Roleplay:Source of the Ultimate Power

Overview
After his journey in the alternate timeline, Xante continued to do what he does best, be a violent murderer. Upon a night of utter boredom, a thought occurred to Xante. What if one were to take the Chaos Emeralds from both timelines and use both of them to reach a maximum power? This thought intruiged Xante, so he returned to the alternate timeline and found all the emeralds. He then returned to his own and began to seek out the ones there, waiting for the ultimate power to be found.

Rules
While these may not be nessacary, some people don't actually read rules. So I made them bold and  underlined!

1. Under no circumstance should you control another person's character without their permission.

2. Under no circumstance should you have non-censored heavy swearing, at least censor it. (Damn, crap and piss are the only ones not needed to be censored)

3. Under no circumstance should you godmod. AT ALL.

4. Under no circumstance should you include sexual content. Hugging and kissing are fine.

5. Under no circumstance should you do pointless ooc talk and leave no replies, one liners of ooc are best left in the talkpage.

Participants
Gaomon332

Saren the dark lynx

Leo55566

Timesmashaperil

Rapidthehedgehog

JJHero

Heroes (The ones trying to stop Xante)
Snowflake the Echidna (Gaomon332)

Neo Miyagi Sakura (Leo55566)

Platinum The Echidna (Timesmashaperil)

Jinx the Jackal (transitz)

Drew the Wolf (Rapid)

Neutrals (The ones neutral on the whole conflict)

Falco the Eagle (JJHero)

Villains (The ones on Xante's side, or ones who want the power for themselves)
Xante the Vampire Bat (Gaomon332)

Saren Arcturias (Saren)

Mars the Lightning Wolf (Saren)

Dr. Waru (Timesmashaperil)

Magnet the echidna (transitz)

Zerofuse the Hedgehog (Rapid)

Prologue
Xante hung from the tree, the strong wind blew at his face and made his ears flap around. He wasn't going to get any sleep in weather like this. Instead, Xante began to think about things, things that had been obscured in his mind for a long time. Upon his train of thought, he began to wonder if the emeralds from the other timeline he had been in would have the same power and properties as the ones in his timeline. It would make sense if they did... though with things like other timelines, you can't be too sure.

Eventually, Xante's pondering led to curiosity. He lept from the tree and rushed to the abbandoned lab. He activated the machine once again and set himself in the center of it. When he began to feel his body burning, he knew that he had done it right, he was going to the other timeline once again. After his vision going blank, he found himself in the same room, though no time had seemed to have passed since his last visit. Molly's body lay on the ground, a small pool of blood beside it.

Xante grinned and walked out of the lab, into a forest area. He began his search for this timeline's Chaos Emeralds. Of course, he would also have to find the emeralds in his timeline once he got back, though he decided he would cross that bridge when he came to it. After a few weeks of searching, Xante was able to find all 7 Chaos Emeralds from the other timeline. He returned to his and started his search for the remaining 7. Once Xante had found all of them... the ultimate power would belong to him and him alone!

Part 1: Emeralds of another world
Xante looked at the sun. "Looks to be around 3PM" He said out loud. Making sure he still has the emeralds, he continues to walk through the forest, humming a small tune to himself.

Neo, as Inner Neo at the moment, is punching a tree, "Punch of the Royals!" She cries out, cracking the tree in half and pants, "My power seems to be increasing everyday." Neo ties her hair into a ponytail and sits down to rest.

Saren was in a hidden location in green hill zone, making and testing new poisons, recording their affects on living things in a continuous effort to adapt and change his poisons until he finds the perfect mix of ingredients and dosages for his contracts. "Heh.. Looks like this one is the most lethal variation of my "Elixer of the red lotus" poison... I think I will call this variation the "Black Lotus draught". Saren said to himself before he poured the poison into a few vials and closed them with a rubber stopper.

Neo looked in the direction of the town and sighs, "That shady shipowner said that there would be jewels here but I see nothing, "Neo stands up and her emerald shines, "Don't worry, we'll recover the jewels of light." Neo nodded and started to head to the local restaurant.

Xante continues to walk and comes across a tree that looks like it's been cut in half ''"Seems like someone is trying their training schedule in this same forest, perhaps they know where the emeralds are..." ''Xante thinks to himself, not knowing that there would be a town a few minutes ahead of him.

Neo, in her Outer Neo self, was eating ramen rapidly, "Yahoo!" She cried out, feeling her stomach fill up, "You really get me hungry, Inner Me." Neo ordered another bowl of ramen and leaned back, relaxing.

Saren smiled to himself as he finished prepping his poisons, grabbed his gear and left the area via shadow travel. "I wonder... What my next target will be... How about that annoying girl who keeps calling me Mr.Kitty..... Wait... She's not worth any money at all so it'd be a waste of time and effort... F--k!" Saren ranted to himself as he reappeared in the same forest as Xante, only five miles away from him and further away from Neo and the village she's in.

