Master Emerald

The Master Emerald (マスー エメラルド) is a large, green, fictional emerald depicted in the Sonic the Hedgehog video games, cartoons and comic book series.

Origin in the games
Little is known about the origin of the Master Emerald except that it resides in a shrine on Angel Island for an unspecified amount of time, guarded by Knuckles the Echidna. It was created by the gods, because they saw that people are using the Chaos Emeralds for evil deeds, and equipped the gem to be able to negate the energy of the Chaos Emeralds. It has been in existence for thousands of years (at least since the time the Echidna clan was thriving) and has a large connection to the equally mysterious Chaos Emeralds, along with the being known as Chaos.

Purpose
The Master Emerald has unbound power, and is used to keep the Angel Island afloat in the sky. The Master Emerald also has the power to fully control everything that the Chaos Emeralds do, as according to the ancient saying from Sonic Adventure: "The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the chaos." The Master Emerald also possesses the ability to both negate and empower the Chaos Emeralds, meaning it can stop the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, or enhance them, as seen in Sonic Adventure and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, respectively. In Sonic & Knuckles, Mecha Sonic also absorbed its energy to obtain an enhanced form very similar to Super Sonic. The Master Emerald has also been seen creating three-dimensional holographic images within itself in Sonic Adventure.

Only Knuckles, Chaos, and Tikal have been seen to be able to talk to, command, and control the Master Emerald.

Role in the games
First appearing in Sonic & Knuckles, the Master Emerald would go on to play a crucial role throughout the rest of the series.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
In the beta version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, The Hidden Palace Zone features a large unbreakable gem blocking a pipe. Despite rumours that this was the actual Master Emerald, it later emerged that this was simply intended to be a breakable block in the level.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles
The Master Emerald could be seen early in Sonic 3 & Knuckles being used to create "Super Emeralds" from Chaos Emeralds if the player accessed Special Stages. It would appear later being stolen from its altar by Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik to power his Death Egg, a doomsday weapon. It was retrieved by Sonic or Tails (depending on the player's choice) and was returned to Angel Island.

In Knuckles' playthrough, which occurs after Sonic or Tails' playthrough (due to the lack of a Death Egg and the fact that Sonic and Knuckles are friends), the Master Emerald is again stolen, this time by one of Eggman's remaining badniks, although it seems to have been part of a deal with the Sonic-shaped robot Mecha Sonic, that Sonic or Tails battled earlier. Mecha Sonic used the Master Emerald to significantly augment his powers, turning into a super-like state. "Super Mecha Sonic" was defeated by Knuckles anyway, as Mecha Sonic occasionally had to go back to the Emerald to recharge, since he couldn't absorb all the power into his being. As soon as Knuckles defeated Mecha Sonic, the area the two were on crumbled, but Sonic appeared in his biplane to save Knuckles and the Master Emerald, and it was again brought back to Angel Island.

Sonic Adventure
The Master Emerald appeared again in Sonic Adventure for the Sega Dreamcast, where it was again shown keeping Angel Island afloat. The Emerald also held within it the ancient monster known as Chaos, the angry God of Destruction, along with the ancient controller of the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds, and an echidna girl called Tikal. In the game, it was shattered by Dr. Robotnik to release Chaos, causing Angel Island to fall. In the duration of the game's story arc, Knuckles collects the shattered pieces of the Master Emerald from a variety of locations, and ultimately repairs the Emerald.

Sonic Adventure also revealed that thousands of years ago, the Echidna race had tried to steal the Master Emerald, along with the Chaos Emeralds, in order to obtain ultimate power. Chaos, who was their guardian, appeared and destroyed most of the Echidnas in a fit of rage, and in order to stop him, Tikal told the Master Emerald to calm him down. The Emerald then absorbed both Chaos and Tikal into itself, and continued to surge energy into a large part of the continent. Ancient "legends" state that Chaos's power wiped out the Echidna race and caused the island to split from the mainland. After some time passed, a "sky god" came to the island, restored a small portion of the Echidna civilization and threw the "Mighty Stone", the Master Emerald into the air, causing the island to float. The Japanese manuals for Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Knuckles' Chaotix all mention an ancient and prosperous civilization which "disappeared overnight": an apparent foreshadowing of the events of Sonic Adventure.

Sonic Adventure 2
The Master Emerald was again a source of contention as Knuckles fought with Rouge the Bat for possession of it in Sonic Adventure 2. Doctor Eggman tried to steal it again while they were distracted, but Knuckles voluntarily shattered the Emerald in order to keep it out of his hands. Knuckles and Rouge then set off separately to gather the shards of the emerald for their own reasons.

