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Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 53: The Scream Of Perfect Chaos

''Oh yeah! Try to look cool, make mistakes, and stand back up! To the unknown horizon that I gaze upon with you! Go act tough, jump on, and become like the wind! We'll make the sun shining on tomorrow our landmark! Fly on to the free, glorious world!''

– Mikakunin Hikousen (Unidentified Airship) by Digimon Adventure: (2020)

xXxXxXx

''What is that?'' Big was surprised to see a blue diamond-like gem lying on the ground, having found it after following Froggy through Sentoraru. He picked it up, looking around curiously as he saw people walking and passing by him, some picking up the pace as the Irregular Hunters were directing them towards a safer area. Big remained standing, wondering if someone lost this gem and wanting to return it back, but instead, he was approached by a Hunter.

''Please, sir, you will have to leave this area. We're closing it off as a safety precaution,'' the Hunter said.

''Okay…'' Big didn't see any reason against following the crowd to safety, figuring that he could hold onto the blue gem until he found the owner.

xXx

Team Chaotix was still on their way from Eas to Sentoraru when they ran into another Badnik – E-105 Zeta. The battle raged on, with Vector, Espio and Charmy taking down the Egg Keepers, all while avoiding Zeta's attacks and playing hot potato with the purple Chaos Emerald, which was currently held by Charmy, who blew a raspberry at the Badniks.

''Watch out!'' Espio shouted, throwing several shuriken at the Egg Keeper that threatened Charmy.

''I'll be just fine! Don't worry Espio!'' Charmy replied, clearly having fun as he zoomed down and knocking another Egg Keeper, then throwing the Chaos Emerald at Vector. ''Catch!''

Vector was about to catch it, but then a claw suddenly extended, catching the Chaos Emerald and holding it up. The Chaotix detectives were baffled to see Eggman now holding the purple Chaos Emerald, hovering above them in his EggMobile.

''Eggman, give us that Chaos Emerald back!'' Vector growled, feeling frustrated that they lost it so easily.

''As if,'' Eggman scoffed, deciding not to waste his time on the detectives and flew away on his EggMobile. ''Have fun defeating my Badniks!''

Vector got into a grappling match with Zeta, managing to break off the canon arm, then grabbed him by the other arm and swung him around before tossing him into a group of Egg Keepers. There was a small explosion, with Zeta and the Egg Keepers catching fire and breaking down, now destroyed. Vector immediately reached for the AR Visor, calling Lucas.

''Vector?''

''Unfortunately, I have some bad news. We lost both the Chaos Emeralds from Souto and Eas to Eggman,'' Vector said, him, Espio and Charmy feeling guilt over their failure.

''Don't beat yourself over it,'' Lucas replied, narrowing his eyes. ''We'll have to change plans, as Starline had already managed to acquire two Chaos Emeralds, and from what Makoto and Silver told me, he and Eggman now have access to two more Chaos Emeralds. I'm certain that we can still defeat him, even if he reaches his Chaos 6 Form, but we cannot let him, under any circumstance, reach his Perfect Chaos Form, else the whole of Neos City will be in grave danger.''

''Which Chaos Emeralds are left?'' Espio asked.

''Team Rose and Team Dark still have theirs, going by the signal on the map. The one from Sentoraru seems to have been also found, as it is moving towards Souto, but we don't know who has it,'' Lucas explained. ''Sonic and I will try to get it. Could you guys try to track down Chaos' location? We fought him earlier, but he disappeared.''

''You can count on us. We will make up for our earlier failure,'' Espio replied, with the holographic screen closing.

''You have heard him, boys! Find Chaos and prevent him from becoming Perfect,'' Vector said, with Espio and Charmy nodding. ''If we manage to actually find Chaos, we'll most likely find Starline and Eggman.''

''Then, we can get the Chaos Emeralds back!'' Charmy chimed in, excitedly.

''Right! Let's go!'' Vector said, with the three running off.

xXx

Unfortunately for the Chaotix Detectives, Eggman had managed to find Chaos 2 first, having used the control chip Starline implanted inside the water deity to remotely call for him. He had found a good spot at the border between Sentoraru and Eas, observing as Chaos 2 emerged from the sewer in a burst of water.

''I already know what will happen next, given how this isn't the first time we've been in this situation, and I hope for Starline's sake that this will work better than last time,'' Eggman said, tossing the cyan and the purple Chaos Emerald towards Chaos 2, who had absorbed them, growing much stronger.