Neo exited the ramen shop and her eyes flashed a quick silver and from the emerald came Inner Neo's voice, "I sense a dark presence approaching so stay on guard." Outer Neo giggle and replied, "You worry too much, I mean, its not like someone who's gonna later marry us will be here." Inner Neo sighed, "Just stay on guard." The emerald flawed green and Neo returned to normal.

(That foreshadowing though - Gao) Xante walked passed the tree and continued onwards. After a few minutes of walking, he came upon a village. ''"Strange, I don't remember there ever being a village here..." ''He thought to himself.

Neo walked happily until she bumped into Xante, Oops sorry I should've watched where I was going." Neo giggle and started to skip past him.

"Yes, yes you should have" Xante replied, "I don't suppose you know the whereabouts of any Chaos Emeralds?" He asks.

Neo turns around, her emerald pendant swinging with her, "Chaos emeralds? Never heard of them." She says, tilting her head in confusing.

The pendant catches Xante's eye "Surely. What a nice pendant you have there." He says.

Neo holds the emerald in her hand, "Thanks, it was a gift from my mother." Neo hears her Inner self warning her to be cautious, "It was said to be created from pure light," Neos eyes flash silver for two seconds, allowing Inner Neo to read Xantes aura.

Platinum was walking through the village. "Still no sign of Ketsubon... At least I have one Chaos Emerald..."

Xante smiles "Pure light, you say? Well, that's nice." He says. A small flash of light comes from him, when the light is gone, he has the orange Chaos Emerald in his hand "In case you were wondering, this is a Chaos Emerald. Are you sure you've never seen anything like it?" He asks.

Neo ponders for a second before happily telling him, "Nope, never seen it." She then asks Xante why he wants them so much.

"They're a family heirloom" Xante lies "My younger sister recently lost her Emeralds and now I've been kicked out to find them."

Neo starts to tear up, "That's so sad, maybe I can help," She offers, leaning into his face.

Platinum looked at the emerald. "I wonder... CHAOS CONTROL!" Time stopped, but only for a second. "Drat."

Neo turns to look at Platinum, "Oh hello there." She waves to her.

Xante smiles "Oh, hello there, miss Echidna!" He also waves.

"What?" She saw the emeralds. "More Chaos Emeralds... I need them!"

Xante looked as shocked as possible "Wha- what? Do you mean you know of the Chaos Emeralds too? Please, if you could help me find them, it would be greatly appreciated!"

"What do you need them for?"

Neo's emerald shined silver, changing her into her Inner Self, "And where are you from?" Neo asked and her light and airy aura turned a serious gray.

"If I told you both the truth, you'd never believe me" Xante lied once again, he had the entire fake story set up in his mind, with answers to every question that could be asked.

Neo gave him a piercing glare, "Oh, so you're hiding where you're from? Must be pretty unbelieveable then." She replied.

Platinum turned her quills blue. "Or maybe you don't want to tell us, hm? But either way, I NEED THOSE EMERALDS."

"No, you just wouldn't believe me..." Xante sighed "Fine. If you truly want to know where I'm from, I am from an alternate timeline. Another dimension, you could say. The emeralds I have here are from my timeline. The emeralds that are here have been contaminated by impure people, I've brought mine here so I can cleanse them." Xante said. "There, I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

Neo continued to give him her piercing stare and in a fake ditzy tone said, "You're right, that's totally unbelievable."

"What's this about a hunt for the chaos emeralds I hear?" Saren says as he shadow travelled to their location with the red chaos emerald in his hand. "You think one who has the emeralds would give them up? Preposterous!" Saren laughed out as he put the emerald in his gauntlet.

"As I said. They've been contaminated." Xante said "Don't believe me? That's fine, though know I will be back to take them from you. Ciao!" Xante brings out his wings and begins to fly.

Inner Neo glanced at Saren, adopting a kinder aura, "Hello Mr.Kitty" She said with a smile.

"How do you know that nickname!?" Saren semi shouted in a panicked voice.

Xante suddenly stopped in the air "Mister... kitty cat?" He suddenly burst out laughing. "We don't have names like those where I come from, you know!" He continued to laugh, accidentally dropping the orange Chaos Emerald.

Neo dived to catch the emerald before replying, "The smart ditz told me." She proceeded to hide the emerald in her large chest.

"You just got punk'd!" Saren shouted out while laughing at Xante, but making sure to stash his emerald in his shadow for safe keeping. "Suck on it! Also my name is Saren!" He said, in tears from laughing.

Neo glared, "Why you!" She aimed a kick powered by light at Sarens chest,"Know your place." (This be my last post for the day, gnight)

Xante looked really awkward. His face was a mixture of grinning and being confused. "D-did you just... put my emerald in your...?" He bursts out laughing once again. "Why?!" He laughs uncontrollably. "You don't even have any use for it!"

"Huh. I just do this." Her quills turned silver, and the emerald disappeared. "Tah-dah!"

A fireball then exploded in the center of the commotion. A silhouette of a hedgehog was seen among some shade. A small flame from his index finger was visible, revealing he had red and yellow fur. "Am I late of the party?" He asked in a cool, calm yet jokingly voice.

