Burning Chaos

[Tara]

This is a story myself and Tearany wrote. We have been waiting to put it up in some place for too long. Time to unveil the past between two twins: Kitty, a female Dragon-cat... and her twin brother, Issil.

While both are so much different than each other and they have clashed (almost to the death) before, this will lead up to their final battle, after which lives will change forever.

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On a side note, we both apologize for the editing job. x3 it makes characters look like they're saying another person's lines.
EX-

"I don't want anybody taking it." she replied simply, staring into the shinging blue surface. "Even though I don't know how to use it, I want it." Knuckles smirked.
"They really aren't that valuable." He said. Sianna nodded in agreement. Kitty glared at him, staring into the blue gem.
"They're important to me! ...If only you knew..." Sianna perked up, as she heard something race across the grass at incredible speeds. A bright blue blur flashed right in front of Sianna's face and, out of instinct, drew her katana. She recognized the blue flash and smiled slightly.

Sianna 'perking up' after Kitty's words kind of make it look like she said it, not Kitty... Oh and it's not spellchecked. Bear with us x.x

[Tara]

Burning Chaos

"It's not meant to be like this, not what I planned at all. I don't want to feel like this, so that makes it all...your fault..." ~'The Walk' by Imogen Heap

---Chapter One---

The sun reflected off the purple highlights of the cat's hair. She frowned, clambering further into the shade. She hated the hot weather. That against her black wings was such a bitch. It burned like wearing black on a 100 degree day. She took the chance to slump down against the brick wall, curling her tail around her legs as she did.
"Man, I wish I didn't have dark brown fur." She complained to herself. She looked down at the glittering blue jewel in her paw-like hands and smiled slightly. "At least I have you, my lovely." She spoke to it lovingly. As if she needed to to survive. The Chaos Emerald; her powerful addiction. She was a professional treasure hunter really, she went after the precious gems for a living. She needed their power like a drug. She was addicted to them. Sianna smiled as she basked in the radiant glow of the sun.
"Why must you carry that around with you everywhere? You don't even know how to use it." Sianna asked.
"Does it matter?" she replied, trying to stay cool by fanning herself lightly with her wings. "I got it and that's all that matters! ...My lovely Chaos Emerald!" Sianna sighed. She continued to absorb the heat the sun let off.
"I love days like this..." Sianna said softly as she relaxed.
"It's too hot...of course...You've got lighter fur than I do." Kitty complained. Sianna smiled slightly at her friend's discomfort. Just then, she heard a rustle in the grass. Sianna pricked her ears and sat up.
"Who's there?" She asked sharply, drawing her katana. Kitty stood up, her claws unsheathing on both her hands and her feet. She tucked the emerald away carefully. A small mouse skittered up to Sianna's feet, it's tiny toes scratching against the dry grass. She smiled, laughing at her silly mistake. "It's just a mouse." She said, smiling. Kitty hissed at the mouse. "Where there's one there's always more...and something bigger that normally preys on them...And this one's running from something."
Sianna looked over at Kitty from the corner of her black eyes. "Come on. Time to get moving." She got up, and put her sword back into it's hilt. Kitty seemed slightly grateful that they would be moving. She kept her claws unsheathed though. She seemed tense about this.
"The sooner we're somewhere cooler the better...It's far too hot here." They started on their way, through the grass where the mouse was. Another one ran across the grass path they had made, followed by two more. "We're getting close." Kitty frowned. One hand instinctively went to the Chaos Emerald in her pocket, her fingers brushing the cool surface of the gem. "I don't like this place..." Sianna smirked.
"I've seen worse." Sianna stumbled over a large red ball, which exploded to reveal Knuckles the Echidna. Sianna, out of instinct, drew her sword and pointed it at Knuckles. Once she realized it was him, she put it away. Knuckles stared at her like she had just grown a second head. "Hello Knuckles." She said bitterly. "Fancy meeting you here. You weren't spying on us by any chance, were you?" She asked.
"Uh, no..." Knuckles said, stammering. "Not at all!" Sianna looked at him with an unbelieving look in her eyes.
"No, really. What were you doing here?" She said harshly. Knuckles looked nervously around him, looking for an excuse to change the subject.
"Hey, who's your friend?" He said, looking at Kitty with a curious and worried look.
"This is Kitty." Sianna said. "Hey, Kitty. Are you alright?" Sianna asked worriedly. Kitty mumbled something and then looked at Sianna.
"Yeah...I'm fine. But would you mind telling me who the hell this is?" Sianna was a little curious as to why Kitty didn't know Knuckles.
"This is Knuckles the Echidna. He's the Guardian of the Master Emerald." Sianna said.
"Nice to meet you." He held out his hand for a handshake. She shook his hand nervously, sheathing the claws in that hand to avoid digging them into the red Echidna's hand. Her other hand remained on the surface of the Chaos Emerald in her pocket. It relaxed her slightly.
"So..." Knuckles asked nervously. He noticed the brown cat's hand in her pocket, touching something. "Whatcha got there, Kitty?" He asked suspiciously. Kitty tensed up at that. Her hand gripped tight around the blue emerald in her pocket.
"Mine." she stated, narrow eyed. Sianna looked up at Knuckles, laughing slightly.
"She's a tad overprotective of her Chaos Emerald." Knuckles laughed at Sianna's remark. Kitty sighed, pulling out the blue emerald.
"I don't want anybody taking it." she replied simply, staring into the shinging blue surface. "Even though I don't know how to use it, I want it." Knuckles smirked.
"They really aren't that valuable." He said. Sianna nodded in agreement. Kitty glared at him, staring into the blue gem.
"They're important to me! ...If only you knew..." Sianna perked up, as she heard something race across the grass at incredible speeds. A bright blue blur flashed right in front of Sianna's face and, out of instinct, drew her katana. She recognized the blue flash and smiled slightly.
"Sonic..." she murmured. She quickly attempted to run towards the blur. The team of three sped off in the direction of the blur, and saw Sonic standing on the edge of a cliff, looking out towards a small, bright red spot in the mountains. She muttered something else and then looked at Sonic. "Long time no see." she said in a serious tone.
Sianna stared down at the red spot, wondering what it was. Kitty snapped her trance, and looked up at Sonic. "Hey. What's going on?" She said with a panic in her voice. Kitty frowned at Sianna.
"H...he's back...He shouldn't be back...but he is..."
"Who's back?" Sianna said, worried. Knuckles, panting, climbed up to the tip of the cliff where they were. Kitty looked at Sonic. "Did you sense that he was coming?"
"Yeah." Sonic said. "I...just had this weird feeling..." Sonic said to himself and he trailed off.
"What?!? Who's here???" Sianna said harshly.
"My...my Brother....He shouldn't be back and he is...I can tell." Kitty rasped. Her voice had suddenly tried to fail as she talked. Her paw tightened around the emerald, her claws coming out in a protective manner.
"Who's your brother?" Sianna asked sternly. Knuckles stood up behind them, breathing deeply.
"Man! You girls run fast!" He through breaths. He said everyone looking serious. "Did I miss something?" He asked.
"Issil's back." Kitty stated, her voice all but gone. She was speaking in little more than a whisper now.
"Issil...that name..." said Sianna in a whisper. "That name....sounds so familiar..."
"When we were younger I prayed he wouldn't turn..but I could sense the emeralds corrupting him...He took their power. And this one is the key...I killed him to avoid his return, but he's used the power of the emeralds that he has absorbed to come back..." Sianna looked down at the spot. It had grown significantly in size since she first saw it. She sighed.
"He'll want to take it from you. We need to find somewhere safe to stay for the time being until we can devise a plan." She said, and she started to walk down the hill. Kitty nodded and started to follow. The blue emerald suddenly flared bright and she yelped, dropping the white hot emerald. It rolled down the hill and stopped at Sianna's heels. Kitty screamed again and collapsed to her knees, unable to move now. She looked like she was going to be sick. Sianna continued on her way, deep in thought. Sonic and Knuckles stopped to help her, ignoring Sianna's insolence.
"Are you alright!?" said Sonic, startled by what happened. She was dizzy now and she ended up slumping forward. Her arms clamped around her stomach and she yelled in pain again as she winced. Her agony seemed to have had no starter...yet it was almost too obvious what had begun it. Kitty's screams took Sianna out of her trance, and she noticed her friend was in trouble. She rushed over to her as fast as she could, and stooped down to help her friend.
"What's wrong?!?" Sianna panicked. Sianna panicked, and hastily looked around for a cure. "What's going on?" She looked worriedly up at Sonic, hoping he had an answer. Kitty was in worse and worse pain every second. Her wings even had started to twitch violently so if anybody got close they would get hit by them. The team backed up to avoid the flailing wings. Sianna perked up. "I have an idea." She announced and ran down the hill. She snatched the glowing emerald and raced up the hill, ignoring the powerful burning. She panted, and flung it off the cliff, toward the red spot, which had grown so much, that it nearly took up all of the mountainous area. Kitty fell backwards at that, barely conscious. Her pain had stopped, but her wings still twitched slightly until they finally folded in front of her like a shield. Sonic looked at Sianna worriedly.
"You just gave him what he wants." Sianna stared at Sonic curiously. His eyes were filled with panic.
"W-w-what do you mean?" Sianna stuttered. She flinched. Fear wasn't normal to her, and she didn't know how to make the feeling go away. Sonic frowned.
"Issil...he wants the blue emerald...It's all he needs to complete himself...And you just practically handed it over." Sianna's stomach lurched heavily.
"I-I-I...didn't know..." She sighed. She walked over to where Kitty lay, tending to her friend. There was a silence between the four of them. Knuckles looked out over the cliff. The red had disappeared.
"Hey, you guys need to see this!" Said Knuckles excitedly. Sonic stood up and walked over to where Knuckles was. Sonic walked over calmly but tensed up when he saw that the light was gone.
"And so it begins..." Said Sonic, under his breath. Sianna perked up, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach. She got up, and saw the light were gone.
"...What have I done...?" She asked herself, in a raspy whisper.
"Nothing that wouldn't have happened in one way or another eventually." Sonic answered. He glanced back at Kitty. "We need to get her somewhere safer...She's the first one he will try to kill." Sianna calmed down, and brought herself back to sanity.
"Come on, I saw a cave on the way up here, we can hide in there for tonight." She looked at the sun, starting to set, and she started walking down the hill. She stopped only to pick up an exhausted Kitty, and the team set off.
"Not a single place is really safe now...all we can do is hope that hiding buys us some time in this game of cat and mouse. Or rather...cat and cat." Stated Knuckles.
"You're right." said Sianna sighing. "We need to devise a plan." she told Knuckles as they walked. Sonic seemed lost in thought for a moment himself. He was usually the one who could invent a plan pretty quickly...And besides Kitty, he was the one who knew the most about Issil and the abilities he possessed. Sianna purred as they settled down in the cramped cave she discovered. She lay Kitty down gently on the cavern floor, and she started to panic. "H-h-how will we defeat Iss-s-sil without the one who kn-n-nows his p-p-powers?" Sianna stammered. Sonic sighed.
"I know enough about him to be able to help us come up with a decent plan...But that was before he died. He can only have gotten stronger. So until I can see him myself I don't know what he's capable of. We need to approach this with caution."
"And he has the 7th emerald." Sianna added, then trailed off into whispers. "Because of my reckless actions." She whispered sharply. She returned to the conversation. "My friend can help. Her name is Stacey Foxx. She has Chaos powers, and I feel she could be of great help to us."
"I can use the Master Emerald to our advantage." Knuckles chimed in. Sianna nodded.
"Now, I'm unsure of where Stacey is, but me and her have a telepathic link, I can talk to her that way." She sighed. "And we need to find a way to wake up Kitty..." Her voice trailed off.
"We need that Emerald back...Issil has influence on her, even without it. The emerald...any emerald would do in fact...is what keeps the energy sort of balanced. But now what Kitty doesn't have one, Issil has her at his disposal." Sonic replied. Sianna stirred slightly.
"What if we took her to the Master Emerald?" she said to Sonic. Knuckles perked up.
"That might work...We need to get her near any emerald at all really." Sonic said. Sianna looked at Knuckles, with a twinkle of hope in her eyes.
"I don't know, if Issil knows where Kitty is at all times, wouldn't we be just leading him to it?" Knuckles asked, worried about his Emerald. "I don't want it falling into the wrong hands..."
"Well, we need to get to to any emerald, it doesn't have to be the Master Emerald...But if we don't get her to one soon she'll be out cold for a long time and only Issil can wake her up...She'll pretty much be his slave." Sianna sighed.
"I think the Master Emerald is our best bet. Issil has the others. And, if he's as bad as she says it is, then we won't be able to just take them from him." She stated. Sonic nodded.
"And the closer we are to the Master Emerald, the more we can be definately sure we can protect it...We'll be able to see him coming."
"Sonic, do you think you can Chaos Control all of us to Angel Island?" Sianna asked, hopefully. Sonic nodded.
"I can. But there might be some problems...With Issil interfering with Kitty if I try to bring her I'll be exhausted afterward. You guys will be on your own to defend if Issil comes."
"We can't have anyone being exhausted. We need to have as much strength as possible. We'll never know when or how he'll attack." Sianna panicked slightly. Sonic shook his head.
"We'll have to, though. Kitty will be almost back to normal pretty quickly once she's exposed to an emerald...so you should be able to handle it. Hopefully it won't take me long to recover." Sianna sighed.
"I know I'm going to regret this, but we have to." Sianna scooped up Kitty and the team set off. They stepped outside the cave, where Sonic began to charge his energy.
"Chaos Control!" He yelled. Everyone put a hand on Sonic, and a blinding flash of light carried them off to Angel Island.