As Chaos 4, Chaos was more fish-like, having a shark-like body with a dorsal fin on both his back and a horn on his forehead, and the flaps on the sides on his head have grown longer. He also had two sharp pelvis fins and a pair arms like Chaos 2's, except his hands looked more like fins and lacked thumbs. Inside his hands and wrists he had gray bones, each with a Chaos Emerald embedded in them. He also had bones running from his tail fin to his belly where he had a pelvis-like bone holding two Chaos Emeralds.

''Go, use the Chaos Emeralds and destroy Team Neos!'' Eggman ordered, only to pause for a moment when Chaos 4 did nothing. ''Hey, I was talking to you!''

Chaos 4 did not respond, instead turning himself into a pool of liquid and disappearing down the street as swiftly as possible. Eggman furrowed a brow, wondering why Chaos 4 was so hesitant about following his order initially.

''I have a bad feeling about this,'' he muttered.

xXx

''This situation has gone wrong, but I know that I can fix it,'' Starline muttered, feeling a sense of panic creeping up his spine. ''All I need is to find Chaos, round up the remaining E-100 Series robots and the Egg Keepers, and launch a counterattack. That should be easy enough.''

He was flying towards Kita on the EggMobile, as Gamma appeared to be the closest robot to his own position. He didn't know where Chaos was, but had decided that it would be smarter to acquire another Chaos Emerald. He also felt irritated that he didn't predict that Chaos would have a weakness to electricity, but at the same time, no one in Team Neos or Team Neos' allies were capable of generating electricity, from what he knew.

Unfortunately for Starline, destiny decided to throw a wrench in his plans, as Tails appeared out of nowhere, flying up to him, grabbing the controls and generating the EMP wave that caused the EggMobile to crash on the ground. Fortunately for both, Tails and Starline had managed to get out of the EggMobile before it crashed, Starline using the Fly Type Power Core, and were now standing across each other.

''What have you done?! Are you crazy?!'' Starline screamed at Tails, who was joined by Warren.

''No, but we have figured out how the Chaos Emeralds are being transported, and the only people who'd be the recipients would be you and Eggman,'' Tails replied. Starline was glaring daggers at him, the situation unraveling before him at sonic speed. Despite that, he still believed that he could do something to fix the situation. Before Tails and Warren could even react, Starline activated the Speed Type Power Core and quickly ran off.

Tails and Warren were left standing, realizing that he was going towards Kita, both exchanging questioning looks, with Tails asking, ''What do we do?''

''We'll go find Chaos. I'm sure that Minami and Amy will be able to handle Dr. Starline,'' Warren said, with Tails nodding in agreement.

xXx

Amy stepped in front of E-102 Gamma and the Egg Keepers, placing herself between the Badniks and an injured Cream, who was still being held by Minami while keeping a tight grip on the grey Chaos Emerald. Amy brandished the Piko Piko Hammer, glaring daggers at Gamma.

''I won't let you hurt Cream again!''

''Pink Hedgehog, resistance is futile. Give me the Rabbit,'' Gamma responded.

''No way! I promised to protect Cream and I won't back off!'' Amy growled, ready to fight this battle all on her own.

''Why?'' Gamma questioned her, the sudden question confusing Amy.

''What do you mean?'' she asked, still being on guard, but now curious.

''Rephrasing question. Why do you feel the need to protect someone so weak?'' Gamma inquired.

''Weakness or strength is irrelevant in this kind of situation. Cream is my friend, and that's all I need to know,'' Amy responded in a resolute tone. ''Of course, you wouldn't understand that.''

Gamma paused for a moment. ''Data unavailable.''

''Huh?'' Amy blinked, staring at Gamma for a moment.

''Does not compute. The Rabbit is useless to you. Does not compute,'' Gamma responded again.

''That's a rude thing to say! Cream is not useless, and you should apologize for hurting her!'' Amy demanded.

''Apologize…?'' Gamma replied slowly. ''Does not compute.''

Amy tilted her head, wondering whether Gamma was actually capable of self-reflection. Eggman surely wouldn't program his Badniks to act this way, right? Admittedly, there is also Omega, but he's a special case…

''Mr. Robot…'' Both Amy and Gamma looked over at Cream, who managed to get up with Minami and Cheese's help and took a few weak steps towards them. ''I know that you are following the evil Dr. Eggman's orders, but please, don't hurt Miss Amy.''