"Define: Late" Xante says "No one was really late to anything, and there was no party..." He sighs. Xante descends down to Saren "So, Mister Kitty, can you please get my emerald? I can't do it, I have a moral code I have to upkeep. I'll even pay you! With money!" Xante actually sounded a bit desperate.

"Dude, you can cut the act. I know one who desires power when I see one and i'd be happy to help, free of charge because you seem to have plans in motion. But taking them out of the location I stored mine seems like a bad idea thanks to the echidna, she seems to have a strange power involving the emeralds. " Saren whispered to Xante.

"Finally, someone with common sense" Xante whispered back. "Though I still need that emerald she has, it really is from an alternate timeline."

The hedgehog sighed. "I guess you've got no sense of humor." He said, playing with a loose flame on his index finger.

"I'll try and use truth mixed with BS to distract the two females and you take back your emerald." Saren whispered his plan to Xante.

"Maybe, maybe not.. But what I do know is that a certain echidna here has an emerald that doesn't belong in this realm and this guy needs it to get back home." Saren said in an honest tone.

"You can't simply expect me to just hand you a Chaos Emerald! I told you, I need them!" Platinum was starting to get annoyed.

"You can't expect me to get my own, now do you?" Xante asked, shuddering a little. "I wouldn't dare..."

"Guess what, its not like you'll be able to get all seven anyway, what with me having the red one in a location that you yourself can never access... Plus, whatever you plan on doing with those emeralds won't really work with six of this realms emeralds and one from his realm... You really are foolish." Saren said with a small grin, hoping to rile platinum even more with the little tidbits of information he told her.

The red and yellow hedgehog realized what was going on. His ears perked up at the sound of "emerald". He was now intrigued. "Emeralds of chaos, eh?" He mumbled to himself, letting the conversation continue between Saren and Platinum.

Neo turned to Xante, "So you still need help to get those emeralds, Batty?" She asked, her emerald turning pure green and her hair changes back to its neapolition color.

"You!.... How the f--k do you know that nickname!?" Saren said, highly pissed off at Neo.

"Nobody calls me Batty!" Xante shouts, glaring at Neo. "I liked it when I didn't tell you about the emeralds. You didn't annoy me so much." He says. "Now, would you kindly give me my emerald, I really have to go do something. Kitty."

"Fine then. I'll give you the emerald. But only on my conditions." Platinum said.

"What are they?"

''"Please don't ask to come with me..." ''Xante thought to himself numerous times.

"I'll help you find the emeralds of this world so you can 'cleanse' them, as long as you let me have them when you're done."

"Why, of course" Xante replies "I never turn down the request of a lady." He says, bowing."Doing this makes me utterly sick..."He thinks to himself.

Neo looked from Xante to Saren," So Batty wants the emerald and so does Mr.Kitty, how about we all just look for thetogetherr." She asks, happily.

"T-together?!" Xante asked "Well, I already know where one is, Kitty" He says, glaring at Neo once again.

"I will f***ing murder you!" Saren shouts, pissed off at neo because she called him 'Mr.Kitty' one to many times.

The red and yellow hedgehog laughed to himself from Saren's hatred towards his "nickname". He then walked up to the group. "If she's coming, so am I." He stated, not going to take no for an answer.

"Oh, sure. Why don't all you idi- friendly nice people start coming with me." Xante said sarcastically.

The red and yellow hedgehog chuckled. "Chill. We all want the same thing. Why not do it together?" He stated. He then whispered in Xante's ear. "The chicks aren't going to help." He whispered.

"Of course they aren't" Xante replied "They're too 'good' to help us." Xante was silent for a few moments "Very well, it's settled. We'll all do this together. Any objections?"

"None, but I suggest eliminating the echidna first at some point in time... I have a variety of poisons that would be untraceable in autopsies that should do the trick." Saren whispered to Zerofuse and Xante.

The red and yellow hedgehog smiled. "I see." He replied. "Oh. How rude of me. The name's Zerofuse. You can call me Zero." Zerofuse said, talking to both Xante and Saren.

"The name is Saren Arcturias." He whispered to Zerofuse and Xante.

Neo adjusted her kimono and that's when her stomach growled, "Haha, how about we get something to eat first before searching for the emeralds." She asked, laughing awkwardly.

"..... Someone's gonna get fat." Saren said in a hush-hush tone before chuckling.

Neo gave Saren a cold stare, "Just for that, i'm not buying for you." Neo then huffed in anger.

"Oh no, what ever shall I do. The gluttonous female won't buy me food and it's not like I can't just fish for it or steal food. Oh woe is me." Saren said dramatically, sarcasm oozing from his voice.

Neo felt ready to draw her katana but decided against it, "Fine, let's skip the food and begin the search, my esp can detect auras so that might be useful for finding the emeralds." She says, in a truly ditzy tone.

Saren just narrowed her eyes at her, getting the feeling that Neo isn't as dumb as she acts like. "You're hiding something.... I don't trust you." Saren thought to himself before he looked away.

Neo then tilted her head, confused, "What?" She then noticed a cart with vaiouss items, "Yay, suveniors!!" Neo then started to run to the cart.