[Tara]

------CHAPTER TWO----

Once they were at the Master Emerald, Sonic looked over. "Is Kitty waking up yet?" he asked, panting. He seemed pretty exhausted. Sianna looked down at Kitty, She was coming back into consciousness, just as fast as Sonic was fading away. She set Kitty down, and left to take care of Sonic. Knuckles sighed a breath of relief, to see that the Master Emerald was still okay. Kitty let out a small groan as she folded her wings into a much more comfortable position than the odd angle they'd been at.
"Wh...What the hell happened?" she stammered. Sianna heard her friend speak, and looked over her shoulder at Kitty, just barely standing.
"Issil was hurting you through the emerald, so I..." Her voice trailed off. Kitty's hand went to where the emerald would have been if it were in her pocket still. She just closed her eyes and then gave Sianna an understanding look.
"You saw it was hurting me and got rid of it." Sianna sighed.
"I feel awful, Kitty." She said, fighting back tears. She shook it off, the metal that decorated her body clanked lightly together, making a pretty wind chime noise, and she stood up.
"Well, we're here." she said, sternly. "Now what? Kitty's awake, and Sonic's gone." Kitty got up shakily.
"I'll be alright...and since Sonic is a hedgehog and near the Master Emerald I think he'll be alright pretty quickly too. He just needs time to rest...
As for feeling sorry, it's alright. You did what you thought was best, Sianna. It may have knocked me out, but it DID stop Issil from hurting me....For a short while anyway." Sianna smiled at her friend, happy she was so understanding.
"Knuckles, is there anywhere we can rest for tonight?" Knuckles nodded silently.
"Follow me." He said, starting off into the forest. Sianna stopped to pick up Sonic, and the team started off again. Kitty was pretty much back to her old self. Though she kept twitching her tail and wings nervously, almost like somebody was poking her. Sianna noticed Kitty's twitching, but decided it was nothing. Knuckles stopped suddenly, a little nervous to be leaving his emerald, and sat under a large tree, large enough for all of them to sit comfortably under.
"This looks comfortable." said Sianna happily, enjoying her surroundings. She was a wanderer, and was happy to sleep under a tree again. Kitty on the other hand, was not really one for the ground. She sighed, but would deal with it. As she sat down, however, she found it a shaky process. She ended up nearly hitting into the tree. Sianna whipped her head over at Kitty. "Are you okay? You've been twitching, and now you can't sit down!" She said worriedly.
"I'll be fine...Just an after effect. My body's trying to cancel out Issil's energy and powers. It's taking a lot of time. Think of it as simple recovery."
"Well, he did get you pretty bad..." Sianna said, before shuffling down on the ground, with her long tail covering her face. She snuggled down in between two tree roots, using one of them as a makeshift pillow. "Good night..."she said drowsily. Kitty got down on the ground near the tree stump after a while and wrapped her wings comfortably around herself, along with her tail. But while the others slept, she was plauged with dreams. Her brother was in each and every single one, cackling evilly and telling her to come find him.

