents the yellow gemstone they found moments before. Neera's eyes widen slightly. “Where did you find this?” Lilac answers for her, “It fell down like a shooting star around Dragon Valley.” She mutters under her breath, “Nearly missed the treehouse, too.”

Neera puts a finger on her chin and inspects the gemstone closer. The gemstone emanates a faint yellow glow. “I see.” She continues, “We found a similar one not long ago under similar circumstances. It looked to be in a nearly identical physical composition, only it was purple in color.” Then, she pulls out said gemstone. This one emanates a faint purple glow. The three can't believe their eyes. Their minds race as they try to comprehend the sight before their eyes. There are two of them? If that's the case, could there be more? How much could they be sold for? No, wait, that's just Carol talking. But more importantly, could they potentially fall into the wrong hands?

Neera continues. “We managed to inspect this one further, and we found something unbelievable. This gemstone has about a seventh of the recorded power of the Kingdom Vortex. So we surmise that there are a total of seven of these colored gemstones. While we have not tracked them down yet, rest assured, we will get to the bottom of this.” Amidst the discussion, none of them realize that as the gemstones got closer, they seem to react with one another as their light glows brighter, and a soft humming sound rings out.

Lilac boldly declares, “Lady Neera, let us track the rest down. We'll circle the entire world if we have to. If someone who shouldn't gets a hold of the rest, who knows what will happen?” Neera nods, having full trust in them. “I agree.” But, out of a need to dutifully perform her tasks, she adds, “However, I cannot let you do it all alone. Therefore, I will be going with you.” Milla adamantly refuses this decision, shaking her head. “No, Lady Neera! The people need you here in Shang Tu! Let us take care of it instead!” Lilac echoes this sentiment. “She's right. The people need you now more than ever to help lead them to a better future. And besides, we've faced worse, we can do it.” Carol puts her fists together and gives a confident smirk. “If anyone's gonna stand in our way, they're gonna get a face full of fists!”

A deep voice from behind chimes in with a calm tone. “Now hold on just a moment.” They all turn to see someone in a blue robe walk up to them with a smile. A tall, black-haired earth dragon, the one they all know as the Royal Magister, who welcomes the Team Lilac trio to the palace. “It’s been some time has it not?” 

By complete habit, the trio bow in his presence, with Lilac greeting him, “Your Excellency.” The Magister puts a hand up and shakes his head, saying, “There's no need for that, remember?” This puts them at ease. “Your Excelle- *ahem* .... Magister. I should assist them. The gemstones' sudden appearance could cause great distress to our kingdom,” Neera responds, uneasy about just leaving the gemstones alone. The Magister responds in kind. “Well, if that is what you decide, then I shall respect your decision. If you feel that it is the best way to protect the kingdom, then so be it.”

“Magister! Neera!” Another voice calls out to the two. A panda clad in armor and a shield—General Gong—who, for formality's sake, kneels in front of them, but with a determined look. “Don't worry about the kingdom! We'll take it from here! I think ya should go and help out the kids.” The girls share looks with each other, Lilac saying, “Well, since it looks like an emergency, we're not exactly opposed to the idea either. If you feel it's the best choice, then we won't stop you,” with Carol remarking, “Dragons know we tried a few times.”

Neera shares glances at Team Lilac, who, even with her insistence and their prior disagreements, would happily work with her once more. Then, the Magister—the man who she swore she would protect with her life, a man that was like a father to her—encouraging her to follow her heart, with nothing but a gentle face. Clearing her throat, Neera states, “Very well, my decision is final. For the safety of Shang Tu, I will aid in your search for these mysterious gemstones.”

“Yes!” “Awesome!” “Yeah!” Team Lilac erupts in a joyful celebration. Neera urges them to get some rest for tonight, “we will start our search first thing in the morning.”

Saying their temporary goodbyes, Team Lilac head for their homes, as Neera and the Magister see them off. The Magister puts a hand on her shoulder, expressing to her, “You are an excellent Regent.” Neera smiles, expressing her deepest thanks.

