(AN: First I wanna say: OH MY GOD
I am real sorry I haven't updated in like 2 weeks, tbh I kinda procrastinated during the early parts of this fic, and I was writing other things too. Not to mention, this chapter is 9k words.
Pretty much, I spent 9 DAYS on this.
...
Remember when I said this was gunna be a long fic?
But in all actuality, you guys rock for waiting patiently these past, almost two weeks, for this chapter. However, i will warn now: most likely the other chapters are going to take as long as this one, maybe even LONGER, so do be prepared for that.
Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy the long awaited Chapter 3!)
The sound of something sizzling awoke Charmy from his sleep.
The bee yawned as he rubbed his eyes. A bright blue sky lay above on the cloudless morning, and here he was; snug under a sleeping bag.
Charmy turned his head to the side as he continued hearing the sizzling. He saw Vector crouched down by a fire, holding a stone over the fire as eggs cooked on it.
"Mornin', Charmy." Vector said. "Yer just in time, breakfast is almost done. We should be headin' out quickly to find that next Chaos Emerald. In the meantime, we should eat cause we gotta big day ahead of us."
However, Charmy frowned at the eggs. "Eggs that was cooked on a rock? That doesn't seem very clean, Vector…"
"Sometimes, we just gotta eat like our ancestors used to, Charmy. Don't worry, I'm sure nothin' will happen to ya."
The crocodile suddenly grinned. "That is, unless ya dun want the Holy Quail to come knockin' down askin' for its eggs back."
The youngest Chaotix member yelped as he covered his mouth. Vector laughed loudly.
"Ahhh, I'm just messin' with ya, Charmy. Nah, I bought these at the store. It was pain havin' to wake up early without coffee, but it was worth it."
"So…" Charmy looked at the pieces of cooking eggs. "How am I gunna eat this?"
"Pinch yer fingers on the side and put it in yer mouth. It's that simple."
Vector moved the stone closer to Charmy. "Careful," he said. "It's hot, real hot."
Fortunately, as he had gloves on, the bee didn't feel the heat of the stone, and grabbed the egg without any complications. Charmy happily ate away at his breakfast, and since Vector already finished his, he put the fire out and tossed the stone aside. As the two Chaotix members were now getting up, they could see the archaeologist from yesterday standing by the temple's entrance, hat over his eyes.
"Hey, it's the archaeologist dude!" Charmy exclaimed.
"What's he doin' here? Did he check out the temple?" asked Vector.
"We should go find out!"
Vector and Charmy walked up to the archaeologist. He turned around and looked at the sorrowfully.
"Oh… it's you two…" he moaned. "Just when I thought I found an all new discovery by myself, nothing, this temple garners us nothing…"
"Aw… that sucks to hear…" Vector lied, making up sympathy.
"I was hoping that this would be the beacon of archaeology. But… nothing…"
He then sighed. "I guess… we'll just have to find some other place… For now, I'll just see if my men have hopefully found anything new."
"Oh, uh… okay," said Charmy. "Me and my guardian are gunna go now…"
The crocodile and bee walked away from the archaeologist, wiping their foreheads.
"Whew! Guess we're thankful we fought the water dragon yesterday, otherwise those guys would have been toast!" Charmy said.
"I know. Anyway, we shouldn't worry 'bout that guy, Charmy. Let's just head back to Station Square and find that next Chaos Emerald!"
Charmy cheered as the two ran all the way back to the Mystic Ruins. They headed towards the direction of the train and managed to get on as the train was almost ready to depart.
Taking their seats, the two began to catch their breath as the doors of the train closed.
"Platform 5 is now on board to Station Square." The train's conductor said. As the train began to speed away, Vector noticed that no one else was on the train except him and Charmy. It gave him a bit of an eerie feeling, but the crocodile didn't make too much of it.
However, for some reason, he only noticed in the corner of his eye a hooded man standing by the doors at the end of the train. Vector almost jumped in surprise, how did he not notice him before?
Charmy noticed Vector's distress and looked up at him.
"Vector? What's wrong?" he asked. The bee then noticed the hooded man and got scared.
"V-Vector… who is he?"
Then, he began to walk towards the direction of the Chaotix. The large green reptile put his hand over Charmy as he growled. Suddenly, just as he stopped in front of the two, he began to speak.
"Do not be hostile, my friends. I mean no harm…" he said. Vector was surprised. He was expecting the hooded figure to be bad, but here he was, having a conversation with him.
"Hmm… judging from the both of you, you two are collecting Chaos Emeralds, are you not?"
Vector jumped a bit in surprise. "H-Huh? How the heck d'ya know that?"
The hooded man ignored the question and began to dig into his robes. He pulled out a map and handed it to Vector.
"Here, take this," he said. "This map will show you where all the Chaos Emeralds are located. It should be much easier finding them now, no?"
The crocodile and bee's eyes widened as they looked at the map, which showed each location of the remaining six Chaos Emeralds.
"T-Thank ya so much! But, who are ya-"
Vector looked up to see that the hooded man was now gone. The two frantically looked around, but found no sight of him.
"Who or… what was that person?" asked Charmy. "And how did he know we were finding the Emeralds? I mean, sure it's useful that we have this, but…"
"There's so many questions unanswered…" muttered Vector.
Getting off the train, Vector and Charmy made their way into the downtown portion of Station Square. Vector looked at the youngest Chaotix member and smiled.
"Y'know, I know I said today was gunna be busy, but how 'bout fer now, we have a little bit of a break before we get back to what we were doing before?" he said. Charmy gasped as stars formed in his eyes.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS, VECTOR?!"
The crocodile nodded.
"Yay! Whee!"
The bee began to happily buzz around. "C'mon, Vector! Where do we go to first?!"
"Let's just walk 'round, take in the view," replied Vector.
"That seems boring!"
"Not without me around," Vector grinned a toothy grin.
Complying, the bee followed around the crocodile as the two Chaotix members walked around Station Square, enjoying the sights and sounds of the city. With Vector and Charmy having fun, it seems that Espio was almost forgotten about.