"Souvenirs?" Xante asks "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take something to remember the start of the journey, would it?" He says, walking towards the cart.

Platinum turned her quills blue. "These people seem suspicious..." She thought to herself. "If only I had more time to practice my fighting techniques. Oh well, I probably won't need them!"

Jinx was behind the cart-presumably the one running it-when she saw Neo running towards it.

Neo arrived at the cart, happily, "Oh my gosh, it looks so cute, how much?" She asked, her cat ears twitching happily.

"Oh hi there... that thing will be 5 dollars." Jinx said somewhat sleepily.

Neo looked to Saren, "Mr.Kitty, i need your wallet real quick." She said with a smile.

Xante flies past Neo "You know, you aren't going to get everything you ask for." He says to her, looking at the merchandise on sale.

"Don't have it." Saren said cheekily.

Neo hid her dismay by looking away from Xante, "So where should we look for first...to find the emeralds?" She asked, knowing that she'd let her Inner Self out later.

Xante cleared his throat and stared at Neo "I think I know where one of them is..."

"Where?" She asked, not looking at him.

Jinx looked at the group then said, " I could probably help. With your search for The Emeralds"

Saren just stayed silent, still remembering that he stored one of the emeralds in a storage realm accessible by him digging through his shadow.

Xante had a big look of "Are you kidding me right now..." on his face. "Neo... if you remember correctly, you stored my emerald in a place I'd rather not talk about..." He says. Turning to Jinx, Xante asks "Hm? Do you know of what the Chaos Emeralds actually are?"

Jinx looked at him "yeah, basically" pulls out a replica from under the cart, along with a map " looks like this right?"

A black and white wolf walked up to the group. "Hey...I've been looking for some emeralds and..." The wolf held up a handheld radar. "...my radar is going crazy. Does anyone have a set of batteries?" He asked. He looked at the cart. "Oh! Excuse me Ms, but do you have any AA batteries?" He asked politely.

Jinx looked at him, " yes, and why Is everyone looking for the freakin emeralds!?" Hands him the batteries "3$"

The wolf took his wallet out, but fumbled around with it. He then dropped his radar, cracking the screen and making it unable to be read. "Argh! C'mon!" He yelled in anger.

Jinx looked at him then up towards the sky with a frown * cough cough computerscreen coug h cough* "oh no... hey these people are also looking fire chaos emeralds why dont you ggo with them?" She said with a smirk.

Xante stared at the radar. "Excuse me, sir." He says "I believe I know why the radar is going crazy. You see, these emeralds aren't from this world, they're from somewhere else... so that must be the reason! My name is Xante, by the way" He says.

Neo yawned, "It's getting night, so can we rest for today?" She looked at Platnium then to Xante and noticed the wolf, "Hello there." She said with a smile.

If the assembled group would look to the north they would see a lime green wolf with no shirt and blue pants on running from a mob of angry people while laughing. "You idiots don't have the stones to do what I do! That's why you'll never catch me!" The young wolf laughed out before launching a bolt of lightning at a random shop's window.

Neo extended her arm, knowing that the wolf would hit her arm while he wasn't looking, "I saw on a map that there was a hotel nearby with a buffet...a hot springs...and a breakfest buffet," Neo told the group, trying not to seem gluttonous.

Mars ran into her arm and was clotheslined. "Ow! the f*ck ws that for!" He complained.

Neo gave the wolf a cold stare, "That's what you get for destroying those shop." Neo then turned to Saren, "Mr.Kitty, you're paying for bed and board if this wolf joins us."

Mars gave her an even colder stare. "Back off...." He said as he tries to stand up. "I'm only giving these people what they deserve."

Neo then pulled Mars into a hug, "You're so cute!" She cries out, smothering him with her chest.

Falco was skulking in an alleyway. When he spotted Neo first, he thought he would do a quick pickpocket to last him the night. But then he saw the others, and his smile grew. And when his wristwatch alerted him that there were massive radiation signals coming from Xante, he almost laughed. And just as the icing on the cake, they all appeared to be idiots, or at least they certainly brought out the worst in each other. Of course, Falco couldn't just run up and grab whatever Xante was carrying. No, he would have to more... subtle than usual. An idea popped into his head and he chortled. Today I'm gonna make some friends. He approached the group.

"H-hello. I'm Falco I, er, I couldn't help but notice the gems you seem to be carrying Mr- Xante? Did you say? I-I believe I have seen something like it before recently. If you are interested in e-expanding your c-collection, I could give you a hand..." Falco was lying, he had no idea where the other Emeralds were, but if he could get his foot in the door, he could start working Xante away from his entourage, and then the magic would happen.

Neo released Mars from her smothering hug and noticed Falce, "Hello there, Mr.Birdy, how are you?" She asked, with a gleaming smile that radiated from her happy aura.

Falco looked at Neo uncertainly. He was hoping for a private audience with Xante, and anyone else was just a distraction. Still, rudeness would be unwise during an infiltration. "Hi. My name is Falco, not Birdy. And you are?"

