Chaos Emerald (Sonic X)

The Chaos Emeralds (カオスエメラルド) are objects that appear in the anime series Sonic X and its comic series published by Archie Comics. Originating from Sonic's world, they are seven legendary and mystical stones with powerful properties and abilities, tied to the Master Emerald, that gives one the power to rule the world. Those that hold the Chaos Emeralds can use their powers for a variety of things, such as achieving a super form, powering machines and warping time and space. Anyone who possesses all seven of the Chaos Emeralds can command near-unsurpassed power.

Across space and time, the Chaos Emeralds have been the center of countless world-threating conflicts and have been targeted by multiple factions on both Earth and beyond, who seek them for their immeasurable powers. In the hands of villains they have been used for doomsday weapons and schemes for world domination and in the hands of heroes, they have been used for good. Over time, the Chaos Emeralds have been gathered multiple times, though after each usage they scatter themselves and reset the hunt for them.

Past
No one to this date truly knows where the Chaos Emeralds come from. The earliest documentations of the Emeralds date back to the era when Knuckles Clan still thrived. In those times, the Chaos Emeralds resided within a sacred shrine with the Master Emerald within the Mystic Ruins where a colony of Chao lived peacefully, guarded by the mystical water beast Chaos. Of all the contents in the shrine, the Chaos Emeralds specifically belonged to Chaos.

Eventually, Chief Pachacamac, leader of the Knuckles Clan, set his greedy eyes on the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald to gain the power needed to destroy the invading tribes. In a violent raid, Pachacamac and his warriors brought destruction to the Emeralds' shrine. Tikal, daughter of the chief, attempted to stop her clan, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Trampling over Tikal and the Chao alike, the Chaos Emeralds were called down from their pedestals and took on new forms around the Master Emerald as the echidnas approached them. However, Chaos blocked their path and in a fit of rage, it used the Chaos Emeralds to become Perfect Chaos and wiped out the tribe before it was sealed in the Master Emerald by Tikal.

New World Saga
Generations after the Chaos incident, the seven Chaos Emeralds were collected by Dr. Eggman. From within his fortress, Eggman inserted the Chaos Emeralds into his Energy Amplifier which would give his latest creation infinite power, but before he could activate it, Sonic the Hedgehog arrived and tricked Eggman's robots to damaging the device. As a result, the Chaos Emeralds created a massive Chaos Control that sent everyone in the area to Earth where the Chaos Emeralds scattered. Sonic and his friends thus sought them to return home while Eggman wanted them to dominate the new world.

The first Chaos Emerald was discovered on a construction site. Sonic and his allies raced Eggman for the Emerald, but thanks to Chris, the heroes got away with it. Tails would use this Emerald to power his X-Tornado. The second Chaos Emerald was found by Albert Butler in the Diamond Stadium. Tails discovered it, but the energy reaction between this Emerald and Tails' drew the attention of Dr. Eggman who escaped with the Chaos Emerald despite playing a baseball match with Sonic and his friends over ownership of it. Tails and his friends soon found the third Chaos Emerald, but Eggman arrived and ultimately stole it. However, with Sonic pursuing him to his fortress, Eggman utilized his two Chaos Emeralds for E-18 Guerra-Hard to battle Sonic. However, Sonic retook them and used them to decimate Eggman's fortress.

Chaos Emerald Saga
With the hunt for the Chaos Emeralds more intense than ever, Sonic and his crew soon discovered another Chaos Emerald in the Sapphire Sea inside a sunken ship which they got despite interference from Eggman. The fifth Chaos Emerald was later found by Hawk in some ruins which he hid away for safekeeping while he contacted Knuckles. In spite of multiple factions who were after the Emerald, Knuckles got it and it gave him a brief message from Tikal. The sixth Chaos Emerald was found by Nelson Thorndyke in a jewel shop which he planned to give to his wife on their anniversary, oblivious to the energies it released from being in close proximity with other Emeralds which caught the attention of several parties. During a skirmish between Rouge and Dr. Eggman though, Nelson lost it to Eggman.