Around noon-ish, Charmy got slightly hungry, so Vector decided to get some snacks from a vendor. He came back with two ice cream cones (one for him and the other for Charmy), a medium sized bag of nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips, and a few bags of candy. Placing the bagged goods into the little knapsack Vector had bought Charmy with the few rings they were able to get from the temple, the two Chaotix members ate their ice cream as they walked down the street.
However, Charmy stopped when he saw a familiar sight.
"Vector, look! It's Sonic!" he exclaimed, pointing to the blue hedgehog, who was standing in front of a chili dog stand. The two suddenly froze when it hit them that Sonic was merely feet away.
"Heh heh… hey, Vector… look! Sonic is over there! Eh heh…"
"Yeah... ha ha…"
The two awkwardly giggled as the quickly looked at each other.
"Charmy, we're leavin' now," Vector said.
"Gotcha!" replied the bee.
As soon as Vector and Charmy turned around, a voice stopped them from being able to walk away.
"Yo there, Vector and Charmy! How's life hangin'?"
The two turned around to see Sonic walking up to them, chili dog in hand.
"Dammit, here I was, thinkin' me and Charmy were gunna avoid him," Vector thought.
"U-Uh, hey there, Sonic! Things are… rather well…"
"Y-Yeah! What Vector said!"
Sonic looked confused, he looked one way to Vector, then to Charmy, and back.
"Are you sure? You guys look nervous…" The blue blur commented.
"N-Nope! Never better!" replied Vector instantly.
"Huh…I see… say, where's Espio? Did he come with you guys but doesn't like crowds? Or does he have his nose in some Northern Mobius, heck, any Japanese-themed shop here?"
A lump formed in Vector's throat at the thought of Espio. It was becoming harder for him to form words by the second.
"E-E-Espio is… he didn't come…" He said.
Sonic looked even more bewildered by Vector's behavior. Charmy bit his nails.
"Vector? Are you sure you're feeling alright, man? I can go get you some medicine from down the corner-"
"ALRIGHTY! I CONFESS!"
Vector's sudden yell startled Sonic as the blue hedgehog jumped in the air. Then, once he landed back on the ground, he saw in the crocodile's hand, the blue Chaos Emerald.
"A Chaos Emerald?! Vector, where and how did you get this?!" Sonic asked frantically.
The large green reptile sighed as he stared at the jewel. "Yer gunna need to sit tight fer this one. It's a long story, but it'll help ya understand our situation. See, not too long ago…"
Once Vector was done with his story, Sonic looked puzzled, yet understanding.
"I understand why you wanna do this, Vec, but this is Eggman we're dealing with. Chaos only knows WHAT evil scheme he's coming with next," he said.
All of a sudden, a beeline of food fell down upon the hedgehog. It surprised the blue blur, causing him to freeze in place as food fell down upon him. Onlookers looked as the hero of Mobius was being ridiculed in front of public. A few people who walked by laughed as Sonic, Vector, and Charmy looked up to see the culprit; Orbot and Cubot. The two waved as they zoomed off.
"Okay, looks like said evil plan was NOW apparently, said evil plan ALSO containing stereotypical and weird… methods to somehow intimidate me." Sonic said flatly.
"I'm… not even gunna ask what just happened in the past few seconds," Vector muttered.
"Geez, Eggman's ways to scare us has gotten so bad! Yet gotten me hungry for another snack for some reason…" Charmy commented, smacking his lips.
"Guys, help me get all this crap off of me, will you?"
"Alrighty, we gotcha, Sonic." Vector and Charmy grabbed Sonic as they took him to a bathhouse down the street. After waiting for some time, Sonic emerged, looking good as new.
"OKAY, before I was interrupted…" Sonic began. "Vector, I know you're worried about Espio's safety, but think about all the risks you'd be going through finding them, only for Eggman to spit in your face and use the Emeralds to his heart's contentment!"
"I dun care, as long as it gets me Espio back, I'll go to the end of the world back if I have to. Just as long as Espio is saved…"
Sonic stared at the head honcho of the Chaotix; his friend. "Wow… Vector, I knew you cared about Espio, but I didn't know THAT much."
Vector suddenly came to a halt. He made himself repeat it in what was it.
"I knew ya cared 'bout Espio, but I didn't know THAT much."
Just before the crocodile could think more about what Sonic said, he looked at his hedgehog acquaintance.
"Sonic, me and Charmy gotta ask ya a real favor. Can ya help us collect these emeralds? I know we're givin' them to Eggman but… it's to save Espio…" Vector begged.
"Hmm… you know, it's hard deciding…" Sonic said. In truth, even he didn't know what to do. The situation at hand has both a very positive, yet very negative outcome.
That was unless….
Sonic shook his head. "You know what? Sure, I'll help you guys! It's the right thing to do after all."
"Yay! Sonic's joined us now!" Charmy buzzed around the blue hedgehog. "Now we're sure gunna be better off getting those emeralds and saving Espio!"
Sonic smirked and chuckled. "Well, someone's getting excited at the thought. Don't worry, we're gunna rescue Espio, so you shouldn't need to lose sleep, Charmy."
Vector smiled as he looked up at the sky. "Eat yer heart out, Eggman. We're gunna getcha now." he thought.
The sun was now beginning to set, yet no temple was in sight.
Vector slashed the large plants with a machete as Sonic and Charmy walked slowly behind him.
"Are we there yet?" The bee asked.
"N-Nope!" Vector grunted as he continued to hack at the plants.
The three were in the Wild Jungle, a location to the southeast from Station Square. As it was a jungle, there were vines all over the place, so before the three left, Vector had bought a machete for obvious reasons.
After five minutes of hacking and slashing, there was finally an opening.
"A-ha! There we go, c'mon, guys."
Vector walked through the new opening as Sonic and Charmy followed suite. The crocodile dropped the cheap machete as the three walked the paths of Wild Jungle. They passed by a lake, where Big's little shack was (he had moved there from the Mystic Ruins not too long ago).