The Northern Snowfields of Shuigang — Night

A lone, seemingly deactivated humanoid robot from a while back rests in a secluded part of the cold junkyard, covered in a thick layer of snow. It hadn't seen activity for the past three years.

Well, that was until a projector light on the robot lights up, and a robotic voice comes out of its speaker system.

“CONNECTION ESTABLISHED.”

“INCOMING DISTRESS CALL OBTAINED FROM SHADE TROOP MODEL 072115 LOCATED ON THE PLANET AVALICE.”

“CONNECTION WAS REESTABLISHED WITH THE FLEET'S CONTROL CENTER.”

“WE WILL BEGIN THE EXTRACTION AT YOUR COMMAND…”

“...LORD BREVON.”

…

…

…

…

Another voice speaks out, this one much, much more imposing.

“The riches of many worlds were once housed on that fleet.”

“Every last one of them will lead their armies to this barbaric planet.”

“The Chasers have failed in their mission. The last Commander is within my clutches.”

“And let's just say…”

“...The actions of this world will not go unnoticed… OR unpunished.”

“Hm hm hm hmmm…. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!”

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Cards and Gems

The Next Day

Floral Forest Village – Early Morning

A knock is heard at the door of a modest house in a village. Seen opening the wooden door is a young, aptly named cream-furred rabbit with a small, brown tuft of fur on her head wearing a puffy, open sweater and an orange dress, who happily greets the guest on the other side. “Oh, good morning, Miss Amy!” Said guest is a pink hedgehog with shoulder-length quills that go straight down, wearing a red dress and boots, who is seen holding a basket of sandwiches. The rabbit happily lets the hedgehog in, as she’s greeted by the rabbit’s mother and the two resident Chao. “My, you’re up early, Miss Rose,” Vanilla, the mother rabbit remarks. Amy scratches the back of her head and gives a nervous chuckle. A robot also makes its appearance. “AMY ROSE. STATUS: ALLY. REASON FOR VISIT: URGENT.” That robot’s name is Gemerl. “Sorry that it’s on such short notice guys, but Tails said it’s urgent.” The daughter Cream and her Chao companion aptly named Cheese tilt their head, Cheese’s orb-like body part on his head even forms a question mark. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

The Night Before

Amy’s seen taking a stroll in the peaceful Station Square. Not too many cars were on the road, the streetlights illuminating the sidewalk. The moon was shining as the cold wind softly brushed up against her quills and her dress. The pink hedgehog hasn’t felt an extended amount of relief in a while, but with Eggman (presumably) gone and having not tried anything at all, she had plenty of time to rest easy. But that peace wouldn’t exactly last for long, as she and many other residents of Station Square felt a small tremor. Nothing destructive, but something rather concerning. She fires up her wrist communicator, hoping for some sort of insight. “Tails? Sonic?? Did you guys feel that??” Tails quickly answers. “Yeah. Wow, that’s weird… Sonic, do you copy?” It takes a bit for him to answer, but he eventually does. “Lemme guess, it’s about that weird tremor?”

“Are you still on a run? It felt like that shaking came near Green Hill,” Tails asks, somewhat unsure. “I can see smoke up ahead. I think something exploded? Not sure, be back in a flash!” Sonic’s voice disappears as he ends the transmission. Tails looks worried now. “It… couldn’t have been… could it?”

Meanwhile, Sonic is still en route to the supposed epicenter, when he notices the fresh smoke still rising. “Man, what happened here? There’s no way it was Egghead’s doing… whatever that is.” All of a sudden, a shadowy blur whizzes past him, causing him to stop in his tracks. “What the… Was that…?” He looks behind him, then slowly back at the huge smoke trail. “Well if he was there, then he must’ve found Eggman.” He ponders for a moment, thinking that he should ask what happened from the guy himself, but then decides that they’ll find out what the “faker” did later on anyway, so for now, he bolts to the location of the smoke.

Finding a massive crater housing the smoke, he practically slides down inside, looking at all the rubble… and metal parts of robots scattered across. He picks up a lone head of a dismantled basic Egg Pawn. “Badniks. So he is back.” Heading straight for one of Tails’ labs in Green Hill, he activates the communicator.

