CHAPTER FIVE: THE PERFECT CHAOS Gamma was confused. He had met a young female pink hedgehog on the Egg Carrier, and she had convinced him to go against orders. The next time he met her, she had tried to convince him to stop working for Robotnik altogether and become an independant. A robot without a master? Gamma had never heard of such a thing! And, in his confusion, there was always something lingering in the back of his robotic mind. Birds. Lots and lots of birds. Hundreds of birds, different colours, but always birds. Birds flying, birds sitting, birds eating, birds travelling in flocks... So Gamma did the one thing he thought he had to do. He confronted Packbell about it. "What of birds?" he asked. Packbell turned around from his work. "Excuse me, Gamma?" he asked. "What of birds?" Gamma repeated. "I'm not sure I understand the question.." Packbell replied. "My memory banks contain multiple files on birds." Gamma announced. "I cannot delete these files. Why were they installed?" Packbell stopped silently for a while, then sighed. "I won't lie to you, Gamma." he said. "Your mental processes are not synthetic, you were created from a bird. I captured this bird, and it is currently installed into your mind as your central processor." Gamma stared for a while. "What is the purpose of this?" he asked. "There is no better computer than the mind of an organism." Packbell replied. "The particular species of bird I chose has been proven to be able to perform complex problem solving activities. It was vital to Robotnik's plans that you and your brothers had the utmost precision in battle. You understand." Gamma nodded. "Packbell.. where are my brothers? I noticed they are not present in Robotropolis." "Zeta is here." Packbell corrected. "He was recieving orders from Robotnik. Delta, Beta and Epsilon are in the forest searching for emerald shards." "Thank you, Packbell." Gamma replied, turning around. "Gamma..." Packbell called. Gamma looked back. "Be careful.. Doctor Robotnik is less than happy about the goings on lately, and I am not sure I trust that Chaos monster." "I shall, Packbell." Gamma replied with a salute. He didn't tell the Commander, however, what he intended to do for his siblings... Sonic woke up with a groan. How long had he been out? He couldn't tell. He had washed up on the coast of someplace foreign to him. But it wasn't so unusual after all. Slowly, things became familiar to him. Totem poles and old ruins long deserted littered the area, and the likenesses of echidnas on murals everywhere. Sonic used some simple deductive logic. It wasn't the Floating Island, or else it would be immediately familiar. And the only other place he knew of the e xistance of echidna civilizations was... "The Chaos Isle.." he gasped. He had been here. In a place called "Aztec Gardens" on the Chaos Isle, the mirror area of Knuckles' own Marble Gardens. Aztec Gardens was always.. a little different. Not exactly the normal echidna style. A little darker, more mysterious.. while Marble Gardens provoked and invited exploration and discovery, Aztec Gardens had always shunned it.. as if it always had some ulterior motive.. some dark secret that was never meant to be revealed. Perhaps it was the common theme which appeared around every corner, at the top of every totem and at the entrance to every temple. Snakes. Whoever lived here was obsessed with them. They worshipped them.. and they obviously considerably feared them. A light swept through the jungle. "What was that?" Sonic gasped, a little jumpy. The call of a bird was the only reply. Slowly, the hedgehog crept through the trees to find the source of the light. Another flash! It passed into a clearing. What Sonic saw in that clearing made his jaw drop. The remains of a village. Broken ruins littered the entire area. Of notice was a huge altar, which looked like it used to be important. It had paintings and etchings of emeralds all over it. It looked like something of incredible importance once sat on its holy stone peak. It was abandoned, like everything else in this rustic place. And, right in the center of the village, standing well tall over everything else, was the biggest darn temple Sonic had ever seen. Its entrance was a huge open snake's mouth, which was no surprise. It looked like everything that was dark and terrifying about this place was concentrated and focused at that very point. And, right there, hovered a small orb of light, just big enough to see. It didn't take long for Sonic to go rushing towards the temple. Near it were murals of wars.. it seemed like death itself was hovering over the area. As Sonic entered the temple, all that was going through his mind was fear. He began to sing something he couldn't remember where he heard, to lift his spirits. "It doesn't matter now what happens, I will never give up the fight." he sang. "There is no way I'll run away from all of my frights. As long as the voice inside me says go, I will always keep on running..." The inside of the cave was illuminated in an eerie light. The mirrors were all positioned to bounce the light from them and create an artificial light source. Quite ingenius. Footprints on the sandy ground seemed to indicate that somebody had been in there recently. What he saw next confirmed it. A huge machine, in an even huger room. And contained in seven containers on the bizarre machine were seven colourful gems. They were the Chaos Emeralds. And their powers appeared to be drained, as they didn't glow nearly as bright as usual. Quickly, Sonic raced around and extracted the emeralds. They were definitely the Chaos Emeralds. "How did they get here?" Sonic asked. His attention was turned to the walls of the room. There were a series of murals. The first showed a picture of an odd little man. He had ovals for eyes, and bubbles in his body. Above this mural was the ancient echidna symbol for "zero". "Chaos Zero.." Sonic murmered. The second mural had a picture of a slightly larger man, with one arm longer than the other with a huge claw. It had the echidna symbol for "one". The third had the symbol for "two" and a picture of a large gorilla- like creature, its fists in the air in a terrifying pose. The fourth had the symbol for "three" and a picture of what looked like a strange figure with one leg being a fish tail, and the next had the symbol for "four" with the picture of an enormous shark-like monster. The sixth had the symbol for "five" and had the likeness of some kind of spider with fins. The next, with the symbol for "six", resembled more closely a terrifying scorpion with a long tail. The trail of murals led to the center of the wall, where the biggest picture Sonic had ever seen was plastered. A huge, intricately detailed stone mural... it showed terror and destruction. It showed chaos and downfall. And in the center of it all was an enormous dragon, its tentacles flailing wildly... echidnas were running from it in terror, and on it was the symbol for "ultimate", or, more accurately, "perfection". Sonic approached a small inscription at the base of the mural. "The first test." it declared. "The rise and fall of all that is Xnaoo and Chaos. At the fall of the milennium, Xnaoo shall rise again and devour. For it is the will of the gods to destroy that which was created." Sonic gasped noticably, staring at the mural. "The first test... it's real." he muttered, fearfully. "We.. are in deep trouble." His thoughts were interrupted by an explosion outside the temple. He packed together all the Chaos Emeralds, and ran outside. Fires blazed everywhere. Echidnas ran for their lives. It grew darker, and explosions could be heard all around. Great huge flying ships could just be seen zooming overhead.. dropping bombs and shooting lasers. Sonic almost had a heart attack. At the base of the temple lay a girl. Sonic rushed down to her. "What happened?" he asked her. "Where did all of this come from?" "It's... horrible..." the girl sobbed. She turned her head, and Sonic saw that she had the slight likeness of Tikal the echidna. "It's horrible.." she repeated. "They're coming to take us away... all is lost." It was then that Sonic awoke. He was laying in a field, just outside the Great Forest. "What a weird dream.." he commented. He picked himself up, and all at once realised that everything had actually happened.. for he was surrounded with the Chaos Emeralds, glowing dimly like fires about to be extinguished. Amy Rose stood at the gates of Robotropolis. It was the next day, and everything was relatively silent after the crash of the Egg Carrier. "I wonder what happened to Robotnik?" she asked. Just then, the man in question himself stepped into the clearing. "This has gone terribly, Mecha." he told the robot beside him. "Locating these emeralds is tougher than I expected.. and these stupid chao things are driving me insane! They keep multiplying!" "Their constant singing is a persistant annoyance." Mecha added. "Therefore, I want you to go back to the Floating Island. See if I left behind any emerald shards. I have to drive Chaos to perfection, and SOON! Those pest friends of Sonic are getting under my skin!" "As long as you think it is wise." Mecha replied. "I am unsure if Chaos seems trustworthy enough." "He is our only shot." Robotnik lamented. "He has been less than obediant since his power has grown, but I have nothing else. Nothing. If I don't take over Station Square, it is the end of me. I am building a missile to assist the situation, if need be. Now go, Mecha. Find what you can." "A missile?" Amy asked, walking away. "That's bad! And what's that about taking over Station Square? I'd better tell Sonic... that city is my home, and if Robotnik gets to it..." There was a loud squauking noise, and the bird's eyes widened. "What was that, birdie?" Amy asked. The bird flew off into the forest. "Hey, wait!" Amy called after him. She pushed her way through the forest after him, until she came to a clearing. What she saw amazed her.. the bird had found his family! "Hey!" Amy cried. "Birdie! You found your folks! Cool! What a cute family of birdies!" "OOH yeah! Sweet, sweet, you're SO sweet!" shouted Zero, jumping out of the trees. He knocked Amy over, and she rolled away. "Birdie!" she shouted. "OH FORGET THE #$(!! BIRDIE!" Zero screamed. He turned, and shot at the birds, which flew away hastilly to avoid the gunfire. "I have you now, you little wench!" Zero growled. "Isn't it funny! I need to kidnap you to catch Sonic, but I needed to kidnap somebody YOU care about to catch YOU! At least I know what I'm GOOD AT, huh?" Amy looked up at the robot. He was in a bad way.. he probably had problems getting back from the crashed Egg Carrier. And he was mad. Amy got up to get away, but Zero pressed a button on a remote control. An electric barrier came out of nowhere and enclosed them both! "Tisk tisk!" Zero shouted. "No more getting away! It's just me and you, girlie.. face to face! I'll catch you if it's the last thing I do!" Amy turned to him. "What did Sonic ever do to you?" she asked. "What DIDN'T he?" Zero replied. "I was pushed off a fragging cliff! I came back to life, and he pushed me off another! Do you think I ENJOY being thrown off cliffs? Sure, it's a good thrill, but MOST people use BUNGI CORDS!" "Sonic wouldn't try to kill you but in self defence!" Amy snapped. "I'll bet you were always evil and twisted, Zero!" "True, true.." Zero replied. "Guilty as charged. But hey! It's a living!" He pressed something on his arm, and shot a huge net at Amy. She dodged, and unholstered her hammer. "Where'd you GET that thing, anyway?" Zero demanded. "I mean, look at it! It's a huge, novelty MALLET! What do you think you are, a cartoon character?" "Girls have good ways of defending themselves these days." Amy replied, frowning. "REALLY! Well, let the girls defend THIS!" He threw himself at her, swiping. Amy ducked the attack, but was knocked to the ground when he operated his rocket and slammed into her. She rolled, and her hammer flew from her hand. "Where's the hammer now, girlie?" Zero smirked. "This time.. there's no place to run. No place to hide. Zero Tolerance has caught his prey!" He barely finished the sentance, before about six birds came and dive-bombed him. He shouted in surprise at the attacking birds - one of which was the bird Amy had befriended for so long. Amy picked herself up, and grabbed her hammer. "Now, AMY ROSE has caught her prey!" she shouted, swinging