26. Mercury Inferno Rising: Part 1
by NetRaptor
Mercury Inferno Rising

Sonic Heroes adapt
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By K.M. Hollar and Jared Spurbeck
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Copyright information: All the Sonic characters copyrighted by Sega and Archie. Other characters copyrighted by K.M. Hollar and Jared Spurbeck. This story copyrighted 2004 by K.M. Hollar and Jared Spurbeck. Destro copyrighted by Destro and used with permission. Hug a penguin.
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This is fic 27 in a story continuity by K.M. Hollar. It builds on things established in other stories, and here is a brief explanation of things that might confuse the reader unfamilier with the world.

1) Shadow and Mekion are the same person. Shadow was revived after the ARK incident by his chao Nox, who then died. Shadow fell into the clutches of Metal Sonic, who converted half of Shadow's body into a robot in a process called mecha-fusion. Metal Sonic then renamed the resulting creature "Mekion". However, the Shadow-half is still Shadow, and the robot half is called Mekion. The two minds are continually at odds.

2) Metal Sonic long ago upgraded his mental hardware and gave himself a nanite brain, which functions like a real brain. Metal Sonic also invented a substance called biometal, which is an alloy with biological properties, for instance, elacticity and the potential for respiration.

3) Knuckles has married an echidna named Zephyer, after a long and rocky courtship and an experimental derobotizer. As of this story they have been married maybe six weeks.

4) The Chaotix are based on their personalities in Knuckles Chaotix. Thus forcing them into their roles in Sonic Heroes is a way to gently poke fun at Sonic Heroes. And Charmy is still 16 in this story--take that, Sega!

5) Chaos fields are an aura of chaos energy that radiate off most Mobians. It is maintained by the global chaos field, which in turn is maintained by the chaos emeralds. Some Mobians have stronger fields than others, and some have none at all. But you have to have a chaos field of some kind in order to manipulate the chaos emeralds.

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Two shadows flitted down a darkened street, avoiding the streetlights. They moved from deep darkness to deep darkness, halting often to look and listen. The street was deserted at 3 AM, but they were cautious nonetheless.

The leader halted and so did his companion. For several minutes they stood on the sidewalk as if silently conversing, then they slipped across the street to a bank. It was locked and dark, but security cameras and laser sensors riddled the inside. The leader stepped to the doors, his glowing red eyes flicking on and reflecting in the glass. For several seconds he stood stock still, communicating with the computer network in the building, as his partner stood at his back and watched the street.

There was a click and the door unlocked. The cameras and lasers winked out, and the robot extended a hand and pushed open the door. He beckoned to his partner, who followed him in.

Metal Sonic strode through the bank's lobby as if he owned it, pushed open the swinging door behind the counter and walked to a door in the back. A black robot followed him. Once it had been a hedgehog, but the left half of his body was now dull black metal. He kept to the shadows of the room as Metal Sonic inserted a claw into the door's lock. The claw melted and reformed inside the lock, mimicking the shapes of the gears. Metal Sonic rotated his claw and the lock clicked open.

The door opened. "Come, Mekion," said Metal Sonic, slipping inside. "I disabled security here, too."

The android followed him without a sound, and they entered a room lined with safety deposit boxes. Metal Sonic walked to a shelf and took down a box. He picked the lock with his morph-claw and lifted the lid.

Inside was the red chaos emerald. Metal Sonic gazed at it for a moment, and one hand twitched as if he longed to touch it. But he knew that metal conducted chaos energy like electricity, and he would incinerate from the inside out. Instead, he held out the box to Mekion. The black hedgehog extended his right hand and lifted the gem, which glowed through the flesh, illuminating the bones. "I'd rather it was green," whispered Mekion.

Metal Sonic was still staring at the gem as if hypnotized. "Yes," he said slowly. He shook himself and seemed to awaken. "Yes. Let us depart."

They left the vault and came face to face with a security guard. They stared at each other for a long second, then the robots ran for the doors. "Halt!" yelled the guard, drawing his gun.

Mekion dove sideways into Metal Sonic, and the two hit the floor as the guard's automatic sprayed bullets at waist-level, shattering the windows. Metal Sonic leaped up, but was dragged down again by Mekion as the guard fired at the robot's silhouette against the light from the windows. Furious, Metal Sonic ignited the industrial laser in his wrist and slashed it across the room, burning through the ceiling, walls and counters in a long arc. The guard dove for the floor.

Metal Sonic rose and darted out the broken window, and Mekion followed him. As Mekion climbed over the broken glass, the guard rose and planted three bullets in the hedgehog's back.

Mekion hit the pavement face-first and tried to get up, but suddenly his body didn't work right. He couldn't breathe, and a hideous pain was spreading through him. "Master," the robot half of his brain said over the network, "Shadow has been injured."

Metal Sonic cursed and ran back. He lifted Mekion, slung him over his shoulders and raced up the street on foot. "Status report," he commanded.

"Shadow's status at 83% and dropping," Mekion replied. "Mekion status at 90% and dropping." Two of the bullets had punched through Mekion's organic side, piercing his right lung and shattering a rib. The third bullet had penetrated Mekion's metal side just below his shoulderblade, but the hole was already filling with a gelatinous nanite substance to repair the damaged metal. By comparison, the damage to the organic or "Shadow" side was much more horrific. He was losing blood rapidly, and his body convulsed in a racking cough.

"Don't cough," said Metal Sonic. "You will die quicker."

"Can't breathe," choked Mekion aloud, and mentally he added, "Blood is hindering respiratory operations. Shadow status is 64% and dropping."

Metal Sonic had never known fear. Uncertainty, yes, concern, yes. But genuine fear, never. He had long ago removed any programming that hinted at fear, believing it weakened his resolve when fighting. But he had reintroduced such a concept with the upgrading of his brain, and now, suddenly, Metal Sonic was terrified that Mekion might die. He observed this phenomenon and made a note to ponder it later--right now, he had to do something quick or his most brilliant creation would perish.

He ignited his jet and flew out of the street as a swarm of squad cars streamed toward the bank. He jumped three blocks and landed in an alley beside a nondescript office building. Mekion went into another coughing fit, the blood bubbling in his lungs. He was drowning. Metal Sonic jerked open the door and hurried into the darkness within. "Status report!"

"Shadow status 41% and dropping," came the reply. "Warning! Shadow status nearing critical! Mekion status is 67% and dropping."

The robot side was powered by the bioelectricity from the organic side. If Shadow died, Mekion would die, too.

Metal Sonic was running, not daring to use his jet indoors. He clattered down four flights of stairs, bolted down a hallway and through several high security doors that opened ahead of him. He watched through the network as Shadow's status drained away through the 30's, then entered the 20's. He felt the hedgehog's body relax as Shadow fainted from lack of oxygen. Mekion's signals began to weaken.

"Status report!" barked Metal Sonic, not because he needed one, but because he wanted Mekion to keep talking.

There was a long pause. "Shadow status ... 15% ... Mekion status ... 32% ... Master, help me."

Metal Sonic nearly responded with something positive and untrue, but checked himself. Only organic lifeforms would seek to reassure someone who was dying. He was too attached to Mekion--he should try to reverse this troubling emotion within himself. But the thought did not slow his footsteps or decrease his fear.

The final door opened, and Metal Sonic entered a high room with the walls covered in life support machines. In the center of the room was a glass pod connected to a vast conduit of tubes and wires. Metal Sonic commanded the lid to open and slid Mekion's limp body inside. The android lay in a crumpled heap inside, his organic eye closed and robot eye dimming.

Metal Sonic slammed the lid and issued commands to the computers with his wireless uplink. The pod sealed and began to fill with a greenish liquid containing both organic- and machine-healing nanites. Metal Sonic had never mixed the two before, but he was desperate enough to try it now.

The pod filled to the brim, and Mekion's buoyancy lifted him erect in the fluid. Metal Sonic stood with his nose-spike touching the glass and commanded, "Status report!"

There was no answer. Mekion's robot eye was extinguished, and his blood was tinting the fluid a vague brown.

Metal Sonic's fists clenched. "You are not permitted to die, that is a direct order! Now report your status!"

It came so weakly he hardly registered the signal. "Mekion ... 15% ... stable."

When nothing else came through, Metal Sonic said, "Shadow status?"

"Unknown," came the whisper after a long pause.

Metal Sonic consulted the nanite readouts. The organism was alive and being repaired, but it would take hundreds of hours. By comparison, the damage to the robot-half was inconsequential and would be repaired in thirty minutes.

Metal Sonic stared at Mekion for a long time through the glass. Now he had time to think about what had happened, he remembered Mekion knocking him down twice to protect him from bullets. At such close range, the bullets would have done as much damage to Metal Sonic as to Mekion. The First Law in action--Mekion could not allow Metal Sonic to come to harm. Loyalty was convenient, except at times like these, when it had unforeseen repercussions. And now Metal Sonic was staring into a stasis pod, feeling grief and remorse at having caused Mekion to come to harm.

Remorse? Mekion was an experiment! Metal Sonic should not have grown fond of him. Metal Sonic turned to leave and looked down at himself. He was covered in Mekion's drying blood. With a twinge of pity and revulsion he departed in search of some strong detergent.

On the floor of the pod, where it had fallen from Mekion's nerveless hand, lay the red chaos emerald, feeding its destructive power into the nanites.

* * *

Tails grinded a rail, jumped to a second one, slid down it and landed on his toes. He bowed, and Sonic clapped. "Good job, little bro! How're the shoes?"

Tails shifted his weight from foot to foot. He was wearing Sonic's old soapshoes, which Sonic had replaced with a flashier new pair. Their feet were almost the same size, and Tails was secretly thrilled at the chance to mimic his hero again.

"They're a little big," he admitted, "but I tied them real tight around the ankles. I thought grinding was really hard."

"Eh, you've got two tails for balance," said Sonic. He jumped up on a rail and grinded around the obstacle course, himself. The course had been a present for his birthday the previous year, and he used it so much that all the rails were polished and shiny. Tails followed him and they raced each other around the rails before Tails lost his balance and fell on his face. Chuckling, Sonic helped him up. "You okay?"

"Yeah," said Tails, spitting out sand. "I'll practice a lot while you're gone."

Sonic's eyes danced with mischief. "I can't wait to get down there. Remember last time we visited Rio del Fuego?"

"Yeah, Knuckles threatened you with death if you went near a Casino," Tails grinned. "We're both old enough to enter legally now."

"Not like that first time," said Sonic, leaning his elbows on a rail. "How old were you? Six?"

"I was nine at least."

"No, I think you were six, because I was fourteen."

"No, you were twelve."

"Whatever," said Sonic. "We were too young to be there, that's all that matters."

There was a moment of silence, and Tails tightened his soapshoes. Sonic side eyed him. "If you sneaked down after us, I wouldn't complain."

Tails looked up, ears pricked. "Is that an invitation?"

Sonic shrugged. "I'm just telling you I wouldn't mind. Sally might, though."

"I thought she was going down there to work."

"In theory," Sonic grinned. "It's a big conference for all of West Mobius's political mucky mucks, figuring out how to manage New Mobitropolis. The Mobians want to make it the capital again, and the humans don't want another Robotnik if they can help it."

"Yeah, he kind of fouled up the human image," said Tails. Neither he nor Sonic mentioned how their own perceptions of mankind had been skewed by Robotnik's cruelty, and it was only through interaction with ordinary people had they realized their prejudices were wrong.

"Anyway," said Sonic, "they hold it in Rio del Fuego for a reason. So the delegates can have some fun."

"You know," said Tails, "it's also a great place to assassinate them all."

Sonic stared at him. "Now that's morbid."

"Well, think about it," said Tails. "Casino places are hotspots of crime. Some guy could come in with a gun, and nobody would care until it was too late."

Sonic continued to stare. "You scare me sometimes."

"I read the newspaper," said Tails with a shrug. "And I build weapons as a hobby. I hear stories."

"Well, that's why I'm going," said Sonic, straightening up. "Nothing will happen to Sally if I'm there."

He walked out of the course, and Tails followed him. Knothole now had five streets, and Sonic followed one to its end where Sally's hut was located. The door was open, and Sally was inside, tidying up her hut. A packed suitcase stood beside her desk. Sonic looked in and whistled--he hadn't seen it so clean in months.

The squirrel turned and gave him a smile. "All ready, Sonic?"

"Yup," said Sonic, leaning against the door frame. "I hope you didn't pack too much. Traveling by Chaos Control is harder than it sounds."

"Everything I need is in that suitcase," said Sally. "It's more then two hundred miles to Rio del Fuego--you won't conk out, will you?"

"Naw," said Sonic with a wink at Tails. "I only conk out if I've jumped an ocean or two."

She looked him over. "You don't have a backpack or anything?"

"Sure. But there's no reason to carry it all over the place. I'll get it when you're ready."

Sally lifted her suitcase. "Well, I'm ready, so you'd better go get it."

Sonic zipped off as Sally locked her door and handed the key to Tails.

"Be careful of assassins," said Tails soberly.

Sally almost laughed, but caught herself at the look on his face. "I will. But why would anyone want to kill me?"

"You're the princess," said Tails, looking down. "And it's Rio del Fuego."

"You've been there before."