Ending up at a split path, Vector placed his finger on his chin.
"Hmm… left or right?"
"I say right, I dunno, I always get lucky with that path," Sonic commented.
"Well, if Sonic is sure, then I'll go along with him!" Charmy exclaimed. Vector shrugged.
"Sure, right it is."
Vector, Sonic, and Charmy went along the right path.
Five minutes of walking, and a complaint from the small bee about if they had "gone the wrong way", the three stumbled across a large wall with vines atop it. Sonic grabbed a hold of one of the vines and began to climb.
"Hey, they're vines, what else do you do with them?" The blue hedgehog said.
"Sonic! Be careful! You don't know if those vines are weak!" Charmy yelled out.
"Hey, Charmy? Don't worry, I'm glad you're on the lookout for me, but I'll be fine. I think it's Vector you should be worried about."
Vector looked stunned. "H-HEY?! YA CALLIN' ME FAT OR SOMETHIN'?!"
"No, I know you're a strong guy. All that muscle makes you heavy though."
Vector rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Eh, guess yer right there."
The crocodile grasped his large hands onto the vine and began to climb. Somehow, around the midpoint, Vector was honestly surprised at how the vine had been able to hold his weight.
…until the vine could be heard starting to burst.
"VECTOR!" Charmy yelled. He had been buzzing to the top when he heard the noise.
"Grab on!"
Vector looked behind him and grabbed a hold of Charmy's leg as just as soon as the vine completely came off. The bee grunted as he tried to get himself used to carrying Vector's weight. His wings flapped and flapped as he reached around the top part of the wall. The crocodile got off from Charmy's legs and climbed onto the vine.
After not having to climb much, Vector placed his leg onto the top of the wall and got himself up. Sonic tapped his foot on the ground. He had already reached the top of the wall before Vector had, and had been waiting for him.
"There you are, I was wondering if you fell off or something along those lines," Sonic commented.
"Trust me, Sonic; I'm a main character in this story. Somethin' like that won't happen… right?"
Sonic laughed. "You might never know what happens! Oh well, let's go."
"I don't think we need to 'go' anywhere." Charmy noted. "Did you take a look at what was in front of you?"
Vector and Sonic looked behind them and saw the temple behind them. The crocodile had to wipe his eyes, and take a reality check to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Hey, ya are right, Charmy! We are here! Ya sure are payin' attention good, lil' bud."
Vector playfully nudged Charmy's arm as the bee giggled. Sonic smiled, seeing the two acting like this reminded him of him and Tails.
But there was no use in reminiscing over old memories. There was a Chaos Emerald that needed collecting, and the Chaotix members knew this too. The three jumped down onto the ground and walked around to the other side of the temple.
Unlike the last temple, which had blue markings around it, this temple had green markings around it, and had greenery growing around it. Knowing how the temple was in the jungle, and the aesthetic of it, this would have been a temple based around the forest.
Vector, Charmy, Sonic walked up the steps of the temple, and entered inside.
A dark forest was the first sight that Sonic, Charmy, and Vector first came across upon entering. Steps leading up to a higher platform also lay across from them as well.
"It's like it is an actual forest… but it's inside a temple? How do all these plants grow without sunlight?" Charmy questioned.
"There are many questions left unanswered, young one," Sonic said, trying his best to sound 'deep'. Vector chuckled at Sonic's attempt.
The three walked up the steps and saw a maze in front of them.
"Gah, I hate stuff like this…" Vector commented. Once, while having a small 'relaxation day' with Espio and Charmy, he had gotten lost in a maze for almost an hour. To this day, Espio still shakes his head over it, while Charmy teases him for it.
"Don't worry, Vector! You can stick by me and I'm sure you won't get lost like last time!" Charmy exclaimed.
"What happened last time?" Sonic asked. Vector quickly shut Charmy's mouth.
"We made a deal, remember?" he quietly asked the bee. The insect nodded.
"Good."
He let go of Charmy's mouth and tapped Sonic on the shoulder. "Let's head out," he said.
The two followed behind him, but relatively close, as they navigated the maze. With the exception of having to jump over one square that was filled with water, things were going rather smooth for the group.
That was, until something emerged from the next square of water. It was this strange looking creature (so strange that it was indescribable to the three) that was purple. Charmy recoiled back as Vector and Sonic got into a stance.
"I'll get it first, you'll come after, okay, Vector?" said Sonic.
"Gotcha!"
Sonic did a homing attack on the strange creature as it was flung back. Vector ran up and slammed it with his fists. The creature split in half as the crocodile finished it off with a fireball. The split creature was set on fire as it dissipated.
"Whoa, metal," commented Sonic.
"Can I brutally kill the next enemy we see, Vector?" Charmy asked.
"Sure, I guess."
After jumping across the square of water, the three followed the rest of the maze. They found a door at the end of the maze and opened it.
The new room in the temple was a large room. The three stood on a giant walkway, in front of two other walkways. Vector, Charmy, and Sonic looked around the room, watching the fireflies fly around. They could see the sunlight from outside shining in the room, illuminating the millennia old cobwebs and shrubs.
"Geez, this place is older than mah old tape player…" Vector commented.
"If that's the case, then you'd be older!" teased Charmy. The crocodile stared at him blankly.
"Don't patronize me, Charms."
Sonic looked over the ledge, seeing a bottomless pit.
"Well, that wouldn't be too good to fall down into," he said. The blue hedgehog jumped into the air and burst forward, getting onto the walkway on the right. The two Chaotix members looked in the direction of the blue blur.
"Come on, guys!" Sonic yelled. Charmy buzzed up as Vector grabbed onto his legs. The bee buzzed over to where Sonic, and dropped down once they reached there.
As soon as Vector saw the wall, his detective instincts told him there was something odd about it. The crocodile walked up to it and began to dig the earth with his hands (not caring if his gloves got dirty). All of a sudden, the wall collapsed, revealing a staircase.