---

Morning finally came, and Sianna was the first to rise. She got up, being careful her armor didn't make any sounds. She left to explore to forest and to hunt. After she left, Knuckles got up, and inspected everyone, making sure they were okay. Knowing Sianna had left to hunt, he left to check on the Master Emerald. He got there, to see a beautiful sunrise, reflecting across the surface of the giant gem, flashing brilliant colours. Kitty soon woke, in a cold sweat, screaming.
"NO!" She was heavily breathing for a bit until he calmed back down. "....Only a dream...Oh thank god...Only a dream..." Knuckles heard her scream, and went back to the tree.
"Woah, Kitty, you look awful." He said. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" she asked, panicked. She jumped almost three feet high. She landed on her feet, as most cats do. "Oh? Umm...yeah...I um...I just had a bad dream or two is all." Knuckles yearned to get back to his emerald.
"It's okay. You're safe here." He said reassuringly, and he walked back to the emerald, leaving Kitty with a subconscious Sonic, and her thoughts. Kitty sighed. Her wings were still twitching an a quite annoying way.
"...Issil..." she muttered to herself. Sianna came back, with a few squirrels and Flickies in her arms, satisfied from her hunt. She saw Kitty, still lying against the tree, shaking.
"Hey, are you alright?" She asked. "I had a few bad dreams...All had Issil in them...I don' t think it was a coincidence." Sianna sighed, and flicked her tail.
"I'm sorry, there's not much I can do. I'm going to start a fire." She started off in the direction of Knuckles. "Stacey might be able to help, though..." She said. Kitty shivered a bit and then nodded.
"Alright..." But once the fire was lit, she turned almost trance-like as she stared into the flames. "Issil!" she muttered again. The name came out venomous.
"Hmm?" Sianna hummed, looking over at Kitty. She looked back at the fire, as she began to cook her catches. "She's been acting really strange lately, hasn't she?" Sianna asked Knuckles, who was helping her light the fire. "It's starting to scare me a little. I don't want my friend getting hurt..." She sighed. Knuckles looked up at her, his purple eyes comforting her.
"We're on a floating island, without any method of being reached, except for Chaos Control. We're safe here." He said, with a tough, but reassuring voice. She kept staring into the flames. Her words, or Issil's name really, got a little louder, a little more hateful.
"Issil..." Sianna looked over her shoulder again.
"Kitty...is something bothering you?" She remained in her trance. Her lips suddenly stopped moving, she stopped saying anything. She just stared into the fire. Her eyes went the same color as the fire for a moment...The flames seemed to make Issil's control stronger. Sianna slowly drew her katana, and slashed at a nearby tree, knocking to over, so the fluffy branches shielded the flame from Kitty's sight. Sianna silently put her katana back in it's sheath, and continued to cook. Kitty instantly snapped out of it.
"Wha-?!?" Just as Kitty snapped out of her trance, Sonic sat up, rubbing his head. He sniffed the air, happy he was smelling meat. Being chili-dog deprived for so long made the smell all the sweeter. He quickly sat up and continued to smell the air. He smiled, and he looked over at Kitty, taking him out of his chili-dog trance. He shuffled over to her.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked. "You look pale." She shook her head. She not only looked pale at the moment, but like she was going to throw up or something.
"The dreams keep getting worse, Sonic. Like last time...And the fire. Remember? That's Issil's element..." Sonic sighed.
"Yeah. I know." He put his arm around her shoulder. "It'll be fine. We have a plan, and after we eat, we're gonna put it into action." He said, happy that Kitty was okay. Kitty shook her head, hands clenching in her long hair.
"No...no...NO! Damn it! Sonic...Being near the Master Emerald is keeping him out...But it's keeping him in too! I...Am I going mad...?"
"I don't think that's possible..." said Sonic, upset. He bent down to hug her. He got up, testing his legs, and walked over to the source of the smell that had been bugging him for so long. She sighed, getting up in her shaky way to follow him. She sort of hoped that she wouldn't see the fire again.
"Sianna?" she called. Sianna looked up at Kitty, with worry in her usually emotionless, black eyes.
"Yes?" She walked over to her friend and gave her a hug before stepping back with a smile.
"Thank you." Sianna was a little startled about what had just happened, but she recovered, and joined the team around the Master Emerald for a meeting. Kitty stood closest to the Emerald. It was a precaution, really. The closer she was to an emerald, the less Issil could control her...Or so it seemed anyway. There was no way of knowing how well it was working, or what exactly this was doing to Kitty's body and mind. The team began to eat the food Sianna had prepared.
"Sianna, do you think you can call Stacey now?" Knuckles asked. Sianna nodded, and focused her energy on Stacey.
[Stacey? We need you at Angel Island. Can you get here?] Sianna's thought's echoed in her head, as she waited for a reply.
[Sure! I can Chaos Control there!] Stacey thought chirpily, happy to hear from Sianna again. But little could any of them know, there was another person listening to the relaying of the messages. Through Kitty, Issil could hear...and through her he could make his move. It was all a matter of time. Just then, there was a bright flash of light from behind Sianna, and a gold fox stepped out of the beam. Her hair spikes ruffled in the wind the blast made, and the armor that decorated her arms shook. She flicked her tail happily as the beam disappeared. She waved with her right arm, revealing the bright red emerald in her palm.
"Hi-ah!" She said, smiling proudly at the team. Kitty smiled.
"Hi." she said to the golden fox. Deep inside she felt a sort of burning in her heart...Issil was becoming more active. Though the Master Emerald's energy nearly canceled him out, he would still be able to execute his plan. How little Kitty could have possibly known. She smiled happily at the strange dragon-cat.
"Hello!" She walked over to where Sianna stood, and Sianna introduces her.
"Everyone, this is Stacey Foxx. I feel she would be a good asset to our team. She can use Chaos Control, as well as a wide array of other powers. Although she doesn't seem like it, she is psychic, and can control others temporarily, use telekinesis, and can talk to others through the mind."
"Through the mind?" Kitty asked, rather amazed at that. Though it was Issil's turn to speak soon...
While Kitty did not possess anything like telekinesis...her brother did. Stacey panned the emerald, with a ring of people she knew around it. When her eyes got to Kitty, her stomach ached.
[She has a strange aura...A bad one.] She thought to Sianna. Sianna didn't reply. Stacey found an opening around the emerald, in between Kitty and Sianna. Kitty smiled again, and then looked to Sianna.
"Alright...so fill me in on what I missed while I was out? Sianna says you guys have a plan?" While she spoke, a small mental signal went from Kitty to Stacey...It was not her. Stacey slapped her head, like she was stung by a small bug. She came back to her senses, and remained quiet. Sianna looked at Kitty.
"We made a plan that we would make Stacey a member of our team, and we would combine our individual powers together to stop Issil." She explained. "Knuckles has the Master Emerald's power, both you and Sonic can use Chaos Control, you have knowledge of Issil's weak points, and I..." She paused. "Have my katana. it might not seem like much, but it's custom made, for me." Kitty nodded.
"Makes sense...but I think I should remind you of this. Issil is not the same as when I killed him all those years ago. He is stronger...And I don't know a thing about what he will be able to do. I'll still have some knowledge of him though that I suppose we can use." She twitched her wings again as she said Issil's name. The dark mental signal reached Stacey quickly and started to fuse itself into her mind....Issil was finally making whatever move he had planned. Stacey blinked, revealing pure white pupils, but disappeared as she blinked again, the poison disguising itself behind her normally brown eyes. Kitty glanced over at Stacey.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Hmm?" She looked over at Kitty. "Oh, nothing." She said sternly, her playful behavior gone. She eyed the emerald suspiciously.
"Are you sure?" Kitty asked, concerned. She seemed to feel a slight movement from Issil in her mind, but couldn't tell what had happened at all.
"Yeah. It's fine." She said harshly, losing her temper. This was so out of character, that it startled even Sianna to hear her tone drop so low. Sianna smacked the Emerald with such force, it seemed to have shaken the island.
"There is a crazed bloodthirsty demon invading Mobius. Does anyone have any ideas?!?" Sianna screamed. Kitty lowered her gaze.
"I could always go to him..." Sianna looked over at Kitty.
"He's obviously coming for you. Are we going to give up that easily?" She said to Kitty, her voice had dropped dramatically from her scream. Kitty frowned.
"Well in any case... We're going to have to either defend or attack. Which do you think we've got the advantage in?" Sianna sighed.
"You're right." There was a long pause between the team when Stacey spoke up, breaking the silence.
"I will escort her to Issil. I know where his lair is." She said blankly. Sianna looked over at Sianna. She could feel Stacey's aura. It was so dark, it almost hurt Sianna to be looking at her. Sianna didn't trust her anymore, but she knew she had no other choice.
"Alright Stacey. Knuckles, you will go with them as well, just in case." Kitty nodded.
"Sonic will stay here with you, Sianna. You two will be our backup. Be rested and ready. Once I am near Issil there could be a violent reaction... Be ready to fight." Sianna nodded, and she and Sonic left the circle around the Emerald. Sianna ran into the forest, and found a large rock, where she began sharpening her katana. Sonic soon found her and joined her.
"Hey. You're nervous about Issil, aren't you?" He asked Sianna. She stopped banging and sighed.
"Yes. Kitty makes him sound tough, Sonic. And..." Her voice trailed off and she bowed her head regretfully. Sonic stepped over and gave her an affectionate hug. It startled her, for she had never had anyone hug her like this. Kitty bit her lip with her dragon fangs and then folded her wings in a nervous manner.
"This won't be fun..." She then glanced down at her claws, her only weapon. They wouldn't do a thing against Issil. She felt helpless. The next morning, Sianna had rested well, and she walked up to the Emerald with pride. She held a magnificent scimitar in her hands. It looked brand new, and as if she had made it last night. The small gems that were embedded shone in the midday sun. She met up with Kitty and handed her the brilliantly gleaming weapon.
"This is for you." She said, bowing her head. Kitty's eyes widened at the weapon.
"Did...did you make this for me?" Sianna nodded.
"I knew your claws were your only defense, so I made this." She took the sword, testing its balance and strike. She then hugged Sianna.
"Thank you! It's amazing..." She hugged Kitty back.
"I believe in you." She said, hopelessly fighting back tears.
"Let's hope belief is enough... Because otherwise I might not be coming back from this one."
"You'll be fine." Sianna flashed her friend a gentle smile, showing trust. She released her friend and looked down at the floor in a worried manner.
"I'm not so sure."
"If you don't believe in yourself, then we may as well let him take over Mobius. You need to at least try." Said Sianna reassuringly.
"I believe in myself... I may be a cat, but I've got the strength of a tiger and the heart of a dragon. The only road block is... So does Issil."
"But Issil doesn't have friends." Sianna grinned.
"He used to... Long ago." Kitty admitted.
"Ah, but that was in the past. The past cannot be changed."
"And the future's a haze... Which we have to clear a path through. I think we should make our move before he finds out."
"Agreed. gather your 'troops' and move out." Sianna instructed. Stacey stood beside Kitty, who in turn, stood beside Knuckles. Sianna began giving orders, but Stacey ignored her. Kitty sighed. She wasn't looking forward to this. But she felt more confident with the sword. Sianna turned to Kitty.
"Kitty, will you be okay away from the Emerald?"
"Honestly... I don't know. We can only hope so. Though Issil will definately be able to hurt me if he feels like it when I'm away from it."
"Well, you're fully recovered now, so you should last a while, but that energy may begin to dwindle." She looked at the sword in her hand, examining it for a moment.
"Hey, Sianna? I've got a question... this thing has jewels in it, right?"
"Yes. I found a cave with small gem sediments in it."
"What if I tried to put some of the Chaos Emeralds' power into them? Would it work?" Sianna thought for a moment.
"It could work...but I'm not sure..." She took the sword, and concentrated for a minute. The Master Emerald and the small gems in the sword began to glow for a minute. Stacey, off in the corner, grinned evilly as she watched the gems glow radiantly. The gems stopped glowing, and she handed the sword off to Kitty. "I think it worked. Try it." Kitty tested it out and smiled slightly.
"Perfect-o." She looked into the gems for a moment. Sianna smiled, happy that it worked. It drained a lot of her energy doing that, but that meant she wouldn't have to do it again.
"Okay, is everyone ready?" Kitty nodded.
"As ready as I possibly can be considering what we're about to go do." Knuckles nodded. Stacey nodded as well, with a look of evil in her brown eyes.
[The gems have Chaos power in them. Issil will be pleased.] She thought to herself. Kitty sighed, giving Sonic and Sianna one final hug before they left. "Wish us luck." Sianna nodded, and hugged her back.
"Good luck." Sianna whispered in her friend's ear. She let go of Kitty and turned to Sonic. "Sonic, can you do the honors?" Sonic flashed her a huge smile, showing Sianna he was ready.
"Chaos Control!" He yelled, teleporting the team off.