He nodded.

Sally hugged him. "I'll be careful, Tails. But I don't think much will happen. I've been in more dangerous places before." She opened one hand and showed Tails the scars across her palm and fingers, where she had grabbed Robo Knux's claws to keep from being impaled.

Tails eyes widened a fraction, then he smiled. "Just take on an assassin like you did Robo Knux."

Sally aimed a pretend karate chop at Tails's head, laughed and lifted her suitcase again. Sonic met her before she had walked five feet, his travel-stained backpack stuck among the quills on his back, and the green Chaos emerald in one hand.

"Sayonara, Tails," he said, taking Sally's hand. Then Sonic looked at the gem and said, "Chaos relocate." Sonic and Sally vanished in a sparkle of light.

Tails walked back to his workshop and glanced at his computer's screen. One new message. He opened it and read it, and instantly wished he had read it five minutes earlier, when Sonic was still within shouting distance.

* * *

Mekion awoke only once while inside the pod, and then because his master commanded it. Awakening inside of a stasis pod was difficult, because the life-supporting nanites in his lungs and bloodstream were programmed to keep him in a comatose state, but Mekion responded to Metal Sonic's prodding. Mekion's awakening dragged Shadow to the surface, too, and his robot eye flickered on.

Metal Sonic was standing on the other side of the glass, looking in.

"Greetings, Master," Mekion said drowsily through the network.

"Are you in pain?" asked Metal Sonic.

"No," said Mekion. He could hardly feel his organic half at all. He began swimming off into the void, but Metal Sonic's voice dragged him back.

"I must depart now, but I am leaving protection for you. This robot will keep away intruders while you recuperate. When you are repaired, the robot will relay your next orders."

"Yes..." Mekion was sinking back to sleep and barely heard his Master's voice. Metal Sonic said something else, but Mekion was already asleep again as the nanites resumed rebuilding him.

* * *

Rio del Fuego was a human colony near the equator, hot and tropical. It was built along the coast like Sapphire City, and its casinos and resorts were visible at night fifty miles away. It was highly popular with humans and Mobians alike, and had grown so much that its southern borders had nearly met those of Metrocard, a neighboring Mobian city.

Sonic and Sally arrived in a flash of light in a parking lot just inside the Rio del Fuego city limits. Sally exhaled. "Whew, we made it."

"I told you we would," said Sonic, looking at the signs and posters that covered the buildings around them. "Didn't even faze me. See, wasn't this better then taking the Cyclone again?"

"It sure was," said Sally. She pulled a map out of her vest pocket and unfolded it. "Okay, the conference is being held in the United Assembly building on the waterfront." She pointed to a circle on the map. "Can you get us there?"

"No prob," said Sonic, studying the map. He tossed his emerald up in the air, caught it and said, "Chaos relocate."

Their surroundings changed to a white sand beach crowded with sunbathers. People gasped and stared as the squirrel and hedgehog appeared.

"Whoops, too far," said Sonic. "I'm trying not to land in the middle of a road."

"Thanks for your consideration," said Sally. "That must be the UA building up there. Let's walk instead of teleporting."

"Fine with me." Sonic set off at a trot across the sand, carrying Sally's suitcase, and she followed him.

The casinos lined the waterfront with glittering, colorful shapes, patterened after everything from Roman coliseums to giant musical instruments. Sonic stared in particular at one building like a glass cube with a rollercoaster that looped in and out of it. "Wow, check that out, Sal," said Sonic, pointing. "What say we go in there?"

"Don't you think you'd be bored?" said Sally. "Those rollercoasters only go about sixty miles an hour."

"Oh yeah," said Sonic, losing interest at once. "Here's the UA building."

The UA building was built like a pyramid and decorated with lots of fake hieroglyphics. The parking lot was fenced with chain link, and guardian robots stood at the gates. The parking lot was filled with limousines.

"This is the place, all right," said Sonic, smirking. Sally walked to the gate and showed her ID to the guard robot, which scanned her and the card, then motioned for her to enter. As Sonic moved to follow her, the robot barred his way. "Hey, I'm with her," Sonic protested.

"He's with me," said Sally.

The robot grudgingly stepped aside, and Sonic entered the gate, glaring. "GUN's providing the security, I see."

"Hush," said Sally. "It's the best the humans have to offer, and no picking fights, understand?"

Sonic shrugged. "I wasn't picking a fight."

"I'm just warning you in advance." Sally led the way into the building, Sonic trailing and looking longingly at the casino and rollercoaster across the street.

Inside were more security guards who checked out Sally's ID and issued Sonic with a temporary ID, since he was Sally's escort. Then they were shown to their rooms on the third floor, which had a wide view of the ocean and slot machines on the landing.

"I like this place better and better," said Sonic.

"Yeah," said Sally, who was also pleased with their accommodations. "The first meeting is at two this afternoon. Why don't we check around and see what else is here?"

Sonic's eyes lit up. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

Knuckles was up in a tree on the Floating Island, sawing off diseased branches, when his communicator buzzed. He rested his saw on a branch, braced himself against the main trunk and pulled out his com.

"Yeah?"

"Knuckles? This is Tails."

Knuckles frowned--Tails never called him unless it was an emergency. "Okay, what's wrong with Sonic?"

"Nothing," said Tails. "I got this really weird email, and I don't know what to do. Sonic and Sally went to Rio del Fuego this morning and their com is out of range."

Knuckles wiped sweat from his forehead. "What's this email say?"

"It's from Robotnik. It says, "I have a secret weapon that I am going to use to destroy Mobius. Want to stop me? You have four days. But I'll bet you can't do it, ha ha! Signed, Eggman."

"Sounds like a joke to me," said Knuckles.

"I thought of that," said Tails, "so I traced it back through the network. It originated from a server in Central Mobius. You know how the Robotropolis servers were always EG-something? This one was EG-9309."

"No kidding." Knuckles set a foot on the half-sawed branch and broke it off. It crashed to the ground below, and Knuckles climbed to the next branch that needed pruning. "Well Tails, I don't know what to tell you. Why would Robotnik send you a dare like that? He always tries to sneak when he's got a new scheme."

"That's right." Tails sounded troubled. "But what if it's real? Shouldn't we try to check it out?"

"Sure." Knuckles hoisted his saw and notched the branch where he intended to cut it. "But count me out of this one."

"Why?" Tails was astonished. "Don't you want to stop Robotnik?"

"I think that message is a fake," said Knuckles flatly. "Besides, Zephyer and I just went through heck getting Talon adopted. I'm not wild about risking my neck again for a while."

"All right, then," said Tails. "But what should I do?"

"Get in touch with Sonic," said Knuckles. "And if you can't reach him, call up the Chaotix. I hear their detective business is taking off."

"I forgot about them. Thanks, Knux."

"Bye, Tails." Knuckles hung up and reattached his com to his belt. He resumed sawing, and thought about the email. Probably a prank from some fan of Sonic's. But it originated from a server like Robotnik's old ones... Could be a coincidence? No one had heard from Robotnik in a year, not since the ARK incident. Why this sudden email? And why sign it 'Eggman'? Robotnik never used his nickname.

Knuckles broke off the branch and climbed out of the tree, clinging to the bark with his knuclaws. He reached the ground and gathered up the branches, dragging them to a burn pile a safe distance from the trees. He didn't want to get involved, not this time. Barely a month had passed since Talon had come to live on the island for good, and two weeks before that, Knuckles had married Zephyer and they were still adjusting. On the whole, Knuckles's life had become much busier, and he just wanted to stay home.

* * *

Omega was angry. Angry beyond reason, so angry that his internal heat gauges reflected it. He was trapped in this hulking metal body with a life support system plugged into him, his consciousness redirected through the sensors of his metal body. And he was furious.

His visual scanners swept the room and his programming hammered at his brain, but he fought it. He didn't want a mission or objectives or information. He wanted to kill. Wantonly and without reason; kill everything that moved until this robot body was reduced to slag and his anger was exhausted.

The room was quiet, the doors sealed shut. He paced around the perimeter, his heavy limbs moving with a swift grace. There were machines on the walls, and a stasis pod reared up in the center. The robot examined it, hating everything about himself--the hand that touched the glass, the various sensors he employed to sweep the pod, the reports they returned to his screen. Here lay a mecha-fused creature, alpha version, experimental, still damaged but repairing. Omega hated it immediately and drew back a clawed hand to rip open the pod's front, but his internal restraints checked him with an electrical shock. Negative. His orders were to protect that creature, not destroy it. Omega chafed, torn between lust for destruction, and fear of the pain that had halted him. The shock hit again, striking the helpless body of the living creature inside him, making it cry out in pain. No, he would obey and leave the fused mecha alone, for now.

He paced around and around the room, his balance and awareness growing as the creature within him grew accustomed to his new body. His anger and hatred smoldered within him. He was E-123 Omega, last of the E-series robots. His body had been in storage for a long time, for it lacked a pilot. But Metal Sonic had located one, inserted it, and commanded it to protect his pet Mekion while Metal Sonic attended to other matters. Omega knew all this and resented it. He wanted to kill, destroy, hurt, take revenge for being imprisoned this way--both inside the robot, and inside this room. He possessed weapons that could bring the entire human military to its knees, and what was he ordered to do? To babysit a lifeless thing in a pod! It wasn't fair.

Tired of pacing, Omega planted himself against the wall and stared at nothing. He was wasting energy, and although his fusion core was powerful, there was no sense in burning energy that he could use to fire his weapons later. And he dearly wanted to fire his weapons--and watch some hostile object blow to atoms before him. For a long time he fantasized about destroying things, his pilot's vivid imagination adding color and texture to the images. He reveled in fire, gore and destruction as days passed and a thin layer of dust settled over his body.

At last he wearied of his fantasies and began thinking. He had a basic morality system that he grudgingly admitted should guide his actions- killing without reason wrong. There had to be some reason, even a thin, shaky one. He thought about it. Other then his vendetta against the world, he had no reason to destroy anything. He even had some objectives to accomplish. He thought about them with resentment- protect Mekion, relay orders when Mekion awakened, blah blah. Omega didn't care. He just wanted to destroy.

Aha! The reason for his anger was because he was trapped in this robot. One of Robotnik's robots. Therefore his grudge was against Robotnik and his minions, like Metal Sonic. Omega called an image of Metal Sonic to his internal screen and studied it. The one who had issued his orders and trapped him in this machine. Metal Sonic was therefore the enemy, and all his orders could be disregarded.

Omega's murderous red eyes focused on the stasis pod. Throwing out his orders meant he was free to waste this room and the pod's silent occupant. The Mecha-fusion project was Metal Sonic's, and could be destroyed first.

As Omega was sorting through his weapons and wondering which to use, his aural sensors detected a faint click at the outer door. He froze. An intruder? He listened as more clicks and scrapes echoed through the metal door. Definitely an intruder. An authorized visitor would have opened the door with a passcode at the entrance. Still, an intruder was more interesting then sitting in this empty room. Perhaps he would fake deactivation, then blast the intruder when they least suspected it. Yes, a fine plan. He would savor this moment of destruction.

Omega switched off his eye-lights and stood still, watching the door. It slid open with a pneumatic hiss, and a white bat slipped in. She was dressed in a tight black jumpsuit with gadgets strapped to her waist. She darted to one side and flattened herself to the wall, her eyes sweeping the room for cameras or turrets. She spotted Omega and stared at him for a long moment. When he remained motionless, she withdrew an object from her belt and scanned the room with it, sweeping it from side to side.

"No sensors," she breathed at last. "Perfect." She walked to the stasis pod and peered in. "Now to see what Eggman's new secret weapon is... something very expensive, no doubt..." Then she recognized the pod's occupant and gasped. For a long time she was perfectly still, staring. Omega watched her, computing the best angle to launch a rocket so as to destroy her and the pod together.

The bat examined the control console on the pod's base. The readout said, "Regeneration 97% complete." She squinted through the liquid at the black hedgehog. "Shadow," she whispered, "what's happened to you?" She returned her gaze to the console and tapped a button. The screen changed and asked if she wished to cancel the rebuilding process. She gazed at it for a while, biting her lower lip and looking at the pod's occupant, waging an inner war with herself. Then she selected 'yes', and followed the onscreen instructions to drain the pod.

Liquid gurgled through the pipes attached to the pod's base, and Mekion sank with it until he was lying against the glass. Suddenly he coughed and vomited nanite-liquid from his stomach and lungs. It was unpleasant, and Rouge watched with a revolted expression.

As Mekion recovered enough to sit up and blink through the glass, a valve opened in the pod's roof and soaked him in warm water, slicking down his black fur, and rolling off his metal. This was to wash the nanite residue from his fur, but Mekion didn't know this, and his robot eye glowed in shock and anger. First he had awakened to the pain and panic of choking on the nano-fluid, and now he was drenched again in front of some stranger who was staring at him. Then he was blasted by drying fans, which bent his spines and fur backwards.

It stank in the pod, and Mekion hoped he would be released before he had to suffer any more indignities. He glared at the bat outside the now fogged glass, and realized he recognized her. Rouge the bat. The name came from the depths of Shadow's memory with a struggle. He had never liked her, and she had upset him, used him, tormented him with questions he could not answer. What did she want?

