Crystals Of Tranquility


Thank you to my loyal readers and reviewers, Cheetay and Patrich11! You've always reviewed and read my stories, and have been there right from the start! Cheers!

Ahem, now last chapter was a little bit boring and short but this chapter is interesting and longer! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic Team, only my OCs.


Chapter 2. Revelations

A ray of gentle dawn light, flowed into the living room of Rouge's apartment. Shadow's eyes flickered open at the sight of it. He groaned slightly, and proceeded to stretch his numb muscles. Knuckles stirred in his sleep and gradually woke up.

He yawned. "Mornin' Shadow."

Shadow sat up on the couch. "Yeah, you too."

Knuckles got up and began to walk to the door. He then stop dead in his tracks and sniffed. He sniffed for a few seconds, then stopped. A huge smile appeared on his face.

"Cooked breakfast! Sausage, bacon, eggs... and all that stuff!" He ran into the kitchen.

Shadow rolled his eyes and followed Knuckles. He found Rouge in the kitchen, making breakfast.

"G'mornin' Shadow!" Rouge greeted. "I'm making some breakfast, is that okay?"

He nodded and sat at the table. Knuckles was already sitting there, looking hungrily at the nearly cooked food.

"Mmmm..." Knuckles said to himself.

Rouge finished the cooking and set the food on the table. "Breakfast is served!"

Knuckles quickly gobbled the food down and was finished in less than two minutes. Rouge decided to take her time, the club didn't open on Mondays.

"It tastes good." Shadow mumbled.

Rouge smiled. "Everyone tends to say that!" She laughed.

Knuckles shrugged. "But it's true!"

They finished their breakfast and were soon sitting in the living room, thinking about what they should do.

"How about we go shopping?" Rouge suggested.

The men slowly shuffled to the door.

Rouge pouted. "Fine, we won't go shopping!"

"What about going to the chao garden? I need to check on my chao, Crimson!" Knuckles asked.

Shadow shrugged. "I need to see how my chao is getting on too, I guess. He's probably missed me..."

Rouge nodded. "Okay! I wanna see how Sparkle is doing."

"Then let's go!" Knuckles called as he ran out of the room.


Soon, they were in the chao garden. It was very pretty. There was a small waterfall flowing into a lake, and the water was crystal clear and it shimmered in the sun. There were palm trees with fresh ripe coconuts. There were flower patches around with the prettiest flowers you've ever seen. There were all sorts of coloured flowers; pink, red, yellow, purple, everything.

Soon, three chao came running up to them. The first was a red chao that looked similar to Knuckles, it was even starting to grow dreadlocks! It was a hero chao. The second was a black chao, identical to Shadow. It had black spines with red streaks coming out of its head. It was a dark chao. The third was a white chao with large ears and lilac highlights. It was a neutral chao.

"C'mere Crimson!" Knuckles called to the red chao.

"Hiya Sparkle! Have you been good?" Rouge asked the white one.

"...Hey Onyx." Shadow mumbled to the black chao.

Rouge began to feed Sparkle some food. "Do you want a coconut?" She asked, handing her a slice.

Sparkle started to look a bit queasy. She shook her head. "Chao-ao."

Rouge frowned. "Huh? Are you feeling ill?"

Sparkle just sat on the ground, looking unhappy.

Meanwhile, Shadow and Knuckles were having the same problem.

"Onyx, you have to eat!" Shadow said.

"Just take a bite, Crimson!" Knuckles begged.

Onyx was pacing around, looking unhappy like Sparkle. Crimson was punching the wall, looking equally unhappy.

Shadow looked around, noticing that all the chao were doing the same. There was no longer a cheerful atmosphere, now there was a sad one.

"There's something wrong." Shadow muttered. He closed his eyes.

"Sparkle won't even eat her favourite fruit!" Rouge wailed.

Knuckles nodded. "Same with Crimson. I've tried everything!"

Suddenly, Shadow's eyes snapped open. He then flinched and held his head in pain.

"Gah!"

Rouge rushed up to him. "Shadow! Shadow? Are you okay?"

Shadow groaned. "Arrgghh..."

He stumbled around, trying to find his balance. The world spun around him, and he felt very dizzy and sick.

Knuckles ran up to him and supported him. But it was too much pain for Shadow to handle. The world then began to get black, and he fell unconscious.


About half an hour later...

Shadow's eyes slowly opened. He saw a blurry picture of someone staring down at him.

"Shadow?" The voice asked. "Knuckles! He's waking up!"

Shadow began to see clearly, and saw that the person he saw was Rouge. He yawned and stretched. He rubbed his head.

"Wha-what happened?" He asked groggily.

Rouge looked at him, concerned. "We were in the chao garden, then you got all dizzy and fell unconscious!"

He closed his eyes, trying to think. "Ah! Now I remember!" He said. "Our chao weren't eating, right?"

Rouge nodded. "Yeah..."

