((Woohoo! this is my favorite special stage!))

Jeth hopped off the rock they were on, and headed straight for one of the graviballs. When he got close, he felt the pull, and braced himself for an impact. Instead, he found himself orbiting the ball.

"Whoooooa... This is interesting..."

(OOC: lol I hear you!)

Wraith grinned at Jeth as the fox flew from energy ball to energy ball, timing his jumps to make sure he was on target. He seemed to be enjoying himself!

He looked around for Amadeus, to see how he was doing.

Back on Mobius, on Flicky Island, Robotnik was examining his scanners. "Hmmm...Zero Energy." he mumbled, staring at the analasys of the power surge he had detected from Metropolis Zone just a few hours ago. His large, fat lips curled into an evil grin.

"So they have gone into the Special Zone already have they." he drawled. "I'll go and meet them there! Now I've done my reserch and created this little gizmo, things should get most interesting!"

He picked up a small box that had been laid on the desk, and stroked it lovingly. "Yes..." he murmered. "...very interesting indeed for that poor hapless Echidna and his friends. If only they knew what they were getting themselves into!"

He let out a loud cackle of laughter as he opperated some controls on the desk in front of him, then quickly moved over to a small platform in the corner of the room, where a haze of light was forming. The light quickly solidified into a large ring made of light, another room visable through the hole. Robotnik jumped through and the ring winked out of existance.

Jeth kept graviball hopping. He'd gotten the feel of this rather quickly, though he was still a bit disoriented from the spinning. The strange thing, he thought to himself, was that this would actually seem harder if he wasn't disoriented.

Wraith was feeling light-headed again. The masses of freeflowing chaos energy in the Special Zone were playing with his implant. He gritted his teeth and fought the feeling back.

He continued to hop from energy ball to energy ball, trying to keep a close eye on where they were headed. They were going the right way, and it wasn't long before a shape appeared on the horizon, glinting in the crazy colours of the Zone.

The trio left the gravity balls and landed on an asteroid nearby. "What's that?" asked Jeth, pointing out the shape.

"Our destination." replied Wraith. "Robotnik's Egg Fortress."

"Well it looks like we're headed the same direction! Wanna go together?"

Wraith spun round in shock, then he began to laugh in suprised happiness.

The blue Hedgehog stepped forward, a red Echidna following close behind. "It's about time you showed!" said Sonic, grinning. "You almost missed the party! The buffet has egg on the menu and it's gonna be scrambled!"

(OOC: Code, when do you want to introduce your other character? Feel free to do so any time. Also, Sonic and Knux are NPCs, so operate them at will^^)

"Perhaps I can be of assistance, then." Came a voice, seemingly from nowhere. A goop-like shape formed behind them, from a black puddle.

"I've some of my own issues with the doctor."

Jeth jumped in suprise. That thing was pretty stealthy, to not be noticed like that. It looked familiar, though.

"Are you-"

"No, I'm his brother. You can call me Khaos."

OOC: There he is.

Name of character: Chaos Dark
Nicknames: Khaos
Age: very old
Sex: Male ?
Species/Race: Liquid Monster
Likes: Chaos emeralds, power, Chao
Dislikes: Crowds, weakness
Description/Appearance: Looks exactly like Chaos, but has a black body with blue eyes, and his body is not tranparent, as it has the properties of ink.

Background: Was banished to Special zone when Perfect Chaos was defeated. That's all we need to know.

(OOC: Hehehe...nice!)

Sonic immeadeately crouched down, on the defensive. "Woah! This is bad! Everyone get down!" Wraith, also startled by the newcomer's looks, followed suit.

Knuckles stepped forward, putting a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Hold on Sonic!" he exclaimed. "There's something different about this guy..."

Wraith's mind was racing. He had been found on the Floating Island after the Chaos Creature had been defeated, so he didn't have any idea what to expect, but Knux had told him a few small details. Mainly that the thing was deadly!

"You say you want to help?" he said. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"I've my own reasons for wanting to get rid of Eggman, one of which happens to be the start of my banishment to this zone." Khaos explained.

"But, if you don't trust me, I'll not bother you."

Jeth looked at Khaos. The creature was certainly wierd, but it didn't seem hostile.