"A-ha! Knew somethin' was here!" Vector said.
"I didn't even notice that. Nice catch." Sonic complimented.
"Yeah! That's why you're the leader of the Chaotix!" Charmy exclaimed. Vector smirked as he looked up at the staircase. The room above seemed to be pitch black.
"Imma go up first," The large green reptile said. "If I scream loudly over somethin' I see, ya know what happened. Follow behind me."
"Geez, what am I, your parent?" Sonic asked.
"He is for now!" Charmy said.
Sonic rolled his eyes playfully as he and Charmy followed behind Vector. The staircase led them to a dark room.
"W-Wha?! Who turned off the lights?" Charmy asked.
"Charmy, there are no lights on a place like this." replied Vector.
"OW! Who stepped on my foot?!" Sonic yelled.
"Sorry, Sonic."
The three looked around cluelessly, not knowing where to go. As they walked straight, a faint light of a torch was visible.
"Finally! Some light!" The blue hedgehog said. He sped off towards the torch and grabbed it. With this, Sonic saw himself in the darkness. He turned around and held out the torch.
"Guys? Where are you?" Sonic yelled out.
"Over here!" yelled Charmy. Sonic walked over to where the bee yelled out and saw Vector and Charmy in the dark.
"Light!" yelled Charmy.
"Charmy, shush! Yer bein' a bit too loud, doncha think?"
"Oh, put a can in it!"
"W-WHAT DID YA SAY-"
All of a sudden, Vector and Charmy's small little argument was interrupted by a sound in the darkness. Sonic turned around and held out the torch and saw what the source of the sound came from.
A large group of black looking spheres with eyes began to jump up towards the three. Sonic almost jumped in surprise as he began to swing the torch. He held it out towards the spheres.
"Back!"
He continued to swing the torch as the spheres began to back away. They hid in a crack in the wall as Sonic saw that the fire of the torch was almost about to go out.
However, in the distance, Sonic saw a lever in the middle of the room. Walking up to it, he pulled the lever down. Yet, it didn't seem to do anything.
"That was a waste of time," Vector commented. "C'mon, let's head back downstairs, there's nothin' left here."
The crocodile made his way back, despite the darkness in the room. It was then that a yell from Vector made Sonic and Charmy go running back downstairs.
"WHEN THE HELL DID WIND START COMIN' FROM THE FLOOR!"
The blue hedgehog and bee returned back to the crocodile to see that the room they were in had air blasting from the bottomless pit. The bee's antenna's flew in the wind as Vector and Sonic looked down.
Just then, Charmy looked up and saw a switch on the wall.
"Hey, look at that over there!" He pointed to where it was to Vector and Sonic.
"It's a switch…" Vector said.
"But we can't reach it from here." said Sonic.
"I can though!" Charmy exclaimed, waving his hand in the air. The bee dropped down into the gust of wind as Vector's jaw dropped opened.
"CHARMY! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YA DOIN'?!" he yelled.
Charmy giggled as he began to flow through the wind. The bee quickly zoomed up and hit the switch. All of a sudden, many more walkways formed by areas in the upper portion of the large room.
"Ha ha! Vector, Sonic, look at how much fun I'm having! Come on in, the wind feels great!"
Vector smiled. "Ya know what, Sonic? We should listen to the kid. Grab on, Sonic!"
"Huh, whaddya mean 'grab on'?"
Vector popped a piece of gum in his mouth and grabbed the hedgehog. He yelped. "Y-Yo! What gives, Vector?!"
The crocodile jumped into the air as he blew a bubble. The wind pulled him up into the air near Charmy.
"Ha ha, fun right?" Charmy asked.
"I-I'm just hoping this bubble doesn't bubble!" Sonic exclaimed.
The three floated in the air as they headed to the nearest walkway. Vector got on it and popped his bubble, dropping Sonic as well. He took a breather.
"Whoa… thought I was gunna fall…" Sonic said.
"Why? You scaredddddddddd?" Charmy teased.
"I dunno… gum bubbles aren't exactly what I consider methods to glide in the air…"
"Hey, no use in tryin'. Ya should give it a shot, big blue." Vector said, continuing to chew on the same piece of gum.
"Anyway, there seems to be an opening here, guys! Let's go through there!" Charmy exclaiming, pointing to the wall. Vector slid his hand against it to find a door covered by dirt. He opened it and went inside, Charmy and Sonic following behind.
As soon as the three entered inside, the door behind them locked as Vector, Charmy, and Sonic stood face to face in front of Orbot and Cubot.
"Well well well, if it isn't Sonic the EDGEhog," Cubot said.
Orbot stared blankly at his robot companion. "Edgehog? Really?"
"It's my creative word, don't steal it."
Cubot turned away from Orbot and put his attention back to the three. He cleared his throat (despite not having a physical one) and continued.
"Finally, us two shall do battle with the great Sonic the Hedgehog! Mano a mano, hand to hand!"
"Uh, you do remember we're here right?" Charmy asked.
"Oh yeah, and the Chaotix too. But you get my idea! And for my weapon… I shall bring out the ultimate of weapons… a weapon so great, that there mere THOUGHT of it gives chills down one's spine. A weapon that brings out evil greenery! I'm talking about…"
Cubot opened his case and pulled out a grass trimmer, holding it triumphantly. Orbot, Sonic, Vector, and Charmy simply looked blank at the yellow robot.
"What? What is it?" Cubot asked.
"Cubot? That's… that's a grass trimmer…" Sonic said, moving his eyes back and forth. "You know that right?"
"I know that!"
"Then why are you making it out to be this 'ultimate weapon of evil greenery' or something along those lines?" Orbot questioned.
"Look, when Dr. Eggman uses it on his grass hedge caricatures of himself, and those lone blades of grass land on me, it hurts!"
"YOU'RE A ROBOT! YOU CAN'T FEEL PHYSICAL PAIN!"
"Oh, I can't? Then tell me, can I do… this?"