[Tara]

----Chapter Three----

Kitty, after the teleport, looked over at Knuckles.
"Alright... Stacey, you said you know the way, right?" Stacey turned to Kitty with a blank expression.
"Yes. This way." She said loosely, almost as though she was in a trance. She began to walk forward, and Knuckles soon followed her. Kitty followed nervously. She glanced over at Knuckles, a worried look on her face. She was getting an odd feeling about Stacey.
"Hey Kitty. You okay?" Knuckles asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Y...yeah." she lied with a stammering voice. She had a gut feeling that she shouldn't trust Stacey... but she had to. Several hours passed. Knuckles was so tired of walking through the mountains he was about to fall over, but Stacey pressed on, like she was being told to. Kitty also seemed tired. She nearly fell to her knees at one point.
"Stacey... We need to rest." she commented. Stacey turned around, staring at them through the corner of her eyes. She sighed. She was being told, more or less forced to continue, but she knew that in order to keep her cover, she would have to rest. She sat down along a mountain ledge, and sighed hard, almost like a groan. Kitty flopped down, wrapping her wings around herself. "It's cold up here." she commented absently. Knuckles began to shiver.
"I agree. The air is bitter, and it smells like blood." Stacey wrapped her tail around her legs and smelled the air.
"We're getting close." Stacey said harshly.
"Unfortunately or fortunately." Kitty sighed. "I am fortune's fool..." Knuckles looked over at her. "You'll be fine." Just then, Stacey clutched her head, and let out a blood curdling scream, fangs flashing.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!" She wailed. Her tail thrashed furiously and she screamed, scaring Knuckles. All of a sudden, she stopped screaming, and fainted. Kitty rushed over, putting a hand on Stacey to check for a pulse and vital signs.
"She's still alive... But what the hell just happened? I can sense Issil, but the whole place screams him anyway." Knuckles stared into oblivion, and fell over due to fear. He shook it off after a few seconds and stood up.
"I don't know, but that scared me half to death!" He stepped over to Stacey, and tried to shake her awake. Kitty winced.
"I don't think shaking her is going to work...but don't worry. She's still alive. Besides, this means we can rest without her bothering us to keep moving. She'll wake up. And once we've got our energy back we'll be better off in case we need to fight." Knuckles put his spiked arms down.
"I hope she wakes up. That was too random to be anything to not worry about." He fell over against the wall, and almost immediately fell asleep. Kitty nodded, but went to sleep anyway. She curled her wings and tail around herself and yawned before falling asleep.