Knuckles walked into the room. "And Sleeping Beauty awakes!"

"...Shut up." Shadow said.

Knuckles frowned. "I was only joking! Geez, you don't have to be so-" Shadow slapped his hand over Knuckle's mouth.

"No, really, shut up! I need to concentrate, you idiot!"

Shadow closed his eyes and concentrated. His eyes snapped open.

"There's something wrong... something very wrong." He said.

"What is it?" Rouge asked.

"The atmosphere, it's... changed." He replied. "Well, more like there's some sort of disturbance."

Knuckles looked confused. "A disturbance? Like when the emeralds have been damaged or something?"

Shadow nodded. "Precisely."

"B-but we have all of the emeralds! We established that yesterday!" Rouge interrupted.

"Yes, but the emeralds don't really do this sort of damage to the atmosphere." He replied.

"Well, what else can do 'this sort of damage'?" Knuckles asked.

Shadow stared into space. Something then dawned on him. "I know what could. The tranquility crystals!"

Rouge frowned. "What are they?"

"They are similar to the chaos emeralds." Shadow explained. "But, the tranquility crystals help keep the world in balance. Without them, the world will perish. The seas will dry up, the oxygen will disappear... everything. No-one would survive. Except maybe me."

"Are things seriously out of balance right now!?" Rouge asked, panicking.

He shook his head. "No. It's only slightly. Not much damage has been done yet."

Knuckles gasped. "That's why all the chao were acting strange! They could sense it!"

Shadow nodded. "Yes, chao are very sensitive to things like that."

"So what's wrong with the crystals?" Rouge asked.

He frowned. "They must be damaged, or away from the shrine. They need to be there at all times. That's why they have a guardian. Just like Knuckles was the guardian of the master emerald."

"Well, what could we do?" Knuckles asked.

"It's pretty simple actually. We go and visit the shrine, to find out what's wrong."

Rouge raised an eyebrow. "And just where is the shrine?"

"In a secret area. I know where it is, I'll just chaos control there."

"Then let's go!" Knuckles said impatiently.

"Fine, just hold onto me." They grabbed his arm. "Chaos control!"

There was a flash of light, and they were gone.


They appeared in a forest type place. There were lots of trees, and in a small clearing there was a shrine. It had one small gem on it.

Suddenly, a brown fox jumped down from a tree and landed right next to them. She had long brown hair and green eyes. She was wearing a yellow tube top and a mini skirt, with yellow sandals. A ball of fire appeared in her hands.

"Who are you!?" She demanded.

She then relaxed when she saw Shadow.

"Oh, it's only you." She smiled. "Hi! Who are your friends?"

"Hello. This is Rouge and Knuckles." Shadow replied.

"Hiya! I'm Hazelnut, the guardian of the tranquility crystals!" She looked at the floor sadly. "At least, I was."

"What happened? I noticed a disturbance in the atmosphere." Shadow asked. "And where are the rest of the crystals?"

"Well... I woke up this morning, and I saw this bright flash of green light. So, of course, I ran to the shrine. But when I got there, the crystals were gone!" She wailed. "I saw a hooded figure leaving but I could catch him or her. They seemed to have teleported away!"

Rouge gasped. "I saw hooded figures too! At my club!"

"They must be trouble... I wonder who they are..." Hazelnut trailed off.

"Could we go and look for the crystals?" Shadow asked.

Hazelnut nodded. "Yes, but according to the code of the guardians, I have to let the crystal of approval decide who gets to go."

"What's the crystal of approval?" Rouge asked.

"It's this crystal around my neck, see? It shows that I'm the guardian." She replied. "I'll just find out for you." She wrapped her hand around the crystal, and closed her eyes.

After a minute, she opened them.

"Two people have been chosen." She said. "Shadow and Rouge, you are permitted to find them."

"Couldn't you look for them?" Knuckles asked.

She shook her head. "No... I have to stay here. I'm not permitted to leave, unless absolutely necessary."

"Do you know where abouts the crystals are?" Shadow asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, that's what makes it so frustrating. I know where they are, but I can't go and look for them!"

"You can use telepathy, can't you?" He asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You could talk to me via telepathy, then I would know where to look!"

She grinned. "Good idea!"

"So, where is the first one?" Rouge asked.

"It's on an island, just a few minutes away from Emerald Coast. " She replied. "I could give you a map, if you like."

Shadow shook his head. "I'll find it."

"Okay then. I suppose you'd better be on your way. I'll teleport you home, Knuckles." Hazelnut said, looking at Knuckles.

Knuckles nodded. "Thanks." He turned to Shadow and Rouge. "Good luck guys, I can sense you'll need it."

Shadow smirked cockily. "Thanks, but I'm sure we'll be fine!"

Hazelnut shook her head. "You're still the same, huh?"

"You bet I am."

She frowned. "You need to be careful. Who knows what dangers may face you..."

He rolled his eyes. "Can you just let us go now? We need to be very quick."