Cubot slapped Orbot as the red robot's eyes turned red.
"You wouldn't…"
"Oh, bring it on…"
Instead of duking it out, the two robots began to… have a slapping fight. Vector, Charmy, and Sonic simply watched as Orbot and Cubot continued their small fight.
"What… what is even goin' on?" asked Vector.
"Beats me, your guess is as good as mine," replied Charmy.
"I'm just gunna… open that treasure chest on the other side of the room…" Sonic said. He slowly walked towards to where the chest was, passing by the two fighting robots. Surprisingly, they didn't even stop him, and the blue hedgehog grabbed the key and made his way back to the two Chaotix members.
"Let's… let's just go…" Vector said.
Before the three could leave, Cubot's voice interrupted them.
"Wait wait wait! I just realized something! Sonic is with you, Vector! He shouldn't be with you! That's cheating! It should only be you and the bee!"
Charmy snorted. "Yeah, like we're gunna listen to the orders of two dumb robots!"
Orbot moved closer to them, and strangely, his eyes began to glow red as his voice took a… sinister tone.
"Oh… we WILL tell Dr. Eggman… and he won't be very pleased that you bended the rules… As a matter of fact, he may hurt your little Espio friend. Or worse!" He began to giggle. "Mhmhmhmmmm… maybe even kill him!"
A nerve struck Vector as he turned around; giving the two robots the nastiest look he could manage. Orbot gulped.
"Was it something I said? I was being honest."
The crocodile stomped angrily towards the two as they got scared. The robots tried to run off, but Vector grabbed them by the wires that held their heads. He threw them to the wall as they fell down; The large green reptile walked over and placed his foot on both their heads.
"Now… listen GOOD… if ya even dare tell Eggman 'bout this, I won't be afraid to crush ya until ya turn into scrap! GOT IT?!" Vector spat.
"Y-Yes! Yes of course!" Orbot nodded, sounding scared.
"Please don't hurt us!" begged Cubot. Vector looked at him and got his shoes off from their heads.
"C'mon guys, let's head out." he said. Vector walked to Charmy and Sonic as the three made their way out of the room. Orbot and Cubot got up and placed their hands on their heads.
"You know, Orbot… Vector kinda scares me…" Cubot said.
"It's not just you."
"Jeez, Vector, for someone who everyone says is a gentle giant, you sure have been exceptionally violent this adventure!" Charmy said.
"Sorry, Charmy, it's just that… the whole stress 'bout this situation is really gettin' to me, ya dig?" replied Vector.
"It's understandable," said Sonic. "Having your best friend kidnapped and up for ransom, the ransom being something that could destroy the world? It's tough. I dunno what I'd do if Tails was in Espio's shoes."
"Rescue him, obviously. Like we're doin' with Espio right here."
"Didn't you tell us a story from your early days of adventuring where that happened?" Charmy asked.
"Yeah… I'm surprised that I didn't freak out over the stress at some point…"
Sonic looked down from the walkway, feeling the breeze hit his face.
"But enough about past memories, we got a Chaos Emerald to collect."
"Right ya are! And if I'm right, then it looks like the place is gunna be up there!"
Vector pointed to the highest walkway in the room.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Charmy. The bee flew into the gust of air as it pulled him in. Vector blew another bubble, grabbed Sonic, and followed suite. The three now headed up to the highest walkway and landed safely. The crocodile let go of the blue hedgehog as the three made their way up to a locked door. Using the key he collected, Sonic opened it, and went inside.
When Vector, Charmy, and Sonic entered inside, they saw the night sky above them, the stars shining brightly.
"What the? It's night already?" Charmy asked.
"We've been tryin' to find the temple all day and we went in 'round sundown, Charmy," explained Vector.
"Oh."
The sounds of fire cackling filled the room as the three took a good look around their surroundings. There were series of stone pillars on the walls, and Vector, Charmy, and Sonic were standing on a walkway of stone. In front of them, an owl sat on a pole next to a sealed door, its yellow eyes fixated on the three.
Greenery and trees covered the area as to the left, there seemed to be a new area.
"Let's see what this owl is up to. After all, it SEEMS like its guarding something" Sonic said. The three walked up to it as it hooted. It held out its foot, as if it were asking for something.
"I got nothin'," said Vector.
The owl hooted again as it shook its head. It then looked down at its stomach.
"Hang on… I think the little guy's hungry…" said the large green reptile, finger on his lip. "Charmy, give him somethin' from yer knapsack."
"Aww, Vector! Do I have toooo?" Charmy whined.
"Unless ya dun wanna get that Chaos Emerald, nope."
The bee groaned, and pulled out one of the chip bags, holding it out. Yet, the owl shook its head and hooted once again.
"Huh?" Vector asked.
"It doesn't want it…" added Sonic.
"Try somethin' else, Charmy."
Charmy then brought out one of the opened bags of candy and pulled out a piece. He held it out to the owl, but once again, it shook its head and hooted.
"Dang… this owl sure is picky… even more then Charmy whenever Espio serves vegetables…"
"Hey!" yelled Charmy.
"Just sayin'."
"Charmy's preferences about food isn't what we're focused on, guys," Sonic said. "There's bound to be something here that the owl will accept."
"What about that room we passed by?" Charmy asked. "I think there's something there!"
"If yer gut says so, let's see," replied Vector. The crocodile made his way to the room, followed by Sonic. Charmy stayed behind for a brief second, opening one of the bag of chips.
"Boy am I hungry…" he said, eating chip after chip.
When the three entered the new room, they saw a massive tree in the middle, surrounded by a meadow with a river surrounding the tree.
"We should look into that tree. I'm sure somethin's there," Vector said, pointing to the tree.
"I've got it!" Charmy exclaimed. The bee began to buzz up into the leaves as look around. For the most part, there were only leaves. Yet, as Charmy looked around some more, a brown object caught his attention from the corner of his eye, and turned to look at it.
It was a rather large, brown nut, shaped like an acorn. Charmy picked it up and looked at it for a bit. He then eventually came down, holding the nut.