As the glass fogged over, Mekion noticed a red light near his feet. The red chaos emerald. He picked it up and remembered how he got it--with his Master, robbing a bank, taking three bullets. Mekion touched his chest and found the wounds were nearly healed, but the fur growing over the wounds was white. His black dye was growing out, curse his white fur! He had to find more dye soon.

"Mekion." An unfamiliar voice spoke over the network. Mekion froze.

"Please identify."

"E-123 Omega. I am going to destroy you."

The pod's glass canopy opened, and Mekion dove out, striking Rouge and knocking her down as a rocket tore through the pod, igniting the chemicals inside it. Omega fired the Gatling guns on both arms, strafing the room through the smoke.

"Run!" Mekion whispered, but his injured voice was inaudible over the roar of the flames and the rattle of the robot's weapons. Instead Mekion grabbed Rouge with his robot hand, pivoted and slid her across the floor toward the door. Then he leaped up and bolted toward Omega.

Mekion's primary training had been for stealth, but in the months since his first mission, his Master had re-taught him about combat. Shadow had been a fierce fighter, and after two sessions he remembered how to combine his speed and whirling spindash to destroy an opponent. And now that half of his spines were jagged metal blades, he could inflict more damage.

Mekion's first attack knocked Omega against the wall and left a foot-long gash in Omega's armor. Mekion's second rush was blocked by a blow from Omega's arm, which deflected Mekion and knocked him across the room. Mekion jumped up, and he and Omega were rushing to meet each other when Rouge yelled, "Stop it!" She leaped between them with a blue light in either hand, and both robots stopped dead, paralyzed.

Omega was struck dumb, but Mekion hissed, "What are you doing?"

"This is a magnetic force field," said Rouge, watching both of them. "It's for disabling robots. Now stop fighting." She flicked off her magnigens, and Mekion and Omega lurched and regained their balance.

"Come out in the hall," said Rouge, and the pair obeyed, leaving the smoky atmosphere just as the emergency sprinkling system kicked on to extinguish the remains of the pod.

As soon as they had reached breathable air, Rouge turned to face them. "You, robot. What were you saying during that fight?"

"Must destroy Robotnik's robots," growled Omega, crossing his massive arms. "Mekion is one of Robotnik's robots and must be destroyed."

"I swear allegiance to Metal Sonic only," whispered Mekion, glaring.

Rouge looked at him. "Are you Shadow?"

"I am Mekion now," he whispered. "But I remember you, Rouge. You were a spy. What are you doing here now?"

"I heard Robotnik has a new secret weapon he's been working on," said Rouge, watching both of them. "And I don't think you're it, Shadow."

He didn't answer, but his fingers clenched around the red gem in his right hand. As he did, the emerald's energy ignited the bio-nanites woven into his body, and he started to shake. Mekion stepped back and braced a hand against the wall for support.

Rouge held out a hand. "Robots shouldn't handle Chaos emeralds. Let me take that for you."

Mekion laid his ear back and bared his teeth. Rouge didn't venture closer. Instead she turned to Omega. "Why were you locked in that room with him?"

"To guard him," said Omega. "I am not wanted elsewhere."

"So why destroy him?"

"Because... I was never subdued by programming." For a second the vocal synthesizer took on a petulant tone, and Rouge realized she was not addressing a robot, but a creature built inside the robot to control it.

She looked hard into the narrow eye-strip that served as a face. "So you're a renegade. Would you help me work against Robotnik?"

Omega considered. "Are you offering me a chance to destroy things?"

"Only Robotnik's things."

"Then I will help you. But after Robotnik is destroyed, you must grant me a favor."

Rouge smiled. "Oh?"

"You must release me from this robot. I was inserted against my will."

Rouge looked Omega up and down. Here this four-hundred pound menace was bargaining with her. She wondered what kind of creature was inside it. "All right," she said. She turned to Mekion. "How about you, Shadow?"

He didn't answer. His fur was dark with sweat, and his natural eye was glazed. Rouge moved toward him, frowning. "Shadow, are you all right?"

"Stay away from me," he hissed, brandishing his robot claws.

She stopped. "All right, fine. Omega and I are going off to hunt Robotnik's secret weapon. Are you coming or not?"

Mekion gazed at her for a long moment, weighing this request against the three laws built into him. First, he must not allow harm to befall Metal Sonic, second, he must obey Metal Sonic in all things, and third, he was allowed to defend himself. Running off with Rouge and Omega interfered with none of these, but it left him uneasy. Hadn't his master told him something about orders for when he left the pod? He glanced at Omega and asked over the network, "Did Master issue me any instructions?"

Omega was silent.

Mekion repeated the question.

Omega snarled, "All orders have been disregarded. If there was a message for you, it was deleted."

Mekion sensed the anger and hatred radiating off Omega, and decided to remain connected to the network at all times in order to watch him.

"Well?" said Rouge, oblivious to the communication between the robots.

Mekion looked at her. "I will accompany you until instructions from my Master are received."

"Well, you don't have to be such an android about it," sniffed Rouge. "Come on, you two. I left all the doors open so exit will be easy."

* * *

Tails was scrolling through the phone directory, looking for the Chaotix's number in Rio del Fuego, when someone knocked at his door. "Come in," he called.

The door opened and Amy bounced in. "Tails! Come look who's here! Where's Sonic?"

"Sonic and Sally just left," said Tails, looking up. "Why? Who's here?"

"Come and see!" Amy darted outside, and the fox followed her, curious.

He saw a small group of people outside a hover transport, talking to a well dressed female rabbit who was smiling and gesturing. A movie star maybe?

A chao scampered out of the crowd and stood alone, looking around.

"Hello," said Tails.

It looked at him, then smiled. "Hi."

Before Tails could say anything else, a smaller rabbit pushed out of the crowd, ran to the chao and picked it up. As she did, Tails felt a wave of chaos energy strike him in the chest. Before he could make sense of this, the little rabbit walked up to him and shook his hand.

"Hi! I'm Cream and this is Monty. What's your name?"

"Tails," said the fox, at first surprised, then amused. "Do you have a chaos emerald or something?"

Cream exchanged glances with her chao. The chao said, "Your chaos field almost knocked him down.

"Oh," said Cream, looking apologetic. "I let it get out of control, I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No," said Tails, grinning.

At that point Amy Rose appeared, her pink spines flying around her face. "Tails, you've met Cream, how nice! She and her mom are touring West Mobius with a big group, doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Sure," said Tails, thinking how touring with Sonic was much more exciting. "Are they staying here long?"

"Oh no, just for today. They were having hovercar trouble and needed a mechanic."

Tails looked at Cream, thinking of her chaos field. She giggled nervously, understanding the look. "Well, I'll take a look. Nice meeting you, Cream."

"You too," she said, giggling again as Tails walked away.

"Tails is Sonic's best friend," said Amy. "But Sonic went down to Rio del Fuego with Sally this morning," she added with a wistful sigh.

Cream was watching Tails, stroking Monty. "He reminds me of Destro. But cuter."

"Tails is all right," said Amy, "but Sonic is much more handsome."

"We might go down to Rio del Fuego later on," said Cream, her strong ear standing up. "Maybe I'll get to see Sonic then!"

"I wish I could go with you," said Amy, stroking Monty. "Does he talk?"

"Yep. Monty, say hi to Amy."

"Hi to Amy," said the chao. "The chaos fields are very bright here."

"The what?" Said Amy.

"Yours is pink and blue," said Monty, "and Tails's is yellow and green and blue."

"What's he talking about?" asked Amy. "I hate it when people talk over my head."

"Chaos fields," said Cream. "You know, the energy that radiates off some people. I have a lot of it, but I'm training to control it.

"Like Chaos control?"

Cream looked puzzled. "Control chaos... chaos control... I guess so. Watch!" She shook her long ears and flapped them once. She shot five feet in the air and floated back down, her ears working as a parachute. "Isn't that neat?" She crowed. "I just learned to do that! But Monty doesn't like it."

"Cream!" Cream and Amy turned to see Cream's mother striding up to them, her ears looking angry. "What did I tell you about flying in front of strangers?"

"I was just showing Amy, mom," said Cream. When her mother looked stern, Cream hung her head. "I'm sorry, I forgot."

"It's okay," said Amy. "I asked her to."

"All right," said Eva, relaxing. "I just don't want her embarrassing herself. Or me." Then the other people walked up, and Amy was separated from the rabbits.

"I wish I could go traveling with them," she thought, looking at the hovercar with its foreign tags. "Maybe I could ask!" She ran off to find her mother.

* * *

The phone rang in a dingy office, and the startled crocodile behind the desk nearly fell out of his chair. He pulled the headphones off one ear and picked up the phone. "Chaotix detective agency, how may we be of service?"

"Vector? This is Tails."

Vector sat back in his chair and put his feet on the desk. "Hey Tails! How're things up in the woods?"

"Good. Listen, Sally and Sonic are down there for the political conference, and I need to talk to them. Could you get the number for Sonic's room?"

"Sorry kid," said Vector, switching radio stations on his walkman. "Security's tight at that place. The UA building is a fortress right now to protect all the delegates. No outside calls permitted."

"Rats." Tails sounded crestfallen. "There's something I've got to talk to Sonic about."

"I could see if I could catch him outside and tell him to call you."

"You think Sonic will go out?"

"Count on it, bucko. There's a casino right across the street."

Tails laughed. "Oh, duh! Of course he'll be out! Thank you. Can you have him call me by tonight?"

"I'll try." Vector checked his watch.

"Good," said Tails, "because if he doesn't, I'm flying down there myself."

"It's that important, eh?" What, somebody die?"

"Well..." Tails paused. "I got this email, and it sounds like a threat from Robotnik. I want to see what Sonic thinks of it."

"Oh really?" Vector straightened. "Care to forward it to my office? I'd like to check it out!"

"Sure Vector. What's your address?"

Vector gave it to him, then hung up and scribbled the assignment on a note pad. Then he got up and entered the back room. Just as he opened the door, a steel ninja star embedded itself in the frame an inch from his face. Vector jumped sideways. "Gahh! Espio!"

The purple chameleon was seated cross-legged on the floor, a box of ninja stars beside him and one in each hand. His eyes were closed and his breathing slow and rhythmic.

"Espio," said Vector. "Wake up, will you? We have an assignment."

Espio's eyes opened and he looked coldly at Vector. "I was almost in a trance that time, and you woke me up. Hope you're happy." He stood up and stretched.

Vector pulled the ninja star out of the door frame. "So you threw this at me in your sleep?"

"I was ALMOST in a trance. And I missed."

Vector checked the backside of the door and saw a shredded target taped to it with eight ninja stars stuck in the wood. "Espio, what'll our landlord think of this?"

"That's why I used the door," said Espio. "It's easier to replace than the wall. What's the assignment?"

Vector explained about Tails's phone call as Espio pulled the ninja stars out of the door and returned them to the box.

Espio grunted. "I take it he's not paying anything."

"Not exactly." Vector shrugged. "But it's not like we're swamped in work anyway."

"Let me go alone," said Espio. "I'll be quicker, and I can hide in plain sight. Tails wants Sonic to call him at home?"

"Yep."

"Alright. I'm gone. And don't let Charmy in here--he'll hurt himself."

The reptiles left the office. They had rented a two-room office on the cheap side of town, and all the buildings on the street were in need of a coat of paint and spray for termites, which infested every wooden building here in the tropics.

At the curb sat a strange-looking vehicle with an oversized bee and red armadillo bent over it. The vehicle had a long, pointed frame, skids instead of front wheels, and large, gaudy blue and yellow back wheels. The hood was open, and the old engine exposed.

"Want to take the bobsled?" asked Vector with a grin.

"Heck no," said Espio sourly. "I can travel faster on foot. See you." He darted off down the street, and Vector looked under the hood.

"How's it coming?"

"No good," said Mighty. "There's a reason that guy sold it so cheap. This engine is shot."

"It's all rusted," added Charmy from his perch on the runner. "We were betting somebody drove it off the bridge."

Vector's eyes narrowed. "Completely useless?"

"Totally," said Mighty.

Vector nodded. "Then take it out. I'll see if Knux will sell us a chaos engine."

Charmy snorted. "He'll never do that. He wants to get it patented first."

"Doesn't hurt to ask," said Vector.

Mighty reached in and lifted out the entire engine. He hoisted it above his head and carried it up on the sidewalk, where he set it down with a grunt. Vector and Charmy hardly paid attention, for they were accustomed to their friend's unusual strength. Vector kicked the bobsled's side, and the whole craft jumped. Curious, Vector knelt, grabbed the running board, and lifted the bobsled up on one wheel. It only weighed fifty pounds. "Huh," he said, letting the sled drop and bounce on its suspension. He glanced at Mighty and Charmy, who looked curious.

"Help me push this thing down the street to the hill," said Vector with a sudden grin. "Who says you need snow to go sledding?"

* * *

Sally sat at a table with two other Mobian politicians, trying to concentrate on the current speaker. He was a grey owl who read from his notes in a monotone, explaining about human/Mobian relations and how the reinstating of New Mobitropolis as capital would benefit everyone. This was a topic everyone there had come to debate, and Sally herself had prepared a lecture on it.

