Hey, I meant it when I said I'd finish this thing! ;)

Outside of this, if you're looking for more DC111 Sonic, go on and check out my Sonic Forces fic. My Sonic is always MY Sonic – even if the official writers on the games have changed, I will always write the Sonic I know and love. 'Sonic Forces: Those Six Months' is literally a six-month project, and Sonic's updates while in captivity will mirror real-life day and time. (January 22 was Day 1 of his entries.)

Anyway, every so often while I wasn't updating, I'd think of this story. There is something significant here, something about the fate of Sonic himself that keeps me from letting go.

So I always knew one day I'd be back.

Maybe I don't deserve it for being gone so long, but damn it, SONIC deserves it, deserves for this story to be finished. I put him through the wringer, and so many of you took that journey with him – and with me – and you guys, and Sonic himself, deserve to see the story of SR finished.

A'ight, enough sentimentality. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy. :)

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Chapter 13: Purge

At the edge of the pool, Sonic's communicator went off. He waded that way and pulled himself out of the water, Kai following closely behind, then wrung out his hands.

"I'm here," he said into the communicator once his hands were dry.

"Sonic," Tails said. "Where are you at? I expected us to cross paths by now."

"Yeah. Hey, I'm at a bit of a crossroads, here. While I got ya, can you access the radar for me, and tell me if I should… keep following this path, or turn around, or what? I'm in a bit of a pinch here and I'm not sure what to do."

Kai didn't seem sure either. If he ever had been, now all he wanted to do was play with Sonic in the water.

"Sure thing," Tails replied, "just give me a few minutes!"

"Sonic!" Another voice called. The hedgehog told Tails to hold on a sec, and looked up. Across the area, in a different doorframe Sonic couldn't reach without going back in the water again, was Lucas.

"Hey buddy! Long time no see!" he called.

"Not long enough if you ask me," Lucas replied. "Uh… how'd you get over there?"

"Took a different way outta the chao area. Still got the Chaos Emerald?"

"You bet."

"Awesome! Hey, you owned it, sneaking out of there like that."

Lucas grinned. "I'm a big guy, wasn't sure if I could pull it off. I'm glad to see things went okay. Didn't really want to just leave you there like that, but I know we had to keep this gem away from them."

"Ah, I was just fine!" Sonic rubbed his nose. "What's a few dumb robots after what we've been through?"

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, maybe we should stop hollering at each other and meet up, what do ya say?"

Sonic grinned. "Sure, get on over here!"

"I thought maybe you'd come over here."

"Yeah, okay."

"…What?" Lucas stared at him a moment, then smiled. "You were serious, weren't you? Hey - you're already all wet!"

"Thanks, didn't notice. Kai and I decided to have a little fun while we're thousands of feet in the air on Eggman's flying fortress. Sue me."

"Sonic?" Tails's voice chimed in on the communicator again from a fit of static. "Before either of you does anything, let me tell you what I found on the radar. There's an incredibly high concentration of dark energy nearby, on your side. It's interfering with the radar a bit, so I can't tell ya much more than that. But it's even a little more potent than what we felt coming in earlier. I just want to warn you, it might be tough if you take that route."

"Sonic," came Knuckles's voice this time. "I'm with Tails and looking at this too. Be prepared, it could very well be Doctor Eggman himself. If you want to wait for us, we have a few defensive cannons to get past, then the path reconnects to the route Lucas took. We should come out on the same side he did."

The blue blur looked around. "Are there any other routes in here?"

"Yeah, one," Knuckles said. "Neither you nor Lucas are near it. It's on a platform across the water, between you both. Can you see it?"

Sonic could. It was higher up and he wasn't sure how they were all going to get up there if Tails could only carry his own weight. Either way, he would have to wait for them before going that way. "All right, I'm gonna inch my way along the perimeter and go check out that high energy area. Can you tell me anything else, Knuckles?"