When the final Chaos Emerald was discovered by E-77 Lucky, Eggman tricked Chris and Knuckles to give him their Chaos Emeralds. A mad dash ensured for the final Chaos Emerald which Sonic got first, only to be beaten to a pulp by Eggman's Chaos Emerald-powered E-99 Eggsterminator. However, Chris got the remaining Chaos Emeralds to Sonic which transformed him into Super Sonic. In this form, Sonic made short work of Eggman and triggered another Chaos Control-explosion that summoned pieces of his world to Earth before the Chaos Emeralds scattered again.

Chaos Saga
Six months later, three of the Chaos Emeralds were each rediscovered by Dr. Eggman, Tails and Lindsey Thorndyke, while the fourth ended up inside a Flicky's pendant. Meanwhile, Big found another which Froggy stole under the influence of Chaos. As a part of his plans to use Chaos, which he had taken control of, to dominate the world, Eggman began hunting down the Chaos Emeralds to make the water beast invincible. The doctor quickly stole Lindsey's Chaos Emerald, which she had given to Cream, and gave his two Emeralds to Chaos, turning it into Chaos 2. Then, while Sonic and Tails began locating the Emeralds to stop Eggman's plan, the doctor stole the two they had gathered and gave them to Chaos, making it Chaos 4. Having also captured Froggy and Lily, Eggman seized their Chaos Emeralds and turned Chaos into Chaos 6, but Sonic and Knuckles beat it and Knuckles took back the Chaos Emeralds.

Its Emeralds stolen, Chaos decided to go after them itself and finish what it started so long ago: destroy the world in its rage. Following a quick assault, Chaos got the six Chaos Emeralds back from Knuckles along with the seventh that Chris had found shortly before-handed. As Perfect Chaos, Chaos drained the Emeralds of their negative chaos energy until there was nothing left and regurgitated them. However, with the positive thoughts from everyone, the Chaos Emeralds were recharged and Sonic used them to become Super Sonic and defeat Chaos while neutralizing its rage.

Shadow Saga
Following their dispersion after the battle with Chaos, the Chaos Emeralds were quickly recovered again. Eggman and Tails managed to obtain one each, three others were sealed off inside Prison Island by GUN and another was put on display in the National Museum of Art. Using his Chaos Emerald, Eggman awakened Shadow who set Eggman out on another hunt for the Chaos Emeralds to conquer earth with the Eclipse Cannon on the Space Colony ARK, which required the Emeralds to work. Meanwhile, Rouge and Topaz stumbled upon another Chaos Emerald during a mission which they used as a bargaining chip to infiltrate Eggman's ranks. Eggman and his allies quickly stole the Emeralds from the museum and Prison Island and used them to demonstrate the Eclipse Cannon by blowing up half of the moon.

As Sonic and his allies infiltrated the ARK, Eggman snatched Tails' Chaos Emerald in the middle of the confusion. Eggman tried using the Eclipse Cannon with all seven Chaos Emeralds, but instead triggered a program created by his later grandfather Gerald Robotnik. This program pulled the Chaos Emeralds into the core of Eclipse Cannon, where they turned the ARK into a huge bomb which would collide with the earth to avenge Maria Robotnik's death. To stop this catastrophe, Knuckles used the Master Emerald to shut down the Chaos Emeralds, though the ARK stayed on its collision course. Sonic and Shadow therefore used the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic and Super Shadow and return the ARK to its orbit.

Emerl Saga
In an attempt to lure Dr. Eggman into the open, the President threw the Chaos Emerald Martial Arts Mash-Up with the prize being a Chaos Emerald. In the end, Emerl won the tournament, but when he received the Chaos Emerald, its power overloaded his systems and sent him on a rampage until Cream destroyed him.

Homebound Saga
When everyone from Sonic's world had to return to home since their presence was threatening to stop time, the hunt for the Chaos Emeralds began anew which were needed to trigger Chaos Control. With a Chaos Emerald Sonic had found, Tails and Chuck Thorndyke could create a portal back home which everyone except Sonic got through. However, Sonic was able to gather all seven Chaos Emeralds in a flash which he used to become Super Sonic and return home with just in time to foil another of Eggman's plots.