Her mind wandered. The owl's droning voice was putting her to sleep, and she had spent the afternoon discussing it with the Mobian senators anyway. She didn't expect much opposition--although humans and Mobians distrusted each other, each species was eager to open commerce, for each had exports valuable to the other. If nothing else, they were all willing to put aside their differences when there was money involved.

Sally tried to convince herself that she didn't mind, that she was interested in the government of West Mobius. But in her heart of hearts, she hated it. She was here as a figurehead--real executive power had been shifted from her to the senators, who had survived the coup and wanted nothing of the sort to ever happen again. Their conversation earlier had been full of hints that she had less power then she thought she did, and this conference would lay the groundwork for a revision of West Mobian government.

"I'm obsolete," Sally thought. "Sonic was right about human ideas taking over... humans are changing the world, and we Mobians can only sit on the sidelines and watch." It made her sad, and it seemed to her she was starting on a high hill between two worlds, one past, one future, both fraught with war and peril.

This melancholy mood hung over her as the owl finished and an hour-long recess was announced. Sally rose and followed the crowd out into the lobby, and it seemed to her that all the officials and politicians were slimy and scheming, willing to throw away their old world without qualm.

She found herself climbing the stairs toward her room. She wanted to escape the crowd and relax for a while. She arrived on the landing and saw Sonic in the corner, playing the slot machines with a roll of quarters in one hand. "Sonic?"

He glanced over his shoulder. "Hi Sal. You done already?"

"It's a recess. Have you won anything?" She walked up and watched the spinning images.

"Yeah, two bucks in dimes," said Sonic, watching the images as they ended on three random ones. "But I'm about to hit the jackpot, I can feel it."

Sally smiled, her melancholy lifting. Sonic always had that effect on her. He never gave up, even at something as pointless as a slot machine. "We have an hour. Let's visit that casino across the street."

Sonic looked up, eyes alight. "Really? You want to?" As soon as he looked away, the images landed on three cherries, and five dollars in small change poured into the slot. "Jackpot!" Sonic yelped, scooping it up. "Told you I had a feeling!"

"That's hardly a jackpot," said Sally. "I think you have a gambling problem."

"Me? Never!" Sonic automatically reached for the machine's lever, then checked himself. He grinned. "I'm obsessive-compulsive, that's all."

The two left the UA building, checking with the various guards, who told them to come back in an hour or a search party would go after them. Then they were out in the warm, tropical evening with the sun glittering orange on the ocean.

"Sonic, let's walk for a while," said Sally. "I don't want to go indoors again just yet."

"Okay," said Sonic. "How was the lecture? The guy's voice sounded like a vacuum-cleaner." They set off down the sidewalk toward the beach, surrounded by pedestrians headed both for the beach and the casinos. It was unnerving to be surrounded by humans who were twice as tall as Mobians, but the humans ignored them, and they ignored the humans.

"Boring," said Sally. "Which isn't a good sign at the start of a week-long conference. It's too early to tell, but I think they'll sign the trade agreements and start drafting some additional constitution documents. There's too much money involved to do anything else."

"Another reason to host it in Rio del Fuego," said Sonic. "I can see the Mobian politicians foaming at the mouth at the whiff of this much money."

"Yes."

They walked in silence for a moment, enjoying the evening and being unimportant among the traffic. The lights were igniting on the buildings, casting a bright, carnival-esque glow into the twilight. Six blocks away, the River of Fire would be becoming visible as the bioluminescent waterbugs that lived in the river emerged to enjoy the night. Sonic was considering taking Sally to see it when he glanced back and felt the spines on his back rise. He stopped. "Sally, someone's following us."

"What?" Sally looked back, but saw no one unusual.

Sonic touched her arm. "Keep walking. He ducked behind that parked car when we stopped."

"An assassin?" said Sally, half-worried and half-joking.

"You never know," said Sonic. "Maybe he wants my autograph."

They reached a parking lot and moved off the sidewalk, watching the other pedestrians. "I should have brought a weapon," murmured Sally.

"You did," said Sonic. "Me. Monster robots are no match for me, so why should some second-rate thug matter?"

A featureless shape slipped into the parking lot and sidled alongside a car, its body blending with the red paint. "Yo, chameleon," said Sonic. "You want something with us?"

The chameleon froze, and its yellow eyes blinked at them. Defeated, it shaded to purple and stepped toward them.

"Espio!" Sonic and Sally exclaimed at once.

He grinned. "Guilty as charged. You must be really observant--usually nobody notices me."

"I'm Sal's bodyguard," said Sonic, looking important. "It's my job to notice suspicious lizards."

"Why were you following us?" asked Sally.

Espio nodded at Sonic. "Tails called, he wants you to call him before tomorrow."

"That's IT?" Sonic looked incredulous. "You hunted us down for that? I thought you had a detective business to worry about."

"That's why Tails called us," said Espio. "He got an email from Robotnik that has his tails in a knot."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "Email? Since when does Robotnik email the Freedom Fighters?"

"You got me." Espio turned to leave. "Message delivered, mission accomplished. See you guys." His skin blended with the pavement and cars, and he slipped away like a ghost.

"Well," said Sonic. "Looks like I'd better find a phone."

* * *

Metrocard was twenty miles southeast of Rio del Fuego. It was a Mobian city that hosted many large industries and businesses. When Mobitropolis fell, the surviving tycoons merely moved south and continued business, and Metrocard, then a backwoods town, had grown overnight into a sprawling metropolis, fueling the economy that enabled Rio del Fuego to exist.

One of Rouge's contacts had told her that Dr. Robotnik had bought twelve thousand shares in an experimental energy industry called RedStar, and had tried to purchase the corporation itself. The board of directors objected, but Robotnik was still their prime shareholder, and it sent ripples of nervousness throughout Metrocard.

Furthermore, Robotnik had leased a storage warehouse, and Rouge's contact had seen robots unloading three enormous crates from a truck there. This was where Rouge was taking them now.

"Left," she called to Omega. The robot had extended the wheels in its feet and was rolling through the Metrocard streets with Rouge and Shadow on its broad shoulder-plates. Each shoulder had a metal ridge on the end like a handle, and the hedgehog and bat rode while holding onto these.

Omega was cooperative so far; Rouge had promised him hours of wanton destruction if they stole whatever was inside the warehouse. But Shadow worried her. He had not spoken since they had left the underground compound, and he clutched the red chaos emerald as if it was his source of life. His face was streaked with sweat, and his good eye was glazed and unblinking.

Rouge kept watching him, because he reminded her of someone with Mobian Distemper--listlessness, low fever, runny nose and eyes. Shadow's nose was dry, but his eye had watered so much that dried tears had caked in the black fur on his face. He was not crying, though--he was zoned out, lost in his own world. He tended to do that back on the ARK, she remembered, especially when upset. She thought of the readout on the pod--97% regenerated. Maybe he was in pain.

"Right," she said to Omega, and the robot turned at an intersection. Shadow shifted his weight to keep his balance without the least change of expression. "Shadow, what are you thinking about?" she asked.

He gave no sign he had heard her. Maybe she should address him as Mekion, for that was the name he had given her. "Mekion?" He still gave no indication he heard her.

Mekion didn't understand illness. He had never been ill as Shadow, and once he became Mekion, he associated things like exhaustion and fatigue with his mortal half and thought nothing of it. But this new state concerned him. His entire body, Shadow and Mekion both, were overheated and uncomfortable, as if he had an overloaded fusion core inside him. He searched Shadow's mind for a biological explanation, and discovered the memories that Shadow had worked so hard for were fading.

It was as if his past life was burning to ashes by the fire inside him, and he couldn't stop it. Shadow was distressed and tried to preserve the most important ones in Mekion's databanks, but Mekion refused.

"I did not approve of your quest for memories in the first place," snarled Mekion. "Memories affect your obedience of the Master and give you strange ideas. It is better to submit to my rule."

"But these memories are important!" Shadow shot back. "What about Maria and the .. that place I was in ... I've already lost the name. You have to let me record the little left to me before they're all gone."

"I have the account Robo Knux gave you," said Mekion. "It is enough."

As Shadow watched his memories fade, Mekion watched Shadow's vital signs. This extreme heat would kill Shadow if allowed to persist. Perhaps submersion in cold water would help. Mekion sent a transmission to his Master. "I have emerged from the pod, but the unit Omega refuses to issue any instructions. Please transmit. Also, I am experiencing a strange physical condition, perhaps a reaction to the nanites. Please analyze the following data and inform me of the best course of action."

He transmitted it and realized Omega was pulling to a halt before a fenced warehouse.

"Omega, can you fly over this fence?" asked Rouge.

The robot glanced at the fence, then slashed through the wire with his claws. As he stepped through the hole, Rouge said, "I didn't want to leave a trail, Omega."

"Affirmative," said Omega. "Leaving a trail will lead to a battle with security personnel."

Rouge gave an exasperated sigh and slid off his shoulder. "You two stay here. I'm going to check for cameras." She pulled a gadget from a hip pocket and jogged up around the warehouse. Omega and Mekion watched her in silence. The sun was setting and their street was shadowed by the surrounding buildings. Mekion liked it; there had been too much daylight movement for his tastes. Darkness was his element.

Rouge returned, a dark figure with a white head and hands. "One videocamera, now jammed," she announced. "Come on."

Mekion jumped off Omega, and the robots followed the bat to the warehouse. Rouge inserted a lockpick into the door's lock and fiddled with it. Mekion watched and thought of Metal Sonic's biomorph hull, which had picked the bank's locks with such ease. To his dismay, his memory of that was fading, too. What was wrong with him?

The door opened and the three slipped inside. Mekion looked around at the darkness in glee, which turned to disgust when Rouge snapped the lights on. They saw three crates the size of boxcars in a row down the center of the warehouse. Rouge pulled out a scanner, but she had forgotten who was with her. Omega and Mekion both scanned the container and announced, "Robot parts."

"Worthless consumer models," added Omega.

Rouge pointed at the next crate. "That one?"

"Assemblers," said Omega and Mekion in unison.

Rouge pointed at the last one. "And that?"

"Robots," said Omega and Mekion. Rouge scanned the crates herself, frowning. The robots were all standard Robotnik-manufacture--no secret weapons. Why were these robots stored here? Was he planning an invasion?

Rouge studied her scanner, troubled. She had seen what Robotnik was capable of when she worked with him on the ARK. Was he planning another bid for world domination? There were thirty robots in the last crate, and parts and assemblers for thirty more. Sixty robots wasn't many, but there might be more hidden across Metrocard, waiting for activation ...

"Omega," said Rouge, walking toward the door, "destroy all three crates."

"Affirmative!" said the robot, his arms opening up and folding back to reveal monstrous gun barrels. Rouge and Mekion left the warehouse as Omega wasted the interior.

Rouge watched the fire illuminate the warehouse's interior, but Mekion moved off and stood staring into space. Rouge glanced at him. "Shadow, what's wrong?"

She didn't think he would answer, but he surprised her. "Sirens. I doubt you jammed the camera as well as you thought."

Rouge swore and looked at the fire inside the warehouse. "Omega!"

Mekion shook his head. "He can't hear you." Through the network he said, "Omega, ceasefire. The authorities are on the way and we must escape."

The shooting stopped and Omega stepped outside, a green shield flickering in a bubble around him. "Enemies approaching?" he said, bouncing up and down. "Fight imminent! Destruction! Annihilation! I will burn them all!"

Mekion looked at Rouge. "I suggest we evacuate."

The bat looked up the street, where she could hear the wail of sirens, then looked at Omega, who was itching for a fight. "No! Those aren't Robotnik's robots! This is the wrong enemy, understand Omega?"

"All enemies are the same to me," said the robot. "Do not hinder me or I will destroy you."

Rouge looked to Mekion for help, but the hedgehog had slipped away and was ghosting down the street on his hoverskates. Her team was dissolving. She ground her teeth and bolted after Mekion as the police turned the corner and screamed down upon the burning warehouse.

* * *

Tails was packing a duffelbag when his phone rang. He snatched it up. "Hello?"

"Heya little bro," said Sonic's voice.

"Sonic! The Chaotix found you?"

"Yep."

Tails sat in his desk chair and flipped on his computer screen. He read the letter to Sonic, and added the information about the server name. He concluded, "What do you think?"

Sonic was silent a long moment. "Well gee, Tails. It sounds like a joke, but it's also exactly like Robotnik's sense of humor. What if he meant for us to disregard it as a joke, and then afterward he demonized us by saying that we knew about his scheme, and didn't interfere?"

Tails's ears flattened. "He could do that?"

"First rule of combat, little bro. Know thine enemy. Don't forget about the ARK fiasco."

Tails stared at his screen. "Here Knuckles told me it was a fake and to forget about it."

"He would. Who else have you told about this?"

"You, Knuckles and the Chaotix. Vector had me send the email to him."

"Good thinking. I'll give them a call after this and see if they know anything. Hey ... by the way ..." Sonic lowered his voice. "Rio del Fuego has a really nice airport."

Tails glanced at his packed duffelbag and grinned. "It does, huh? How about places to stay?"

"There's a room reserved for you at the Grand Longhorn a block from the airport." Sonic was grinning, too. "I'm one step ahead of you, kiddo."