He heard Knuckles take a breath as he thought. "Do not rush into it. Take your time. If you don't think you're up for it, turn back and wait for me."

That advice wasn't exactly what Sonic had been hoping to hear. But he was the only one near this area right now, and other than Knuckles, he had the most experience with Chaos energy. Plus, if it was Eggman, well… he still had the idea he had thought of back in the hospital.

"Okay. I'm goin' in."

"Depending on how much it interferes, we may not be able to communicate," Knuckles warned him. "I'm being very serious when I say take it slow. I'm trusting you."

"I'll take it slow," Sonic assured him. Given what he had experienced earlier, he knew he really would. "This'll be interesting. Wish me luck!"

"Good luck."

"Chao?" Kai looked at him uncomfortably.

"Kai, I want you to stay here. Go across the water to Lucas, okay? Don't worry! I'll be all right."

"Mm…"

"No, seriously! I'll be careful, I promise." Sonic reached out and patted the chao's cheek. "I can handle it!"

"Sonic," Lucas said via communicator, though Sonic could still see him across the water. "Why don't you let him come with you?"

Sonic frowned. "I don't want anyone else to go near an area like this if they don't have to," he said. "Only one person needs to check it out."

"If you say so. Kai, come on over here." The chao gave Sonic a last glance, smiled determinedly, then did so. Lucas took off his shirt and shoes and held them out for the chao to take. "I'm crossing the water," the man said. "If I don't hear from you in ten or fifteen minutes, Kai and I are going in too. Deal?"

"Twenty minutes. Don't rush me, Lucas!" Sonic grinned. "But seriously, you heard the guardian, I gotta go slowww this time around."

"Yeah, okay. Just be careful, whatever you do."

"I heard you all the first dozen times! I'll be fine! Sheesh." Sonic lowered his communicator and stepped out to the edge of the pool. The wall to his left didn't quite go all the way out, leaving about a foot of space before the floor dropped off into the water.

Something occurred to him just then. If he hadn't gone through the tunnel Davis had suggested, he would be across the water where Lucas was, not knowing that there had been another way.

Davis had offered him passage without going in the water. Of course, he had gone in the water anyway, thanks to that vivid memory of his first encounter with the young chao he knew now to be Kai, but that was beside the point.

No kidding.

Once more, he felt kind of bad for destroying the android. It wasn't fair, really. But then… it also wouldn't have been fair to the innocent people of Station Square for such a strong robot to be left to his devices. Or, more accurately, to Eggman's devices. The citizens and former prisoners of Meka Tower had already been threatened enough, and he couldn't risk letting his enemies roam free anymore. Not while this particularly dreadful kind of Chaos energy was still around. Not while Eggman lacked reason and humanity like he did right now.

When he was about half way down the ledge, he noticed Kai coming back towards where he'd been standing. He deposited Lucas's shirt and shoes for when the man got there, then headed towards Sonic with something else: the Chaos Emerald.

"Hey, thanks bud! Almost forgot about that." He took the fiery red gem, but Kai remained hovering by his side. "What?"

"Chao." Kai nudged him ever so gently to keep going.

"Thought I told you to stick with Lucas! No? Afraid I might need you to save my life again?"

Kai chuckled and nodded in the affirmative.

"All right, you win. Come on, and stay close."

"Chao!" Kai plopped on Sonic's head and held his ears like he'd done many times in the past. That was staying close, all right. Sonic went rigid at the suddenness of it for a moment. He loved Kai, but he was venturing into the darker waves of this energy, and he was on edge.

"Okay, almost there lil' buddy. No mischief here, okay? I mean it."

"Mm-hmm."

Sonic periodically glanced down at the pool as he kept sidestepping his way to safety, harboring no desire to go back in but no desire to really avoid it, either. "It's pretty, I'll give it that!" The lighting in the room was bright and made the water sparkle. It was clear, not as blue as he would have expected. Didn't people usually put some sort of chemical in pools to keep them clean? But then, he supposed that couldn't be any good for the chao who needed that water for survival. At least Eggman had that much decency.

