Chaos Emerald (Sonic X)

"You must understand. The servers are the seven Chaos. Our hearts intensify their power. The controller serves to unify the Chaos. The seven Chaos Emeralds take what is in our hearts and turn it into power."

- Tikal, "Flood Fight"

The Chaos Emeralds (カオスエメラルド) are prominent 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.

Ancient times
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 in the Mystic Ruins where a colony of Chao lived peacefully, guarded by the mystical water beast Chaos and the Knuckles Clan. Of all the contents in the shrine, the Chaos Emeralds specifically belonged to Chaos.

Eventually though, Pachacamac, leader of the Knuckles Clan, set his greedy eyes on the Chaos Emeralds and Master 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 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
Many years 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 across the planet. Sonic and his friends thus sought them to return home while Eggman wanted them to dominate the earth.

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 game with Sonic 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 vision of 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. 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, 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 it 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 G.U.N. 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 become Super Sonic and Super Shadow to return the ARK to its orbit.

Emerl Saga
In an attempt to lure Dr. Eggman into the open, the President threw the Emerald Fighting Tournament with the prize being a Chaos Emerald. In the end, Emerl won the tournament, but when he received the Chaos Emerald, its power made him go on a rampage when he absorbed it 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 were able to create a portal back home which everyone except Sonic used to return with. However, Sonic was able to gather all seven Chaos Emeralds in a flash which he used to become Super Sonic and return 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 battled Dark Oak, the leader of the Metarex, but when he was unable to defeat Dark Oak, Super 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. Both parties eventually tracked the last two Emeralds to a Metarex space fortress where all seven Emeralds were 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 to battle and destroy Final Mova, though at great costs.

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.

The Chaos Emeralds' power can be harnessed, either by their wielders or machinery, even without physical contact with the Emeralds and over great distances. When harnessed by living beings, the user can perform different abilities, 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 State, a form that grants flight, invulnerability, chaos energy-based powers and potentially infinite strength and speed. These transformations, however, do not last long, as they consume tremendous amounts of energy.

The energy of the Emeralds can also be used to power machines, making it possible to power various types of machinery that normally would be impossible to use due to the immense amounts of energy they require, 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 and negative thoughts, such as anger and hatred, generate negative energies. 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, their either fluctuate or they 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 push 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. 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 it had the same wavelength and properties as the originals, artificial emeralds also allowed 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.