''Cream…'' Amy muttered, her heart aching because Cream was pleading with the robot despite having been injured by him. Gamma just stared at Cream, his intentions being unreadable as he locked eyes with the little rabbit, completely silent. Amy suddenly stepped up, realizing that Gamma had been contemplating after hearing Cream's plea. ''You are capable of experiencing emotions, right?''

''Does not compute. Dr. Eggman did not program me with emotions,'' Gamma responded.

''But, you do feel something,'' Amy pointed out. Gamma was silent for a moment.

''I do not know how to articulate,'' he said.

''That's fine. I know people who also have trouble explaining how they feel,'' Amy said, giving Gamma a warm smile. ''Do you still want to fight us?''

''I should be following my orders,'' Gamma stated.

''But, you don't have to,'' Amy insisted. ''Omega has also rebelled against Eggman.''

''E-123 Omega has been registered as a traitor in the data base,'' Gamma responded. ''He needs to be destroyed on sight.''

Suddenly, several missiles appeared out of nowhere, with Gamma having just enough time to dodge it, but the Egg Keepers that were with him weren't as lucky, getting blasted into pieces.

''As you said – it is on sight,'' Omega stated, holding up both of his cannon arms at Gamma. In response, Gamma held up his own cannon arm, only for Amy to suddenly run in-between the two.

''Omega, wait! You two don't have to fight!'' she said, looking at the two.

''I vowed to eliminate all of my predecessors,'' Omega told her.

''Omega is a traitor. He needs to be destroyed,'' Gamma added.

''But, you don't have to destroy each other,'' Amy pointed out. ''Omega, you said that you want to destroy all of Eggman's Badniks, didn't you?''

''Affirmative,'' Omega replied.

''Gamma, you said that destroying Omega was an order issued by Eggman, right?'' Amy then turned to the other robot.

''Correct,'' Gamma replied.

''Would it be possible for you to not follow Eggman's order?'' Amy asked, leaving Gamma stunned. She turned to Omega. ''If Gamma abandons the Eggman Empire, then you two could work together. Would you be okay with that?''

Omega was silent, having not thought about this solution. He was solely focused on destroying all of Eggman's Badniks, but if Gamma betrayed Eggman, that would mean that he was no longer a Badnik. In other words, Omega would have no reason pursuing him, unless Gamma gave him a different reason to destroy him.

''I only hunt Eggman robots,'' Omega stated, only to suddenly point his arm cannons at Gamma again, his action startling Amy and Cream. ''But, I won't hesitate to destroy Gamma if he offended any of you.''

''That's not necessary,'' Amy said, waving her hands in a defensive manner and glancing at Gamma for a response. The robot just stared back at them in silence, contemplating the situation. He wasn't sure why he was feeling like this, why he was so hesitant to just eliminate all of them and grab the Chaos Emerald. He gazed back at Amy and Cream, and that strange sensation resurfaced again. It was as if a mere look from both of them could stop him in his tracks, but he still had trouble understanding what exactly it was.

''Stop giving me that look,'' Gamma suddenly said, turning around, leaving Amy and Cream confused. To everyone's surprise, Cream ran up to him, giving him a confused look.

''What's wrong, Mr. Gamma? Are you okay?'' she asked him, with Gamma taking note of her warm and gentle cinnamon-brown eyes. He then turned to the side, avoiding eye-contact with her, which confused Cream further. She turned to the rest of her friends. ''Did I do something wrong?''

Minami suddenly giggled, snapping her fingers as she came to a realization. ''Hey, Gamma, is it possible that the word you're searching for is 'cute'?'' Everyone stared at her in surprise, with Minami continuing, ''That has to be it! You consider Amy and Cream too cute to attack them anymore.''

This conclusion left everyone in an awkward silence, even sweatdropping at her comment, while Minami just kept smiling as if she had figured out the secrets of the world. Amy sighed.

''Minami, I don't think that's the real answer… Even if I am flattered about being called cute,'' she said, then placed the Piko Piko Hammer over her shoulder and glanced at Gamma. ''Anyways, have we reached an agreement? You could use this opportunity to find a purpose outside the Eggman Empire.''

Gamma simply nodded, wondering if Minami had really guessed why he felt like this. Regardless, he could accept the idea of actually having a life outside the Eggman Empire, as he was curious about what kind of life Omega was living after he had left. Gamma then saw Cream looking at him, and she gave him the most heartwarming smile possible, the kind that could melt a heart made of ice.

