Protector of Chaos - Chapter 2

Protector of Chaos - Chapter 2: The Search

Emerald Town; Near the Jewelry Store

---

Alter and Shadow arrived at the entrance to a big building that appeared to be a total of five stories tall. The building was painted black all near the lower level, as well as the door. The higher levels were painted a light shade of yellow. A red sign with white outlines could be seen right above the door with the words 'Emerald Town's Department Store' engraved in the center, also in white letters. If one were to gaze through one of the windows, they would see that the building was completely pitch black, usually a sign that the power was currently deactivated. Upon looking around, both Alter and Shadow noticed that the entire area was deserted, likely due to the ruckus that Metal Sonic had caused while pursuing Rouge and Omega inside the building. Shadow was the first to speak.

"I'll quickly fill you in on the situation," he said in a serious tone.

Alter nodded and waited for Shadow to continue.

"Rouge, Omega, and myself are agents for the Guardian Units of Nations, abbreviated G.U.N. The commander assigned us a mission, to retrieve the Emerald that a Protector couldn't defend. We immediately suspected that Dr. Eggman was responsible for the theft, so the commander sent us to investigate. Rouge and Omega chose to investigate Emerald Town and Holy Summit, while I chose to investigate Central City and Night Babylon. During my investigation, I noticed that the sky started to glow purple," he paused.

Alter smirked. "And then you saw me?"

"Indeed," the hedgehog responded. "During our battle with the Doctor, Rouge and Omega must have confronted the real thief, Metal Sonic, and temporarily disabled him. I'm assuming that he rebooted himself and chased them here," Shadow finished.

Alter looked at the building, and Shadow stepped forward.

"Let's get going," Shadow said.

Alter and Shadow cautiously entered the building. Thankfully for the moonlight pouring through the windows, the two were able to see more details once they stepped through the door. There was a counter with a cash register near the entrance. The counter had a glass window under it which contained an assortment of jewels, pearls, diamonds, and more, all of which remained untouched. Display shelves were either knocked over or blown apart entirely. Surveillance cameras, which could be seen in almost every corner of the room, remained inactive, due to the power outage. Broken and charred robot parts could be seen on the floor, as well as several holes that were blasted through the walls and the ceiling. Shadow examined the walls, feeling on the burnt perimeter.

"If I had to guess, I would say this was Omega's doing," he said.

Alter took notice of an inactive elevator on the other side of the room, then looked up towards the holes in the ceiling.

"I guess there's only one way up," the wolf said.

Shadow was puzzled, but soon understood when Alter constructed a platform of ice out of thin air, big enough for both of them to stand on. They both stepped onto the platform, then Alter navigated it into the air, steadily rising it through the hole and up to the next level. The second floor was a clear hallway, though signs of battle were easy to detect here as well. Getting impatient, Shadow began tinkering with his G.U.N. communicator.

"What are you doing?" Alter asked out of curiosity.

"I'm going to try to find Rouge's exact location by syncing my communicator with hers," Shadow answered. "This will save us a lot of time if we were to scour this building in search of her and Omega instead."

Heavy footsteps could be heard in the distance, quickly approaching the duo.

"It appears we have company," Alter said with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Urgh, alright, new plan," Shadow said while jumping off the platform.

"We'll have to split up," he continued. "I trust that you can handle whatever's coming by yourself while I go look for Rouge. According to my communicator, she should be around the fourth or fifth floor. Here," Shadow said, tossing his communicator to Alter.

"Err, won't you need this??" Alter asked unsurely.

"I'll be fine," the hedgehog responded. "Once I find Rouge, I'll use her communicator to contact you. Good luck."

Shadow took off running in search of Rouge in the opposite direction of the heavy footsteps, leaving Alter alone to face what was approaching him. Out of the darkness of the hallway appeared Egg Fighters, some of them equipped with shields and swords.

"Huh, you guys again? This will be too easy," the wolf said, now getting bored.

However, the Egg Fighters were not alone. Following close behind them were a trio of Aero-Cannons, each sported mini cannons on their chests. Spotting Alter on-site, all three fired energy ammunitions towards the wolf. "That won't do you any good." Not moving a muscle, Alter stayed sited on his platform. He began to focus on his body and the platform itself, both eventually becoming intangible. The attacks went right through him, hitting the walls instead. Extending his arms behind him, Alter then boosted his platform in the direction of the robots. As his speed increased, ice shards began to appear from his trail, staying close behind him. He phased through the robots as they all made failed attempts to punch and hit him with their swords, while the ice shards impaled the robots as Alter passed through, causing them to explode.