Present Day

Floral Forest Village

Cream and Cheese gasp in heavy concern. “Oh no! Dr. Eggman is back?” Cheese lets out a worried cry. Amy reassures them that they’ll get to the bottom of this once Sonic and Tails arrive. Speaking of the devil, they hear the sound of a familiar biplane landing nearby. “Ah, that must be them!”

After a few minutes pass by, Sonic the Hedgehog greets the residence and makes his way inside. “How’s it going, everyone? Ames. Cream. Vanil’. Oh, hey Gemerl.” Cream perks up after seeing him and gives him a hug. “Mr. Sonic! It’s been so long!” Cheese also lets out a happy cry. “Sorry for the party crash, little buddy! But it’s an emergency.” Amy lets out a smirk. “Always the spontaneous one, aren’t you?” Sonic shrugs. “What? I can’t help it!” Vanilla lets out a soft chuckle. “It’s nice to see you too, Sonic.” Gemerl keeps silent, but welcomes him with a thumbs up. Then Tails steps in, making sure to be courteous as he does so, as he gives them a briefing on the situation.

Tails apologizes that they had to use the residence for a base of operations, but notes that just in case of a targeted attack, the house isn’t likely to be attacked first. Gemerl remarks that he would’ve eliminated any possible threat that may harm Cream. Tails commends him for his resolve, but he quickly shifts his tone to a more serious one. “I’m sure you would, Gemerl, but we can’t take any risks right now.”

Then another knock is at the door. Other than Amy, Sonic, and Tails, Vanilla wasn’t expecting any other guests. But considering there hasn’t been much oddities occurring, it couldn’t hurt to open the door, right?

Slowly opening the door, Vanilla is greeted by a neutral face staring back at her—a short but imposing figure. One whose brow’s were naturally furrowed, though he means no hostility. As Vanilla steps back to let everyone else witness the new guest, they’re all surprised, to say the least.

“Shadow?” Everyone says, rather confused by his sudden appearance. He practically hasn’t been seen in a long time, and now he makes a sudden appearance in a peaceful village. Even Sonic is shocked, particularly why he didn’t stop and say anything when they basically crossed paths the night before.

He only crosses his arms before responding. “Rouge told me to arrive at this exact location. I believe you should be aware of the extent of the Doctor’s return.”

Planet Avalice

Relic Maze, Temple Area – Daytime

The shrine area of Relic Maze hasn’t been maintained in a long time. With the Kingdom Stone releasing its physical form, the area hasn’t seen much use, nor visit. “Man, this place looks abandoned,” Carol remarks, despite it being obvious to everyone.

Lilac raises an eyebrow, shooting her a glance.“There’s not exactly a Kingdom Stone to house anymore, is there?”

Carol responds with a casual shrug. “Eh, fair point.”

Neera wears a focused look, raising her spear. “It’s quiet… suspiciously quiet. Do not let your guard down.”

Milla’s nose twitches, detecting a familiar scent. “This way!” This leads them to the small shrine where there was once a medium-sized yellow gemstone adorned on top, they find a small, green, glowing gemstone resting atop the pedestal.

“Strange… It should’ve stayed on the ground… unless someone placed it there.” Neera’s voice is laced with unease. She’s right. Direct collision would’ve broken the pedestal and the area around it. If no one came here, then it wouldn’t be on top of the pedestal. What if—

“Who cares? We have what we came for!” Carol impatiently steps forward, her tone irritated, reaching her arm out to grab the gemstone. Her hand was one inch away from grabbing it when a single playing card grazed her wrist. “Yeowch–!” The wildcat flinches back, as the sole playing card hits the ground straight up—an ace of spades.

The girls didn’t need a closer look at the stray projectile before realizing what, or rather who it was that just tried to ambush them. But just when they ready a counter-attack, a suave, masculine voice catches their attention. “Whoops, my bad.”