''Thank you so much, Mr. Gamma,'' Cream said. Gamma suddenly felt as if his inner systems were short-circuiting, and had to wonder if that had anything to do with him thinking that Cream was cute. He certainly felt that he should protect her, recalling Amy's words from earlier.

''I apologize…'' he said, with Cream just giving him a bright smile.

''I'm fine,'' she replied.

''Well, I guess this issue is now resolved.'' Minami smiled at this scene and turned her head towards Rough and Tumble, who just stood a bit further way, watching what was going on. ''So, do you two still want to fight? Especially now that we have two very destructive robots on our side?''

Rough and Tumble exchanged glances, now being stared at by the whole group. The two glared daggers at the group, but also understood that they were woefully outpowered and outnumbered. Not only that, but Cream was still holding the Chaos Emerald.

''You have won this time,'' Rough grumbled.

''But, we will get our revenge next time!'' Tumble shouted, with the two turning on their heel and running off.

Minami stretched her arms, releasing the Chaos Surge and looking at the rest of the group. ''So, we got the grey Chaos Emerald and Gamma's now helping us. What should we do next?''

''I think we were supposed to give the Chaos Emerald to Mr. Sonic,'' Cream said, with Cheese chiming in.

''I still have my mission of eliminating other Eggman robots,'' Omega said, clearly fired up for another battle.

''I have bad news for you, brother,'' Gamma suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention. ''We are the only E-100 Series robots remaining. I have lost the signals of ZERO, Beta, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta and Theta.''

Omega suddenly lowered his arm cannons, and despite having no expression, he was clearly disappointed by the news. ''There are no more? That's unfortunate. Disappointment has risen by 100%.''

''Don't worry, Omega,'' Amy said, patting him on the arm. ''I'm sure Eggman will be sending out more forces to fight against us. After all, he needs the Chaos Emerald that we have.''

''You are correct. Will you join me in the bloodshed, brother?'' Omega turned to Gamma, who nodded in agreement.

''We need to go to Sentoraru now. If we come across some kind of obstacle, you two can clear it for us,'' Minami reminded them, with Omega and Gamma accepting that. The group rushed back, but unknown to them, a different figure was observing them from behind of one of the buildings, growling in frustration.

''So, Gamma has become a turncoat. I should've reminded Dr. Eggman to actually make sure his programming isn't faulty,'' Starline muttered under his breath in irritation. ''Unfortunately, this mistake might cost us a Chaos Emerald…'' He hummed, pressing the Fly Core and flying up the building, following the group as they were going towards Sentoraru. ''Although, I might be able to fix this situation.''

Starline took note of the fact that Cream was the one carrying the Chaos Emerald, flying after the rest of the group and being open for an attack. He carefully calculated his options, leaping from building to building to keep up with them. He knew that in a direct battle, he would be defeated faster than he could say 'Chaos Emerald', so he needed to be careful. He couldn't even use his special technique, the Tricore Blast, to defeat them, as that would completely deplete the Power Core energy he had gathered and he would have to recharge.

''But, perhaps I don't have to…'' Starline placed a hand under his beak, his eyes darting towards the spurs on his heels. ''Of course, that's the solution! Hah, I'm a genius!''

Cream didn't even know what had hit her. All she felt was a sharp sensation in her back and the world turned black, with someone screaming her name. The one who screamed for Cream was Amy, having turned around only to see her fall on the ground after being hit by Starline, who had leapt out of nowhere, having managed to grab the grey Chaos Emerald. Amy attempted to attack him, only to get her arm scratched by Starline's toxic spur, causing her to fall on the ground as she fainted.

''Amy, Cream!'' Minami was stunned, her and Cheese checking up on both, while Omega and Gamma immediately focusing on Starline, firing a barrage of bullets and missiles at the platypus. Unfortunately for them, Starline had tapped the Speed Core, using his super speed to get away from them.

''Tha-That was close,'' Starline muttered, feeling his heart beating like crazy. After all, he had looked death into the face and survived. He kept running, taking turns at streets to make sure he wasn't followed. Eventually, he skidded to a halt, taking a deep breath and tapped on the Tricore, activating a holographic screen.

''Dr. Eggman, I have acquired another Chaos Emerald,'' Starline said proudly, displaying the grey gem to the Doctor.

''I see. Send it over,'' Eggman replied in a curt tone.