Well, maybe he really didn't. It was beneficial to Eggman too, for his chao spies to stay healthy.

Sonic remembered finding out that the chao were forced to go seek out convenient candidates – in other words, prisoners – for the Meka Tower project. It was Kai, in fact, who had found Lucas and had him taken captive. Chao were small, quiet, and impressionable. It was no wonder Eggman had gone after them. He was resourceful, Sonic had to admit. Not many would think to use chao of all things in their evil schemes.

Not for the first time, he wondered why Eggman had taken Kai again but not any other chao.

He reached the end of the wall and slowly backed away from the ledge before turning around. "No sweat, right? Let's keep going!" Sonic started down the hallway that was now before them. It was very dimly lit, as if the power switch for this area had been neglected. It didn't look like an area that people were supposed to be, that much was evident. Remembering Knuckles's words, Sonic took the corridor at a restrained trot.

The Chaos Emerald picked up on it before he did, getting warmer and brighter in his hands. It contributed more light to the hallway than the actual lights did. He felt Kai hold the backs of his ears a little tighter. The chao's sudden tension reflected his own inner feelings well. Despite his wishes earlier, he was glad Kai was with him. He could feel that dark pull again and it was only going to get worse.

He wasn't beyond appreciating companionship in such a harrowing environment.

"You okay, Kai?"

"Mm-hmm."

"How'd we all end up in this place anyway, huh?" Sonic asked, mostly rhetorically, though a part of him was wondering… "What'd you do to get in here again?"

"Chao…" Kai moved in front of Sonic's face and made a gesture with his paws, imitating Eggman's mustache.

"Yeah, didn't think you came here on your own. So he caught you again? I'mma take a shot in the dark here." It really was a shot in the dark where they were. "But was he trying to lure me here?"

Kai nodded.

"Well, we were gonna come anyway – we gotta stop him. Sorry he put you through all that trouble, buddy."

The dark chao merely sat down on Sonic's head again, content just to be with him.

"Whew, starting to feel weird again… heh…" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he felt Kai tug hard on his ears, wanting to turn him around. "Easy, now. I'm okay! Just saying."

"Chaoooo…"

"Hey now, this is why I wanted you to go with Lucas. You gotta give me a chance, here, okay?"

Kai moaned worriedly but didn't resist anymore. Instead he hopped off Sonic's head to walk next to him. Sonic offered him a hand. Kai quickly took it.

They were approaching what felt like another level of strange. Sonic swore the very air was buzzing with the presence of the dark Chaos matter. His skin tingled with it and his throat suddenly felt tight. He slowed down to a very modest walk, taking deep breaths. Kai tightened his grip but did not try to pull him backwards.

He was both thankful and disappointed: if Kai would have pulled him backwards right then, he would have gone.

The air felt thick, cold, and humid all at once. His quills wanted to stand up on end and he let them. His strong legs were beginning to tremble beneath him. A feeling of unease similar to what he had felt before returned, and he felt the insistent pull of the dark energy in his bones. When he blinked he saw Eggman, saw pain, saw restriction – saw death.

Nothing you saw in a blink was supposed to last that long.

At the end of the corridor was a room. The eerie light coming from inside was the only reason they could see in this hallway at all, save for Sonic's Chaos Emerald. He clutched it tight to his chest while his other hand remained occupied with Kai, who was now whimpering.

Sonic stopped before going into the room to gather himself. He looked down at Kai, who was already looking up at him pitifully. Such a sad expression didn't belong on the face of such a vicious, determined little creature. That was what let him know Kai was feeling it too. Chao had a naturally higher tolerance for Chaos energy, seeing as they were descendants of the chao guarded by Chaos himself near the shrine of the Master Emerald. But that didn't mean chao were invulnerable to its effects.

"Kai," Sonic said hoarsely. "Are you all right?"