"No we don't trust you!" growled Sonic, glaring at the newcomer. Wraith, though, wasn't so sure anymore...

He turned to the others and lowered his voice so this "Khaos" wouldn't hear. "Guys, we could use all the help we can get. I mean, we're gonna have to infiltrate Robotnik's Fortress to get home...that'll be no mean feat! I don't pretend to be as experienced with Chaos beings as Sonic or Knux, but I figure we should give him a chance."

Knuckles was nodding slowly, lost in thought. "I agree." he murmured. "The origional Chaos was deadly, but this one seems different. I think we should keep an eye on him, but I don't see why he couldn't join us."

Wraith grinned at his younger brother wryly. It was good to see he was ok after all this time. He held out his fist to Knux in their classic salute. "Good to have you back bro."

Knuckles grinned and punched Wraith's outstreached fist. "Same to you." he replied.

Then Wraith looked around at all the others. "So what do we all think? Anyone got their own views about Khaos?"

"Unless he attacks us, I'm fine with him. I doubt he will, anyways. Remember, Sonic, you did defeat him before. I doubt he has any emeralds on him, anyhow." Jeth replied calmly.

Khaos continued to look at them.

"He'd better not!" mumbled Knuckles, more to himself than anyone else. Sonic folded his arms and frowned.

"Fine, have it your way, but don't come running to me when he turns against us."

Wraith grinned to himself. Sonic was his old self. He turned back to Khaos and nodded respectfully. "We'd appreciate any help you can give us." he said.

Suddenly Amadeus, silent until now, piped up, "And we may need that help now!"

The whole group spun round to see a small army of Badniks flying towards them from the Egg Fortress. And out in front of the army was a Floating Egg transport, inside which sat none other than Robotnik himself!

"Great, we're expected!" exclaimed Wraith sarcasticly. Sonic, howeverbegan to grin.

"Looks like Robotnik's getting complacent! Us vs a hundred badniks? They don't stand a chance! It'll take a lot more than that to stop us!"

He looked around at the small band. "Wraith, your friends here know how to fight?"

Wraith nodded. "They're cool Sonic, good enough to join the Freedom Fighters I'd say!"

"Well we'll see about that." replied the Hedgehog. "For now, let's just kick some robot BUTT!"

(OOC: A thought, don't attack Robotnik for now. Atm he's just sat watching the fight. I have plans for him soon.)

Khaos looked at the badniks. "Perhaps I'll unbalance the odds even more." He pointed at a small section, gathering energy. A collection of energy started, then exploded into a large blast of energy. What was left of the area of badniks dropped, into the possibly endless void of the special zone.

Jeth smiled. "Aw, come on! I want to kick some badnik butt too!" He waited for the other badniks to get near.

"Man I hate fighting in the Special Zone!" Wraith muttered as he set off running. He quickly jumped onto a nearby asteroid, then lunged at the nearest robot, knuckledusters outstreached. The machine smashed with a small explosion, knocking Wraith back onto the asteroid.

"Weak!" he heard Sonic call behind him. "Watch this!" The blue hedgehog sped forward and jumped off the asteroid, slamming into one of the nearest robots. He too was knocked into the air by the explosion, but he carefully angled it so that he was flying towards another Badnik! He began to bounce between the robots like a ping-pong ball, smashing one after the other.

Knuckles shook his head slowly. "Sonic you're showing off again! One mistake and you'll be in trouble!"

No sooner had Knux finished speaking than the badnik Sonic was aiming for dodged, sending him flying past and off into the void of the Special Zone. "Uh...guys...little help?" he called as he floated past Jeth, unable to get close enough to the asteroid to find a footing.

Khaos's hand shot out, stretching and getting a hold of Sonic. He pulled Sonic back in, setting him on the asteroid.

Jeth had his own idea. He leapt at a badnik, but seemed to zap straight through it, causing a slight explosion. This, however, left him floating away. He grinned. "Time to use some of my more interesting abilities..." A shadow leapt from his body, grasping another badnik, and launching Jeth through that one, as well. He did it in succession of about six badniks before landing on a small asteroid.