Making it safely to the other side of the hallway, Alter stopped the platform, then disembarked from it, both becoming tangible again. Alter started walking down the dark hallway with his platform following close behind him. As he continued his walk, he began to hear a low moan coming from a nearby door. He approached the door and put his ear against it, making out low breathing too. He opened the door and found a female bat unconscious on the floor.


Shadow's Search

---

In the opposite direction of Alter, Shadow managed to locate the stairs that would lead to the third floor. Quickly cutting a few corners in search of the next flight of stairs, he noticed a group of Egg Fighters at the end of the hallway, all of which spotted him immediately and started charging towards him.

"Humph, this won't take long," Shadow said.

Skating towards his attackers, Shadow rushed right through them, defeating them with ease. Several Aero-Cannons appeared and took aim on Shadow, but the hedgehog was prepared.

"Chaos Control!" he shouted, causing time to come to a stop temporarily. He took his chance and fired several Chaos Spears at the floating, time-frozen droids, destroying them as time began to flow again.

Resuming his search, he found the stairs after cutting a few more corners, then bolted up the steps.

"Alright, she should be around here somewhere," he said, now walking down the hallway to make sure he didn't miss anything.

He took a look around, opening every door that he could find, but Rouge was nowhere to be found. Not willing to give up, he found the stairs that led up to the fifth floor. Just as he did with the fourth floor, Shadow checked every door, but still no sign of Rouge. Before Shadow was about to turn to leave the room that he was currently in, he noticed something sparkling on the floor near the end of the room. He walked in the room and approached the object. He crouched down and took the object in his hand, revealing it to be the clear diamond Chaos Emerald that Metal Sonic had stolen.

"So, here's the Emerald, but where's Rouge, Omega, and Metal Sonic?" Shadow asked out loud.

As Shadow rose up, the door behind him closed. Shadow turned around and saw two, red, robotic eyes staring at him from across the other side of the room, giving him a cold, heartless glare.

"Humph, it's about time you revealed yourself, Metal Sonic," Shadow remarked.

The robot stepped forward, revealing that he too was holding an object in his hand. However, this object was a G.U.N. communicator that belonged to Rouge.

"Hey!! That's Rouge's communicator!" the hedgehog said, growing suspicion. "What have you done to her?!" he asked angrily.

Metal Sonic didn't bother responding. He loosened his hand and let the communicator hit the floor. He then boosted himself towards Shadow at hyper speed, kicking the hedgehog's hand which caused the Chaos Emerald to skid across the floor, now completely out of either of their reach. Shadow grunted in pain a little as he grabbed his wrist, then jumped in the air and shot Chaos Spears at Metal Sonic, who dodged them with his hyper speed, which left afterimages of himself in his original location.

"I see the doctor gave you a few upgrades since our last meeting," Shadow verified. "They won't change a thing, though."

Metal Sonic began to form an electrical aura around himself. Shadow braced himself in an defensive stance, ready for Metal Sonic's move.


Meanwhile

---

Alter crouched down to the bat and shook her gently.

"Uhh..." the bat said, slightly waking up from her coma.

"Are you okay?" Alter asked.

The bat sat up slowly and tried to raise her arm, but large amounts of pain surged through it, causing her to place it back on the ground.

"I think that metal monstrosity broke my arm..." she said weakly.

"Here, let me see," Alter said, carefully taking her arm in his hand, examining it. "Not a problem."

Alter encased his hand in ice, then concentrated on restoring the broken cartilages in the bat's arm. A soothing aura filled the room as the restoration process continued. As soon as Alter finished, he released her arm.

"How does it feel?" he asked.

The bat stretched her arm and stood up excitedly.

"It's all better! What are you? Some type of medical healer?" she asked with interest.

"Heh heh, not exactly..." the wolf answered, blushing a little. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to be Rouge, would you?"

"That's me. The world's greatest treasure hunter and professional jewel thief," she said with a wink. "And who's my mysterious healer?"

"My name is Alter," the 'healer' answered. "I briefly met with Shadow, who went to check the upper levels in search of you. Apparently, his communicator told him that you were located on the fourth or fifth floor."