Neo gave another piecing smile, "I'm Neo Sakura." Her emerald shone silver and for another split second, Inner Neo was able to gauge Falco's aura and power.

Saren, being an assassin for hire, could tell one with less than homest intentions by looking in their eyes and alarms rang in his head when he looked at falco, putting him on guard.

Neo put on a ditzy sort of feel and told Falco, "Well we were about to rest in that hotel, so why don't you join us?" She asked, knowing that once they were grouped seperately, she could let Inner Neo out.

Mars just silently went along with the group, not sure what to do at the moment.

Falco smirked. He had no doubt that at least one of them was suspicious. But who cares. The priority was Xante, and none of them seemed to recognise that his motives were closer to Falco's than to their own. He nodded. "Sure, I'll join you. I can certainly help find the Emeralds. My only request is that the Emeralds end up in the right hands...". He laughed to himself (not outloud). "Mine" he thought.

"The emeralds are currently in the right hands" Xante replied, staring at Falco and the emerald. "We already found quite a few of them too." He says, bringing out his wings "Wait. Neo, when did you become the decider on what we're doing? We're staying up all night in search for the emeralds and that's final!"

Saren walked next to Xante and whispered. "We should play along with her little scheme, for one, we'd be rested up at no expense of ours and two, we'd be able to search faster than if we were tired. Plus the hot springs gives me a chance to deal with a few issues that might pop up."

Jinx looked at the saren and mars and rubbed her eyes, " wait a minute... i know those two well, thats not gonna end well..." She laughs than immediatly falls asleep.

Zerofuse out himself into Saren and Xante's conversation and listened to what he said. "Agreed." He said.

The black and white wolf sighed. "So where would the first place to look for the emeralds?" He asked blindly, not knowing if anybody was even listening.

"Fine, the hotel it is." Xante half-whispered, half-sighed back. He flies up for a few seconds and looks around town "Yes, I know where some of the emeralfs are, wolf. Why do you need them?"

The wolf smiled slightly. "I heard that they give you some sort of ultimate power. I wanted to see if I could gain this ultimate power." He answered.

"That'll have to wait for now" Xante replied "The emeralds have been tainted and must be cured. I'm the one who's going to do that."

The wolf seemed confused. "Tainted, huh?"

Neo happily walked into the hotel and found a room large enough for the group, "Well the hot springs around back aren't co-ed but, it'll do." Neo told them, happily making a beeline towards the hot springs.

Mars stood by Neo's side, somewhat confused as to why she seemed to not mind his presence considering what he can do and his childlike distrust of others.

Neo grabbed a towel and saw the signs that said 'Guys' and 'Girls' and so she went to the right into the girl's half of the hot springs.

Mars just went straight to his hotel room before locking and barricading the door. After he did that he just collapsed on the bed.

Neo sunk down into the water, "It's so warm and so relaxing, now where are the others?" She asked, her hair becoming silver.

Saren is currently lounging in the male side of the hot springs, listening in on her and Jinx's conversation as he pretended to pay attention to what others were saying.

Neo sighs, "Outer Neo, do you think Xante and Saren are cute?" She asks, not knowing where Saren is.

"This girl has some strange priorities and tastes in men." Saren thought to himself as he kept eavesdropping.

Neo sighed happily, hearing Outer Neo's thoughts, "Well once we find the emeralds then we can eat." Her emerald shines, casting a relaxed air around the woman's half of the hot springs.

Xante walked inside the hotel lobby, feeling a bit warmer than he did outside. He decided to have a snack, so he walked up to a café and ordered the first thing he saw on the menu, steak. Xante ordered it raw and lay back in the air while flying.

Jinx pops up from under the water, "what do you mean by outer neo?" she asked neo.

''"So... Neo isn't as ditzy as she acts... Interesting." ''Saren thought to himself.

Blue Platinum was outside. She seemed to be trying to blow a bubble. She made a circle with her hands and blew.

Zerofuse stood there, staring at the water. He had a scared look on his face.

"Gah!" Neo shouted in surprise, "W-where'd you come from, Jinx?" She said, trying to hide her surprise.

Falco checked himself into a room in the same hotel. The priority was of course to reach Xante, and snatch those Emeralds if possible. Patience was a virtue, but not his. He stepped into the hallway and set out to find Xante. "The sooner his small army of idiots is dealt with, the better" he thought.

Jinx looked at neo, " underwater, duh. So you think saren and xante are cute huh?~" she grinned at hher

Neo his her blush or at least tried to, "W-well I guess you could say that." Inside the emerald Outer Neo laughed and told Jinx, "She's cute when she hides her feelings." Inner Neo looked towards the bamboo wall, seperating the two sides down the middle and told Jinx,"Let's hope the guys don't think of peeping

"i dont think theyd do that, well probably wouldnt", Jinx said and then in a quieter tone, " if my sister was here theyd get a bullet to the head or just a boulder whichever was closest." voice gets normal, "so you do have two of you huh?"

Neo looks away, "Its kinda a long story," She said, wishing a emerald was close.