''Uh… Unfortunately, I have lost my EggMobile…'' Starline admitted nervously, with Eggman raising an eyebrow. ''But, don't worry, Sir, I'll be right over. I just need Chaos' coordinates.''

Eggman grumbled as he sent Starline the relevant information, with the platypus pulling up a map of Neos City. To his surprise, Chaos was on his way to Souto, nearing Cosmo River that was flowing through Sentoraru and towards Souto. Figuring that there had to be a reason for this movement, he quickly followed the water deity.

xXx

''I see,'' Loki muttered, after Lucas and Sonic explained him what was going on in further detail. They were also going towards Souto, trying to track down the remaining Chaos Emerald. ''Clearly, you're in over your heads.''

''We're doing our best, but this situation has turned into a Battle Royale for the Chaos Emeralds,'' Lucas replied.

''At least it looks like our friends have dealt with most of the Badniks,'' Sonic said, sounding quite optimistic. ''I'm sure we'll be able to turn this around.''

''I hope you will. Unfortunately, I will have to leave you now. I need to inform the other Hunters about a possible another battle, as well as Neos City getting flooded by Chaos. I wish you luck,'' Loki told them, quickly rushing off. Lucas and Sonic exchanged glances and then hurried up towards the Chaos Emerald signal. They had taken a break, with Sonic managing to recover. Now, he was ready for the next move. They had gotten the news from Team Chaotix and, later on, Team Rose, that they lost their Chaos Emeralds to Eggman and Starline respectively, meaning that they would also be after the remaining Chaos Emerald. Lucas also sent a message to Team Dark to meet up with them at Cosmo River, predicting it to be the next setting of their encounter with Chaos, considering how it was the closest body of water.

''Even though we have defeated Eggman's forces, Chaos is well on his way to his Chaos 6 form,'' Lucas said, his eyes narrowing as he stepped on the accelerator of his hoverboard and sped up.

''What will we do if he does reach his Perfect Chaos form?'' Sonic asked, speeding up to match Lucas.

''Honestly, I don't know. We could regroup with the rest of the team and fight Perfect Chaos that way, and we also have the Master Emerald as another option,'' Lucas replied, a troubled look appearing on his expression. ''But, if that doesn't work, we will need the Chaos Emeralds and, well…''

He glanced at Sonic, who smirked. ''I already have an idea what you're talking about.''

''I'm not sure if that would even work though. Unlike your counterpart, this would be your first time using the Chaos Emeralds in such way,'' Lucas replied, still concerned. ''What if something goes wrong?''

''Aw, com'n, have a little faith in me.'' Sonic winked. ''Even if it's something that only happened in the games, it doesn't mean that I'm not capable of pulling the same feat.''

''You're right. Now, let's hope we're not too late,'' Lucas said, with both speeding up.

xXx

''Watch out!''

Big and Froggy were at Cosmo River, having followed the Hunters' instructions to get away from whatever conflict was happening in Sentoraru. That didn't mean that they weren't at least a little bit worried about their friends, but they were confident that they knew what they were doing. Big then turned his attention to the blue gem in his hand, wondering what he should do with it. He had figured that it was probably important, as it gave of a strange aura, but he figured that, if someone came searching for it, he'll just give it back. He had no need for a blue gem, since they it make good fishing and since he was already at Cosmo River, he figured that he could just cast the line.

''Huh?'' Big blinked in surprise when he felt something tugging at his fishing rod almost immediately, and pulled back, struggling to get out whatever was holding onto the line. His mouth dropped in surprise when this thing turned out to be now fish-like Chaos 4. ''That's a big one!''

Chaos 4 stared down at Big, only to slam his body onto the water surface, creating a huge wave that forced the purple cat and his frog companion to flee. Both climbed up to the nearby road, taking note of the water levels in the river rising and Chaos 4 staring at them, giving the two a calculating look. Before either of them could do anything, something shiny and grey flew across the sky, with Chaos 4 absorbing it.

''Give me the Chaos Emerald!''

Big and Froggy were surprised to see a platypus standing behind them, having been the one to throw the other gem towards Chaos 4. Starline held out his hand, demanding the blue Chaos Emerald that Big was holding, but the cat in question sensed that the platypus was up to no good.

''No,'' Big responded in a firm tone. Suddenly, Chaos 4 sent a wave of energy towards Big, forcing the latter to dive to dodge the attack, losing grip of the Chaos Emerald in the process. Chaos 4 launched an extendable arm towards it, with Froggy quickly jumping over the Chaos Emerald to protect it, only to for him and the Chaos Emerald to be grabbed and absorbed into the water deity.