"Don't tell Sally."

"Mum's the word. Was there anything else?"

"Nope. Look for me sometime tomorrow night about one."

"One? Gee whiz. Okay. Peace out, Tails."

"Bye, Sonic!" Tails hung up, feeling better than he had in days. Once he was down south with Sonic and the Chaotix, they could pool their knowledge and figure out if Robotnik really was behind the mysterious email.

* * *

"Great," said Espio. "More non-paying work."

Vector, Mighty and Charmy were seated around the desk in the main office, computer printouts lying all over the desk and floor. Espio entered, fresh from tracking Sonic and Sally, and found the whole team hard at work researching the 'Robotnik' threat after a phonecall from Sonic.

"Non-paying, maybe," said Vector, "but profitable. Check this out, Espio. Seems ol' Doc is playing the stock market now."

Espio took the proffered paper and studied it. His eyes narrowed. "RedStar, eh? What's that?"

"Energy company," said Charmy. "They're working on a series of plasma-based products and Robotnik wants to buy them out."

"Can't be bothered to do his own research anymore, eh?" said Espio, growing interested despite himself. He pulled up a chair. "What else?"

"After the ARK threat, he was banned from owning property in the human colonies," said Mighty. "So we've been looking at other cities and countries, trying to track him."

"Find anything?"

"Not yet. He's covered his tracks pretty well this time around."

"Heck, nobody is that slippery," said Espio, grabbing the computer's screen and swivelling it to face him. "Let me look, and somebody work on something that pays actual money. At this rate we won't have the rent paid for two months in a row."

The others rolled their eyes, but Charmy shuffled off and pulled a file from a cabinet in the corner. He worked on its contents as the others researched Robotnik and his doings.

* * *

As Sonic and Sally returned to the conference, and Rouge and Shadow fled the police, and the Chaotix worked on their mysterious case, other things were happening in other parts of Mobius.

Metal Sonic emerged from a testing simulation, his skin flowing together and hardening back into its original shape. His new body had a battlemode setting in which the fluid biometal composing him reconfigured itself into armor. He was putting this mode through extensive testing, and a whole new world of possibilities had opened to Metal Sonic. His biometal could take on any shape if he possessed the information for it.

Metal Sonic remained in his armored form for novelty's sake, and strode through the underground corridors of the Egg Tower, another of Robotnik's bases. He left the shielded interior and stepped out into the night to check for transmissions.

He emerged on a balcony built into the solid rock of a mountain. He leaned on the railing and looked down at the plain below his rocky fortress ... the secret airfield where his fleet was amassing. The Egg Tower had been long empty when he moved in, and he found it highly useful. However, he had placed his best technology and computers on the Annhiliator, the flagship.

His transmission check ended--there were two. One was a declaration of war upon Robotnik and Metal Sonic by E-123 Omega. Metal Sonic found this amusing. Let Omega rage and storm all he wanted. In the end, Metal Sonic would destroy him ... Omega was expendable. All the E-series were.

The second transmission sobered Metal Sonic. A message from Mekion with an attached file of status readouts. Mekion requested instructions and advice on his strange condition. Metal Sonic ran the data through his own databanks and the base computers, pacing in a circle under the stars. Mekion was suffering from a fever of 105 F, and of course Mekion saw no need to let Shadow rest. Metal Sonic noted that he needed to teach Mekion to give Shadow a break once in a while. As for instructions ...

The ones Metal Sonic had in mind were less interesting than what Mekion was currently doing. Metal Sonic decided that Mekion should continue his current quest and transmit updates once a day. They might prove entertaining.

But the fever concerned Metal Sonic. He examined Mekion's data again, and found no sign of illness or injury. Mekion was simply feverish for no reason. Perhaps a poison or a virus? An allergic reaction to the nanites was possible, too. Sometimes an organism's immune system viewed nanites as hostile bodies and tried to eliminate them. Mekion already had nanites packed into him, though, because they composed the metal half of him and maintained the link between organism and machine. Why should his body reject more? Metal Sonic thought of mixing the machine- and bio-healing nanites in the pod, and felt the equivalent of his heart sinking. Maybe that was it. Mekion had a chest full of metal shards, and it was making him ill.

Metal Sonic composed a transmission and sent it. As he did, he realized he was worrying about Mekion. Not again. He had wasted too many cycles fretting about Mekion's welfare--what was Mekion to him, anyway? Mekion was an experiment, and Shadow was even less important.

Metal Sonic whirled and strode back indoors, angry at himself. He had been hurt by Mekion once already, when Mekion violated orders and aided Sonic. It infuriated Metal Sonic that he had allowed Mekion to hurt him, and Metal Sonic hated himself for feeling hurt. The capacity for feeling had come with his upgraded brain. He now had the potential for false hope, a degree of illogical thinking, and the ability to care about things.

Metal Sonic didn't want to care about Mekion, because caring led to pain in the end. Mekion would betray him again, even with his increased control over Shadow. Such a betrayal would send Mekion into the depths of anguish as his two minds vied with each other, and Metal Sonic would feel grief and pain over being betrayed. Perhaps he should kill Mekion and end the struggle.

Metal Sonic courted this thought for a moment before discarding it. Killing Mekion would cause Metal Sonic more pain than being betrayed by him, and besides, Mekion had been expensive in terms of research and construction. Killing him was foolish and illogical.

But Metal Sonic still foresaw agony for both of them, and he steeled himself for it. His master plan was already in motion. There was no stopping now.

* * *

Rouge and Mekion watched from a rooftop as Omega battled the police, using their own vehicles as cover. Three cars lay overturned and burning, illuminating the battle in red and orange.

"Should we let them destroy him?" said Rouge.

Mekion shrugged. "He is a rogue unit. You were the one who persuaded him to leave the base."

Rouge bit her lip and watched Omega. If only he wasn't so aggressive! "Is there any way to control an E-series?"

Mekion stared straight ahead and didn't answer.

Rouge poked him. "Shadow ..."

"Yes," he said, his whisper hardly audible over the firefight below. "They are organism-based and disciplined by electric shock."

"Hmm." Rouge thought of her magnigens and wondered if paralysis was enough to control Omega. "Shadow, can you still Chaos Control?"

He didn't answer. She poked him again, and he bared his teeth. "Stop that."

"I asked you a question."

He glared at her, his halved face adding to his ferocity. "Using it shuts down Mekion because of the power surge."

She had forced him to admit his weakness. No wonder he hadn't wanted to answer her. "We have to get Omega out of here somehow. He'll fight until he's destroyed."

"That's what he wants," said Mekion, the corner of his mouth curling in a smile.

"What if I helped you?" said Rouge. "I could support you if we warped down, grabbed him and warped out."

A bullet pinged off the shingles to their left, and they ducked.

"Well, something must be done," said Mekion. "Where do you wish me to take us?"

Rouge looked around, thinking it was safer if they left Metrocard altogether. "Rio del Fuego is twenty miles north of here. Could you take us there?"

"Yes." Mekion rose and said, "Support my left arm." The bat gripped his robot am, and Mekion held up the red chaos emerald. "Chaos relocate."

They vanished from the roof and reappeared beside Omega. Rouge felt Mekion sag and saw the robot eye was out, but Shadow's real eye looked at her grimly. She held him up and grabbed Omega's arm with her other hand. Shadow teleported again, and their surroundings shifted to a lawn behind a large house.

The sudden silence was a shock after the roar of the firefight. Omega collapsed to the grass, knocked out by the surge of chaos energy. Rouge held up Mekion, and Shadow was forced to lean on her, half paralyzed as he was. His metal was hot to the touch--he was burning with fever.

"Shadow," said Rouge, "does Mekion control you?"

With his robot half offline, Shadow was relieved of the constant filtering and tyranny of his other mind, and realized how tired he was. "Yes," he whispered. "His control over me was strengthened too much. I need to rest, but he won't let me."

"I'll make him let you," said Rouge. "We can hide out somewhere for a day or two."

"Don't ask me to Chaos Control again," said Shadow. "This is inconvenient and embarrassing. Make Sonic transport you, but I'm not doing this again." He had the uncomfortable sense that Rouge liked holding him, and he had no intention of giving her another opportunity.

Mekion returned to life, and he straightened and moved away from the bat. At the same time Omega stirred and his eyes lit up. Rouge pulled out a magnigen and rested her finger on the power switch. "Omega, enough. No more fighting the police."

"I will fight when it suits me," snarled the robot, climbing to his feet.

"No you won't," said Rouge. "Our deal was that you would only destroy Robotnik's robots."

"I will destroy what I please."

Rouge flicked on the magnigen and pointed it at Omega, who froze. "If I have to paralyze you forever, I will. Now straighten up."

She flicked off the magnigen, and Omega stirred. "I should kill you for that."

Rouge paralyzed him again. "What did you say?"

She turned it off, and Omega growled, "I will only destroy Robotnik's robots."

"Good." Rouge looked around for Shadow and saw him at the far end of the yard, peering into the street. "And now," she muttered, "Mekion needs to rest."

* * *

The sun rose the next day and found Sally embroiled in meetings, Sonic wasting money in the neighboring casino, the Chaotix still researching Robotnik, and Tails enroute in the Cyclone, still far north of Sapphire City. Rouge dipped into her extravagant cash reserves and rented an apartment above one of the casinos, and told Mekion to rest.

When she found him pacing a little later, she turned her magnigens on him and left them pointed at him for three hours, keeping Mekion paralyzed so Shadow could rest. When she checked him later, Shadow was sound asleep. Rouge took the red chaos emerald from his hand and tucked it into a pocket on her belt. She thought it was unhealthy for a cyborg to carry it around all the time, and besides, she was a better caretaker for a jewel that size.

She took it back to her room, took a jeweler's glass from among her things and examined the chaos emerald with it. It was flawless and without a scratch, despite the long years of wear and tear. She polished it with a cloth, admiring its red glow. It was like a ruby instead of an emerald. Were they called emeralds collectively, but were different types of jewels? She would have to cut the gem to see, and the last thing she wanted to do was to harm a chaos emerald.

And she wanted more. As Rouge handled the red emerald, she thought of the beauty and power of the rest, and suddenly she wanted them. Forget snooping through Robotnik's things, forget the various governments lined up to pay her for stealing his project. She wanted the chaos emeralds, and she wanted them all.

Now she knew why Shadow never parted with this jewel. She hated to put it down, herself. She turned it over and over, stroking it and rubbing her face against it to feel its warmth. Rouge might flirt with males, but gems were her first love and took precedence over everything else.

Carrying the emerald in one hand, the bat set up her computer to check her contact network for any word of the chaos emeralds.

* * *

Late that afternoon, a tour group stepped off the train in the Mystic Ruins forest, southeast of Sapphire City. The group was armed with insect repellent and cameras, and had come for the first of their two scheduled visits to the Mystic Ruins. Tonight they would sleep in the lodge, and first thing in the morning they would go hiking with a naturalist to admire the flora and fauna. Among the tourists were Eva, Cream the rabbit, and Amy Rose.

Amy had been allowed to go on the grounds that such a trip was educational, and after all, she would be fifteen in two months. She was old enough to look after herself, wasn't she?

Cream ran toward the wall of trees, and Amy pelted after her. "Wait up! You run too fast!"

Cream looked back, her fawn-colored fur reflecting the afternoon sun. "I'm trying to run as fast as Daddy! I might be able to use my chaos field to do it. Look at these trees!" The rabbit and the hedgehog peered into the shadows of the rainforest and breathed the aroma of wet leaves.

Cream looked at the chao in her arms. "What do you see, Monty?"

Monty was looking at the chaos field, which he saw as a colored mist hanging in the air. "Quiet," he said. "And pretty thin. Not like Knothole."

"I wish I could see chaos fields," said Amy. "Want to go in a little way?"

"Okay!"

The girls stepped into the trees and walked about twenty feet. The leaves blocked out the sun, and there was little undergrowth. The ground was muddy and uneven with roots. Birds made a racket overhead.

Amy shivered. "I remember this place. Robotnik had a base in here somewhere. Let's go back, I don't like it."

The pair retreated to the lodge and ate dinner, Amy recounting her adventure on the Egg Carrier. None of them paid any attention when a small plane flew by overhead, bound for Rio del Fuego in the south.

Tails had stopped to refuel in the Mobian airstrip in the Mystic Ruins and spent half an hour talking to the human who owned it, with whom Tails had made friends. Tails looked at Mac's new planes, paid him for the fuel, and continued on his flight south. The fox was happy and carefree. He had a vacation with Sonic ahead of him, and he was flying over new territory with only an email to trouble him. And shucks, the email might be a hoax after all. He watched the sun set over the ocean to his right, and adjusted his goggles. He wasn't tired at all--he was too excited to be tired.

Rouge made Shadow rest all day, then saw that he ate a good dinner. His fever was down, and he already looked better. Mekion was infuriated and tried to maul her twice, but afterward, when Rouge had put Shadow to bed again with Mekion frozen, Shadow thanked her. The more she was around him, the more Rouge recognized the division between Mekion and Shadow, and was growing used to the switches between them. Shadow was cold and distant, as he had been on the ARK, and Mekion was all fury and aggression. Together, the black hedgehog was a dangerous, unpredictable individual.