The chao fought through the darkness and nodded. He pointed at Sonic, asking for a response in return. Sonic inhaled a breath, pulled it deep into his stomach, let it loosen the cluster of tension there. He thought about Tails, Knuckles, and Lucas waiting for him. Thought about all the smiles, winks, and words exchanged between them all. It sounded so much better, so much happier than the way he felt right now – and that was because it was. What he felt right now wasn't how he always felt, he reminded himself. It was just for right now. As soon as he took care of whatever or whoever was emitting this profound energy, the world would be a whole lot brighter again.

"I'm all right too," he finally said, giving Kai's paw a squeeze. "We have to resist, have to stay really strong, okay buddy? We can get through this."

Hand-in-hand, they ventured into the room.

The walls glowed black. Sonic didn't know such darkness could glow, but there was no mistaking it. Thousands and thousands of thin, cylindrical pods rested on the walls, filling rows and columns of slots. They were Chaos Drives, made to store the energy of Chaos Emeralds. This… this was where Eggman had stored all the black energy he had sapped, restored, and sapped again from those three gems he'd had.

This was where the doctor had unknowingly turned Imposter into a mutilated, animalistic monster.

Sonic's chest ached and it had very little to do with his injuries or recent fights. The power of the dark energy was breaching everything within him. The world started to look blurry. He found himself struggling to separate reality from memory, and in turn, memory from surrealism. It was all a sickening mess – fears of the present, memories of the past, and abstract, broken thoughts that he had never had or experienced before, perversions of existence.

Once more, Kai's hand squeezed his. Sonic squeezed back. Kai couldn't talk anyway, and Sonic felt incapable. This had quickly become their way of communicating. It asked and answered the only question that mattered right now:

Are you still with it?

Sonic trudged up to the wall of Chaos Drives, his mind spinning, his breathing so hard he could hear his voice in it. Trying hard to keep focus, he lifted up the Chaos Emerald. It ascended from his hand. The moment its touch was gone, the mass of energy seemed to spiral from within and without, and the turmoil increased tenfold.

"Chao!" he heard Kai squeal from another world, and wasn't sure why, until he realized he had fallen to his knees. Until he realized his eyes were watering and a strand of saliva was hanging from his chin. Until he realized he was screaming.

When he didn't have enough air left in his lungs to scream anymore, the world became dreadfully silent. It only added to the dissonance. He tried to focus on the Chaos Emerald. Even though he wasn't touching it now, he still knew it was there. Knew it had positive energy in it. If he could just concentrate through this hell for long enough, he could make it stop.

His own cry echoed back at him from somewhere far away. His muscles clenched and cramped. Was this what Eggman was going through…? He had brought it upon himself, but surely no mortal deserved such agony…

Kai squeezed his hand. Sonic squeezed back.

Come on…

It all shattered.

Sonic's ears flattened down against his head. The stiffness fell out of his quills and they slumped submissively. He was still squeezing Kai's hand, sweat soaking through his glove, like some part of him was still trying to reassure the little chao even though he was suffering too. It took him several seconds to realize that the dreadful shattering noise was not part of this Chaotic torrent, but that it was in fact real.

Shards of the broken Chaos Drives rained down on them both, their dark energy swirling through the air. Sonic managed to raise his head and look up at it. He watched the blackness dissolve into a glowing, white fog as the positive Chaos energy – the combined force of his gem and his will – took over.

He rolled over onto his back as the ache went away and his mind cleared, watching the miracle happening above him while his chest rose and fell. The vivid fog produced by the clashing energies made the room look dreamlike and sunlit. It was peaceful. Invigorating. When it was over, the room was nothing more than a normal room, with no influence of dark energy at all. Sonic looked at Kai next to him, laughed tiredly, and raised one hand. Kai slapped his own to it, giving him high five. Then they both squeezed again – we're okay – before getting back up and exiting the dim corridor.

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Next chapter's probably the longest title in this canon: That Day When the World Stopped Turning. Make of that what ya will. Until next time!