---

The next day, Stacey woke up. She rubbed her head, and groaned. "W-what happened? Wow, this is one massive hangover. How long did I party last night?" She said weakly, feeling nauseous. Kitty was still asleep. She had, again, been tossing and turning in her rest.
"Issil..." she murmured. Stacey looked over at Kitty, and tried to wake her up. It was no good. She looked over at Knuckles.
"Is she okay?" He snickered slightly.
"She's fine, just asleep. The question is, are you okay?" Knuckles asked, nervous.
"What do you mean?" Stacey replied.
"Well, after leading us like a drill sergeant, you sat down here and started screaming." Said Knuckles casually. Stacey was shocked to hear this news. Kitty kept unfolding her wings in her sleep and then refolding them, making the sound of jiggling metal as the small golden rings she had on them hit the ground repeatedly. Stacey's sharp hearing heard the jingling metal, and it calmed her.
"Should we wake her?" asked Stacey quietly to Knuckles.
"I wouldn't. We need as much rest as we can get. Especially you." Knuckles replied, hasty to get back to sleep. Kitty was close to screaming in her sleep now, she kept on looking as distressed as usual when she slept.
"Issil..." she kept calling. Stacey panicked a little.
"Okay, now I think we should wake her up." She told Knuckles, who was half conscious.
"Mmf." He said, rolling over. Stacey grabbed her by the shoulders, but as soon as she did that, she knew that probably wasn't smart. She continued to shake her anyway. She shook her back and forth really hard.
"Kitty! Wake up!" She screamed at her. Her eyes snapped open, her claws coming out and swiping at Stacey's face out of pure reaction. She was breathing heavily, trying to calm down.
"What?!?" Stacey leaped back just quickly enough to avoid most of the scratch, but her claws scraped her nose, and all the way down her cheek, leaving a bleeding scar.
"You were screaming in your sleep." Stacey said, lightly touching her wound, blood dripping on the metal that covered her hand. Kitty looked at the blood on her claws and winced.
"I'm sorry... Did I wake you both up?" Stacey nodded.
"Knuckles went back to sleep. You scared me." said Stacey nervously. Although she was a terrific fighter, she was very fragile.
"I'm sorry." she apologized again. She stared at the blood on her claws for a moment and then looked at Stacey. "Did I hurt you badly?"
Stacey bowed her head slightly. "No, I'll be fine. It's not that deep." She shrugged. "Besides, I heal pretty quickly."
"I didn't mean to scratch you..." she winced.
"It's okay. I startled you." Stacey smiled. "I'm sorry for waking you. I...just felt like I had to." Kitty nodded.
"Well thanks... I was having the worst nightmare ever." Stacey smiled, happy that she could help out.
"Should we wake Knuckles?" Just as she asked that, Knuckles rolled over onto his back.
"Mmmf." He moaned.
"Nah... let him sleep. He'll only complain if we do." Stacey laughed a little.
"Yeah, you're right. Should we go prepare breakfast? We need to eat, and I'm hungry."
"Might as well... In any case if he wakes up to food he might not complain about being woken." she laughed. Stacey laughed as well. She sniffed the air.
"I smell some Flickies. Can you prepare a fire?" She asked. Kitty nodded. "If you have matches or something than sure."
"I think I can make sparks by banging my metal together. I don't know if I can, but I'll try. Can you get the Flickies?" She asked, as she began making a fire pit.
"Nah, I can do the fire. Don't worry about it." Kitty assured her. She picked up some stones and helped with the fire ring. Once the fire pit was built, Stacey stood away from Kitty, and concentrated. Her metallic arms shifted, and giant blades shot out. She leaped onto the wall of the cliff, and began to rapidly climb. Kitty started searching for a flint rock and firewood. A few minutes later, Stacey jumped down beside the fire pit, with several Flickies in many different colours tightly clumped together in her arms, mainly consisting of blue ones. She set them down in a small pile. She turned to Kitty.
"I feel guilty now." She said, smiling. "I hate to kill for no purpose."
"It's alright." She laughed. She sighed. "Still looking for a way to light a-" She was cut off by a dark sounding voice.
"Fire?"
Stacey whipped her head around to see a large cat, bearing a slight resemblance to Kitty. Kitty tensed up as the white cat stepped forward. His dragon wings were open and in a threatening position. His hands had their claws unsheathed and two fireballs forming in them, one per hand. On his back was a large staff that had a torch on either end. Both ends were unlit. His orange vest and dark clothes set off his eyes which started to dance with fire.
"Kitty... It's been a long time." Stacey's silver metal reflected the orange glow of the fire, and she extended her blades. She stepped into a war pose, ready to fight.
"Back off, Issil." She said disgusted with his mere appearance. "Or you'll have to deal with me." He smirked, using the mental link he now had on Stacey.
"I already dealt with you!" As her brother stepped closer, Kitty started to feel his aura sapping her strength. Stacey strained to hold her position, but fell, her energy drained. She coughed, fire smoke filling her lungs. Issil smirked, walking forward still. Where his feet fell, the ground burned. It turned black and charred as if an entire forest fire had occurred. Stacey fainted, and Knuckles, smelling the smoke, instantly woke up. He leaped to Kitty's side to protect her. Kitty had fallen to her knees. She hadn't drawn on the power of the gems in the sword just yet.
"Knuckles! Be careful!" Knuckles spotted Stacey lying in the corner.
"Stacey! Get up!" He screamed. Obeying his wishes, Stacey strained to get up, but Issil seemed to had poisoned her through her mind. Her muscles refused to work, and she fell to the ground again. "STACEY!!" He screamed, and he raised his spiked fists. "This is gonna be one hell of a fight." He said to himself. Kitty closed her eyes for a moment and then tightened her grip on the sword.
"Chaos Control!" They each glowed their color and Kitty drew on their energy. She stood back up, her strength returned. Knuckles turned to Kitty. "Welcome back." He said with sarcasm. Kitty nodded. She spread her dragon wings, mimicking her brother's position.
"Fight me, Issil." she demanded with narrowed eyes. Issil smirked.
"Not just now, sister. I am here for one thing." Knuckles was shocked at Issil's refusing to fight.
"Whatever it is, you can't have it!" Knuckles stated harshly. Issil smirked.
"But you've already given it to me." He reached into a pocket and flourished Kitty's Chaos Emerald. He then smirked. "And you've even completed the next part I wanted..." He held the emerald and it shot a blast of energy at Kitty. She screamed and fell to her knees again. She dropped the sword and the power infused in the gems was taken away. "Energy from the Master Emerald." Knuckles snarled, enraged that he would dare to steal the Master Emerald's power. He lunged for Issil hoping to grab the emerald from his hands. Issil smirked.
"Goodbye Echidna, Knuckles. I shall see you all again." He then disappeared in a burst of flames, leaving only charred ground behind. Knuckles smacked his face on the ground, falling empty-handed. He got up, brushing himself off. He walked over to Kitty, who was passed out on the ground. Kitty's hand had a burn on it that looked like the shapes of the gems that she'd touched on the sword. Knuckles gently examined her hand, and bowed his head slightly. He then left to check on Stacey. Outside she had nothing but dirt in her fur, but inside, her mind was scarred deep.
"I'll get you Issil." He murmured to himself.

[Tara]

---Chapter Four----

Kitty struggled to get to her feet. She was shaking severely now.
"Stupid..." Stacey hadn't gotten up yet, but she was breathing sharply. Kitty looked at Knuckles.
"Mind helping me up?" Knuckles bent down and grabbed Kitty's hand, helping her gently up. Kitty thanked him and then glanced back at Stacey. "We should help her up." Stacey began to whimper and screech a little.
"Yeah, I think so too." said Knuckles. Kitty stumbled over to her and tried to pick up Stacey.