"I have nothing better to do, and it seems you don't either, so dime!" Jinx said. ( in case you don't know spanish dime=tell me)

Neo sighed," In short, we're separate personalities," Neo got out of the hot springs, feeling refreshed.

"so kinda like my sister jade she also has multiple personalities, 3 technically, but normally 2" Jinx also gets out but first throwing a tiny ball of electricity in to the opposite side of the springs.

Neo giggled, "I ordered some drinks to be sent up to the room." She told Jinx, forgetting the room was co-ed.

"ooh foodstuffs sounds good" Jinx smiled thinking about the food and drinks.

Neo dried off, wrapping a towel around her curvy body and that's when her emerald returned to green and Outer Neo became dominant,"That was so relaxing."

"oh so thats how your personalities are controlled, through that gem thingy" Jinx says as she poofs herself dry and into to clothes.

She changed into a emerald green kimono,"Yep this emerald allows us to change and really Inner Neo is more of an older sister than another personality." Neo then proceeded to head to the room.

Jinx walked alongside her, " my sisters personalities are like little kids, black and white are their names, well and then theres psycho who might not actually exist but, black and white are complete opposites... unlike you and inner/outer you"

Once they got to the room, Neo spotted Mars, "Well at least we get to choose some good sleeping spots." She said, sitting in the center of the room.

"sleeping spots dont matter to me i can fall asleep randoml..." falls asleep then wakes up a few seconds later, "...y like that" then sits down propped against a bed.

Neo saw the "drinks" already in the room, "Well, at least we need a plan, like to get Xante and Saren into a fight, because they seem to trust each other to a degree," ON said, having one of her smart moments.

" that doesnt seem that hard to do, saren im pretty sure would punch someone for the heck of it, also i dont think he really trusts anyone and Xante that might be harder... somewhat" Jinx said playing with a small ball of water on her hand.

Neo changed back into Inner Neo, "We need to at least keep the emeralds away from their evil clutches," She told her, ying her hair the same colors as her Outer self.

"well duh, i can't even think of what saren would do oh wait never mind i just thought of it, and i just don't know Xante" Jinx said continuing to imagine a world where saren was powered by the chaos emeralds

Neo now sat by Jinx, holding a Friendlight, "I'm just glad the other guys are down in the hot springs." She told her, with a smile.

Xante sat in the restaurant while he waited for his food to arrive and drank a cup of tea. When his food finally did arrive, he finished it and decided to explore the hotel, to find his own room. "Hm, number 234, okay then." He said.

Neo hearing Xante's footsteps applied her multicolored contacts and adopted her Outer self's ditzy personality.

Zerofuse stood outside the restaurant. He leaned against a brick wall, his arms crossed and his right foot pressed against the wall.

"Hm, let's see here... 232... 233... ah, 234!" Xante says, unlocking his room and having a look around "I wonder who's paying for this..." He wonders to himself, hopefully he isn't, all he has on him is the Chaos Emeralds and he isn't going to give them up just to pay for some hotel! Xante stares at the bed in the room and shakes his head "Really, who could sleep in something like that?" He asks himself, before jumping onto the ceiling and hanging off of it, closing his eyes and trying to drift off into sleep.

Neo, noticing Xante clinging to the ceiling, clang two glasses together,"Come on, join us for a celebration, Mr Batty." She said, giggling.

"Welp... Might as well go take a nap." Saren said as he walked towards the hotel rooms.

From inside the room, Neo cheered happily, her cheeks reddened and her kimono loosened,"Yahoo!" She cried out, holding a Friendlight.

After spying on Xante's entourage, Falco decided that they were... odd. He decided that he would target Xante in his room as soon as possible, and avoid having to, god forbid, bond with these people. He slipped into Xante's room from the window, ensuring that he wasn't being watched.

Neo, noticing Falcon, pulled him into a hug and in a slurred way told him,"Comme and join us for a round." She said, happily.

"Screw it... To hungry to sleep." Saren said as he changed his destination mid way to the hotel rooms and went to get some food and find out where everyone is. "Bored..."

Neo cried out once again, holding Jinx in a bear hug,"These drinks are so tasty!"

"Well, that's where they are... Question is, should I stop or should I just walk away... I'm terrible with these things!" Saren semi ranted in a speaking voice.

Neo, seeing Saren cried out, "Oh my gosh! Two Sarens!" She released Jinx and clung onto to him.

Saren is hugged and doesn't really know what to do so he just stood there.

Neo hugged him tighter and said,"Join us for a drink." She then released him and fell on her back.

Saren just shrugged and sat in a corner after getting himself about six bottles of rum and five bottles of vodka.

Neo, feeling her drunkenness die down, sat down by Saren,"Hey" She said, smiling a bit.

A small bubble walked by that looked suspiciously like Platinum.

Falco was being crushed by what he naturally assumed was a ditzy low life girl. He tried to shrug himself out of the hug, and was ashamed to say that it took quite a lot of effort. He had not been anticipating a bloody festival in his target's room. He would have to rethink his strategy. It seemed that this would be a long heist. "What's the occasion?" he asked reluctantly.

