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SONIC INVERSION
"LOVE IS PURE WATER, PURE BLOOD-- IT'S ALL ABOUT BLEEDING & MELTING INTO EVERYTHING"
(ALL OF THIS IS TENTATIVE (and like 6 years old)-- but the HEART of all this is STILL TRUE.)
· The Chaon Ruby was originally discovered by Amy Rose during a nostalgic visit to Never Lake. Sonic had begun to show noticeable signs of depression around that time, and Amy couldn’t help but think of the good old days when it was just Sonic vs Robotnik, and he enjoyed doing what he did. As a result, she went on a small personal vacation to Never Lake, the place where she first met Sonic.
· Robotnik got his hands on the Ruby through a deadly supervillain mix of hearsay, quiet research, and good planning (for once!).
· Starts off with Knux, Sonic and Tails having just returned from some huge adventure. They’re off to have a vacation, and are at an airport (going overseas and sonic hates water). However, Knuckles notices a bulletin on the news (televisions—in a lounge, perhaps?) that talks about the discovery and disappearance of the Chaon Ruby (although the name is not known at this time). Knuckles is intrigued for three reasons—1) it’s a mystical gem and it may be related to the Chaos Emeralds, 2) Robotnik is most likely after it, 3) Rouge is most likely after it. Knuckles decides he’s going to find it himself and tells Sonic of his plan. Sonic, however, brushes it off and says that he just needs a break, he can’t take so much at once anymore. Knuckles and Tails are visibly shocked by this, while Sonic looks visibly worn-down and tired. He wanders off towards the plane and Tails is torn between following Knux or following Sonic… but then he apologizes to Knux, telling him that he’s very worried about Sonic and doesn’t know what’s come over him, before running off after the blue hedgehog. Knuckles then returns to the city alone to begin researching this ruby.
· Rouge sneaks into a new building of Robotnik’s, as she suspects the ruby is being held there. However, upon doing so she bumps into a young human girl. They both hush the other, then realize that they aren’t the only ones sneaking in and immediately ask what the other is doing there. Rouge says ‘it’s none of your business,’ then says to the girl that she’s apparently far too young to be out her by herself, let alone sneaking into Eggman’s private buildings. The girl protests, saying that she regularly sneaks around like this, but she has a good reason for being here. She says that she loves gemstones, but this one really caught her interest. She did research on it but couldn’t find much… however, she, too, suspected a connection to the Chaos Emeralds and, knowing the sort of trouble they have caused in the past, decided to go out and stop Robotnik from getting a hold of the Ruby lest it be used for evil. Rouge laughs at this childlike audacity but she respects the heroic impulse, as it reminds her of Knuckles. The girl introduces herself as Jewel Lightraye, an admitted pseudonym. Rouge introduces herself and Jewel suddenly interjects that she’s heard of her—she’s a jewel thief! Rouge is flattered as she likes the idea that she is known for her work, but Jewel expressed concern that Rouge is going to steal the Ruby to sell it or wear it. Rouge asks why that should be of any concern to her, but Jewel insists that, if it truly is a dangerous and/or powerful item, that it should be treated carefully and properly so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. She again reminds Rouge of what Robotnik has done in the past with the Emeralds, and Rouge reluctantly but seriously considers this for a minute before agreeing that fine, she wouldn’t steal it for her own, but she had to be able to see and hold it before it went off to wherever. Jewel agrees and the two head off inside the building together.