Metarex Saga
Six months later in Sonic's world, the Chaos Emeralds were targeted by the Metarex, an intergalactic army of cyborgs who needed them for their universe-encompassing forestation project. Sonic used the Emeralds to become Super Sonic and fight Dark Oak, the leader of the Metarex. Unable to defeat Dark Oak, Sonic used Chaos Control to scatter the Chaos Emeralds across the galaxy. Sonic and his allies thus began hunting down the Chaos Emeralds again, this time in a race against both Dr. Eggman and his allies, and the Metarex.

During their space-faring adventure, Sonic and his team found a Chaos Emerald on Planet Secco, a jungle planet, and in an abandoned city, while Eggman's team got two Chaos Emeralds themselves. Meanwhile, the Metarex would produce flawed artificial Emeralds as a part of Operation Duplicate.

Sonic and Eggman's parties eventually tracked the last two Emeralds to a Metarex space fortress. All seven Emeralds were soon drawn into a massive battle, where Sonic and Shadow use them to enter their super forms. The two super-powered hedgehogs fought each other until a gravity warp was created from the collapsing space fortress which scattered the Chaos Emeralds once more.

All parties began searching for the Chaos Emeralds again, but despite each of them finding a few, the Metarex ended up with all seven. Setting up their forestation project on Planet Aqurius for a cosmic phenomenon, Dark Oak, Pale Bayleaf and Black Narcissus used the light provided by the Chaos Emeralds in conjunction with the water provided from the Planet Eggs they had stolen and the energy from the phenomenon to transform into Final Mova to flourish plants and kill all animals. As Final Mova finished its transformation, it drained the Chaos Emeralds of their power, rendering them inert. However, the Planet Eggs restored the Emeralds, and Sonic and Shadow used them to become Super Sonic and Super Shadow again and destroy Final Mova.

Archie Comics
The Chaos Emeralds originally resided in a shrine on the ancestral home of the Knuckles Clan, which was named Angel Island, along with the Master Emerald. For generations, the Knuckles Clan guarded the Emeralds. However, when a neighboring tribe attacked Angel Island, the Knuckles Clan decided to use the Emeralds against the invaders. But the clan was destroyed by their own fear and anger when they tried to control the Emeralds.

In the present day, the seven Chaos Emeralds were gathered by Tikal and the Chao when Dr. Eggman attacked Station Square in his Egg-Gantor. Giving them to Chaos, the creature used the Emeralds' positive chaos energy to achieve a Super Form different from Perfect Chaos which it used to defeat Eggman's mech. The Chaos Emeralds were afterwards re-scattered.

In a scheme to take control of Perfect Chaos, Eggman gathered the six Chaos Emeralds once more with his Greenbots and stole the last one from Tails' X Tornado. Bringing both the Chaos Emeralds and his Greenbots to the Master Emerald, Eggman pulled Chaos out and force-fed it the Emeralds, turning it into Perfect Chaos while merging it with his Greenbot, thus forming Chaosbot. Though under Eggman's control, Chaos could still fight back long enough to give the Chaos Emeralds to Sonic, thus allowing him to turn him into Super Sonic and free it from Eggman's control.

A Chaos Emerald eventually resurfaced, this time inside a meteor that landed on the South Pole. Several parties, including three groups of Sonic's allies, Rouge and Dr. Eggman, fought for the meteor, but unseen to everyone but Chris, the Chaos Emerald fell out of the meteor during the skirmish, allowing Chris to claim it. Socrates Ramada later came across another Chaos Emerald which he put up as the prize of the Station Square Pet Show, embedded in a pet collar. After a series of improbable events, Cream won the Chaos Emerald which she donated to the Station Square Society for the Protection of Animals.

Powers and traits
Described as a legendary stone that give its possessor the power to rule the world, each Chaos Emerald is said to possess mystical properties and contains unlimited amounts of highly potent and powerful chaos energy. Even alone, their power is unmatched by pretty much anything else in the universe, except by the Master Emerald. Each Chaos Emerald emits highly concentrated energy in the form of electromagnetic waves which can disrupt machinery.

