"Look, I think he's dreaming!"
"My son, the future guardian…"
"That fate will not pass, I'll make sure of it…"
"Hun, what are these on his hands?"
"Darling, he is only a child."
"…but he needs to know these things…"
"…should be out there having a childhood! Not…"
"Knuckles, mommy is not here."
"I must leave…"
"The Dark Legion."
"Ever heard of soultouch?"
"Your duty is to the Emerald and isle, not the surface!"
"…90 percent lost…"
"You must become more than a mere guardian."
"Who was the one being who could command the powers of the gods?"
"Enerjak!"
"I would never hurt you my love…"
"…the better tomorrow!"
"Knuckles! What are you-?!"
"There! Now you look more like Knuckles! Do you feel more like Knuckles?"
"The servers are the seven chaos…"
"Chaos is power enriched by the heart…"
"Release my boy! Give him his own life to lead!"
White flashed and I finally jerked myself awake from my nightmare. I hung there in that pocket of time that leaves the mind numb. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long and I end up drowning in my own thoughts once more.
I had another one, another one of those dreams.
They have been coming up more frequently. I have no doubts that it was related to the recent epidemic. When they first showed up, I was confused and scared about what I heard and saw when I slept. Afterwards, I would be even more perplexed and grew terrified when I couldn't remember them in the waking world.
The Master Emerald always had this way of repelling these dreams. But with the gem smashed into shards, the only warmth I gain is from the glow of the fragments. And it is not enough to banish the worst of them.
Funny, I call them dreams when they really are a horrid type of nightmare. But I cannot say that they are anything less than dreams. I dread witnessing them again, but I also feel like a missing puzzle was found. I grow intimidated by the constant visions and comments, along with feeling something like content. The more I experience these dreams, the more I want to witness.
Currently, I had many conflicting emotions bobbing up and around my hurricane of thoughts. I felt petrified, hollow, and faint, yet nostalgic, relieved, and serene all at once. So many past ponders came up that I could hear not one of the new ones. I clung to the little bundle of shards, begging the broken emerald to shed away this confusion and let me sleep in peace.
Through the burlap bag, I could feel the sharp edges and points. I could just barely see the glow it gave off, dim when compared to the whole gem. I could sense the energy it produced: calm, quite, and weak.
Attempts were futile, and I was forced to endure the trauma until they cease on their own. I curled more inwards, wanting the moon to fall so that the sun could banish what the shards could not.
Time seemed to disappear when I arose from the bed. I cared not of the cold that crept through my fur. I didn't mind the unnatural scent of gasoline that stung my nose. I didn't feel the cramps in my hands. All I took in was the slight warmth of the sun cutting through the window.
Warmth, like the hand of… of…
Eyes. Lilac. Blue. Green.
Voices. Strong. Soft. Truthful.
Flashes of the dream last night projected on my eyelids, and blurred negatives appeared on my pupil. My body jerked awake, sensing the cold, the smell, and the pain. I rubbed my eyes, smearing the images with more blotchy streaks.
Feeling cramped in the unnatural space, I got up to catch my bearings. I was in a room, Tail's guest room. I was invited over, being that the emerald needed me down here on the surface. I slept, only to be plagued by these dreams. I awoke, not having any clear memory of witnessed during the night.
With my body and mind caught up, I made my way through the familiar halls to the main living quarters. Here I notice that I was the first to be up and about. Not really a concern, both Sonic and Tails are unpredictable with what time they wake up at.
Bypassing the cabinets, I reach out a hand to the bowl filled to the brim with fruit. Though it tasted different from the island's vegetation I've eaten, I appreciated the gesture of having fresh fruit at the ready.
As I munched, I realized the bag I was still clinging on to. I didn't need to open it. I knew what was in there. Four, measly shards of what once was the Master Emerald. A wave of shame overcame me.
Here I was, the last of my kind, the sole protector of Angel Island, the guardian of the Master Emerald, holding a bag containing pieces of my purpose once more.