Once all the pieces had been collected the Emerald was reformed by Knuckles. When Space Colony ARK started to fall (due to an automatic system when all seven Chaos Emeralds were gathered in the central control room), Knuckles used the Master Emerald to try to stop the disaster in the Eclipse Cannon's Core, which resembled the Emerald Shrine on Angel Island.

In this game, the Master Emerald seemed to alter in size. Most of the time, when it was completely whole, it was almost as large as Knuckles himself (considerably smaller than it was in Sonic Adventure), however, in one scene in the Last Story, Knuckles pulls out the Master Emerald and it appeared only slightly larger than a normal Chaos Emerald. This suggests that Knuckles has the ability to change the Master Emeralds size.

Sonic Battle
The Master Emerald was first briefly mentioned by Rouge in Sonic Battle, when she taunted Knuckles after giving him a shard of a Chaos Emerald.

It then fully appeared when Sonic went to fight the out-of-control Emerl on the Death Egg. Sonic brought the Master Emerald with him to the space station, hoping it would negate the Chaos Emeralds that powered Emerl. However, the Master Emerald was shattered by Emerl, as he was bothered by the light it produced. It was most likely put together again, as it appears in Sonic Advance 3, a kind of "sequel" to Sonic Battle.

When the Master Emerald appears, Sonic says "a Master Emerald!". This is most likely a translation error, especially because in the next sentence he refers to it as "the Master Emerald."

Sonic Heroes
The Master Emerald played no role in Sonic Heroes, but it was mentioned by Rouge the Bat in the last movie of Team Dark's Story. She says she "might as well go after that Master Emerald, since that irritating ECHIDNA is here!" After the final ending, she walks past Knuckles saying "I think I'll go hunt for someone else's treasure", suggesting the Master Emerald again. This caused Knuckles to run after her.

Sonic Advance 3
The Master Emerald then had a somewhat important role in Sonic Advance 3. After Eggman uses Chaos Control to split the world into seven parts, Sonic and Tails travel to the Master Emerald in order to use its Chaos Emerald-negating powers to undo the changes. After the heroes find it, the final boss is then fought at the Master Emerald altar. After the boss is defeated, the Master Emerald releases a bright light and repairs the world.

Sonic Rivals
In the Sony PSP game Sonic Rivals, Eggman Nega, masquerading as Eggman, stole the Master Emerald and used a special camera to turn it into a card, forcing Knuckles to find him and get it back. The game also stated that the Master Emerald exists in all moments in time simultaneously, so when Eggman Nega transformed the Emerald into a card in one moment in time, it disappeared from all other points in time. The Master Emerald is also one of the 150 collectable cards in the game.

In Sonic Rivals 2, Eggman Nega stole the Master Emerald once again, using it for his Emerald Detector, which he used to find the Chaos Emeralds to unlock the portal to a world of the inter-dimensional beast known as the Ifrit. Knuckles then works with Rouge the Bat to find it. In the ending, they both find out that the Master Emerald was in the Emerald Detector the whole time. Rouge then steals the Master Emerald, causing Knuckles to go after her.

Size dispute
The Master Emerald's size and shape seems to change every appearance. It is larger than Knuckles in Sonic 3 and Knuckles and Sonic Adventure, but about the same size as him in Sonic Adventure 2. Then, after Knuckles restores it at the end of Sonic Adventure 2, he pulls it out of his person to explain how to use it to stop the Space Colony ARK from plummeting to Earth, and it's about the size of a Chaos Emerald. Then, after Shadow defeats the Biolizard, Knuckles puts the Master Emerald into the core and it is slightly larger than Knuckles. The Adventure games also have a slight color difference; Sonic Adventure features an opaque, dark green Master Emerald, while Sonic Adventure 2 features a light, transparent green Master Emerald, though this could be because of both of the games' graphics. The theory most likely to be true is that the animators and modelers did not pay careful attention to consistency between scenes and games that the Master Emerald appears in.

Role in the TV series
The Master Emerald has only appeared in one Sonic the Hedgehog television program, namely Sonic X.

Sonic X
The Master Emerald doesn't play an important role in the early part of Sonic X. However, after a giant Chaos Control brings the worlds of Sonic and Earth together, it appears on Earth along with Angel Island. It is then shattered by the release of Chaos, leading to Knuckles' search for the fragments across various areas, based on the plot of Sonic Adventure. Following the game's plot further, it served to contain Chaos and Tikal, shows certain individuals visions of the past, and is eventually put together.

Later, the anime adapts Sonic Adventure 2, and Master Emerald is stolen by Rouge the Bat (unlike the game, it is never shattered) and taken to Space Colony ARK. Knuckles follows and battles her, and wins the Emerald back. Later, Knuckles uses it to drain the Chaos Emeralds of power, shutting down the engines that propel the colony towards the planet.