Neo looked back up at Falcon, "Tommorow starts our journey, so cheers!" She shouts, opening another Friendlight.

"I-I don't drink" Falco replied. He had been expecting professionals, treasure hunters and warriors of the highest order. This was a nice surprise. He could see himself getting used to picking on weak prey.

Xante opened his eyes suddenly and leaped to the ground, he had been awake this whole time. He fake-yawned and walked outside his room, smelling the faint scent of alcohol "Oh no, they aren't drunk, are they?" He asked himself.

Falco glanced at Xante with a look that said "Help me". It was a face he had mastered in his years as a con artist, and being trapped in Neo's grasp certainly helped. It was always a good strategy to make your target think you weak before you struck. Falco just hoped he would eventually escape from Neo and actually manage to strike.

Neo pulled both of them to the ground, "I figure since we're basically a team we should get to know each other like they did in that one series where people transform and fight evil." She then handed Xante a drink, hoping he wouldn't notice the few centimeters her chest had grown when switching from Outer Neo.

Falco noticed. And he certainly took an interest in it. "Perhaps she isn't as simple as I had thought. Some kind of shape-changer, or temptress. Most definitely a threat... or perhaps an ally." he thought. He smirked. This would be a long night, and at the end of it, he planned to hold the winning hand.

Xante stuck a quick look at Falco ''"Doesn't look as kind as he acts, especially with that smirk of his..." ''He thinks to himself. "Neo, answer me one question, be honest." He says "Are you drunk?"

Neo smiled, faking Outer Neo's drunkenness,"Yes! And it feels so good!" She smiled and cheered once more.

Falco studied Neo curiously. He knew drunk. He had seen drunks crawling through alleyways. He had also seen fake drunks. The kids who wanted to seem cool in front of their friends. And he could guess which one Neo was. He caught her eye and gave her a knowing wink.

Neo looked away from Falco and asked Xante,"A truth or dare would be fun!" She hiccuped and pulled her kimono tight around her body.

Falco smirked, and then swore to himself. He needed to stop smirking. "That could be fun... who goes first?"

Xante sighed ''"How childish of both of you..." ''He thought to himself "Fine. Whoever goes first goes first." He said, flapping his wings a few times.

"I'll go first then. Truth or dare?" he asked Xante.

''"Hm, choosing truth here could be the end of me." ''Xante thought "I choose dare" he says.

Falco rolled a beer to him. "Drink the whole thing in eight seconds."

Saren was still in his corner, forgetting about the alcohol as he observed what was going on before deciding to join in. "Mind if I join in?"

Falco looked up. Another member of Xante's defence force who he had yet to get acquainted with. "Sure, if it's alright with you guys?" He looked at Neo and Xante.

"Eight seconds?" Xante asked, looking at the size of the beer. "Fine, I'll give it a shot." Xante chuckled at his own pun and picked up the beer "Three, two, one..." He said before chugging the whole thing down his throat. When it was all gone, Xante finished it in 7.23 seconds exactly.

Falco laughed. "I can see you and I being friends. Your turn. Who do you want to truth or dare?"

Xante thought for a moment "Neo" He said "Truth or dare?"

Neo blushed and replied,"D-dare," She knew saying truth could end badly for her.

"Let the fun begin." Saren said ominously.

Xante laughed inside "I dare you... to rate everyone's attractiveness in this room." Xante said, the beer had indeed made him quite drunk.

Neo looked down,"Falco's a five, Mars is a seven, Jinx is a nine and y-you and S-Saren are elevens." She then looked away, blushing deep red. She then looked at Saren,"T-Truth or D-Dare?!"

"Dare." Saren responded calmly, making sure to grab the vodka and rum he didn't drink.

"Oh god." Xante said "I must be really drunk, because I don't know if what I just heard was really what I just heard..."

Neo grinned,"I dare you...to get drunk." She said with extreme enthusiasm.

Falco grimaced. "I gotta be honest, I wasn't expecting to be bottom of the list... If only I could change my appearance at will." He chuckled teasingly and stared Neo in the eye. "If only that were possible."

"Oh, it is possible..." Xante said "It's just not a common ability, or maybe it is. I dunno..." Xante stared off into space.

"Fail... I already am drunk.. I just have a higher tolerance than the rest of you." Points to the nearby pile of vodka bottles with a smug grin. "Try again if you wish."

Neo growled,"Fine, kiss Xante," She said without thinking about it.

"...... God d*mn it... Xante... I hope you have enough alcohol for us to forget this ever happened." Saren grumbled as he started downing a bottle of absinthe without actually distilling the poison in absinthe.

Xante got another few glasses "Neo, do you have some kind of sick fantasy in your head?" Xante asked. He emptied the other glasses down his throat, now his vision was really blurry.

Neo giggled,"Just came out now...kiss," She said, happily holding up a camera.