· Knuckles finds his way into the building not long after—he sneaks in more directly (no back entrances), but he does get in. He finds his way into a large central room, like a robot lab (SA), and begins to look around out of curiosity. Shortly after, though, Rouge and Jewel enter the same room. They are shocked to see each other, although Rouge and Knux are rather angry. Knuckles immediately tells Rouge that he won’t let her steal the gem, but Rouge tells him to settle down and informs him of her deal with Jewel. Knuckles agrees that it is a good plan, and asks Jewel who she is and why she’s involved in this. Jewel says it’s a very long story, but mentions that she just couldn’t stand by and let Robotnik get away with something huge when she knew about it and had a chance to stop it. [ELABORATE on WHY she is so certain of this] She then states that ‘after all, you guys are the same age as I am,’ and the two Mobians agree embarrassedly. Knuckles then gets back on topic and says that he wanted to find the Ruby in order to take it back to Angel Island where he could guard it, but Rouge interjects and says (ironically) that he had no right to take it if it wasn’t his. Knuckles begins to protest, saying that she was doing the same thing, but Jewel cuts in, saying that if need be then Knuckles could guard it-- he's experienced in that field-- but if there was a better option then they’d have to go with that. Knuckles is a little upset by this but agrees, and they are about to set off and look for it when Rouge more consciously notices the room they’re in. She becomes somewhat worried, making a half-joke that it looks like Robotnik’s building an army in here. Before anyone can do anything else, though, Knuckles shouts that there’s something behind her…
·…Rouge and Jewel whirl around just in time to see a shockwave of blue energy shoot towards them. It knocks them both down, Knuckles jumping out of the way just in time. The energy then re-forms close by as Chaos Zero. Knuckles is terrified, but Rouge only asks ‘what that thing is’. (SHE WASN'T IN SA) Knuckles says ‘have you ever heard of the God of Destruction? The monster that was once trapped inside the Master Emerald?” As Rouge is familiar with the gem’s backstory, she exclaims “you mean that thing came out of a gem???” as she understands then that Chaos is that monster [but focuses on the wrong point]. Almost immediately as she says this Chaos attacks again, but she gets out of the way. Jewel, meanwhile, remembers the fact that Chaos was under the influence of rage and Robotnik back in the past two catastrophes, and that Sonic’s positive influence got him out of it. [THIS MAY BE HER CONVICTION. If she's in this FOR Chaos, then she's banking on "POSITIVE INFLUENCE"]
She braces herself and runs over to the water being (who is facing the other way, watching the Mobians), grabs his shoulders and turns him around to face her. As soon as they make eye contact she shouts, “what in the world do you think you’re doing??” Rouge and Knuckles are taken aback by this bizarre plan of action and try to stop her [mainly by shouting], but Jewel keeps talking to Chaos. Dialogue goes something like this—“Don’t you even realize what you’re doing? Don’t you remember what happened the last time Robotnik had you under his control? You’re hurting innocent people that haven’t done anything to you! And why? Because he told you to? You’re better than that! You don’t have to be a monster, a god of destruction, just because—” But Jewel stops suddenly as she notices that Chaos’ eyes have changed. Originally they were a dull green, but now they’re visibly brighter and more ‘alive’, as if he snapped out of a trance (in truth, her confrontation with him forced him to honestly realize what he was doing, and this made his personality start to ‘awaken.’ This has happened before in the StH comic series, but not canonically; and I personally can attest to the phenomenon happening with me). They simply stare at each other for a few seconds, not knowing what to do, when Jewel finally lets go of him and apologizes, saying that she didn’t mean to get so carried away, she didn’t know if he would hear her or not. Chaos says nothing, and Jewel carefully asks if he can understand her. Chaos nods, and Jewel says ‘well, that’s good,’ before going back to wondering what to do next. However, Rouge and Knuckles run over just then. Rouge shouts ‘are you crazy, Jewel? You could have been killed!’ while Knuckles demands ‘what did you do to him? What just happened?’
-btw Jewel can do this because-- I think-- the Ruby is part of a set of gems that have the powers of ORDER and HARMONY as opposed to "chaos"??? And as a result she has a VERY SPECIAL RESONANCE WITH CHAOS HIMSELF as their soul-energies naturally complement each other.