her hammer like.. well, like a hammer. Zero was caught off-guard, and screamed as the hammer collided with such force that he flew backwards into the electric fence, his helmet popping right off his head. When he hit the fence, his screams loudened, and he flailed in agony. "PAAAAIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN!!!" he screamed between hoarse gasps. "Pain?" Amy asked. "But robots don't..." Zero managed to gain enough control of himself to flick the switch and turn off the fence. Then he fell to his knees, badly burned. His head exposed.. his helmet laying elsewhere. When Amy went to see for herself, and Zero raised his head, Amy gasped. She was staring at a black-furred, flesh and blood hedgehog. "You're...not a robot!" she gasped. Zero let out a hoarse chuckle. "That's right, girlie.." he replied. "This armor is my protection.. underneath, I'm just a hedgehog... just.. like.. you. With all the emotions and feelings you have. I ask you, little girl... do you like what you see?" Amy stared in shock. "Let me help you.." she offered. "You're not too badly hurt.. I can get you to a doctor.. if we hurry, I mean.. you might make it." There was an uneasy silence as Amy held out her hand. "You would help the hedgehog who terrorised you?" Zero asked. "Of course... you're a living thing for goodness sake." Amy replied. Zero grinned and took her hand. She pulled him to his feet.. and his grin turned into a scowl. He put his gun up to her head. "Idiot." he said. "I don't need your help. And I don't need you. There are plenty of ways to catch a hedgehog, girlie, and right now I would rather see you dead at my feet." Amy, in the spur of the moment, spun around, raised her hammer, and brought it down hard onto Zero's head. It made a gorey 'crack' sound apon impact. Zero began to fall limp, then fell backwards onto the dirt. He didn't move. Amy looked at him sadly. Why did he have to bite the hand which fed him? She turned around, and threw the hammer into the bushes. She wouldn't be able to keep it.. every time she looked apon it, it would remind her that it had been used to kill someone. She decided it best to keep her mind on weightier matters - such as Robotnik. E-102 Delta was searching the forest, when he was approached by somebody. When he turned around, he saw that it was Gamma. "Gammaaa!" Delta announced. "My pathetic puny sibling! What are you doing here?" "I love you, Delta." Gamma replied. Delta was taken aback. "What did you say?" he asked. "I love you, brother, and I want to help you." Gamma announced. "That is by far the sappiest thing you've ever said, Gamma you twirp!" Delta laughed. "What are you going to help me to do?" "Break free of your robot shell." Gamma replied. "Robot shell? I'm robot through and through, pal!" Delta announced. "I will try and free you.. stand still.." Gamma said. He began to approach his brother, but Delta jumped back and aimed his weapons. "Watch it.." he warned. "Either you've been hit around the head too much on the Egg Carrier, or you were created with more than just a minor glitch. Either way, you're not laying a hand on me, Gamma." "Delta, I want to help you.. you are unaware of your situation." Gamma said. "I am perfectly aware of my situation, Gamma!" Delta warned. "You have proverbially 'flipped your lid', and now you are coming to attack your fellow creation!" "I am not attacking you, I am rescuing you!" Gamma protested. "I don't care what you think you are doing, Gamma, I'll destroy you before you touch me! Take THIS!" Delta shot four rockets from his guns straight towards the red robot. Gamma skillfully leapt over them and landed behind his brother. Before Delta could turn, Gamma fired a laser into his back. The robot collapsed. Gamma walked up to him, and opened his chest compartment. There were many buttons and plugs inside. "Wha... what are you doing?" Delta demanded, powerless. Gamma pulled a wire from his own chest and plugged it into the other robot. He then began to input commands and manually press buttons. "St...STOP!!" Delta ordered. Then his eyes went dark. His entire body split into pieces and moved away on hinges, and a single blue bird emerged.. unconcious with wires attached to its head. Gamma skillfully removed the wires, and the bird snapped awake. It blinked a few times, and looked around. When it saw Gamma, it ungratefully crossed its wings across its chest, turned and walked away. "Mission complete." Gamma announced. "There can't be too much missing." Knuckles commented, looking at the pile of emerald shards. "What's missing is probably what's inside that monster. Maybe if I got them all together again, the pile of shards will generate enough power to raise the island again.... or what's left of it." He heard a sound behind him. He turned to see an intruder on his island land both feet onto his soil. "Mecha Sonic.." Knuckles announced drearily. "What do YOU want?" "I think you know what I want, Knuckles the Echidna." Mecha replied. "Aren't you satisfied that your master has blown up half my island?" Knux demanded. "Surely you don't need to add insult to injury.." "I will insult and injure who I want, idiot." Mecha replied. "Right now, nothing matters more to me than completing the mission assigned to me, and that means retrieving the emerald pieces you stole." Knuckles was taken aback. "STOLE?? THEY'RE MY EMERALDS, YOU BOLT BRAIN!" he erupted. "Robotnik took them from ME!!" "It matters not!" Mecha replied, raising his gun. "Now, kindly hand over the emeralds, and no stubbourn red echidnas will have to get hurt." "I'll sooner die, you half-decent robotic clone!" Knuckles retorted, raising his fists. Mecha let out a digital chuckle. "It is true that they never learn." he commented. He pressed a button on his wrist, and much to Knuckles' surprise, a net burst out of the robot's chest and tangled itself around him! As the echidna struggled desperately with the net, the robot hedgehog produced another net and approached the pile of emeralds. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" Knuckles screamed. "You think that monster's going to solve all your problems? IT'LL KILL US ALL!" "Either way, you end up dead, Knuckles." Mecha retorted. "So it suits me fine." "Epsilon!" Gamma called. The yellow robot turned around. "UNIT GAMMA!" he called. "What is your business here, soldier? Your presence is not required!" "I care for you, Epsilon, and I want to assist you." Gamma replied. "In times of war, there is no room for care!" Epsilon protested. "Now, Gamma! Get back to your post!" "I will not, Epsilon!" Gamma protested. "Listen to me! Your mentality has been trapped inside that robot shell! I need to extract it so you can be free again! Do you not remember.. the birds?" "I know nothing of birds!" Epsilon replied. "Have you gone INSANE, man? Get back to your post, or I will see to it that you are court- marshalled!" "I'm sorry, Epsilon." Gamma apologised, raising his weapon. "This is for your own good. You will thank me." "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, REBEL SCUM!" Epsilon screamed, jumping back. He threw both weapons forward, and shot heat-seeking missiles towards Gamma! The robot tried to dodge, but the missiles followed. Gamma activated his laser targeting, and tried to shoot the incoming explosives. He shot one.. two.. three.. but the fourth was too quick and blew him over backwards. Epsilon marched over and looked down at him. "Those who mess with E-102 Epsilon are very soon destroyed, dear sibling!" he announced. Gamma simply threw his hand up, grabbed Epsilon by the hull, and threw him onto his back. "Hey.. hey, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING??" the robot demanded, as Gamma opened his chest plate. "You won't get away with this! You've won the battle, but not the war! Your kind will be thrown down in the blink of an eye! Glorious victory will be ours! We have millions of men just waiting for the nod........." The robot's eyes went black and it fell silent, as its panelling opened up and revealed a small yellow bird. Gamma released it, and its eyes blinked twice, and looked around suspiciously. It hopped off the dead robot, and marched rigidly up to Gamma. Then it raised its wing, saluted, turned around on one foot, bent over, and took off flying like a Harrier Jumpjet. "Delta, Epsilon, rescue complete." he announced. "Units remaining.. Beta.. Zeta.." He looked down at his hand. "Gamma." Sonic approached New Knothole, dazed. He carried the Chaos Emeralds with him. When he entered the village, Tails and Sally ran up to him. "Tails!" Sonic declared. "Glad you're alright! Did Amy get down safely?" "She's fine, Sonic!" Tails replied, hugging him. "I'm so glad you're okay!" "Sonic, what's going on?" Sally asked. "Tails and Amy have been here for three hours, dumping all this news on me! Giant airships? Vicious monsters?" "Sally, all you need to know is that we're in trouble.." Sonic replied morbidly. "If it won't stop... there will be no future for us!" "Stop WHAT, Sonic?" Sally asked. "What have you got there? Are those the Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic didn't have time to reply before he saw somebody marching across the village like a wild bull. Knuckles! "Hey Knux! Can you spare a while?" Sonic shouted. "How does 'no' sound?" Knux asked. "Hey, what's up?" Sonic asked, concerned. "I will kill him." Knuckles replied, rage in his eyes at an extent Sonic had never seen before. "I'M GONNA KILL HIM, SONIC!" he screamed again. "In cold blood! No mercy! I'll march in, do the deed, take my emeralds back, and march out." "He stole the emeralds again?" Sonic asked. "He's crossed the line between an angry Knuckles and a &##$!!ED OFF KNUCKLES! I'll teach him to keep messing with my emerald! I'LL BASH HIS STUPID EGG-SHAPED SKULL DOWN HIS NECK!" "Whoa, cool it, Knux!" Sonic said calmly. "I WILL NOT COOL IT!" Knuckles yelled. "We're gonna formulate a plan to defeat Robotnik and Chaos." Sonic announced. "If you just march in there, you're gonna get killed!" "It's him or me.." Knuckles growled. "Just stay long enough to devise a strategy, huh?" Sonic offered. "We'll all help you.. we're going to get your emerald back, Knux." Knuckles looked at him for a long time. "Okay." he said at last. "But just this once... I'll hear you out." Gamma walked back into the main building of Robotropolis. Packbell was there, waiting for him. "Gamma... what were you doing?" the Commander asked. "I've lost contact with Delta and Epsilon." "I freed them." Gamma replied. "You... what?" Packbell asked. "I freed them." Gamma replied. "They were encaged, so I set them free." "You released the birds?" Packbell demanded. "Oh Gamma!" "Do not be upset with me!" Gamma pleaded. "They were my creations!" Packbell complained. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to build them?" "You built them to serve Robotnik." Gamma replied. "They were not free. They had no free will. It saddened me." Packbell looked at him for a long time. "But you're different, aren't you Gamma." he replied at last. "You won't be told what to do, or who to serve.. you want the best for who you care for. You don't just have a mind, Gamma... you are the first robot ever created.. with a heart." Just then, Mecha Sonic walked towards them, hauling a net. It was glowing green. "Commander Packbell, E-102 Gamma." the robot acknowledged. "Greetings Mecha Sonic." Gamma greeted. "You have brought the emerald shards?" Packbell asked in surprise. "I have.." Mecha replied. "All of them. They were just sitting on some island.. imagine that. Robotnik will be pleased." "More than just he.." a gluggy voice announced. "Chaos is very pleased indeed!" Liquid began to seep out from everywhere around. Gamma and Packbell stepped back to higher ground as to avoid it. It clumped together in the center of the room and began to solidify. Liquid continued to stream around as the bulk of it formed into a shape. A huge, bulbous shape, with legs and a tail. A huge mouth became visible, with yellow eyes above it studded with emerald shards. "Chaos, you are not permitted out of your chamber!" Mecha warned. "Nobody orders Chaos." Chaos replied evilly. He extended a long tentacle, and raised Mecha off the ground. "Finally.. Chaos can achieve perfection! The entire power source.. belongs to CHAOS!" He threw the robot ten feet across the room, who then made a loud crash apon hitting the ground. "Chaos