"Guys, guys! I think I got what we're looking for!" Charmy said. He held out the nut in front of Vector and Sonic.
"Ya… think this is gunna work out?" Vector asked with uncertainty in his voice.
"I'm sure of it! After all, this was the only food I was able to find in that tree."
"Well, if you say so, we better give it a try." said Sonic.
The three left the room and returned back to where the owl was. This time, Charmy held out the nut as the owl began to sniff it. Two minutes later, the owl hooted and extended its arms, eating the nut from Charmy's hands as it flew off from the post. It ended up flying through the open ceiling, never to been seen again.
The bars of the sealed door that the owl had been protecting began to open up and revealed a pitch black room, the only source of light coming from the top of the stairs. Vector, Charmy, and Sonic climbed up the stairs and ended up in a very large room with some sort of plant in the middle…
"Wait… plant?" Vector thought. He wiped his eyes to make sure he was not dreaming, but as was visible; It was simply just a sleeping flower. The three looked around, not sure about what to do.
"Do we… do we fight it? I mean, there's gotta be something up. I say we burn it!" Charmy exclaimed.
"No, Charmy, we ain't gunna burn it." replied Vector.
"Let's just look around." said Sonic. The three split up and looked for a way to wake up the sleeping plant. Yet, no matter what was done, the giant was not waking up.
"Hmm… I wonder if I can tickle it…" Charmy said to himself. He dropped the rocks he had been holding to throw at the plant and looked on the ground. There, he found a feather and picked it up.
"This will do me well." he said. The bee tickled the body of the flower as it began to… rumble?
Seeing as a reaction was being given, Charmy continued, not aware that in reality, he was awaking the massive creature, and causing it to become angry by tickling it.
The room began to vibrate as all of a sudden, the plant began to slam its massive vines on the ground, and soon, pull itself from the ground. Charmy, Sonic, and Vector shot back as the plant floated above them.
"Charmy, what the heck did ya do?!" Vector yelled.
"All I did was tickle it with a feather I found on the ground!" replied the bee.
"Guys, we've got bigger things to worry about!" said Sonic. The floating plant's vines moved around as it began to spin them, rushing towards the three. Vector, Charmy, and Sonic got out of the way as it turned around.
"What is that thing anyway?!" asked Charmy. Vector pulled out the map given to him by the hooded man, hopefully getting some answers. The map was entirely blank; however, a sketch of the monster began to burn onto the map. Under the sketch, the crocodile could see the name of the beast.
"Man-Eating Plant
AKUMAHANA"
"Akumahana… that's this thing's name…" Vector muttered.
"Its name isn't important right now! What is important is that we kill this thing!" Sonic replied.
"Yer right!"
"Well, what's its weakness?" asked Charmy, as Akumahana slashed with its vines again, causing the three to run out of the way. Vector looked back at the map as new words burned onto the paper.
"Weak-point: Tongue. Doesn't like having its vines hurt."
"That's all its sayin'…" Vector said.
"So we gotta do something about those vines! Vector, you and me should take care of the vines. Charmy, sting the tongue with your stinger!"
"Gotcha!" exclaimed Charmy, pumping a fist in the air.
Vector and Sonic headed off. The blue hedgehog immediately did a homing attack on one of the vines as Akumahana attempted to slash Sonic, but failed. The crocodile spit out fire balls and threw punch after punch as he eventually grabbed a hold of one of the plant monster's vines. He began to pull on it to hopefully unleash its tongue, but it wasn't good enough. Akumahana slashed Vector as he flung back, a scar on his chest.
"Heh, yer gunna have to do a lot more then that if ya think I'm gunna be brought down that easily!"
Sonic did a spin dash on one of the vines, Akumahana roared in pain as it let out its tongue.
"NOW, CHARMY!" Vector yelled out, spitting another fire ball at one of the vines. Charmy buzzed up and readied his stinger, firing away. The stinger perfectly collided with the tongue, and Akumahana roared out yet again as the tongue began to swell.
"It's… allergic?" Sonic asked.
"Perfect! Now we got an even better chance beatin' this thing now that we know its weak point and that it's allergic!" Vector exclaimed.
The pedals of Akumahana tore off as a set of razor sharp teeth unveiled. The beast attempted to bite and eat Charmy; however the bee was too fast for him.
"Ahaha! Missed me!" The insect taunted. Akumahana grunted in annoyance as it frantically slammed its vines up and down. Vector was able to grab a hold of one of the vines in mid-slam, but was taken along with it. The large green reptile hung on for dear life as the vines of Akumahana slammed up and down.
"SONIC! MAKE THIS THING OPEN ITS MOUTH!"
"On it!"
Sonic did a Tornado Jump and spun around Akumahana. It began dizzy and fell to the ground, allowing Vector to get down and Charmy another attack. The plant monster roared yet again as it came back up. It then placed its vines into the ground, as many plants began to grow. However, as Vector could see, they were all hostile.
"Ergh, damn! This thing knows its moves well!" Vector said through gritted teeth, kicking all the plants advancing towards him.
"How are we gunna get Akumahana to show its tongue again?!" Charmy questioned.
"Good question… I'm not sure…" Sonic replied, trying to out speed the plants.
The bee looked around to see many of the plants coming his way. Vector looked shocked.
"CHARMY! HANG ON, I'M COMIN'!" he yelled.
As Charmy looked down, he could see that the plants weren't going for him, rather, his knapsack.
"Huh?" Charmy questioned. He pulled out one of the pieces of candy and all the plants in the room stopped.
"You guys want the candy? Well, GO GET IT!"
Charmy threw the piece of candy to the other side of the room as all the plants advanced towards it.
"Awh yeah! Nice going, Charmy!" Sonic complimented.
"Agreed! Me 'n Esp taught ya well!" Vector added on.
"Thanks guys!" replied Charmy. "But this thing still isn't down yet! Let's take the vines out while we still can!"