And Falco decided that now was the time to strike. He stood subtly ajd tried to walk out of the toom, as if tored. And as he stimbled past Neo he reached into hsr pocket with the subtlety and skill that years of pickpocketing had taught him to perfect, and lifter out the Emerald undetected. He began to walk away. Everyone was too drunk to notice, and he had no idea what would happen to Neo, but he doubted it would leave her in a confition to fight.

Neo cried out in pain as she felt her and the other Neo being separated,"Gah!" The shock caused her to slump to the ground.

Falco could not have hopef for better. He walksd ouy of the room and doubted he would be followed.

"Eh? Who screamed?" Xante asked, barely able to see "Saren, did you touch her dang butt?" Xante asked, stumbling around.

"No but you were duped by our mysterious avian friend." Saren said.

Neo coughed,"How dare he take my little sister," She then rose, feeling her aura heal her from the shock,"And to think I trusted him." She said, with the dye evaporating, showing her silver hair.

"Woah, Neo is a wizard" Xante said, tripping and falling on his face "Saren, don't make me fall or I'll make Neo kiss you." He said, standing up. "Neo, can I have my... uh what's it called... uh my emerald now? Because you're cute." Xante said, the drunkest he'd ever been.

Neo glared,"Later you drunkard," She said quickly following Falco.

Falco was outside and about to break into flight. They would never find him, he was certain. But then the Emerald began to pulse, and Falco saw things. He saw a little girl, who must have been Neo, and a dying woman and many other things. Tgings that Falco doubted Neo could remeberr, and tgings that she could never be allowed to know. The Emerald was sharing with him, pleadinh to be returned. Falco stopped running. He possibly knew more about Neo than any living person, or it could all have been lies. But deep down he knew it wasn't, and he knew there was only one thing to do. Knowing exactly what would become of him as a result, Falco turned and walked back towards the hotel. He feared Neo now, but perhaps he also felt something for her, and he couldn't say exactly what...

Neo glared at him,"Give me back my little sister, you jerk!" She cried out, accurately landing a kick to his stomach.

Falco moaned in pain, but still handed her the Emerald. He looked into her eyes with a new kind of understanding and realised that he was shaking. "I'm sorry."

"What a meanie." Xante mumbled, walking over to Saren. "I liked her better when she was... uh... not like that... yeah..." Xante said "Saren, do you liiiike her?" He asked

Platinum was still training. "Jeez, you'd think that making an exploding bubble would be easy- What the heck!?" She looked at Falco and Neo.

Neo gave the bird a cold stare,"Next time you pull a stunt like that, don't expect,to get off easy." She then put on her emerald pendant and felt Outer Neo reconnecting with her.

"Probably yes... But dang that was a good hit." Saren shouting out loud. "Doesn't mean I won't eliminate her if I must." he whispered to himself.

Falco stared at Neo as she walked away. "N-Neo. Hiw much exactly do you, you know, remenber about your past..?"

Neo looked at him, saddened,"Not much but I do remember two robed figures with the Ach'Nari symbol." She then walled by Saren and Xante, not looking at either.

Falco opened his mouth to speak, to tell her eberything he saw, but then he stopped. Would that really be a blessing for her. In this case perhaps ignorance could be bliss. So he said nothing. But he made a vow to himself to keep the princess safe and keep himself close, so that when the time was right he could tell her everything. When the time was right...

Xante began to walk, still stumbling "Guys..." He said "What was my room number? I wanna go to bed now" He said

"Ach-Nari... That's a name I haven't heard in a long time..." Saren said, grinning as he did so. (Note: I came up with the term 'Ach-Nari' as a name for a significant group in saren's backstory, I just gave Leo permission to use it however she saw fit.)

Neo then kicked everyone else out of the room and locked it, soon slumping to the ground and crying.

After being kicked out, Xante stood in the hall for a few moments before saying "Well, goodnight!" He found his room, opened the door and flew onto the ceiling, closing his eyes and falling asleep almost instantly.

"Tch... What to do?" Saren asked himself.

Nothing would wake Xante from his slumber, he was having a strange dream. He was alone in a forest, being his usual self, not caring about who or what he kills. He continued to walk until he came upon a town, looking around, he saw the town was empty. As he was about to leave, he saw a creature holding portraits of his... "friends". He stared at the creature and it stared back, holding out two pictures to him. One of Saren and the other of Neo "Whom would you help?" It asked Xante, staring him deep in the eyes. Before he had a chance to respond, he woke up and fell onto the ground, no longer drunk. A few words, similar to the creature's voice, were in his mind "Are you the dragon to kidnap the princess, or the knight in shining armour?" The words kept repeating over and over again, Xante just sat down on the foot of the bed, he couldn't get back to sleep, no matter what he did. He continued to think of what the creature said, he wasn't so sure himself.

Neo wiped her tears,"A princess mustn't weep." She then unlocked the door and felt the suns rays coming through the window.

"You okay Neo?" Saren asked, genuinely concerned for her.

Neo ran into his chest, trying not to cry,"Y-yes I am." She said, wondering why he cared for her.

Saren just awkwardly rubbed Neo's hair in order to calm her down.

Neo clinched his shirt, letting more tears falls,"S-Saren!" She then began to wail.