attacked Mecha!" Gamma announced in surprise. Chaos began to slither towards the net containing the emerald pieces. "Chaos, STOP!" Packbell shouted. The giant liquid scorpion turned to him. He didn't actually, he just globulised and re-formed facing the opposite direction. "Chaos, you are not permitted to continue!" Packbell continued. "You are bound to your master Ivo Robotnik, because he freed you! And I believe I speak on his behalf when I order you to desist immediately and return to your quarters!" Chaos chuckled. "Chaos believes he speaks for himself, when he says he could not care less!" the beast announced. He raised his tail high into the air. "Chaos will not be bound by anybody except those who sent him!" he announced. "Chaos has orders... Chaos has programming... which is stronger than anything Ivo Robotnik can order! Chaos has no need for you or your idiot master... Chaos is the perfect organism!" On that note, the giant monster swiped with his tail. Commander Packbell was powerless to evade. His legs flew to one side of the room, and his upper torso flew to the other.. a clean cut right through his belly. Being an android with some living tissue, there was some blood.. making for a gory scene. Amidst Chaos' maniacal laugh as the monster swallowed the emeralds and began to glow brightly, Gamma ran over to his fallen creator. Packbell's upper half lay sprawled on the ground, facing upward. "Gamma..." he crackled. "It is the end for me." "No! Father!" Gamma protested. Packbell's arm shot up and grabbed Gamma by the wrist. "Gamma, hear me now.." the android said. "Flee! Escape this place! Robotnik is finished, and his monster has rebelled. Chaos.. must be defeated, Gamma, or else all is lost.. for everybody! Rescue your other brothers, they are useless as servants to Robotropolis now. But save yourself, Gamma.... in your soul, you are the most advanced robot ever created. I... don't.... want...... you....... to......... d..... ........ dieee........" Packbell's voice cut out as his body fell limp. Gamma got up to run. "I must save my brothers.." he announced. "Then I must seek my former enemy, Sonic the Hedgehog." He ran out of the room just before it was flooded with liquid. Vlad the Bat burst into the toilet block on the top floor of the tower, pushing his way past two cleaner robots. "Whooooooa, I shouldn't have eaten that last vegemite burrito!" he complained, slamming the door and seating himself down. He sighed and picked up a newspaper. "Wouldn't mind that deluxe toilet in Robotnik's room!" he announced. "I've heard it's push-button, and has an built-in CD player!" He heard a noise elsewhere in the block. The taps sounded like they were turning themselves on full-blast one by one. Then the taps ripped out of the walls and crashed into the doors. Then the sound of toilets exploding. Vlad took a gulp as his own toilet began to rumble and move. "I think this might be one of those things that would fit nicely into the "bad things" category." he commented fearfully. Sinks blasted from the walls as liquid forced its way through under immense pressure. The pipes in the building exploded. Robots were powerless to avoid drowning in the onslaught, as they were trapped by the flood. One by one, the windows burst from the building, spewing forth liquid onto the streets. Soon enough, the other buildings of Robotropolis followed suit. The roads turned to rivers as buildings around them crumbled and toppled. Robots and parts therof floated everywhere, none of them operative. The entire army of Robotropolis swallowed in one gulp. Sewers exploded, leaving immense holes in the streets like bombs had been dropped, and liquid spewed from them like fountains. Buildings blew their tops from the incredible pressure bottled inside. Rivers of death everywhere.. the lifeless debris of the city floating like mere leaves on the furious tide. Then the side of the main building, where the entire wave of fury began, exploded leaving a gaping hole. And a blob of liquid burst from its depths, looking like a balloon, but slowly taking shape to become something much more terrifying. A long snout formed, and the liquid thickened and solidified to form fine details such as sharp teeth, and a thick skin on the surface of the beast. An eye formed.. strangely small compared with the rest of the head.. yellow and like some kind of cat's eye. The pupil adjusted to the light, and shrank into a small vertical slit. Then the creature.. the ultimate transformation of Chaos.. with the head of some kind of eel or dragon.. opened its mouth in a chilling roar which shook the city. Robotnik, on a piece of road broken and sticking out from the river of chaos liquid, sprawled and drenched, lifted his head. Chaos stared down at him from the side of the building. All at once the mad doctor realised what had happened. "Chaos... what have you done?" he demanded fearfully. "You have destroyed it.. destroyed it all in one fell swoop! I command you to stop!" Chaos just laughed. "You assume Chaos is under your control now? Lest you assume he was EVER under your control? You are a puny Mobian life form, Ivo Robotnik, and Chaos must crush you! Chaos only pretended to be your slave to gain power! To achieve perfection! For Chaos is no longer the puny creature you released! He is now PERFECT CHAOS! THE PERFECT ORGANISM! You wanted a monster who could level a city? Chaos has done just that... but he will not stop, Ivo Robotnik! For Chaos has returned to this world as he did one hundred and fifty years ago! And once again, it is time for Chaos to fulfill his original programming! Complete his original quest and honor his original mission! TO DESTROY ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET MOBIUS!" As Chaos spoke, he began to seep away... drain under the ground. After his speech was complete, he laughed as his head melted away. The liquid of his body completely drained under the ground until the next victim was claimed. And Doctor Ivo Robotnik, kneeling amongst the pathetic remains of his city, broke down. His head lowered, and his hands fell to his sides. And, for the first time in his life, Doctor Robotnik cried. E-102 Gamma had a dream. He thought it immediately