"And I got a plan!" said Sonic. "Vector, I know you're heavy, and I might give myself impairing back damage when I'm older, but I'm gunna need you to hop onto my back, and latch onto a vine, and pull it out!"
"Alright, on it!"
Vector got on the blue hedgehog's back, who was already struggling to carry the weight of the crocodile.
"Ya gunna be alright?"
"Fine, fine! Now, let's go!"
Sonic sped off, and like the blink of an eye, vine after vine was dismembered off from Akumahana. The beast roared as greenish blood spurted out from where the vine was. After half of them were taken off, Akumahana fell to the side, and ultimately, fell to the ground once the last vine was taken off. The beast continued to roar as Charmy zoomed up near its tongue.
Akumahana snapped its jaws as Charmy used his stinger, poking the tongue. It became more and more swelled as finally, the bee got the last hit. Charmy shot out another stinger at the tongue, and due to how swollen it had become, it exploded. Akumahana roared louder than it had before as the leaves of the beast began to turn brown. Its jaws closed as the plant beast began to wither away, dying from its injuries.
"Alright! We did it!" squealed Charmy, zooming around.
"Nice job!" Sonic said. He held out his hand as Vector high fived it.
"Same to ya, too!" The crocodile replied. Charmy zoomed next to Vector and gave him a high five too.
As Akumahana disappeared, the three could notice a hole from where the beast was. Sonic looked down at it, seeing a room that was shining green.
"There's bound to be something here!" Sonic said.
"The Chaos Emerald!" exclaimed Charmy.
"Yeah! Let's go get it!" replied Vector. The three went down the hole one by one as they looked in front of them. Torches illuminating a green fire aligned the wall, as much like the first temple, an altar lay in the middle. The three walked up to it to see the green Chaos Emerald on it. Vector grabbed it and held it up.
"Alright!" he cried out.
"Yay! Now we got two out of seven!" Charmy happily declared.
"I think we did a good job here today, only question is, how are we gunna get out of here?" asked Sonic.
"Give it a moment."
"Huh? What do you mean, Charm-"
A veil of light surrounded the three as it lifted them up in the air. A flash of white light illuminated the room as the three were no longer there.
Vector, Charmy, and Sonic emerged from the veil outside of the temple. The three could see it was night time, and the sky was completely covered with dark clouds.
"Man, today was tirin', but man did we get somethin' outta it!" Vector said.
"Yeah! And I bet tomorrow is gunna be the same way too!" Charmy exclaimed.
"Let's hope our luck keeps up," Sonic said, soon yawning. "Anyway, I'm tired… we should find a place to rest."
"Vector! Maybe they have another conveniently placed sleeping bag somewhere around here!"
"I dunno… somethin' tells me there ain't gunna be one…" The crocodile replied.
"Come on! I mean, what'll happen if we just stay here?"
All of a sudden, a flash of lighting struck as rain began to pour down. Charmy yelped as he hid behind Vector, due to him being afraid of thunderstorms.
"Okay… what about instead, we find a, as you put it, 'conveniently placed tent'?" Sonic asked.
Vector turned around and began to look in the bushes; however, all he simply got was more wet from the rain.
"Nope… nothin'…"
"Great! We have to r-run in this rain with a s-storm going on!" Charmy whined. Another clap of thunder boomed the sky as the bee child yelped and hid his face with his hands.
"Where are we gunna go now?" asked Vector.
All of a sudden, Sonic had an idea. "You know whose home we passed by while coming here?"
Vector knocked on the door to the small shack, hoping that Big would open the door.
"C'mon, Big… I'm freezin' mah tail off here…" Vector shook.
The door swung open as the frame of the large purple cat covered the doorway.
"Oh, hi you guys," Big said.
"No time for hellos, Big," Sonic said. "We were wondering if we can crash at your place tonight. We got nowhere else to go, and we don't wanna get stuck in the rain."
Big stared at the three before stepping aside, letting Vector, Charmy, and Sonic in.
"Thanks, man," Vector said, turning to face Big.
The cat closed the door and waddled over to the three. "You guys can sleep on the bed. I don't mind."
"Really? That's nice of you but… won't you have a place to sleep?" asked Charmy.
"I'll sleep on the floor."
Big turned to Froggy, who was silently croaking by Big's fishing poles. He rubbed the back of the frog as he picked him up.
"You should get dry before going to bed. I have a fan."
Vector nodded. "Thanks, man ya sure are bein' generous today."
"I don't get a lot of company. But I don't mind that too much. You're my friends after all."
Sonic turned on the fan as the breeze hit the three. "Well, we owe you a big one, Big."
Soon after, the three dried off, and got on the bed. Charmy hid under the covers to escape the sound and sight of the storm while Vector slept next to him. Sonic on the other hand, slept on the edge of the bed.
For some time, everyone in the shack slept peacefully, that was, everyone except Vector. He snored in his sleep and jerked about, having yet another dream.
A strange fuchsia colored mist surrounded Vector in a pitch black room. The crocodile could do nothing but watch, feeling a bit too afraid to run. However, once he heard a familiar voice, he knew the mist meant no harm.
"Vector?!"
It was Espio's voice.
"Espio!"
"Vector, listen to me, you… you have to rescue me!"
"Gawsh, I didn't think that's somethin' I'd hear from ya. Normally by now I thought ya would have escaped.
"I've been trying to, but to no avail…"
"Wait…" Vector placed his finger on his lip. "How are ya talkin' to me? Telepathy?"
"I dunno, let's give it the same explanation as your conveniently placed sleeping bags-but that's beside the point! I feel that Eggman is up to something really bad, and you need to hurry up and collect those Chaos Emeralds!"
"To stop whatever Egghead is doin', and to rescue yeh?"
"Exactly."
Vector nodded. "I'm tryin' mah best, Espio… Dontcha worry, ya WILL see me again, I promise."
"That's good… oh, and Vector?"
"Hm?"
"There's something I wanted to tell you…"
"Is there?"