-ALSO JEWEL IS LIKE THE ONLY PERSON TO HAVE TOUCHED HIM, AND CHAO ARE VERY REACTIVE TO PHYSICAL CONTACT. The reason why he doesn’t resist or attack is because he recognizes, viscerally, that this contact is COMPLETELY BENEVOLENT and he is absolutely STUNNED by that hitting out of nowhere. It also adds even more weight to her words, for him… plus, she's not just touching him, she's HOLDING him [albeit by the shoulders], which is one of the MAIN ways of showing affection to a Chao. She does not realize this and Chaos doesn't either, but subconsciously it hits!
· Later, Knuckles notices that Chaos can talk [as Chaos DOES end up speaking with Jewel, clumsily at first but he's trying] and asks him why he has never spoken before. Chaos says, effectively, that he has always had the potential ability for speech [ALL CHAO TALK] but just never had a chance or reason to use it until now. He adds that, when Robotnik had him under his control, he was exposed to both Robotnik’s constant speech and the speech of everyone he encountered in the cities. That fuller vocabulary exposure stuck with him, so he picked up their language and style, and is just now re-learning how to actually form the words and speak (again, he’s talking slowly and a little brokenly now, but he rapidly improves). That also explains why Chaos doesn’t have a crazy-formal manner of speech as so many people portray him with— the speech he was exposed to was much more modern and casual, which is why he talks that way instead.
[An affectionate note-- remember that Chaos actually SINGS better than he talks, because Chao do too.]
· After they find the Ruby [WHERE????] they are attacked by the earlier-encountered ‘army’ of robots. Panicking, the group is split up—Knux and Rouge one on side, Chaos and Jewel on another. As they aren’t very far apart at this point, and since Chaos and the Ruby near each other poses too much of a potential threat [AND he's likely having trauma triggered by it], Jewel shouts for Rouge to take the Ruby. Rouge flies by and grabs it, then runs off by herself down a nearby hallway. Knuckles shouts ‘that traitor!’ but Chaos states that ‘she’ll never make it out of here alone.’ The three fight the robots off as best they can and head after Rouge. Meanwhile, Rouge is running down the tunnel alone (the robots stayed with their attackers for now) with all intentions of ditching her teammates. However, she stops halfway down the tunnel and thinks. [RUBY INFLUENCE] She realizes that they might not survive the attack, and she might not either. She also remembers what Jewel said about the Ruby, and although Rouge’s own love of gems was a strong temptation, she wonders if maybe Jewel was right in saying that the Ruby should be kept somewhere safe and not used as personal property. Rouge is still battling with herself when she is suddenly ambushed by robots. Scared, she fights them off for a while but they quickly overpower her. She begins to panic and thinks she is going to die when she remembers that she has the Ruby with her. She thinks to herself, ‘I wonder…’ then kicks a small clearing in the robots and begins to run farther down into the tunnel, beginning to focus on the Ruby. Nothing happens at first, so she wonders ‘how did Sonic do it?’ Remembering that he used positive energy, she tries it, still trying to fight off the gaining robots as she does. She thinks ‘come on, work! I need to get out of here to keep this Ruby 'safe'… oh, and save the other three, too…’ but she’s being too selfish and isn’t considering everyone immediately. She keeps trying to refine her motives, but they just aren’t working; she's still "bargaining" with the gem, and the Ruby isn't fooled. Suddenly, she is ambushed by robots for the other direction, now surrounded completely. They begin charging their weapons and Rouge falls into a complete and total panic—but, in doing so, forgets herself. Her thoughts immediately change into a frightened, desperate stream of consciousness—“oh please I don’t want to die, I can’t die here what will happen to everyone else if he gets this Ruby, it’s all over and they’ll die and it will be all my fault for running away and leaving them alone and— oh, please, please do something!!” Immediately there is a huge surge of red light and power…
[NOTE. ROUGE WOULDN'T CARE IF SHE DIDN'T LOVE. In her last-second worried thoughts, she is FEELING the genuine care and affection she has for them as her friends-- and notably, for Knuckles, as more than just a friend. Her worries about "my fault for leaving them" sound self-based but I assure you she is focusing ON their aloneness, and her heart is breaking at the thought that she could have been with the people she cares for instead. THAT is what the Ruby is responding to.]