(OOC: wow looks like this RP survived intact! Ok quick recap of where we're up to: Wraith, Jeth and Amadeus finished fighting the Badnik army that attacked the Metropolis Zone, then got Dr Meilnholt to transport them into the Special Zone. There they met up with Sonic, Knuckles, and the creature called Khaos, and set off towards Robotnik's Egg Fortress.

But Robotnik knew they were coming and had a Badnik welcoming comitee waiting for them. He has also been doing some reserch and has created a secret weapon that seems to have something to do with Wraith.

We left off as the group were fighting the Badniks in the Special Zone, while Robotnik watched from the sidelines in his Floating Egg.)

IC:
Wraith watched Jeth's movements in shock. Dang, how on earth did he do that??? He made a mental note to ask him when this madness was over.

The Badniks were pressing in on them from all sides. Wraith didn't mind. Easier to hit them if they were closer. He continued to swing away at any of the robots in range, smashing them.

Then he spotted Robotnik sat in his ship, watching the battle. Something was wrong. The Badnik army was losing badly...

...but Robotnik was grinning!

Jeth had noticed that, as well.

"Wraith, something's not right here." He said. HE continued to attack badniks with shadows.

Khaos hadn't done much since saving Sonic. He simply stood, occasionally pointing at badniks and causing things to explode.

(OOC: lol wow! Nice and prompt Code! Thankyou!)

Knuckles had seen the Doctor's happiness too. "He won't be grinning for much longer!" he growled.

"On the contrary my dear Echidna!" retorted Robotnik, supprising them all. They didn't think he could hear them! "My fun has only just begun!"

The Badnik army was all but obliterated by now, and the group quickly took care of the stragglers. Wraith turned to face the Doctor, fists clenched. "And just what do you mean by that?" he answered.

Sonic seemed to be judging the distance between the Asteroid and the Floating Egg, considering an attack, but Robotnik had planned for it, and placed himself just out of reach. Knuckles put a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. "Too risky." he mouthed.

Robotnik was speaking again. "Ah so you're the other Echidna that's been making a name for himself here! Wraith is it? Yes, I'd heard of you, but I'd never actually seen you before today."

Wraith just narrowed his eyes, and Robotnik continued. "It's a shame about you, Wraith. I hear you have no memory of your past, no idea who you really are. I can't imagine life like that..."

"What's your point?"

Robotnik grinned. "Now now no need to be like that. It so happens that I've been doing some reserch for you my friend, and I've made some very interesting descoveries!"

"Wraith, if he's saying he knows who you were, I'd ignore him." Jeth said. He didn't trust Robotnik at all. Of course, who would?

Khaos was visibly angry. "Hello again, doctor. I hope you remember me, because I remember you." He said.

(OOC: just pausing a mo cause someone asked if posts in the temp forums would be kept when the temp forums are deleted. No point in carrying on for now if all the extra will be gone in a week or so...)

(OOC edit: Ok it's settled, all the new posts will be transferred. We can continue )

IC:
Robotnik let out a harsh laugh. "Why you do look familiar indeed.I'm afraid I fail to see your point though my dear friend. Might I consider your tone...a threat?"

Wraith wasn't really listening. He knew that what Jeth said was right...whatever Robotnik was planning it couldn't be good. But he couldn't help but be curious. Ever since waking up from stasis the question of who he was and why he was there had been on his mind. Had Robotnik found the answer...?

*FLASH*
...the dream again...
...only this time he wasn't asleep...
...the looks of fear on their faces...
...the screams...
...he had to know what they ment...

Knuckles saw the telltale expressions on his brother's face, and stepped forward to support him. Meanwhile Sonic was moving round to back Khaos up. He still didn't trust him, but it was beginning to look like the creature could come in handy...

(OOC: I've actually never played the SA games, so I'm afraid I'm not too well up on the histories of Sonic's, Chaos' and Robotnik's relationships. Play them out as you see fit Code, but if at all possible leave Robotnik out of too much action for the moment. He's important for something in a short while^^)

((I'll give a quick history lesson, then. Robotnik rose Chaos in hopes of manipulting him into his own personal god. It worked until Chaos became perfect, then Chaos turned and destroyed Robonik's Egg Carrier, then decided to destroy most of Station Square after absorbing the dark energy of the Chaos emeralds. He succeeded, until Sonic used the good powers in them, becoming super Sonic and defeating Chaos's perfect form. Khaos was banished to Special Zone, and Chaos was sent with Tikal to be the guardian of the chao. That's a piece of SA in a nutshell.