Hazelnut sighed. "Yeah, a race against time..." She turned to Knuckles. "Are you happy to go now?"

Knuckles nodded.

"Good... Bye then!" She said. A ball of light flowed around Knuckles.

"Bye! Hope you find them!" And with that, he disappeared.

Hazelnut turned to Shadow and Rouge. "I can teleport you to Emerald Coast, if you'd like."

Shadow shook his head. "I'd rather use chaos control."

She shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

"I'll speak to you soon. Bye." Shadow said.

"See ya!" Rouge called.

Hazelnut grinned. "Bye then!"

"Chaos control!" With a blinding flash, they were gone.

She sighed. "I hope they'll be okay..."


Shadow and Rouge appeared on Emerald Coast a few seconds later. Shadow looked around.

"I suggest we hire a speed boat." He finally said.

Rouge pouted. "I'm gonna get wet, aren't I?"

He looked at her like she was crazy. "You're about to go on a long journey, and you're worried about getting slightly wet?"

She giggled. "Yes!"

He sighed. "Come on, I can see a shop over there." He pointed to a small shop.

Rouge began to walk over there. "I hope they sell bikinis!"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Duh, it's a shop on the beach. Of course they're going to have swimwear!"

When they got there, Rouge went into the bikini section and went to try them on in the changing rooms. Shadow however, went up to the desk.

"Do you have any speed boats we can hire?" He asked the man.

The man nodded. "Yes, do you want to have a look?"

"Okay then."

They went round to the back of the shop, where the boats were.

"Just pick one. They have a price tag on them. But they're not too expensive." The man told Shadow.

Meanwhile, Rouge had found a bikini her size. It was a white and purple striped one. She looked for Shadow.

"Hey, Shadow!"

He came back with a ticket for a speed boat.

"You called?"

"Oh, I was just wondering where you were, that's all." She replied.

"Hmm, well I found a speed boat. I just need to pay for it."

She smiled. "That's good then!"

The shopkeeper walked up to Shadow. "Did you find one you liked?"

He nodded and handed him the ticket.

"Okay, that would be $90 for the whole day."

Shadow handed him the money and ran to the boats. He dragged the one he paid for, and put it in the water.

"Hop on!" He shouted to Rouge.

Rouge got onto the boat and held onto Shadow. "I'm on!"

He revved the engine, and they sped off.

'Hazelnut! Can you hear me?' Shadow called out in his thoughts.

'Loud and clear!' Came the reply. 'Very loud, in fact!'

'What direction do we have to go in?'

'North, for a few minutes. You should find an island with a forest on it.' She replied.

'Got it, thanks.' Shadow said.

'Okay, over and out!'

Shadow blinked and focused on the boat. "We have to go north, according to Hazelnut. We should find an island with a forest on it." He told Rouge.

"Mmmhm, okay." She replied.


Soon, they stopped at an island. It was covered by a huge forest.

"This looks like it." Shadow said.

Rouge nodded. "Why don't you ask Hazelnut where the crystal is?"

"Okay, just don't distract me." He replied.

'Hey, Shadow! I see you're there. Right, there's a cave on the east side of this island. You should find the crystal there. It's the pink one.' Hazelnut told him.

'Thanks.' He replied.

"We have to go east!" Shadow said.

"This island is huge though!" Rouge moaned.

He sighed. "Jump onto my back."

"Uh, okay?" She jumped onto his back. "I'm on!"

Shadow ran off with Rouge on his back. It took a few minutes to finally find the cave.

"I think this is it." He said, examining the cave.

"It's um, pretty dark in there." Rouge noticed.

"Humph, I'll use my chaos energy to light the way." Shadow walked into the cave.

"H-hey! Wait for meee!" Rouge called as she ran after him.

They walked for a minute, with Shadow lighting the way. A circle of light was appearing the distance.

"Look! Light!" Rouge said.

Shadow grabbed Rouge's arm. "Come on, let's go."

They ran into the light. They found themselves in a part of the cave where the roof had come off. In the centre of the area, the pink crystal stood on a small pillar.

Shadow walked up to it. "This is too easy!"

As soon as he touched it, a hooded figure appeared next to him.

"You spoke too soon." The voice hissed.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Rouge asked.

The figure snapped its head towards her. "I will let you know my name. Thorn, and I'm going to take this crystal!"

Rouge ran up to him. "Oh no you're not!"

Thorn stuck out a hand and shot an energy beam at her.

"Gah!"

"Rouge! Are you okay?" Shadow asked.

"Ugh, yeah."

Thorn chuckled evilly. "There's no way you can defeat me. You're weaklings!"

Shadow growled.

He smirked. "You doubt it?"

"Yes! I challenge you to a fight!" Shadow yelled.

Thorn got into a fighting stance. "Bring it on!"


So we know who one of the figures are! Review if you like it! I hope to get the next chapter up soon so look out for it! Thanks for reading!

P.S. I just love cliffhangers! =P