After The Storm

Chapter 1

Sonic dropped down to the metal floor of the Faceship in a crouch, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Despite all the effort it took for him to win this fight, the metal virus didn't wane one bit. He could feel it crawling up his back, melding with his sweat-soaked fur, slowly suffocating him.

I am so tired.

He managed to push himself back onto shaky legs, his drooping eyes landing on Zavok's unconscious form not too far away, the purple chaos emerald strapped to his chest rising and falling with each breath. He could see traces of the virus starting to spread across Zavok's body; it would overtake him in mere minutes if Sonic didn't act.

He took a step toward him before stumbling as the Faceship violently shuddered, and Sonic could feel the aircraft slowly descending before another jolt signaled its landing. Moments later Eggman came into the room, stepping over the damage caused during the fight, a scowl curling his bushy mustache. "Blasted Zeti...first they removed the chaos emeralds from my beautiful throne, destabilizing my magnificent Faceship, and now you had to absolutely wreck it! My repair bots will be working for MONTHS before this thing is back in the air!"

"I dunno Doc, that might not be such a bad thing," Sonic said, a ghost of a smirk playing at his lips as he pried the purple emerald from its casing. "In my opinion, this hunk of metal has never looked better."

Eggman's scowl deepened as he glared daggers into the blue hedgehog. "Don't get so cocky yet, rodent." He moved to the damaged throne, where the white emerald was still in place, glowing softly in the dim room. He removed it and threw it to Sonic, who caught it in his free hand. "Don't forget, you still have one last thing to do."

"Right. Clean up your mess, again." Just then, a bright green portal appeared not too far away from the two. "Looks like it's showtime." Sonic walked through the emerald haze, the metal floor underneath his sneakers being replaced by soft grass. It was already nighttime, the full moon starting to rise above the edge of Angel Island, and everything around him felt at peace.

His friends and the rest of the survivors of the metal virus were waiting for them on the other side of the portal by the generator as they stepped through. Sonic's gaze swept the small crowd, noticing some held emeralds, meaning their mission was a success. He also noticed a few familiar faces missing, and a surge of anger, frustration, and guilt flooded into his chest. More of his friends had fallen to the virus.

I can fix all this though, he thought to himself. I have all the emeralds now. It'll be easy-peasy.

"Okay Sonic," Tails spoke up, taking a couple steps toward him, the red chaos emerald in his hands. He looked as tired as the hedgehog felt. "The chaos emeralds combined with the Warp Topaz should be enough power to get rid of the metal virus...you sure you're feeling up to this?" A look of worry creased his brow.

Sonic nodded, gripping the emeralds he had just a little tighter. "Yeah" was all he said before he closed his eyes, concentrating. He could sense the usual warmth of the chaos emeralds, the energy beckoning him, almost begging to grant his wish. It clashed with the energy spikes coming from the Warp Topaz, but he didn't need to worry about controlling the other stone. He just needed a boost.

He clenched the emeralds in his fists, and they all started to brightly glow with the Warp Topaz. The other five emeralds floated into the air and gravitated toward Sonic, causing gasps of surprise and awe to ripple through the group around him. They rotated around his form, spinning faster and faster before being absorbed into him, and the patches of cobalt fur that could still be seen around the metal virus turned a shiny golden hue. Instantly, he felt the virus's hold weakening, its vice grip fading as the chaos energy burned away the silvery stains, and for the first time in weeks, for the first time since this mess started, he felt free.