"I'm too weak." she muttered. Knuckles bent down and shook her gently. Stacey hoarsely screamed, and continued hyperventilating.
"I think she needs to be left alone to recuperate. She can heal rather quickly." Said Knuckles reassuringly. Kitty winced. She looked over at the gems on her fallen sword.
"The gems have lost their luster...' Knuckles sighed regretfully and shook his head.
"They don't have any more power."
"Damn him to the deepest corner of hell." Kitty spat. Knuckles snarled.
"Come on, Stacey, wake up." She continued to spasm and wheeze on the ground, like she was hopelessly fighting a battle, and losing. Kitty, being this close to Stacey, sensed Issil's presence. She, without the power of the Chaos Emeralds in her sword, was now highly affected by it. She gripped at the sides of her head and winced.
"Damn damn damn!" Knuckles angrily punched the wall, tumbling rocks over. One landed right beside Stacey's head and it startled her, bringing her out of her evil trance. Her tail fur prickled and she leaped in the air. She landed on her feet gracefully, but fumbled a little. She unsheathed her blades, preparing for an attack. Kitty fell to her knees again.
"Damn. Damn. Damn! Make it stop! Please make it stop!" Knuckles turned around to see Kitty now having a little spasm on the ground.
"Now what?!" He announced angrily. Realizing it was nothing, Stacey withdrew her shining blades, and walked over to Kitty and gently touched her back. Kitty jumped at that out of pure reaction. She still clutched her head and shook it, trying to get the pain out.
"Damn Issil!" Stacey lept out of the way and was starting to shake out of fear. Although she was a terrific fighter, she was still very fragile. Knuckles was starting to worry now too.
"Every time one of you two gets up, another one faints!" He said to himself. "Kitty, are you okay?"
"Fine..fine..." she muttered, getting up. "As fine as I CAN be! I don't have a Chaos Emerald, Knuckles. He sapped the gems, remember? I'm just feeling a little bit of his presence... Won't be long until Issil has full access to the mental link and causes me worse pain." Stacey's ears pricked up.
"I have an Emerald!" She said excitedly as she revealed the bright red gem in her right palm. "Can this help Kitty?" Kitty shook her head.
"Wouldn't work. I have to hold an emerald in order to block out Issil. I'd have to spend the entire time holding your hand... And even during a fight." Stacey sighed.
"It was worth a shot, Stacey." Said Knuckles. Stacey sat down, and thought for a second.
"Knuckles, can you use the Master Emerald's power from here?" Stacey asked, feeling a little hopeful. Knuckles thought long and hard for a second.
"I think so. Hey Kitty, can I see your sword?" Kitty walked over, picking up the sword. All the gems were now a dull black color, a sign that Issil had drained them of all power.
"Here." She said, handing the weapon to Stacey. Stacey passed the weapon up to Knuckles from where she sat, and Knuckles concentrated for a second. The gems returned to their normal brilliant state, and he handed the sword back to Kitty.
"Here you go, but I don't think I have the energy to do that again for a long time." Kitty took the blade and stared at the gems before looking at Knuckles for a moment. She then threw her arms around him in a tight hug.
"Thank you." Knuckles hugged her back.
"You're welcome." Stacey smiled happily, now that everyone had what they needed. Stacey picked up the Flickies, now roasted brown from Issil's appearance.
"Come on, we should get going soon." She said, handing them each a bird. Kitty at hers in silence, chewing slowly. She would've eaten faster if she wasn't so worried about what they had to do. With the damage Issil had done without actually fighting... How bad would it be when he really DID face them? Stacey happily ate her meat. She loved a well cooked bird. There was silence around the circle of three, and it made her a little nervous. Knuckles was reluctant to touch his, as he didn't like harming creatures for food, but his stomach ordered him to eat it, so after a while, he began eating. Kitty stopped eating after a while and stared at the scorch marks on the ground.
"Hm?" Stacey purred. "What's up, Kitty?" asked Stacey, her mouth full of food.
"I was just thinking... Look how much damage he did... And without actually trying to." Stacey looked at the marks, and gently brushed away a layer of dirt, revealing more soot underneath.
"Look, he scorched all the way through. Are we even doing the smart thing?" Kitty shrugged.
"Sometimes the smart thing is the stupid thing... If we don't then what'll happen to the world?" Stacey paused for a second, deep in thought.
"You're right." she said, smiling a little. "We're gonna get ourselves killed." Kitty gave a grim laugh.
"Or maybe not... I've killed Issil before. Why can't I do it again?" Stacey looked over at her friend.
"He has access to all 7 Emeralds and the Master Emerald." She said, her childish voice quavering slightly.
"We'll find a way... If there's one thing I know it's how to steal a Chaos Emerald." Stacey smiled sweetly at her friend.
"Yeah. We'll be fine." Kitty sighed.
"Well it seems living as a theif's given me some sort of advantage... But will I be able to get close enough?" Stacey looked down at the ground again.
"I doubt it. But that'll be our first battle priority, stealing an Emerald. That way you don't have to be alone. Once we have a few, we can whittle away at him then." Kitty nodded.
"Hopefully by then I'll have figured out how to do more with chaos control than simply renewing my strength..." Stacey smiled.
"I can teach you a little. I don't know a whole lot, but my friend Cyber's been teaching me."
"You'd do that?" Kitty asked, amazed. She'd never met anybody who'd offered before. Stacey nodded happily. Kitty smiled.
"Thanks. It'd be well appreciated... and actually will most likely prove helpful. Otherwise I'll be the one getting blasted the most by chaos energy."
"I have an Emerald in my fist. I have to know how to use it, otherwise I'd blow half the world apart." Stacey said jokingly. Kitty smiled.
"Well that makes a lot of sense."
"Maybe we can start tonight, when Knuckles is asleep. I prefer to practice under the moon anyway."
Kitty smiled, twitching her tail slightly in anticipation.
"That'll be really cool. Thanks again Stacey." Stacey smiled, showing her small fangs.
"Really, it's no problem!" Kitty looked down at her half finished Flicky and then took another small bite. Stacey, sitting cross legged the whole time, curled up in a little somersault, and rolled back to where she sat before. Kitty raised an eyebrow at that.
"What in the world-?" Stacey smiled as she comfortably finished the rest of her bird. Kitty shook her head with a smiled and then went back to eating her Flicky bird. Stacey had finished, and there was a small pile of bones beside her. As she lazily licked her lips, she looked at the mid risen sun.
"Come on, we should go." Kitty looked over at Knuckles.
"Ready to go yet?" she asked the red Echidna. Knuckles burped slightly, and nodded. Kitty giggled at the burp and then unfolded and refolded her wings comfortably. Stacey smiled at Knuckles, and she started walking down the wall of the cliff. She followed behind Stacey, her confidence renewed a little since they'd started their journey. Knuckles lazily got up, full from the four Flickies he ate, and jogged slightly to catch up to them. Kitty looked back and laughed.
"Come on, slow poke." Knuckles laughed at her, and managed to keep up with Kitty's pace. Kitty giggled. "I don't blame you though. You ate more than me and Stacey combined."
"Hey, a guy's gotta eat." said Knuckles confidently.
"What guy?" Stacey said, through laughs. Kitty laughed with Stacey.
"Don't be so mean!" Knuckles growled slightly, but he knew Stacey was kidding. Stacey shrugged.
"He asked for it!" Kitty giggled.
"Not directly." Stacey smiled.
"That's called 'sarcasm'. This is crucial in your training." She said, sticking her tongue out. Kitty giggled.
"I know what sarcasm is, Stacey!' Stacey was a little embarrassed by this point.
"Uh...congratulations, you passed your first test!" Stacey said nervously, giving Kitty a thumbs up. "Way to go!" Kitty laughed.
"Yay for me! Hail to you, greatest teacher ever." Stacey smiled, and continued walking.