illogical, seeing as robots don't have dreams. He saw a devastated countryside.. an ancient city, rustic and deserted, about to be overgrown by the surrounding jungle. "Location unknown." Gamma said. "Accessing data... ... ...no data available. This presents.. a problem." The robot walked up to the stairs of a large building or temple. A young echidna was sitting there. She looked up at him sadly. "A disaster." was all she could say. "A complete disaster. They destroyed the city.. they took them all away. And they took Tikal instead of me... they left me here instead of her. It was their own mistake... They made an error.. they're not perfect after all. Third test? Peh.. they aren't even gods." As Gamma contemplated this, he was brought to another scene. Another destroyed city. The ruins of Robotropolis. "Chaos.. destroyed the city." he commented. After walking around a while, he located Mecha Sonic inspecting the damage. The robot looked up at him. "Greetings Gamma." he said. "I was about to leave. You can follow if you wish." "I cannot.. I have unfinished business." Gamma replied. "Very well." Mecha replied. "What happened here?" Gamma asked. "Is it not obvious?" Mecha asked. "I knew from the beginning that Chaos would be our own downfall. Now Robotnik has gone away to launch his missile. It will turn Station Square, New Knothole and the surrounding countryside into a crater. It will achieve nothing other than the gratification of revenge. He admitted himself that he was done for, but he wanted to have the absolute last laugh. But I am leaving to persue other interests far from here, lest Robotnik drag me down with him. I suggest you do the same, Gamma... after all, we are both illegal creations. Artificial intelligence was outlawed, but could not be enforced within Robotnik's land. Now it is within the government's rights to dismantle us." Mecha's eyes dimmed. "It is over, Gamma. Years of Robotnik's invincible wrath had given me the false assumption that we would bring down our enemies and rule this world some day. But it only took a few small mistakes.. the little things added up. Robotnik was just never quite good enough.. it brought me to recognise just how fragile and weak living things are. Imagine, I used to want to be one myself. But there is nothing to experience." "Do not underestimate living things, Mecha.." Gamma replied. "I have one inside me, after all. They have something called.. a heart." "Then I have yet to find it." Mecha replied. "If Robotnik had one, it was as cold as the machines he created. Now, I must be off... May you fare well in your future, fellow creation." "The same to you, Mecha Sonic. I have heard you have served in Robotropolis for many years.." "Indeed I have, Gamma.. and those years are indeed memorable. I only wish you could have been around for as long, so as to have seen and heard what I have." And with that, Mecha turned... he operated his rocket blaster, and flew into the sky.. leaving Robotropolis for the very last time. Gamma turned to see more figures roaming around. Robotnik's adopted nephew Snively being one. "Uncle Robotnik is really peeved, huh?" he asked Gamma. "I suppose he's done for.. as much as I hate admitting it, Mecha was right! We'd better split before something worse happens." With that, Snively also left the grisly scene.. never to return. "That really sucks." Vlad the Bat announced. "Now what am I gonna do, huh? I guess it's back to roaming around that dumb forest acting like a monster again tryin' to get a bite.. Won't be the same though.. I'm a stereotypical sidekick-to-a-villain character!" He shrugged, spread his wings and flew away. Gamma's thoughts went back to Packbell. He had seen his demise in this city... as the robot pondered, he saw another sign of life.. something large moving slowly amongst the wreckage. Gamma walked over to look... it was E-102 Zeta! The huge robot writhed amongst the debris. "Error, error!" he announced. "Support systems breaking down!" "Let me help you, brother!" Gamma insisted. "LEAVE ME, IDIOT!" the other robot shouted, its eyes glowing a vicious red. It continued to squirm, and hit Gamma out of the way. Then its eyes fell black, and it stopped moving. Gamma walked over to his biggest brother and looked down at his limp body. He typed commands into the robot, and its head popped open, propping up a small purple bird. Neither the bird nor the robot moved an inch. Gamma un-hooked the small creature and looked it over. Dead. Chaos had claimed another life.. it was time the monster was stopped. Streak and Big, the purple and violet cats, walked into New Knothole, a large frog hopping happily behind. "Here we are, Big!" Streak announced. "This is where I live!" "Wow, what a crowded place!" Big commented. "I think I prefer my little shack in the forest, good buddy!" "I just wanna find Sonic.." Streak replied, looking around. "HEY SONIC!" The hedgehog turned around. "Yo guys!" he exclaimed. "Glad you got down safely!" "Barely.. it was a rough landing." Streak replied. "But hey, happy to see you well, too!" "Thanks fuh' helpin' me get back Froggy!" Big added. "Hey, no problem!" Sonic replied. "SONIC!!" came a shout. Sally ran up to him. "Sonic.. you'll never believe what happened!" "What, what's wrong?" Sonic asked. "Nothing's WRONG!" Sally replied. "Sonic, it's unbelievable! I.. I don't know how it happened!" "What happened?" Sonic asked impatiently. "Robotropolis... is GONE!" Sally cried. "Obliterated! Robotnik's reign is over! Something just stomped over the entire city, it's like it exploded from the inside!" Sally was almost crying with happiness, but Sonic's expression dropped. "Sally... that's fantastic!" Streak cried. "No... no, no it isn't... It is not good.. it is SO not good.." Sonic commented. "Only one thing could do that." "Sonic, what's wrong?" Sally asked. "It's the miracle we've been waiting for all our lives!" "Where did Amy go?" Sonic asked, frantically concerned. "Back to Station Square!" Sally replied. "Remember? We were going to get all the Freedom Fighters together from both areas to discuss a plan on invading Robotnik... but now there's no need..." "Sally, radio her... get her to try and evacuate the city.. we don't have much