"Hey buddy! Why the long snout?"
I raise my head to see the blue hedgehog's smirk. The familiarity broke my still mind and I gave out a glare. Yet, no words escaped my mouth.
"Whoa, take it easy there friend. No need to ruin my good morning!" Sonic backed off, feinting panic.
With a shrug and a chuckle, he sauntered over to the fridge to dig out his breakfast. There was no silence, the noisy being clanking and banging his arm to grab a carton of milk. The sounds were welcomed, putting my mindset back into the usual routine. Thoughts on the night before were wiped clean, leaving me to think about the day ahead.
"As soon as Tails wakes up we need to scour the landing sights for more of those shards."
"Oh, that's new. The hardheaded knuxer is actually willing to relax before saving his stone? Must be sleeping still…"
Swinging the door close, Sonic now held a bucket of butter and a jar of jam in one hand along with his milk. Seems like the younger teen wanted a toasted butter-jelly sandwich for his meal.
"I am not relaxing, I'm just making sure that the pilot gets enough bed rest so that he won't crash the plane when we're on top of it."
"Oh great, a sense of humor, now I know I'm out of it."
Finishing the apple, I tossed the core at Sonic, watching as his balance was thrown off and attempted to not drop anything.
"Give me break, I'm trying to be social if you haven't noticed."
"And you have a long ways to go!"
But it was true, I really was attempting to be more outgoing. My lack of knowledge about people made me gullible and gruff. With Sonic and others being constant allies and friends, I felt that I should trust them. Though, living on a floating island alone was not a place where I could practice such an art. Still, it is a start.
Eating in relative peace, Tails soon entered. His longer pelt was stuck at odd angles, showing us how well his sleep was. Quite humorous since his normally well-kept tails were fuzzy balls behind him.
Sonic snorted, "Had a good night bro?"
Tails mumbled something akin to a remark, and then made his way to get himself something to eat. A short conversation was shared, food was eaten, and soon all three of us were ready to head out.
Now sitting on the back seat behind Tails, I closed my eyes to meditate. I blocked out the billowing winds and the roar of the engine to listen solely to the emerald. I can't quite explain the feeling I get when searching for the chaos energy in the gem. It was warm as well as cool. It felt like water and wind, or maybe fire and electricity. If I could show how it feels, I'd say that the energy feels like an orb of light, a tiny sun, a firefly, something of the sort.
It was difficult searching for such tiny shards, but it helped that each piece were connected. If he had at least one shard, one string of the web, then he could find the rest.
Luckily, he managed to pick up one nearby. It wasn't too far, in the general area of the forest ahead. I put more focus on the signal, wanting better knowledge on the location around the missing piece. The connection grew until…
Pain
Lights
Images
Unimaginable power coursing through my body…
Unnatural
An unknown strength pushed my arms passed their limit…
My body burned with the energy it had…
It wasn't like a firefly, not gentle…
My body felt as if it was covered in fire ants…
I was glowing, like an emerald…
Pain…
I inwardly groaned as I broke the connection I had. The headache was brief but it sent a pounding thud to echo in my mind. I rubbed at my temples to rid myself of the lingering migraine. Even then, I still had a nasty tug at the back of my head.
That was odd. The Master was unpredictable; its powers were widely unknown to all, even to its own protectors. There were countless theories from past echidnas and from the rag-tag of friends I have down here. But there was never a point in time that I can recall that the chaos energy reacted so strongly, especially when the M.E. was shattered and reduced to pieces.
Images flew through my eyes, too fast to decipher them. A sense of touch blew over, very faint and fleeting. Whatever passed, I apparently missed…
"Hey Knux, you sense a shard nearby?" Sonic shouted. His calls were barely audible, the winds making sound travel poorly. I answered to the best of my ability.
"I feel a shard below, straight down!" The forest I where I sense the shard to be was before us. The seconds that passed were enough to reach our destination.