[Tara]

---Chapter Five---

There was silence between the team as they continued up the mountain. Kitty kept occasionally nibbling her lip in a nervous manner.
"Hey Kitty, what's up?" Stacey asked.
"Just thinking is all." Kitty replied. Just then, the clouds shifted and started to loom a deep red. Stacey heard the thunder, and looked up to the sky.
"...That can't be good." She said. Kitty shivered at the sound of the thunder.
"Definitely not... There's a lot of Chaos energy building up around here. Can you tell?"
"Yeah." Stacey's palm began to throb. "It's starting to affect my Emerald a little."
"I don't like this one bit... I can't even tell if it's still daylight!" Stacey began to panic, and she instantly sped off towards a nearby cave. Kitty unfolded her wings, jumping into the air and following close behind. Knuckles ran off after Stacey and Kitty, but fumbled a bit from the aftershock of Kitty's takeoff. Kitty landed softly next to Stacey, folding her dragon wings with a quiet snap noise.
"Why'd you run?"
Stacey sniffed the air slightly. "It's not safe outside. Not for me, at least."
"Your Emerald?" Kitty questioned.
Stacey nodded. "There's just too much power for me to stay totally in control." She sighed.
"How can we move on with this weather? If your emerald reacts like this to it... And I don't think it'll pass."
"I think I can manage for a while, but I'm going to need shelter along the way." She said regretfully. Kitty sighed.
"It's alright... But we might need to call off our training sessions. I think it's too dangerous to try to use Chaos Control around this much energy."
"I agree. I'm really sorry Kitty." she said regretfully.
"It's alright, Stacey. It's not like you asked for this to happen." There was a long pause.
"Thanks." Kitty nodded again.
"No problem." She then glanced at her sword. The gems were pulsating from bright to dark. "Seems they react as well..."
"It's not safe. It might blow over, but I'm not sure." Stacey curled up in a little ball, with her tail touching her nose, and started to shake as she rested. Kitty sighed. She leaned against the cave wall. Since there was nothing else to do but sleep, she thought of boring things until she forced herself into a slumber.
Knuckles was still tired from being woken up so early because of the Issil encounter, and instantly fell asleep. Kitty tossed in her sleep once more, a little more violently because of all the Chaos energy she was currently exposed to. Stacey couldn't get to sleep that night. She peered out of the hole in the cave, and watched as the deep red storm swirled violently across the sky. She sighed. "How are we going to continue on like this?" she asked herself. Knuckles had woken up and was now sitting up.
"You worried too, Stacey?"
"Yeah." she said. "I'm really worried, Knuckles. How are we going to continue if my Emerald reacts even when I step outside?"
"I don't know..." he replied. He then thought for a moment. "Are you wondering the same thing I am?"
"What's that?" she asked.
"Why Kitty and Issil are such bitter enemies... He must have been different at one point in his life..."
"Yeah."
"Nobody's born evil..."
"I know. Should we ask her? When she wakes up, I mean."
"Do you think she'd tell us? ...Isn't that sort of personal?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe there's information in her story vital to our success."
"Maybe..." Knuckles agreed.
Stacey shook her head. "I wonder if Sianna is having the same problems..." she asked herself.
Knuckles shook his head. "I doubt it. This Chaos storm didn't start until we got up higher onto this mountain... I expect that it'll get worse as we get closer to Issil's corrupted chaos energy." Stacey growled.
"We can't get any closer, and I think he knows it." she said harshly.
"I think he made it that way on purpose... The only thing we can do now is try to avoid using any Chaos Control." Stacey punched the wall, making a loud clanking sound that filled the cave with sharp noise. Knuckles winced at the sound. He looked at her palm as she moved her hand away from the wall. "Your hand's...glowing..." She looked down at her palm.
"I think it's the Emerald reacting to the corrupt power in the air. Knuckles..." She hung her head. "I fear for my life."
"No... It seems to be something else. Look around... we're not in the cave anymore. I can't tell where we are..." Stacey blinked rapidly. "What...? Where are we?" He thought and then realized the truth.
"We're...we're in Kitty's mind!" Stacey blinked hard.
"This...is strange."
"Very strange." he agreed. He then looked around, seeing images floating past. "Judging by that....seems to be we're specifically in her memory."
"Look!" Stacey screamed excitedly as she pointed to a hazy image of Kitty and Issil.
"Seems to be an old memory... And from when they were younger. Kitty's hair isn't as long." Stacey watched intently as the images flipped in front of her like a flip book. "Come on then." Knuckles said with a nod. He grabbed Stacey's hand and reached out to the memory. "We're going to see what really happened..." Stacey was incredibly nervous, but since she trusted Knuckles, she nodded anyway. He touched it and they found themselves in another place. He and Stacey looked like ghosts, foreigners in an unknown place. Stacey panicked slightly and she looked around.
"Hey! It's Kitty!" She called out, but Kitty didn't respond. A much younger Kitty was sitting on a log next to her brother. She was laughing at something. He was combing her hair for her.
"You're my best friend, Is! Nobody else would be so nice!" she smiled. He smiled back. Issil looked much different back then. His wings were two white dragon ones with feathers along the edges. His eyes held no fire, just a cool green color. And he didn't look like he'd ever had a fight in his entire life because his body wasn't muscular at all. He chuckled and hugged Kitty from behind. "Well you're my best friend too, Kit." he replied with a smile at his sister. Stacey was startled by Issil's actions. She almost cried. This was the picture of peace on Earth for her.
"Wow...they look so...different than they do now." Knuckles commented. Issil let go of her and laughed.
"But don't you go spreading that around!" he laughed. Kitty giggled. She batted him with one of her small wings. Tears started to stream down Stacey's cheeks, and she rubbed her nose on her sleeve.
"Yeah." Issil was quiet for a moment. He then reached into his pocket, pulling out a brilliant gem.
"Look, I got this for you." he smiled, handing the blue Chaos Emerald to his twin.
"Wow...it's so...pretty!" she grinned. Stacey gasped.
"So that's how she got it."
"Early birthday present." Issil smiled. She turned around and hugged her brother, nearly knocking him over in the process.
"It's your birthday too, silly!" Stacey smiled slightly.
"Maybe this is why she's so attached to it..." she said to herself. Knuckles nodded in agreement. He watched the memory in silence. Issil smiled again.
"I know that, but you're more important that I am. I'd never let anything happen to my sister and best friend!" She giggled again, letting him go.
"Can you braid my hair?"
"Can I do what?" he asked.
"Braid my hair...Like you used to." Kitty giggled. Issil nodded. She grinned. "Yay!" and then turned so he could finish brushing her purple hair.
Issil smiled to himself as he did, running his fingers through the soft hair to make sure he didn't miss any knots. Stacey started to cry again. She never had any siblings to play with her. Her family hated her. They never payed decent enough attention to her. Knuckles noticed Stacey crying and gave her a quick hug before watching Kitty and Issil again. A bit later, Issil smiled and announced he was done. Kitty stood up and spun around, the braid flying out behind her. Stacey sighed.
"Thank you, Knuckles." she said, and watched Kitty and Issil again. Knuckles nodded.
"No problem." Issil grinned.
"Come on, Kit. I'll get you something to eat."
She gave her brother another hug.
"I love you! You're the best brother ever!" Issil laughed. He tagged her on her shoulder.
"Tag, you're it!"
"No fair!" Kitty giggled as her brother ran ahead. Stacey began to run after Issil and Kitty, anxious to find out what would happen next. They stopped at a cottage which had a trail of smoke coming from the chimney. It looked very welcoming. Issil got to the door of the building and stopped. His sister came up soon after, grinning. She tagged him back. "Gotcha!" Stacey stopped a few meters from the house to survey the scene. A cozy cottage stood in the middle of the woods. She stepped inside the house, through the closed door after Kitty and Issil. She was incredibly startled about the fact that she just walked through a door.
"This is gonna mess me up bad by the time I get back." she said to herself. Knuckles followed close behind.
"This is so weird...they're so close...Why did she ever kill him?"
"I don't know, but I don't think my heart can take much more of this...perfect moment." She said, hiding her face slightly. "It's...just...everything I never had."
"Keep in mind how sour it goes in the end, Stacey... Then you won't want this life as much." She nodded and continued to watch. Issil was cooking some sort of fish and Kitty sat at the table, flicking her tail aimlessly.
"Hey, Is..."
"Yes?" Issil asked.
"What do you want for your birthday?" He thought for a minute, concentrating on cooking. Stacey smelled the air and smiled.
"Salmon, my favorite." she said, happily. Kitty waited for him to reply. Once he the salmon was finished, he sprinkled some salt on it and put it on a plate for her.
"Here ya go. Lunch is served!" Stacey licked her lips, but she knew, from the fact that she walked through a door, that she couldn't eat the fish. Kitty grinned, digging into the fish. As she chewed she waited for an answer to her question. "I don't really know what I want, Kit." Issil laughed at last. "I've got so much right now! A house, food, and the best twin sister ever!"
"Aww, that's so sweet, how could he ever turn on her..." Stacey asked, bowing her head slightly. Knuckled sighed.
"Life is full of tragic events." Kitty laughed and the memory faded away.
"You're the best!" She grinned. Her voice echoed as the scene went back to the black Knuckles and Stacey had been in prior.
"Not the memory we were looking for...but it does help us understand a little more." Knuckles replied. Stacey's tail gently swayed as she and Knuckles floated through the black.
"Over there!" She shouted as she pointed to another image. Knuckles nodded.
"Looks further into the future than that one, but not quite the present." he confirmed. Stacey flicked her tail, and she gently drifted over to the picture. This one, unlike the other, had torn edges, signifying something bad, Stacey presumed. She floated into the image, as she did before, and Knuckles followed behind her. From the beginning of the memory, it was obvious that something bad had happened. Kitty, a few years older, was crying. She was on her knees with her wings wrapped around herself. Ashes floated through the air and a flicker of fire in the distance signified something had burnt down.
"What the-?" Knuckles wondered out loud. Stacey gasped.
"I think that's the cottage from earlier!" She screamed, as tears instantly began to pour over her cheeks again.
"Their house...burnt down...?"
"I...think...so." Stacey whispered, barely audible. Knuckles bit his lip. Kitty stopped crying after a while and looked at the blue gem in her paw. She shoved it into her pocket and scrambled to her feet.
"I have to find him..." she said to herself. "He could be in danger!"
"Find who?!" Stacey panicked. "Where is Issil?"
"I think that's who she means." Knuckled confirmed. Kitty opened her wings, flying into the air above the forest.
Knuckles gasped as she did. He and Stacey were now in the air as well. He smiled slightly at that. "The memory is through Kitty's eyes... If she flies so will we." Stacey was breathless. She stared at the almost completely burnt forest and thought.
[Who, or what, did this?] Kitty avoided the ash easily and landed fairly close to the fire.