In the second series, the Master Emerald first serves as the power source for Christopher Thorndyke's crossover into Sonic's world. As a result of the time difference, the six years Chris has aged back in his world are stored inside the Master Emerald, returning him to his childish appearance, at least that was Eggman's theory. The Master Emerald also serves to power the Blue Typhoon space ship, which Sonic and co. use to travel around the galaxy and battle the Metarex. It's most important use is to power the Sonic Driver, a massive cannon that is one of the few weapons effective against Metarex. The Master Emerald is left shattered and powerless after using the Sonic Driver to destroy/neutralize Metarex leader Pale Bay Leaf, Black Narcissus, and Dark Oak. Chris' age data is either corrupted or unretrievable from the broken Emerald, preventing him from returning home through that method.

Role in the comics
As with the Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald appears in the comics as well as the games and television series.

Sonic the Hedgehog (comic series)
In the Archie-published Sonic the Hedgehog comics, the Master Emerald was created after Miles "Tails" Prower used the Chaos Syphon to collect the energies of Mammoth Mogul (which had been enhanced by the powers he had stolen from the original Enerjak) and Angel Island's two (at that time) Chaos Emeralds. As a result, the Master Emerald had the power of fourteen Chaos Emeralds, though this may have been decreased when Dr. Robotnik shattered it to power Chaos. As with the Chaos Emeralds that kept the Island aloft before it, the Master Emerald is protected by the Chaotix under Knuckles, and also by his relatives in the Brotherhood of Guardians. As such a massive power source, it has been targeted by many villains and criminals, including Robotnik and Rouge the Bat.

The Master Emerald was in the care of Knuckles' father Locke and the Dark Legion following the repulsion of Eggman from Angel Island and the disappearance of the rest of the Brotherhood. The Master Emerald has been involved in several plots, as it was used to give more power to Chaos, restore Knuckles' Chaos abilities after he returned from the afterlife, and provided Evil Sonic with the energy to become Scourge the Hedgehog. It was also the only Chaos Emerald to be rescued from A.D.A.M.'s summons, an effort brought about by the efforts of both Locke and Dr. Finitevus. Finitevus later secured stewardship of the gem, fooling Locke into handing the duties over to him by having the Destructix attack a group of Dingoes. His intention: to use the power of the Emerald to resurrect Enerjak in order to destroy and rebuilt the world the way he believes it should be.

Unaware of the Emerald's status in Finitevus' hands, Rouge the Bat claimed to have stolen the gem, and held an auction where it was supposedly up for bidding. The sting operation style tactic allowed the Freedom Fighters to capture not only Mammoth Mogul, but also Ixis Naugus, Nack the Weasel, Bark the Polar Bear, and Bean the Dynamite. It turned out to be a fake, as Rouge had concocted the plan hoping to impress Knuckles and hopefully gain his interest. Not long afterwards, Finitevus' plans succeeded, and the Master Emerald's powers brought Enerjak back to life. He accomplished this by using his own twisted powers to place a brainwashing spell trap on the Master Emerald, which activated when Knuckles tried to draw its energy into himself so he could help the Echidna people and all of Mobius. Unfortunately, Finitevus' corrupting power seeped in with the energy, leaving Knuckles susceptible to the white-furred Echidna's promptings. Convinced by Finitevus that only Enerjak could manage to control so much power, Knuckles transformed himself into the reincarnation of his worst enemy. In addition, Finitevus blocked Locke's ability to harness the Emerald's power in order to keep him from undoing the spell he had placed on Knuckles. Later, when Enerjak/Knuckles returned to Finitevus in an attempt to replenish his energy, Sonic showed up and used the Master Emerald's power to transform into Super Sonic so he could face off against his brainwashed friend. Oddly, Finitevus seemed pleased to have Sonic transformed upon seeing that the Hedgehog neutralized his tainted spell on the Master Emerald.

Master Geode
According to a prototype plotline shown for the Archie Comics after issue #134, a second jewel similar to the Master Emerald known as the Master Geode would later have been introduced. This gem would have become a point of conflict for Mammoth Mogul, Dr. Eggman, the Iron Queen, and Rouge the Bat before being shattered. Knuckles would have gained omnipotence from exposure to the gem, and could absorb power from its fragments. However, given that most of the other plots in this article have been rendered impossible, it seems unlikely that the Master Geode will ever make an appearance.

Sonic the Comic
In Sonic the Comic, the Master Emerald is not an eighth emerald separate from the main group of seven, but is rather the green emerald of that group at the peak of its power. The original Master Emerald was destroyed and its power absorbed by a robot under the command of Dr. Zachary; the robot's severed head acted as a substitute until Knuckles constructed a new Emerald and transferred the robot's absorbed Chaos Energy into it.