''No, Froggy!'' Big cried out, but Chaos 4 already started to change, much to Starline's glee.

No longer humanoid, Chaos 6 instead vaguely resembled a bloated scorpion/frog-like creature. Over three times Big's height, he had a massive body with two extensions/antennas on his sides, two pairs of digit-less legs, and a similar pair of large hind legs bending backwards. He had a large mouth with razor sharp teeth and two large eyes aligned vertically on his face with three smaller eyes aligned horizontally on each side. He also had a zigzagged tail with a blunt tip. Running through his hind legs were gray bones, connected in the rear by a pelvis-like bone, with a Chaos Emerald embedded in each of them. In his belly lied his bone-covered core, encircled by four standing bones, each with a Chaos Emerald on top.

Big felt devastated, desperately trying to find any sign of Froggy within Chaos 6, only seeing a vague figure floating inside the water deity. Suddenly, Chaos 6 sent out water tendrils from all of his body, attempting to ensnare Big, but a streak of blue broke through the tendrils, revealing itself to be a Chaos Surge-empowered Sonic.

''Thank you, Sonic,'' Big told the hedgehog, who just nodded in response. Big then pointed at Chaos 6. ''Froggy is somewhere inside. If we attack, we'll hurt him.''

''Yeah, but if we don't attack Chaos, he'll go on a rampage,'' Sonic pointed out.

''Ha, you can't defeat Chaos like this! He is being empowered by all but one Chaos Emerald! Even Chaos Surge won't work!'' Starline gloated.

''Oh, shut up!'' Starline was startled by Lucas, who was glaring daggers at him. ''You have no idea what you're doing! Regardless of all, we still have a chance!'' Starline scoffed, with Lucas turning to Sonic and Big. ''Sonic, you and I will keep Chaos distracted! Big, you'll have to fish Froggy out of his body!''

''Got it!'' Sonic pumped his fist, with him and Lucas rushing ahead, avoiding the tendrils that Chaos 6 sent after them. Big tightened his grip around the fishing rod, narrowing his eyes as he focused on Chaos 6's body and the vague figure inside it and run up to the water deity as close as possible. He saw Sonic running across the river bank, avoiding the tendrils and not daring to get into the water as he knew that, if he got hit, Chaos 6 wouldn't hesitate to drown him. As for Lucas, he was essentially surfing on the surface of the river via his hoverboard, avoiding the water tendrils that shot out from below and dodging a huge wave that the water deity sent after him.

Big waited, his gaze locking with the green figure inside Chaos 6, and finally cast the line, the hook flying across and passing straight into the water deity's body. To Big's relief, Froggy was able to move enough to grab onto the line and Big tugged it with all his might, allowing his best friend to escape and reeling him in. Relieved, Big hugged Froggy. ''Are you okay?''

Froggy just croaked in response, clearly fine, if a little shaken, but neither could take a moment to breathe, as Chaos 6 roared furiously, slamming into the water and creating a wave that crashed over the river bank. The only reason Big and Froggy weren't swept away was because Sonic and Lucas grabbed both of them and pulled them away. A water tendril suddenly came flying, trying to grab Sonic and Lucas, only to be met by a flash of red.

''Lily?!''

Both were shocked to see Lily literally punching the water tendril, being empowered by Chaos Surge that made her whole body crackle with red energy, and blocked it from harming her friends. She didn't even respond to the two, raising her head instead.

''Knuckles, now!''

The red echidna came gliding with the Master Emerald in his hands, hoping to use it to deactivate the Chaos Emeralds that Chaos 6 had absorbed, only to get flung back by another barrage of tendrils. He managed to catch himself, landing on the river bank, with the pink orb of light flashing next to him and revealing herself as a peach-orange-furred anthropomorphic echidna girl with a peach muzzle, a small black nose, cobalt-blue eyes with two medium-length eyelashes on each one, dreadlock-like spines around the sides and back of her head and a medium-sized, tri-crooked tail. She wore a white tank top which revealed her midriff and a traditional tribal skirt with beige, green, and red diamond patterns. She wore a gold armlet on her right arm, a gold necklace and a tiara-like headband atop her forehead, both of which were decorated with triangles and a light blue gemstone in the center. Her white gloves were adorned with thick, cobalt-blue bracelets around her wrists, and she also wore white-strapped sandals. Her dreadlocks and left arm were also wrapped with similar white bandages.