Anyhow, I'll mostly stick to dialogue between them.))

"You manipulated me and my brother into doing your work. That's not something I'm too happy with." Khaos said.

"And you're darn right my tone is a threat."

Sonic looked at Khaos. It started becoming clear that Khaos had some pretty big issues with the doctor. Of course, after having Khaos's "brother" destroy Station Square, it was hard to trust him.

(OOC: Ah gotcha! Thanks for the update^^)

IC:
"Your...brother...?" repeated Robotnik, sounding confused. Then suddenly his face creased into a large grin as realisation dawned. "Oh my! So you're saying when Chaos was beaten...you aren't him, but a copy of him?" Once again he released a harsh laugh. "Well I never, that's amazing!"

"No, I'm not a copy of him. I AM him, the anger that was stored up in him personified. I was banished here after we were defeated." Khaos said to Robotnik. If looks could kill, Khaos's glare would have probably caused the entire badnik army to explode.

"Look this is all very fascinating, but I'm getting cold feet!" interrupted Sonic in a bored voice. "I think it's about time we settled this. Lardbelly's gonna teleport us back to Mobius, then he's gonna give himself up and be a nice little doctor while he's on trial, aren't you Doc."

Robotnik sat back in his seat and folded his arms. "Oh, trust you to be the spoilsport, Spikeball. This is a most fascinating development in the Chaos experiment and I want to learn more!" he leered.

Sonic's eyes narrowed. "Science class is over! You can learn more when you're safely behind bars!"

"NO!"

Everyone stopped, suprised, and turned to face Wraith questioningly.

The echidna slowly stepped forward, eyes fixed on Robotnik. "You are going down Robotnik." he growled. "You'll pay for your crimes." He paused, and let out a long sigh. "But first...I have to know..."

Knuckles stepped forward urgently. "Wraith no! You can't trust him!"

Wraith spun round and held up a hand to his brother, stopping him in his tracks. "No Knux." he replied. "This has been plaguing me for far too long. I need to know! Even if it's a lie it may give me some clues." He fixed Knuckles with a meaningful look. "I have to find out what these nightmares mean."

Robotnik was grinning from ear to ear. "Quite right my dear Wraith." he drawled. "I can imagine images from your forgotten past can be quite disturbing without context." Wraith turned back to face him as he pulled out the small device he had been carrying. "Allow me to give you that context." He pressed a button.

Electricity flashed across Wraith's forhead from the triangular implant, and he cried out in pain, collapsing into a heap on the floor.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" roared Knuckles, diving forward to help his brother out. "Robotnik, I'm warning you, STOP IT!"

Robotnik began to laugh, leaning back in his chair, the Floating Egg shaking with his movement.

Khaos was now shaking with anger, small ripples going across his body. "Robotnik, you will pay for that!" He said. He grabbed a nearby asteroid, a fairly small one, roughly the size of a chair, and hurled it at Robotnik.

Jeth didn't bother thinking, he leapt at the nearest badnik, and started going from one to the next, making his way towards the doctor.

Robotnik quickly operated the controls, dodging out of the way of the rock, but inadvertantly hovering closer to Jeth...

"You fools." he was grumbling. "It's not like he's dead or anything! I'm doing him a service!"

"Until you can prove that, I will not believe you." Khaos said.

Jeth managed to hop onto the ship that Eggman was in. "I'll have to agree." He said.

He remembered!

...he remembered his purpose...
...he remembered what they did to him...
...he remembered his reasons...
...he remembered it all...

"It's...okay..." Wraith muttered, slowly picking himself up. "He's right...I...I remember..."

Knuckles reached out and helped him up, and Wraith grabbed his elbow, staring at him with wide eyes. "I remember brother!" he said, grinning. "I remember my purpose! It all makes sence!"