The main power of each Chaos Emerald is described as being able to transform thoughts into power; by "sensing" people's thoughts, the Chaos Emeralds are able to generate the chaos energy they contain which make the Emeralds' an everlasting source of pure energy. As an offset of this power, the Chaos Emeralds can even bend reality to achieve certain feats, such as showing visions. Additionally, each Emerald can float in midair on its own power, and can orbit around the one who uses it.

The Chaos Emeralds' power can be harnessed with or without physical contact and over great distances. When harnessed by living beings, the user can perform different techniques, such as Chaos Control, and occasionally get their own abilities enhanced. Even just two Emeralds can provide a user with overwhelming power. Harnessing the power of all seven Chaos Emeralds will transform one into a Super Form, a form that grants flight, invulnerability, chaos energy-based powers and potentially infinite strength and speed. However, these transformations do not last long, as they consume tremendous amounts of energy. The Emeralds can also be harnessed to power and/or empower machinery, such as the Eclipse Cannon.

The type of chaos energy the Emeralds produce is based on thoughts/emotions. Positive thoughts, such as friendship and caring, generate positive energies that comforts who holds them and negative thoughts, such as anger and hatred, generate negative energies that further increases the user's rage. If the Chaos Emeralds are either absent of the negative energies (or possibly positive energies) or all of their energy, they will become inert and apparently powerless. The only known ways to restore the Emeralds from this state is through peoples' thoughts or the Planet Eggs.

Chaos Emeralds have a tendency to react to each other. Whenever Chaos Emeralds are brought together without being given time to adapt to each other's presence, they either fluctuate or will release immense quantities of energy. Also, all seven Chaos Emeralds being in one place results in them releasing energy, sometimes on such a level that they trigger Chaos Control, that pushes them away from each other, meaning that all seven Emeralds can only be used for one purpose together before they scatter again.

Artificial Emeralds
It is possible to create synthetic Chaos Emeralds with the properties as the originals, but with less power. This has been proven by both Tails and the Metarex's Operation Duplicate. However, the Metarex-made Emeralds seem to phase out after use, becoming fragile and useless; even without using them, these Emeralds are fragile themselves as they can be hand-crushed easily as demonstrated by Shadow and Rouge. Metarex-made Emeralds also seem to only have negative energy inside them as Sonic felt sick in their presence and became Dark Sonic when he used them.

The artificial Emeralds can be used to sabotage devices that require Chaos Emeralds to power them. It was because of this that Tails attempted to place a fake Chaos Emerald into the Eclipse Cannon console and render it inoperable. In addition, because they have the same wavelength and properties as the originals, artificial Emeralds also allow the user to perform Chaos Control as a genuine Chaos Emerald would, which is especially apparent with how Sonic escaped from a pod and how Shadow teleported back to the Blue Typhoon after being launched far away by the Sonic Power Cannon. It is mentioned that the Metarex made artificial Chaos Emeralds to trick Sonic and the others from getting their hands on a real Emerald.

Trivia

 * Emerald is the name of a specific gem of the beryl variety, a family known for its wide array of possibly colors. "Emerald" is also used in Japan as a generic term for jewels.
 * During Tikal's visions prior to Perfect Chaos' first attack, one can see that the Chaos Emeralds are diamond-shaped instead of their usual design.
 * "Chaos" in the English language means disorder and an irregular, unpredictable action that was remarkably sensitive to regular changes in environment, similar to how the Chaos Emeralds in the series act. "Chaos" as used in Greek refers to a large emptiness, or space. "Space" in English came to be a general term meaning both everything outside of the Earth’s atmosphere and the placement of objects in relation to one another.
 * The colors of the Chaos Emeralds are based on the three primary colors of light (red, blue, and green), the three secondary colors which are mixtures of the primary colors (red + blue = purple, blue + green = cyan, and green+ red = yellow), and finally grey which is a mixture of all three primary colors (red + blue + green = grey).