"That can't be right. I have my communicator right he–" Rouge paused as she frantically checked her outfit for her communicator, realizing it was no longer there. "It's... It's gone! It must have fallen out while Metal Sonic was attacking me and Omega. The last thing I remember was getting rushed against a wall, then I blacked out."

"Omega must have put you in this room to prevent you from getting more injuries," Alter hypothesized. "So, where is he now?"

"How should I know?" Rouge asked back. "Besides, I'm more worried about Shadow. If my communicator was on the upper levels, then someone must have brought it up there to possibly lure him into a trap."

Alter withdrew Shadow's communicator and held it firmly.

"This will lead us right to him then. We had better hurry."


Back to Shadow

---

Metal Sonic began to hover a bit in the air as he focused the electrical current that he was processing through his body. Once Shadow caught whim on what Metal Sonic was doing, he quickly boosted up his Chaos power, his whole body glowing a bright red. He then fired several Chaos Lances at Metal, but it was too late. The robot unleashed all of the energy that it was containing into a shock wave that knocked Shadow against a wall. The robot then hurled itself at Shadow in a Homing Attack, but the hedgehog evaded the attack by teleporting, then kicking Metal Sonic into the air. Shadow followed up on the attack consecutively, landing several combos on the robot, until Metal grabbed Shadow's leg and violently tossed him to the ground. Staying airborne with its jet boosters, Metal began to mimic Shadow's Chaos Spear attack. Before the robot could throw its attack however, he was hit by a fireball causing him to crash to the ground.

"Target locked-on," a robotic voice said at the entrance to the room.

Shadow weakly turned his head towards the door, recognizing the robot standing at the door without a second glance.

"Omega...!" Shadow grunted as he stood up again.

"Do not let down your guard, Shadow," Omega advised, stepping up to Shadow. "Statistics show that Metal Sonic still has the capacity to discharge another attack."

"Let's get this over with," Shadow said, powering up again.

Metal Sonic stood up. His eyes began flickering as he analyzed Shadow's current state. Noticing this, Omega morphed his hands into machine guns and began to fire several rounds of bullets at Metal Sonic who simply defended himself with a Black Shield.

"You want to know the secret to my power?" Shadow asked the droid. "My power is the ultimate! It CANNOT be replicated!!"

Metal Sonic let its shields down, then he launched himself at Shadow once more. Shadow quickly used a Homing Attack to counter the robot, resulting in both parties getting sent in the opposite direction due to a strong repulsion. While Metal Sonic was down, Omega fired a laser at the droid, but Metal stayed on guard and evaded the attack by using its jet boosters.

"Now, Omega!" Shadow cried out.

Shadow clutched the ends of his palms together and fired a Chaos Blast at Metal Sonic simultaneously with Omega's machine gun rounds, hitting the droid directly. Metal Sonic fell to his knees, smoke seeping through its mechanical body.

"You're finished," Shadow said, returning to his normal state.

Shadow took a step towards Metal Sonic, but was hit by an unexpected punch to the face with amazing speed by the robot who followed up with a powerful roundhouse kick, sending the hedgehog to the other side of the room. Omega took aim on Metal Sonic again, but Metal acted quickly and struck the battle robot with a Homing Attack. Before the robot could resume its attack on Omega, a wall of ice blocked his path, then it was hit by a strong kick, causing the droid to crash through the walls. The saviors, Alter and Rouge, stood their place.

"That's how it's done!" the treasure hunter said. "Come on, Shadow! I know you and Omega aren't down for the count yet!!"

Shadow stood up, panting a bit from exhaustion. Omega stood up as well, readjusting his current settings to calibrate his remaining power.

"We didn't arrive too late, did we?" the bat asked.

Shadow smirked at Alter. "Right on time."

Alter returned the expression, then took notice of the Chaos Emerald on the floor.

"Allow me," Rouge insisted.

"Sensors indicate that Metal Sonic's current status is unknown," Omega stated.

"Good, I've had enough of that metal creep," the bat said as she approached the Emerald.

Alter's ears began to perk; he was beginning to sense something.

"Rouge, wait!!" he yelled out.

But he was too late. Just before Rouge touched the gem, a robotic arm bursted through the wall and grabbed her wrist, making her scream in alarm. Before the guys had time to react, she was forced through the wall and carried to parts unknown. The Emerald was left behind.