· …Outside the tunnel, the other three only see flying debris and a burst of red light. Fearing the worst, Knuckles screams ‘Rouge!!” and runs towards the tunnel. Chaos takes out a few more robots and they all run towards the tunnel when there is another explosion and, suddenly, Rouge appears. However, she is in her Hyper form. (talk about appearance and all, dialogue and explanation) Chaos then interjects, “but that’s impossible… it can’t be purely positive, can it?” (WHY does he assume this??? Is it because they all figured Rouge had no "positive motives" to cause a "super form" at the time??) They are considering this, because if the Ruby still has negative energy in it then Chaos needs to stay away from it at all costs due to the risk of a reaction… but while they are considering this, (???)
· Regardless of what actually happens here event-wise, at one point later on, Jewel gets the Ruby back and still ends up giving the Ruby to Chaos which is incredibly important. They’re completely split off from everyone else temporarily, and Jewel finally decides that Chaos should be the one with the Ruby, regardless of the risks. Fearing the worst, Chaos refuses it repeatedly, refusing to touch it, but Jewel literally puts it in his hands [with hers] and says “I’m giving it to you.” There's a HUGE pause here, as Chaos realizes he's not reacting-- arguably, with it being the Ruby he might even be feeling BENEVOLENCE from it-- and Jewel catches this emotional shift. She then sincerely continues: “Chaos, believe me, you could do more good with this gem than anyone else” because, if his namesake meant anything, then he “had just as much positive in him as negative—most likely twice as much” and so on. Either way, Chaos is still lingeringly paranoid that he’s going to screw up, and replies that no one else thought that; after all, the only reason he was there was because Robotnik wanted to use him to cause some catastrophic event again, and with the Ruby, no less. Jewel interrupts him with “I trust you! Doesn’t that mean anything? Even if I'm one against the world, I trust you. I don't care what anyone else thinks. They don’t know you. They don't want to know you. But I do. I do, and I know enough to know you are completely worthy of all my hope right now. If you can’t find anything else, then use that. Use everything you can. I trust you more than anyone else in this entire facility, myself included. I wouldn’t be giving this to you if I didn’t believe that.”
She breaks off and concludes “Chaos, please, show Robotnik that you’re not the monster he thinks you are. Show him that you’re better than that, because I know you are. Show everyone what I can see-- show them what your heart is really like.”
(TENTATIVE PARAGRAPH) I think Chaos hesitates, doubting himself yet hopeful, but Jewel is still holding his hands and looking at him. "You wouldn't be worried about hurting anyone if your heart wasn't kind. And it is. That's the real you, not the things that have happened to you."
He flinches, protesting "but those things changed me, Jewel--" and she immediately counters "they changed how you look. They didn't change who you are. The pain left scars on your heart but your heart is still there, and it's soft enough to hurt so much and if you can feel regret then that proves that you never would have chosen to do such a thing if you weren't in so much pain." She's tearing up; she understands. "But now… even if it still hurts, you can choose hope.
Yes, the past hurts. I won't deny that. But we can try again, now. We can do good now, and heal the wounds, and fix the damage, as much as we can. Maybe it's not much, but it's something. It's something, and that's a flower blooming in the ruins, and that's proof that nothing is ever beyond hope. No one is ever beyond hope. Even you. Even me."
"That's why I trust you with this Ruby, more than anyone else-- because I trust your heart." She presses the Ruby to it and concludes, "This is yours now, Chaos. If anyone can use it for good, it's you."
(MAKE SURE THIS DIALOGUE IS ALL CORRECT BECAUSE IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. REFINE IT BUT KEEP ITS HEART.)
(In the original dialogue she uses the word "know" a LOT. that's notable because it erases doubt and also because it suggests this event isn't occurring on a five-minute relationship base. there's already something substantial here, even if it's mostly one-sided yet. remember, Jewel is fully aware of who Chaos is BEFORE she meets him in person, and I am sure she has expressed that TO him during their time in this facility.)