On the other side of the city, Sally was standing on the beach and laughing as Sonic ran up and down on the edge of the surf, a plume of water in his wake. A crowd had assembled to watch, and it goaded Sonic to try even crazier stunts. He was moving so fast that he ran across the top of the water, skidded off the top of a wave, did a flip in midair and splashed down in a spin. The crowd applauded as Sonic coasted to shore on the breakers and shook himself.

"More?" he asked Sally. She was laughing too hard to answer, and nodded. Sonic shot off again, feeling the warm wind drying his fur. He was delighted that he had made Sally laugh. She had been in meetings all day, and after the last one, she had been so sober and depressed that Sonic was afraid of her. She had transformed into a stranger--a politician with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was in that mental cage she was building for herself, and Sonic hated to see the change. So he urged her to come outside, and entertained her with the best daredevil stunts he could think of. When she laughed she forgot her worries, and was back to being the Sally he knew.

Sonic ran all over the waves again, then dove across them and body surfed down the length of a wave, just avoiding its crest. The crowd ohhed and ahhed, clapping, Sally among them. Sonic performed until it was completely dark, then returned to Sally, dripping wet and feeling well exercised. Sally slid her hand into his damp glove, and they walked down the beach together.

"You crack me up, Sonic," said Sally.

He grinned. "That's the idea. You looked really stressed today."

"I was really stressed today." Sally sighed. "Humans and Mobians just don't get along well. There were some debates today that almost came to blows, and I had to bend over backwards to keep the conference from ending then and there."

"Gee whiz, what about?"

"Money. It's always about money. I hate to see what happens when we get to freedom and rights policies."

Sonic snickered. "Let me guess. Nobody wants another species to have the same rights as themselves, right?"

"Right." Sally smiled at him. "You make it sound so simple."

He grinned. "Things don't have to be difficult, Sal. That's why I like things condensed, summarized and fast as possible."

"You would. Want to go get dinner?"

"You bet! I'm starved."

The hedgehog and squirrel crossed the beach to the street again. As they walked, Sonic pointed to a machine ten feet high, shaped like a diamond with a darkened lens set into the top. It was surrounded by a chain-link fence and had Warning: High Voltage signs on it. "Hey Sal, what's that thing?"

Sally looked at it. "Oh, that's one of the old shield generators. They used it to protect Rio del Fuego from the biotics during the war."

"Do you think it still works?" said Sonic, walking up to the fence and looking at the machine through the wire.

Sally shrugged. "Probably. Look how polished it is--they probably maintain it with city funds. There's a whole bunch of them along the coast."

"In case of another biotic invasion, eh?" said Sonic, grinning. He stepped away from the fence and took Sally's hand again, and they resumed walking across the sand toward the city lights.

They were strolling along the sidewalk, looking for a place to eat that they hadn't tried yet, when Sonic stopped and touched Sally's arm. "Sal, look over there. Across the street. Who is that?"

Sally looked and saw a black hedgehog standing on a street corner, watching them. One of his eyes glowed red. "Mekion?" she breathed, staring.

"Yeah," said Sonic, also staring. Mekion returned their gaze. "What's he doing here?" muttered Sonic. "I wonder if Metal Sonic's around."

Mekion continued to stare at them.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," said Sonic. "Stay here, Sal. It's just for a second."

"Sonic, be careful," Sally whispered. "Remember what he said about killing you?"

"Like I could forget," said Sonic. "Be right back." He dashed across the street and spoke to the black hedgehog. They talked for a moment, and Sally watched like a hawk for any untoward movements. Thus she saw when a white bat glided down from somewhere above with a gun-shaped object and approached Sonic from behind.

"Sonic, look out!" Sally yelled.

Sonic turned, saw Rouge and darted up the pavement, and Mekion was after him in a flash. Sonic slowed to look back, and Mekion grabbed him. Before Sonic could struggle, Rouge ran up and thrust the object in her hand against his head. Sonic collapsed to the pavement. There was a flash of something red in Mekion's hand, then all three of them vanished in a sparkle of light.

Sally stood with her mouth open, stunned. They had kidnapped Sonic! Why? She spun and ran for the UA building, a thousand plans spinning through her mind, but the best one involved her chaos energy tracker. It was her pet secret and currently locked up in a desk in Knothole. It would show her Sonic's exact location, and any other large concentration of chaos energy. Unfortunately, she was a long way from Knothole and had no way of teleporting back.

As she flashed her ID card at the guard at the entrance, Sally couldn't help but see the grim humor of the situation. It wasn't every day that the bodyguard of a politician was kidnapped.

* * *

Tails landed at the Rio del Fuego airport, rented space in a hangar for the Cyclone, then checked into the hotel room that Sonic had reserved for him. He picked up a map at the front desk, then ventured out into the brightly-lit night to find the UA building.

He doubted he could get in without a pass, but Sonic would be waiting for him. The fox trotted down the sidewalk, admiring the colors and designs of the buildings, and noticing that there were a lot of people out at one in the morning. Did this city ever sleep?

Probably not. As he came into sight of the UA building, he saw the police cars parked outside, lights flashing. His heart sank.

As he drew nearer, he saw Sally talking to a human officer, who was taking notes. Sally looked all right--just angry and scared. Sonic was nowhere in sight. Tails's heart began to race. Sonic had either done something, or something bad had happened to him. He walked up and stood listening to Sally's testimony. She was describing a black hedgehog, half robot, and a white bat with a stunner.

"Shadow and Rouge!" Tails exclaimed. Sally and the policeman whirled.

"Tails!" said Sally. "What are you doing here?"

"Sonic invited me," said Tails. "Shadow and Rouge kidnapped him?"

"Who's Rouge?" asked Sally.

"She was involved in the ARK business," said Tails. "This is nuts! Why take Sonic?"

"Let me finish with Miss Acorn first, please," said the officer. "Then I'll ask you a few questions, all right?"

"All right." Tails glanced at his watch. He had been in Rio del Fuego half an hour, and was already embroiled in an adventure. He leaned against the side of the car and wondered why Shadow and Rouge would kidnap Sonic. For his chaos emerald? To hand him over to Robotnik? Or Metal Sonic? Tails listened to the rest of Sally's story and thought hard. Could this have something to do with that email? A secret weapon ... what if they needed Sonic for it?

Tails felt sick. He never had to rescue Sonic before, not like this. But Sonic was resourceful--maybe he could escape.

The policeman was finished with Sally, and he turned to Tails. "Could you identify this Rouge the bat if you saw her again?"

"Heck yeah," said Tails.

"Would you mind coming to the station with me? If we can get a photo ID, it'll be easier to catch the kidnappers."

"I'll come, too," said Sally. "I wouldn't be able to sleep now, anyway." She spared a smile for Tails as they climbed into the squadcar, and he smiled back.

"Here we go again, huh?"

She nodded. "You said it."

* * *

Sonic awoke with a throbbing headache. He was lying on carpet with his arms and feet tied together in front of him, and he was blindfolded. He lifted his head, trying to see, but the blindfold was so tight there were no chinks. He pricked up his ears and listened. He could hear the distant hum of an air conditioner, and smelled the faint odor of soap and perfume. Was he in somebody's house? He moved his arms and legs, but they were held with electronic bindings and he couldn't budge them.

"Anybody there?" he said. His voice reverberated back at him from the four walls--it was a small room.

He heard a whirr of gyros, and a robotic voice said, "Affirmative."

Sonic twisted to face the voice. It wasn't Mekion, and it sounded big. "Who are you?"

"I am unit E-123 Omega. My instructions are to kill you if you attempt to escape. Preferably without damaging the carpet."

"Well, I can't escape when I'm hog-tied like this," said Sonic. "Why the blindfold?"

"Insurance." Omega sounded amused, if such a thing was possible in a robot. "The less you see of Rouge and her things, the better. She likes her privacy, but they had to put you somewhere."

So he was in Rouge's room. That explained the perfume. Sonic suddenly wanted to look around, just because Rouge didn't want him to. "Where's Rouge and Shadow?"

"Rouge is attending to Mekion and consulting her contacts. She will return in ten minutes."

"Why does Mekion need attending to?"

"He is ill."

"Ill? With what?" Sonic hadn't noticed anything wrong with Mekion in their brief encounter, other than he had dyed his fur black.

"We don't know. But he is recovering."

Sonic heard Omega's electronic whirr and clank as he moved. He remembered the E-series--a short-lived line of units that were too smart for their own good. Mostly flicky pilots. "Are you a flicky?" he asked.

Omega's movements stopped. "What?"

"Your internal pilot," said Sonic. "The E-series used flickies, so is that what you are?"

Omega didn't answer for a long moment, then said quietly, "My programming prevents me from accessing that information. It would break my mind-machine interface. But I am probably a flicky, if that is what the other E-series contained."

Sonic rested his head on the floor. His headache was subsiding, as was his fear. This situation was far too interesting. Shadow and Rouge had an E-series robot with them, and it talked like it had freewill. "What do you guys want me for?" he asked. "Kidnapping me is pretty drastic, don't you think?"

"That is not my affair," replied Omega. "I am merely here to guard you. It is a pity you are not trying to escape. I would enjoy destroying you."

Sonic tensed. He had forgotten that he was holding a conversation with a killing machine.

He heard a door open and a draft of air touched his face, along with a burst of perfume. "Is he awake?" Rouge's voice asked.

"Affirmative," said Omega. "And he is curious."

"Good."

Sonic heard footsteps on the carpet, and the squeak of a chair as she sat down. "Good evening, Sonic."

"Ditto, Rouge," said Sonic, turning his blindfolded head toward her voice. "Kind of rude to keep me tied up like this, isn't it?"

"I know how fast you are," said Rouge with a touch of a smile. "This is safest for now."

"Okay, fine, you have the upper hand. Why am I here?"

A creak as Rouge leaned back. "My sources tell me you have some unusual talents relating to the chaos emeralds."

"I can do everything Shadow can," said Sonic. "Big whoop."

"Ah, but you can do one thing he can't. You can Chaos See."

Sonic became still. "No."

"No?"

"I won't do that. Not for you or anybody."

Rouge sighed. "Don't make me threaten you, Sonic."


"There's nothing you can say that's as bad as Chaos Sight," said Sonic through his teeth. He remembered looking into the future and seeing things he wished he had not, and how the visions had haunted his nightmares for months afterward.

"You don't have to look very hard, you know," said Rouge. "All I need is for you to locate the other chaos emeralds."

Sonic laughed. "All I have to do! Must I remind you what happened last time you and Shadow had all the emeralds?"

"This has nothing to do with Shadow," said Rouge. "I want them for my private collection."

"Even better!" said Sonic, grinning. "You'll try to use them, and bang! Another emerging world power. You'd like that, wouldn't you Rouge?"

She didn't answer for a long moment. "Shadow is sick with a fever. I've been caring for him, because otherwise Mekion would kill him. You wouldn't want me to stop, would you?"

"So now you're reduced to threatening," said Sonic. "I expected something more original, Rouge. Say whatever you like--Chaos Sight is more horrible than anything you can think of."

She rose from her chair. "All right then. I'm going to bed. See if you're a little more sensible in the morning. Omega, watch him."

"Affirmative."

Sonic heard her leave and shut the door behind her. He rested his head on the carpet and exhaled. "I won't do it, Omega."

"Yes you will," said Omega. "Because if you don't, she'll let Mekion persuade you. And you don't want that."

"I don't?"

"I would kill you quickly. But he will kill you slowly, one wound at a time. Mekion has a touch of the sadistic in his nature."

"Oh." Sonic thought about this, and resolved not to cooperate, no matter what they did to him. He wasn't afraid of them, anyway.

* * *

The next morning, the Chaotix were suddenly bombarded with paying clients.

First, the Rio del Fuego police phoned at seven AM, and a groggy Vector answered, glad that he had one cup of coffee inside of him. As the sergeant told him about the kidnapping of Sonic Hedgehog, Vector sat up straight, eyes widening. The Chaotix fielded a lot of kidnapping cases, but this was Sonic!

The crocodile ran down to the station, collected copies of witness interviews and evidence, and had it spread out on the desk when the rest of the team came in from their apartments across the street, carrying a box of donuts. Their eyes lit up when they saw Vector bent over the police files.

"A case?" said Mighty in delight.

"Kidnapping," said Vector. "I got it straight from Lawrence this morning. Guess who." He flicked them a photo of Sonic. The team stared at the picture for a long second, then Charmy blurted, "It was Sonic who was kidnapped?"

The donuts were inhaled as the detectives examined the evidence and testimonies, then Mighty and Espio went online to unearth everything they could about Rouge the bat. Vector got on the phone with the police detectives, and Charmy was left with nothing to do. He still wanted to help, so he organized the stuff on the desk, collected their research on Robotnik and filed it, then went out to collect the mail.

Their mailbox was one of many in a big steel box. Charmy buzzed up to it, unlocked the box marked 5260, and pulled out the waiting stack of junk mail. He sorted through it, making a pile of things to keep and a pile to throw away. There was Vector's new issue of Z-Mobians, which Charmy examined through the plastic bag. It looked like the beginning of the final story arc, with the good guys facing down a giant evil-looking robot squid. Maybe Vector would let him read it if he promised to wear gloves and not exhale on the pages.