Leaves rustle from a nearby tree, and a familiar figure leaps towards the shrine, landing just beside it—a panda with a slim figure, donned in a mix of black, red, and white attire, which includes his sunglasses. Carol gets even more irritated, barking out rudely, “Ugh, not you again!!” The girls step back further, Neera pointing her icy spear straight at him. The male panda shrugs, making it known that he’s not here to cause trouble. “Relax, don’t get things twisted.”

Lilac, letting her disinterest be made known, replies in a dry tone, “What are you doing here, Spade?” Keeping his cool, he kindly asks that the Regent drop the pointy end of her spear down. “I’ll explain.” Silently, she shares a look with Lilac, who meets it with a nod and a smile.

Reluctantly, Neera does so, while still keeping her attention on the familiar face. Spade continues, “Big Bro’s the one who sent me to find these things. He wants to know where they came from. He found one of his own not too long ago when it fell out of the sky.”

“So that gem..” Milla points to the glowing green gemstone.

“I used it as bait, just in case anyone else wanted to take it.” Spade swipes it from the pedestal and begins to walk away. “Now if you’ll excuse me—”

“Wait–!” Lilac’s voice stops Spade in his tracks, forcing him to give her the time of day. “...What now, Sash?”

“Okay, here’s a crazy idea. What if Shang Tu and Shuigang form an alliance? If I know one thing about monarchs, it’s that they’ll do everything they can to make sure their kingdom is safe… even if some resort to shady methods .” The half-dragon says that last part under her breath.

Spade sighs, exasperated at this point. “Whatever, I’m not in a position to defy orders. If I keep him waiting for too long or something, he’d bust me up good like the last time.” He scoffs. “Just don’t let me do the talking for this one.”

Carol’s ear suddenly twitches, as a stray laser bullet narrowly misses her head by the tips of her fur, as she manages to duck just in time. “Not again–!!”

Multiple robotic foot soldiers from Brevon’s army—thought long dismantled—come out of the woodwork and successfully ambush them, having the five surrounded.

The three young friends’ mouths are agape. Lilac’s especially so. “No way… It can’t be…! I thought they were all…!!”

Neera’s face scrunches up into a scowl. She knows how serious this is but urges the rest to be on their guard. “Everybody, focus! Let’s defeat them and regroup!”

Lilac assumes a guarded crouching stance, Carol puts up both her fists, Milla summons a green energy shield, Neera aims her spear at the soldiers, and Spade holds up multiple cards, ready for throwing. “Sorry Big Bro, guess this’ll have to wait!”

Planet Earth

Tails’ Workshop — Mystic Ruins, Midday

The young fox wipes a trail of sweat off his forehead, as he makes the final touches on his current project. Quick taps of his keyboard are heard, as the audience, comprised of Sonic, Amy, and Shadow, await with bated breath for its completion. 

“Aaaaand done!” Tails sighs with relief. And in record time, too. That’s when the doors to his workshop slide open, and a gruff voice that everyone inside is familiar with rings out. “I’m here.” The voice belonged to a red echidna with long dreads and white markings, and with fists as strong as Sonic’s speed. His magenta irises glimmer at the sight of his friends, who he hadn’t seen in person in a while, a smile forming on his face as they smile back. He then turns his attention to the dusky hedgehog off to the side, and they fiercely lock eyes for a brief moment, before giving each other a nod; no words are needed.

The echidna slowly walks to the machine, turning his head to the young fox and asking, “This is where I put it, right?” The machine in question has a big pedestal in the middle, being surrounded by seven mini pods raised above ground, connected to his terminal. Tails nods with a gentle smile. “Thanks, Knuckles. This’ll be a big help.” Holding it above his shoulder, he places a big green gemstone resembling a Chaos Emerald on the center pedestal, the machine clicking it into place.

Going into one of his drawers, Tails pulls out a black briefcase, placing it onto a table. “It’s time I explain what this machine does.” Tails notes in his head, I’m glad I still have the schematics for them. A lucky break, for sure. Clicking the latch open, the inside of the briefcase emits a multicolored hue, as the others crowd around it. They see seven nearly identical-looking replicas of the Chaos Emeralds, the same kind Shadow lost; each possessing the same wavelength and properties, but not nearly the same amount of energy.