''Chaos, please, don't do this!'' Tikal pleaded, but Chaos 6 roared, slamming his tendrils into both Knuckles and Tikal, who were both forced to dodge the attack.

''He won't listen to you! We need the prayer!'' Knuckles told Tikal, holding up the Master Emerald. Tikal was devastated that her old friend was too far gone, her expression then changing to a firm gaze as she put her hands together in 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,'' Tikal prayed, with the Master Emerald that was held by Knuckles started to glow. To their relief, it appeared that it was working, as the Chaos Emeralds too were glowing response, only to be followed by a horrifying scream that caused Tikal to slam her hands over her ears. She could sense Chaos' pain and agony, understanding that he was suffering that he was suffering due to the energy within him slowly being torn out. ''No, please…''

She hated seeing her friend being in so much anguish, not even registering when a wave of energy came suddenly crashing down on her and Knuckles until she heard him shouting for her. Her eyes widened in shock and time slowed down as she stared death in the face, being frozen on the spot. The last thing she saw was a dark figure suddenly appearing before her and Knuckles, crimson eyes staring at both of them.

''Chaos Control!''

There as a flash of light, and the next thing Tikal knew was that she found herself on her knees, further away from the river bank, surrounded by other people. She looked up, her and Knuckles realizing that the one who saved them was Shadow, still in the possession of the green Chaos Emerald.

''Even if the Master Emerald can control the other Chaos Emeralds, Chaos himself is resisting its power,'' Shadow pointed out.

''Then, we should get closer to him!'' Knuckles insisted.

''I don't think so, Knuckles,'' Rouge approached him. ''Look at Chaos – he has completely lost it!''

The group turned towards the water deity, who rose from the river, slamming his tendrils into the building on the other side and picking up pieces of debris, flinging it towards the group.

''Watch out!'' Touka shouted, only for a blast of energy to destroy the debris into tiny pieces. The blast in question came from a Chaos Surge-empowered Metal Sonic.

Despite the fact that he had almost been crushed by the debris if it weren't for Sonic's metallic counterpart, Starline continued to gloat, ''You're no match for Chaos, even though he's not perfected, yet!''

''You know what, I don't think I even want to see him go Perfect!'' Ferra suddenly said, glaring daggers at Starline, who just registered her presence.

''You and Metal Sonic were supposed to grab the last Chaos Emerald! Why don't you have it?'' he asked in a furious tone.

''We were in the middle of it when Shadow used Chaos Control to bring us here,'' Ferra replied, both her and Starline gazing at Shadow, who shot a glare at both of them, his hand crackling with energy in a challenging manner. If they wanted to fight him over the Chaos Emerald, they were welcome.

Suddenly, more debris came flying, forcing the group to scatter. Shadow warped closer to Chaos 6, realizing that he was probably the only one able to get close enough to fight the water deity. He dodged another energy blast, snapping his fingers.

''Chaos Spear!''

The energy spear connected, blowing up Chaos' side, but unfortunately for Shadow, the water deity quickly recovered. Shadow attempted to launch an another attack, only to realize that he couldn't move. He didn't even notice that he stepped into a puddle of water, which suddenly turned into a tendril that wrapped around his body.

''Shadow!''

Shadow heard someone screaming for him, the tendril suddenly lifting him up and slamming him into the asphalt, almost knocking him out cold. Chaos 6 lifted the ebony hedgehog up and flung him at the road, the green Chaos Emerald falling out of his hand and rolling away. Shadow was still conscious, feeling his whole body aching as he tried to get up, only to see another water tendril coming from the corner of his eye.

''Shadow, watch out!''

''Sonic, don't!''

Shadow's eyes widened in horror when the tendril grabbed Sonic, the azure hedgehog being enveloped in water and unable to move as Chaos pulled him back above Cosmo River and holding him up for everyone to see. Sonic's eyes were wide and he desperately tried to get out of the water tendril, one hand over his mouth to not gasp for the non-existent air. His movements were erratic and he suddenly coughed, with bubbles escaping his mouth. He attempted to cover his mouth again, but the spark on his eyes was fading as he felt his lungs burning. His limbs were numb and his eyes slowly closed, bubbles escaping again as his mouth slightly opened.

Sonic was drowning.

''Sonic!''