"Is? Issil? Is, where are you?" she called out in a desperate way. She really wanted to find her twin brother. "Issil? Are you hurt? Where are you?" Stacey's eyes panned across the forest, feeling almost as desperate to find Issil. She didn't think she could ever want to find and help a creature normally so vile. She followed the sound of his coughing fit to a burning log. There was a little space between it and the ground. From that space, Issil's paw reached out for her.
"Kitty..."
"Issil's trapped!" Stacey said, wrought with panic.
"Calm down, Stacey. It's a memory. We can't change what's already happened." Knuckles snapped. He then looked apologetically. "Sorry..." Stacey sighed.
"No, no. You're right." Kitty reached for the paw and started trying to pull her brother out.
"Don't worry! I'll get you away from here! Just hang on!" A few tears were running down her already ash coated fur, making muddy lines down it. Stacey stared, hoping for Issil's safe rescue.
[Will he make it?] She thought. As he was almost out, the log fell. It caught his foot. He cried out in pain.
Kitty gasped. She tried to lift up the log even though the fire burned on it. She managed to get it up just enough for her brother to scramble away. He extended his claws and crawled until he was far enough for her to drop the log. Stacey sighed heavily, Issil was fine. For now, at least. It had already started to singe Kitty's fur when she dropped the flaming wood. She grabbed Issil's arms and helped him to his feet. He couldn't put any weight on the foot that had been crushed. She led him away from the fire as quickly as she could.
"It's alright, it's alright... You'll be fine Is."
"Kitty..." he coughed. "I don't know if I will be this time... Too much smoke."
[Wait, is his foot broken? Oh my gosh, look at those burns.] Stacey thought, panic rising again.
"What do you mean? Stop talking like that." Kitty snapped. "You're going to be fine!"
"I...I'm sorry. It's all...my...fault." he coughed.
"What is? What are you talking about, Is?" He shook his head.
"Stop calling me that...I don't deserve...to have a kind sister...I started the fire, Kitty. I didn't mean to...But it's my fault..."
Stacey gasped. "How could...he? He shouldn't kick himself. It was an accident." She looked at him, setting him down to lean against a tree. They were out of the fire's way now. She sat down as well.
"You shouldn't apologize."
"But...but I liked it, Kitty..." he replied with tears behind his eyes. "The fire...the pain it caused me...the destruction...And...I used you."
"You used me? No." Kitty replied.
"Yes... your emerald...it has so much power..." She looked rather hurt by this.
"So you destroyed our house?"
"...It was the power...I couldn't handle the power...I'm only going to get worse with time..."
"I won't let it." Kitty sobbed. "I won't let you become a monster, Is! It's not your fault! I forgive you..."
"Then kill me." he smirked. There was some malice behind his voice that hadn't been there before. His eyes held a bit of the same coldness they did in the present.
"Wh-what?" Kitty asked. Her eyes widened into pure terror. He laughed in an evil way.
"Kill me sister... Stop me before I can become something horrible." She shook her head.
"N-no! I can't! I-I won't!" Stacey shook vigorously. Her eyes began to swell up with tears again.
"Issil...it wasn't his fault! Why does he want to die?!" Stacey screamed.
"Then leave me here to die. Run away." he hissed. "You won't live if you stay." She shot him a pained look.
"I said, get the hell out of here!" he shouted. Kitty turned away from him and started to run.
"Issil... You are no brother of mine." she whispered to herself, crying. Stacey longed to stay with Issil and tend to his wounds. She could remove Issil's power with her emerald and reverse this, but...she was like a ghost. She could prevent the whole thing from happening, but the knowledge that she didn't exist drove Stacey mad. The memory faded with a smirk on Issil's face.
"Damn you Kitty." Knuckles was shocked.
"Wow." was all he could manage to say. Stacey left the strange portal sobbing.
"When I get my hands on Issil, I will tear him apart." She said, snarling.
"I think there's more to it... Kitty said she killed him... He's not dead yet. He's not the Issil we know of today."
"How so?"
"He was leaning against that tree and still alive... Kitty said he died, didn't she? That she killed him?"
"You're right. We need to find out what happened there." He nodded. "Can you handle seeing more of this?"
"I'll try..." Stacey said with a smile on her face. "But it won't be easy." Knuckles looked around the blackness for any hints. There was just a scrap of anything of inherent lift in the black. This one was just a scrap of memory, a shard, that seemed to be on fire. "Knuckles, I think this is it." she said calmly. Knuckles nodded. He touched the memory and watched it fade into play. The entire room was on fire. Issil, a shining white cat with now black dragon wings, stood in the center. Kitty was on the ground, badly beaten, shaking. He gripped a red Chaos Emerald in his paw. Stacey shook her head.
"I can't believe this is the same Issil that we saw five minutes ago."
"Neither can I." Knuckles agreed. Stacey snarled at Issil.
"How could you..."
"Issil...Why?" Kitty squeaked. He just smirked sinisterly.
"Because you would not kill me. Did I not say you would not survive if you stayed?"
"But...but I ran...I ran like you said to!"
"You let me live... I said to kill me. You are such a fool." Kitty whimpered in fear. She clutched the blue gem tightly as if to protect it from Issil.
"You have something of mine." he smirked.
"W-What? N-no! You gave it to me." She frowned. He kicked her in the side, making her cry out. Stacey was furious.
"How could she kill you? YOU WERE HER BEST FRIEND!!" She screamed, unsheathing her blades and revealing pearly white fangs. Knuckles put a hand on Stacey's shoulder.
"It's a memory."
"I know Knuckles, but this is just crazy." She put her blades away, and continued to watch. Issil forced her to roll over onto her back and pulled the emerald out of her hands.
"You brought this on yourself. You didn't kill me. I wanted to die. You should have let me die." Kitty bit her lip.
"I couldn't kill you then..."
"Why not?"
"You...You were my best friend. You were my brother!"
"You said it yourself. I'm no brother of yours." Issil hissed.
"You are not my brother. You are not Is. You are Issil...a nightmare. And I will not be weak this time. I will kill you." He smirked.
"Try to." She struggled to her feet and kicked out at him, extending the claws on her feet and hands.
"Take THIS!" Stacey gasped as Kitty lunged for her brother. How could she strike a blow on her best friend? Issil dodged easily, sidestepping.
"You're already weak." Kitty was close now. She leaped up, slicing at Issil's neck. He was caught across the jugular. He stumbled backwards, holding a snowy paw over the wound.
"You...you killed me."
"I said I would...I'm sorry." she sobbed. He smirked, falling over dead. The two emeralds fell out of his paw and landed with a chinking sound. Stacey winced.
"...Oh, ew." Knuckles winced.
"Ick." Kitty walked over, picking up the blue emerald. She put it into her pocket before kissing Issil's cheek.
"You used to be my best friend..." The memory faded away, leaving Knuckles speechless.
"Oh, wow. Kitty's been through a lot." said Stacey hopelessly. Knuckles nodded. He felt like there was something in his shoe. He took it off and gasped.
"S...Stacey...." Stacey drifted over to Knuckles.
"What on Earth? Did that come out of your...shoe?" Stacey asked, with a confused look on her face. He pulled out the gleaming red Chaos Emerald, staring at it.
"Wh...what?"
"How on Earth did that get there?" she asked, still a little stunned. Stacey touched the Emerald gracefully. It was strange, she was holding the red emerald, but the same emerald was in her palm. "This emerald has many stories to tell." She said to Knuckles.
"Ugh...my head hurts." he complained.
"What's going on?" she asked Knuckles.
"You have the red emerald in your palm, right?"
"Yes."
"Then how the hell is it HERE?"
"I'm...not...sure..." Stacey said, equally confused.
"He was about to say something but shook his head. "In any case, Kitty could wake up soon..."
"Yeah, but how do we get back?" Stacey asked worriedly.
"I...I don't know. I've never done this before. I didn't even know it was possible..." Stacey started hyperventilating slightly.
"Well, how did we get here?"
"Again, not entirely sure... But theoretically, waking her up could get us out... Or it could trap us here."
"As much as Kitty's memories are moving, I do not want to be stuck here." Stacey said with a serious tone.
"Neither do I... and considering the fact that Issil is out there... If we get trapped, she'll have to face him again alone."
"This stinks." Stacey said flatly. 'I wonder if this second red Emerald has something to do with our escape?"
"I don't know... It seems to connect up somehow with yours....Wait a minute!"
"What?" Stacey asked.
"Issil! He owned the red emerald..."
"So? We have it now, big deal. Didn't we always have it?"
"But that was the past. What's happening is in the present...the same emerald he first owned is INSIDE your body. It's IN your palm..." He continued to talk. "Don't you get it? He was eager to die...he was happy. He smirked when he fell over lifeless. He must've planned it all alone, Stacey! ...He must've wanted to die to come back stronger..." Stacey stared.
"Oh my god! We need to tell Kitty immediately! But then comes the roadblock; getting out of here."
"But there's more to it..." Stacey was worried.
"What else?"
"To have come back he had to have absorbed power from the emeralds...to do that he had to have sealed some of his essence inside his own emerald... That would be the red one."
"So, are you telling me I have some of Issil's power, since the red emerald is in me?" Knuckles nodded.
"He's in your brain." Stacey was dumbfounded by this information. "Which explains why Kitty seems a little on edge around you at times..."
"He'll be able to do so much damage on me." Stacey said, hanging her head.
"Not quite. You've got the same power he does... You can cancel him out."
"That's good." Stacey said, sighing lightly.
"It'll be interesting to see how this goes..."
"Do you think I could use the Emerald to get us out?" Knuckles thought.
"Theoretically. Nothing's definite." Stacey concentrated for a moment, during so, her palm glowed again. The black that surrounded them faded to white, and then instantly back to the cave. Knuckles found himself back in his body. He shook his head.
"Ugh...that hurt my mind... You alright?" Stacey nodded with a large smile on her face.
"That was...weird...and horrible...No wonder Kitty hates her brother so much."
"Like I said earlier, When I get my hands on him, I will tear him to shreds." Stacey spat, blades shooting out of the sides of her arms.
"I'm going to give him a good kick in the balls for this one." Stacey smiled grimly and stepped outside, feeling the chaotic air. Her emerald strangely didn't react anymore. Knuckles raised an eyebrow.
"You're unaffected by the corrupted chaos energy now?"
"I...think so." Stacey said.
"Stranger and stranger..."

[Tearany]

HOLEY PINEAPPLE. I'm amazed that someone still has this. xD

[Tara]

xD I still has. <3 Somewhere o.O
This is only a chunk of it lol I need to find it so I put up the last part of it.

[Tearany]

*rereads* ...Wow, we're funny. xDD

[Tara]

xD we're terrible it seems, eh? It's amazing to see how much somebody has improved...
And Tear nice sig you seem to be announcing it to me, eh?
...9000 posts? o.O

[Tearany]

xD I like it too, took me most of the day.

I haxxed myself. :3 Geez, you guys JUST noticed? I did that a long while ago. xD

[Tara]

xD shaddup, I'm not observant

[Tearany]

Yep. We're TERRIBLE, but funny.

And the editing job is REALLY annoying. xD

[Usagi]

.... OMG. I SHOULD PUT MY CROSSOVER UP HERE.

Also, great job, editing or not! (If you like, I could put it through a spellcheck and such. :3)

[Tara]

That was YOUR editing job, Tear I point out xD
and it needs a ton more work than just a spellcheck, Usagi. Trust me