There was Espio's Ninja Training By Mail newsletter, and an electronics magazine that Mighty would like. Oh, and Charmy's own videogame magazine with an enclosed demo disk! He did a midair flip of delight, then discarded the credit card offers, contest announcements, and flyers about various casino events.

As he neared the bottom of the stack, he realized there was a little box in there. He pulled it out and looked at it, wondering if Vector had ordered a new CD. It was featureless, the postmark said Sapphire City, and it was addressed to the Chaotix. Charmy shrugged, put it in the keeper stack, and dumped the junk mail in a nearby dumpster. Then he grabbed the good stuff and buzzed back up to the office.

Nobody looked up as the bee entered. He set the mail on the desk and said, "Anybody order anything lately?"

Everyone shook their heads. Charmy slid the box toward Vector. "This came in the mail this morning. Think it's a bomb?"

Vector had been scribbling on a notepad, but he stopped and picked up the box. "Huh," he said, turning it over and reading the front. "No return address." He rattled it. "Too small to be a bomb, Charmy." He grabbed a pair of scissors and slit the tape along the side. He opened the top flap, and a communicator slid into his hand.

Vector blinked. "Okay, this is weird. Guys, look."

Espio and Mighty looked up from the computer. "The heck?" said Mighty. The armadillo walked up and took the com. "This is a nice one! Look, see this node? It utilizes the human satellites. This puts Knuckles's long range units to total shame."

Now Espio took it and looked at it. "Who would send us a communicator this expensive?"

The four looked at each other a second, then Vector said, "What frequency is it set to?"

Mighty checked the dial. "Looks like 1060-92. And the dial's locked."

They looked at each other again as the implications dawned on them. Someone wanted to talk to them. Mighty handed the com to Vector, who flicked it on, cleared his throat and said, "Anybody there?"

"Is this the Chaotix Detective Agency?" replied a voice. It sounded like someone speaking through a synthesizer--impossible to recognize.

"Yes," said Vector, raising an eyebrow. "Vector speaking."

"Great," said the voice. "I wish to remain anonymous at this time. I have an unusual case for you, but I will pay handsomely."

Vector glanced at the others. If they took this case, they might have to neglect others already in progress. But they also needed the money. "How much?"

"Ten grand. For each of you."

Vector jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair, jaw hanging open. The others were staring at the communicator as if it had turned to gold. "Ten grand," said Vector hoarsely. "Ten thousand mobiads. For each of us. Forty thousand. Right?"

"Correct," said the voice. "Do we have a deal?"

Vector swallowed and looked at his team, who were nodding. "Deal. What's the case?"

He righted his chair and sat down again as the voice said, "There are four items I need collected and brought to me. They are rare and difficult to obtain, but I will help you as much as I can."

An eccentric collector? Vector looked at his team, who were listening. "This is legal, right? I'm not smuggling drugs or stolen property."

"No, no, this has all been bought and paid for," snorted the Client. "The first thing I need is a plastic cannister, and you will pick it up at the Ocean Palace casino." When Vector said nothing, the Client added, "Are you leaving now?"

"Oh, right, sure," said Vector, standing up. He covered the receiver and said, "You guys keep working. I'll be right back." They nodded and the crocodile left, clipping the communicator to his belt.

* * *

Amy Rose and Cream the rabbit trooped along with their tour group, keeping to the middle of the path and avoiding the touch of wet leaves. It had rained the previous night, and although it was only 9 AM, it was already hot and sticky. But despite the jungle's atmosphere, the hike was fascinating. They had already seen a slug the size of a shoe, and a nesting hornbill inside a tree cavity.

"This is so exciting!" said Cream. "I wish Daddy and Destro could have come!"

"I wish Sonic was here," sighed Amy. "He'd have made it so exciting. Did you know that there's some ruins back in here somewhere?"

"Ruins of what?" asked Cream, all ears.

"A pyramid and stuff," said Amy. "Sonic actually went inside it. He said he got lost, but it was really cool. There's a giant snake in there."

"A snake?" squealed Cream. "I hate snakes! Do you know what they eat?"

"Mice and rabb--" Amy stopped and looked sheepish.

Cream nodded. "See?"

They walked on and listened to their guide tell them about the hundreds of inches of rainfall a year that the forest received. The trail sloped downhill, and they reached a wide, muddy stream with a plank bridge over it. As the group crossed, Amy stopped in the middle and looked for fish. The water was solid brown and full of leaves, and she noticed a tiny red and white ball floating down the current.

"Hey Cream, look!" said Amy. "A bobber!"

"A what?" said Cream, turning.

"It's something you fish with," said Amy. "Wait--look--it's going back upstream!" The floater began to snake away through the water. Amy stepped back to the bank and followed it, Cream behind her.

They rounded a bend and found a purple cat sitting in the weeds, reeling in his line with a tacklebox open beside him. Seated, he was taller than Amy and Cream together. He looked up as they approached. "Hello," he said in a deep voice that matched his size. "Where'd you come from?"

"We're with a tour group," said Cream, eyeing the cat's rod. "Are you lost?"

"I live here," said the cat. "My name's Big. What's yours?"

"Amy, and this is Cream," said the hedgehog. "Have you caught anything?"

"Not yet," said Big. "That's a nice chao you've got there. Can I pet him?"

"Sure," said Cream, holding out Monty, who grinned. The cat rubbed Monty's head. "I'd like to have a chao. But Froggy will do for now. Froggy!"

At Big's call a smooth green frog emerged from the water and hopped up on the bank. Amy and Cream leaped back with squeals of revulsion, but Big reached down and stroked the frog's head with the same gentleness he had shown the chao. Monty looked hard at the frog--he could see that it radiated chaos energy.

"Froggy's been my pal for ages," said Big with a smile. "Even when that nasty Chaos monster got him. Huh, Froggy?"

The frog croaked, its throat ballooning out.

"Does he understand you?" asked Cream.

"Yep." Big pulled in his line and began changing lures. "Nice meeting you. You'd better go back to your group. You don't want to get lost."

"Right," said Amy. "Come on, Cream."

"Nice meeting you, Mr. Big," said Cream. As she looked back, she saw a black shape leap out of the trees behind Big. She gasped. Big's head turned, and he jumped to his feet.

The thing pounced on Froggy and held the kicking frog in one hand. Then it sprang straight at Cream. She shrieked as its hand hit her in the chest, knocking her down. It yanked Monty out of her hands, who squeaked in fright and pain.

"Hey!" exclaimed Amy, turning back. "Who are you? What do you think you're doing?"

It was a black hedgehog with red stripes along the tops of his spines, and hateful red eyes. He glared at them for a second, then dashed away into the brush. "Monty!" cried Cream. She leaped up and ran after the stranger.

"Cream, no!" Amy said, sprinting after her. Big snatched up his fishing pole and followed them.

* * *

Sonic awoke to the sensation of being lifted. "Whoa, what's going on?" he asked, cursing the blindfold.

Rouge's voice said, "We're moving you to the living room for questioning."

Sonic was laid down on the cushions of what felt like a couch. Above him, Mekion's voice whispered, "What about the blindfold?"

"Take it off. It doesn't matter now."

Sonic felt Mekion's metal hand on his face, then the blindfold was off. Sonic was in a bright room with the morning sun shining in, and for a few minutes he couldn't stand to open his eyes.

Gradually he grew accustomed to the light, and was able to look around. It was one of the plush apartments that some of the casinos sponsored, with expensive brass fixtures, white furniture, and windows looking toward the ocean and downtown. "Nice place you got here," said Sonic, struggling to sit up. He made it and sat slumped, his wrists and ankles tied together. Mekion and Rouge were sitting in chairs facing the couch, and behind them stood the hulking robot Omega, its red eyes fixed on Sonic. Sonic couldn't believe he had carried on a conversation with it.

Rouge looked just as Sonic remembered, but had exchanged her pink and white outfit for a tight purple jumpsuit covered in pockets. Mekion was sitting with both feet on the floor, as if ready to jump up any second. His robot half was clean and oiled, and his organic half looked strong and well-fed; not like the pitiful half-starved creature Sonic had met on the Floating Island. He wondered if Rouge had made up that story about Mekion being sick.

"Well," said Sonic, "the gang's all together. Now what?"

"Will you Chaos See for us?" asked Rouge.

"No," said Sonic.

Rouge nodded at Mekion, who rose to his feet. He walked up to Sonic and stood looking at him. "When we last met, Sonic," he hissed, "Shadow told you that I would try to kill you. And that you must kill me first."

Sonic nodded, watching the mismatched eyes. The robot eye was expressionless, but Shadow's eye gleamed with hatred.

"So," said Mekion, straightening. "Last night we met for the second time, and you did not follow Shadow's instructions. Why?"

Sonic looked at Rouge, wondering if they had rehearsed this. "I wasn't looking for a fight."

"I have Shadow under seventy-percent control. If you asked him for help again, he wouldn't give it."

Sonic shrugged again. "Okay."

"You don't care?"

"There's not much I can do about it, is there?"

Mekion smiled. "Of course not. Which means I could kill you slowly, and there would be no mercy." He grabbed Sonic's throat in his robot hand. "If you want to live, Chaos See."

Sonic sat perfectly still, feeling Mekion's claws pricking his skin, watching Rouge. She was looking on without expression. This had been planned.

"No," said Sonic.

Mekion tightened his grip, and Sonic felt the pressure build in his skull as his breath was cut off.

"Chaos See," said Mekion.

Sonic again looked at Rouge, who still looked bored. What was the cutoff point? When Mekion throttled him? Sonic twisted and tried break Mekion's grasp, but he couldn't do much with his hands tied.

"I will kill you," whispered Mekion. "It would please my Master very much indeed."

"Then kill me," gasped Sonic. "You'll never get the emeralds!"

As Sonic began to pass out, Rouge stood up. "Mekion, that's enough."

Mekion ignored her, staring at Sonic, watching him strangle.

"Mekion!" said Rouge, striding up to him and yanking him aside. Mekion lost his grip and dropped Sonic, who fell sideways and lay gasping.

Mekion glared at Rouge. "I wanted to see him die."

"Maybe later," said Rouge, ears flat with anger. "We need him too badly, and I don't need a murder on my record, okay?"

The black hedgehog shrugged and turned away.

* * *

Cream was in the lead, pursuing the black hedgehog. The young rabbit's fury had upset her control of her chaos field, and it stormed around her like a whirlwind, tearing at leaves and blasting dust from the ground with every step. She glimpsed her enemy through the trees, running hard and looking over his shoulder. He had no idea that Cream needed her chao the way a cripple needs crutches. Without Monty, Cream's presence destroyed electronics and hurt people. When she became upset, she had the potential to start earthquakes and avalanches.

Right now she didn't care. The land was sloping downward, the trees thickening, the ground becoming wetter. Cream sped up, drawing on her chaos field for energy, determined to catch the thief. Then what? Cream had no weapons except her aura, and she couldn't use that except in the most primitive way. All she could think to do was grab Monty and maybe the frog.

She entered a clearing, and saw the black hedgehog climbing into an aircraft patterned after a shark, small and sleek with hoverjets in the wings. Cream ran toward the jet with a cry, but the engines ignited and knocked her down in the backwash. "Monty!" she cried as the ship lifted into the sky. She was so close, and had lost him anyway! She watched it as it lifted above the trees and roared away. Then the rabbit collapsed on the ground, pulled an ear across her face and sobbed.

A moment later, Amy and Big trotted up, gasping for breath. They had heard the ship lift off, and knew why Cream was crying. They worked on catching their breaths and didn't speak. Amy patted Cream's shoulder. Cream looked up, tears in her eyes. "That mean black hedgehog! I almost caught him! I wish Destro was here, he'd have ripped him apart!" She was too angry to cry long.

Amy felt her fur pickle in Cream's furious aura, and backed away. "Where are we?"

"The Frog Forest," said Big, looking around. "We sure ran a long way."

Amy and Cream looked around and saw the trees had changed. They were smaller and covered in colorful fungi growths, and in the distance they could see gigantic mushrooms rising above the trees. "It's a mushroom forest!" exclaimed Amy. "Like on the Floating Island!"

"This is where I found Froggy," said Big. "With the other rainfrogs. Poor Froggy!"

Cream wiped her eyes. "Let's go back. I need to tell Mom what happened to Monty. Maybe we can call the police."

The three turned to retrace their steps, and froze. Sitting in their path was a frog the size of a dog. Its skin was deep purple with red spots, and its blue eyes had a hint of malice in them.

"Shh," said Big. "That's a poisonfrog. Don't disturb it."

"He's in our way!" said Amy. She stepped forward and waved her arms. "Go away! Shoo!"

The poisonfrog gave a screechy croak, and the air crackled with chaos energy. Clouds swept across the sky and began to pour a stinking hot rain. Amy and Cream shrieked. Big grabbed their hands and hurried away, ducking his head, until he found a mushroom big enough to shelter under. They huddled there, coughing and wiping the poisonous rain off their fur.

The mushroom above them was curling and withering, as was all the other fungi around them. "What a horrible, horrible frog!" exclaimed Amy. "Your frog is one of THOSE?"