Robotnik, who had taken the oppertunity of the distraction to eject Jeth onto a nearby asteroid and move to a safe distance, began to laugh wildly. "Yes, it's quite a story isn't it my friend!" he agreed. "I was amazed when I was doing my reserch!"

Knuckles looked wary. "Wraith, what's he talking about...?"

Wraith turned and wondered over to the edge of the asteroid slowly, as though deep in thought. He stood staring out at the colour for a moment, before replying: "You don't realise what we are brother. You were too young."

"What we are...?"

Wraith spun round suddenly, an almost insane grin on his face. "I'll tell you! All those thousands of years ago when our ancestors were preparing to leave Mobius, they realised they needed a guardian for the Chaos emeralds. Someone to stay on the Floating Island and look after them. They chose me."
"They put me through a series of training courses to heighten my awareness, conditioning to make me less trustful of everyone, so I would be a better guardian...but they didn't realise just what they were doing to me. They made me powerful, far more powerful than they intended!" He paused dramatically. "They made me a god!"

Knuckles was shaking his head slowly. "Wraith, I don't like this...you aren't sounding like yourself..."

"I'm sounding more like myself than ever before brother!" Wraith retorted. "THIS is me! Because I couldn't remember it I was a puny fool!"

"If this was all so life-altering as you say, how come you couldn't remember it?" Sonic chimed in.

"They feared me." Wraith turned back to the Special Zone vista, his face darkening. "When they realised how powerful I had become they became afraid...started plotting against me, planning to kill me. They tried to keep it hidden, but I could tell. Their plans were slowly getting bigger and bigger, more and more dangerous..." He let out a slight sigh. "...so I had to act before they did."

He turned back to face the others slowly. "I killed them. All the scientists that were working on my conditioning: I killed them all."

A collective gasp went up from the audience. Knuckles stared at his brother open-mouthed. "Wraith..."

"It doesn't matter. They deserved it. They had turned me into a god! They had an obligation to worship me, but they refused!" Wraith's face darkened menacingly. "And so did all the rest. They caught me and implanted this metal in my brain, trying to control me, to force me to do as they said. Eventually they gave up, wiped my memory and put me in stasis, leaving me to rot. Then they chose you to be the Floating Island's guardian, brother. They put you in stasis timed to wake up in the modern day."

"Wraith, what they did, their conditioning, was wrong." retorted Knuckles. "But listen to yourself! Have you considered that maybe they weren't planning to kill you? Have you thought that maybe it was paranoya brought on by your conditioning that made you think they were plotting against you?"

Wraith met Knux's gaze, his face suddenly grinning slyly. "That's impossible brother! They made me into a god! I can't make mistakes!" He held out a hand towards Knuckles, inviting him to take it. "It's time I fulfilled my destiny. Come with me brother! Together we will rule Mobius, and crush all who stand in our way!"

(OOC: o.O long post, sorry. A note, when Wraith speaks about becoming a god, this doesn't mean he has special powers or anything. It's just in his mind.)

Khaos now turned to Wraith. "You don't sound like a guardian at all, much less a god. Only fools proclaim themselves gods. With your conditionioning, to become less trustful, you probably became afraid that even they were against you in the end." He said.

Wraith glared venomously at Khaos. "Did I ask for your opinnion, fool?" he spat.

"Wraith he's right!" retorted Knuckles. "Listen to yourself! This is wrong!"

Wraith's gaze flicked back to Knux suddenly. "Wrong? I am powerful! I will destroy all who stand up to me and become king of all Mobius!" He let out a loud, almost insane laugh. "How can that be wrong? Come with me brother, and we can rule together! I will make you my prince!"

Knuckles shook his head slowly. "No Wraith. I won't be part of a scheme like that."

Wraith slowly let his arm drop to his side, his wide grin dropping into a cold glare. "If you aren't for me..." he growled sinisterly, "...then you are against me!"

The tension was interrupted suddenly by the sound of clapping hands. Everyone turned to face the noise. "Congratulations Wraith!" exclaimed Robotnik, grinning. "A fantastic show! I knew you wouldn't dissapoint me!"

Wraith gritted his teeth in irritation. "Shut up, you fat freak!" he roared. "This doesn't concern you either!"