The woods were a lush green, thanks to the frequent rains that visits the lands. The trees were of oaks and maples, with a few deciduous trees speckled here and there. Not dense, nothing compared to the breathing jungle on the isle, but the sheer size made up for it. Since I wasn't able to fully pinpoint the shard, Sonic and I would be scouring an area roughly four miles across.
Sonic must have heard me, unless he liked jumping off of a moving plane with no reason in mind. Who knows?
Following his lead, I stood up to get ready to jump. Tails had heard me as well and was now circling the area I said the shard was. Before plunged, I turned back to Tails.
"I couldn't find a specific location, so we'll be searching this area. It should be here!"
"Alright, I'll head further north to land. When you two are done, meet me there!" He pointed ahead to show me a patch of land where the trees opened up to a clearing. It was somewhat north, leaning a bit more to the northeast.
I nodded, and then jumped down to find the shard below.
The fall didn't scare me and I continued my freefall until I could make out the splotchy shadows of leaves. Now gliding, I scanned my eyes in the land before me. I wanted to see if I could spot the shard before landing. Alas, the woods were too full of shrubbery to see the ground clearly.
The landing was rough, I had gained a few minor scratches from the branches I went through. Fortunately my fur was thick enough to protect me from getting more.
The forest looked enchanting on the surface. Now that the bark and branches were visible, a whole new color scheme played with my eyes. The sea of green I flew above was replaced with this underworld and its shadows. It was beautiful, almost homey.
Though pretty, I still had a job to do. Before I helped Sonic with the foot search, I tried again to connect with the shard once more.
The woods being quite, it was much easier to sense the energy close by. That slight flutter of energy now was a steady stream. I could feel it flowing over me, giving me warmth that wasn't really there. After a few more moments of concentration, I could tell that the energy flow was coming from my immediate left.
I opened my eyes to look at the area and headed to the source. I felt the chaos energy getting stronger with each step.
I always found that funny. Even when Sonic, Shadow, and the others have been exposed to the emeralds power, it seemed that only I can pick up these faint traces. Sonic has utilized the seven emeralds powers I don't know how many times. Shadow can use Chaos Control constantly without any signs of weariness. And yet, finding and pinpointing low energy readings is something only I can do. Perhaps it's because they only used a large amount of energy, or it might be just a guardian thing.
I managed narrow down the search, but I still didn't know where the shard was. There was too much light to spot the shard's green glow, so I had to look under the foliage. I checked under all the bushes and bramble in the area. Yet, I didn't spot the gem piece. I dug around a few spots to see if it was buried under, but the energy flow would disappear when my hands were under.
I didn't want to, but I needed to find the energy source again. I didn't want to suffer from those strange lights. My head didn't pound anymore but I still had a faint pulse. Something about those images sets a torrent of pain crushing against my skull. I wasn't looking forward to experiencing again.
For the third time, I closed my eyes to pick up the chaos power leaking from the shard. I feel the light, but I was hesitant to search further. I tried to pick up the surrounding from the edge of the light. I did what I could to avoid the worst light. Nonetheless, I still suffered from this strange array of light.
Charmy with another bee… a girl?
Vector looks different… leaner…
An odd looking chameleon… Espio?
An armadillo… why does he seem familiar?
The headache I got wasn't as bad as before, but it still was enough to drop my focus. I search harder, even though it sent my mind closer to the light source.
A forest, homey, having a building hidden in a stump…
A rabbit, nothing like the sophisticated mother daughter family I know… metal…
Another hedgehog, wielding a bow and arrow…
A dragon…
A chipmunk… squirrel?
A tree…
There. One of those images shown was from the location around the shard. A tree. A tree. The shard was in a tree. I wished to leave and search up high, but something was pulling me back.
Me…
I can see myself…
Lying in a white bed?
I was trapped. I wanted to open my eyes, I wanted to leave, I wanted to return to the real world. I didn't want to see this.
But why?
What did it matter?