There was a sudden flash of light, with an orange streak slamming into the water tendril, followed by another flash of light, this time on top of a nearby building. Sonic's glazed eyes slowly opened and he started coughing and sputtering the water he had swallowed, finally opening his eyes and realizing that he was carried bridal-style by Shadow, who gave him an uncharacteristically soft gaze.

''Heh, my hero,'' Sonic quipped weakly, smiling as he wrapped his arms tightly around Shadow's shoulders and pulling him into a tight squeeze as a way to thank him for saving his life. Shadow smiled back gently, then sighed and shook his head, his expression changing to a scoff, albeit keeping it on the softer side.

''Even if you're close to death, you won't stop with your quips,'' Shadow commented, with Sonic just grinning back at him. Shadow narrowed his eyes, his voice laced with anger born of worry. ''Idiot.''

''Yeah, but I am your idiot, Shads,'' Sonic replied back, giving him a playful smile. Shadow avoided his gaze, feeling flustered as he tried to calm down his racing heart. He could still recall the sensation of shock and devastation as Sonic almost sacrificed his own life for his, followed by the overwhelming fear of loss and a wave of determination as he rushed to save Sonic regardless of the danger.

He put Sonic down, the azure hedgehog stumbling a bit as his legs felt weak and holding onto Shadow until he regained some strength, with Shadow giving him a firm look. ''Don't do that again.''

''I'm sorry, Shads, but I can't promise you that. If I ever see you in danger, I will do everything in my power to save you, and I'm sure that you'll do the same for me,'' Sonic said, with Shadow staring at him for a moment, then exhaling.

''You're right,'' he muttered, his expression darkening. ''I lost the Chaos Emerald.''

''Shads…'' Sonic gave him a worried look, but Shadow shook his head.

''You… You're…'' Shadow turned his gaze away towards what was happening below them, unable to finish the sentence. Despite not hearing the rest of the sentence, Sonic smiled warmly, still understanding the message. You're more important than the Chaos Emerald.

As for the Chaos Emerald, the green gem had been grabbed by Starline, who took advantage of the chaos, holding it up for everyone to see. ''At last! Now, it's time to unleash Chaos full potential!''

''Starline, stop!''

To everyone's shock, Dr. Eggman came flying in the EggMobile, glaring at Starline, who just dropped his beak in surprise. He then smiled nervously. ''D-Doctor, what do you mean 'stop'? This is what we both wanted!''

''Yeah, but you forgot one thing!'' Eggman turned towards Chaos 6, who was flailing with his tendrils. ''Chaos, I order you to stop!''

Chaos 6 suddenly stopped for a moment, lifting his head as he observed Eggman, only to launch another attack at the group, with Lucas, Touka, Lily, Ferra, Knuckles, Tikal, Rouge, Metal Sonic, Big and Froggy being forced to scatter again. Eggman then turned back to Starline, who just waved him off in a dismissive manner.

''Chaos has been ordered to destroy Team Neos and he is simply doing as told,'' Starline replied, holding up the Chaos Emerald. ''One more, and we can complete our goal! This is it, Doctor!''

''You idiot! We are losing control of Chaos!'' Eggman shouted at him, causing Starline to wince in surprise. However, he managed to quickly collect himself.

''Doctor, I have made sure that the control device withstands any kind of damage. Don't worry, I will make sure that he remains under our control,'' Starline responded, throwing the green Chaos Emerald at Chaos 6, who absorbed him.

Starline's smile widened, a crazed look appearing on his expression as he watched Chaos grow and change once more, blissfully unaware of the looks of horror on everyone's expressions, including Eggman's. However, his expression changed soon to that of shock when he realized that he may have been in over his head with this move.

The water deity was growing into a gargantuan monster composed entirely of pure, water-like energy. His main body resembled a thick snake whose head, back and sides are covered in dark blue reptilian skin with scales. On the other hand, his underbelly was made of clear liquid energy, and he had pointy liquid spikes protruding from his back. He also possessed a large mouth with green razor-sharp teeth and a green tongue that extends far beyond his eyes, which were green as well and had slit-like pupils. He also had flaps of blue skin with scales hanging from just behind his eyes, green horns along his nose area and behind his eyes, and a fin-based bulge on top of his head that had his organic brain floating inside it. Also, running from the base of his body to his back spikes and brain were massive green-glowing arteries. The base of his snake-like body ended in a flood of liquid with several liquid-composed tentacles extending from him.

Perfect Chaos let out a mighty and devastating roar, followed by a tidal wave that swept over Neos City.

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