"Ah but it does!" retorted Robotnik, beaming. "You see, I've been carefully reserching everything about your case, most especially the part where they tried to control you by means of that implant on your forehead! You see, it so happens that I have deciphered the code nessecary to activate it!" Before Wraith could reply, Robotnik once again raised the small device in his hand and pressed another button.

Wraith cried out in agony and grabbed his head in his hands. The others could do nothing but look on, helpless, as his eyes glazed over and slowly he stood up straight, unmoving, like a statue.

"Wraith, you will follow my orders and mine alone!" barked Robotnik. "You will ignore any orders coming from any other source! Understood?"

Wraith stiffly bowed low towards Robotnik, a vague smile on his face. "Understood, master."

Robotnik once again began to laugh, his ship shaking as he cheered with glee! The others stared in horror as Wraith saluted the Doctor smartly, then stood impassivley, waiting for orders.

"ROBOTNIK!" shouted Knuckles in rage. "YOU'LL PAY DEARLY FOR THIS!!!"

"Silence, rodent!" retorted Robotnik angrily. "I've had enough of this! It's time to continue my campaign against Mobius!" He began to opperate the controls of his Floating Egg again, spinning round and setting off towards the Egg Fortress. "You will never leave the Special Zone, all of you! And Mobius is all mine!" he bawled as he flew off. "Wraith, my servant. Kill them!"

Wraith's head swung round to regard the group, his eyes cold. "Yes master." he growled. Slowly he turned to face them, clenching his fists tighly.

Knuckles stepped forward, clenching his own fists too. "Wraith, listen! You have to fight it! You have to stop!"

Sonic, who had been watching Robotnik most of the time, suddenly lept off the asteroid after the Doctor. "Knuckles!" he shouted. "You and some of the others keep him occupied! I'm after Robotnik!"

(OOC: anyone's welcome to follow Sonic if they wish, or stay and help Knuckles. it's up to you. )

Jeth followed Sonic, moving at speeds that allowed him to keep up. "I'm going too. If we're going to get in the fortress, We'll need more than speed." He said.

Khaos stayed, facing Wraith. "Wraith... If you think you are a god, prove it." He said. A small light zapped from him, disappearing into thin air, or so it seemed. It was a call to his brother.

Khaos took a defensive stance, waiting for an inevitable attack.

Wraith lunged forward towards Knuckles, who parried his blows quickly. Knux was still talking to his brother, trying to get through to him.

"Wraith stop! Fight it! Listn to me!" Knuckles delivered a powerful blow, making Wraith stagger back slightly, but Wraith recovered quickly and swung in retaliation! Knuckles was unprepared, and he dropped like a stone.

Wraith looked away at Sonic and Jeth, chasing after Robotnik, but decided not to bother. He could get them later. He turned to face Khaos, a sly grin on his face.

"Just you and me now." he drawled. Without another word he dived forward, swinging his fist hard...

(OOC: On Saturday I'm going away for a week, so I won't be able to post. You can carry on Sonic and Jeth's perspective yourself if you like, it's up to you^^ but is it ok if we pause the story for a week? Not quite yet...should be able to make a few more posts before saturday.)

((Yeah, I'm fine with it.))

Wraith's swing went straight through Khaos as if he were slightly liquified jello.

"Please... That was weak." Khaos said. He struck back with a straight punch.

Wraith staggered backwards momentarily, but then regained his balance and started to lash out wildly, throwing punch after punch at the creature before him.

"All enemies of my master will be punished!" he growled through gritted teeth.

"And where is your master? He's left you here, abandoned you. I seriously doubt that he cares if you live or die. Personally, I'd rather have the former." Khaos said. He kept bending his body out of the way of the punches.

"He will come back for me. He has other matters to attend to."

Wraith suddenly lunged forward, implanting both fists in Khaos' liquid chest, then he wrenched his fists apart, tearing the creature's body clean in two! Instantly the halves began to meld together again, but Wraith's face regitered victory. If Khaos' body could be diced into small enough chunks and spread far enough around the Special Zone, surely he wouldn't be able to pull himself back together again over the massive distance!

He resumed his attack, completely oblivious to the fact that behind him, Knuckles was beginning to stir...

(OOC: Back from holiday^^)