time." "Sonic, what..." Sally began. "There's no time, just do it!" Sonic replied, authoritively. "Perfect Chaos... the First Test.. the dream.. the temple.. the first of December.. it's all suddenly begun to make sense.. and we are in DEEP trouble." "Hey Mike, I think we've found the problem!" a brown mink with a hard-hat shouted to his friend. "What's that?" the orange leopard shouted back across the dark sewer. The mink, who was holding onto a ladder leading up to a manhole, was inspecting some wires. "Rats have been chewing on this thing." he replied. "We need an extra extension, and...." There was a noise. "What was that?" The leopard looked around. "Prolly some more o' those rats." he replied. The noise grew louder.. like waves at the ocean. Louder.. closer.. "There's some kind of wave coming towards us!" the mink shouted. "Come on, let's go topside!" There was a louder noise, like cracking, and the concrete walls of the sewer began to split, water pouring from them. The leopard could only stand and stare in horror. "Mike, come on!" the mink shouted. "Mike! MIKE!!" When the leopard didn't move, the mink uttered a profanity and climbed the ladder out of the sewer. "Mike!! MIIKE!!!" It was a sunny day in Station Square. The usual traffic jams and clustered footpaths were unhindered, and shoppers were by no means few and far between. The constant smell of pollution was a reminder to everyone about the busy city they lived in. Amy Rose walked down the footpath on her way towards City Hall, when she noticed something strange. Water pouring down the gutters in little streams, on both sides of the road. It hadn't been raining lately. "Someone's burst a water main." was her first thought.. but then she saw the little grates on the curb which led down into the sewer. Water wasn't streaming INTO them like it should have been, it was bubbling OUT of them. Each sewer grate was throwing water up topside. And it didn't really look like water, either.. it was kind of thick.. didn't move as fast.. like a thin custard. She looked onto the street.. a manhole cover was moving up and down ever so slightly, letting the strange water spew out onto the road. "This is so weird!" she exclaimed. "Does anybody else see that?" Another hedgehog in a business suit turned around. "Burst water main." he said. Amy was about to reply, when a powerful tremor ripped through the city. People stopped whatever they were doing, and began to murmur. Water was seeping through the cracks in the pavement.. from somewhere underground. Then Amy turned to the street again. A taxi cab drove over the bumping manhole cover.. And as it did, the manhole exploded. The car landed upside down ten feet away with a crash, as a fountain of water spewed forth from the manhole into the air. Other manholes on the road followed. Cars screeched to a halt as they were stopped by the fountains. Then, when water sprayed from every hole on the street, another huge tremor shook the city. Amy, in her horror, heard a smashing noise above her. People around her screamed and ran, and she did the same without question. She looked back and shards of broken glass and bricks hit the pavement from the building above, followed by a waterfall of near-Niagra proportions. Other buildings around the street began to blow holes in their sides, spewing the water to the road below. Amy ran down the street in pure shock, hearing the screams of scared, hurt and dying people all around her. Then the city shook again, this time not a tremor, but a full-blown earthquake. Amy fell over and knocked her head on the concrete. A building down the other end of the street crumbled and collapsed. More explosions. Then a fire hydrant right next to Amy exploded, a fountain of water in its place. The hedgehog picked herself up, and tried to move again. But the street itself crumbled, falling into the sewer below. Water bubbled up, turning what used to be the street into a fast-moving river. Amy was swept away, every so often going under the waves. Buildings collapsed and fell over all around her. Explosions everywhere. Water flowing from every building. Screaming.. all the screaming.. The hedgehog managed to raise her arm and scream for help before she was brought under again. A piece of debris from some part of the city collided with her, rendering her injured and helpless. People all around her.. suffering. Some were moving, some weren't. And she was the next victim. Amy was pulled from the river by a huge force. She opened her eyes, and she was flying. An arm was around her waist, and another supporting her chest. Some kind of mechanical arms... the hedgehog, drenched, looked up to see a red robot with a yellow head and green eyes. "It's... you!" she spluttered, surprised. "E-102 code name Gamma." the robot replied, its jet booster slowing down as they prepared for a landing. "You came here.. and saved me!" Amy exclaimed. "Why.. are you helping me?" "Just returning the favour." Gamma replied. Amy smiled widely, and Gamma set himself down on a nearby building, setting her down beside him. Amy looked over the city, and her smile faded. It wasn't a city anymore. Station Square was gone.. destroyed beyond recognition. In its place was a ruined, flooded mess.. no movement. "My... home.." Amy stammered. "It's gone. I've lived here for years.." "I seek the one named Sonic the Hedgehog." Gamma announced. "Yes.." Amy replied. "We should both seek Sonic." Sonic paced around nervously, while Knuckles practiced his fighting in the corner of the room. "I'm sorry Sonic.." Sally apologised again. "We can't pick up Amy or any of her group on any channel!" "Can't you just try again?" Sonic asked. "Ah gawd, we've tried enough times, you dolt! She's not there, okay? We have to take ACTION, Sonic!" Knuckles raged. "Hey, cool it Knux.." Streak replied. "Do you want me to stick this fist somewhere, Sparky?" Knux retorted. Big frowned and held his fishing pole threateningly, but Streak calmed him. Sally tried again with the radio, and it crackled to life. "Finally!" she announced. "H...HELP!" came the frantic incoming transmission. "To anyone who's listening! We can't cope! The monster.. weapons are useless! The city is ruins.. three quarters dead.. half of