Shadow clutched his fist angrily. "I should have known Metal Sonic wouldn't be defeated that easily!!"

A loud static noise could be heard echoing from all corners of the room, always a sign that someone was accessing the department's speakers.

"Shadow the Hedgehog..." spoke the voice of Doctor Eggman, reverberating all throughout the department building. "Unless you want your batty friend here to be skinned alive, I suggest you deliver the Chaos Emeralds that are in your possession to the roof of this building immediately. And yes, you heard right, I want all THREE of them. Bring them to me or else she WILL pay the consequences!! You have five minutes!"

The announcement ended.

"Humph, so that's the doctor's game," Shadow said. "If he thinks that I'm just going to hand over the Emeralds willingly, then he is sadly mistaken."

"What about Rouge?" Omega asked.

Shadow took a look at Alter and smirked. "I think it's time to teach you how to utilize the power of your Chaos Emerald," the hedgehog offered.

"Enlighten me..." Alter accepted.


On the Roof

---

The roof of the department building is a resort area for hungry, tired customers to relax and enjoy a good snack, which can be purchased from the many vending machines that can be found near the roof's entrance, currently being guarded by two Egg Fighter Knights. In his Egg Mobile, Doctor Eggman stayed sited at the center of the roof, waiting for Shadow to appear. At his creator's side, Metal Sonic held Rouge tightly, ready to commence with the wager as soon as the doctor gave him the cue.

"Let me go!" the bat pleaded. "If you let me go, I'll make it worth your while!"

Metal Sonic kept his hold on Rouge, ignoring any plea or offer that she could think up.

"Maybe you should try saying 'please'," Eggman said with a smirk.

"Fine, PLEASE let me go!!" Rouge asked again.

In response, Metal Sonic gripped her arms tighter, making the bat groan in pain.

"Ho ho ho ho ho!!!" the scientist laughed. "I'm afraid if Shadow does not report here within the next five minutes WITH the Chaos Emeralds, well, let's just say the aftermath won't be pretty. "

"Ugh, I can't believe I got myself caught up in this..." Rouge said lowly. "Hurry, Shadow..."


Back to Alter

---

"...I think you've got the hang of it, Alter," Shadow said. "Ready for the real deal?"

Alter gripped his Emerald. "The technique is actually fairly simple. I'm more than ready."

"We have approximately one minute and fifteen seconds before the deal with Doctor Eggman comes to a conclusion," Omega alerted.

"That's more than enough time," Shadow boasted. "Just as we practiced, Alter."

"Got it," the wolf said, lifting his Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!"

Time around Alter came to a complete stop. Everything also became inverted in color, giving all objects a negative theme. Wasting no time, Alter ran out the room and quickly cut a few corners, locating the stairs to the roof in no time flat. Alter dashed up the stairs and phased through the door, passing through the Egg Fighter Knights and spotting Eggman with his captive not too far away. As the effects of his Chaos Control started to wear out, Alter quickly took his hiding spot behind a nearby satellite dish that was large enough to conceal him. He had in his pocket Rouge's communicator, which Shadow exchanged for his as a means of contact once Alter reached his spot. Time began to flow steadily again and Alter proceeded with phase two of Shadow's plan.

Alter turned on Rouge's communicator and proceeded with contacting Shadow.

"Shadow? Do you read me??" he asked through the communicator.

"Roger," the hedgehog's voice came through. "What's the status?"

"Eggman has Rouge right next to him, but Metal Sonic is holding her pretty tightly," the wolf reported. "They're standing in the middle of the roof. There are also two Egg Fighters guarding the door."

"I was afraid of that..." Shadow said. "We'll have to act quickly. Get ready for phase three. Over and out."

"Ten-four," Alter said, ending the transmission.

Eggman checked the remaining time on his control panel, grinning when he saw the countdown reach zero.

"Well, Rouge, it looks like Shadow chose the Emeralds over you this time," the doctor said, referencing to Shadow's previous actions on Prison Island. "No matter, I'll keep you around for a little longer. Your usefulness hasn't been diminished just yet."

Rouge sighed sadly, keeping her eyes on the ground, when suddenly, the entire roof became enveloped within a chilling mist. As the wind blew, low humming could be heard in the distance, getting louder with each second.

"Where did this mist come from???" Eggman asked out loud, his breath visible in the cold air. "And what's with all that noise!!!"

Rouge raised her head with a smile of hope on her face. "Alter..." she whispered to herself.