Tails kindly asks, “Can each of you please take out one emerald?” The remaining four nod, as each of them take out one each; blue, magenta, red, and white. Tails also takes the yellow one out for himself. “Next, place them on the pod,” the young fox says, gesturing to the seven spots surrounding the big gemstone. Each one of them placed their artificial emerald, taking up five out of the seven spots. Tails places the remaining two colored gemstones—cyan and green—on the last two spots that’s facing them, making all seven spots filled.

Tails begins to explain in detail how this machine of his works. “I’ve had this theory for a while, but I’ve never gotten a chance to put that to the test until now, and it’s thanks to Knuckles agreeing to use the Master Emerald that I’m able to do it. Using the Master Emerald placed in the center, this machine will help supercharge the artificial ones I made somewhat recently, bringing them as close, if not, to exactly the same power as a regular Chaos Emerald.” Everyone across the board looks rather impressed, for good reason.

But then, Tails scratches the back of his head and begins to wear a nervous look. “However, there might be a catch. I’ve found that the energy is too great for these emeralds to handle. So while small uses should be fine, use too much, and it’ll shatter.” However, he mentions a silver lining. “But don’t worry, I think I figured out how to use it to our advantage, should anyone else get a hold of them!” Though, before he does, he gives Knuckles a nod, giving him the clear, as he places his hand on top of the Master Emerald, and begins to chant a prayer.

“The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.”

“Lend us your power! Help us find the Chaos Emeralds!”

The Master Emerald glows brightly as Knuckles finishes this ancient prayer. Tails then begins to type on the console and presses a big square button off to the side, as the machine lights up and begins to absorb energy from the Master Emerald, and transfer them to the fake emeralds. It doesn’t take too long once it finishes, and as soon as it does, the seven artificial emeralds crackle with colored lightning, before settling to a glow as strong as the real emeralds.

Let’s see if this worked like I thought… Typing some more on the terminal, Tails manages to pull out translated data that the machine managed to siphon from the energy transfer. Certain coordinates show up on screen, getting Tails to form a pleased smile. “Aha, yes! It worked!” The young fox happily throws his arms up in the air. The blue hedgehog speaks up, confused. “Whoawhoawhoawhoa wait, what just happened?”

Death Egg — Command Center

Two small robots, one primarily colored in red, and another in yellow, arrive at Doctor Eggman’s side, holding a steaming cup of hot liquid and a plate, respectively. The red, rather spherical one, says, “Here’s your coffee and sandwiches, boss,” both robots “happily” holding them up. The doctor, infront of his own computer with a strange purple and black-colored gemstone placed on top of a small machine to the side, slowly turns his head to the voice, and barks in an annoyed tone, “It’s about time!” He impatiently takes both the cup of coffee and the plate of sandwiches and scarfs them down rather quickly, in a way that even shocks both robots. “That’s better. Now shoo, get out of my sight.” The two robots sheepishly obey their creator, floating off to the side for the time being.

“Sage!” Space distorts briefly before she appears. “Yes Father?” He instructs her to bring him the artificial Chaos Emerald, as he makes the last of his own preparations, pressing enter on his keyboard, as a progress bar shows up, making the attached gemstone pulsate alternating colors. It takes no time at all for Sage to appear with the emerald in hand, as he takes it from her. Placing that emerald into a specially-shaped hole, he types a few commands in, and both the purple gemstone and the emerald briefly communicate with one another through this process. Coordinates come into view, as well as the location of the real Chaos Emeralds currently—a planet name he’s not familiar with. But that’s quickly covered by the schematic transfer program showing a “transfer complete” dialog window, and the odd gemstone stops pulsating, beginning to hum quietly. The doctor frees it from its chamber, as he cracks a wide grin.

“Welcome back, Phantom Ruby.”

He places the newly recreated Phantom Ruby to the side for now, as he checks back at the window containing coordinates of the seven emeralds. He looks at that planet's name again, it’s one neither he, nor the fox boy back on Earth knows of, as, in their confusion, they both say in unison…

“...Avalice?”