A male disappearing in a wall of flames…
A woman wearing yellow holding an infant…
Another woman with cybernetics, and stunning lilac eyes…
Older guys, ones who have been around for over a century…
All echidna…
Not ancient…
What was this? Surely these must be being of the past, but what is with the robotics? None of the people here were wearing any traditional robes or anything else that resembled the garb that the echidnas wore back then. Who were they?
A wedding…
A birthday…
A reunion...?
A mass of red moving…
Bowing…?
A whole city of maroon…
A whole army of metal and black…
Echidnas. They were everywhere. None looked like how the writing described them as. There was no stone temple or humble huts, there was a whole utopia with technology that could compete with Future City.
A mammoth wielding a sword…
A horde of dingoes fighting…
A green Sonic…
A powerful entity with a golden mask…
Enemies. But I don't know who they are. There was no Ivo…
Ivo?
Who's Ivo?
A truly ancient man…
…covered completely with metal…
…someone I feared…
…someone who made a great evil…
…an evil I once was…
There was too much! Too much information coming through, I couldn't pick up a single meaning!
A white echidna…
A turned friend…
People and cities dissolving…
Families being sent away…
Lilac eyes wet and terrified…
Fire ants all over my body…
Unlimited power…
A plea…
What did this all mean?! I don't understand!
A little girl in a crown…
The male and female together and happy…
Kneecaps…
That girl with those lilac eyes…
Home…
Pain…
Pain!
I snapped back my neck launched my body backwards. My head hit the tree behind me but the physical pain was nothing compared to what that vision left me.
Nothing was clear anymore, just a spectacle of black and white no matter if my eyelids were open or closed. It felt as if a fracture was made in my forehead and someone was drilling into my temples. But my whole head felt like an earthquake, as if the Death Egg returned and decided to land on my skull.
Then something happened. I don't know what, I cannot recall, but the striking pain started to ease.
I felt like I was being comforted. As if someone just realized how much they hurt me and started to help me heal instead. The blinding pain numbed so I can see the forest around me. Warmth blanketed me and gave me enough strength to pick myself up. It was then that I realized that my cheeks were wet.
I was crying?
Why was I crying?
What was I crying over?
The warmth was gone, that soothing blanket swiped away from my person.
I felt exhausted now. I knew I needed to continue searching but I couldn't find that strength to help me. I leaned back, resting against the tree that I hit earlier. I looked up and closed my eyes.
These dreams were now turning into daydreams. They were more than enough trouble at night, what could he possibly do with them during the day?
The lack of sleep was surely showing at this time. He was rather lucky that Sonic and Tails only think that his insomnia is from worrying about the Master Emerald. At least at night he is able to forget about them in the morning. Seeing these dreams in the day, it was like someone kept hitting replay.
The images were detailed and life-like. The people he saw seemed too real to be some illusions of the mind. But he was certain that he never experienced these dreams in real life.
Then again, he can't remember anything before his fifteenth year.
I opened my eyes, only to close them again when the sunlight dug into my eyes. A blink later, and they adjusted. The branches above were a grand shade of green. In a few spots, sunlight broke through the leaves and speckled the ground in gold. It was serene.
But there, in the branches above me, a light not from the sun emitted a green glow. I got up, the pain forgotten, and climbed up the trunk of the tree. Once I got there, I could see the source of the unnatural light: the shard.
Hurriedly, I grasped the broken piece and held it in my hand. I felt a slight grin turning up my cheeks. The warm, tiny emerald held as carefully as a babe. I didn't want to break it further.
Another one. Finally…
Not only will my sole duty be fulfilled, but those haunting dreams will cease once more. When the Master Emerald is complete, these strange occurrences will no longer be. No more…No more!
I placed it with its brothers and felt my connection grow just the slightest.
When returning to Tails, Sonic will be waiting for me. Sonic and I will mock fight over the competition we apparently partook in, we will all fly back to Tail's place, and then we will search for the other shards. I will talk more, be involved, stay up late, and do what I can to find all today. Anything I can to prolong the inevitable exhaustion to come. Anything to halt those addictive nightmares.
Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to SEGA.
Quotes are from the Archie Comics.