"Froggy's a rainfrog, not a poisonfrog," said Big indignantly. "Poisonfrogs are wicked."

"You said it," said Cream. "At least the rain is stopping." The clouds were thinning and the downpour subsided to a sprinkle.

"Come on," said Big. "We have to wash off the poison or it'll eat your fur off." He stepped out from under the mushroom, and Cream and Amy followed, imagining the poison already eating at their skins.

* * *

Rouge unlocked the bindings from Sonic's wrists, and he sat up and stretched his aching arms. "Letting me go now, huh?"

"No," said Rouge. "You're going to Chaos See for me."

Sonic's eyes moved past her to Mekion, who was looking out the window with his back to them. "What if I refuse?"

"You don't have a choice," said Rouge. She pulled the red chaos emerald out of her belt and handed it to Sonic.

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "You have the red emerald?"

Rouge shrugged. "Just do it. Or I'll let Shadow strangle you for real."

Sonic rubbed his sore neck. It hurt to swallow, and he wanted to watch Mekion all the time lest Mekion attack him again. "Shadow didn't strangle me," said Sonic, raising his voice. "Only Mekion. Right, Shadow?"

The black hedgehog didn't move.

"Shut up and use the emerald," said Rouge. She laid a hand on his foot and said, "And if you teleport, I'm coming with you to punch you a couple of times."

Sonic gave her a fake smile. "I'll put us down in a police station. That'd take care of you, wouldn't it? Or will your currently greased government bail you out?"

She laid her ears back and glared.

Knowing he had the upper hand, Sonic added, "I might not be able to use the red emerald. Seeing isn't its power, so I'll have to dig for it. Try not to distract me." He glanced at Mekion and Omega, decided they were a safe distance away, and bent over the red emerald.

Sonic had only used the blue and green emeralds, and was familiar with their frequencies and primary powers. But the red emerald's power was different. For a long time Sonic could only find one power--destruction and fire. He tried to delve past it, but the destructive power was there all the way down. Sonic reached his limit and stopped. He didn't care to sink very deeply into a chaos emerald, because it gained too much control over him, and besides, this was the red emerald. It would devour him.

He withdrew and sank back against the couch, letting the emerald fall into his lap. He was drenched with sweat, and green sparks danced before his eyes.

Rouge leaned forward. "What did you see?"

"Nothing," said Sonic. "I couldn't find it. There's only fire all the way down." He looked up to see Rouge staring at him. "Let me try again from another angle." He turned the emerald on its side and gazed into the narrow facets.

The destruction was still there, but this time he squeezed past it and felt Chaos Control and Chaos Relocate. That was how Shadow used this emerald. Sonic squinted. Just beyond them was Chaos Sight, if he could only reach it--

It grabbed his mind and held him motionless, pouring images into his mind. Sonic forgot he was supposed to be hunting more emeralds. He saw a jumble of faces and locations--Amy Rose in a mushroom jungle, Sally on a city street, Tails flying over the ocean, Metal Sonic bent over a worktable, Knuckles's eyes behind a mask, a swarm of lights in the sky at night, Shadow standing alone, a twisted canyon with a river in the bottom, a crying chao, a smoking robot, Robotnik lying dead--

Sonic broke eye contact with the emerald and threw it across the room. Then he curled up and buried his face in his arms, panting.

"What did you see?" asked Rouge eagerly. "What was it, Sonic? I know you saw something."

Sonic slowly uncurled and lifted his head. "There's an emerald in some jungle full of mushrooms," he said.

Rouge brightened, then frowned. "That's all you saw?"

"Let's leave it at that," said Sonic. "I'm not totally sure about that location, either." He watched as Rouge raced to a drawer and pulled out a map. She unrolled it and examined it as Mekion picked up the red emerald. He cast a dark look at Sonic and moved up to look at Rouge's map.

Sonic tried not to think about what he had seen, but the image of Robotnik dead had shaken him. He knew he would see something bad, he knew it! It might be true and it might not--you couldn't tell with Chaos Sight--but something bad was coming. Those lights in the sky--

"Aha!" said Rouge, stabbing the map with a finger. "The Mystic Ruins forest has an area called the Mushroom Forest. It's the only place on Mobius where giant mushrooms grow."

"Negative," said Omega, who had been quiet until this point. "Research indicates another grove on the Floating Island."

Rouge waved a hand. "Whatever. Sonic, teleport us out."

He shook his head. "Not with that emerald. Make Shadow do it."

Rouge looked at Mekion, who folded his arms. "No. Make Sonic do it."

"Hey, I Chaos Saw for you," said Sonic. "Let me go, okay? I'm not going to ferry you around."

"We need you to see the other emeralds," said Rouge. "But because you need to save your strength ..." she faced Mekion. "You handle transportation."

He looked at her, and his robot fingers flexed as if he wanted to slash her. But he held up the emerald and said, "Very well."

Rouge unlocked the bindings on Sonic's feet as Mekion took a good look at the map. Then he placed his robot hand in Rouge's, who grabbed Omega, who grabbed Sonic. Then Mekion whispered, "Chaos relocate."

* * *

Tails sat in a chair in Sally's room, fingering the ID tag around his neck. Sally was on the phone, listening to the police chief's elaborate way of saying Sonic had not been located. Tails knew it by the way Sally looked--worried and irritated. Finally she hung up and sighed. "No luck, Tails. Shadow is listed as deceased, and apparently Rouge was in her apartment in Sapphire City last night."

Tails growled. "She's too smart for her own good."

"I'll try the Chaotix," said Sally, dialing. She listened to it ring, then winced as their answering machine picked up. She left a message saying she was following up on Sonic's case, then hung up and sat on her bed. "I'm afraid we're out of options."

"If only I'd thought to bring the tracker," said Tails. "Barring that, can you think of anything else?"

Sally leaned an elbow on the nightstand and thought. "The only other person who knows anything about the chaos emeralds is Knuckles."

Tails gave a hollow laugh. "Good luck getting him to help. He hasn't set foot on the mainland since the wedding, and I doubt he plans to."

"It's worth a try," said Sally, opening her bag and pulling out her communicator. She selected Knuckles's frequency, flipped it on and let it connect, the red 'connecting' light blinking off and on. "I hope he's there."

Tails gazed at the com. "You think he could find Sonic with the Master emerald?"

"I don't know." Sally looked thoughtful. "It seems plausible, though. Come on, Knuckles pick up!" They waited, and the light kept blinking.

* * *

Chimera the chao heard Knuckles's communicator click. He swiped it off its hook and carried it outside on the porch. "Hey Knuckles!" he yelled. "Somebody's on the com!"

"They can wait," said Knuckles. He and Zephyer were dressed in padded fencing gear with masks over their faces, and the emerald swords were in their hands. As Knuckles spoke, he lunged forward, Zephyer countered, and they whisked through a combination of thrusts and parries, Zephyer dancing and dodging with swift grace, and Knuckles slower but hitting harder.

Chimera watched them, rooting for Knuckles and secretly hoping one of them drew blood. Before the echidnas had invested in the fencing outfits, they had cut each other's arms during a match and blood was everywhere. Chimera had loved it.

Zephyer was tiring. They had been practicing for an hour, and she was slowing down. She gave ground until Knuckles had forced her over a line that was scratched in the grass, then they lowered their swords.

They lifted their masks and grinned at each other. "Good match," said Knuckles.

"Yeah," panted Zephyer. "You're too dang strong! Don't you get tired?"

"Of beating you? Never!" He stuck his green-bladed sword upright in the lawn, then walked up on the porch. "Are they still on the com, Chimera?"

"Yep," said the chao. "Must be important."

Knuckles took the com and flicked it on. "Yeah?"

* * *

Sally jumped as the com light changed from red to green, and Knuckles's voice came through. "Knuckles! Why didn't you answer sooner?"

"I was busy," he said. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes ..." Sally recounted the previous evening's kidnapping. "We were wondering if you could locate them by their chaos emerald."

Knuckles was silent a moment, digesting this information. "Rouge and Mekion. Not good, Sally. Mekion's probably under orders to kill Sonic, and who knows about Rouge. She's probably in this for the money."

"Thanks for sparing my feelings, Knuckles."

"No problem. You want me to track them?"

"If you can."

"It's worth a try. I've never used the Master Emerald that way, but I know it can track. Will you be at this frequency for a while?"

Sally checked her watch. "An hour."

"Great. I'll call you back. See you."

He signed off, and Sally and Tails looked at each other. "I hope it works," said Tails.

"I know," said Sally. "If not, I'm going to hunt down Rouge and take her apart with my bare hands."

Tails remembered Rouge on the ARK. "I'd help you."


* * *

The Ocean Palace casino had a waterpark as one of its attractions. The casino's main building was designed after a whale with upraised flukes, and a sparkling blue bay had been scooped out of the shoreline. Out in this bay were waterslides and other rides, and it was full of people who had come to visit their money.

Vector had visited the waterpark himself on weekends, when the weather was scorching. But right now he had a mission to accomplish. He stepped out on the wide deck overlooking the beach, found and isolated corner behind a potted philodendron, and unhooked the communicator from his belt. "This is Vector. I'm at the Ocean Palace casino. Where's this contact I'm supposed to meet?"

"Ah yes," said the Client. "Go to the second floor balcony. Drink a human-manufactured soda. He will find you."

Vector bought one of the humans' sweet fizzy drinks and rode the elevator to the second floor. His spirit of adventure was aroused--this was the kind of thing detectives did in books.

The balcony was deserted except for a couple sitting at a table in a corner, eating lunch. Vector strolled to the railing and looked down at the blue sea and multicolored milling people. He was listening for someone to step onto the balcony, but most of the people were out in the waterpark, not inside the casino. He sipped his drink. Too bad the others had to miss this.

When nothing happened for ten minutes, Vector's mind began to wander. Rouge the Bat was a mercenary treasure hunter, so why would she kidnap Sonic? He thought about the things they had dug up from online personnel files: Rouge was 26, unmarried, but had dated several millionaires. She had grown up in East Mobius, only daughter of a wealthy shipping agent. At 13 she had hopped a ship to West Mobius and taken up a shady life dealing in jewel heists, exchanges and study. She had studied for three years at MoTech, majoring in geology, but left a year before graduation. She was a bat of limited interests, and Vector couldn't see how Sonic factored into them.

He was chewing on the problem when a voice at his elbow said, "Nice view, huh?"

Vector looked around and saw a tapir standing beside him. He was a fat, friendly-looking fellow with a prehensile snout like an elephant's. He had a paper-wrapped package under one arm.

"Yeah, great view," said Vector. "Looking for someone?"

"Actually, I already found him," said the tapir. "This was purchased electronically, and I have instructions to deliver it to someone matching your description."

"Well, I'm here to pick it up," said Vector. "Thanks." He took the package and discovered it was very light for its size. "A plastic cannister?"

"A large-grade plastic pipe, actually," said the tapir. "Threaded at one end. My company makes them. Who are you, by the way?"

They swapped business cards. The tapir was Cafton Natter, assistant engineer. He glanced at Vector's card without expression. "Nice meeting you, Vector. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return to work." He waddled off in the direction of the elevators.

Vector pulled out the communicator again. "Got the package."

"A pipe?"

"Yes."

"Good! Now you must do a little footwork. Northeast of Rio del Fuego, the Amile river flows through the Amile canyon. Built at the lower end of the canyon is the Rovieg weapons testing facility. A package awaits you there."

Vector nearly argued that visiting a weapon testing facility wasn't something you did without authorization, but swallowed his protest. Ten grand was ten grand. "All right. What do I do with the pipe?"

"Put it in a safe place. Once you have all four items, you will bring them to me. Now get going!"

Vector went.

* * *

Deep underground, in the heart of the Floating Island, was the Hidden Palace that housed the Master Emerald. Encircled by the seven lesser power stones, the Super Emeralds, the Master Emerald enabled the island to float and regulated the chaos emeralds. Knuckles had grown up protecting it and watching over it, and now Zephyer shared the job of Guardian with him.

"Should I help?" asked Zephyer, touching the Master Emerald with her fingertips.

"No, let me do it," said Knuckles, placing his hands flat on its top. "I don't want it to blow me up--when we both use it, it draws too much power."

Zephyer stepped back a pace and put her hands behind her back.

"Master Emerald," said Knuckles, "where are the chaos emeralds?"

The light inside the gem shifted and changed, and points of light revolved inside it. Knuckles watched, unblinking, and so did Zephyer. The images made no sense. Were the points of light the emeralds, or were the hazy dark patches?

"No good," muttered Knuckles. "I think it's showing where they are in relation to the chaos field."

"What color are we tracking?" asked Zephyer.

"Red." Knuckles squinted into the gem. "Master Emerald, show the location of the red chaos emerald in relation to physical space."

The green gem flickered and the previous image vanished, but nothing else happened.

"You confused it," said Zephyer. "Let me try, genius."

Knuckles folded his arms. "Go ahead, if you think you're so smart."

Zephyer touched the Master Emerald and said, "Master Emerald, track the red chaos emerald."

A single light zigzagged through the Master Emerald, sparkled around, and went out. Knuckles snorted with laughter. "It just tracked it across time for you. Probably the last hundred years."

"Well, what are we suppose