"Yeah… I was gunna say…"
Vector awoke from the dream, looking around the room. He wasn't where he was in his dream, but back to reality; in Big's small shack. The large green reptile became angry and silently swore to himself.
"Dammit, Esp… what were ya gunna say?!"
The crocodile could see that the storm outside had subdued, and everyone sans him was fast asleep.
Vector lay back down on the bed as he looked up at the ceiling. He tried to fall back asleep to have the dream again, but unfortunately, to no avail.
MEANWHILE, ON EGGMAN'S SHIP
Espio sat on the floor, attempting to meditate, but to no avail. He shook his head as he got up.
"What's the point trying to meditate if I can't concentrate?" The chameleon asked himself. He walked up to the bars of his cell and places his hands on it. The bars had become thicker due to Espio's escape last time, meaning there was no way for the fuchsia reptile to go through them.
As Espio turned his head back and forth, he noticed Orbot coming around the corner, holding a brown paper bag in his hand. The red robot soon came to the cell and placed his hand through the bars, dropping the bag on the floor.
"Here is your lunch, Espio," Orbot said. "Dr. Eggman doesn't want you to go hungry after all."
"Gee, thanks…" thought Espio.
Orbot went away as Espio opened the bag, pulling out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a small carton of chocolate milk.
The chameleon ninja sat on the floor and began to eat his sandwich.
"Peanut butter and jelly… that was Charmy's favorite thing to eat outside of anything with honey and mac and cheese…" Espio said to himself. Just thinking about the Chaotix, his friends, made him feel melancholy. The food he ate simply caused a lump in his throat as his stomach began to hurt.
He missed Vector, and he missed Charmy. He missed every little antic they had together, every little adventure, and heck, he even started to miss Vector's scolding. He missed the times they went on cases, and the times they spent at home, acting like a family.
Strange… family…
Espio hadn't seen his true family in Northern Mobius for years, ever since he left to make a new life, and coming upon Carnival Island. If anything, Team Chaotix to him was the closest to his family.
"Heh… funny… it's like we're not even Team Chaotix, we're like a family… The Chaotix family… yeah… I like the sound of that…"
Espio began to daydream as he closed his eyes.
Everything in sight was black and white, almost as if it were an old movie. The scene took place in front of a door.
The front door opened, revealing Vector, wearing a rather tight suit, and a hat.
"Honey, I'm home!" he said. A laugh track began to play as Vector placed his hat on a rack by the door. Just then, Espio walked up to Vector, wearing an apron and a dress-like outfit. He kissed his husband.
"Welcome home, dear. How was work, today?" Espio asked.
"Same old, same old at the office, honey."
"Well I'm sure you've had a rough day today, come sit down."
He began to take off Vector's suit as the crocodile sat down in the kitchen. Grabbing the newspaper, he got his reading glasses and the cup of coffee Espio left him as the chameleon walked to the laundry room.
"Oh, Vector, you're gunna love what I prepared you." Espio said. He grabbed a pair of mittens and opened the stove, taking out a pie. "I baked this blueberry pie just SPECIFCALLY for you!"
"Did ya know? Aw, that's sweet of ya, ya know blueberry is mah favorite."
Espio handed a fork and knife to his husband.
"And remember; bring all your stuff to the sink so I can wash the dishes because heaven KNOWS I don't have enough work to do as is! I'm just a happy little housewife after all!"
Another laugh track played.
All of a sudden, a crash startled the two reptiles. Vector and Espio walked out of the kitchen to see that one of the windows in the living room was broken.
"CHARMY! WHAT DID I SAY 'BOUT PLAYIN' BASEBALL IN THE HOUSE?!" Vector yelled. Another laugh track played.
Charmy emerged, wearing a cap, t-shirt, and shorts. He held a baseball bat in his hands as well.
"Gee whillikers, sorry dad! I got carried away there!" The bee child said. Another laugh track played.
"I'll show you carried away! Come back here!"
"Nya nya! You'll have to catch me!"
A laugh track of an audience laughing harder played as the crocodile chased his son around the house. Espio simply watched as he suddenly got out cleaning utensils from his pocket.
"Oh whoops! Time for ANOTHER mess to clean up! As if I don't do enough of that already!"
The laugh track now included people clapping as everything became black.
Espio's small daydream ended when he opened his eyes.
"Well… that was the strangest thing ever…" he said to himself. "Never would I expect myself to take the role of the stereotypical housewife, or Vector to be the father of a bee… somehow…"
Suddenly, Espio stopped.
In his daydream… he was the mother, Vector was the father, and Charmy was the child…
He was mom, Vector was dad.
Mom and dad are… lovers…
Something about that made Espio freeze, not wanting to say a word.
Before he could think about it more, the blare of an alarm startled him. Espio got up as a robot was in front of his cell.
"Prisoner 6AE4 is missing, I repeat, prisoner 6AE4 is missing!" The robot said.
Seconds later, Eggman came into view, opening the cell with a key.
"Now, where did that little chameleon rascal go?" The evil doctor said.
It was surprising to Espio that he wasn't caught, but once he got a look at himself, he suddenly understood.
He was entirely invisible, and during his daydream, he camouflaged with the wall.
Eggman had the same idea, as he eventually rubbed his hands against the wall. He soon eventually came into contact with Espio.
"Ahh… there you are…"
The evil doctor grabbed Espio, as his camouflage wore off, exposing himself to everyone.
"So, you thought you could ESCAPE that easily, huh?" he asked. "Do you forget who I am, fool?"
Eggman turned to face the robots around him. "Do as you please with him; I'm too busy to deal with him myself. Surely he would like to know what disobeying rules would cause you… right?
He began to turn away and walk away, hand freely moving. "Give him a good one for me."
All the robots on Eggman's began to attack Espio. The chameleon attempted his best to dodge continuously as he felt himself becoming weaker and weaker from the blows.
After becoming weaker and weaker physically, he began to picture a small "Save me!" plea in his mind before succumbing to hit injuries, and being knocked out cold.