"Don't get too happy, my dear Rouge," the scientist said. "Metal Sonic, scan the perimeter for any signs of life."

Metal Sonic rotated its head in a three hundred sixty degree turn, scanning for sources of heat or sudden movements, but the mist hid all signs of activity that the robot's sensors could not detect. The Egg Fighters that were guarding the door were hit by a quick streak of red energy and fell to the ground, disabled.

"So, Shadow, you've finally decided to show up," the doctor said calmly. "Metal Sonic, we're going back to the original plan! Hold that bat st–"

As Eggman turned his attention to Metal Sonic, he discovered that the robot was completely frozen within a solid block of ice, and Rouge was nowhere to be seen.

"How did this happen??? Urgh!! It's going to take FOREVER to thaw you out!!" the scientist complained.

Shadow warped next to Alter in his hiding spot, holding a very surprised, but cheerful Rouge.

"Shadow! I KNEW you wouldn't turn your back on me!!" the bat said while hugging him.

"G-Get off me!!" said the embarrassed hedgehog. "And keep your voice down! We're not out of the clear just yet."

"What do you mean?" Rouge asked.

"I promised Omega that he could confront the doctor..." Shadow replied.

"Oh..." the bat said. "Well, we're not going to make it out of here alive."

"What makes you say that?" Alter questioned.

A loud blast could be heard near the entrance of the roof. Everyone turned their heads towards the source. Omega stepped through the large, burning hole where the door used to be and aimed his weapons at Doctor Eggman.

"...Oh, no particular reason," the bat responded sarcastically. "But seriously, why didn't he just use the door?"

"Heh, you know Omega," Shadow said. "He destroys anything in his path."

"O-Omega!!" said the startled scientist.

"Doctor Eggman, today you meet your inevitable demise at the hands of the ultimate E-series robot," Omega said, locking-on to his creator.

"So, this is how you want it to end. Me, the defenseless scientist getting killed by his so-called 'ultimate' robot. If you really were the ultimate robot, Omega, you would want a challenge before my 'demise'. Oh, but no!! You're just going to kill me right here, right now, and call that a victory. And yet, you call yourself the 'ultimate'. Go right ahead, you good for nothing tin-can! I'm defenseless! No trick up my sleeves this time! Just get it over with, once and for all!!"

"What is he up to...?" Shadow whispered to himself.

Omega lowered his weapons, surprising both Shadow and Eggman.

"Processing... This unit requires this 'challenge' before I can commence with your execution."

Eggman smirked evilly. "Heh heh heh, I have the perfect challenge for you then."

The scientist pressed a button on his vehicle. Momentarily, a loud roar could be heard approaching the roof.

"Ahh!! What is that?!" Rouge said while covering her ears.

"Whatever it is, it's coming pretty fast," Shadow said.

Alter kept his focus on the sky, waiting for the source of the roar to reveal itself.

A large, dragon-like creature descended from the dark heavens until it was completely visible. Its body appeared to be composed of magma and metal, giving the creature a mechanical, yet organic appearance. It had two, large, metallic wings and a tail. At the edges of its wings were metal plates of armor, which could also be found on its back and belly. The creature's head was protected by a helmet that was also connected to its back via mechanical tube-like structures. Two red eyes could be seen behind the helmet's visor, as well as two horns that were protruding from the lower corners of the helmet. With each beat from its wings, large gusts of wind carrying embers would swirl everywhere, thawing out Metal Sonic who stood his place next to his creator. The fog lifted, due to the present heat neglecting it.

"Omega, I'd like to introduce you to my latest manifestation!!" the doctor said excitedly. "Say hello to the Cyborg Ifrit!!"

The Cyborg Ifrit shrieked at the Mobians hiding behind the satellite dish, able to see them from its high altitude.

"Urgh!! We've been detected!" Shadow said, clenching his fists.

"Ho ho ho!! So that's where you were hiding!" Eggman said with a grin. "More for my Cyborg Ifrit to feast on!"

"Yeah... I don't think so," Rouge said, getting behind Shadow and Alter.

Omega stepped forward. "Leave them out of this. This is my challenge."

"For now, at least," Eggman compromised. "But after you're melt to a puddle of molten debris, they're next! Cyborg Ifrit, toast this traitor!!"

The mechanical dragon shrieked a battle cry, and prepared to attack Omega.