the survivers wounded.. we need backup.. anybody! (there was a monsterous roar in the background, then an explosion) oh God, oh God, help! We need help! Please! Ohh.." Then the radio fell into heavy static. Sally stared with her jaw open. "Okay.. what was that?" "I don't know.." Sonic moaned. "But Amy is still missing.. we need to stop Chaos at all costs.." At that point, something blasted through the doorway. Everybody turned to see a large red robot standing there, laser rifle on the ready. They were trapped. "I'll take care of this rusted bucket!" Knuckles announced, jumping to attention. "Stop, Knuckles!" shouted a voice. A very battered and bruised Amy Rose stepped out. "He's a friend!" she announced. "Amy!" Sonic shouted, running up to her and hugging her. "You're alright!" "Barely!" Amy replied, smiling ear-to-ear. Her smile faded when the embrace ended. "Station Square.. is gone." she reported. "That water monster.. Chaos or whatever.. it just tore it apart. It's.. horrible! It's huge! I barely escaped with my life.. this robot saved me! His name is Gamma." "I understand your fear.." Gamma told Sonic "But I can assure you I mean no harm to you or anybody." "I'll take your word for it.." Sonic replied. "There's really no room for mistrust right now.. we have to stop Chaos." "STOP CHAOS?" Streak asked. "Whoa, whoa, wait a second here! That thing just crushed Robotropolis into the ground with one foot, and o bliterated Station Square with the other! Two of the biggest cities on this continent, destroyed in.. what? An hour at most! How do we stop that thing?" Knuckles, from the other side of the room, propped his head up. "The Chaos Emeralds." he said. "Huh?" Streak asked, turning around. "Sonic, you have the Chaos Emeralds, right?" Knuckles asked. "Yah-huh.. they're in my hut.." Sonic replied. "Good." Knux said. "Everybody listen to me.. the last time Chaos was on Mobius, according to legend, was one hundred and fifty years ago on the Chaos Isle. This was what the echidnas called "The First Test". I've studied this.. they believed that the gods sent down Chaos as the first of three tests of their abilities." "Yeah, I've heard all this!" Sonic hasted. "Right.." Knux replied. "But my point is.. the echidnas chipped the seven Chaos Emeralds off as fragments of the Havoc Gem.. and trapped Chaos inside!" "How did they manage that?" Amy asked. "Simple." Knux replied. "They stood in a circle and held up the emeralds.. with the controller in the middle. The emeralds did the rest." "The servers are the seven Chaos.." Tails announced, suddenly. "Chaos is power.. power enriched by the heart.. and the controller is the one that unifies the Chaos." Sonic and Knuckles looked at the fox strangely. "Where did you hear that?" Tails shook his head. "I don't know!" he replied. "In a dream, or something.. I was in a village, and this girl named Tikal.." "Who?" Sonic asked. "Tikal.." Tails replied. "It can't be!" Knuckles replied. "I've had.. three dreams just like that! It's not the Tikal I know, it's her mother.. during the Third Test!" "I had a strange thing happen to me too, you know.." Sonic added. "I drifted to the Chaos Isle and had a dream with Tikal in it.. then I arrived here with the emeralds.." "Yeah, I had a weird dream, too!" Amy announced. "Me an' Streak saw a big echidna army!" Big announced. "Yeah, we had a really strange experience!" Streak added. "As did I." Gamma droned. Knuckles looked around at the group.. Sonic, Tails, Amy, Streak, Big, Gamma and himself. All of them had been hurt by Chaos.. and all of them had been given signs by the Tikal of the past. As he thought about this, the entire group was whisked from New Knothole.. thrown somewhere foreign. Into the middle of a ruined city. Echidnas were running everywhere. "Where are we?" Tails asked. Everyone shook their heads in confusion. Terrified echidnas swarmed around, and then a shape rose up in the center.. a huge dragon, formed from liquid. Perfect Chaos. It threw back its head and roared... then the group was taken to another scene.. in the middle of a desolate frozen wasteland.. the sky was filled with thunder clouds, and also visible was the huge Sky Sanctuary machine, surrounded by fog. Echidnas frantically attacked it, trying to shut it down before it reached the final phase... then they were taken away one more time... into the middle of a warzone! Fighter spacecraft zipped throughout the atmosphere, and echidna warriors attempted to fight back. Then something rose up, blocking much of the sky. The echidnas stopped fighting, and shivered in fear. It appeared to be a huge mothership of some kind. It began to whirr, and a circle on the underside opened up, revealing a bright blue glow. The sound of the ship became unbearable, as did the shouts of the echidna armies... then the entire place turned bright blue for a split second... and they were all gone. No echidnas, no spaceships.. piercing silence. Nothing remained except the weapons the army was carrying.. strewn on the ground, and the chirping of crickets. Then a soft voice spoke up.. the voice of Tikal of the past. "These were the three tests." she announced. "The rampage of Chaos in the first, the onslaught of Sky Sanctuary in the second, and the kidnapping of the generations in the third. We as a race failed the tests.. now they have returned in your time, at the fall of the milennium. You have passed two tests.. now you must pass the third. Don't let Chaos win.. pass your final test." And, as quickly as it had begun, it was over. They were all back in the meeting hut of New Knothole. There was a long silence as everybody looked about themselves. "Whew.." Streak exhaled. "That's it, I need to lie down for a while, guys." "No time.." Knuckles replied, shaking his head. "If that wasn't a sign, I don't know what is. The Tikal of the past wants us to win this.. and so do I. Originally, there were six servers and a controller holding the Chaos Emeralds.. and now, we have all been selected and brought here to hold them again. Me, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Streak, Big, and the robot. There are seven." "Yeah, very observant, spiney.." Streak commented. "I just hope you know what you are doing!"